be none to deliver you. Whofo offereth Me thanks and praise, he honoureth Me: and to him that ordereth his converfation right, will I fhew the falvation of God. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end.

Amen.

§. 13. I Penitential Pfalm, 6.

LORD, rebuke me not in thine indignation: neither chaften me in thy displeafure. Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am weak: O LORD, heal me, for my bones are vexed. My foul alfo is fore troubled: but LORD, how long wilt Thou punish me? Turn Thee, O LORD, and deliver my foul: O fave me for thy mercies fake. For in death no man remembreth Thee: and who will give Thee thanks in the pit? I am weary of my groning, every night wah I my bed and water my couch with my tears. My beauty is gone for very trouble: and worn away becaufe of all mine enemies. Away from me all ye that work vanity : for the LORD hath heard my petition: the LORD will receive my prayer. All mine enemies fhall be confounded, and fore vexed: they fhall be turned back, and pnt to shame fuddenly. Glory be to the Father c.

S. 14. A Prayer for Knowledge.

O God of all wisdom and Grace, who haft promised to guide all meek and humble Souls in Jndgment, and to teach them thy Way; preferve my mind, I moft humbly beseech Thee, from all manner of illufions, and free from all mistakes about Thefe holy Mysteries of my Salvation; that I may neither approach irreverently unto thy Altar; nor out of causeless fears omit my Duty, and lofe the Comforts which Thou imparteft there. o And do Thou, O Father of lights, the Author of every good and perfect gift,inlighten my Mind to understand aright my whole Chriftian Duty; and difpofe my Heart to imbrace it with fuch fincere affection, that I may neither omit any part of it, nor be dull and liveless in the performance. Help me fo to follow my ordinary Imployments, that they may not unfit me for Devotion; and ftir me up to fuch fervor in devotion, that it may have a mighty influence upon all the other Ac tions of a holy Life. Let the pions Warmth I feel in my heart by the very reading of these things, accompany me till I return again to this, or other fuch like holy duties:

and

Part I. and by them ftill more and more inflame my Love to Thee, and to all Goodness; that So my Life may be nothing but a paffage from one good imployment to another, till I arrive at that happy place where I fhall have nothing else to do but to admire and praife thy Love in endless joys; thro Chrift Jefus, to Whom, with Thee, O Father, and the Holy Ghost, be glory given in the Church, throughout all Ages, & World without end. Amen.

§. 15. A.General Preparatory Prayer, to be faid now, and after the last particular Prayer every day this week.

O Bleffed Jefu, my Lord and my God, be a Jefus, bea Savior unto thy fervant; I am preparing, Gracious Redeemer, to approach thy more especial Prefence, to receive the Kiffes of thy Love, the Pledges of thy most coftly Benefits; O may I not, by an unworthy Receiving, Eat and Drink my own Damnation, not difcerning the Lord's Body; O mayft Thou be made unto me, of God thy Father, Wisdom,

Righteonfnefs, fanctification and Redemption! Enter then into my heart, prepare its unpreparedness, purge out all its Impurities, and grant that I may partake of this Holy Sacrament with Faith and Reverence, with pions Relish and Delight, with fpiritual Profit and Advantage. My apprehenfions, Holy Savior, of this thine amazing Love are low and flender, O do Thou exalt, do Thou inlarge them; my Affections cold and heavy, little warm'd with grati tude for ine thine flimable Bounty, Odo Thou quicken, da Thou inflame 'em, May I now tafle and fee how gracious my Lord is, how bleffed the man who puts his trust in Him. Meet me therefore, dear Jefus, in this ficred Festival, with a. free and plenary Pardon of all my fins, with an intire fan&tification of my Nature; and a perfect cure, at leaft fuppreffion of all my Infirmities; Meet me and Comfort me, meet me and make me fit for thy Company; Let thy Grace be my Guide and Guard unto Death: May thy Banner over me at this Feaft of Love, be peace and joy, and compleat Reconciliation. O that I were more worthy, render me fuch by thy Worthineis; Cleanfe me by thy Spirit; let me feed on Thee by Faith, and grow up with th'increase of God to a fulness of flature in Chrift Fefas. May th' outward and vifibi figns of my Savior's Death, convey to me th' inward and fpiritual Grace purchafed thereby MayI fo eat thy Flesh, and drink thy Bloud, Bieffed Lord, as

Thou

to Act. 3. 19. page. 131. Tore, head this next after s. 5. 6. BEFORE I begin to Read or Hear the Holy Scriptures, ill be Useful that I confider, First, Their own Excellency. ngagemy Love to em. Secondly, The Providence of God ́ia Compofing and Preferving'em, t'excite my Reverence. Third$, The Care of the Church in fitting'em to our Use, t'incourage Diligence.

7. First, THE Scipture must needs be Excellent, because the Revelation of the Whole Will of God, so far as is Neceffary our Salvation; a Compleat Repolitory of all Divine Truths, bat concern Faith and Manners; the Foundation of our Faith, and the Rule of our Lives, the Moderator and Determiner of Doubts and Differences; the Guide of Confciences, and Ground efour Hope; th' Evidence of our Inheritance; and the Law by which we shall be Fudged at the laft Day. Wherefore 'tis my Duty and intereft to be Converfant in'em, according to the Com mand of Jefus, and th' Example of all God's fervants, who ftudied em more than any other Writings: fo that S. Bazil and his Friend afed no Other Book, but wholly Meditated in This for 13 years. And, if it were poffible, I shou'd Meditate in the Sriptures Day and Night; Ioshna 1. 8. or Read therein All the Daies of my life; Deut. 17. 19 at leaft fo fmall a portion thereof Daily as my Almanack at th'end hereof directs. Because Ignorance of kefe Sacred Oracles will lay me open to Errors in Judgment, S, Mar. 12. 24. and Wickedness in Practice, Pfal. 119. 3. and finally prove the Ruine of my Soul,

S. 8. Secondly, 'TIS no ordinary Regard which I must give to thofe holy Pages, because God is th' Author, and his Spirit th Inditer of 'em, and, in his infinite Wisdom, and Love, He has committed his Will to Writing, that it might not be Corrupted or Impair'd by the Prejudices, the Malice, or Forgetfulness of Men, as all Traditionsgenerally are: and has laid down all Neceffary and Fundamental Truths fo Clearly that the Meanest may UnderStand'em, and yet in more Curious Points has left fuch Dufficulies as may Exercife the Wits, and Allay th' Arrogance of the most Knowing Men. And t'ingage us diligently to Read it All, He has not in any One Part fet down Every thing that is directly Tending t'our Salvation, but has fo prudently difperf'd'em that fome of em are to be found Every where, fo that every Part thereof is Ufeful, and none of it must be Neglected, much less Contemn'd. And th Almighty has not only show'd his Care in the Forming, but also in

Place this leaf'twirty. 135 E 131, to be read before § 11.

the

the Preferving thefe facred Records: for tho they are moft Ancient in the World (of undoubted Credit,) and ba been hated and oppofed by fatan and his Inftruments, yet neither Time, Power, Policy,nor Malice cou'd ever Destroy, nor Corrupcem

S. 9. Thirdly, THE Governors and Lights of the Churd have carefully Tranflated th' Original Scripture into all Lang sa ges, that all Nations might hear in their own Tongues the wonderfull works of God, Acts 2. 11. After which pattern our Church has made that elaborate. exact, and faithful Tranflation into th' English Tongue, the like to which is not any Nation; (Anglicanæ verfionis Authores omni laude majores fuifle arguit accurata illa et, ad invidiam aliarum Gentium, elaborata Verfio. Sixt. Amama Præf.ad Drus.) and bas inojyn'd us to Read or Hear it every day, both at Morning and · Evening Prayer; carefully felecting the most Practical and pertinent Chapters; omitting the more difficult, or rather remitting 'em to ptivate Confideration, where we have more leisure. And we read (on Working and Holy-days, but never on Sundays) fome part of Aprocryphal Authors, for Inftruction of Manners, as the Primitive Church alfo did.

S. 10. A Prayer for Abfolute Obedience.

O MOST bleffed God, the Fountain of all being and happinefs, the highest of my thoughts and conceptions fall infinitely fhort of the Greatness of thy Perfections: but when I Chufe Thee, my Will is fatisfied; my Body is better as well as my Spirit; when I chearfully Obey Thee; yea, the Croffes and Afflictions of this life turn to my Profit, by th' Union of my Will with thine, and my stedfast Adherence to Thee. There is nothing that I can with for more than that I may always continue, as our bleffad Lord did, in a conftant Love and abfolute Obedience to Thee in all things. Pour down upon me a more abundant Portion of thy Holy Spirit, that may make my Thoughts more fixid upon Heav enly things, and my whole Converfation fuch as becomes one who has fuch excellent Precepts, fuch precious Promises, fuch noble Hopes, and feeks,by Patient continuance in Well Doing, for Glory, Honor, and Immortality; that Lifest felf may not be fo dear tome,as the Doing of thy Will revealad inChrift Fefus. That doing my Duty impartially towards Thee, my Self,and towards all Men, I may at last hear that comfortable Voice, Well done thou good and faithful fervant, enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord, Amen,

31 Thou haft required, as my Soul has need, and as will prove the most beneficial unto me; that being confirm'd in Goodnefs by this holy Sacrament, and made an Heir of eternal Life by a due partaking of the fame, I may be preferv'd by thy Power, thro' Faith unto Salvation. Amen.

§. 16. TO thefe and all the following extraordinary, I muft not fail to add my ordinary Daily devotions; else what do I more than at other times? and all must not feem grievous, for it wil be doubly and trebbly, what do I say? nay uafpeakably, and infinitely too, rewarded. The devil (who, as our Savior faies, is a Liar, and the father of it) fpake the truth once, when he intimated, that Man doth not ferve God for nought, Job. 1.9.

§. 17. NOW it is not enough that I have fpent an half hour or more in thefe Devotions, but, in order to Practice, I muft digeft them well by Meditation, 'twixt this and the next Day's Exercife; and fo every following Day's Direc tions till the next again, if I expect my Soul fhould be thereby nourish'd, as my Body by mear. As the Lord God commanded th' Ifraelites in order to obedience, Deur. 6. 6, 7. These words which I command thee this day, fhall be in thine heart. And thou shalt talk of them when thou fitteft in thine houfe, and when thou walkeft by the way, and when thou lyeft down, and when thou risest up.

At Night,thi and everySunday Holy day, as Introd.§. 381042.

CHAP. II.

Five Sacramental Meditations before and on the 5 principal Feafts: With an Account of our other Featts & Fails.

§. 1. OUR prudent Reformers have retained five of the most ancient particular Prefaces, as in our Communion Ser vice, to be faid before Therefore with Angels and Archangels c. (which the Grecians call the Trisagium, because the word Holy is thrice repeated,) to praise God peculiarly for the Mercy commemorated on each Festival upon which we do Communicate. Which being the great End of 'em, the beft Method to promote that, will be to ground a devout Meditation upon every one of thefe Prefaces, proper for me, when I partake of the Mysteries at any of thefe Times, to ufe in private before thefe Solemnities, as an Addition to my other Devotions.

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