Treatise of Conscience Wherein Divers Secrets are Discovered, Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII.
A forme of praise, and praier to be vsed, by them quhilk are deliuered from the vexation of the Spirit and Conscience.
O Loving, gracious, and bountifull Father! I render al praise vntounto thee, for thy manifolde mercies shewed on me thy poore servant; quhilk are more in number nor I am able to recount. Behold, thou hes not taken me away in my sin, but hes spared me long, & at last hes given me a sicht of my sins, a liuely sorrow in my heart for the same, a fervent desire to abstaine from doing evil, and to do that quhilk is plesant in thy sight: Blessed be thy name for that hope, & sight of mercy & salvation, quhilk thou hes given me in the death of thy Son Iesus Christ: Praise be vntounto thee, in that it hes pleased thee also to hauehave chastised me with the rodde of thy fatherly correction: For thereby, thou hes tamed, & humbled me, being insolent and vnruly: Thou hes thereby let me know mine own weaknes, & vnworthines, and thy justice & merciemercy: Thou hes drawn me vntounto thee, as it were, by force, & wald not suffer me to persever in wickednes: Thou succoured me when I was led captiue with my owne affections, and was transported with the vanities of the worlde: Thou hes drawne out fervent praiers▪ sighs, & sobs from my heart, and teares from mine eies, for my sin, quhilk I could never hauehave done of my self, without the motion of thy holy spirite; And thou vouchsafest from time to time, to harken to my praiers, and to graunt my requests. Thou hes brought me from the doore of death, and brink of dispaire, to the quhilk I was neere: Thou hes brought me out of the dark cloud of ignorance and heavines, wherewith I was overshadowed: and didst ministrate wonderfull meanes to comfort me, and to bring me to the knowledge of thy trueth, in the daies of my trouble, and ignorance: Thou hes cast me downe, thou hes raised me vp; thou hes tried me like the silver in the fournace; thou hes eased my paine; thou hes exercised my Conscience; thou hes trained me vp in thy discipline: and hes made me partaker of thy holy Sacraments institute by thy sonne our Lord Iesus, as sure seales and testimonies of thy louelove, & of my adoption & salvation. These benefits, O heavenly Father! and al other good thinges▪ I acknowledge me to hauehave received, and to receiue daily of thy only goodnes, & bountiful hand: for the quhilk I render vntounto thee, that quhilk thou hes also giuen me; even my heart, my soule, my affection, and my strength, with al thanks: For lo! they appertaine justly vntounto thee, the fountaine of all goodnes, and original of my being: I dedicate my life, & service to thee, and wil vowe my selfe thy servant for ever.
But now, my God, I stil remain in great danger, & distres; and vnles thou preserue me, I am but lost; vnles thou vphold me, I am not able to stand: For so long as I am in this tabernacle, I am but poor, weak, ignorant, impacient, & imperfit: So long as I am in this vail of misery, I am daily assalted within, & without, with manifold tentations; with the intisements of the world, with the snares of the diuel, with the injuries of men, and raging of mine own concupiscence: If thou take thy good gifts frame; I sal stand vp poore, naked, & miserabil: If thou tak thy spirit & grace from me I sal then doutles fal suddenly, & be a pray to my enemies foresaids. HaueHave merciemercy on me therefore (O Lord) for Iesus Christ thy deare sons sake; & let me not be overcum, nor drawen from thee with the trifles, and entisements of the world; by the power & subtiltie of Sathan; by the fellowship, or provocation of men; nor by the vnrulines of my corrupted affections. But as thou hes wrocht that great work of my redemption, by the deth of thine only son, so work likewise, & accomplish the work of my regeneration, by the vertue of thy holy spirit. By the mightie operation of the comforter, make my heart new within me; my stubborne, and polluted heart, pearce it, purge it, mollifie it, enlarge it, frame and fashion it to thy holy wil: Crucifie the old man, quicken the new man; bridle, & mortifie my sinful lusts and natural affections, that they be not inordinate nor excessiue; but make them alwaies obedient & subject to my spirit, & my spirit to thy spirit. Let thy word & wil, be a precise rule to al my deeds, my words, my thoughts, my appetites, & desires. Let me be daily renewed, comforted, instructed, instrenthened, preserved, and governed by the spirit of truth, till I come to the ful perfection; and albeit Lord, I cannot be altogither without sin, so long as I am clad with flesh and blood; yet, let not sin raigne, nor hauehave the vpper, hand in me; but so oft as I fal by sin, als oft raise thou me vp again by repentance: sanctifie my soul, good Lord, my wit, & memory, that I may be alwaies occupied in thy service: purifie, & blesse my body and members, quhilk ar defiled with the works of the flesh, that I may be a meet and well prepared temple of the holy Ghost: Blesse likewise, & prosper, acording to thy good pleasure, mine interprises, proceedings, and works of my hands, that it may go wel with me. Dresse my affaires, and put them in good order: Preserue me alwaies, that I attempt nothing repugnant to thy holy will; let thy will, be my will (my God) And whatsoeuer succes my proceedings take; whatsoever crosse or affliction it sal please thy majestie to lay on me; make me hartilie wel content therwith. For thou knawis what is good for me. As concerning temporal benefits, I craue them onelyonly in such number and measure as seemeth good in thine eies: GiueGive mee those things quhilk thy wisdome knowes to be most expedient for me: seeing thou knowest whereof I hauehave need. Alwaies, Lord, let me not lack the thing without the quhilk I canot serue thee: but grant me thy blessing, thy favor, & thy grace, and then I sall hauehave enough.
Arme me, O heavenly Father! with spirituall armour, in this great conflict, and high tentations: GiueGive me a true, liuely, and justifying faith, whereby, I may stand stedfast in all assaults, & quenche the fiery darts of Sathan: Imprint thy true feare in my heart, and let me be replenished with thy fervent louelove: GiueGive me patience, and long suffering, vntounto the end of the battell; humilitie and meeknes, giuegive me a humble heart, and a lowlie mind, a forgiuing hart, a penitent heart for my sin; a pliable hart, will, and mind, to thy voice, thy word, and thy wil; and a thankful heart for thy benefites; Lord, let them never slide out of my mind. GiueGive me sobernes, temperance, constancie, truth, vprightnes, contentment of mind, peace of Conscience, charitie & louelove towards al men for thy sake: That I be not onelyonly a hearer, reader, and vnderstander of thy word; but also, a keeper and practiser of thy word and commandements.
These things, I craue of thee, my God, in the name of thy son Iesus christ: For so he hes commanded me to do, promising, that thou wilt graunt my petitions for his sake. But, Lord, my mouth is not able to expresse, my heart to vnderstand, nor my thocht abil to conceiue the hundreth part of those things, whereof I hauehave neede and ought to do. Heirfore, let the comforter, teach me, & put me in remembrance of al things,loh. 14. 26. as thy dear son hes promised; that both in prosperitie, & adversitie I may behaue my self as one of thy good soldiers & faithfull servants, to the end of my course and race. Be thou ever my strong rock, my buckler, & my sheild; and then though the world suld turne vpside down; yet sall I be in perpetuall securitie. Be on my side, and neither man, nor the devil salbe able to overthrow me. GiueGive me everlasting life, O Lord! that after this life be ended, I may dwell with thee in thy kingdome, beholding thy glorious face, magnifying, and praising thee, thy Lamb Iesus Christ, and the Comforter thy holy Spirit; togither with thy chosen children, & armies of thy bright Angels, for ever, and ever, worlde without end.
Amen.
Finished the 27. of March. 1593.
End of the text · Alexander Hume, Treatise of Conscience Wherein Divers Secrets are Discovered (1594)