PRAYERS
- A Prayer for the Graces of Faith, Hope, Charity.
- Acts of Love by way of Prayer and Ejaculation; to be used in private.
- 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.
- Ejaculations and short Meditations to be used in time of Sickness and Sorrow, or Danger of Death.
- An Act of Faith concerning the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment, to be said by Sick Persons, or meditated.
- Short Prayers to be said by Sick Persons.
- Acts of Hope, to be used by Sick Persons after a pious Life.
- A Prayer to be said in behalf of a Sick or Dying Person.
- A Prayer to be said in a Storm at Sea.
- Then make an Act of Resignation thus:
- A Form of a Vow to be made in this or the like Danger.
- A Prayer before a Journey.
- A Prayer to be said before the hearing or reading the Word of God.
- 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.
- The Prayer.
- Special Devotions to be used upon the Lords Day, and the great Festivals of Christians.
- 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.
- A Prayer to be said upon our Birth-day, or Day of Baptism.
- A Prayer to be said upon the Days of the Memory of Apostles, Martyrs, etc.
- A Form of Prayer recording all the parts and mysteries of Christs Passion, being a short history of it: to be used especially in the week of the Passions, and before the receiving the blessed Sacrament.
- The Manner of using these Devotions by way of Preparation to the receiving of the blessed Sacrament of the Lords Supper.
- A Prayer of Preparation or Address to the Holy Sacrament.
- Ejaculations to be said before or at the receiving the Holy Sacrament.
FOR ALL SORTS OF MEN AND ALL NECESSITIES; RELATING TO THE SEVERAL PARTS OF THE
VIRTUE OF RELIGION.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.)
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.
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 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
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.)
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
[298] Psalm cii. 1-4,10.
[299] Psalm xxxviii. 2-4, 18.
[300] Psalm vi.1.
[301] Psalm xli.4.
[302] Psalm li.1.
[303] Psalm xxv.6.
[304] Psalm li.2,10,11.
[305] Psalm xlviii.13.
[306] Psalm xli.3.
[307] Psalm xlix.15.
[308] Psalm lv.4.
[309] Psalm xxxix.6.
[310] Psalm cxix.25.
[311] Psalm cxvi.3.
[312] Psalm 1. 3,4.