REESE LIBRARY 
 
 >l THK 
 
 UNIVERSITY .OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Received A 
 
 A (cessions No. &4. - Shelf No. . _ _ _ 
 

 L 
 
'fat.. 
 
SACRA PR WAT A. 
 
 THE 
 
 PRIVATE MEDITATIONS 
 
 AND 
 
 PRAYERS 
 
 OF 
 THE RIGHT REVEREND 
 
 W&ilssn, D. 
 
 M 
 
 BISHOP OF SODOR AND MAN, 
 ACCOMMODATED 
 
 TO GENERAL USE. 
 
 SECOND CAMBRIDGE EDITION, 
 
 LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY. LVK& XI. I. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE, 
 MILLIARD AND METCALF PRINTERS* 
 
\ , 3 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 J HE truly Reverend Doc- 
 tor THOMAS WILSON, fifty eight 
 years Bishop of Sodor and Man, 
 was blessed with the spirit of 
 prayer in a very uncommon 
 measure ; of which his Sacra 
 Privatat or Private Meditations 
 and Prayers^ are an eminent in^ 
 stance. 
 
 They have hitherto been 
 locked up from the world in an 
 expensive book ; and are mixed 
 throughout with so much med- 
 itation and prayer, that can 
 come properly from the clergy 
 only, (to whom they are an in- 
 valuable treasure) as to unfit 
 them for general use* 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 They are now presented to 
 the public in 9, separate vol- 
 ume ; so that pious christians 
 may, at a reasonable expense, 
 distribute them among such 
 people, as either will not or 
 cannot buy them ; and the pe- 
 titions, peculiar to Ihe clergy, 
 are thrown out. 
 
 The pious reader will find 
 these Meditations and Prayers 
 too long, according to the pre- 
 sent division of them, to which 
 there is no occasion of adhering. 
 He may take them up, and lay 
 them down, at his own discre- 
 tion and convenience. It is re- 
 commended to him to go thro' 
 them regularly, and to contin- 
 ue the use of them his whole 
 life, selecting such parts for more 
 frequent meditation, as are best 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 adapted to his necessity and dis- 
 position. 
 
 As prayer is one of the most 
 important works, in which a 
 man can be engaged, and few 
 find themselves able to dis- 
 charge it in the manner, they 
 wish to do ; it is humbly hop- 
 ed, that this book, if attended 
 to, as it deserves, may with 
 God's assistance teach them to 
 pray ; may lead their thoughts 
 to meditate on religious sub- 
 jects ; and habituate them to 
 clothe their meditations in the 
 language of decent, pious, and 
 fervent prayer. 
 
 That this valuable book may 
 have this effect, is the earnest 
 prayer of THE EDITOR. 
 
'te\ % 
 
 
 
 
 CA f o:i 
 ON DEVOTIO* AND PRAYER, 
 
 X RUE devotion consists in having 
 our hearts always devoted to God, as the foun- 
 tain of all happiness ; who is ready to hear 
 and help his otherwise helpless, miserable 
 creatures. It is to be attained, 
 
 ist. By earnest prayer. HE, THAT HUN- 
 GERS AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS, WILL CER- 
 TAINLY BE FILLED. 
 
 2dly. By possessing our hearts -with a deep 
 sense of our own misery, wants, and danger ; 
 this is the grace of humility. 
 
 3dly. By considering God's goodness, pow- 
 er, and readiness, to help us ; this is called 
 faith in God. 
 
 Lastly. By convincing our hearts of the 
 insufficiency of every thing else to afford us 
 any real help or comfort ; this is to be effect- 
 ed by r self denial. 
 
 Dying persons are generally more devout 
 
10 ON DEVOTION 
 
 than bthers, because they then see their own 
 misery, that nothing in this world can help 
 them, and that God is their only refuge. We 
 must change our lives, if we desire to change 
 our hearts. God will have no regard to the 
 prayers of those, who have none to his com- 
 mands. The Spirit of God will not dwell in 
 a divided heart. We cannot feel the pleasure 
 of devotion, while the world is our delight. 
 Not that all pleasures are criminal ; but the 
 closer union we have with the world, the less 
 is our union with God. A Christian there- 
 fore, who strives after devotion, should taste 
 sensual pleasures very sparingly, should make 
 necessity, not bodily delight, his rule. 
 
 in order to dispose our hearts to devotion, 
 an active life is to be preferred to a contempla- 
 tive. Doing good to mankind disposes the 
 soul most powerfully to devotion. Indeed 
 we are surrounded by motives to piety and 
 devotion, if we would mind them. The poor 
 are designed to excite our liberality ; the mis- 
 erable, our pity ; the sick, our assistance ; the 
 ignorant, onr instructions '; those, that are jfo/- 
 kn, our helping hand. In the vain we see the 
 
AND PRAYER, It 
 
 vanity of this world ; in the wicked, our own 
 frailty. When we see good men rewarded, it 
 confirms our hope ; and, when evil men are 
 punished, it excites our fear. 
 
 He, that would be devout, "must beware of 
 indulging a habit of wandering in prayer. It 
 is a crims, that will grow upon us, and will 
 deprive us of the blessings we pray for. 
 
 Avoid as much, as may be, multiplicity 
 of business. Neither the innocency, nor the 
 goodness of the employment, will excuse us, 
 if it possess our hearts, when we are praying 
 to God. When our Lord bids us to take no 
 thought for the morrow, he intended to hinder 
 those cares and fears, which are apt to dis- 
 tract our devotions ; which are the more un- 
 reasonable, because they never can change 
 the state of things. 
 
 Never be curious to know, what passes in 
 the world, any farther than duty obliges you; 
 it will only distract the mind, when it should 
 be better employed. 
 
 Never intermit devotion, if you can help 
 it ; you will return to your duty, like Sam- 
 son, when his locks were cut, weak and in- 
 
ffc ON DEVOTION &C. 
 
 \ 
 
 different, as other people of the world. The 
 oftener we renew our intercourse with God, 
 the greater will be our devotion. Frequent 
 prayer, as it is an exercise of holy thoughts, 
 is a most natural remedy against the power of 
 sin. Importunity makes no change in God, 
 but it creates in us such dispositions, as God 
 thinks fit to reward. 
 
 Make it a law to yourself to meditate, be- 
 fore you pray ; also to make certain pauses, 
 to see whether your heart go along with 
 your lips. They, whose hearts desire noth- 
 
 * n g) P ra y f ar nothing* 
 
 Give me* O God, the spirit of true devo- 
 tion ; such, as may give life to all my pray- 
 ers, so that they may find acceptance in thy 
 sight, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
Matth. vi. 6. Thou, when thou prayest, enter 
 into thy closet ; and, when thou hast shut thy 
 door, pray to thy Father, who is in secret ; and 
 thy Father, who seeth in secret , shall reward 
 thee openly. 
 
 JLJLOW good is God, who will not on- 
 ly give us., what we pray for ; but reward us for 
 going to him, and laying our wants before him ! .^ 
 
 May I always present myself before God with 
 firm faith and hope in his promises and mercy ; 
 with great reverence of his infinite majesty ; 
 with the humility of an offender ; and with full 
 purpose of keeping all his commandments ! 
 
 May the thoughts of eternity quicken my de- 
 votions ; my wants make me earnest ; my back- 
 slidings make me persevere ; and may I never 
 wilfully give way to any distracting thoughts. 
 
 May I wait with patience, and leave it to 
 Thee, my God and Father, how and when to 
 grant my petitions. 
 
 He, that has learned to pray, as he ought, 
 possesses the secret of a holy life. 
 
 It is of greater advantage to us, than we im- 
 agine, that God does not grant our petitions 
 immediately. We learn by this, that, whereun- 
 to we have already attained, /'/ was the gift of 
 God. 
 
 B 
 
*4 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 The best way to prevent wandering in pray- 
 er is, not to 'let the mind wander too much at 
 other times ; but to have God always in our 
 minds in the whole course of our lives. The 
 end of prayer is not to inform God, but to give 
 man a sight of his own misery ; to raise his soul 
 toward Heaven, and to put him in mind, that 
 there is his Father and his inheritance. 
 
 Mattb. vii. 7. Ask, and it shall be given you. 
 Grant me, Lord, that faith, which shall make 
 ine know my wants, that I may ask with earnest- 
 ness and humility, and depend upon thy gra- 
 cious promise. 
 
 THEfpUTlES Of A CHRISTIAN. 
 
 That man leads a sincere Christian life, 
 
 ist. Who endeavours to serve and obey God 
 to the best of his understanding and power. 
 
 2d. Who strives to please his neighbour to 
 edification. 
 
 3d. Who endeavours to do his duty in that 
 state of life, unto which it has pleased God to 
 call him. 
 
 Whoever w^ould continue in the practice of 
 these things unto his life's end, it is necessary 
 "that he call himself often to account, whether 
 he do so or not ; constantly pray for grace to 
 know, and to do his duty ; and preserve him- 
 self in such a temper, as to be always ready to re- 
 ceive the truth, \\ hen it is fairly proposed to him. 
 
 It is rudeness among men to ask a favor, and 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 15 
 
 not stay for an answer ; and do we count it no 
 fault to pray for blessing*, and never to think: 
 of them afterward, never to wait for them, nev- 
 er to give God thanks for them ? 
 
 Let us make prayer familiar to us ; for with- 
 out the help of God we are every hour in dan- 
 ger. The devil knows that, when we have a 
 relish for prayer, and apply ourselves in good' 
 earnest to it, we are in the way of life ; he 
 therefore strives by all ways possible to divert 
 us. 
 
 Let us not run over our prayers with an in- 
 sensible and distracted mind. Let our prayers 
 be as particular, as may be, against the sins of 
 our particular state, and for the graces, which 
 in particular we most need. This is the best 
 preservative against sin ; makes us best acquaint- 
 ed witb our condition > puts us continually in 
 mind of mending, what is amiss ; lets us see., 
 what particular graces we most want, what are 
 most needful for the cure of our own particular 
 corruption and disorder ; and is the best trial 
 of our hearts; For example ; if I pray for 
 charity^ and for every instance, which is necessa- 
 ry to render me truly charitable, I pray for grace,,. 
 to avoid evilspeaking, to pray for my enemies, 
 to do them good, &c. and so of all other sins 
 and graces. 
 
 God grant that I may never seek his face in 
 vain ! 
 
 Luke xi. i. Lord, teach us to pray. Pour 
 upon us the spirit of suppuration -and prayer.. 
 
t6 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 God will deny us nothing, that we ask in 
 of his Son. 
 
 Prayers through Jesus Christ, 
 
 When we offer our prayers through his medi- 
 ation, it is he, that prays ; his love, that inter- 
 cedes ; his blood, that pleads j it is he, who ob- 
 tains all from hisTather. 
 
 PREPARATORY PRAYER. 
 
 O Holy Spirit of grace, give us a true sight 
 of our miseries, and sincere shame and sorrow, 
 when we make confession of our sins ; a feel- 
 ing sense of our need of mercy, and hope of 
 obtaining pardon, when we beg it for thy Son's 
 sake. May we resign our will to Thee and to 
 thy goodness, when we pray for temporal 
 things ; and, when we pray for spiritual graces, 
 may we hunger and thirst after righteousness ! 
 Give us real love for thy holy word, and grace 
 to hear it with attention. May we thankfully 
 close with all the means of grace and salvation ! 
 When we praise Thee for thy works of na- 
 ture and of grace, and give Thee thanks for thy 
 mercies ; let us do it with high esteem and 
 gratitude. Cause us to hear thy holy word 
 with faith and attention, and to profit by what 
 we hear, that we may return from thy church 
 with a blessing. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA.. 17 
 
 MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 Joshua xxi v. 15. Choose. you ibis day, whonr 
 you will serve. 
 
 W HOM have I in heaven, but Thee, 
 O Lord ? There is none on earth, that I desire, 
 beside 1 hee. Thou art my God, and I will 
 rhank Thee. Thou art my God, and I will serve 
 Thee. Be thou my only ruler and governor. 
 
 They, that have a convenient place to sleep 
 
 in 5 find they, that have the comfort of sleep, 
 
 have both great reason to be thankful ; and 
 
 they, that want these mercies, ought to 
 
 bless God, if in the midst of their afflictions he 
 
 'is pleased to refresh them with the comforts of 
 
 Gracious God, continue to me these favors 
 ng, and in such measure, as shall most con- 
 tribute to thy honor and my salvation ; and in 
 great mercy support and relieve all, that \vant 
 these blessings. 
 
 What shall I offer unto the Lord for his mer- 
 cies, renewed unto me every morning ? The 
 sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit ; a broken 
 and contrite heart God will not despise ! But 
 most unfit is mine to be presented to God be- 
 fore I have obtained his pardon through the 
 merits of the Lord Jesus, for the many sins, by 
 which it hath been defiled. 
 
 jfer. iii. 12. I am merciful, saith the Lord, 
 and I will not keep anger forever. Only ao 
 B 2 
 
*8 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 knowledge thine .iniquity, that thou hast trans- 
 gressed against the Lord thy God. Ps. x^xii. 5. 
 I acknowledge my sin unto thee, O Goci^ and 
 mine iniquities will I not hide. 
 
 I do therefore implore thy pardon, and plead 
 thy gracious promises, with full purpose of 
 heart, by the assistance of thy grace, never again 
 to return to folly. 
 
 Jer. xvii. 9. The heart is deceitful above all 
 things, and desperately wicked; whocan knowit? 
 
 I cannot answer for my own heart ; but there 
 is no word, O Lord, impossible with Thee. Tn 
 Thee I do put my trust ; let me never be put to 
 confusion. Keep it ever in the heart of thy 
 servant, that it is indeed an evil thing and bitter 
 to offend the Lord. Keep me from presumptu- 
 ous sins, that I may never grieve thy Holy Spir- 
 it, nor provoke Thee to leave me to myself. 
 
 Matth. xxvi. 41. Watch and pray, that ye 
 enter not into temptation. 
 
 Lord, make me ever mindful of my infirmi- 
 ties and backslidings, that I may be more watch- 
 ful, and more importunate for grace, for the 
 time to come. 
 
 i Pet. v. 8. Be sober, be vigilant ; because 
 your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walk- 
 etl, about, seeking whom he may devour. 
 
 O Lord, grant that this adversary of our 
 souls m : ay never find me off my guard, nor from 
 under thy protection. 
 
 _Matth. xvi. 24. If any man will come after 
 me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, 
 and follow me. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 19- 
 
 O my Saviour, how long have I professed to 
 follow Thee, without following the blessed steps 
 of thy most holy life, thy patience and humility ', 
 thy disregard for the world, its pleasures, prof- 
 its, honors, and idols. O Lord, obtain for me 
 the spirit of mortification and selfdenial, that I 
 may follow Thee, as I hope to live with Thee 
 forever. Amen. 
 
 Matth. vi. 24. No mafa can serve two mas- 
 ters. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 
 
 May my fear and love never be divided be- 
 tween Thee and the world ! May I never set 
 up any thing, O God, in competition with Thee 
 in my heart ! May I never attempt to reconcile 
 thy service with that world, which is at enmity 
 with Thee, my God and Father ! 
 
 Mark x, 17. What shall I do, that I may 
 inherit eternal life ? 
 
 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
 heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
 mind ; and thou shalt love thy neighbour, as 
 thyself. 
 
 O that this love of God may be the command- 
 ing principle of iviy soul ! May I always have 
 this comfortable proof of his love abiding in'me. 
 that I study to please him, and to keep his com- 
 mandmentsi May -my love of my neighbour be 
 such, as he has commanded, that I may forgive. 
 and give, and love, as becomes a disciple of Je- 
 sus Christ ! Amen. 
 
 Eccles. xii: 13-; Fear God ani keep his com- 
 mandments, for this is the- whole duty of man ; 
 that is, the happiness of man. 
 
2c SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 May I, great God, continue in thy fear air 
 the day long ! May I keep thy statutes, and ob- 
 serve thy laws I 
 
 Heb. iv- 13. All things are naked and open 
 unto the eyes of him, with whom we have to do- 
 Grant that I may always live and act, as hav- 
 ing Thee, O God, the constant witness of my 
 conduct, for Jesus Christ's sake. 
 
 Eccles. ix. 10, Whatsoever thy hand findeth 
 to do, do *t \vith all thy might ; for the night 
 cometh, when no man can work- 
 Make me, O Lord, ever sensible of the great 
 evil of delaying the work, which Thou hast ap- 
 pointed, lest the night surprise me unawares.. 
 
 i John v. 14, This is the confidence, w r e 
 have in God, that, if we ask any thing accord- 
 ing to his will, he heareth us. 
 
 That it may be unto thy servant according to 
 this w 7 ord, I beseech Thee to hear me in the full 
 import of that holy prayer, which thy blessed. 
 Son hath taught us ;, 
 
 OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN ; 
 
 In whom we live, and move, and. have our be- 
 ing; grant that I and all Christians may live 
 worthy of this glorious relation, and that we may 
 not sin, knowing that we are accounted thine. 
 We are thine by adoption 5 O make us thine 
 by choice. 
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME- 
 
 O God, whose name is great, wonderful, and 
 holy, grant that I ana all thy children may glo- 
 rify Thee, not only with our lips, but in our 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 21 
 
 lives ; that others, seeing our good works, may 
 glorify our Father, who is in Heaven. 
 
 THY KINGDOM COME. 
 
 May the kingdoms of the world become the 
 kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ : and 
 may all, that own Thee for their king, become 
 thy faithful subjects, ^nd obey thy laws ! De- 
 throne, O God, and destroy Satan, and his 
 kingdom ; and enlarge the kingdom of grace. 
 
 THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH, AS IT IS 
 IN HEAVEN. 
 
 We adore thy goodness, O God, in making thy 
 will known to us in thy holy word. May this 
 thy word be the rule of our will, of our desires, 
 of our lives, and actions ! May we ever sacrifice 
 our will to thine ; be pleased with all thy choic- 
 es for ourselves and others, and adore thy prov- 
 idence in the government of the world. 
 
 GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. 
 
 O Heavenly Father, who knowest what we need^ 
 give us the necessaries and comforts of this life 
 with thy blessing ; but above all give us the 
 bread, that nourisheth to eternal life. 
 
 Acts xvii. O God, who givest to all life, 
 and breath, and all things ; give us grace to im- 
 part to such, as are in want, of what Thou hast 
 given more than our daily bread. 
 
 AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES., 
 
 AS WE FORGIVE THEM, WHO 
 
 TRESPASS AGAINST US. 
 
 Make us truly sensible of thy goodness, and mer- 
 cy, and patience toward us ? that we may from 
 
as SACRA FRIVATA. 
 
 our hearts forgive every one his brother his- 
 trespasses. May my enemies ever have place 
 in my prayers, and in thy mercy ! 
 
 AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION. 
 
 Support us, O Heavenly Father, under all our 
 saving trials, and grant that they may yield us 
 the peaceable fruits of righteousness. 
 
 BUT DELIVER US FROM KVIL. 
 
 From ail sin and wickedness^ from our spiritu- 
 al enemy, and from everlasting death, good 
 Lord, deliver us. Deliver us from the evil of 
 sin, and from the evil of punishment. Deliver 
 us, O Heavenly Father, from our evil and cor- 
 rupt nature, from the temptations and snares of 
 an evil world, and*from falling again into the 
 sins, we have repented of. 
 
 FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE 
 
 POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOREVER 
 
 AND, EVER. AMEN. 
 
 By thy Almighty power, O King of Heaven^ 
 for the glory of thy name, and for the love of 
 a Father, grant us all these blessings, for which 
 thy Son hath taught us to pray. 
 
 Unto Him, who is able to do for us abun- 
 dantly more, than we can ask or think ; unto 
 him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, 
 throughout all ages, world without end. Amen, 
 
 To God the Creator, Preserver, and Disposer 
 of all things, be the glory of all the good, 
 wrought in us, by us, and upon us. 
 
 Blessing, andg/0ry, and wisdom^nd thanksgiv- 
 ing, and honor, and power, and might, be unto; 
 our God forever and ever. Amen. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 23 
 
 Thy infinite power , wisdom , goodness , faithful- 
 ness , and truth are the only sure foundation, on 
 which we may depend. O give us firm faith in 
 these thy glorious perfections. 
 
 With Angels and Archangels, and all the 
 company of Heaven, we praise and magnify thy 
 glorious name, evermore praising Thee, and say- 
 ing, holy, holy, holy LORD GOD of Hosts, 
 Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory 
 be to Thee, O GOD most High. Amen. 
 
 Jude 24, 25. Now unto Him, who is able 
 to keep you from falling, and to present you 
 faultless before the pesence of his glory with 
 exceeding joy ; to the only wise GOD our Sav- 
 iour, be glory and majesty, dominion and pow- 
 er, both now .and ever. Amen. 
 
 Ro?n. xi. 36, For of Him, and through Him, 
 and to Him are all things ; to whom be glory 
 forever. Amen. 
 
 Rom. xvi 27. To GOD only wise, be glory 
 through Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 Mark ix. 23, All things are possible to him, 
 that believeth. 
 
 Yes, Lord, and therefore I beg this faith of 
 Him, to whom all things are possible, that I 
 may be able to discover , to avoid, to resist, and 
 to root out, whatever is evil in me. 
 
 O Jesus, obtain this grace for thy otherwise 
 helpless creature. Grant, that I may this day 
 -escape all snares, laid for me by the devil, the 
 ^world, or my own corrupt heart. Grant that 
 J may this day -omit no part of my duty. 
 
M SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 i Tim. iv. 15. Give thyself wholly to these 
 things, that thy profiting may appear to all. 
 
 God grant that I may do so ; and I pray God 
 to preserve me from ease, idleness, and trifling a- 
 way my precious time. 
 
 Philemon 4. I thank my God, making men- 
 tion of thee always in my prayers. 
 
 Extend, and suit thy graces to all conditions 
 of men, that we may all be upright in our 
 dealings, obedient to our governors, peaceable 
 in our lives, sober, honest, temperate, chaste in 
 our conversation, and charitable to the poor, 
 and one toward another. 
 
 Increase the number and graces of all such, 
 as love and fear Thee. Enlighten the minds of 
 the ignorant, 'awaken the consciences of the care- 
 less, silence gainsayers^ convert the profane, and 
 all, that hold the truth in unrighteousness. 
 
 Rebuke the spirit of antichrist, idolatry, and 
 libertinism ; the sins of drunkenness, whoredom, 
 litigiousness, and of defrauding the public. 
 
 In tender mercy remember, O God, all sick 
 and dying per sons ) that they nvay omit nothing, 
 that is necessary to make their peace with Thee. 
 Be gracious unto all, that are under any afflic- 
 tion of mind or body, or under any pressing ca- 
 lamity ; all desolate widows and fatherless chil- 
 dren ; all, that call upon Thee in their dibtress, 
 and have none else to help them. 
 
 Prov. xxi. i. The king's power is in the' 
 hands of the Lord ; as the rivers of waters, he 
 turneth it whithersoever he will. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 25 
 
 'Let this thy power, O Lord, be magnified on 
 all, that are put in authority over us, that we 
 may be governed with truth and justice by men, 
 fearing and honoring God, protecting the 
 Christian religion, and punishing evildoers. 
 To this end vouchsafe them, Ibeseech thee, all 
 the graces necessary for their high station, and 
 for their eternal happiness. 
 
 Col. iv. i. Masters, give unto your servants 
 that, which is just and equal, knowing that ye 
 also have a Master in Heaven. 
 
 O heavenly Lord and Master, bless me with 
 good and faithful servants. Let thy blessing be 
 upon them and upon my affairs, committed to 
 their care ; and may I never be wanting in my 
 duty to them, for Jesus Christ's sake. 
 
 Relations, Benefactors, Sfftr. 
 
 Be gracious, O God, to all my relations, ben- 
 efactors, enemies ; and to all, that have desired 
 my prayers ; to all, who by their own labors do 
 minister to our necessities ; together with all our 
 known and unknown benefactors. Render, O 
 God, a good reward and a plentiful return to all 
 those, who have been kind and charitable. Grant 
 'that we may all so live here, that we may meet 
 hereafter in the Paradise of God. 
 
 yobn xvi. 23. Verily I say unto you, what- 
 soever you shall ask the Father in my name, he 
 will give it you. 
 
 These are what I ask, O God and Father^ 
 above all things, for myself, and for all, that 
 C 
 
s5 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 have desired my prayers ; that we may be re- 
 stored to thy likeness, and never deface it by 
 our sins ; that the image of satan may be de- 
 stroyed in us ; that all carnal affections may 
 die in us ; and that all things, belonging to the 
 Spirit, may dwell in our hearts by faith ; that 
 thy name, and the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 may be glorified in us, and we in him ; that our 
 hearts may be entirely thine; that We may nev- 
 er grieve thy Holy Spirit ; but that we may 
 continue thine forever, for Jesus Christ's sake. 
 Amen. 
 
 Ephes. iv. 29. Let no corrupt communica- 
 tion proceed out of your mouth ; but that, 
 which is good to the use of edifying, that it may 
 minister grace unto the hearers. 
 
 Grant, O God, that I may delight in thy 
 law ; that my conversation may be truly chris- 
 tian. May I never hear with pleasure, nor ever 
 repeat such things, as may dishonor God, or 
 injure my neighbour, or my own character. 
 
 y antes iv. 1 1 . Speak not evil one of another. 
 
 Ephes. v. 4. Foolish talking or jesting are 
 not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. 
 
 Psa. cxxxiii. 3. Set a watch, O Lord, be- 
 fore my mouth, and keep the door of my lips* 
 
 Matth. xii. 34. Out of the abundance of 
 the heart the mouth speaketh. How can ye, 
 -being evil, speak good things ? 
 
 O Holy Spirit of Grace, enable me to over- 
 come the shame of a degenerate age* which 
 will hear nothing with delight, but what con- 
 cerns this world. O touch my heart with the 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 27: 
 
 true love of God, the excellencies of his 
 the pleasantness of his service, and the won- 
 ders of his providence. This I beg for Jesus 
 Christ's sake. 
 
 "John xv. 7. Ask what ye will, and it shall 
 be done unto you. 
 
 These, O Jesus, are the things, that I ask. 
 Intercede for me, that I may be truly sensible of 
 the diseases I labor under, and thankfully em- 
 brace the means, which thy goodness hath or- 
 dained for my recovery. 
 
 Grant that the end of all my actions, and de- 
 signs, may be the glory of God. Enable me to 
 resist all the sinful appetites of my corrupt na- 
 ture. Grant that I may hunger and thirst af- 
 ter righteousness. 
 
 Vouchsafe me the spirit of adoption, of sup- 
 plication and prayer, of praise and thanksgiving, 
 
 Obtain for me, O Jesus, the graces of mor- 
 tification and selfdenial ; the graces of true 
 humility, and the fear of God. 
 
 Grant, O God, that I may never knowingly 
 live one moment under thy displeasure, nor ifi 
 any known sin. 
 
 Grant, O God, that, as I have been made thy 
 child by adoption and grace, I may daily be re- 
 newed by thy Holy Spirit, for Jesus Christ's 
 sake, 
 
 Enable me, gracious God, to escape the cor- 
 ruption, that is in the world through lust, that 
 I may be partaker of the Divine Nature. 
 
 Lord, grant me grace to withstand the tempt- 
 ations of the world, the fle^h, and the devil; 
 
28 SACRA PRIVATA, 
 
 and with a pure heart and mind to follow Thee 9 
 the only God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Let thy Love, O God, be shed abroad in 
 my heart by the power of the Holy Ghost, and 
 grant that it may appear in my life, conversation, 
 words, and actions, for Jesus Christ's sake. 
 
 Blessed be God, that I was admitted into the 
 fellowship of Christ's religion. Grant, O God, 
 that I may eschew all those thing, that are con- 
 trary to my profession, and follow all such 
 things, as are agreeable to the same, for Jesus 
 Christ's sake. 
 
 Keep me, I beseech Thee, O Heavenly Fa- 
 ther, under the protection of thy good provi- 
 dence, and make me to have perpetual fear and 
 love of thy holy name, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. 
 
 Put away from me all hurtful things, and 
 give me those things, that may be profitable for 
 me, through Jesus Christ. 
 
 Mercifully grant unto me, O God, such a 
 measure of thy grace, that, running the way 
 of thy commandments, I may obtain thy gra- 
 cious promises, and be made partaker of thy 
 heavenly treasure, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 Forgive me those things, whereof my con- 
 science is afraid, and give me those good things, 
 which we are not worthy to ask, but through 
 the merits and mediation of thy Son Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 That I may obtain that, \\hich thou dost 
 
T, 
 
 SACRA PRIVATA. 29- 
 
 promise, make me to love that, which thou dost, 
 command, through Jesus Christ. 
 
 Keep me from all things hurtful, and lead 
 me to all things necessary to my salvation,, 
 through Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Lord deliver me from every evil work, 
 and preserve me to his heavenly kingdom j to 
 whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 O that thy Holy Spirit may direct and rule 
 my heart, O God, through Jesus Christ ! 
 
 Of thy bountiful goodness, O Lord, keep 
 me, I beseech Thee, from all things, that may 
 hurt me, that I may cheerfully accomplish those 
 things, which thou wouldest have done, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Grant, O God, that T may be cleansed from 
 all my sins, and serve Thee with a quiet mind, 
 through Jesus Christ. Deliver me, O Lord, 
 from the bonds of those sins, which through my 
 frailty I have commit ted, for Jesus Christ's sake. 
 
 Faith. 
 
 O that I may believe in Thee, O God, and 
 put my whole trust and confidence in Thee alone, 
 and not in any thing, that I myself can do. 
 
 Grant, O God, that I may so perfectly, and 
 without all doubt believe in thy Son Jesus 
 Christ, that my faith in thy sight may never be 
 reproved, for the sake of the same Jesus Christ. 
 
 Against wavering. 
 
 Grant, O God, that we may not be carried 
 about with every blast of vain doctrine, but that 
 
 C 2 
 
30 SACRA PRIVATA, 
 
 we may be firmly established in the truth of thy 
 holy gospel, through Jesus Christ. 
 
 Grant, O God, that I may perfectly know 
 thy Son Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth, 
 and the Life ; the Author of the Way, the 
 Teacher of the Truth, and the Giver of Life ; 
 that I may siedfastly walk in the way, that lead- 
 eth to eternal life, through the same Jesus Christ. 
 
 Covetousness. 
 
 Give me grace to forsake all covetous desires, 
 and inordinate love of riches, through Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Grant that I may both perceive and know, 
 what things I ought to do, and also may have 
 grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same, 
 through Jesus Christ. 
 
 Grant me, O God, the true circumcision of 
 the spirit, that my heart and all my members, 
 being mortified from all carnal lusts, I may in 
 all things obey thy blessed will. 
 
 O that we, who know Thee now by faith, 
 may after this life have the fruition of thy glo- 
 rious Godhead ! 
 
 In all our dangers and necessities, stretch 
 forth thy right hand to save and defend us. 
 
 Charity. 
 
 O send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into my 
 heart that most excellent gift of charity, that 
 very bond of peace and of all virtue, without 
 which whosoever liveth is counted dead before 
 Thee! 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 3-1 
 
 Grant, I do most humbly beseech Thee, O 
 God, thai as by thy special grace Thou dost put 
 into my mind good desires, so by thy continual 
 help I may bring the same to good effect, through 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 O everlasting God, grant that, as thy holy 
 Angels always do Thee service in Heaven, so by 
 thy appointment they may succor and defend 
 us on earth, through Jesus Christ. 
 
 Grant me grace so to follow thy blessed Saints 
 in virtuous and Godly living, that I may come 
 to those unspeakable joys, which thou hast pre- 
 pared for them, that unfeignedly love Thee. 
 
 ' I pray God my whole Spirit, (my understand- 
 ing, will, and conscience,) my soul, (my appe- 
 tites, affections, and passions,) and my body, (the 
 tabernacle of my soul) be preserved blameless 
 unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 May I take pleasure in abiding in thy pres- 
 ence, O God, in depending upon Thee, in leav- 
 ing myself entirely to thy disposal, as a contin- 
 al sacrifice to thy will. 
 
 Give me victory over all my sins and imperfec- 
 tions ; increase in me the graces of faith ^ hope^ 
 and charity ; of humility, meekness ^ patience^ re- 
 signation^ and all other Christian virtues, for 
 Jesus Christ's sake. 
 
 Preserve me, gracious God, from spiritual 
 pride ; from ascribing any thing, I have done, 
 or can do, to myself, and robbing Thee of the 
 glory of saving me from eternal ruin. 
 
 Take possession, O Jesus, of thy right in my 
 soul, which thou hast redeemed with thy most 
 
32 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 precious blood, and root out all selfrighteous-' 
 ness, selfinterest, and selfwill ; that Thou may- 
 est be my righteousness, and all in me. 
 
 Repentance. 
 
 Give me, O God, such sorrow for my sins, as 
 shall enable me to embrace all the necessary 
 means, how bitter soever, for rooting sin out of; 
 my soul. 
 
 Humility. 
 
 i Pet. v. 5. God resisteth the proud, and 
 giveth grace to the humble. 
 
 I have all the reason in the world to be hum- 
 ble. Without God I am nothing. Without' 
 his help and grace I can do nothing, that is good. 
 Of myself I deserve nothing but punishment. 
 Of my own I have nothing, but faults, imper- 
 fections, and sins, an inclination to evil, an aver- 
 sion to good, unruly senses, ungovernable pas- 
 sions, ungovernable affections. 
 
 i Cor. i. 30. O Lord Jesus Christ, who art 
 made unto us of God our wisdom, by revealing 
 him and his glorious perfections ; our righteous- 
 ness, by satisfying the justice of God inour nature; 
 our 'fantttjUea+iohi by procuring for us the Holy 
 Ghost, and oy restoring us, being sinners, to 
 God's favor ; our redemption^ by redeeming us 
 from death eternal. O Jesus, for these mighty 
 favors all love and glory be to Thee with the 
 Father and the Holy Ghost forever. Amen. 
 
 'The way of a Happy Life. 
 Lay nothing too much to heart, desire noth- 
 
SACRA PRIVATA, 33 
 
 ing two eagerly, rejoice not excessively, nor 
 grieve too much for disasters ; be not violently 
 bent on any design, nor let any worldly cares 
 hinder you from taking care of your soul ; and 
 remember that it is necessary to be a Christian 
 (that is, to govern one's self by motives of Chris- 
 tianity) in the mosr common actions of civil life. 
 
 Col. iii. 17. Whatsoever ye do in word or 
 in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
 giving thanks to God and the Father by him. 
 
 He, that would not fall into temptation, must 
 Have presence of mind, a watchful eye over him- 
 self ; he must have great things in view, distin- 
 guish betwixt time and eternity ; or else he will 
 follow what pasion, not what reason and reli- 
 gion suggest. 
 
 Christian Perfections. 
 
 Whoever aspires after being so united to God 3 
 as to be one spirit with him, must resolve to do 
 all things with this sole view, TO PLEASE GOD. 
 This I purpose, this I forbear, this I undertake,, 
 this I do, this I suffer, in obedience to the will 
 of GOD. This should be our express purpose at 
 all times, when we have time to make it ; and 
 should be often renewed, lest our own will come 
 to be the rule of our actions. If I be careful to 
 do this, I shall always have my end, whether I 
 succeed, or be disappointed, being convinced it 
 is God's will. 
 
 Rom. xvi. 14. Put ye on the Lord Jesus, 
 and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil 
 the lusts thereof. 
 
 Grant, O Lord, that "I may keep under my 
 
34 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 body, and bring it into subjection, lest by any 
 means I be a castaway/' 
 
 " Be ye all of one mind, having comprfo^ion 
 one of another. Be pitiful, be courteous ; not 
 rendering evil . for evil, nor railing for railing, 
 but contrarywise blessing. For he 3 that will 
 love life, and see good days, let him refrain his 
 tongue from evil, and his lips, that they speak 
 no guile. Let him eschew evil, and do good j. 
 let him seek peace, and ensue it/' 
 
 Give me, O Lord, a wise, a sober, a serious, 
 a religious heart. Preserve me from evil coun- 
 sels, and rash enterprises. O make thy way. 
 plain before my face. 
 
 Support me this day under all the difficulties, 
 I shall meet. - I offer myself to Thee, O God, 
 this day, to do in me, and with me, as to Thee 
 seems most meet. 
 
 Vouchsafe me, gracious God, the spirit of 
 adoption, whereby I may cry, Abba^ Father^ 
 and apply to Thee, through Jesus Christ, not as 
 an angry judge, but as a merciful and loving 
 father. 
 
 Remember that the life of man is to be valu- 
 ed only for its usefulness. 
 
 yohn xv. 1 2. This is my commandment, that 
 ye love one another. 
 
 O Thou, who hast given me this command 
 and pattern, give me a sincere desire of follow- 
 ing, and grace and power to do it. 
 
 James v. 1 5. And the prayer of faith shall save 
 the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up ; and, 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 35 
 
 if he have committed sins, he shall be absolved, 
 [i. e. upon his confession,] 
 
 O Lord of life and death, have mercy upon 
 all those, who are visited with sickness ; sanctify . 
 this thy fatherly correction, that they may search 
 their ways, and see, whence this visitation com- 
 eth. Have mercy upon all, that are appointed 
 to die, and grant that they omit nothing, that 
 is necessary to make their peace with Thee, 
 and that they may be delivered from death e- 
 ternal. God grant that we may apply our 
 hearts to that holy and heavenly wisdom, while 
 we live here, which may in the end bring us to 
 life everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 Amen. 
 
 NOON. 
 
 i Tim. ii. i. I exhort, that first of all suppli- 
 cations, prayers, intercessions, and giving of 
 thanks, be made for all men. 
 
 Acts xvii. 26. For we are all of one blood- 
 Charity, that more excellent way, is a tender af- 
 fection for the whole creation of GOD. 
 
 O GOD, almighty and merciful, let thy fa- 
 therly kindness be upon all, whom thou hast 
 made. Hear the prayers of all, that call upon 
 Thee ; open the eyes of therti, that never pray 
 for themselves ; pity the sighs of such, as are 
 in misery ; deal mercifully with them, that are 
 in darkness ; and increase the graces of such, as 
 fear and serve Thee daily. Preserve this land 
 from the misfortunes of war ; thy church from 
 
: 3 6 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 # 
 
 all dangerous errors; this people from forget- 
 ing Thee, their Lord and Benefactor. Be gra- 
 cious to those countries, that are made desolate 
 by sword, famine, pestilence, or persecution. 
 Bless all persons and places, to which thy prov- 
 idence has made me a debtor ; all, who have 
 been instrumental to my good by their assist- 
 ance, advice, or example ; and make me in my 
 turn useful to others. Let none of those, that 
 desire my prayers, want thy mercy ; but de- 
 fend, and comfort, and conduct them through to 
 iheir lives' end. 
 
 " In every thing give thanks ; for this is the 
 4C will of GOD in Christ Jesus concerning 
 you." 
 
 Cause us, O God to profit by all the visita- 
 tions of thy grace and mercy, 
 
 " It becometh well the just to be thankful." 
 
 O Lord and Father, I am not worthy of the 
 least of all thy mercies, which Thou hast show- 
 ed thy servant, nor can I render due thanks and 
 praise for them ; but, O Lord, accept this sac- 
 rifice of praise and thanksgiving. 
 
 For all tire known, and for all the unobserved 
 favors, deliverances, visitations, opportunities of 
 doing good, chastisements, and graces of thy 
 Holy Spirit, vouchsafed to me, I bless thy good 
 providence ; beseeching Thee to pardon my 
 ingratitude, that I have passed so many days 
 and years without observing, and acknowledg- 
 ing thy great goodness to thy unworthy servant. 
 For, when I soberly consider my dependence 
 upon Thee for lile, welfare, health of body. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 37 
 
 peace of mind, grace, comfort, and salvation, I 
 ought to be very thankful. 
 
 Glory be to God, my Creator ; glory be to 
 Jesus, my Redeemer ; glory be to the Holy 
 Ghost, my Sanctifier, Guide, and Comforter ; all 
 love, all glory, be to GOD most high. A?nen. 
 
 Let us never ascribe any thing to ourselves, 
 but all to the grace of God ; and render to 
 Him all the glory of his works. Preserve me, 
 O God, from the insensibility of those, who re- 
 ceive thy favors without being affected by them, 
 and from the ingratitude of those, who look 
 upon them, as a debt. 
 
 Psa. xc. i, a, 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 faith- 
 fulness every night. 
 
 Many and great have been the favors and 
 blessings, uhich Thou hast bestowed on this na- 
 tion ; for which, O Lord, in conjunction with 
 those, who praise Thee for them, and in the 
 stead of those, who forget to praise Thee r I bless 
 and praise thy holy name. Bless the Lord, O 
 my soul, and forget not all his benefits. 
 
 OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN. 
 
 Acts xvii. 28. In Thee we live, and move^ 
 and have our being. 
 
 Grant that we may love Thee with all our 
 heart, and mind, and soul, and strength. 
 
 Blessed be God, who dealeth with us with 
 the tenderness of a Father. O that we may 
 D 
 
3'8 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 remember that our Father and our inheritance 
 are in Heaven. 
 
 I commit myself, and all that belongs to me, 
 to thy fatherly care and love. 
 
 "Verily, whatever ye ask the Father in my 
 name, he will give it you ! This is the great sup- 
 port and comfort of sintiers. Hear us for thy 
 Son's sake ; for as sinners, we have no right to 
 ask any favos. 
 
 What manner of love is it, that we should be 
 Called the sons of God. 
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME. 
 
 " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive hon- 
 or, and power, and glory, for Thou hast created 
 all things." 
 
 " In this is my Father glorified, that ye bring 
 forth much fruit." 
 
 May thy children have a great regard for ev- 
 ery thing, that belongs to Thee. 
 
 May I never dishonor Thee, O Heavenly Fa- 
 ther^ by word or deed. 
 
 May I glorify Thee daily by a good life. 
 Fill my heart with great concern and zeal for 
 thy glory. 
 
 " Let every thing, that hath breath, praise 
 the Lord." 
 
 " They, that honol* me, 1 will also honor." 
 . How little have I done to promote thy glory ! 
 God be merciful unto me. 
 
 THY KINGDOM COME. 
 
 May all the kingdoms of the world obey thy 
 laws, and submit to thy providence, and become 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 39 
 
 the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ ! 
 
 Bless the pious endeavors of all those, who 
 strive to propagate the gospel of thy kingdom. 
 
 Vouchsafe to reign in my heart ; and let not 
 Satan ever have dominion over me.. 
 
 Fit us, O God, for the coming of thy king- 
 dom. May I submit, and rejoice to be govern- 
 ed by Thee ! 
 
 that thy Holy Spirit may direct and rule 
 my heart ; subdue in me all pride, covetousness, 
 hatred, malice, envy, lust, uncleanness, and 
 whatever shall offend Thee. 
 
 THY WILJL BE DONE ON EARTH, AS IT IS 
 IN HEAVEN. 
 
 1 Thess. iv. 3, This is the will of God, even 
 our sanctification. 
 
 Thou hast sent us into the world, not to do 
 our own will but thine. O subject my will to 
 thine. 
 
 May thy name be honored by the good lives 
 of Christians. 
 
 O tha-t I may have respect unto all thy com- 
 mands. May thy will, revealed to us in thy ho- 
 ly word, be the rule of my will, of my desires, 
 of my words, life, and actions. 
 
 GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. 
 
 yohn vi. 27. Labor not for the meat, which 
 perisheth ; but for that meat, which eudureth 
 unto everlasting live. 
 
 Lord, give us evermore this bread. Give us 
 the necessaries of life ; but above all the bread?, 
 that nourisheth to eternal life. 
 
40 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, AS WE 
 FORGIVS THEM, WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US, 
 
 Luke vi. 37. Forgive, and ye shall be for- 
 given. 
 
 Grant, O Heavenly Father, that I may close 
 with this merciful condition of pardon. Thou 
 hast been all mercy to me, O God, grant that I 
 may be so to all others. May thy grace, O Fa- 
 ther, give me a heart ever ready to forgive ! 
 
 AND LEAD US NOT INJO TEMPTATION. 
 
 1 Cor. x. 13. Let him, that thinketh he 
 stande$, take heed, lest he fall. 
 
 Let not any confidence in ourselves provoke 
 Thee, O God, to leave us to ourselves. 
 
 2 Pet. ii. 9. The Lord knoweth how to de- 
 liver the godly out of temptation. 
 
 Thou, O Father, knowest my infirmities, and 
 the power of my enemies ; be not wanting to 
 me in the hour of temptation. 
 
 Matth. xxvi, 41. Watch and pray, that ye 
 enter not into temptation. 
 
 Make me mindful of my weakness, that I may 
 be more watchful, and importunate for grace. 
 
 Fortify my soul against the temptations of 
 the world, the flesh, and the devil, for Jesus 
 Christ's sake. 
 
 BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL. 
 
 i Pet. v. 8. Be sober, be vigilant, because 
 your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walk- 
 eth about, seeking whom he may devour. 
 
 Grant, O Heavenly Father, that this adver- 
 sary may never find me off my guard, nor from 
 
SACRA PRIVATA, 41 
 
 under thy protection. In all my saving trials 
 give me grace and power to overcome. 
 
 FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE 
 
 POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOREVER 
 
 AND EVER. AMEN. 
 
 To Thee, to Thee alone, and to thy Son, and 
 Holy Spirit, be glory forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 EVENING. 
 
 Ps a. cxli. 2. Let my prayer be set forth in 
 thy sight, as incense ; and let the lifting up of 
 my hands be, as an evening sacrifice. 
 
 That it hath pleased God to add another 
 day to the years of my life; that none of his 
 judgments, to which for my sins I am liable, 
 have fallen upon me ; that by his grace he hath 
 kept me from all scandalous sins, and from the 
 dangers of an evil world ; that he has given me 
 occasions of doing good, and grace to make use 
 of them ; that he hath supplied me and my fam- 
 ily with the necessaries of this life, and with 
 means of attaining a better ; accept, O God, 
 my unfeigned thanks for these, and for all the 
 mercies, from day to day bestowed upon me. 
 Add this to all thy favors, I beseech Thee, that 
 I may never forget to be thankful. 
 
 Possess my heart with so deep a sense of my 
 obligations and dependence upon Thee for life, 
 and health, and grace, and salvation, that reli- 
 gion may be my delight as well, as my duty. 
 
 But that I may serve Thee with a quiet mind, 
 forgive me the things, whereof my conscience 
 D 2 
 
4* SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 is afraid, and avert the judgments, which I have 
 justly deserved. Remember not the offences of 
 my youth ; and in mercy blot out those of my 
 riper years. Pardon my sins of the day past, 
 and of my life past, and grant that they may 
 never rise in judgment against me. Amen. 
 
 i yohn Si. i. If any man sin, we have an ad- 
 vocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righ- 
 teous, and he is the propitiation for our sins. 
 
 O most powerful Advocate, I put my cause 
 into thy hands, let thy blood and merits plead 
 for me ; and by thy mighty intercession procure 
 for me a full d'scharge of all my sins. 
 
 John v. 14. Sin no more, lest a worse thing 
 come unto thee. 
 
 Lord, the frailty of man without Thee can* 
 not but fall. In all temptations therefore I be- 
 seech Thee to succor me, that no sin may ever 
 get dominion over me. 
 
 Psa. xci. i. Whoso dwelleth under the de- 
 fence of the Most High, shall abide under the 
 shadow of the Almighty. 
 
 May the Almighty God take me, my family, 
 my relations, my friends, my benefactors, and 
 my enemies, under his gracious protection ! 
 Give his holy angels charge concerning us ; pre- 
 serve us from the prince and powers of dark- 
 ness, and from the dangers of the night ; and 
 keep us in perpetual peace and safety ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord ! Amen. 
 
 Hear me, O God, not according to my weak 
 understanding, but according to the full import 
 of that Holy Prayer, which Jesus Christ has 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 43 
 
 taught us, and which I presume to offer ; 
 Our Father, <who art in Heaven, &c. 
 
 OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HAL- 
 LOWED BE THY NAME. 
 
 God will be'glorified in the salvation of souls^ 
 
 If the Almighty God were not my Father. I. 
 might expect vengeance instead of mercy. 
 
 May I show by my life that God is my father. 
 
 This earth is not the inheritance of the chil- 
 dren of God. 
 
 Blessed be God, who dealeth not with us 
 with the authority of a lord over" his servants, 
 but with the tenderness of a father over his 
 children. 
 
 THY KINGDOM COME. 
 
 I own Thee for my King ; do Thou make and 
 own me for thy faithful subject. Enlarge thy^ 
 kingdom for the honor of thy great name. May 
 I preserve thy kingdom within me, the govern- 
 ment of thy Spirit. Bring me into subjection 
 to thyself by thy grace. 
 
 THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH, AS IT IS 
 IN HEAVEN. 
 
 That thou mayest have a church on earth 
 as obedient to thy will, as that is in heaven. 
 
 O Heavenly Father, subdue in me whatever 
 is contrary to thy holy will. Grant that I may 
 ever study to know thy will, that I may know 
 how to please Thee. 
 
 Thy will, O God, is the perfection of justice ; 
 let me never prescribe to Thee, what Thou 
 oughtest to give me. What Tl)ou wiliest, we 
 
44 SACRA PR! V ATA. 
 
 may be sure, is best for us ; we cannot be sure 
 of what we will for ourselves. Hearken not 
 ta the corrupt desires of my heart, but to the 
 voice of thy own mercy. 
 
 GIVE US THJS DAY OUR fcAILY BREAD. 
 
 Yes, my God, I will have recourse to Thee 
 daily ; for on Thee I depend for life, and 
 breath, and grace, and all things. 
 
 Give me a true understanding and love for 
 Thy Word, the bread which nourisheth to eter- 
 nal life. For Thou, O Lord, hast taught us, 
 not to seek that bread, which perisheth, but 
 that, which endureth to eternal life. 
 
 AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, AS WE 
 
 FORGIVE THEM, WHO TRESPASS 
 
 AGAINST US. 
 
 Mav I ever show mercy to men, that T may 
 receive it from Thee, my God. Do I value my 
 soul and think this too hard a condition ? Thou 
 art all mercy to me ; grant that I may be all 
 merciful to my brethren for thy sake, O Father. 
 
 AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, 
 BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL. 
 
 For thou knowest our infirmities, and the 
 power and malice of our enemies. Thou know- 
 est how to deliver the godly out of temptation. 
 
 Grant, O God, that I may never run into 
 those temptations, which in my prayers I desire 
 to avoid. Vouchsafe me the gift of persever- 
 ance, on which my eternal happiness depends. 
 Lord, never permit my trials to be above my 
 strength* 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 45 
 
 O Holy Spirit of Grace, be not wanting to 
 me in the hour of temptation ; and in all temp- 
 tations give us power to resist and overcome. 
 Leave us not in the power of evil spirits. Sap- 
 port us under all our saving trials and troubles. 
 
 FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE 
 
 POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOREVER 
 
 AND EVER. AMEN. 
 
 Let thy fatherly compassion grant what the 
 Son of thy love has encouraged us to pray for. 
 By thy almighty power make good, whatever 
 is defective in me. 
 
 EXAMINATION. 
 
 EccL xvii. 20. Before judgment examine 
 thyself ; and in the day of visitation thou shalt 
 find mercy. 
 
 Discover to me, O thou Searcher of hearts, 
 whatever is amiss in me, whether in life or prin- 
 cipl^e. 
 
 DEATH. 
 
 From sudden, unprepared death, good Lord 
 deliver ine, my family, and all that dcvire my 
 prayers. May we never be surprised in sin; 
 and may thy mercy supply, whatever shall be 
 wanting in our preparation for death ! 
 
 With the submission of a penitent sinner un- 
 der the righteous sentence of death, passed upon 
 all mankind, I beg that I may so live, that I 
 may with joy resign my life to Thee,. O Father, 
 
40 .SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 trusting in thy mercy and goodness, and promises 
 in Jesus Christ, at the hour of death, and in the 
 day of judgment. Amen. 
 
 Epbes. iv. 6. Let not the sun go dawn upon 
 your wrath. 
 
 Lord, grant that I may lie down to sleep with 
 the same charitable dispositions, with which I 
 desire and hope to die. 
 
 I beseech thee for all my enemies ; not for 
 judgment and vengeance, but for mercy, for the 
 remission of their sins, and for their eternal hap- 
 piness. 
 
 Psa. xiii. 3. Lighten mine eyes, O Lord, 
 that I sleep not in death. 
 
 Deliver me from the terrors of the night, and 
 from the pestilence, that walketh in darkness. 
 Let my sleep be free from sin ; preserve me, O 
 .Lord from evil dreams, and evil demons. 
 
 Into thy hands I commend myself, my spirit, 
 soul, and body, O Lord, thou God of truth. 
 Grant that I may remember Thee upon my bed. 
 
 Psa. iv, 9. I will lay me down in peace, 
 and take my rest ; for it is Thou, Lord, that 
 makest me dwell in safety. 
 
 May the Saviour and Guardian of my soul 
 lake me under his protection this night and ev- 
 ( ermore L 
 
-SACRA PRIVATA. 47 
 
 SUNDAY MEDITATIONS. 
 
 PRAYERS, THANKSGIVING, ETC. 
 
 A daily form of thanksgiving. 
 
 O ALMIGHTY God and most merci- 
 ful Father, who day after day dost minister to 
 sinful man infinite occasions of praising Thee, 
 accept my unfeigned thanks for all the blessings 
 I have, and every day receive, from thy good 
 providence. 
 
 That of thy own mere goodness, and without 
 any merit of mine, or of my forefathers, Thou 
 hast given me being from honest and religious 
 parents, and in a part of the world, wbere the 
 Christian religion is purely taught, and thy sa- 
 craments duly administered* 
 
 That Thou didst endue me with reason and 
 perfect senses \ and, to make these more com- 
 fortable to me, didst give me a sound and 
 healthful body. 
 
 That Thou gavest me early knowledge of 
 Thee, my Creator and Redeemer. That Thou 
 hast preserved me ever since my birth, and hast 
 vouchsafed me health and liberty, and a compe- 
 tency of means to support me. 
 
 That Thou hast redeemed me by thy Son, 
 and given me a .share in his merits ; sanctified 
 me by thy Holy Spirit, and hast heaped many 
 favors upon me. 
 
 That Thou hast given me honest friends,to ad* 
 
48 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 monish, to consult, to encourage, and to support 
 me, by their interest and advice. 
 
 That Thou hast been my refuge in tribulation, 
 and my defence in all adversities ; delivering me 
 from dangers, infamy, and troubles. For all 
 known and unobserved deliverances, and for the 
 guard thy holy Angels keep over me, I praise 
 thy good providence. 
 
 When I went astray, Thou didst reduce me ; 
 when I was sad, Thou didst comfort me ; when 
 I offended Thee, Thou didst forbear and gent- 
 ly correct me, and didst long expect my repent- 
 ance, and when, for the grievousness of my sins, 
 I was ready to despair, Thou didst keep me from 
 utter ruin ; Thou hast delivered me from the 
 snares and assaults of the devil ; Thou hast not 
 only preserved my soul, but my body, from de- 
 struction, when sicknesses and infirmities took 
 hold of me. 
 
 O Lord and Father, I cannot render due 
 thanks and praise for all these mercies, bestow- 
 ed upon roe. Such, as I have, I give Thee ; 
 and humbly beseech Thee to accept this my 
 daily sacrifice of thanksgiving. 
 
 Pardon, O God, all my former ingratitude ; 
 and that I have passed so many days without ob- 
 serving, without admiring, without acknowledg- 
 ing and confessing, thy wonderful goodness to 
 the most unworthy of thy servants. 
 
 For (now I soberly consider my dependence 
 upon Thee) <is there is no hour of my life, that 
 I do not enjoy thy favors, and taste thy good- 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 49 
 
 ness ; so (if my frailty would permit) I would 
 spend no part of my life without remembering 
 Thee. 
 
 Praise the Lord then, O my soul, and all, 
 that is within me, praise his Holy Name. 
 
 Glory be to Thee, O Lord my Creator. 
 Glory be to Thee, O Jesus, my Redeemer- 
 Glory be to the Holy Ghost, my Sanctifier, my 
 Guide, and Comforter. 
 
 All love, all glory be to the high and undi- 
 vided Trinity, whose works are inseparable, 
 whose dominion endureth world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 When I seriously consider, great God, my de- 
 pendence upon thy Providence, and that the fa*, 
 vors and mercies, I have received, are infinitely 
 more in number, than the acknowledgments I 
 have made, I am justly ashamed of my ingrati- 
 tude, and afraid, lest my unthankfulness pro-* 
 vokeThee to hinder the current of thy blessings 
 from descending upon me. 
 
 Forgive, O merciful Father, my past negli- 
 gence, and give me grace for time to come to ob- 
 serve and to value thy kindnesses, as becomes 
 one, who has received so much more, than he 
 deserves. 
 
 Preserve in my soul, O God so constant and 
 clear a sense of my obligations to Thee, that up- 
 on receipt of every favor I may immediately 
 turn my eyes to him, from whom comet h my sal- 
 vation. That thy manifold blessings may fix- 
 such impressions upon my soul, that I may al- 
 ways praise Thee faithfully here on earth, until 
 F, 
 
50 SACRA PRIVATA, 
 
 it shall please Thee, of thy unbounded mercy, to 
 
 call me nearer the place of thy heavenly hal ita- 
 
 tion, to praise my Lord and deliver to all eternity. 
 
 PROVIDENCE. 
 
 God has more ways of providing for us, than 
 we can possibly imagine ; it is infidelity to de- 
 sire to confine him to our ways and methods. 
 
 Mattb. viiit Lord, save us, \ve perish. 
 
 Nothing can better express our own inability 
 and our whole dependence upon God. Two 
 sure conditions of obtaining help. 
 
 Since thy mercy, O God^ is ever ready to 
 help all, that call upon Thee in timepf distress, 
 let thy goodness answer my wants. Keep me 
 under the protection of thy good providence, 
 and make me to have perpetual fear and love 
 of thy Holy Name, through Jesus Christ. 
 
 The more destitute we are of human aid, the 
 more ought we to trust to that providence, 
 which God is pleased to exert in extreme ne- 
 cessity. O God give me grace never to con- 
 demn thy providence ; let me adore the wisdom 
 of thy conduct, the holiness of thy ways, and 
 the power of thy grace. 
 
 How many sins should we commit, if God 
 did not vouchsafe to oppose our corrupt will ! 
 Blessed be his holy name for not leaving me to 
 my own choice. 
 
 Psd. xc. 12. So teach us to number our 
 days, that we may apply our hearts unto wis- 
 dom. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 51 
 
 BIRTH DAY, 
 
 Blessed be God for my creation and birth ; 
 for giving me being from lionest parents^ fear- 
 ing God, and in a Christian and Protestant 
 country ; for giving me perfect members and 
 senses, sound reason, and a healthy consti- 
 tution ; for the means of grace, the assistances 
 of the Holy Spirit, and for the hope of Glory ; 
 for all the known or unobserved favors, prov- 
 idences, and deliverances, by which my life has 
 hitherto been preserved ; most humbly beseech- 
 ing Thee, my God and Father, to pardon my 
 neglect or abuse of any of thy -favors, and that 
 I have so forgotten Thee, in whom I live, and 
 move, and have my being. 
 
 Good Lord, forgive me the great waste of my 
 precious time ; the many days and years of 
 health, and the many opportunities of doing 
 good, which I have lost ; and give me grace, 
 that for time to come I may be truly wise, that I 
 may consider my latter end, and work out my 
 salvation with fear and trembling, ever remem- 
 bering that the night cometh when no man can 
 -work ; and that the day of my death may be 
 better to me, than the day of my birth. 
 
 O gracious God, grant that, before Thou 
 takest from me that breath, which Thou gavest 
 me, I may truly repent of the errors of my life 
 past ; that my sins may be forgiven, and rny 
 pardon sealed in Heaven ; so that I may have 
 a place of rest in Paradise with thy faithful ser- 
 vants, till the general resurrection ; when the 
 good Lord vouchsafe me a better and an evei> 
 lasting life, through Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
$2 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 NEW YEAR'S DAY. 
 
 Blessed be God r \vho has brought me to the 
 beginning of another year. Blessed be God, 
 that I am of the number of those, who have 
 time and space for repentance yet given them. 
 
 My God, make me truly sensible of this mer- 
 cy, and give me grace to consider often, how 
 short and uncertain my time is ; that there is 
 one year more of a short life passed over my 
 head ; and that ! am so much nearer eternity ; 
 that T may in good earnest think of another 
 life and be so prepared for it, that death may 
 not overtake me unawares. 
 
 Lord, pardon all my mispent time, and make 
 me more diligent and careful to redeem it for time 
 to come ; that when I come to the end of my 
 days, I may look back with comfort on the days, 
 that are past. 
 
 Grant that I may begin this new year with 
 new resolutions of serving Thee more faithful- 
 ly ; and, if, through infirmity or negligence I 
 forget these good purposes, the good Lord a- 
 waken in me a sense of my danger ! 
 
 My heart is in thy hands, O God, as well, 
 as my time ; O make me wi5e unto salvation ; 
 that I may consider in this my day the things, 
 that belong to my peace ; and that I may pass 
 this, and all the years, I have yet to live, in 
 comfortable hope of a blessed eternity, for the 
 Lord Jesus' sake. Amen. 
 
SA CRA PRIVATA. 53 
 
 Lord's Day. 
 
 Amos viii. 4. "When will the Sabbath be gone, 
 that \\e may sell wheat ? 
 
 Deliver us, gracious God, from the sin of 
 covetousness ; from being weary of thy sab- 
 baths, which are ordained to preserve in our 
 hearts the knowledge of Thee, and of thy Son 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 O that we may desire, and rejoice in the re- 
 turn of this day, and serve Thee faithfully on 
 it ; and that we may enjoy an everlasting sab- 
 bath with thy saints, for Jesus Christ's sake ! 
 Amen. 
 
 that I may be glad, when they say unto 
 me, come, let us go to the house of God ! 
 
 Prayer for all mankind. 
 
 1 Tim. ii. i. I exhort that first of all suppli- 
 cations, prayers, intercessions, and giving of 
 thanks be made for all men. 
 
 O God, almighty and merciful, let thy fa- 
 therly kindness be upon all, that Thou hast 
 made. 
 
 IHLve mercy upon all Jews, Turks, Infidels., 
 and Heretics ; and grant that none may deprive 
 themselves of that happiness, which Jesus Christ 
 has purchased by his death. 
 
 Blt^s the pious endeavours of all those, that 
 strive to propagate the gospel of Christ ; and 
 may its saving truths be received in all the 
 world. 
 
 Preserve thy church in the midst of the dan- 
 gers, that surround it ; purge it from all cor- 
 2 
 
5 4 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 ruptions, and heal its divisions, that all Chris- 
 tian people may unite and Love, as becomes the 
 disciples of Christ. 
 
 Grant that all pastors may be careful to ob- 
 serve the sacred rights, committed to their trust ; 
 that Godly discipline may be restored and coun- 
 tenanced ; 
 
 That Christians may not content themselves 
 with shadows of religion and piety, but endeav- 
 or after that holiness, without which no man 
 can see the Lord ; that such, as are in authority, 
 may govern with truth and justice ; and that 
 those, whose duty it is to obey, may do it for 
 conscience sake. 
 
 Let all, thai sincerely seek the truth, be led 
 into it by thy Holy Spirit ; and to all such, as 
 are destitute of necessary instruction, vouchsafe 
 a greater measure of thy grace. 
 
 Support and comfort all, that labour under 
 trials and afflictions ; all, that suffer wrongful- 
 ly ; and by thy mighty grace succour all those, 
 that are tempted. 
 
 Give unto all sinners a true sense of their 
 unhappy state, and grace and strength to break 
 their bonds. 
 
 Visit with thy fatherly comforts all such, as 
 are now in their last sickness, that they may 
 omit nothing, that is necessary to make their 
 peace with Thee. 
 
 Be gracious to all countries, made desolate 
 by sword, famine, pestilence, or persecution. 
 Sanctify the miseries of this life to the everlast- 
 ing benefit of all, that suffer. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 55 
 
 Preserve this land from the miseries of war ; 
 this Church from persecution, and from all wild 
 and dangerous errors ; and this people from 
 forgetting Thee, their Lord and Benefactor. 
 
 Avert the judgments, which we have justly 
 deserved ; and mercifully prevent the ruin, that 
 threatens us, and grant that we may ever be 
 prepared for what thy Providence shall bring 
 forth. 
 
 Bless all persons and places, to which thy 
 providence has made me a debtor ; all, who 
 have been instrumental ro my good by their as- 
 sistance, advijce, or example ; and mak** me in 
 my turn useful to others. 
 
 Let none of those, who cannot pray for 
 themselves, and desire my prayers, want thy 
 mercy ; but defend and comfort, and conduct 
 them through this dangerous world, that we 
 may meet in paradise, to praise our God forev- 
 er and ever. Amen. 
 
 Enlighten the minds, and pardon the sin of 
 all, that err through simplicity. Let the wick- 
 edness of the wicked come to an end, but guide 
 thou the just. 
 
 Relieve and comfort all, that are troubled 
 in mind ; all, that are in danger of falling into 
 despair ; all, that are in any dangerous error ; 
 all, that are in prison, in slavery, or under per- 
 secution for a righteous cause ; all, that are in 
 any distress whatever; that all may improve 
 under their sufferings. 
 
 Have mercy upon and reclaim all, that are 
 engaged in sinful courses, in youthful lusts, in 
 
56 SACRA PRIVATA 
 
 unchristian quarrels, and in unrighteous law- 
 suits. 
 
 Direct all, that are in doubt ; all, that seek 
 the truth. 
 
 O God the Creator and Redeemer of all, 
 have mercy upon all, whom Thou hast made 
 and redeemed. Amen. 
 
 MONDAY MEDITATIONS. 
 
 RESIGNATION. 
 
 Luke xxii. 42. Nevertheless, not my will, but 
 thine be done. 
 
 OGod, who takest delight in helping the 
 afflicted, help <i soul, often distressed by 
 inv;ard rebellion against thy just appointments. 
 
 Who am I, that I make exceptions against 
 the will of God, infinitely great, wise, and good? 
 I know not the things, that are for my good. 
 My most earnest desires, if granted may prove 
 my ruin. The things, I complain of and fear, 
 may be the effects of the greatest mercy. The 
 disappointments, I meet, may be absolutely ne- 
 cessary for my eternal welfare. I do therefore 
 protest agai sr the sin and madness of desiring 
 to have my w'tl do;ie, and aot the will of God. 
 
 Grant, gracious Father, that I may never 
 dispute the reasonableness of thy will, but ever 
 close with it, as the best that can happen. Pre- 
 pare me always for what thy providence shall 
 bring forth. 
 
 Let me never murmur, be dejected, nor inifa 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 57 
 
 tient, under any cf the troubles of this life ; 
 but ever find rest and comfort in this, this is the 
 will of my Father and of my God; grant this 
 for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 To the glory of God and of his infinite good- 
 ness I do here acknowledge that in all the dis- 
 pensations of providence, which have befallen 
 me, to this day^ however uneasy to flesh and 
 blood, I have notwithstanding experienced the 
 kindness of a father for his child ; and am con- 
 vinced, that it would have been much worse 
 for me, had I had my own choice. 
 
 O God, grant that for time to come I may 
 yield a cheerful obedience to all thy appoint- 
 ments. Amen. 
 
 Corrupt nature cannot comprehend that af- 
 flictions are the effects of divine love. It must 
 be thy grace O Lover of Souls, which must 
 work in me this conviction, which I beseech 
 Thee to vouchsafe me. 
 
 Never set a greater value upon this world, 
 than it deserves. 
 
 If a man be not eager or positive in his de- 
 sires, he will more readily embrace the appoint- 
 ments of providence. 
 
 If we place our dependence upon the power ^ 
 ivisdom, counsellor interest^ we have in man, and 
 not in God only ; we shall surely be disappoint- 
 ed. 
 
 Job xiii. 15. Though he slay me, yet will I 
 trust in him. 
 
 O my crucified 'King arid Saviour, let my sub- 
 mission to whatever afflictions shall befal me for 
 thy sake, or by thy appointment, be to IDC a 
 
58 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 pledge and assurance of my fidelity to Thee and 
 conformity to thy sufferings. 
 
 It is a favor to be punished and to suffer in 
 this life, when a man makes good use of his 
 sufferings. But to suffer by constraint is to suf- 
 fer without comfort and without benefit. 
 
 Our union and conformity to the will of God, 
 ought to be instead of all consolation. Grant, 
 O God, that I may always accept the punish- 
 ment of my sins with resignation to thy good 
 pleasure. 
 
 Remember me, O Lord, in the day of trou- 
 ble ; keep me from all excess of fear, concern, 
 and sadness. 
 
 Grant me a humble and resigned heart, that 
 with perfect content I may ever acquiesce in all 
 the methods of thy grace, that I may never 
 frustrate the designs of thy mercy by unreason- 
 able fears, by sloth, or self love. Amen. 
 
 Think often of God and of his attributes, 
 his mercy, compassion, fidelity, fatherly care, 
 goodness, and protection. Dwell on these 
 thoughts, till they produce such a well ground- 
 ed confidence as will support us under all dif- 
 ficulties, and assure us He cannot possibly for- 
 sake those, that depend on Him. 
 
 When God deprives us of any thing, that 
 is most dear to us, health, ease, conveniences of 
 life, friends, wife, children, &c. we should im- 
 mediately eay, this is God's will ; I am by Him 
 commanded to part with so much ; let me not 
 therefore murmur, nor be dejected, for then it 
 would appear that I did love that thing more, 
 God's will. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 59 
 
 When God thus visits us, let us immediate- 
 ly look inward ; and, lest our sins be the oc- 
 casion let us take care that we seriously repent, 
 and endeavor to make our peace with God. 
 Then He will either deliver or support us, and 
 will convince us, that we sulTer injustice for our 
 faults ; or for our trial, and to humble us ; or 
 for God's glory, and to sanctify us. 
 
 i Pet. v. 5. Be clothed with humility ; for 
 God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to 
 the humble. 
 
 Giv^e me grace, O God, to study to love, to 
 adore, and to imitate that humility, which thy 
 blessed Son hath taught us by his word and by 
 his rnoft holy example, 
 
 Business. 
 
 Ephes. v. 17. Understanding what the will 
 of the Lord is. 
 
 To engage in any business of importance 
 without knowing this, and taking counsel of 
 God, may cost us dear. 
 
 Isaiah xxx. i. Wo to them, that take coun- 
 sel, but not of me, saith the Lord. 
 
 But then, let a man take heed, that, when 
 he goes to inquire of the Lord, he do not set 
 up idols in his own heart ; lest God answer 
 him according to his idols. 
 
 We are to pray for the direction of Goi's 
 Spirit upon all great occasions ; especially we 
 are humbly to depend on his direction, and 
 cheerfully to expect it, which he will m inifest, 
 either by some plain event of his providence, 
 or by suggesting such reasons, as ought to de- 
 
60 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 termine the will to a wise choice. But to fol- 
 low the inclination of the will without reason, 
 only because we find ourselves strongly inclin- 
 ed to this or that, is a very dangerous way, and 
 may engage us in very dangerous practices. 
 
 Master. Servant. 
 
 Death in a very little time, may make the 
 master and the servant equal. Let us anticipate 
 this equality by treating our servants with com- 
 passion ; having respect to Christ, in the per- 
 son of a servant ; to Christ who took upon 
 him the form of a servant for our sakes. 
 
 TUESDAY MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Trouble, Persecution, Afflictions, &c. 
 
 Psa. 1. 15. Gail upon me in the timt of trouble* 
 
 so will I hear tbee, and thou shalt praise me. 
 
 OGOD, who seest all our weaknesses, and 
 the troubles we labor under, have regard 
 to the prayers of thy servant, who stands in 
 need of thy coinfon, direction, and help. 
 
 Grant that I may suffer, like a Christian, and 
 not grieve, like an unbeliever ; that 1 may re- 
 ceive troubles, as punishment, due to my past 
 offences ; as an exercise of my faith, patience, 
 and humility ; and as a trial of my obedience ; 
 and that I may improve all my afflictions to the 
 good of my soul, and to thy glory. 
 
 Thou alone knowest, what is best for us ; 
 let me never dispute thy wisdom, nor thy good- 
 ness. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 61 
 
 Direct my reason, subdue my passions, put a 
 stop to my roving thoughts and fears, and let 
 me have the comfort of thy promise, and of thy 
 protection, both now and ever, for Jesus Christ's 
 sake. Amen. 
 
 Heb. xii. 7, 8. If ye endure chastening, 
 God dealeth with you, as with sons ; for what 
 son is he, whom the father cha.steneth not ? 
 But, if ye be without chastisement, whereof all 
 are partakers ; then are,? ye bastards, and not 
 sons. 
 
 Micah vii. 9. I will hear the indignation of 
 the Lord, because I have sinned againsc him. 
 
 If I am despised or slighted, I ought to con- 
 sider it, as a favor, since this is a mark of 
 God's children ; therefore I ought to thank 
 him for it, and not be angry with those, whom 
 he makes his instruments to subdue and mortify 
 my pride. 
 
 i Pet. iv. 13. Rejoice in as much as ye are 
 made partakers of the sufferings of Christ \ 
 that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may 
 be glad also with exceeding joy ; because your 
 reward will be proportionable to your sufferings. 
 
 Mattk. v. n, 12. Blessed are ye, when 
 men shall revile you, and persecute you, and 
 shall say all manner of evil against you falsely 
 for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad j 
 for great is your reward in Heaven ; for so 
 persecuted they the prophets, 'which were be- 
 fore you. 
 
 F 
 
62 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 The mystery of the cross is to be learned 
 under the cross. 
 
 Matth. x. 28, 29. Fear not them, which 
 kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul ; 
 but rather fear him, who is able to destroy both 
 body and soul in hell. Are not two sparrows 
 sold for a farthing ? And one of them shall not 
 fall to the ground without your Father. The 
 very hairs of your bead are all numbered. 
 
 i Pet. v. 0, 7. Humble yourselves under the 
 mighty hand of God, [under great afflictions, 
 \vhich he suffers to befal you] that he may ex- 
 alt you in due time ; casting all your care upon 
 him, for he careth for you. 
 
 Matth. vi. 10. Thy will be done. 
 
 It is just, great God, it should be so ; for 
 who should govern the world, but he, who 
 made it ? Yet we poor creatures repine, when 
 any thing crosses our hopes or designs. What 
 strange unthoughtfulness ! What presumption 
 is this ! It is thy great mercy, that any of us 
 are sensible of this folly, and become willing to 
 be.governed by Thee. 
 
 With all my heart and soul, O God, I thank 
 Thee, that in all the changes of this mortal life 
 I can look up to Thee, and cheerfully resign my 
 will to thine. 
 
 It is the desire of my soul, and my humble 
 petition, that I may always be ready and wil- 
 ling to submit t'o thy providence, that Thou 
 mayest order what Thou judges t to be most 
 convenient for me. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 63 
 
 I have trusted Thee, O Father, with myself; 
 my soul is in thy hand, which I verily believe 
 Thou wilt preserve to eternal happiness ; my 
 body, and all, that belongs to it, are of much 
 less value. I do therefore with great security 
 and satisfaction trust all, I have, in Thee, hop- 
 ing Thou wilt preserve me from all things hurt- 
 ful, and lead me to all things profitable, to my 
 salvation. 
 
 I will love Thee, O God ; being satisfied, 
 that all things, however strange and irksome 
 they appear,will work together for good to those, 
 that do so. 
 
 I know, in whom I have believed ; I have a 
 Saviour at thy right hand, full of kindness, full 
 of care, full of power ; he has prayed for me, 
 that this faith fail me not ; and by this faith I 
 am persuaded, that neither tribulation, nor an- 
 guish, nor persecution, nor famine, nor naked- 
 ness, nor peril, nor sword, nor death, which I 
 fear, nor life, which I may hope for, nor things 
 present, which I feel, nor things to come, which 
 I may apprehend, will ever prevail so far over 
 me, as to make me not resign my will entirely 
 to Thee* 
 
 In humble, quiet, and dutiful submission, let 
 me, faithfully run the race, set before me, look- 
 ing unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our 
 faith, who for the joy, that was set jjefore him, 
 despised the shame, endured the ctoss, and is 
 now seated at the right hand of God ; to 
 whom I most humbly beseech Thee to bring 
 
64 SACRA PRIVATA 
 
 me in thy good time ; and for whatever shall 
 fall out in the mean while. Thy will be done* 
 Amen. 
 
 Look unto yes us. 
 
 He was despised and rejected of men ; his 
 life was sought by Herod ; He was tempted by 
 Satan ; hated by that world, which he came to 
 save ; set at nought by his own people ; called 
 a deceiver and a dealer with the devil ; was 
 driven from place to place, and had not where 
 to lay his head ; betrayed by one Disciple, 
 and forsaken by all the rest ; falsely accused, 
 .spit upon, and scourged ; set at nought by He- 
 rod and his men of war ; given up by Pilate to 
 the will of his enemies ; had a murderer prefer- 
 red before him ; was condemned to a most cru- 
 el and shameful death ; crucified between two 
 thieves ; reviled in the midst of his torments ; 
 hud gall and vinegar given him to drink ; suf- 
 fered a most bitter death, submitting with pa- 
 tience to the will of his Father. 
 
 O Jesus, who now sitteth at the right hand 
 of God, to succor all, who suffer in a right- 
 eous way ; be Thou my Advocate for grace, 
 that in all my sufferings I may follow thy ex- 
 ample, and run with patience the race, that is 
 set before me. Amen. , 
 
 Take all things, that befal you, as coming 
 from God's providence for your particular pro- 
 fit. Though they are evil in themselves ; yet, 
 as he permits^ or does not think fit to binder 
 them, they may be referred to Him. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 65 
 
 God no sooner discovers in your heart an ar- 
 dent desire of well doing, and of submitting to 
 his will, than he prepares for you occasions of 
 trying your virtue ; therefore, confident of his 
 love, receive cheerfully a medicine, prepared by 
 a physician, that cannot mistake, and cannot 
 give you any thing, but what will be for your 
 good. See Eccles. chap. ii. 
 
 Lord, prepare my heart, that no afflictions 
 may ever so surprise, as to overbear me. Dis- 
 pose me at all times to a readiness to suffer, 
 what thy providence shall order or permit. It 
 is the same cup, of which Jesus Christ drank ; 
 and he sends it. He sees it absolutely necessary, 
 that I be first partaker of his sufferings, and 
 then of his glory. 
 
 Matth. x. 22. And ye shall be hated of all 
 men for my name's sake ; but he, that shall 
 endure to the end, shall be saved. 
 
 It is indeed grievous to nature to be thus 
 treated ; but, when it is for thy name sake, O 
 Jesus, and for the sake of thy truth, and for 
 being true to Thee ; how lovely is this hatred ; 
 and how advantageous, when salvation is the 
 reward ! 
 
 Matth. x, 24. The disciple is not above his 
 master, nor the servant above his Lord. 
 
 He, who kpeps this saying in his heart, will 
 never complain of what he suffers, nor seek any 
 other way to save himself, than by humiliation 
 and the cross. 
 
 Fa 
 
66 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Suffering. 
 
 O Lord, grant that, whenever I suffer, it 
 may be for being faithful to Thee, and without 
 drawing it unseasonably upon myself. 
 
 We are in God's hands ; we often take our- 
 selves out of his hands, by trusting to the help 
 and protection of men more, than to that of 
 God. 
 
 God will render none miserable, but those, 
 whom he finds sinners. Let us apply this to 
 ourselves when in affliction, but not unto oth- 
 ers, nor to their personal faults. 
 
 Rev. iii. 19. As many, as I love, I rebuke 
 and chasten ; be zealous therefore, and repent. 
 
 Blessed be God, who vouchsafes by salutary 
 chastisements to awaken us, when we fall asleep 
 through sloth and lukewarmness. 
 
 Grant, O God, that I may never murmur 
 at thy appointments, nor be exasperated at the 
 ministers of thy providence. 
 
 In Thee, O Jesus, we find matter of consola- 
 tion in every affliction, that can possibly befal us. 
 
 All visitations are from God. He is not de- 
 lighted with the miseries of his creatures ; afflic- 
 tions are therefore designed for your good. He 
 will either show us the reason of this visitation 
 or make us reap the fruits of it. 
 
 Persons, that may be well disposed, may yet 
 Jive under the power of some evil custom, 
 which is displeasing to God ; a man may have 
 been guilty of some greaf sin, which he has yet 
 never truly repented of, or been truly humbled 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 67 
 
 for. This was the case of the sons of Jacob ; 
 they had attempted the life of their brother, 
 and afterwards sold him, and endangered the life 
 of their aged father ; under which guilt they 
 passed their lives well enough many years, till 
 God visited them ; and then they thought of 
 their sin, confessed, and repented. 
 
 God by afflictions often fits us for greater 
 degrees of grace, which he is going to bestow. 
 Though I suffer, yet I am well, because I am 
 what God would have me to be. 
 
 Lord, do not permit my trials to be above 
 my strength ; and do Thou vouchsafe to be my 
 strength and comfort in time of trial. 
 
 Give me grace to take in good part, whatev- 
 er shall befal me ; and let my heart acknowl- 
 edge it to be the Lord's doing, and to come 
 from thy providence, and not by chance. 
 
 God makes use of afflictions sometimes 'by 
 way of prevention ; lest I should be exa/ted, said 
 St. Paul ; to reform them ; before I was afflicted^ 
 - 1 went astray ; to perfect them ; patience., 
 courage, and submission to the will of God are 
 graces not so much as understood by persons, 
 who meet no adversities ; we must through much 
 tribulation enter into, the kingdom of God ; to 
 prove men-, and show them for examples ; if a 
 man had no enemies, how could he show his 
 charity in forgiving them ? 
 
 yohn xi. 5. Afflictions are no marks of God's 
 displeasure. Jesus loved Mary and Lazarus ; 
 yet they were both afflicted. 
 
68 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Punishment is due to sin. We must be pun- 
 ished here or hereafter ; it is the cause of all 
 afflictions, and designed by our gracious God 
 to bring us to repentance. 
 
 Prosperity is a most dangerous state ; \ve fan- 
 cy it is owing to our merit, and -it is followed 
 with pride, neglect of duty, and fearlessness. 
 
 It is happy for us, when God counts us wor- 
 thy to suffer for his name's sake. 
 
 Afflictions, undergone with resignation, are 
 the great test of our love of God ; when we 
 love him, then he chastens us. May God sanc- 
 tify all our afflictions to us all ! 
 
 May I receive every thing from thy hand 
 with patience and with joy. Remember me, O 
 God, in the day of trouble. Secure me by thy 
 grace from all excess of fear , concern^ and sad- 
 n$s$S 
 
 Let my afflictions be in some measure service- 
 able toward appeasing thy wrath. Let them 
 prove the happy occasion of forwarding my 
 conversion and salvation. 
 
 Temptation. 
 
 We are exposed to temptation all our days. 
 Men are never more dangerously tempted, than 
 when they think themselves secure from tempt- 
 ation. This is a proof of the power, the devil 
 has over them. 
 
 We tempt God, when we expose ourselves 
 unnecessarily to dangers through false confidence 
 of his assistance. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA, 69 
 
 Despair. Hope. 
 
 Grant, O God, that amid all the discourage- 
 ments, difficulties, dangers, distress, and dark- 
 ness of this mortal life, I may depend on thy 
 mercy, and on this build my hopes, as on a 
 sure foundation. 
 
 Let thine infinite mercy in Christ Jesus de- 
 liver me from despair, both now and at the 
 hour of death. 
 
 Resignation. 
 
 Grant that I may receive the punishment of 
 my sins with patience and resignation. 
 Injuries. Persecution. 
 
 Give me, O God, a heart to consider, that 
 man could have no power against me, unless it 
 \vere given from above. 
 
 Enemies. 
 
 A Christian should not discover that he has 
 
 enemies any other way, than by doing more good 
 
 to them, than to others. If thine enemy hunger -, 
 
 feed him ; if he thirst , give him drink. He will 
 
 therefore be careful not to lose such occasions. 
 
 O Jesus, whose charity all the malice of thy 
 bitterest enemies could not overcome, shed a- 
 broad in my heart that most excellent gift of 
 charity, the very bond of peace and of all vir- 
 tues.. 
 
 Eccles. viii. 7. Rejoice not over thy greatest 
 enemy being dead ; but remember that we die all. 
 
 Our enemies are our benefactors, procuring 
 for us a new right to Heaven. I pray God 
 to convert all those, who hate us without a 
 cause. 
 
70 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 I beseech Thee for my enemies, not for ven- 
 geance, but for mercy : that thou wouldest 
 change their hearts by thy -grace, or restrain 
 their malice by thy power. 
 
 In Time of War. 
 
 O Sovereign Lord, who for our sins art justly 
 displeased, I prostrate myself bei ore Thee, con- 
 fessing my own sin ancHhe sin of this people ; ac- 
 knowledging the justice of any scourge, which 
 Thou shalt think fit to bring upon us ; and 
 trembling to think, how much I may have con- 
 tributed toward it. 
 
 Thou hast already spoken to us both by thy 
 judgments and mercies, both by the scarcity 
 and plenty of bread ; and we have not regard- 
 ed it. Thou hast taken away the lives of many, 
 very many, in their very sins, by which nume- 
 rous widows and fatherless children have been 
 left miserable. 
 
 The sins of whoredom and drunkenness ; of 
 swearing, lying, and perjury ; of litigiousness, 
 injustice, and defrauding the publick, are made 
 light of. The sins of impiety, of profaneness, of 
 despising the means of grace and salvation, are 
 common among us. What shall we say, to 
 prevail with God to avert the judgments, 
 which these sins deserve ? 
 
 God be merciful unto us, and put a stop to 
 this torrent of wickedness ; put thy fear into 
 all our hearts, that we may return to Thee ; 
 that we may repent, and bring forth fruit, 
 meet for repentance ; and that iniquity may 
 not be our ruin. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 71 
 
 May the dread of thy now threatened judg- 
 ments Jeter us from evil ; may thy goodness 
 and patience lead us to repentance ; weaken the 
 power of Satan ; take from ampngus the spir- 
 it of slumber, of ignorance, and inconsideration. 
 
 Let every one of us see and feel the plague of 
 his own heart, and sav, what have I done to 
 bring these evils upon us ? So that, bringing 
 forth fruits answerable to amendment of life, we 
 may escape thy judgment, now hanging over us ; 
 and above all thy judgment against sinners in the 
 world to come. This I beg for Jesus Christ's 
 sake. Amen. 
 
 Judgment Day. 
 
 Grant, O Lord, that I may be of the num- 
 ber of those, that shall find mercy at that day. 
 Zaccheus. 
 
 The good Lord grant that I may give proof 
 of the sincerity of my conversion by a change 
 of Jife. 
 
 WEDNESDAY MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Covetousness. Fasting. Difficulties. 
 
 Sel^ Denial. 
 
 Mattlft. iv. 9. 10. All these things will I give. 
 Get thee hence^ Satan, for it is written, thou 
 shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only 
 shalt thou serve. 
 
 GREAT and glorious God, who alone art 
 r worthy of our love and service, cure me 
 of, and preserve me from the sin and vanity of 
 admring this world. 
 
7<2 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Give me grace to renounce all covetous 
 desires, all love of riches and pleasures ; to de- 
 sire only what is necessary, and to be content 
 with what Thou, O Lord, thinkest so ; not to 
 be troubled at the loss or want of any thing be- 
 side thy favor ; that no business, no pleasures, 
 jiiay divert me from thoughts of the world to 
 come ; that I may cheerfully part with all these 
 things, when thou requirest it of me ; and, 
 that I may ever be prepared to do so, dispose me 
 to temperance in all things, and to lay up my 
 treasure in Heaven, for Jesus Christ's sake* 
 Amen. 
 
 Luke, vi. 24. Wo unto you, that are rich, 
 for ye have received your consolation. 
 
 A man must have but little faith, who can 
 read these words, and yet love riches, and the 
 pleasures, they afford. Lord, grant that I 
 may resist every temptation to the love of crea- 
 tures ; lest they steal my heart from Thee, my 
 God, whom I desire to love with all my soul. 
 
 1 know that I must in a great measure re- 
 nounce all other objects of my affection, in or- 
 der to love Thee with all my heart. Lord, 
 give me grace and strength to put this in prac- 
 tice. 
 
 i John ii. 15. Love not the world, nor the 
 things, that are in the world ; if any man love 
 the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
 
 Grant, O God, that I may never hope to re- 
 concile two things so inconsistent, as love of 
 Thee and the world. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 75 
 
 Matth. v. 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit ; 
 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 To be poor in spirit is to be disengaged from 
 wealth , to look upon it, as a burthen, or as a 
 trust. 
 
 i Tim. vi. 8. Having food and raiment, let 
 us be therewith content. 
 
 Yet even the Christian world is not content 
 without superfluities and excess. These disor- 
 ders are not less criminal, because so common. 
 
 Give me,~O God, the eye of faith, that I 
 may see the world, as it is ; the vanity of its 
 promises, the folly of its pleasures, the unprofit- 
 ableness of its rewards, the multitude of its 
 snares, and the dangers of its temptations* 
 Fasting. 
 
 Jesus Christ spared not his innocent flesh, 
 but fasted ; the sinner cherisheth his continual- 
 ly, refusing it nothing. Fasting is in some sense 
 a punishment for past sins, a remedy for pre- 
 sent temptations^ and a preservative against fu- 
 ture. 
 
 Psa. cii. 4, My heart is smitten, and wither* 
 ed like grass ; so that I forget to eat my bread. 
 
 The tumble and afflicted soul Is not much 
 concerned to please appetite* 
 
 Luke. vi. 25. Wo unto you, that are fulj, 
 for ye shall hunger ; that is, ye, whose daily 
 meals are feasts, who make profession of a life 
 of sensuality, who know not what it is to fast j 
 wo to buch Christians ! 
 G 
 
74 SACRA PRJVATA. 
 
 If we judge ourselves with severity, we shall 
 be judged with mercy. 
 
 In time of Trouble. 
 
 Psa. xxxix. ii. When thou with rebukes 
 dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his 
 beauty to consume away, like a moth. 
 
 merciful God, who in thy wise providence 
 dost so order even natural events, that they 
 serve both for the good of the universe and 
 for the conviction of particular sinners, so that 
 men have reason to acknowledge thy glorious 
 attributes ; I do with great sorrow of heart, 
 but with all submission to thy good pleasure, 
 confess thy mercy as well as justice to me in the 
 judgments ) afflictions, and sorrows of this day. 
 
 1 acknowledge thy voice, O merciful God ; 
 I acknowledge my own transgressions, which 
 have provoked Thee to speak to me after this 
 n.anner, and at this very time. 
 
 O Lord, give me true repentance for all the 
 errors of my life, an \ particularly for that, uhich 
 \\as in all probability the occasion of this afflic- 
 tion. 
 
 Blessed be God, that my punishment is not 
 as great, as my crime. Blessed be God, that 
 he ha v given me time to repent of the sin, that 
 provoked him to deal with me after this manner, 
 Blessed be God, that, when he spake to me once, 
 yea twice, I regarded it at last. 
 
 Good God of mercy, give me grace, that I 
 may not provoke Thee any more to repeat this 
 word to jue> but that 1 may faithfully perform 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 75 
 
 those vows, which are upon me. This I can* 
 not do without thy gracious assistance, which I 
 most humbly beseech Thee to vouchsafe me for 
 Jesus Christ's sake, who by his merits has pur* 
 chased this grace for all, that faithfully ask it of 
 Thee. For his sake, O merciful God, grant 
 me this gnice. Amen. 
 
 I do with all humility accept the punishment 
 of my iniquities. I will hold my peace, and 
 not open my mouth ; because it is thy doing 
 and my deserving. I know, O Lord, that it is 
 good for me to be in trouble, cr Thou would*- 
 est not suffer it so to be. 
 
 Let thy merciful kindness be my comfort, ac- 
 cording to thy promise to all, that love and 
 serve Thee. 
 
 "Difficulties. 
 
 We are to pray for the particular direction 
 of God's Holy Spirit upon all great occasions ; 
 we are humbly to depend upon, and cheerfully 
 to expect it. 
 
 In a Lawsuit. 
 
 Convince me, O God, if I be under any mis- 
 take in this affair. Direct, assist, and support 
 me under all the difficulties, I shall meet. Put 
 a happy end, in thy good time, to this trouble- 
 some controversy. Dispose the hearts of those, 
 with whom we have to do, to peace and justice. 
 
 Give me grace to rest satisfied with whatev- 
 er shall be the issue, believing assuredly that 
 GOD can make good any loss, I may sustain, or 
 sanctify it to my eternal welfare. 
 
76 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Lord, in this, and in all other things, I un- 
 deru.ke, thy will be done, and not mine. O 
 manifest thy will to me, preserve me from evil 
 counsels, and rash enterprises. 
 Faith. 
 
 Grant, O God, that I may with humility re- 
 ceive, and with perseverance hold fast, all those 
 truths, which Thou hast revealed. 
 
 I thank Thee, O God, for thy holy word, 
 and that Thou hast not left us, in the affair of 
 eternity, to the uncertainty of our own reason 
 and judgment. 
 
 Defend me against all delusions of error, the 
 snares of wit and learning, the raileries of pro- 
 fane men, and from deserting the truth. 
 
 Open the eyes of all, thai are in error ; heal 
 the wounds of our divided church ; that we 
 may be one fold under one Shepherd. Amen. 
 
 John xvi. 13. The Holy Spirit shall guide 
 you into all truth. 
 
 O Holy Spirit, make me to understand, em- 
 brace, and love the truths of the gospel. 
 
 Give, O God, thy blessing unto thy word, 
 that it may become effectual to my conversion 
 and salvation, and to the salvation df all, that 
 read and hear it. 
 
 Give me grace to read thy holy word with 
 
 reverence and respect, becoming the gracious 
 
 * manifestation of thy will to men ; submitting 
 
 my understanding and will to thine. 
 
 \ Let thy gracious promises, O God, contained 
 
 in thy word, quicken my obedience. Let thy 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 77 
 
 dreadful threatenings and judgments upon sin- 
 ners frighten me from sin, and oblige me to 
 speedy repentance, for Jesus Christ's sake. 
 
 Cause me, O God, to believe thy word, to 
 obey thy commands, to fear thy judgments, 
 and to hope in, and depend upon thy gracious 
 promises, contained in thy holy word, for Je- 
 sus Christ's sake. 
 
 Give me full persuasion of those great truths, 
 which Thou hast revealed in thy holy word. 
 
 The gospel will not be a mean of salvation to 
 him, who reads or hears it only ; but to him, 
 who reads, loves, remembers, and practices it 
 by a lively faith. 
 
 Cause me, O God, rightly to understand, 
 and constantly to walk in, the way of thy com- 
 mandments. 
 
 Grant us in this world knowledge of thy 
 truth, and in the world to come life everlasting, 
 for Jesus Christ's sake. 
 
 FronT hardness of heart and contempt of thy 
 word, good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 Give us grace to hear meekly thy word, to 
 receive it with pure affection, to bring forth the 
 fruits of the spirit, and to amend our lives ac- 
 cording to thy holy word. Amen. 
 Self Denial 
 
 Eccles. xix. 5. He, that reshteth pleasures, 
 crowneth his life. 
 
 Vouchsafe me, gracious God, the graces of 
 mortification and self denial? that, my affections 
 and flesh being subdued unto the spirit, and my 
 G 2 
 
78 , S^CRA PRIVATA. 
 
 heart and all my members being mortified from 
 all carnal and worldly lusts, I may ever obey 
 thy blessed will, through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 Awen. 
 
 All mankind being under the sentence of 
 death, certain to be executed, and at an hour 
 we know not of ; a state of repentance and 
 self denial^ of deadness and crucifixion to the 
 world, is certainly the most suitable, the most 
 becoming temper, in which we can be found, 
 when that sentence comes to be executed ; 
 that is, when we come to die ; especially when 
 we consider, that this short and uncertain time, 
 allowed us between the sentence and execution, 
 will determine our condition for eternity. 
 
 If this be the ca^e of fallen man, as most cer- 
 tainly it is, then thoughtless, unremitting pleas- 
 ure is the greatest indecency ; fondness for the 
 world the greatest folly j and self indulgence 
 downright madness. 
 
 Consequently the contrary to these, namely, 
 constant seriousness of temper, an universal care 
 and exactness of life, and indifference for the 
 world, self denial, sobriety, and watchfulness, 
 must be our greatest wisdom. 
 
 This discovers to us the reason and necessity 
 of all the duties of Christianity, and of God's 
 dealings with fallen man in this state of trial. 
 
 For instance ; , Jesus Christ commands us to 
 deny ourselves and to take up our cross dally ; 
 not because- he can command, what he pleases, 
 (for he is infinite goodness, and can command 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 79 
 
 nothing, but what is good for his creatures) 
 but because the corruption of our nature re- 
 quires that we be forbidden every thing, which 
 would increase our disorder. And because this 
 disorder has spread itself through all the pow- 
 ers of our souls and bodies, and incline; us to 
 evil continually, he requires that our self denial 
 reach as far, as our corruption. 
 
 He commands us therefore to deny our own 
 wisdom, because we are really blind as to what 
 concerns our own true good, and should in- 
 fallibly ruin ourselves, if left to our own choice. 
 He commands us to deny our appetites, because 
 intemperance would ruin us, He forbids us to 
 give way to our passions, because a thousand 
 evils will follow, if we do so. 
 
 He obliges us to keep a very strict watch over 
 our hearts, because thence proceed hypocrisy, 
 covetou^ness, malice, and many other evils. We 
 are forbidden to set our hearts upon the world 
 and every thing in it, because our eternal hap- 
 piness depends upon our loving God with all 
 our heart and soul. 
 
 We are obliged to love our neighbour, and 
 our very enemies ; and are forbidden to hate, 
 to contend with, to hurt, to go to law with 
 him, because this would exasperate our minds, 
 and grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by which 
 we are sanctified ; being against that charity, in 
 which God delights. 
 
 We are forbidden to repine, when G )d af- 
 flicts us, because, as sinners, suffering is due to 
 
8o SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 us ; and, because our bodies have a very great 
 influence over our souls, \ve are commanded to 
 fast, and to be strictly temperate at all times, 
 and to deny ourselves the love of sensual pleas- 
 ures and self indulgence. 
 
 We are commanded to deny all the wavs of 
 folly, vanity, and false satisfaction, that we may 
 be able tp take satisfaction and pleasure in the 
 ways of God. 
 
 In short, in whatever instances we are com- 
 manded to deny ourselves, it is because it is ab- 
 solutely necessary, either to cure our corruption, 
 or to qualify us for the grace of God, or to 
 hinder us from grieving God's Holy Spirit, and 
 forcing him to forsake us. 
 
 The more \ve deny ourselves, the freer we 
 shall be from sin, and the more dear to God. 
 God appoints us to sufferings, that we may keep 
 close TO Him. and that we may value the suffer- 
 ings of his Son, of which we should have but a 
 low notion, did not our own experience teach 
 us, what it is to suffer. 
 
 They, who deny themselves, will be sure of 
 finding their strength increased, their affections 
 raised, and their inward peace continually ad- 
 vanced. 
 
 i. Tim. vi. 8. Having food and raiment, let 
 us be therewith content. 
 
 Let us not imagine that excess, luxury, super- 
 fluity, and love of pleasure, are less criminal, be- 
 cause they are so common. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 81 
 
 Take up the Cross. 
 
 This is designed, as a peculiar favor to Chris- 
 tians, as indeed are all Christ's commands. 
 Mi cries are the unavoidable portion of fallen 
 man. All the difference is, Christians suffer in 
 obedience to the will of God, which makes them 
 easy ; unbelievers suffer the same things, but 
 with an uneasy mind. 
 
 To follow our own will, passions, .and senses, 
 makes us miserable. For this reason, and that 
 we may have a remedy for all our evils, Jesus 
 Christ obliges us to submit our will, our pas- 
 sions, &c. to God. 
 
 A good Christian is not one, who has no in- 
 clination to sin, (for we have all the seed of sin 
 in us) but one, who, being sensible of such in- 
 clinations, denies ,them continually, and suffers 
 them not to grow into evil actions. 
 
 Every day deny yourself some satisfaction ; 
 your eyes, objects of mere curiosity ; your tongue, 
 every thing, that may feed vanity, or vent en- 
 mity ; the palate, dainties ; the ears, flattery, 
 and whatever corrupts the heart ; the body, ease 
 and luxury ; bearing all the inconveniences of 
 life, cold, hunger, restless nights, ill health, un- 
 welcome news, fault g of servants, contempt, in- 
 gratitude of friends, malice of enemies, calum- 
 nies, our own failings, lowness of spirits, the 
 struggle in overcoming our corruptions ; bear- 
 ing all these with patience and resignation to the 
 will of God. Do all this, as unto God, with 
 the greatest privacy. 
 
82 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 All ways are indifferent to one, who has Heav- 
 en in his eye, as a traveller does not choose the 
 pleasantest, hut the shortest, and safest way to 
 his journey's end ; and this is the way of the 
 cross, which Jesus Chri t chose and sanctified to 
 all his followers. 
 
 . Matth. viii. 20. The* Son of man has not 
 where to lay his head. 
 
 This should fill us with confusion, whenever 
 we are overmuch concerned for the conveniences 
 of life. Our affections being very strongly in- 
 clined to sensible good, for the sake of which 
 \ve are often tempted to evil, and fail into great 
 disorders, we should resolve to sacrifice our 
 will to reason, and reason to the w r ord of God. 
 ' God does not . require it of us, that we feel 
 not any uneasiness under the cross, but that 
 \ve strive to overcome it by his grace. 
 Virtues of a holy life. 
 
 Fervency in devotion, frequency in prayer, 
 aspiring after the love of God continually, striv- 
 ing to get above the world and the body, k ve 
 of silence andsolitude as far, as one's condition 
 will permit, humility and affability toward all, 
 patience under affronts and contradictions, de- 
 light in occasions of doing good, even to ene- 
 mies, doing the will of God, and promoting 
 his honor to the utmost of one's power, resolv- 
 ing never to offend him willingly for any tem- 
 poral pleasure, profa, or loss ; these are virtues 
 highly pleasing to God. 
 
 Self denial does not consist in fasting and oth- 
 
SACRA PR1VATA. 38 
 
 cr mortifications only, but in Indifference to the 
 world^ its profits, pleasures, honors, and its oth- 
 er idols. 
 
 It is necessary, that we deny ourselves in little 
 things, when conscience, which is the voice of 
 God, suggests it to us, as we hope ever to get the 
 rule of our own will. Say not, it is a trifle, 
 and not fit to he sacrificed to God. He, who 
 will not sacrifice a little affection, will hardly of- 
 fer a greater. It is not the thing, but the rea- 
 son and manner of doing it, namely, for God's 
 sake, and that I may accustoqci myself to obe 
 his voice, that-G'xl regards, and rewards wii 
 greater degrees of grace. 
 
 The greater your self denial, the firmer your 
 faith, and more acceptable to God. The sin- 
 cere devotion of the rich, the alms of the poor, 
 the humility of the great, the faith of those, 
 whose condition is desperate, contemning the 
 world, when one can command it at pleasure, 
 continuing instant in prayer, even when we 
 want the consolation, we expected ; these, -ind 
 like instances of self denial, God will greatly re- 
 ward. 
 
 They, who imagine that self denial intrenches 
 upon our liberty, do not know that it is this 
 only, that can make us free indeed, giving us 
 the victory over ourselves, setting us free from 
 the bondage of our corruption, enabling UL to 
 bear afflictions, (which will come one time or 
 other) to foresee them without . amazemcnr en- 
 lightening the miad, sanctifying the will, and 
 
84 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 making us slight those baubles, for which others 
 so eagerly contend. 
 
 Mortification consists in so sparing a use of the 
 creatures, as may deaden our love for them, 
 and make us more indifferent in the enjoyment 
 of them. This lessens the power of concupis- 
 cence, which carries us to evil, and so makes 
 the grace., of God more effectual to turn the 
 balance of the will. 
 
 Carnal man cannot comprehend that God 
 loves those, whom he permits to suffer ; but 
 faith teaches us that the cross is the gift of his 
 love and the mark of his children. But, unless 
 God sanctify it by his Spirit, it becomes an 
 insupportable burden, a subject of murmuring, 
 and an occasion of sin. 
 
 He, who loveth life, (that is, is 'fond of it) 
 for the sake of the pleasures and advantages, 
 it affords, will soon lose the love of heavenly 
 things ; the love of God, of his soul, and of 
 the duty, he owes to them. He hates life, who 
 does not value it in comparison with eternal 
 life. A Christian gives proof of this by mor* 
 tifying himself. Those, whom God loves, he 
 weans from the pleasure of this present life, 
 to prepare them for a happy eternity. 
 
 Temperance consists in a sober use of earthly, 
 visible things, and in confining ourbelvec; wuhin 
 the compass of what is necessary. 
 
 With God all things are possible. 
 'The Almighty God enable me to conquer 
 the temptatioes of riches, and to rice above tue 
 allurements of this present lire ! 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 85 
 
 Christian self denial is to resist and crucify 
 in ourselves the spirit ahd inclinations of Adam ; 
 of the flesh, its affections and lusts ; and to die 
 to our passions, in order to follow the motions 
 of the Spirit. 
 
 Fasting is necessary to bring our hearts to a 
 penitent, holy, and devout temper ; and to per- 
 form the vows, that are upon us. 
 
 By fasting, by alms, and by prayers, we dedi- 
 cate our bodies*, goods and souls to God, in a 
 particular manner. 
 
 THURSDAY MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Ephes. iv. 29. Let no corrupt communication 
 proceed out of your mouth ; but that, which is 
 good to the use of edifying, that it may minister 
 grace unto the hearers. 
 
 Ephes. v. 4. Foolish talking and jesting are not 
 convenient. 
 
 PRESERVE me, O God, from vain con- 
 versation Give me grace never to be a- 
 shamed or afraid ro speak of Thee and of thy 
 law. 
 
 Give me a lively sense of the value of reli* 
 
 gion, and make it the delight of my heart ; 
 
 that I may speak of it with judgment, serious* 
 
 ness, and affection, and at all seasonable times* 
 
 May that good Spirit, which appeared in the 
 
 H 
 
86 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 likeness of tongues of fire, warm my heart, 
 and direct my thoughts ! 
 
 Matth. xii. 34. Out of the abundance of the 
 heart the mouth speaketh. How can ye, being 
 evil, speak good things ? By thy words thou 
 shcrit be justified, and by thy words thou shalt 
 be condemned, 
 
 Psa. cxli. 3. Set a guard, O Lord, upon my 
 srioutlvand keep the door of my lips. 
 
 Psa. xxxvii. 30. The mouth of the righteous 
 speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of 
 judgment, 
 
 Hearts, truly touched with the love of God, 
 will communicate light and heat to each other ; 
 will speak honorably of God, of his perfections, 
 his justice, goodness, wisdom, and power ; of 
 the excellency of his laws, the pleasantness of his 
 service ; of the instances of his love, of the re- 
 gards, he has promised to his friends, and of 
 the punishments, he has prepared for his cue* 
 mies. 
 
 Matth. v. 1 6. Let your light so shine before 
 men, that they may see your good works, and 
 glorify your Father, who is in heaven, 
 
 i Tbess. v.i i. Therefore comfort yourselves 
 together, and edify one another. 
 
 Heb. x. 24. Let us consider one another, to 
 provoke unto love, and to good works. 
 
 Let us join a good life to our religious con- 
 versation, and never contradict our tcngue by 
 our deeds. We always do good or harm te> 
 
SACRA PRIVATA.: 87 
 
 others by the manner of our conversation ; \ve 
 either confirm them in sin, or awaken them to 
 piety. 
 
 It is too true, that some evil passion or other, 
 and to gratify our corruption, is the aim of 
 most conversations. We love to speak of past 
 troubles ; hatred and ill will make us take 
 pleasure in relating the evil actions of our ene* 
 mies. We compare with some degrees of pride 
 the advantages, we have over others. We re- 
 count with too sensible a pleasure the worldly 
 happiness, we enjoy. This strengthens our pas- 
 sions, and increases our corruption. God grant 
 that I may watch against a weakness, which 
 has so evil consequences. 
 
 May 1'iiever hear, never repeat- with pleasure* 
 such things, as may dishonor God, hurt my 
 own character, or injure my neighbour. 
 
 yames vj; n. Speak not evil one of an oilier. 
 
 True humility makes us see our own faults 
 without concerning ourselves with the faults of 
 other. 
 
 Against Anger. 
 
 Eccles. vii. 9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to 
 be angry, for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. 
 
 O Lord, who art a God ready to pardon, 
 slow to anger, and of great kindness, remove 
 far from me all occasions and effects of causeless 
 and immoderate anger ; all pride and prejudice, 
 and too much concern for the things of this- 
 
88 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 world ; all intemperate speeches and indecent 
 passions. 
 
 Give me, O God, a mild, a peaceable, a 
 meek, and a humble spirit ; that, remembering 
 my own infirmities, I may bear with those of 
 others ; that I may think lowly of myself, and 
 not be angry, when others also think lowly of 
 me ; that I may be patient toward all men, 
 gentle and easy to be intreated ; that God for 
 Christ's sake may be so toward me. Amen. 
 
 Ephts. 5v. 26. Be angry, and sin not ; let 
 not the sun go down upon your wrath. 
 
 Prov. xix. 1 1 . The discretion of a man de- 
 ferreth his anger. 
 
 A soft answer turneth away strife. 
 
 Prov. xvi. 32. He, that is slow to anger, is 
 better, than the mighty ; and he, that ruleth his 
 spirit, than he, that taketh a city. 
 
 Row. xii. 10. Be kindly affectioned one to- 
 ward another. 
 
 Suppress: jhe very beginning of anger. Do 
 not indulge it, even where there are real faults ; 
 but try the gentle way, which may probably 
 succeed better, and with more ea v se. 
 
 Seldom do people vex us on purpose ; and 
 yet prejudice very often makes us think that 
 they do. A sense of one's own integrity will 
 jnake one pass by injuries more easily. 
 
 Be not too much concerned to tell the inju- 
 ries, you have received. Accustom yourself to 
 silence, if you would learn to govern your 
 tongue. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA, 89 
 
 Deliver me, O God, from all violent and sin- 
 ful passions, and give me grace to stand against 
 them. 
 
 Matth. v. 4. Blessed are the rneek. 
 
 Instruct me. Lord, in this Christian virtue j 
 Thou, who art the master and teacher of it* 
 
 For forgivenes.s of injuries* 
 
 Luke vi. 37. Forgive, and ye shall be for- 
 given. 
 
 O God, who alone canst order the unruly 
 wills and affections of sinful men, show mercy 
 to thy servant by making my corrupt nature 
 obedient to thy commands. 
 
 O God, who hast made it my everlasting in- 
 terest as well, as my duty, to forgive my neigh* 
 bour, whatever wrong he has done me ; help me 
 to overcome all the difficulties, I have to strug- 
 gle with ; all pride, prejudice, and desire of 
 rendering evil for evil ; that I may not deprive 
 my soul of that mercy, which thy infinite good- 
 ness has offered to sinners. 
 
 James ii. 13. He shall have judgment with- 
 out mercy* that hath showed no mercy. 
 
 O blessed God, help me in this great con- 
 cern, that I may never fall under thy wrath for 
 want of showing mercy to others ; but grant, 
 O blessed Jesus, that in this 1 may be thy disei- 
 ple indeed. Amen. 
 
 H 2 
 
^o SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Slander. 
 
 Matth. xi. 1 9. The Son of Man came eating 
 and drinking, and they say, behold a man glutton- 
 ous and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and 
 sinners. 
 
 Whatever measure a good man takes, he 
 will hardly escape the censure of the world ; 
 the best way is, not to be concerned at them. 
 
 It is an instance of humility, silently to bear 
 the calumnies, which are raised against us, when 
 they relate to ourselves only ; but it is a duty 
 of prudence and charity, modestly to vindicate 
 ourselves, when the honor of God and the 
 Church is concerned. 
 
 Both Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were 
 slandered ; who then will complain, that they 
 cannot satisfy the world, and stop men's 
 mouths ? 
 
 Psa. cxx. 2. Deliver my soul, O Lord, 
 from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue. 
 
 Uncharitableness. 
 
 Envy makes us see, what will serve to accuse 
 others; and not perceive, what ipay justify 
 them. A truly good man is always disposed to 
 excuse, what is evil in his brethren, as far, as 
 truth will suffer him. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. gt 
 
 FRIDAY MEDITATIONS, 
 
 PENITENCE. 
 
 Luke xviii. 3. The Publican, standing afar off? 
 'would not so much as lift up his eyes to Heaven ; 
 but smote upon his breast, saying, God ^ be mer- 
 ciful to me, a sinner. 
 
 WHAT would become of me, if Thou, 
 O God, shouldest not have mercy up- 
 on me ? 
 
 When I seriously consider these dreadful 
 truths, that all they are accursed, who do err 
 and go astray from thy commandments ; that the 
 unprofitable servant was cast into outer darkness ^ 
 when I think of these things, I cannot but fear 
 for myself, and tremble to think of the accounts 
 I have to give. 
 
 Isaiah Ixvi. 2. To this man will I look, even 
 to him, that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and 
 trembleth at my word. 
 
 Psa. xxxiv. 1 8. The Lord is nigh unto them, 
 that are of a contrite heart ; and will save such, 
 as be of a humble spirit. 
 
 Look upon me, gracious Lord, with an eye 
 of mercy. 
 
 Psa. xxv, 2. For thy name's sake, O Lord, 
 pardon my iniquities, for they are great. 
 
 My only comfort is, they are not too great 
 for thy mercy ; and the Lord Jesus, our advo- 
 
92 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 cate, has assured us even with an oath, that all 
 sins shallbe forgiven unto the sonsof men. That 
 is, if with hearty repentance and true faith they 
 turn unto God. 
 
 O most powerful Advocate, I put my cause 
 into thy hands ; let it be unto thy servant ac- 
 cording to this word ; let thy blood and mer- 
 its plead for my pardon ; say unto me, as Thou 
 didst unto the penitent in thy gospel, thy sins 
 are forgiven ; and grant that I may live to bring 
 forth fruits, meet for repentance. 
 
 Matth. vi. 14. If ye forgive men their tres- 
 passes, your heavenly Father will also forgive 
 your trespasses. 
 
 Even the power to perform this most kind 
 condition must be from thy grace, O Jesus ; and 
 I trust Thou wilt grant me this grace, because 
 the very will to ask it is from Thee, and from 
 thy will, which wills nothing in vain. 
 
 Perfect therefore, O my Saviour, the work, 
 which thou hast -begun in me ; and let me feel 
 the effects of thy grace in the constancy of my 
 devotions, in care of my soul, in a faithful dis- 
 charge of my duty, and in all those acts of 
 righteousness, piety, and charity, by which I 
 shall be judged at the last day. 
 
 John v. 14. Sin no more, lest a worse thing 
 come unto thee. 
 
 Make me, O Lord, ever itiindful of my in- 
 firmities and backslidings, that I may be more 
 watchful, and more importunate for grace in 
 time to come. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 93 
 
 Matth. v. 7. Blessed are the merciful, for 
 they shall obtain mercy. 
 
 Give me, O Lord, true compassion for the 
 wants and miseries of others, that Thou mayest 
 have compassion upon me. 
 
 Luke xv. 10. There is joy in the presence of 
 God over one sinner, that repenteth. 
 
 Lord, increase the number of penitents, and 
 the joys of Heaven, by delivering me and all 
 sinners from the power of the devil, and by 
 vouchsafing us the grace of true conversion. 
 
 Matth. v. 4. Blessed are they, that mourn, 
 for they shall be comforted. 
 
 O Lord, grant that I may seek comfort, not 
 in the things of this world, but by sincere re- 
 pentance for my sins, by which God is dishon- 
 ored, and his judgments hang over my head. 
 
 Luke xix. 10. The Son of man is come to 
 seek and to save that, which was lost. 
 
 O comfortable words ^for lost sinners ; God 
 himself seeks to save them. O Thou, who 
 sought me, when I was astray, save me for thy 
 mercy's sake ; and preserve that, which Thou 
 hast sought and found. 
 
 Matth. ix. 28. Come unto me, all ye, that 
 labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest. 
 
 O Jesus, conduct me to thyself, or I shall 
 surely miss the way. 
 
 Phil. ii. 12. Work out your own salvation 
 with fear and trembling j for it is God, that 
 
94 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 worketh in you both to will and to do of his 
 good pleasure. 
 
 It was nor in myself, O God, to begin the 
 work of my conversion ; finish., I beseech Thee, 
 what Thou hast begun in me. May I close 
 with thy grace, and persevere unto my life's 
 end. 
 
 Micah vii. 18. God retaineth not his anger 
 forever, because he delighteth in mercy. 
 
 Ezra ix. 15. O Lord God, behold, we are 
 before thee in our trespasses ; we cannot stand 
 before thee for this. 
 
 Numb. xiv. 19. Pardon, I beseech Thee, the 
 iniquity of thy servant, according to the great- 
 ness of thy merey. 
 
 say unto me, as thou didst unto Moses, / 
 have pardoned thee. 
 
 Ezek. xviii. 22. All his iniquites, that he 
 hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto 
 him. 
 
 Lord, be merciful unto us, for we have sin- 
 ned in the midst of light, and even against 
 light ; in contempt of the grace, we have re- 
 ceived. 
 
 1 John 5. 9. If v.e confess our sins, God is 
 faithful aiid just to forgive us our sins, and to 
 cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
 
 These a v e comfortable words to one, whom 
 the sight of his sins has cast into a dread of the 
 judgments of God. Both that dread, and the 
 ha' red of sin, and the dependance upon the 
 promise of God, and the love, which that pro- 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 95 
 
 duces hi the soul, are owing entirely to the 
 blood of Jesus Christ. 
 
 2 Sam. ix. 8. What is thy servant, that thou 
 shouldst look upon such a dead dog, as I am. 
 
 My only support is, that my sins have not 
 put me out of the reach of that mercy, which 
 is infinite. 
 
 Who can understand his errors ? O cleanse 
 Thou me from my secret faults. O Lord, be 
 favorable unto me ; pardon and deliver me from 
 all my sins. 
 
 Grant that my sins may never rise up in judg- 
 ment against me, nor bring shame and confusion 
 of face upon me. 
 
 My soul truly waiteth still upon God, for 
 of him cometh my salvation, 
 
 yohn vi. 20. It is I, be not afraid. 
 
 Lord Jesus, in all the troubles^ that may be- 
 fal me, speak these comfortable words to my 
 soul, // is 7, be not -afraid ; and then I shall be 
 secure both from presumption and despair. 
 
 John viii. 24. If ye believe not that I am he, 
 (that is, the Messiah, the Son of God) ye shall 
 die in your sins. 
 
 O Jesus, the only refuge of sinners, does the 
 world know, what it is to die in sin ? I believe ; 
 Lord, increase my faith, and deliver us all from 
 the dreadful state of final impenitency. 
 
 31. If ye continue in my word, then are ye 
 my disciples indeed. 
 
 51. If a man keep my saying, he shall nev- 
 er see death* 
 
96 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Jesus, Thou hast made known to us an- 
 other death, beside that, which separates the 
 soul from the body. O may thy grace and 
 mercy secure us from the bitter pains of eternal 
 death ! 
 
 Luke vii. 7. Say the word, and my servant 
 shall be healed. 
 
 1 acknowledge, O Jesus, the almighty power 
 of thy grace, to heal all the disorders of my 
 soul ; O deal with me according to the multi- 
 tude of thy mercies, and heal my soul of its sad 
 disorders, 
 
 John iii. 24. God is a spirit ; and they, that 
 worship him, mu-t worship him in spirit and in 
 truth. 
 
 Give me, O Jesus, an inward disposition to 
 holiness, a humble and contrite heart, depen- 
 dance on the will of God, acknowledgment of 
 his goodness, and zeal for his glory ; to which 
 all the ordinances of his law and gospel should 
 lead us. 
 
 Good me of Time. 
 
 Grant, O Lord, that, as I have but a short 
 time to live, and an eternal interest depending, 
 I may not squander away one moment in vani- 
 ty, or in that, which will not profit me in the 
 day of adversity. 
 
 Rom. xi. 1 6. Blindness in part is happened to 
 Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come 
 in j so all Israel shall be saved. 
 
 O God, the God of Abraham, look upon 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 97 
 
 thy everlasting covenant ; cause the captivity of 
 Judah anli of Israel to return. They were thy 
 people ; O be Thou their Saviour, that all, 
 who love Jerusalem, and mourn for her, may re- 
 joice with her, for Jesus Christ's sake, their 
 Saviour and ours. 
 
 May I, O Jesus, love the truths of thy word ; 
 make the gospel my delight ; and continue in 
 the practice of them to my life's end ! 
 In time of public distraction. 
 
 O Sovereign Lord, I prostrate myself before 
 Thee, confessing my own sin, and acknowledg- 
 ing the justice of any scourge, which Thou 
 shalt bring upon us ; and trembling, to think 
 how much I may have contributed toward it ; 
 beseeching Thee to have compassion on us in 
 these days of confusion. 
 
 O Lord, prevent the judgments, that threat- 
 en us ; purge this nation from all such crimes, 
 as may be the cause of thy heavy displeasure 
 against us ; from whoredom and drunkenness ; 
 from swear ing, lying, and perjury ; from sacri- 
 lege, injustice, fraud, disobedience, malice, and 
 uncharitableness. Take from among us the 
 spirit of atheism, irreligion, and prcfaneness ; 
 and in mercy rebuke and convert all such, as 
 give encouragement or countenance n to any of 
 these vices, which may provoke Thee to give 
 us up to infidelity or destruction. O let thy 
 anger be turned away from us ; give us not 
 over unto the will of our adversaries, and 
 I 
 
98 SACRA PRIVATA, 
 
 unto such, as strive to bring all things into con- 
 fusion. Preserve thy Church in the midst of 
 all dangers, and restore unto us peace and unity ; 
 and grant us grace, to make a better use of 
 these blessings in time to come, for Jesus Christ's 
 sake. Amen. 
 
 We complain of oppression ; of our laws be- 
 ing perverted and trampled upon ; of arbitrary 
 government, &c. Let us not be wiser, than 
 God, who judges these things to be necessary, 
 to exercise the good, to punish the wicked, to 
 reclaim the sinner, to recover those, that are 
 going astray, and to make all serious. Let us 
 not impeach the ways of God, who brings 
 good out of evil ; but reverence and submit to 
 his will, wisdom, and justice* 
 
 Isaiah Ixii. 6. Ye, that are the Lord's re* 
 membrances, keep not silence ; give him no rest, 
 till he establish and till he make Jerusalem (his 
 Church) a praise on the earth. 
 
 Thy kingdom come. Though we are altogeth- 
 er unworthy of the good times, Thou hast prom- 
 ised thy Church, yet, we beseech Thee, deprive 
 Us not pf them. 
 
 O Lord, hear ; O Lord, forgive ; O Lord, 
 hearken ; and do not defer these good days, for 
 thy own sake, O our God. 
 
 We hope the day is coming, when all the 
 world will come, and worship Thee, O God* 
 See Jer. xxxi. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 99 
 
 Christ's Patience. 
 
 What sorrows did he undergo, and with what 
 patience did he suffer them ! Patient, when Ju- 
 das betray him with a kiss ; patient, when Cai- 
 aphas despitefully used him ; patient, when 
 hurried from one place to another ; patient, 
 when Herod with his men of war set him at 
 nought ; patient, when Pilate so unrighteously 
 condemned him ; patient, when scourged, and 
 crowned with thorns ; patient, when his cross 
 was laid upon him, when he was reviled, re* 
 proached, scoffed at, and every way abused. 
 Lord Jesus, grant me patience, after this* exam- 
 ple, to bear thy holy will in all things. 
 
 Chris fs love and charity. 
 
 Where shall we take our pattern, but from 
 Thee ? Thou callest thy followers thy friends. 
 Thou didst stoop down to wash their feet, who 
 were not worthy to untie thy shoe. Thou 
 didst forgive and restore Peter, when he had ab- 
 jured Thee. Thou didst vouchsafe to satisfy 
 Thomas, who would not believe, but upon his 
 own terms. Thou didst forgive and pray for 
 thy bloody persecutors. O thou Fountain and 
 Pattern of love, grant that I may love Thee, 
 above all things, and my neighbour, as myself* 
 
ico SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 SATURDAY MEDITATIONS. 
 
 PREPARATION for DEATH. 
 
 Deut. xxxii. 29. thai they 'were wise, that 
 they would consider their latter end. 
 
 John ix. 4. The night cometh, when no man 
 can work. 
 
 A Very gracious intimation. Lord, grant 
 that I may never forget it ; and that 
 now, now is the time, in which to provide for 
 eternity. 
 
 What a xvis'e man, \vhen he comes to die, 
 would wish he had done, that he ought to do 
 forthwith ; for death is at hand, and the con- 
 sequences of a surprise most dreadful. He will 
 then wish, if he have not done it, with all his 
 soul, 
 
 First, that he had made a just and Christian 
 settlement of his worldly concerns ; so as not 
 to be distracted with the cares of this world, 
 when all his thoughts should be upon another. 
 
 Secondly, that he had made his peace with 
 God by timely repentance. 
 
 Thirdly, that he had faithfully discharged the 
 duties of his calling. 
 
 - Fourthly, that he had weaned his affections 
 from things temporal, and loosened the ties^ 
 which fasten us to the world. 
 
 Fifthly, that he had crucified the flesh with 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 101 
 
 its affections and lusts ; so that, being weary of 
 this life, he might be more desirous of a better. 
 
 Sixthly^ that by acts of justice, mercy, chari- 
 ty, and alms, he may be entitled to the mercy 
 of God at the hour of death. 
 
 Seventhly, that he had gotten such habits of 
 patience and resignation to the will of God du- 
 ring his health, as might render death, with all 
 the train of miseries leading to it, less frightful 
 and amazing. 
 
 Eighthly , that by constant practice of devotion 
 prepartory for death, he had learned what to 
 pray for, what to hope for, and what to de- 
 pend on in his last sickness. 
 
 This, gracious Lord, is what I wish for, 
 what I pray for, and what I purpose shall be 
 the constant practice of my life. Amen. 
 
 2 Kings xx. i. Set thine house in order, for 
 thou shalt die, and not live. 
 
 May God, who has every way provided for 
 me, and put it into my power to be just to all 
 men, charitable to the poor, grateful to my 
 friends, kind to my servants, and a benefactor 
 to the public ; may He add this to all his fa- 
 vors, and grant that in making my last will I 
 may faithfully discharge all these engagements ; 
 and that for want of this no curse may cleave to 
 myself, nor to any thing, I shall leave behind 
 me. Amen. 
 
 But above all things I beg of Thee, O God., 
 to enable me to set my inward house, my soul? 
 in order, before I die. 
 
102 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Give me true repentance for all the errors of 
 my life past, and stedfast faith in thy Son Jesus 
 Christ ; that my sins may be done away by thy 
 mercy, and my pardon sealed in Heaven. 
 
 Prov. xxviii. 13. Whoso confesseth, and 
 forsaketh his sin, shall have mercy. 
 
 Behold, O God, a creature, liable every mo- 
 ment to death, prostrate before Thee, begging, 
 for Jesus Christ's sake, that faith and repent- 
 ance, to which Thou hast promised mercy and 
 pardon. 
 
 Discover to me, O Thou Searcher of hearts, 
 the charge, that is against me ; that I may know, 
 and confess i and beybail^ and abhor -, and forsake^ 
 and repent of, all the evils, of which I have been 
 guilty. 
 
 Have mercy upon me a most merciful Father, 
 who desirest not the death of a sinner ; for thy 
 Son Jesus Christ's sake forgive me all, that is 
 past. 
 
 O Blessed Advocate, who art able to save 
 them forever, who come unto God by Thee, 
 seeing Thou ever livest to make intercession for 
 us, I put my cause into thy hands ; let thy pow- 
 er defend me ; thy blood and merits plead for 
 jne ; supply all the defects of my repent nee; 
 procure for me a full discharge of all my sins be- 
 ibre I die ; and by thy mighty grace confirm 
 and strengthen me in all goodness during the 
 remainder of my life, that my death may be a 
 blessing to me, and that I may find mercy at 
 ,-the great day. Amen\ 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 103 
 
 Ephes. iv. 24. Put on the new man, which 
 after God is created in righteousness and true 
 holiness. 
 
 This, O God, is what I desire and purpose, 
 by thy grace, to do ; and do again renew the 
 vows, which I have so often made and so often 
 broken. 
 
 I renounce the devil and all his works ; the 
 vain pomp and glory of the world with all cov- 
 etous desires of the same, and the carnal desires 
 of the flesh, resolving, by thy grace, neither to 
 follow, nor to be led by them. 
 
 O God, assist me, that neither sloth nor 
 corruption may ever make me lay aside or for- 
 get these resolutions ; but that I may live to 
 Thee ; be an instrument of thy glory by serv- 
 ing Thee faithfully ; and that I may be found 
 so doing, when thou art pleased to call me hence, 
 for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 Col. iii. 2. Set your affections on things 
 above, not on things on the earth. 
 
 May Almighty God, who alone can do it, 
 effectually convince me of the vanity of all, 
 that is desirable in this present life, that I may 
 not, like an unbeliever, look for happiness 
 here. 
 
 Give me, O Lord, perfect indifference to the 
 world, its profits, pleasures, honors, fame, and all 
 its idols. 
 
 Represent Thyself unto me, as my true hap- 
 pinefs, that I may love Thee with all my heart, 
 and soul, and strength ; so * that, when called 
 
104 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 out of this world, I may rejoice in hope of go- 
 ing to the Paradise of God, where the souls of 
 the faithful enjoy rest and felicity, in hope of 
 a blessed resurrection, through Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour. Amen. ' 
 
 Luke ix. 23. If any man will come after me, 
 let him deny himself, and take up his cross 
 daily, and follow me. 
 
 Blessed Jesus, who pleasest not thyself, but 
 tookest upon Thee the form of a servant, give 
 me resolution to deny my inclinations for the 
 good things of this world, even while I may 
 command them ; to subdue my corrupt affec- 
 tions, and to take revenge upon myself, for my 
 intemperance, by mortification ; for mispending 
 my time, by retirement ; for the errors of niy 
 tongue, by silence ; and for all the sins of my 
 life, by deep humiliation, patiently submitting 
 to all the troubles, with which Thou fhalt 
 think fit to exercise or puniili me ; so that, be- 
 ing effectually weaned from this world, and 
 weary of its corruptions, I may long to repose 
 myself in the grave, in hope of a better life, 
 through thy mercy and merits, O Lord Jesus 
 Christ* Amen. 
 
 i Pet. iv. 8. Charity covereth the multi- 
 tude of sins. 
 
 Possess my soul, O God, with sincere 
 love for Thee, aod for all mankind. 
 
 Let no malice nor ill will abide in me. 
 Give me grace to forgive all* who ha#e offend- 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 105 
 
 ed me ; and forgive my many offences against 
 Thee, and against my neighbour. 
 
 Make me ever ready to give, and glad to dis- 
 tribute, that thy gifts, passing through my 
 hands, may procure for me the prayers of the 
 poor ; and that I may lay up in store for my- 
 self a good foundation against the time to come, 
 that 1 may attain eternal life, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Thy will be done. 
 
 Fortify my soul, blessed Jesus, with the same 
 spirit of submission, with which Thou under- 
 \ventest the death of the cross, that I may re- 
 ceive all events with resignation to the will of 
 God; that I may receive troubles, afflictions, 
 disappointments, sickness, and death itself, 
 without amazement ; these being the appoint- 
 ment of thy justice for the punishment of sin, 
 and of thy mercy for the salvation of sinners. 
 
 Let this be the constant practice of my life, 
 to be pleased with all thy choices, that, when 
 sickness and death approach, I may be prepared 
 to submit my will to the will of my Maker. 
 
 O that in the mean time my heart may al- 
 ways go along with my lips in this petition, 
 THY WILL BE DONE. Amen. 
 
 Heb. ix. 27. It is appointed unto men once 
 to die ; but after this the judgment. 
 
 May the thoughts of death, and of what 
 must follow, by the grace of God, mortify in 
 me all carnal security, and fondness for this 
 
io6 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 world, and all, that is in it, the lust of the flesh, 
 the lust of the eye, and the pride of life ! O 
 that I may make my calling and ele&ion sure, 
 that I may die in peace, and in hope of a bles- 
 sed resurrection, and of a favorable judgment at 
 the great day ! 
 
 May the consideration of a judgment to 
 come oblige me to ermine, to try, and to 
 judge myself, that I may prevent a severe judg- 
 ment of God by true repentance, and lead a life, 
 answerable to repentance, and that I may find 
 mercy at the great day. 
 
 John v. 28. All, that are in the graves, 
 shall hear his voice, and come forth ; they t that 
 have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; 
 and they, that have done evil, unto the resur- 
 rection of damnation. 
 
 May this dreadful word oblige me to work 
 out my salvation with fear and trembling, that 
 through the merits of Jesus Christ I may escape 
 that dreadful doom ! and may the hope of 
 Heaven and happiness sweeten all the troubles 
 of this mortal life ! 
 
 Lord Jesus, who hast redeemed us with 
 thy precious blood, make me to be numbered 
 with thy saints in glory everlasting. O let my 
 name be found in the Lamb's book of life at the 
 great day. 
 
 1 thank Thee, O Lord, for all the favors of 
 my life, and especially that Thou hast vouch- 
 safed me time and will to .think of w\& prepare 
 for death, while in my full strength ; while i 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 10; 
 
 may redeem my mispent time, and bring forth 
 fruits, meet for repentance. 
 
 Let us consider death ^ as a punishment, to 
 which, as sinners, we are justly condemned. 
 
 My God, I humbly submit to it, and to thy 
 justice ; and trust in thy mercy, and goodness, and 
 promises, both now, and at the hour of death. 
 
 Death is inevitable ; the time uncertain ; the 
 
 judgment, which follows, without appeal ; and 
 
 followed by an eternity of happiness or misery. 
 
 Lord, grant that I may consider this, as I ought 
 
 to do. 
 
 Let me remember that I shall come forth out 
 of the grave, just as I go in ; either the object 
 of God's mercy, or of his wra+h to all eternity. 
 
 He lives to no purpose, who is not glorifying 
 God. 
 
 Our greatest hope fhould lie beyond the 
 grave. 
 
 No man can go to Heaven, when he dies, 
 who has not sent his heart thither, while he 
 lives. 
 
 Our greatest security is derived from duty 5 
 and our only confidence from the mercy of God 
 through Jesus Christ. 
 
 Sicknefs, if you consider it, as painful to na- 
 ture, and not as a favor from God, will be a 
 torment to you. To make it really comforta- 
 ble, believe it to be ordered by a loving Fa- 
 ther, a wise Physician ; that it is the effect of 
 his mercy for our salvation } that, being fas* 
 
io8 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 tened to the crofs, you become dearer to God, 
 as being most like his own Son. God will 
 loose you, when it is best for you. 
 
 We often hinder our recovery by trusting to 
 physic more, than to God. Means succeed just 
 as far, as God pleases. If he send diseases, as 
 a remedy to cure the disorders of the soul, he 
 only can cure them ; while you are chastened, 
 you are sure God loves you ; you are not sure 
 of that, when you are without chastisement. 
 
 Timely preparation for death frees us from 
 the fear of death, and from all other fears. A 
 true Christian is neither fond of life, nor weary 
 of it. 
 
 The sting of death is sin ; therefore a holy 
 life is the only cure for the fear of death. We 
 ought to fear sin more than death, because 
 death cannot hurt us but by sin. 
 
 Phil. i. 21. To me to die is gain. 
 
 O that I may be able to say this, when I 
 come to die ; and so I shall, if I live, as be- 
 comes a Christian. 
 
 Holiness being a necessary qualification for 
 happiness^ it follows, that the holiest man will 
 be the happiest, (for there are certainly de- 
 grees of glory) therefore a Christian should 
 lose no time in gaining all the degrees of vir- 
 tue and holiness, he possibly can ; and he, that 
 does not do so, is in a fair way of not being 
 happy at all. t 
 
 It concerns us more, than our life is worth, 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 109 
 
 to know, what will become of us, when we 
 die. 
 
 Who will pretend to say, that he is not in a 
 very few days to die ? 
 
 The only happiness of this life, is to be se- 
 cure of a blessed eternity. 
 
 Now is the time, m which we are to choose, 
 where and what we are to be to all eternity ; 
 there is therefore no time to be lost in making 
 this choice. 
 
 No kind of death is to be feared by him, 
 who lives well. 
 
 If we consider death, as the night of that 
 day, which is given us to work in, in which to 
 work out our salvation ; and that, when the 
 night is come, no man can work ; how fright- 
 ful must death be to such, as are not prepared 
 for it ! If we consider it, as the beginning of 
 eternity, it is still more dreadful. It is for this 
 reason called the King of Terrors ; and the 
 Psalmist, when he would express the worst of 
 evils, saith, The terrors of death are fallen upon 
 me. 
 
 yudges xiii. 23. If the Lord were pleased 
 to kill us, he would not have received a burnt 
 offering at our hands, neither would he have 
 showed us all these things. 
 
 This is the comfort of all God's servants ; 
 if he give them opportunities of renewing their 
 vows, and a will to do them ; if he accept their 
 alms and their good deeds, that is, give them a 
 heart to do such j if he touch their hearts with 
 
 K 
 
no SACRA PRIV ATA. 
 
 a sense of their unworthiriess ; if he chastise 
 them with afflictions ; if he visit them with his 
 Holy Spirit, &c. All these are reasons for a 
 Christian to hope that these graces are not in 
 vain, but. that God will crown them with par- 
 don, favor, and happiness eternal. 
 
 Matth. xxv. 6. And at midnight there \vas 
 ,a cry made, behold, the bridegroom cometh, go 
 ye out to meet him. 
 
 A terrible voice to all such, as shall meet him, 
 not as a bridegroom, but as an inexorable judge. 
 Grant, O Lord, that I may not be of the num- 
 ber of those, who dread thy coming, who can- 
 not but with regret submit to the necessity of 
 dying, and have neglected to prepare for death, 
 till the last hour. 
 
 Matth. xxv. 10. And the door was shut. 
 
 Death shuts the door. No more to be done. 
 It is then too late to repent, to resolve, to pro- 
 mise, and to do any thing. 
 
 13. Watch therefore, for ye know neither 
 the day, nor the hour, wherein the Son of Man 
 cometh. 
 
 A person, whose life is full of good works, 
 whose heart is devoted to God, whose faith and 
 hope are pure and sincere, will never be surpris- 
 ed by death. 
 
 Matth. xxvii. 50. Jesus Christ yielded up 
 the ghost. So his death was a voluntary sacri- 
 fice. Let mine be so, O blessed Jesus ! Let thy 
 death sanctify me j and let my spirit be receiv- 
 ed with thine ! 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. in 
 
 Rom. v. i . Being justified by faith, we have 
 peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Give me, O Lord, that desire and earnest 
 longing, which I ought to have for that happy 
 moment, which is to release me from this state 
 of banishment, and translate me to a better 
 place ; and grant that I may never lose sight of 
 that important moment. 
 
 Let me, O God, have my lot and portion 
 with thy saints. 
 
 When we come to die, the great enemy of 
 our souls will then attack us with all his strat- 
 agems. It is good therefore to be prepared. 
 If he attack your faith, say with St. Paul, / 
 know, whom I have believed ; and I am persuad- 
 ed ^ that he is able to keep that, which I have com- 
 mitted unto him, against that day. 
 
 I believe in God the Father, who made me 
 and all the world. I believe in God the Son, 
 who redeemed me and all mankind. I believe 
 in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctified me and 
 all the elect people of God. 
 
 I give Thee hearty thanks, O Heavenly Fa- 
 ther, that Thou hast vouchsafed to call me to 
 the knowledge of thy grace and faith in Thee. 
 Confirm this faith in me evermore ; grant that 
 I may die in this faith, and in the peace and 
 communion of the Holy Church ; and that I 
 may be united to Jesus, the head of this church, 
 and to all his members, by love, that shall nev- 
 er end. Amen. 
 
ji2 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 John \i\. 15. Whosoever believeth in Jesus 
 Christ shall not perish, but have eternal life. 
 
 I believe ; Lord, increase my faith ; and let 
 it be unto thy servant according to this word. 
 
 Luke xxiii. A.T.. This day shalt thou be with 
 
 * *j j 
 
 me in paradise. 
 
 O Blessed Jesus, support my spirit, when I 
 tome to die, with this comfortable promise, 
 this day shalt thou be in paradise. 
 
 We indeed suffer justly the sentence of death. 
 O Thou, who didst nothing amiss, and yet 
 didst suffer for me, remember me, O Lord, now 
 that thou art in thy kingdom. 
 
 What terror, what affliction, can equal that 
 of a Christian, who has never thought of wean- 
 ing his heart from the world, before he comes 
 to die ; who can find nothing in his life, but 
 what must render him unworthy of mercy ! 
 But the greatest of all miseries would be to des- 
 pair of mercy, and not to have recourse to it. 
 
 Need a person, who has received the sen- 
 tence of death, be perfuaded to prepare for 
 death ? And is not this our case ? 
 
 Consider death, as appointed by God, as a 
 necessary penance ; as a passage to a better life ; 
 as the deliverance of a prisoner ; as the recall- 
 ing of an exile from banishment ; as the end of 
 all miseries ; and then you* will strip it of much 
 of that terror, which it has, when considered, as 
 an accident of nature only. 
 
 Lukexn. 36. And ye yourselves like unto 
 men, that wait for their Lord. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 113 
 
 He, who waits for his master, will always 
 endeavour to be in that state, in which he de- 
 sires to be found. A Christian should not look 
 upon death with anxiety, but with the satisfac- 
 tion of a good servant, who waits with impa- 
 tience for his master's return in hope of being 
 approved. 
 
 Luke xii. 40. Be ye also ready, for the Son 
 of man cometh at an hour, when ye think not. 
 
 Are not so many sudden deaths sufficient to 
 convince us of the folly of assuring ourselves of 
 one day ? Let every one of us therefore count 
 himself of the number of those, that are to be 
 surprised by death ; this will make us watch- 
 ful. 
 
 Luke xii. 42. Blessed is that servant, whom 
 his Lord, when lie cometh, shall find so doing. 
 
 Miserable will he be, whom death surpriseth, 
 either doing evil, or doing nothing, or doing that, 
 which God does not require of him. Can one 
 imagine^ that the generality of Christians be- 
 lieve this' truth ? Suffer me not, O God, to fall 
 into forget fulness of it. 
 
 We complain, saith Seneca, of the shortness 
 of life ; he answers, Vita si scias uti> longa est ; 
 life is long, if you know how to use it. But 
 Christianity only can tqach us, how to use our 
 life ; namely in working out our own salvation ; 
 and we are sure it is long enough for that, be- 
 cause God has appointed it for that very end. 
 
 As Christianity alone can take from us the 
 K * 
 
u 4 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 love of life ; so it is this alone, that can free us 
 from the fear of death. 
 
 Eternity adds an infinite weight to all our 
 actions whether good or bad. 
 
 If we desire that our death sould be a sac- 
 rifice of love and obedience ; we must take care 
 to make our life so too. 
 
 Acts ix. 36. This woman was full of good 
 works and alms deeds ; and she died. 
 
 Happy that soul, which death finds rich, not 
 in gold, furniture, learning, reputation, or bar- 
 jren purposes and desires ; but in good works. 
 
 Acts. vii. 59. And they stoned Stephen, 
 calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, re- 
 ceive my spirit. 
 
 O my God, enable me to live to Thee ; that, 
 when the hour of death shall come, I may thus 
 with confidence offer up my spirit to Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Rev. iii. 3. Thou shalt not know what 
 hour I will come upon thee. 
 
 Is it not then the highest presumption, to 
 persuade ourselves, that we have always time 
 sufficient, when Jesus Christ himself declares 
 that we have not one moment certain ? 
 
 Death being the effect and punishment of sin, 
 we ought to expect it with great submission. 
 
 It is purely for want of faith, that we trem- 
 ble at the approach of our deliverer ; which is 
 to destroy in us the reign of sin, and to instate 
 as in that of glory. 
 
 Let us resign ourselves to God as to the man- 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 115 
 
 ner, in which it shall please him to determine 
 our lives, praying only, that it may be to his 
 glory and our salvation. 
 
 What does it signify, how this house of clay 
 perisheth, which hinders the perfect renovation 
 of the soul, and the sight of God ? 
 
 2 Cor. v. i . For we know that, if our earth- 
 ly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we 
 have a building of God, a house not made with 
 handy, eternal in the Heavens. 
 
 We know, we believe, we promise ourselves 
 this ; but we think too seldom of it, and we 
 still make less use of what we know, in order to 
 wean our hearts from this world. 
 
 Would we look upon our bodies, as houses of 
 clay, just ready to fall ; we should think of that 
 eternal house, we should sigh after our native 
 country, and be willing to leave a place of mis- 
 ery and banishment. 
 
 Remember that death is the punishment of 
 sin; we ought therefore to resign ourselves to it 
 in a Christian manner, looking upon ourselves as 
 condemned to it; in Adam. 
 
 He, who has lived and looked on earth, as a 
 place of banishment, will look upon death, as a 
 gracious deliverance from it. 
 
 Consider well, that life is given and continued 
 for no other end, than to glorify God in work- 
 ing out our own salvation. 
 
 A man goes with confidence to meet the 
 bridegroom, when he has been faithful to him, 
 and believes him to be his friend. 
 
n6 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Heb. ii. 15. And deliver them, who through 
 fear of death were all their life long subject to 
 bondage. 
 
 Bondage is the sentence of rebellious slaves j 
 we were condemned to it in Adam ; and, being 
 under this fen tence of death and the divine justice, 
 we ought to expect it with submission^ and be al- 
 ways preparing for it. This is the only way to 
 be secure from fearing death, when it comes. 
 
 Gather us, O God, to the number of thine elect 
 at what time and in what manner, Thou pleasest ; 
 only let us be without reproach, and blameless ; 
 let faith, and love, and peace, accompany our last 
 periods. 
 
 We look upon a body without a soul with 
 horror. We can .see a body with a soul, which is 
 like to die eternally, without concern. 
 
 Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me 
 from the body of this death ? I thank God, lam 
 delivered, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Grant, O Lord, that, though my outward 
 man decay daily, yet that my inward oian may 
 increase in piety and virtue unto the day of my 
 death. 
 
 He, who has lived best, will stand in need of 
 mercy at the hour of death, and in the day of 
 judgment ; and he, who has lived worst, has not 
 sinned beyond the efficacy of the blood of Christ, 
 provided his repentance be sincere. 
 
 My God, let thy glory be magnified by sav- 
 ing a sinner, by redeeming a captive slave, by 
 enlightening a mind, overwhelmed in darkness > 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 117 
 
 by changing a wicked heart, by pardoning innu- 
 merable transgressions, iniquities, and sins. 
 
 If my hope were placed upon any thing, but 
 the infinite mercy of God in Jems Christ, which 
 can never fail, I should utterly despair. 
 
 Acts ii. 21. Whosoever shall cali on the name 
 of the Lord, shall be saved. . 
 
 These, my God, are thy own words ; give me 
 leave to trust in them, to depend on them, both 
 now, and at the hour of death. 
 
 John xvii. 4. I have finished the work, which 
 thou gavest me to do. 
 
 O Lord, the very best of men come infinitely 
 short of this pattern ; how then shall I, an unprof- 
 itable servant, appear before my Lord and Judge ? 
 
 Gen. iii. 15. The seed of the woman shall 
 bruise the serpent's head. 
 
 This, my God, is thy sure, thy eternal prom- 
 ise ; I believe it ; I trust in it ; I will hold fast by 
 it. 
 
 Luke xxii. 42. Nevertheless not my will, but 
 thine be done. 
 
 May I, O blessed Jesus, when my death shall 
 approach, breathe out my last with these words, 
 and with the same spirit of submission ? 
 
 Death of friends. 
 
 Let us cast our eyes upon sin, which is the 
 caufe of death j and then we shall weep with 
 reason. 
 
n8 SACRA PRIV ATA. 
 
 Preferve in us a lively sense of the world to 
 come ; and, when I shall not be able to pray 
 for myself, the good Lord favorably hear the 
 prayers of his Church for me. 
 
 Grant that the sins, which I have committed 
 in this world, may not be imputed unto me ; 
 but that, escaping the gates of hell, I may 
 dwell in the regions of light with Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob, until the day of the general 
 resurreftion, and that I then may hear those 
 joyful words of thy Son, come, ye blessed 
 children of my Father, inherit the kingdom, 
 prepared for you from the beginning of the 
 world. 
 
 Grant that I may have a perfect conquest 
 over the world, sin, and death, through Chrift, 
 who by his death hath overcome him, who hath 
 the power of death. 
 
 Luke xxiii. 43. This day shalt thou be with 
 me in paradise. 
 
 O Jesus, who hadst compassion on this thief, 
 even at the hour of death, have mercy upon me, 
 who now repent of all my misdoings. Suffer 
 not the gates of paradise to be shut against 
 me, when I die, Thou, who hast opened the 
 kingdom of Heav.en to all believers. 
 
 Restore my soul, at the great day, to life 
 eternal. 
 
 Give me the patience of Job, the faith of 
 Abraham, the courage of Peter, and the 
 comfort of Paul, and true submission to thy 
 will. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 119 
 
 Apply to my soul the wholesome medicines of 
 thy Son's passion, death, and resurrection, 
 against the powers ,of Satan, against all unrea- 
 sonable fears and despair, and ease my fearful 
 conscience. 
 
 Hear the prayers of thy Church for me, 
 and for all in my 'condition, for Jesus Christ's 
 sake. 
 
 Psa. Ixxi. 9. Cast me not away in the time 
 of age ; forsake me not when my strength 
 faileth rne. / 
 
 Grant, O Lord, that the end of my life 
 may be truly Christian ; without sin, without 
 shame ; and, if it so please Thee, without 
 pain. 
 
 Psa. Ixxiii. 26. My flesh and my heart fail- 
 eth ; but God is the strength of my heart, and 
 my portion forever. 
 
 i Sam. iii. 18. It is the Lord; let him do, 
 what seemeth him good. 
 
 Lord, be merciful unto me j heal my soul, 
 for I have sinned against Thee. 
 
 I confess my wickedness, and am sorry for 
 my sin. For thy name's sake, O Lord, be 
 merciful unto my sin, for it is great. 
 
 The Lord is nigh unto them, who are of a 
 contrite heart ; and will save such as are of a 
 humble spirir. 
 
 Psa. xxxix. 8. And now, Lord, what is my 
 hope ? Truly my hope is in Thee. 
 
 Psa. ciii. 14. Lord, thou knowest whereof 
 we are made ; that we are but dust. 
 
120 SACRA PRTVATA. 
 
 Let my misery, my fear, and my sorrow, 
 move Thee to compassion. Despise not, O 
 Lord, the work of thine own hands. 
 
 I freely forgive all, who have offended me. 
 
 O Thou, who never failest them, that seek 
 Thee, have pity on me. 
 
 Nevertheless, though I am sometimes afraid, 
 yet put I my trust in Thee. O Lord, I beseech 
 Thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, 
 and righteous ; yea, our God is merciful. 
 
 O go not far from me, for trouble is at hand, 
 and there is none to help me. The sorrows of 
 my heart are enlarged ; O bring Thou me out 
 of my troubles ! 
 
 O keep my soul, and deliver me ; let me not 
 be confounded, for I have put my trust in 
 Thee. Withdraw not thy mercy from me, 
 O Lord ; let thy loving kindness and thy truth 
 always preserve me. 
 
 O Lord, let it be thy pleasure to deliver me ; 
 make ha^te, O Lord, to help me. Show thy 
 servant the light of thy countenance, and save 
 me for thy mercy's sake. 
 
 O deliver me, for I am helpless and poor, and 
 my heart is wounded within me. Wherefore 
 hidest Thou thy face, and forgettest our misery 
 and trouble ? 
 
 My God, save thy servant, who putteth his 
 trust in Thee. .Thou, O Lord, art full of com- 
 passion and mercy, long suffering, plenteous in 
 goodness and truth. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 121 
 
 When I am in heaviness, I will think upon 
 God ; when my heart is vexed, I will complain. 
 
 Will the Lord absent himself forever ? Will 
 he be no more intreated ? Hath God for- 
 gotten to be gracious ? I said, it is my own infirmi- 
 ty ; but I will remember the years of the right 
 hand of the Most High. 
 
 Luke xii. 33. Sell all, that ye have, and give 
 to the poor. That is, renounce all the pleasures 
 of wealth rather, than defraud the poor and dis- 
 tressed of their right. It is utterly impossible 
 to take delight in wealth, and to love God with 
 all the soul. 
 
 Matth. xxv. 40. For as much (for as often) 
 as ye have done it unto one of the least of these 
 my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 
 
 As often ! Who then would miss any occa- 
 sion ? The least ! Who then would despise any 
 object ? To me ! So that in serving the poor we 
 serve Jesus Christ. O comfortable declaration. 
 
 Mark ix. 41. Whosoever shall give you a 
 cup of water to drink in my name, because ye be- 
 long to Christ ; verily he shall not loose his re- 
 ward. 
 
 .This should always, if possible, be our inten- 
 tion ; this poor^ oppressed, miserable man belongs 
 to Christ. This would wonderfully inhance the 
 value of our good deeds before God. 
 
 L 
 
122 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 ALMS. 
 
 i Cor. xiii. 3. And, though I bestow all my 
 goods to feed the poor, and have not charity, it 
 profitteth me nothing. 
 
 If external afts of charity do not proceed from 
 charity, that is, from love of God, and of our 
 neighbour for his sake ; they are nothing in the 
 sight of God. My God, pour into my heart 
 this most excellent gift of charity, the very bond 
 of peace and of all virtue. 
 
 Gal. v\. 10. Let us do good unto all men. 
 
 For our earthly things, O Lord, give us heav- 
 enly ; for temporal, eternal. 
 
 Luke iii. 1 1. He, that hath two coats, let him 
 impart to him, that hath none. 
 
 That is, let him, that hath plenty of the neces- 
 saries of life, let him give to him, that wants. 
 
 The proportion of charity, appointed by God 
 himself to his own people for the relief of the 
 poor, was every year a thirtieth part of their in- 
 come, or a tenth every third year. 
 
 This, was the Jews proportion. He, that came 
 short of this, was a breaker of the law, and with- 
 put repentance and restitution had no hope of 
 pardon, 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 123 
 
 The Christian's proportion ought to be great- 
 er, as his hope and reward are greater. 
 
 We should in all our charities direft our ye 
 toward Christ in his members ; it is this, which 
 heightens the smallest gifts. Men reward, what 
 is done on human motives j f God, what is done 
 for his sake. 
 
 He, that for his good aftions expefts the ap- 
 plause of men, runs the hazard of loosing the re- 
 ward of God. 
 
 The poor are, as it were, the receivers of the 
 rights and dues belonging unto God ; we must 
 have a care of defrauding them. 
 
 Luke xi. 41. - But rather give alms of such 
 things, as you have, (or as you are able) and all 
 things are clean to you. That is, proportion 
 your alms to your estate, lest God proportion 
 your estate to your alms. 
 
 It is a necessary Christian duty (whatever men 
 think of it) to part with our worldly enjoy- 
 ments for the sake of Christ. 
 
 The very best of men are only instruments in 
 God's hands to receive and to give, what God 
 bestows upon them. This they should do with- 
 out any desire of glory or self interest. 
 
 Let us make light of money, and send it before 
 us into the heavenly treasures, where neither 
 moth nor rust doth corrupt ; but where it will 
 be kept, to our eternal advantage, under the cus- 
 tody of God himself. 
 
 Thou, O Lord, hast been all mercy to me ; 
 
i2 4 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 grant that I may be all mercy to others, for 
 Christ's sake. 
 
 Remember to give to those, that are ashamed 
 to ask ; and do not forget your poor relations, 
 lest you be worse, than an infidel. 
 
 Rom. xii. 1 8. He, that showeth mercy, let 
 him do it with cheerfulness. 
 
 The good Lord preserve me from vanity, and 
 from seeking applause for my charity. 
 
 Not unto me, but unto Thee, O God, be the 
 thanks, and praise, and glory. 
 
 The merits of the poor are not to be the rule 
 of our charity. God himself maketh his sun to 
 shine upon the evil and the good. 
 
 If we would but moderate our vanity, we 
 should always have enough for charity. 
 
 Send thy blessing upon my substance, and con- 
 tinue to me a willing mind to help such, as have 
 need, according to my ability. 
 
 Good advise and devout petitions should ac- 
 company our charity. 
 
 O God, who knowest the necessities of all thy 
 creatures, give thy poor the spiritual graces, 
 they need. 
 
 Support thy poor members, O Jesus, under all 
 their difficulties, and sanctify their bodily wants 
 to the salvation of their souls. Lord, grant that 
 they may bear their poor estate with patience 
 and resignation, and that we may one day meet 
 in the paradise of God. 
 Jesus Christ is continually humbled in his metn- 
 
SACRA PR! V ATA. 125 
 
 bers ; some are poor, in prison, sick, naked, hun- 
 gry, &c. Let 'me, O Lord, see and help Thee in 
 all these objects. 
 
 A man, who has faith, will be glad to discharge, 
 himself of some part of the burthen of the tem- 
 poral goods, in order to secure those, that are 
 . eternal ; and to be in some measure the preserv- 
 er of his brethren. 
 
 Psa. cxii. 5. A good (charitable) man will 
 guide his affairs with discretion; that is, he will 
 retrench all needless expenses in apparel, diet, di- 
 versions, &c. that he may give to him, that need- 
 eth. 
 Let your alms be in secret as much, as may be, 
 
 Chanty , or the love of God and our neighbour. 
 
 It is but the first essay of charity to give alms. 
 
 Whoever shows mercy to men, will certain- 
 ly receive mercy from God. 
 
 i John. iii. 15. Whosoever hateth his broth- 
 er, is a murderer. 
 
 A man has already killed him in his heart,whose 
 life is grievous to him, and at whose death he 
 would rejoice. 
 
 14. He, that loveth not his brother, abideth 
 in death. 
 
 Can we believe that God saith this, and delay 
 one moment to be reconciled ? 
 
 It isgoot enough to love our brethren ; we must 
 L 2 A 
 
126 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 love them upon a principle of faith, in the name ? 
 for the sake, and as members of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Luke vi. 37. Forgive, and it shall be forgiven 
 you. 
 
 Give me, O my God, a heart full of Christian 
 meekness and charity, that I may willingly forget 
 the evil, I have received, and be always disposed 
 to do good to others. 
 
 We love our neighbour after a Christian man- 
 ner, when we love him for God's sake j and for 
 God's sake do him good, 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 127 
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 O God, the F*her of Heaven ; have mercy up- 
 on me, keep, and defend me. 
 
 O God the Son, Redeemer of the world j have 
 mercy upon me, save, and deliver me. 
 
 O God the Holy Ghost ; have mercy upon 
 me, strengthen, and comfort me. 
 
 Remember not, O Lord, my offences, nor the 
 offences of my forefathers ; nor take Thou ven- 
 geance of our sins. Spare us, good Lord, spare 
 thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed with thy 
 most precious blood, and be not angry with us 
 forever. 
 
 From thy wrath and heavy indignation ; from 
 the guilt and burden of my sins ; from the dread- 
 ful sentence of the last judgment ; 
 
 Good Lord) deliver me. 
 
 From the sting and terrors of conscience ; from 
 impatience, distrust, and dispair ; from extremity 
 of sickness and pain, which may withdraw my 
 mind from God ; 
 
 Good Lord, Deliver me. 
 
 From the bitter pangs of eternal death ; from 
 the gates of hell ; from the powers of darkness $ 
 and from the illusions of Satan j 
 
 Good Lord, deliver me. 
 
128 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 By thy manifold and great mercies ; by thy 
 manifold and great merits ; by thine agony 
 and bloody sweat ; by thy bitter cross and 
 passion ; by thy mighty resurrection ; by thy 
 glorious ascension, and most acceptable interces- 
 sion j and by the graces of the Holy Ghost j . 
 
 Good Lord, deliver me. 
 
 For the glory of thy name ; for thy loving 
 mercy and truth's sake ; 
 
 Good Lord, deliver me. 
 
 In my last and greatest need ; in the hour of 
 death ; and in the day of judgment ; 
 
 Good Lord, deliver me. 
 
 As Thou hast delivered all thy saints and ser- 
 vants, which called upon Thee in their extremity ; 
 
 Good Lord, deliver me ; and receive my 
 soul for thy mercy's sake. 
 
 Be merciful unto me, and forgive me all my 
 sins, which by the malice of the devil, or by my 
 own frailty, I have at any time' of my life com- 
 mitted against Thee. 
 
 Lay not to my charge, what in the last of the 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 129 
 
 eye, the pride of life, or vanity, I have committed 
 against Thee. 
 
 Lay not to my charge, what by an angry spir- 
 it, by vain arid idle words, by foolish jesting, I 
 have committed gainst Thee. 
 
 Make me partaker of all thy mercies and prom- 
 ises in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Vouchsafe my soul a place of rest in the par- 
 adise of God with all thy blessed Saints ; and my 
 body part in the blessed resurrection. 
 
 O Lord God, Lamb of God, that takest away 
 the sins of the world ; 
 
 Have mercy upon me. 
 Thou, that takest away the sins of the world a 
 
 Grant me thy peace. 
 Thou, that sittest at the right hand of God f 
 
 Have mercy upon me. 
 
 Have mercy upon me, receive my prayer, which 
 Thou hast tought me. 
 
 Our Father , who art in Heaven &c. 
 
 O Lord, deal not with me after my sins ; ndr 
 reward me after my iniquites. 
 
 O God, merciful Father, that despiseth not the 
 sighing of a contrite heart, nor the desires 
 
130 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 as be sorrowful ; mercyfully assist my prayers, 
 which 1 make before Thee ; at those times espe- 
 cially when I am preparing for death and eternity. 
 O Lord, graciously Tiear me, that those evils, 
 those illusions, and assaults, which my great en- 
 emy worketh against me, may be brought to 
 nought, and by the providence of thy goodness 
 dispersed ; that thy servant, being delivered from 
 all temptations, may give thanks to Thee with 
 thy Holy Church to all eternity. Amen. 
 
 Let us endeavour by timely repentance to pre- 
 vent the reproaches, which otherwise our con- 
 , siences will cast upon us at the hour of death. 
 
 The support of a penitent at the hour 
 of death. 
 
 John iii. 16. God so loved the world, that he 
 gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
 lieveth in him, should not perish ; but have ever- 
 lasting life. 
 
 i John i?: i. We have an Advocate with the 
 Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; who came in- 
 to the world to save sinners ; who died for us, 
 when we were his enimies, that he might offer us 
 unto God. 
 
 Our Judge himself hath assured us, that all- 
 sins shall be forgiven the sons of men. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 13 1 
 
 EJACULATIONS. 
 
 
 
 TAKE from me all evil imaginations,all impu- 
 rity of thought, all inclinations to lust, all envy, 
 pride, and hypocrisy ; all falsehood, deceit, and 
 irregularity of life ; all covetousness, vain glory, 
 and sloth ; all malice, anger, and wrath ; all re- 
 membrance of injuries, every thing, contrary to 
 thy will, O most Holy God. 
 
 May I never hear with pleasure, nor ever re- 
 peat such things, as may dishonor God, or injure 
 my neighbour or my own character. 
 
 Love of God, &c. 
 
 Bless me, O God, with the love of Thee, and 
 .of my neighbour. Give me peace of conscience, 
 the command of my affections j and for the rest, 
 Thy will be done. 
 
 O King of peace, give us thy peace, keep us 
 in love and charity. 
 
 Make thyself, O God, absolute master of my 
 heart. 
 
 They, that be whole, need not a physician. It 
 belongs to Thee, O Sovereign Physician, to make 
 us sensible of our maladies, and to make us go to 
 Thee for help. O say unto my-soul this word of 
 salvation, Behold, thou art made whole. 
 
 Without me ye can do nothing. Miserable in- 
 deed is he, who pretends to walk without Thee, 
 
133 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 O give me light to see, a heart to embrace, and 
 a power to do thy will. From thy Spirit I 
 hope to receive these graces. 
 
 John xiu 26. If any man serve me, let him fol- 
 low me ; and him will my Father honor. 
 
 Let me never flatter myself, that I serve Thee, 
 my Saviour, unless I follow thy example at the 
 expense of every thing I love or fear beside. O 
 keep my heart fixed upon that honor, which God 
 has prepared for those, that follow Thee. 
 
 O divine Spirit, render me worthy of thy pres- 
 ence and consolation. Fill my heart with holy 
 dread of thy judgments. Give me a true sense 
 and knowledge of the danger and evil of sin ; and 
 may I, with prudent moderation only, be concern- 
 ed for temporal things. 
 
 Jesus Christ is always in his temple, and near 
 you, (if your soul be fit for him to dwell in) to 
 Him apply on all occasions. 
 
 As your Master ; for grace to study, to love, 
 and to follow his instructions. He requires no- 
 thing, but what he first practised himself. 
 
 As your Lord ; that you may love and serve 
 him faithfully, and fulfil all his commands. 
 
 As your Pattern ; that you may follow his ex- 
 ample, and imitate his virtues. 
 
 As your Saviour ; that he may be your refuge 
 and confidence, your strength and support, your 
 peace and consolation, your Saviour now and at 
 the hour of death. 
 
 As your King ; that he may give laws to your 
 
SACRA PRIVATA, 133 
 
 soul, and that you may surrender yourself to his 
 commands ; and never rebel, nor resist his au- 
 thority* 
 
 As your Shepherd. Keep me in thy flock by 
 thy almighty grace ; I am one of the lost sheep, 
 which Thou earnest to seek. Take me under thy 
 care, and restore me to thy fold. Increase thy 
 flock for the honor of thy name. 
 
 Wilful Sin. 
 
 Let me rather choose to die, than to sin against 
 my conscience. 
 
 Penitent* 
 
 I am ashamed to come before Thee ; but I 
 fciust come, or perish. I know that Thou art 
 angry with me for my sin$ ; but I know too 
 that Thou pitiest me, or why do I yet live ? 
 Muke me full of sorrow for my sin, and full of 
 hope of thy mercy and pardon. Look upon the 
 infirmities of thy servant, and consider his weak- 
 ness. Sensible of my own sad condition, weak 
 and miserable, sinful and ignorant, liable to eter- 
 nal death, I prostrate myself before Thee, im- 
 ploring thy help and pardon. 
 
 Gracious God, never abandon me to the op- 
 position, I shall at any time make to thy grace. 
 
 Blessed be God, that he has so often prevent- 
 ed me, and not left me to the desires of my own 
 heart. 
 
 M 
 
134 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Put a stop to the torrent of wickedness and 
 profaneness, which carries all before it. 
 
 I confess my sins to Thee, O God ; do Thou 
 hide them from the world. 
 
 Eternity. Lord, imprint on my heart a lively 
 idea of eternity, that the sorrowful passages of 
 this life, which are so uneasy and frightful to na- 
 ture, may vanish, or be borne with patience. 
 
 Example. Pardon my sin, and forgive all such, 
 as have been misled by an evil example of mine. 
 
 Matth. v. 48. Be ye perfect, even as your Fa- 
 ther, who is in Heaven, is perfect. 
 
 O divine repairer of our corrupt nature, may 
 thy allpowerful grace make me as perfect, as 
 Thou hast commanded me to be ! 
 
 Holiness. 
 
 O God, who hast called me to holiness, give 
 me firm faith in thy power, through our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ, that by his assistance I may get the 
 mastery of all my sins and corruptions ; that I 
 may be redeemed from all iniquity ; that I jnay 
 be Jioly, as He, who has called me, is holy. 
 
 Possess my soul with earnest desire of pleasing 
 Thee, and with holy fear of offending Thee. 
 
 Let me be ever ready to forgive injuries, and 
 backward to offer any. 
 
 Give me, O Lord, faith and patience, that I 
 may neither murmur at thy appointments^ nor 
 be angry against the instruments of thy justice. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 135 
 
 Deliver me from the errors and vices of the 
 present age ; from infidelity, wicked principles, 
 from profaneness, heresies, and schism. 
 
 I most heartily, thank Thee, O God, for. thy 
 perpetual care of me, for all thy mercies, bestow- 
 ed on me, for the blessings of nature and of grace. 
 
 Grant, O God, that T may never receive thy 
 grace in vain ; but that I may live, like one, who 
 believes and hopes for the joys of Heaven. 
 
 Let me ever be sorry for my sins, - thankful 
 for thy blessings, fear thy judgments, love thy 
 mercies, and remember thy presence. 
 
 Give me a humble mind, godly fear, and a qui- 
 et conscience. 
 
 Weaken, O Lord, the power of Satan in'this 
 place, and the tyranny of his ministers, 
 
 In time of pestilence or danger. 
 
 . Set thy saving mark upon our houses, and 
 give order to the destroyer nor to hurt us. 
 
 John xvi. 23. Verily, verily, I say unto you ? 
 whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, 
 he will give it you. 
 
 Upon this promise, blessed Lord, I depend ; 
 beseeching Thee, O heavenly Father, for thy 
 dear Son's sake, to give me the graces, I most 
 need. 
 
 After prayers. 
 
 Vouchsafe us those graces and blessings, which 
 
136 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Thou knowest to be needful for us, notwithstand- 
 ing our great unworthinfcss. i 
 
 Riches. Shut my heart, O Lord, against the 
 love of worldly riches, lest I betray Thee, as Ju- 
 das did. 
 
 May thy Holy Spirit, O God, fill my heart, 
 that it may appear in all my words and actions, 
 that I am governed by it. 
 
 Luke x. 33. And, when he saw him, he had 
 compassion on him. 
 
 O Jesus, the true Samaritan, look upon the 
 wounds, which sin has caused in my soul, and 
 have compassion on me. 
 
 May I always resign my will and desires to 
 him, who knows what is good for us Better, than 
 we ourselves do, 
 
 Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Give me, O God, sincere love for the truths 
 of the gospel, a teachable heart, and an obedient 
 will. 
 
 Perseverance. Finish, O my God, the work 
 of mercy and conversion, which Thou hast be- 
 gun in me. 
 
 Save, O Lord Jesus, a soul, which Thou hast 
 redeemed by thy blood. 
 
 There is no merit in me, OGod, to attract thy 
 mercy and goodness, but only my great misery 
 and blindness. May I make a suitable return by 
 a holy life. 
 
SACRA PRIVATA. 137 
 
 According to the greatness of thy goodness, 
 and the multitude of thy mercies, look upon me. 
 
 Sanctify my soul and body by the heavenly 
 blessings, that they may be made thy holy hab- 
 itation, and that nothing may be found in me, 
 that may offend the eyes of thy Majesty. 
 
 Protect and keep me in the midst of the dan- 
 gers of this corrupt world ; and by thy light and 
 grace direct me in the way to everlasting life, 
 through Jesus Christ. 
 
 Morning. I laid me down and slept, and rose 
 again, for the Lord sustained me. Blessed be the 
 name of the Lord. 
 
 Raise me up, O Lord, at the last day, to life 
 and happiness everlasting. 
 
 Blessed be the Lord for his mercies, renewed 
 unto me every morning. 
 
 O that my eyes may ever be fixed upon the 
 example, that our blessed Lord left us, and that 
 I may daily endeavour to follow him. Amen. 
 
 Night. May the Saviour and the Guardian of 
 my soul take me under his protection this night 
 and evermore. 
 
 Cor. vii. 35. Attend upon the Lord without 
 distraction. 
 
 O holy Spirit of grace, help my infirmities, 
 that I. may fix my thoughts upon my duty 
 and that I may serve Thee with all my heart and 
 mind. That I may never give way to wander- 
 ing thoughts, but watch against them contin- 
 ually. 
 
138 SACRA PRIVATA. 
 
 Look upon me, O Lord, and pity me ; make 
 me, and let me be thine by the choice of my will. 
 Make me serious- and thoughtful at all times, 
 that I may not fdl of being so when I attend up- 
 on God. 
 
 Let not my heart, O God, be inclined to any 
 evil thing. Keep me, O God, from every thing, 
 that may displease Thee. O make me wise un- 
 to salvation* 
 
 Phil, Iv. 13. I can do all things through 
 Christ, who strengtheneth me. 
 
 O that I may never forfeit this power by pre- 
 sumption, or by want of faith. 
 
 John xx. 28. Thomas said, my Lord, and 
 my God. 
 
 Thou art indeed, O Jesus, my Lord, for thou 
 hast redeemed me by thy precious. blood ; Thou 
 art my God, for I am dedicated to Thee, and 
 sanctified by thy Spirit. 
 
 Acts ii. 44. And all, that believed, were to- 
 gether; and had all things .common. 
 
 May God grant that, as we are all members 
 of the same body, have one and the same Fa- 
 ther, the same Saviour, the same Spirit, and hope 
 to meet in the same paradise ; that we may live 
 in unity and godly love, and be charitable accor- 
 ding to our ability. 
 
 The good Lord, grant that in the day of 
 Christ I may rejoice, that I have not run in vain, 
 nor labored in vain. 
 

 
 
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