Home
Authors
Titles
Keyword Search
Reference

Table of Contents

Previous Chapter


Holy Living

by Jeremy Taylor

 

CHAPTER IV.

PRAYERS

FOR ALL SORTS OF MEN AND ALL NECESSITIES; RELATING TO THE SEVERAL PARTS OF THE VIRTUE OF RELIGION.

 

A Prayer for the Graces of Faith, Hope, Charity.

O Lord God of infinite mercy, of infinite excellency, who hast sent thy holy Son into the world to redeem us from an intolerable misery, and to teach us a holy religion, and to forgive us an infinite debt: give me thy Holy Spirit, that my understanding and all my facilities may be so resigned to the discipline and doctrine of my Lord, that I may be prepared in mind and will to die for the testimony of Jesus, and to suffer any affliction or calamity that shall offer to hinder my duty, or tempt me to shame or sin or apostasy; and let my faith be the parent of a good life, a strong shield to repel the fiery darts of the devil, and the author of a holy hope, of modest desires, of confidence in God, and of a never-failing charity to thee, my God, and to all the world; that I may never have my portion with the unbelievers or uncharitable and desperate persons; but may be supported by the strengths of faith in all temptations, and may be refreshed with the comforts of a holy hope in all my sorrows, and may bear the burden of the Lord, and the infirmities of my neighbour, by the support of charity; that the yoke of Jesus may become easy to me, and my love may do all the miracles of grace, till from grace it swell to glory, from earth to heaven, from duty to reward, from the imperfections of a beginning and still growing love, it may arrive to the consummation of an eternal and never-ceasing charity, through Jesus Christ the Son of thy love, the author of our hope, and the author and finisher of our faith: to whom with thee, O Lord God, Father of heaven and earth, and with thy Holy Spirit, be all glory and love and obedience and dominion, now and for ever. Amen.

 

Acts of Love by way of Prayer and Ejaculation; to be used in private.

O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy loveing-kingness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Psalm lxiii. 1, etc.

I am ready, not only to be bound, but to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts, xxi. 13.

How amiable are thy tabernacles, thou Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth, yes even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will still be praising thee. Psalm lxxxiv. 1,2,4.

O blessed Jesus, thou art worthy of all adoration and all honour and all love: thou art the wonderful, the counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace; of thy government and peace there shall be no end: thou art the brightness of thy Father’s glory, the express image of his person, the appointed heir of all things. Thou upholdest all things by the word of thy power; thou didst by thyself purge our sins; thou art set on the right hand of the Majesty on high; thou art made better than the angels; thou hast by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Thou, O dearest Jesus, art the head of the church, the beginning and the first born from the dead: in all things thou hast the pre-eminence, and it pleased the Father that in thee should all fulness dwell. Kingdoms are in love with thee; kings lay their crowns and sceptres at thy feet; and queens are thy handmaids, and wash the feet of thy servants.

 

A Prayer to be said in any Affliction, as Death of Children, of Husband or Wife, in great Poverty, in Imprisonment, in a sad and disconsolate Spirit, and in Temptations to despair.

O eternal God, Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, with much mercy look upon the sadnesses and sorrows of thy servant. My sins lie heavy upon me, and press me sore, and there is no health in my bones by reason of thy displeasure and my sin. The waters are gone over me, and I stick fast in the deep mire, and my miseries are without comfort, because they are punishments of my sin: and I am so evil and unworthy a person, that though I have great desires, yet I have no dispositions or worthiness toward receiving comfort. my sins have caused my sorrow, and my sorrow does not cure my sins; and unless for thine own sake, and merely because thou art good, thou shalt pity me and relieve me, I am as much without remedy as now I am without comfort. Lord, pity me! Lord, let thy grace refresh my spirit! Let thy comforts support me, thy mercy pardon me, and never let my portion be amongst hopeless and accursed spirits; for thou art good and gracious, and I throw myself upon thy mercy. Let me never let my hold go, and do thou with me what seems good in thine own eyes. I cannot suffer more than I have deserved; and yet I can need no relief so great as thy mercy is; for thou art infinitely more merciful than I can be miserable, and thy mercy, which is above all thy own works, must needs be far above all my sin and all my misery. Dearest Jesus, let me trust in thee for ever, and let me never be confounded. Amen.

 

Ejaculations and short Meditations to be used in time of Sickness and Sorrow, or Danger of Death.

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee.[298] Hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble, incline thine ear unto me when I call; O hear me, and that right soon, For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burnt up as it were with a firebrand. My heart is smitten down and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread; and that because of thine indignation and wrath; for thou hast taken me up and cast me down: thine arrows stick fast in me, and thine hand presseth me sore.[299] There is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure; neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sin. My wickednesses are gone over my head, and are a sore burden too heavy for me to bear. But I will confess my wickedness and be sorry for my sin. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine indignation, neither chasten me in thy displeasure.[300] Lord, be merciful unto me, heal my soul for I have sinned against thee.[301]

Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness, according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences.[302] O remember not the sins and offences of my youth; but according to thy mercy think thou upon me, O Lord, for thy goodness.[303] Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness; and cleanse me from my sin. Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.[304] Cast me not away from thy presence, from thy all-hallowing and life-giving presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit, thy sanctifying, thy guiding, thy comforting, thy supporting, and confirming Spirit, from me.

O God, thou art my God for ever and ever: thou shalt be my guide unto death.[305] Lord, comfort me now that I lie sick upon my bed: make thou my bed in all my sickness.[306] O deliver my soul from the place of hell; and do thou receive me.[307] My heart is disquieted within me, and the fear of death is fallen upon me.[308] Behold thou hast made my days as it were a span long, and my age is even as nothing in respect of thee; and verily every man living is altogether vanity.[309] When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for sin, thou makest his beauty to consume away, like a moth fretting a garment: every man therefore is but vanity. And now, Lord, what is my hope? truly my hope in even in thee. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and with thine ears consider my calling: hold not thy peace at my tears. Take this plague away from me: I am consumed by the means of thy heavy hand. I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength, before I go hence and be no more seen. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: O quicken me according to thy word[310] And when the snares of death compass me round about, let not the pains of hell take hold of me.[311]

 

An Act of Faith concerning the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment, to be said by Sick Persons, or meditated.

I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, though my reins be consumed within me. Job xix.25, etc.

God shall come and shall not keep silence; there shall go before him a consuming fire, and a mighty tempest shall be stirred up round about him: he shall call the heaven from above, and the earth, that he may judge his people[312] O blessed Jesus, thou art my judge and thou art my advocate: have mercy upon me in the hour of my death, and in the day of judgment. See John v.28, and 1 Thess. iv.15.

 

Short Prayers to be said by Sick Persons.

O holy Jesus, thou art a merciful high-priest, and touched with the sense of our infirmities; thou knowest the sharpness of my sickness and the weakness of my person. The clouds are gathered about me, and thou hast covered me with thy storm: my understanding hath not such apprehension of things as formerly. Lord, let thy mercy support me, thy Spirit guide me, and lead me through the valley of this death safely; that I may pass it patiently, holily, with perfect resignation; and let me rejoice in the lord, in the hopes of pardon, in the expectation of glory, in the sense of thy mercies, in the refreshments of thy Spirit, in a victory over all temptations.

Thou hast promised to be with us in tribulation. Lord, my soul is troubled, and my body is weak, and my hope is in thee, and my enemies are busy and mighty; now make good thy holy promise. Now, O holy Jesus, now let thy hand of grace be upon me: restrain my ghostly enemies and give me all sorts of spiritual assistance. Lord, remember thy servant in the day when thou bindest up thy jewels.

O take from me all tediousness of spirit, all impatience and unquietness: let me possess my soul in patience, and resign my soul and body into thy hands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator and a blessed Redeemer.

O holy Jesus, thou didst die for us; by thy sad, pungent, and intolerable pains, which thou enduredst for me, have pity on me, and ease my pains, which thou endurest for me, have pity on me, and ease my pain, or increase my patience. Lay on me no more than thou shalt enable me to bear. I have deserved it all and more, and infinitely more. Lord, I am weak and ignorant, timorous and inconstant; and I fear lest something should happen that may discompose the state of my soul, that may displease thee: do what thou wilt with me, so that thou dost but preserve me in thy fear and favour. Thou knowest that it is my great fear, but let thy Spirit secure that nothing may be able to separate me from the love of God in Jesus Christ: then smite me here that thou mayest spare me for ever; and yet, O Lord, smite me friendly, for thou knowest my infirmities. Into thy hands, I commend my spirit; for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth. Come, Holy Spirit, help me in this conflict. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

(Let the sick man often meditate upon these following promises and gracious words of God.)

My help cometh of the Lord, who preserveth them that are true of heart. Psalm vii.11.

And all they that knew thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast never failed them that seek thee. Psalm ix.10.

O how plentiful is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, and that thou hast prepared for them that put their trust in thee, even before the sons of men! Psalm xxxi.21.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, and upon them that put their trust in his mercy, to deliver their souls from death. Psalm xxxiii.18,19.

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart; and will save such as are of an humble spirit. Psalm xxxiv.18.

Thou, Lord, shalt save both man and beast: how excellent is thy mercy, O God! and the children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. Psalm xxxvi.7.

They shall be satisfied with the plenteousness of thy house; and thou shalt give them to drink of thy pleasures, as out of the rivers. Verse 8.

For with thee is the well of life; and in thy light we shall see light. Verse 9.

Commit thy way unto the Lord, and put thy trust in him, and he shall bring it to pass. Psalm xxxvil.5.

But in the salvation of the righteous cometh of the Lord, who is also their strength in the time of trouble. Verse 40.

So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: doubtless there is a God that judgeth the earth. Psalm lvii.10.

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and receivest unto thee: he shall dwell in thy court, and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Psalm lxv.4.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Psalm cxxvi.6.

It is written, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Heb.xiii.5.

The prayer of faith shall save the sick; and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. James v.15.

Come, and let us return unto the Lord; for he hath torn, and he will heal us: he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. Hos. vi.1.

If we sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins. 1 John ii.1,2.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleans us from all unrighteousness. 1 John, i.9.

He that forgives shall be forgiven. Luke,vi.37.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. 1 John,i.14.

And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins. 1 John iii.5.

If ye, being evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Matt. vii.11.

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. 1 Tim. i.15.

He that hath given us his Son, how should he not, with him, give us all things else? Rom. viii.32.

 

Acts of Hope, to be used by Sick Persons after a pious Life.

I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. viii.38,39.

I have fought a good fight: I have finished my course: I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 2 Tim. iv.7,8.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comforts, who comforts us in all our tribulation. 2 Cor. i. 3,4.

 

A Prayer to be said in behalf of a Sick or Dying Person.

O Lord God, there is no number of thy days nor of thy mercies, and the sins and sorrows of thy servant are multiplied. Lord look upon him with much mercy and pity, forgive him all his sins, instruct his ignorances, strengthen his understanding, take from him all disorders of spirit, weakness and abuse of fancy. Restrain the malice and power of the spirits of darkness; and suffer him to be injured neither by his ghostly enemies nor his own infirmities; and let a holy and a just peace, the peace of God, be within his conscience.

Lord, preserve his senses till the last of his time, strengthen his faith, confirm his hope, and give him a never-ceasing charity to thee, our God, and to all the world: stir up in him a great and proportionable contrition for all the evils he hath done, and give him a just measure of patience for all he suffers; give him prudence, memory, and consideration, rightly to state the accounts of his soul; and do thou remind him of all his duty, that when it shall please thee that his soul goes out from the prison of his body, it may be received by angels, and preserved from the surprise of evil spirits, and from the horrors and amazements of new and strange regions, and be laid up in the bosom of our Lord, till, at the day of thy second coming, it shall be reunited to the body, which is now to be laid down in weakness and dishonour; but we humbly beg may then be raised up with glory and power for ever to live, and to behold the face of God in the glories of the Lord Jesus, who is our hope, our resurrection, and our life, the light of our eyes and the joy of our souls, our blessed and ever-glorious Redeemer. Amen.

(Hither the sick person may draw in, and use the acts of several virtues respersed in the several parts of this book, the several litanies, viz. of repentance, of the passion, and the single prayers, according to his present needs.)

 

A Prayer to be said in a Storm at Sea.

O my God, thou didst create the earth and the sea for thy glory and the use of man, and dost daily show wonders in the deep: look upon the danger and fear of thy servant. My sins have taken hold upon me, and without the supporting arm of thy mercy I cannot look up; but my trust is in thee. Do thou, O Lord, rebuke the sea, and make it calm, for to thee the winds and the sea obey; let not the waters swallow me up, but let thy Spirit, the spirit of gentleness and mercy, move upon the waters. Be thou reconciled unto thy servants, and then the face of the waters will be smooth. I fear that my sins make me, like Jonas, the cause of the tempest. Cast out all my sins, and throw not thy servants away from thy presence and from the land of the living, into the depths where all things are forgotten. But if it be thy will that we should go down into the waters, Lord, receive my soul into thy holy hands, and preserve it in mercy and safety till the day of restitution of all things; and be pleased to unite my death to the death of thy Son, and to accept of it so united as a punishment for all my sins, that thou mayest forget all thine anger, and blot my sins out of thy book, and write my soul there, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our dearest Lord and most mighty Redeemer. Amen.

 

Then make an Act of Resignation thus:

To God pertain the issues of life and death. It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good in his own eyes. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Recite Psalms cvil. and cxxx.

 

A Form of a Vow to be made in this or the like Danger.

If the Lord will be gracious and hear the prayer of his servant, and bring me safe to shore, then I will praise him secretly and publicly, and pay unto the use of charity (or religion) (then name the sum you design for holy use). O my God, my goods are nothing unto thee: I will also be thy servant all the days of my life, and remember this mercy and my present purposes, and live more to God’s glory, and with a stricter duty. And do thou please to accept this vow as an instance of my importunity, and the greatness of my needs; and be thou graciously moved to pity and deliver me. Amen.

(This form also may be used in praying for a blessing on an enterprise, and may be instanced in actions of devotions as well as of charity.)

 

A Prayer before a Journey.

O almighty God who fillest all things with thy presence, and art a God afar off as well as near at hand; thou didst send thy angel to bless Jacob in his journey, and didst lead the children of Israel through the Red Sea, making it a wall on the right hand and on the left; be pleased to let thy angel go our before me and guide me in my journey, preserving me from dangers of robbers, from violence of enemies, and sudden and sad accidents, from falls and errors. And prosper my journey to thy glory, and to all my innocent purposes; and preserve me from all sin, that I may return in peace and holiness, with thy favour and thy blessings, and may serve thee in thankfulness and obedience all the days of my pilgrimage; and at last bring me to thy country, to the celestial Jerusalem, there to dwell in thy house, and to sing praises to thee for ever. Amen.

 

Ad. Sect. 4.

 

A Prayer to be said before the hearing or reading the Word of God.

O holy and eternal Jesus, who hast begotten us by thy word, renewed us by thy Spirit, fed us by thy sacraments, and by the daily ministry of thy word, still go on to build us up to life eternal. Let thy most Holy Spirit be present with me and rest upon me in the reading or hearing thy sacred word, that I may do it humbly, reverently, without prejudice, with a mind ready and desirous to learn and to obey; that I may be readily furnished and instructed to every good work, and may practice all thy holy laws and commandments to the glory of thy holy name, O holy and eternal Jesus. Amen.

 

Ad. Sect. 5,9,10.

 

A Form of Confession of Sins and Repentance, to be used upon Fasting Days, or Days of Humiliation, especially in Lent, and before the Holy Sacrament.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences: for I will confess my wickedness, and be sorry for my sin.” O my dearest Lord, I am not worthy to be accounted amongst the meanest of thy servants, not worthy to be sustained by the least fragments of thy mercy, but to be shut out of thy presence for ever with dogs and unbelievers. But for thy name’s sake, O Lord, be merciful unto my sin, for it is great.

I am the vilest of sinners, and the worst of men; proud, and vain-glorious, impatient of scorn or of just reproof; not enduring to be slighted, and yet extremely deserving it; I have been cozened by the colours of humility and when I have truly been called myself vicious I could not endure any man else should say so or think so. I have been disobedient, unchristian, and unmanly. But for thy name’s sake, etc.

O just and dear God, how can I expect pity or pardon, who am so angry and peevish, with and without cause, envious at good, rejoicing in the evil of my neighbours negligent of my charge, idle and useless, timorous and base, jealous and impudent, ambitious and hard-hearted, soft, unmortified, and effeminate in my life, undevout in my prayers, without fancy or affection, without attendance to them or perseverance in them; but passionate and curious in pleasing my appetite of meat, and drink, and pleasures, making matter both for sin and sickness; and I have reaped the cursed fruits of such improvidence, entertaining indecent and impure thoughts, and I have brought them forth in indecent and impure actions, and the spirit of uncleanness hath entered in and unhallowed the temple which thou didst consecrate for the habitation of thy Spirit of love and holiness. But for thy name’s sake, O Lord, be merciful unto my sin, for it is great.

Thou hast given me a whole life to serve thee in, and to advance my hopes of heaven; and this precious time I have thrown away upon my sins and vanities, being improvident of my time and of my talent, and of thy grace and my own advantages, resisting thy Spirit and quenching him. I have been a great lover of myself, and yet used many ways to destroy myself. I have pursued my temporal ends with greediness and indirect means. I am revengeful and unthankful, forgetting benefits, but not so soon forgetting injuries, curious and murmuring, a great breaker of promises. I have not loved my neighbour’s good, nor advanced it in all things, where I could. I have been unlike thee in all things. I am unmerciful and unjust: a sottish admirer of things below, and careless of heaven and the ways that lead thither.

But for thy name’s sake, O Lord, be merciful unto my sin, for it is great.

All my senses have been windows to let sin in, and death by sin. Mine eyes have been adulterous and covetous; mine ears open to slander and detraction; my tongue and palate loose and wanton, intemperate, and of foul language, talkative and lying, rash and malicious, false and flattering, irreligious and irreverent, detracting and censorious; my hands have been injurious and unclean, my passions violent and rebellious, my desires impatient and unreasonable; all my members and all my facilities have been servants of sin; and my very best actions have more matter of pity than of confidence, being imperfect in my best, and intolerable in most.-But for thy name’s sake, O Lord, etc.

Unto this and a far bigger heap of sin I have added also the faults of others to my own score, by neglecting to hinder them to sin in all that I could and ought; but I also have encouraged them in sin, have taken off their fears, and hardened their conscience, and tempted them directly, and prevailed in it to my own ruin and theirs, unless thy glorious and unspeakable mercy hath prevented so intolerable a calamity.

Lord, I have abused thy mercy, despised thy judgments, turned thy grace into wantonness. I have been unthankful for thy infinite loving-kindness. I have sinned and repented, and then sinned again and resolved against it, and presently broke it; and then I tied myself up with vows, and then was tempted, and then I yielded by little and little, till I was willingly lost again, and my vows fell off like cords of vanity.

Miserable man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of sin?

And yet, O Lord, I have another heap of sins to be unloaded. My secret sins, O Lord, are innumerable; sins I noted not; sins that I willingly neglected; sins that I acted upon wilful ignorance and voluntary mispersuasion; sins that I have forgot; and sins which a diligent and a watchful spirit might have prevented, but I would not. Lord, I am confounded with the multitude of them, and the horror of their remembrance though I consider them nakedly in their direct appearance, without the deformity of their unhandsome and aggravating circumstances; but, so dressed, they are a sight too ugly, an instance of amazement, infinite in degrees, and insufferable in their load.

And yet thou hast spared me all this while, and hast not thrown me into hell, where I have deserved to have been long since, and even now to have been shut up to an eternity of torments, with insupportable amazement, fearing the revelation of thy day.

Miserable man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of sin?

Thou shalt answer for me, O Lord my God. Thou that prayest for me shalt be my judge.

 

The Prayer.

Thou hast prepared for me a more healthful sorrow; O deny not thy servant when he begs sorrow of thee. Give me a deep contrition for my sins, a hearty detestation and loathing of them, hating them worse than death with torments. Give me grace entirely, presently, and for ever, to forsake them; to walk with care and prudence with fear and watchfulness, all my days; to do all my duty with diligence and charity, with zeal and a never fainting spirit; to redeem the time, to trust upon thy mercies, to make use of all the instruments of grace, to work out my salvation with fear and trembling; that thou mayest have the glory of pardoning all my sins, and I may reap the fruit of all thy mercies and all thy graces, of thy patience and long-suffering, even to live a holy life here, and to reign with thee for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Ad. Sect. 6.

 

Special Devotions to be used upon the Lord’s Day, and the great Festivals of Christians.

In the morning recite the following form of thanksgiving, upon the special festivals, adding the commemoration of the special blessings according to the following prayers; adding such prayers as you shall choose out of the foregoing devotions.

Besides the ordinary and public duties of the day, if you retire into your closet to read and meditate, after you have performed that duty, say the Song of St. Ambrose, (commonly called the Te Deum,) or, We praise thee, etc.; then add the prayers for particular graces, which are at the end of the former chapter, such and as many of them as shall fit your present needs and affections, ending with the Lord’s Prayer. This form of devotion may, for variety, be indifferently used at other times.

A form of thanksgiving with a recital of public and private blessings, to be used upon Easter-day, Whit-sunday, Ascention-day, and all Sundays of the year; but the middle part of it may be reserved for the more solemn festivals, and the other used upon the ordinary, as every man’s affections or leisure shall determine.

 

1. Ex Liturgia S. Basilii magna ex parte.

Oh eternal essence, Lord God, Father Almighty, maker of all things in heaven and earth; it is a good thing to give thanks to thee, O Lord, and to pay to thee all reverence, worship and devotion, from a clean and prepared heart, and with an humble spirit to present a live in and reasonable sacrifice to thy holiness and majesty; for thou hast given unto us the knowledge of thy truth; and who is able to declare thy greatness, and to recount all thy marvelous works which thou hast done in all the generations of the world?

O great Lord and Governor of all things, Lord and Creator of all things, Lord and Creator of all things visible and invisible, who sittest upon the throne of thy glory, and beholdest the secrets of the lowest abyss and darkness, thou art without beginning, uncircumscribed, incomprehensible, unalterable, and seated for ever unmovable in thy own essential happiness and tranquility; thou art the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is,

Our dearest and most gracious Saviour, our hope, the wisdom of the Father, the image of thy goodness, the word eternal, and the brightness of thy person, the power of God from eternal ages, the true light that lighteneth every man that cometh into the world, the redemption of man, and the sanctification of our spirits.

By whom the Holy Ghost descended upon the church; the Holy Spirit of truth, the seal of adoption; the earnest of the inheritance of the saints; the first fruits of everlasting felicity; the life-giving power; the fountain of sanctification; the comfort of the church, the ease of the afflicted, the support of the weak, the wealth of the poor, the teacher of the doubtful, scrupulous, and ignorant; the anchor of the fearful; the infinite reward of all faithful souls, by whom all reasonable and understanding creatures serve thee, and send up a never-ceasing and a never-rejected sacrifice of prayer, and praise, and adoration.

All angels and archangels, all thrones and dominions, all principalities and powers, the cherubim with many eyes, and the seraphim covered with wings from the terror and amazement of thy brightest glory; these, and all the powers of heaven, do perpetually sing praise and never-ceasing hymns and eternal anthems to the glory of the eternal God, the Almighty Father of men and angels.

Holy is our God; holy is the Almighty; holy is the Immortal; holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory. Amen. With these holy and blessed spirits I also, thy servant O thou great lover of souls, though I be unworthy to offer praise to such a majesty; yet, out of my bounden duty, humbly offer up my heart and voice to join in this blessed choir, and confess the glories of the Lord. For thou art holy, and of thy greatness there is no end; and in thy justice and goodness thou hast measured out to us all thy works.

Thou madest man out of the earth, and didst form him after thine own image; thou didst place him in a garden of pleasure, and gavest him laws of righteousness to be to him a seed of immortality.

“O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare the wonders that he hath done for the children of men.”

For when man sinned and listened to the whispers of a tempting spirit, and refused to hear the voice of God, thou didst throw him out from paradise,and sentest him to till the earth; but yet leftest not his condition without remedy, but didst provide for him the salvation of a new birth, and by the blood of thy Son didst redeem and pay the price to thine own justice for thine own creature, lest the work of thine own hands should perish.

“O that men would therefore praise the Lord,” etc.

For thou, O Lord, in every age didst send testimonies from heaven, blessings, and prophets, and fruitful seasons, and preachers of righteousness, and miracles of power and mercy; thou spakest by thy prophets and saidst, ‘I will help by one that is mighty; and, in the fulness of time, spakest to us by thy Son, by whom thou didst make both the worlds, who, by the word of his power, sustains all things in heaven and earth; who thought it no robbery to be equal to the Father; who, being before all time, was pleased to be born in time to converse with men, to be incarnate of a holy virgin; he emptied himself of all his glories, took on him the form of a servant, in all things being made like unto us, in a soul of passions and discourse, in a body of humility and sorrow, but in all things innocent, and in all things afflicted; and suffered death for us, that we by him might live, and be partakers of his nature and his glories, of his body and of his Spirit, of the blessings of earth, and of immortal felicities in heaven.

“O that men would therefore praise the Lord,” etc.

For thou, O holy and immortal God, O sweetest Saviour Jesus, wert made under the law to condemn sin in the flesh; thou, who knewest no sin, wert made sin for us; thou gavest to us righteous commandments, and madest known to us all thy Father’s will; thou didst redeem us from our vain conversation, and from the vanity of idols, false principles, and foolish confidences, and broughtest us to the knowledge of the true and only God and our Father, and hast made us to thyself a peculiar people of thy own purchase, a royal priesthood, a holy nation; thou hast washed our souls in the laver of regeneration, the sacrament of baptism; thou hast reconciled us by thy death, justified us by thy resurrection, sanctified us by thy Spirit, sending him upon thy church in visible forms, and giving him in powers and miracles and mighty signs, and continuing this incomparable favour in gifts and sanctifying graces, and promising that he shall abide with us for ever; thou hast fed us with thine own broken body, and given drink to our souls out of thine own heart, and hast ascended up on high, and hast overcome all the powers of death and hell, and redeemed us from the miseries of a sad eternity; and sittest at the right-hand of God, making intercession for us with a never-ceasing charity.

“O that men would therefore praise the Lord,” etc.

The grave could not hold thee long, O holy and eternal Jesus; thy body could not see corruption, neither could thy soul be left in hell; thou wert free among the dead, and thou breakest the iron gates of death, and the bars and chains of the lower prisons. Thou broughtest comfort to the souls of the patriarchs, who waited for thy coming, who longed for the redemption of man, and the revelation of thy day. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob saw thy day and rejoiced; and when thou didst arise from thy bed of darkness, and leftest the graveclothes behind thee, and didst put on a robe of glory, (over which for forty days thou didst wear a veil) and then enterdst into a cloud, and then into glory, then the powers of hell were confounded, then death lost its power and was swallowed up into victory; and though death is not quite destroyed, yet it is made harmless and without a sting, and the condition of human nature is made an entrance to eternal glory; and art become the Prince of life, the first-fruits of the resurrection, the first-born from the dead, having made the way plain before our faces, that we may also arise again in the resurrection of the last day, when thou shalt come again unto us, to render to every man according to his works.

“O that men would therefore praise the Lord,” etc.

O give thanks unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord; praise him and magnify him for ever.

O ye spirits and souls of the righteous, praise ye the Lord; praise him and magnify him for ever.

And now, O Lord God, what shall I render to thy Divine Majesty for all the benefits thou hast done unto thy servant in my personal capacity?

Thou art my creator and my Father, my Protector and my Guardian; thou hast brought me from my mother’s womb; thou hast told all my joints, and in thy book were all my members written; thou hast given me a comely body, Christian and careful parents, holy education; thou hast been my guide and my teacher all my days; thou hast given me ready faculties, an unloosed tongue, a cheerful spirit, straight limbs, a good reputation, and liberty of person, a quiet life, and a tender conscience. Thou wert my hope from my youth, through thee have I been holden up ever since I was born. Thou hast sent thy angel to snatch me from the violence of fire and water, to prevent precipices, fracture of bones, to rescue me from thunder and lightning, plague and pestilential diseases, murder and robbery, violence of chance and enemies, and all the spirits of darkness; and in the days of sorrow thou hast refreshed me; in the destitution of provisions thou are taken are of me, and thou hast said unto me, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

“I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart, secretly among the faithful, and in the congregation.”

Thou, O my dearest Lord and Father, hast taken care of my soul, hast pitied my miseries, sustained my infirmities, relieved and instructed my ignorances; and though I have broken thy righteous laws and commandments, run passionately after vanities, and was in love with death, and was dead in sin, and was exposed to thousands of temptations, and fell foully, and continued in it, and loved to have it so, and hated to be reformed; yet thou didst call me with the checks of conscience, with daily sermons and precepts of holiness, with fear and shame, with benefits and the admonitions of thy most Holy Spirit, by the counsel of my friends, by the example of good persons, with holy books and thousands of excellent arts, and would not suffer me to perish in my folly but didst force me to to attend to thy gracious calling, and hast put me into a state of repentance, and possibilities of pardon, being infinitely desirous I should live, and recover, and make use of thy grace, and partake of thy glories.

“I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart, secretly among the faithful and in the congregation. For salvation belongeth unto the Lord, and thy blessing is upon thy servant. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercies, and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. For of thee, and in thee, and through and for thee, are all things. Blessed be the name of God, from generation to generation.” Amen.

 

A Prayer to be said on the Feast of Christmas, or the Birth of our blessed Saviour Jesus; the same also may be said upon the Feast of the Annunciation and Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

O holy and almighty God, Father of mercies, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of thy love and eternal mercies, I adore and praise and glorify thy infinite and unspeakable love and wisdom, who hast sent thy Son from the bosom of felicities to take upon him our nature and our misery and our guilt, and hast made the Son of God to become the Son of man, that we might become the Sons of God, and partakers of the Divine nature; since thou hast so exalted human nature, be pleased also to sanctify my person, that by a conformity to the humility and laws, and sufferings of my dearest Saviour, I may be united to his Spirit, and be made all one with the most holy Jesus. Amen.

O holy and eternal Jesus, who didst pity mankind lying in his blood, and sin, and misery, and didst choose our sadnesses and sorrows that thou mightest make us to partake of thy felicities; let thine eyes pity me, thy hands support me, thy holy feet tread down all the difficulties in my way to heaven; let me dwell in thy heart, be instructed with thy wisdom, moved by thy affections, choose with thy will, and be clothed with thy righteousness; that, in the day of judgment, I may be found having on thy garments, sealed with thy impression; and that hearing upon every faculty and member the character of my elder brother, I may not be cast out with strangers and unbelievers. Amen.

O holy and ever-blessed Spirit, who didst overshadow the holy Virgin-mother of our Lord, and caused her to conceive by a miraculous and mysterious manner, be pleased to overshadow my soul, and enlighten my spirit, that I may conceive the holy Jesus in my heart, and may bear him in my mind, and may grow up to the fulness of the stature of Christ, to be a perfect man in Christ Jesus. Amen.

To God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the eternal Son that was incarnate and born of a virgin, to the Spirit of the Father and the Son be all honour and glory, worship and adoration, now and for ever. Amen.

(The same form of prayer may be used upon our own birthday, or day of our baptism; adding the following prayer.)

 

A Prayer to be said upon our Birth-day, or Day of Baptism.

O blesses and eternal God, I give thee praise and glory for thy great mercy to me in causing me to be born of Christian parents and didst not allot to me a portion with misbelievers and heathen that have not known thee. Thou didst not suffer me to be strangled at the gate of the womb, but thy hand sustained and brought me to the light of the world, and the illumination of baptism, with thy grace preventing my election, and by an artificial necessity and holy prevention engaging me to the profession and practices of Christianity. Lord, since that, I have broken the promises made in my behalf, and which I confirmed by my after-act; I went back from them by an evil life; and yet thou hast still continued to me life and time of repentance; and didst not cut me off in the beginning of my days, and the progress of my sins. O dearest God, pardon the errors and ignorances, the vices and vanities, of my youth, and the faults of my more forward years, and let me never more stain the whiteness of my baptismal robe; and now that by thy grace I still persist in the purpose of obedience, and do give up my name to Christ, and glory to be a disciple of thy institution, and a servant of Jesus, let me never fail of thy grace; let no root or bitterness spring up and disorder my purposes, nor defile my spirit. O let my years be so many degrees of nearer approach to thee; and forsake me not, O God, in my old age, when I am grey-headed; and when my strength faileth me, be thou my strength and my guide unto death; that I may reckon my years, and apply my heart unto wisdom; and at last, after the spending a holy and a blessed life, I may be brought unto a glorious eternity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Then add the form of thanksgiving formerly described.)

 

A Prayer to be said upon the Days of the Memory of Apostles, Martyrs, etc.

O eternal God, to whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, and I whom the souls of them that be elected, after they be delivered from the burden of the flesh, be in peace and rest from their labours, and their works follow them, and their memory is blessed; I bless and magnify thy holy and ever-glorious name, for the great grace and blessing manifested to thy apostles and martyrs, and other holy persons, who have glorified thy name in the days of their flesh, and have served the interest of religions and of thy service; and this day we have thy servant (name the apostle, or martyr, etc.) in remembrance whom thou hast led through the troubles and temptations of this world, and now hast lodged in the bosom of a certain hope and great beatitude, until the day of restitution of all things. Blessed be the mercy and eternal goodness of God; and the memory of all thy saints is blessed. Teach me to practise their doctrine, to imitate their lives, following their example, and being united as a part of the same mystical body by the band of the same faith, and a holy hope, and a never-ceasing charity. And may it please thee, of thy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom, that we with thy servant and all others departed in the true faith and fear of thy holy name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting kingdom. Amen.

 

A Form of Prayer recording all the parts and mysteries of Christ’s Passion, being a short history of it: to be used especially in the week of the Passions, and before the receiving the blessed Sacrament.

All praise, honour, and glory be to the holy and eternal Jesus. I adore thee, O blessed Redeemer, eternal God, the light of the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel; for thou hast done and suffered for me more than I could wish; more than I could thing of; even all that a lost and a miserable perishing sinner could possibly need.

Thou wert afflicted with thirst and hunger, with heat and cold, with labours and sorrows, with hard journeys and restless nights; and when thou wert contriving all the mysterious and admirable ways of paying our scores, thou didst suffer thyself to he designed to slaughter by those for whom in love thou wert ready to die.

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him; and the Son of man, that thou visited him?”

Blessed be thy name, O holy Jesus; for thou wentest about doing good, working miracles of mercy, healing the sick, comforting the distressed, instructing the ignorant, raising the dead, enlightening the blind, strengthening the lame, straightening the crooked, relieving the poor, preaching the gospel, and reconciling sinners by the mightiness of thy power, by the wisdom of thy Spirit, by the word of God, and the merits of thy passion, thy healthful and bitter passion.

“Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him,” etc.

Blessed by thy name, O holy Jesus, who wert content to be conspired against by the Jews, to be sold by thy servant for a vile price, and to wash the feet of him that took money for thy life, and to give to him and to all thy apostles thy most holy body and blood, to become a sacrifice for their sins, even for their betraying and denying thee; and for all my sins, even for my crucifying thee afresh, and for such sins, which I am ashamed to think, but that the greatest of my sins magnify the infiniteness of thy mercies, who didst so great things for so vile a person.

“Lord, what is man,”etc.

Blessed be thy name, O holy Jesus, who, being to depart the world, didst comfort thy apostles, pouring out into their ears and hearts treasures of admirable discourses; who didst recommend them to thy Father with a mighty charity, and then didst enter into the garden set with nothing but briars and sorrows, where thou didst suffer a most unspeakable agony, until the sweat didst sigh and groan, and fall flat upon the earth, and pray, and I had deserved, and thou sufferest.

“Lord, what is man,” etc.

Blessed be thy name, O holy Jesus, who hast sanctified to us all our natural infirmities and passions, by vouchsafing to be in fear and in trembling and sore amazement, by being bound and imprisoned, by being harassed and dragged with cords of violence and rude hands, by being drenched in the brook in the way, by being sought after like a thief, and used like a sinner who wert the most holy and the most innocent, cleaner than an angel and brighter than the morning star.

“Lord, what is man,” etc.

Blessed by thy name, O holy Jesus, and blessed by thy loving kindness and pity, by which thou didst neglect thine own sorrows, and go to comfort the sadness of thy disciples, quickening their dulness, encouraging their duty, arming their weakness with excellent precepts against the day of trial. Blessed be that humility, encouraging their duty, arming their weakness with excellent precepts against the day of trial. Blessed be that humility and sorrow of thine, who, being Lord of the angels, yet wouldest need and receive comfort from thy servant, the angel; who didst offer thyself to thy persecutors, and madest them able to seize thee; and didst receive the traitor’s kiss, and sufferedst a veil to be thrown over thy holy face, that thy enemies might not presently be confounded by so bright a lustre; and wouldst do a miracle to cure a wound of one of thy spiteful enemies; and didst reprove a zealous servant in behalf of a malicious adversary; and then didst go like a lamb to the slaughter, without noise or violence or resistance, when thou couldst have commanded millions of angels for thy guard and rescue.

“Lord, what is man,” etc.

Blessed be thy name, O holy Jesus, and blessed be that holy sorrow thou didst suffer, when thy disciples fled, and thou wert left alone in the hands of cruel men, who, like evening wolves, thirsted for a draught of thy best blood, and thou wert led to the house of Annas, and there asked ensnaring questions, and smitten on the face by him whose ear thou hadst but lately healed; and from thence wert fragged to the house of Caiaphas; and there all night didst endure spittings, affronts, scorn, contumelies, blows, and intolerable insolences; and all this for man, who was thy enemy, and the cause of all thy sorrows.

“Lord, what is man,” etc.

Blessed be thy name, O holy Jesus, and blessed be thy mercy, who, when thy servant Peter denied thee and forsook thee and forswore thee, didst look back upon him, and by that gracious and chiding look didst call him back to himself and thee; who wert accused before the high-priest and railed upon, and examined to evil purposes, and with designs of blood; who wert declared guilty of death for speaking a most necessary and most probable truth; who wert sent to Pilate and found innocent, and sent to Herod and still found innocent, and wert arrayed in white, both to declare thy innocence and yet to deride thy person, and wert sent back to Pilate, and examined again, and yet nothing but innocence found in thee, and malice round about thee to devour faith, which yet thou wert more desirous to lay down for them than they were to take it from thee.

“Lord, what is man,” etc.

Blessed be thy name, O holy Jesus, and blessed be that patience and charity, by which for our sakes thou wert content to be smitten with canes, and have that holy face, which angels with joy and wonder do behold, be spit upon, and be despised, when compared with Barabbas, and scourged most rudely with unhallowed hands, till the pavement was purpled with that holy blood, and condemned to a sad and shameful, a public and painful death, and arrayed in scarlet, and crowned with thorns, and stripped naked and then clothed, and loaden with the cross, and tormented with a tablet stuck with nails at the fringes of thy garment, and bound hard with cords, and dragged most vilely and most piteously, till the load was too great, and did sink thy tender and virginal body to the earth; and yet didst comfort the weeping women, and didst more pity thy persecutors than thyself, and wert grieved for the miseries of Jerusalem to come forty years after, more than for thy present passion.

“Lord, what is man,” etc.

Blessed be thy name, O holy Jesus, and blessed be that incomparable sweetness and holy sorrow which thou sufferedst, when thy holy hands and feet were nailed upon the cross, and the cross, being set in a hollowness of the earth, did in the fall rend the wounds wider, and there, naked and bleeding, sick and faint, wounded and despised, didst hang upon the weight of thy wounds three long hours, praying for thy persecutors, satisfying thy Father’s wrath, reconciling the penitent thief, providing for thy holy and afflicted mother, tasting vinegar and gall; and when the fulness of thy suffering was accomplished, didst give thy soul into the hands of God, and didst descent to the regions of longing souls, who waited for the revelation of this thy day in their prisons of hope: and then thy body was transfixed with a spear, and issued forth two sacraments, water and blood, and thy body was composed to burial, and dwelt in darkness three days, and three nights.

“Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou thus visited him?”

The Prayer.

Thus, O blessed Jesus, thou didst finish thy holy passion with pain and anguish so great, that nothing could be greater than it, except thyself and thine own infinite mercy: and all this for man, even for me, than whom nothing could be more miserable, thyself only excepted, who becamest so by undertaking our guilt and our punishment. And now, Lord, who hast done so much for me, be pleased only to make it effectual to me, that it may not be useless and lost as to my particular, lest I become eternally miserable, and lost to all hopes and possibilities of comfort. All this deserves more love than I have to give; but, Lord do thou turn me all into love, and all my love into obedience , and let my obedience be without interruption, and there I hope thou wilt accept such a return as I can make. Make me to be something that thou delightest in, and thou shalt have all that I am or have from thee, even whatsoever thou makest fit for thyself. Teach me to live wholly for my Saviour Jesus, and to be ready to die for Jesus, and to be conformable to his life and sufferings, and to be united to him by inseparable unions, and to own no passions but what may be servants to Jesus and disciples of his institution. O sweetest Saviour, clothe my soul with thy holy robe; hide my sins in thy wounds, and bury them in thy grave; and let me rise in the life of grace, and abide and grow in it, till I arrive at the kingdom of glory. Amen.

“Our Father,” etc.

 

Ad. Sect. 7,8,10.

 

A Form of Prayer or Intercession for all Estates of People in the Christian church. The parts of which may be added to any other forms; and the whole office, entirely as it lies, is proper to be said in our preparation to the Holy Sacrament, or on the day of celebration.

 

1. For Ourselves.

O thou gracious Father of mercy, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon thy servants, who bow our heads and our knees and our hearts to thee; pardon and forgive us all our sins; give us the grace of holy repentance, and a strict obedience to thy holy word; strengthen us in the inner man with the power of thy Holy Ghost for all the parts and duties of our calling and holy living; preserve us for ever in the unity of the holy catholic church, and in the integrity of the Christian faith, and in the love of God and of our neighbours, and in hope of life eternal. Amen.

 

2. For the whole Catholic Church.

O holy Jesus, King of the saints, and Prince of the catholic church, preserve thy spouse, whom thou hast purchased with thy right hand, and redeemed and cleansed with thy blood; the whole catholic church from one end of the earth to the other; she is founded upon a rock, but planted in the sea. O, preserve her safe from schim, heresy, and sacrilege. Unite all her members with the bands of faith, hope, and charity, and an external communion, when it shall seem good in thine eyes. Let the daily sacrifice of prayer and sacramental thanksgiving never cease, but be for ever presented to thee, and for ever prevail for the obtaining for every of its members grace and blessing, pardon and salvation. Amen.

 

3. For all Christian Kings, Princes, and Governors.

O King of kings and Prince of all the rulers of the earth, give thy grace and Spirit to all Christian princes, the spirit of wisdom nor counsel, the spirit of government and godly fear. Grant unto them to live in peace and honour, that their people may love and fear them, and they may love and fear God. Speak good unto their hearts concerning the church, that they may be nursing fathers to it, fathers to the fatherless, judges and avengers of the cause of widows; that they may be compassionate to the wants of the poor, and the groans of the oppressed; that they may not vex or kill the Lord’s people with unjust or ambitious wars; but may feed the flock of God, and may inquire after and do all things which may promote peace, public honesty, and holy religion; so administering things present that they may not fail of the ever-lasting glories of the world to come, where all thy faithful people shall reign kings for ever. Amen.

 

4. For all the Orders of them that minister about Holy Things.

O thou great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, holy and eternal Jesus, give unto thy servants the ministers of the mysteries of Christian religion, the spirit of prudence and sanctity, faith and charity, confidence and zeal, diligence and watchfulness, that they may declare thy will unto the people faithfully, and dispense thy sacraments rightly, and intercede with thee graciously and acceptably for thy servants. Grant, O Lord, that by a holy life and a true belief, by well-doing and patient suffering, (when thou shalt call them to it,) they may glorify thee, the great lover of souls, and, after a plentiful conversion of sinners from the errors of their ways, they may shine like the stars in glory. Amen.

Give unto thy servants, the bishops, a discerning spirit, that they may lay hands suddenly on no man, but may depute such persons to the ministries of religion who may adorn the gospel of God, and whose lips may preserve knowledge and such who by their good preaching and holy living may advance the service of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

 

5. For our nearest Relatives, as Husband, Wife, Children, Family, etc.

O God of infinite mercy, let thy loving mercy and compassion descent upon the head of thy servants: (my wife, or husband, children, and family) be pleased to give them health of body and of spirit, a competent portion of temporals, so as may with comfort support them in their journey to heaven: preserve them from all evil and sad accidents, defend them in all assaults of their enemies, direct their persons and their actions, sanctify their hearts and words and purposes; that we all may, by the bands of obedience and charity, be united to our Lord Jesus, and, always feeling thee our merciful and gracious Father; may become a holy family discharging our whole duty in all our relations; that we in this life being thy children by adoption and grace, may be admitted into thy holy family hereafter, for ever to sing praises to thee in the church of the first-born, in the family of thy redeemed ones. Amen.

 

6. For our Parents, our Kindred in the Flesh, our Friends and Benefactors.

O God, merciful and gracious, who hast made (my parents) my friends and my benefactors ministers of thy mercy, and instruments of Providence to thy servant, I humbly beg a blessing to descend upon the heads of (name the persons or the relations). Depute thy holy angels to guard their persons, thy Holy Spirit to guide their souls, thy providence to minister to their necessities; and let thy grace and mercy preserve them from the bitter pains of eternal death, and bring them to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

7. For all that lie under toe Rof of War, Famine, Pestilence; to be said in the Time of Plague, or War, etc.

O Lord God Almighty, thou art our Father, we are thy children; thou art our Redeemer, we thy people, purchased with the price of thy most precious blood; let not thy whole displeasure arise, lest we be consumed and brought to nothing. Let health and peace lie within our dwellings; let righteousness and holiness dwell for ever in our hearts, and be expressed in all our actions, and the light of thy countenance be upon us in all our sufferings, that we may delight in the service and in the mercies of God for ever. Amen.

O gracious Father and merciful God, if it be thy will, say unto the destroying angel, “It is enough;” and though we are not better than our brethren, who are smitten with the rod of God, but much worse, yet may it please thee, even because thou art good, and because we are timorous and sinful, not yet fitted for our appearance, to set thy mark upon our foreheads, that thy angel, the minister of thy justice, may pass over us and hurt us not; let thy hand cover thy servants and hide us in the clefts of the rock, in the wounds of the holy Jesus, from the present anger that is gone out against us; that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we may fear no evil, and suffer none; and those whom thou hast smitten with thy rod support with thy staff, and visit them with thy mercies and salvation, through Jesus Christ.

 

8. For all Women with Child, and for unborn Children.

O Lord God, who art the Father of them that trust in thee, and showest mercy to a thousand generations of them that fear thee; have mercy upon all women great with child; be pleased to give them a joyful and a safe deliverance; and let thy grace preserve the fruit of their wombs, and conduct them to the holy sacrament of baptism; that they, being regenerated by thy Spirit, and adopted into thy family, and the portion and duty of sons, may live to the glory of God, to the comfort of their parents and friends, to the edification of the Christian commonwealth, and the salvation of their own souls, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

9. For all Estates of Men and Women in the Christian Church.

O holy God, King eternal, out of the infinite storehouses of thy grace and mercy, give unto all virgins chastity and a religious spirit; to all persons dedicated to thee and to religion, continence and meekness and active zeal and an unwearied spirit; to all married pairs, faith and holiness; to widows and fatherless, and all that are oppressed, thy patronage, comfort, and defence; to all Christian women, simplicity and modesty, humility and chastity, patience and charity; give unto the poor, to all that are robbed and spoiled of their goods, a competent support, and a contented spirit, and a treasure in heaven hereafter; give unto prisoners and captives, to them that toil in the mines, and row in the gullies, strength of body and of spirit, liberty and redemption, comfort and restitution; to all that travel by land, thy angel for their guide, and a holy and prosperous return: to all that travel by sea, freedom from pirates and shipwreck, and bring them to the haven where they would be; to distressed and scrupulous consciences, to melancholy and disconsolate persons, to all that are afflicted with evil and unclean spirits, give a light from heaven, great grace, and proportionable comforts and timely deliverance; give them patience and resignation; let their sorrows be changed into grace and comfort, and let the storm waft them certainly to the regions of rest and glory.

Lord God of mercy, give to thy martyrs, confessors, and all thy persecuted, constancy and prudence, boldness and hope, a full faith and a never-failing charity. To all who are condemned to death, do thou minister comfort, a strong, a quiet, and a resigned spirit; take from them the fear of death, and all remaining affections to sin, and all imperfections of duty, and cause them to die full of grace, full of hope. And give to all faithful, and particularly to them who have recommended themselves to the prayers of thy unworthy servant, a supply of all their needs temporal and spiritual, and, according to their several states and necessities, rest and peace, pardon and refreshment, and show us all a mercy in the day of judgment. Amen.

Give, O Lord, to the magistrates equity, sincerity, courage, and prudence, that they may protect the good, defend religion, and punish the wrong-doers. Give to the nobility wisdom, valour, and loyalty; to merchants, justice and faithfulness, to all artificers and labours, truth and honesty; to our enemies, forgiveness and brotherly kindness.

Preserve to us the heavens and the air in healthful influence and disposition, the earth in plenty, the kingdom in peace and good governments, our marriages in peace, and sweetness, and innocence of society, thy people from famine and pestilence, our houses from burning and robbery, our persons from being burnt alive, from banishment and prison, from widowhood and destitution, from violence of pains and passions, from tempests and earthquakes, from inundation of waters, from rebellion or invasion, from impatience and inordinate cares, from tediousness of spirit and despair, from murder, and all violent, accursed, and unusual deaths, from the surprise of sudden and violent accidents, from passionate and unreasonable fears, from all thy wrath, and from all our sins, good Lord, deliver and preserve thy servants for ever. Amen.

Repress the violence of all implacable, warring, and tyrant nations; bring home unto thy fold all that are gone astray; call into the church all strangers; increase the number and holiness of thine own people; bring infants to ripeness of age and reason; confirm all baptized people with thy grace and with thy Spirit; instruct the novices and new Christians; let a great grace and merciful providence bring youthful persons safely and holily through the indiscretions, and passions, and temptations of their younger years; and to those whom thou hast or shalt permit to live to the age of a man, give competent strength and wisdom, take from them covetousness and churlishness, pride and impatience; fill them full of devotion and charity, repentance and sobriety, holy thoughts and longing desires after heaven and heavenly things; give them a holy and a blessed death, and to us all a joyful resurrection, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

Ad. Sect. 10.

 

The Manner of using these Devotions by way of Preparation to the receiving of the blessed Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

The just preparation to this holy feast consisting principally in a holy life, and consequently in the repetition of the acts or all virtues, and especially of faith, repentance, charity, and thanksgiving; to the exercise of these four graces, let the person that intends to communicate, in the times set apart for his preparation and devotion, for the exercise of his faith recite the prayer or litany of the passion; for the exercise of repentance, the form of confession of sins with the prayer annexed; and for the graces of thanksgiving and charity, let him use the special forms of prayer above described. Or if a less time can be allotted for preparatory devotion, the two first will be the more proper, as containing in them all the personal duty of the communicant. To which, upon the morning of that holy solemnity, let him add

 

A Prayer of Preparation or Address to the Holy Sacrament.

An Act of Love.

 

O most gracious and eternal God, the helper of the helpless, the comforter of the comfortless, the hope of the afflicted, the bread of the hungry, the drink of the thirsty, and the Saviour of all them that wait upon thee; I bless and glorify thy name, and adore thy goodness, and delight in thy love, that thou hast once more given me the opportunity of receiving the greatest favour which I can receive in this world, even the body and blood of my dearest Saviour. O take from me all affection to sin or vanity; let not my affections dwell below, but soar upwards to the element of love, to the seat of God, to the regions of glory, and the inheritance of Jesus; that I may hunger and thirst for the bread of life, and the wine of elect souls, and may know no loves but the love of God, and the most merciful Jesus. Amen.

 

An Act of Desire.

 

O blessed Jesus, thou hast used many arts to save me, thou hast given thy life to redeem me, thy Holy Spirit to sanctify me, thyself for my example, thy word for my rule, thy grace for my guide, the fruit of thy body hanging on the tree of the cross for the sin of my soul; and, after all this, thou hast sent thy apostles and ministers of salvation to call me, to importune me, to constrain me to holiness, and peace, and felicity. O now come, Lord Jesus, come quickly: my heart is desirous of thy presence and thirsty of thy grace, and would entertain thee, not as a guest, but as an inhabitant, as the Lord of all my faculties. Enter in and take possession, and dwell with me for ever; that I also may dwell in the heart of my dearest Lord, which was opened for me with a spear and love.

 

An Act of Contrition.

 

Lord, thou shalt find my heart full of cares and worldly desires, cheated with love of riches, and neglect of holy things, proud and unmortified, false and crafty to deceive itself, intricated and entangled with difficult cases of conscience, with knots which my own wildness and inconsideration and impatience have tied and shuffled together. O my dearest Lord, if thou canst behold such an impure seat, behold the place to which thou art invited is full of passion and prejudice, evil principles and evil habits, peevish and disobedient, lustful and intemperate, and full of sad remembrances, that I have often provoked to jealousy and to anger thee my God, my dearest Saviour, him that died for me, him that suffered torments for me, that is infinitely good to me, and infinitely good and perfect in himself. This, O dearest Saviour, is a sad truth, and I am heartily ashamed, and truly sorrowful for it, and do deeply hate all my sins, and am full of indignation against myself for so unworthy, so careless, so continued, so great a folly: and humbly beg of thee to increase my sorrow, and my care, and my hatred against sin; and make my love to thee swell up to a great grace, and then to glory and immensity.

 

An Act of Faith.

 

This indeed is my condition; but I know, O blessed Jesus, that thou didst take upon thee my nature, that thou mightest suffer for my sins, and thou didst suffer to deliver me from them and from thy Father’s wrath; and I was delivered from this wrath, that I might serve thee in holiness and righteousness all my days. Lord, I am as sure thou didst the great work of redemption for me and all mankind, as that I am alive. This is my hope, the strength of my spirit, my joy and my confidence; and do thou never let the spirit, my joy and my confidence; and do thou never let the spirit of unbelief enter into me and take me from this rock. Here I will dwell, for I have a delight therein; here I will live, and here I desire to die.

 

The Petition.

 

Therefore, O blessed Jesus, who art my Saviour and my God, whose body is my food, and thy righteousness is my robe, thou art the priest and the sacrifice, the master of the feast and the feast itself, the physician of my soul, the light of my eyes, the purifier of my stains; enter into my heart and cast out from thence all impurities, all the remains of the old man; and grant I may partake of this holy sacrament with much reverence, and holy relish, and great effect, receiving hence the communication of thy holy body and blood, for the establishment of an unreprovable faith, of an unfeigned love, for the fulness of wisdom, for the healing my soul, for the blessing and preservation of my body, for the taking out the sting of temporal death, and for the assurance of a holy resurrection; for the ejection of all evil from within me, and the fulfilling all thy righteous commandments; and to procure for me a mercy and a fair reception at the day of judgment, through thy mercies, O holy and ever-blessed Saviour Jesus.

(Here also may be added the prayer after receiving the cup.)

 

Ejaculations to be said before or at the receiving the Holy Sacrament.

Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God. My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God; when shall I come before the presence of God? Psalm xiii.1,2.

O Lord my God, great are thy wondrous works which thou hast done; like as be also thy thoughts, which are to us ward: and yet there is no man that ordereth them unto thee. Psalm xi. 6.

O send out thy light and thy truth, that they may lead me, and bring me unto thy holy hill and to thy dwelling; and that I may go unto the altar of God, even unto the God of my joy and gladness; and with my heart will I give thanks to thee, O God my God. Psalm xliii.3,4.

I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, and so will I go to thine altar: that I may show the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. Psalm xxvi. 6,7.

Examine me, O Lord, and prove me, try thou my reins and my heart. For thy loving-kindness is now and ever before my eyes; and I will walk in thy truth. Verse 2,3.

Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me: thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full. But thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Psalm xxiii. 5,6.

This is the bread that cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. John vi. 50.

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him, and hath eternal life abiding in him; and I will raise him up at the last day. Verse 54, 56.

Lord, whither shall we go but to thee? thou hast the words of eternal life. John, vi. 68.

If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. John, vii. 37.

The bread which we break, is it not the communication of the body of Christ? and the cup which we drink, is it not the communication of the blood of Christ? 1 Cor. x.16.

What are those wounds in thy hands? They are those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Zech. xiii. 6.

 

Immediately before the receiving, say,

Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. But do thou speak the word only, and thy servant shall be healed. Matt. viii. 8.

Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show thy praise. O God, make speed to save me: O Lord, make haste to help me.

Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

 

After receiving the consecrated and blessed Bread, say,

O taste and see how gracious the Lord is: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. The beasts do lack and suffer hunger; but they which seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good. Lord, what am I, that my Saviour should become my food; that the Son of God should be the meat of worms, of dust and ashes, of a sinner, of him that was his enemy? But this thou hast done to me, because thou art infinitely good and wonderfully gracious, and lovest to bless every one of us, in turning us from the evil of our ways. Enter into me, blessed Jesus, let no root of bitterness spring up in my heart; but be thou Lord of all my faculties. O let me feed on thee by faith, and grow up by the increase of God to a perfect man in Christ Jesus. Amen. Lord, I believe: help mine unbelief.

Glory be to God the Father, Son, etc.

 

After receiving the Cup of Blessing.

It is finished. Blessed be the mercies of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. O blessed and eternal High-priest, at the sacrifice of the cross, which thou didst once offer for the sins of the whole world, and which thou dost now and always represent in heaven to thy Father by thy never-ceasing intercession, and which this day hath been exhibited on thy holy table sacramentally, obtain mercy and peace, faith and charity, safety and establishment to thy holy church, which thou hast founded upon a rock, the rock of a holy faith; and let not the gates of hell prevail against her, nor the enemy of mankind take any soul out of thy hand, whom thou hast purchased with thy blood, and sanctified by thy spirit. Preserve all thy people from heresy and division of spirit, from scandal and the spirit of delusion, from sacrilege and hurtful persecutions. Thou, O blessed Jesus, didst die for us; keep me for ever in holy living, from sin and sinful shame, in the communion of thy church, and thy church is safety and grace, in truth and peace, unto thy second coming. Amen.

Dearest Jesus, since thou art pleased to enter into me, O be jealous of thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth: suffer no unclean spirit or unholy thought to come near thy dwelling, lest it defile the ground where thy holy feet have trod. O teach me so to walk, that I may never disrepute the honour of my religion, nor stain the holy robe which thou hast now put upon my soul, nor break my holy vows which I have made, and thou hast sealed, nor lose my right of inheritance, my privilege of being co-heir with Jesus, into the hope of which I have no further entered: but be thou pleased to love me with the love of a father, and of a brother, and a husband, and a lord; and make me to serve thee in the communion of saints, in receiving the sacrament, in the practice of all holy virtues, in the imitation of thy life, and conformity to thy sufferings: that I, having now put on the Lord Jesus may marry his loves and his enmities, may desire his glory, and may obey his laws, and be united to his Spirit, and in the day of the Lord I may be found having on the wedding-garment, and bearing in my body and soul the marks of the Lord Jesus, that I may enter into the joy of my Lord, and partake of his glories for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Ejaculations to be used any time that Day, after the Solemnity is ended.

Lord, if I had lived innocently, I could not have deserved to receive the crumbs that fall from thy table. How great is thy mercy, who hast feasted me with the bread of virgins, with the wine of angels, with manna from heaven!

O when shall I pass from this dark glass, from this veil of sacraments, to the vision of thy eternal clarity? from eating thy body, to beholding thy face in thy eternal kingdom?

Let not my sins crucify the Lord of life again: let it never he said concerning me, ‘The hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on this table.’

O that I might love thee as well as ever any creature loved thee! Let me drink nothing but thee, desire nothing but thee, enjoy nothing but thee.

O Jesus, be a Jesus unto me. Thou art all things unto me. Let nothing ever please me but what savours of thee and thy miraculous sweetness.

Blessed be the mercies of our Lord, who of God is made unto me wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

‘He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.’ Amen.

 

THE END

 

 

 


The Classical Library, This HTML edition copyright ©2006.

 

 

Notes

Table of Contents

Home
Authors
Titles
Keyword Search
Reference