A Spiritual Propine of a Pastor to his People, Section 1 – Section 4
Morning prayer before ye enter to warke.
Let the wordes of our mouth, and the meditation of our harts be acceptable vntounto thee, O Lord our rock and our Redeemer.
Psal. 19. 15.
O Great Creator of all things, our gratious Lord & sweet father in Christ, we the warke of thine awin hands, thy pure seruands and children maist humblie adores and worships before the throne of thy majestie, acknawledging and extolling thee for thy wonderfull warkes, al wrought of thy gudnes, in power and wisedome inspeakeable, in making of all, vpholding of al; & ordering and ruling of all, for the weill and comfort of man; whome thou haste appointed, Lorde ouer all thy creatures: that of him aboue all wher thou might bee serued and glorified. Lorde, we heartely thank thee for all thy benefits sa largely bestowed vppon vsus, that our hearts cannot sufficiently think on thē, meikle lesse our mouthes expresse them, as for that thou hast this night watched over vsus, keiped vsus from al danger of bodie & saule, & giuen vsus comfortable rest for refreshing of the wearines of our weak nature, humbly beseeching thee for thy mercy & grace, in respect of our manifolde sins committed against thee this night, & all the nights and times of our life by-past; that in the lawer of the precious blood of thy sonne Iesus Christ our Sauiour, al our vncleannes of saule and bodie may be washed away. Suffer not Lorde our sins to stay the course of thy blessing, and bring on vsus thy fearefull curse, as maist justlie they deserue; bot rather amend vsus be a maire forcible working of thy spirit of grace and sanctification: That as thou continues the course of time, the day after the night, and night after the day: sa the course of thy kindnesse, and louelove may be continued with vsus thy seruands and children beyonde all time, and sa Lord, vouchsafe to receaue vsus this day vnderunder thy gratious gouernment and fauourable protection: waken vsus out of the sleepe of sinne, raise vsus out of the bed of securitie, make vsus to cast off the warks of darkenes, and put on the armour of light, that we may walk honestly as in the day time, yea as in thy sight and presence, before whome the greatest darkenes euen of the hid thoughts of the … shines as the cleare light. Make the day … thy gospell to lighten our mindes … that … Christ … … to shine before the eyes of our faith, and the heate beames of thy spirit to kendel vp that lyuely warmenes and holsome heate of louelove in our hearts, and guide vsus sa, be thy grace in all thy waies, that in thought, word, and deede, we may glorifie thy name, and edifie vthers bee our gude example in all godlines and vertue. Lorde, as we are mindefull of this bodie to cleange, cleithe, and feide the same dayely, make vsus as carefull of our saules and inward man, to purge it be repentance, washe it in the precious blood of the lambe the Lord Iesus, cleith it with his righteousnes, and feide the samin be his bodie broken for vsus: that is, be trew faith in his death and passion, keepe our hearts and thoughts from all vngodly, vnhonest, vnlawful, wrangous, filthie & vnclean deuises and desires: keepe our mouthes and tongues from all blasphemie, swearing, banning, cursing, foule, euill, vaine and profaine speaking, keepe our hands & feete from all violent wrang, wicked and vnhonest turnes & waies, and make our hearts, hands, and feete, and haill saule and bodie rightly sanctified and ruled be thy spirit, to think, speak or do nathing this day, bot that whilk flowing from faith, directed be the square of thy law, may tend to thy praise, the we…l and profite of our brethren and neighbours, joy and contentment of our awin consciences, and to the forderance of the gud & lawfull turnes of our occupation, lest these members infected with the leprosie, & botch of sinne, being a iust curse and plague vponupon vsus and all our labours. Garde vsus therfor by thy gratious power fra the deuil, warld, and flesh: that we be not snared be their craft, intangled with their tentatiōs, nor allured be their delitious, pleasures, furnish vsus out of thy rich and vnwasted store, all things needefull and comfortable for body and saule; let thy bountifull blessing bee vponupon our occupationes and warks of our hands, without the whilk, all our cair and busines is vaine and lost, giuegive vsus grace to seeke and luke for all gud things at thy gratious hands allanerlie, trauelling faithfully and diligently in our vocations, & to returne also the lawful and right vse thereof againe, with thankfull heartes to thine honour & praise. Lord, teach vsus sa to compt & number our dayes, that we may apply our hearts to heauenly wisedome, and seeke after the life euerlasting, and fill vsus sa with thy mercies this morning, and eueryevery morning, that we may repose and be glad in thee al the dayes of our life; and finally, make vsus sa to spend this day: and all the dayes and times of this miserable pilgrimage, in thy feare, louelove, and obedience, that when it sall please thee, whair and how wee may happely end it in Iesus Christ, beginning that joyfull morning in saule, first after the departure from the bodie, and thereafter baith in saule and body, rejoyned in ane immortall estaite, at the resurrection of the just, that neuer sall hauehave evening fallowing.
Lord, as in our prayers we hauehave alwaies before our eyes thy glorie, whereof aboue all thinges wee beseike thee to make vsus zealous, that we may therby kenne our selues to be thy seruants & children; sa we recommend to thy louelove and merciemercy, the caire and protection of thy haill Kirk, our common mother and thy deare spouse, and the Kirkes in special that trauailis vnderunder the crosse of thy Christ, for g…d and faithfull Pastours and Magistrates, to be steired vp and assisted bee thy grace for their comfort; & for thy fauour, power, and wisdome, to be … to the malice, force, & craft of their enemies, duplicate page duplicate page and for comfort, patience, & constancy to them whereby they may glorifie thy name in suffering, and moue vthers by their gud example to doe the same. Hasten Lord their deliuerance, and make vsus baith to joy and sorrow with thy people and children: that we may finde our selues louing & feilling members of the body of thy Christ, wee beseik thee for eueryevery member of that body in particular: specially, sik as are vnderunder thy correcting hand: to giuegive them the assurance of thy fauour in Christ, patience, strength, & comfort, acknawledging, that it is the hand of thee their louing father, working for their weil-faire, whose gud-will is their weill, and fra whome na hurte or euill can come vntounto them, make them therefore gladly to giuegive ouer themselues in thy hands, abiding patiently thy will and leasure, with assured hope of a sweet & comfortable ende of all their sufferings: and prepare vsus Lorde against the day of our tryall and visitation, and giuegive vsus grace to vse the examples of thy warks set before our eyes, and instructions, & admonitions of thy word sounding in our eares fruitfullie for that effect. That dutie of remembrance in our prayers, quhilk we hauehave promised to sik as are by acquaintance, knitte with vsus in the bowels of Christ Iesus, and the estate wherof is communicat and recommended vntounto vsus, we discharge it Lorde before thee, and earnestly committeth them and their estate to thy grace, beseiking thee maist effectually for them as for our selues. Lord, our prayers are imperfit, & when we hauehave prayed, we hauehave neede to crie merciemercy, for that we hauehave not prayed aright, for neither knaw wee what thy glory requires in particular, nor the necessity of thy kirk, or any member theirof, na not our awin neids, nor can wee be mooued for the samin as wee ought. Make vsus therefore Lorde with vnderstanding and right disposition of thy Sprit to commend al vntounto thee, & rightlie to glorifie thy name, by incalling the same in that forme of praier maist perfit, that thy son our sauiour Iesus Christ hath teached vsus to vse, saying, Our father, &c.
Forme of blessing before meate.
BE mercifull to vsus, O our gud God and father, and blesse vsus, and make the light of thy countenaunce to shine vponupon vsus, sanctifie vsus thy seruands mair & mair vntounto thee in thy Christ, and blesse thy gud creatures to our vse: giuegive vsus grace to take them thankfully fra thy handes, & vse them moderately, that we being refreshed therby, may be inhabled to go for-ward in the iourney of this life, seruing thee alwaies in Iesus Christ our onelie Lorde and Sauiour: in whose name we humblie and reuerently intreate thee for all things to be prayed for as he hath teached vsus, saying, Our father▪ &c.
Grace or thanksgiuing after meate.
THe Lord our gud God maist mightie, wise, gratious, and bountifull father: wha hes elected vsus before the foundation of the warld was layed: wha hath made vsus all of a blood in our father the first Adam at the beginning of time, and at the acceptable fulnes of time, when we were vtterly lost, of his free merciemercy pitiing our miserie, hes made vsus new againe, and redeemed vsus from the Diuell, death & hell, be the precious blood of the second Adam, his awin only begotten sonne, the Lord Iesus Christ our Sauiour: wha hes translated vsus out of darkenes, into this maruellous light of the gospell, whilk we sa lang enjoy: wha hes justified & sanctified vsus in sum measure, by his halie spirit of adoption, to ane assured hope of the life euerlasting: wha hes keeped vsus vntounto this houre, and furnished to vsus aboundantly all thinges needfull, and comfortable for body and saule, as he hath now presently refreshed and fed vsus: & sa ceases notto powre mair and mair the plentifulnes of his rich graces and blessings vponupon vsus: euen this our gud God & maist gratious father be blessed, praised, honored, and sanctified, now and for euer. Amen.
Prayer after meate.
DEare and bountifull father, as thou hast refreshed our bodies, that mon decay and turne to dust, with thir things earthly, whereof we hauehave sa greate an appetit, desire, and pleasure: sa wee beseik thee to giuegive vsus a greater care of our selues & inward man, that mon liue for euer, that we may hunger & thirst for the nuriture thereof, and take delight and pleasure therin, to wit, the Lorde Iesus Christ, that bread of life that came downe from the heauens, and is offered to vsus in thy haly Gospell. Lord, make vsus sa to feede vponupon him be a liuely faith and warking of the spirit of sanctification; that our inward man may daylie mair and mair bee nurished, refreshed and strengthned, for the exercise and discharge of all the dewties, quhilk thou requires of vsus to be done for thy seruice and honour. Mortifie wee beseik thee farther and farther, the lustes and earthly affections of our outward man; that likes alwaies to liue here, to eate and drinke and injoy the pleasures of this world, and that till he be euen vtterly abolished, and quicken and augment our inward man, till he come to that full and ripe age in the stature of Christ: that is, meete to injoy the kingdome, and blisse euerlasting. Amen