Prayers Upon Solemn Occasions, Prayer 5 – Prayer 6
An Evening Prayer.
VVE thanke thee most mercifull Father for our health, wealth, food, raiment, preservation from our cradle to this hower; for thy releeving us in all our needs and necessities, for comforting us so fatherly in all our tribulations and distresses, for sparing us so long a time of repentance and for infinite more blessings which neither our hearts can thinke, nor tongues expresse.
Now one thing deare LORD will we beg at thy hands, and that will we crave for evermore, that thou wouldst give us grace and power by thy blessed Spirit to direct and dispose all these excellent blessings both eternall and temporall, chiefly and principally to the honour of thy great Name, to the salvation of our soules, and the good of thy Church. And to this end roote we beseech thee out of our soules all pride, malice, envy, covetousnesse, selfe-love, hypocrisie; take from us all swearing, lying, vaine and unprofitable talking, al thoughts of Atheisme, Infidelity, uncleanenesse, all the menstruous filthinesse of our abhominable nature. And plant we beseech thee and ingraft deepely into our soules the true feare of thy glorious Name, true humility, true zeale and devotion, true sorrow and repentance for all our sinnes, true spirituall wisdome and heavenly understanding, true hope and charity; but above all things a true, strong and a lively faith truly to apprehend the death and Passion of our deare Saviour, and in particular and effectually to apply it to our sinfull soules. LORD make it ever powerfull and invincible, but especially in all times of our crosses and afflictions; but LORD make it most triumphant and glorious even at the hower of death, at our last visitation, when the divell shall set before the eyes of our soules the blacke and ougly catalogue of all our sins, and when hee shall prepare his firiest darts to wound our soules to death, O then let the light of thy heavenly countenance shine upon us, O then let▪ thy blessed Spirit comfort us with his sweetest comforts, let the fresh bleeding wounds of our deare Saviour appeare gracious and effectuall to our distressed soules.
Blesse good LORD, protect and defend thy Church wandring farre and wide over the face of the whole earth. Let thy mighty hand and stretched out arme encompasse it, let thy Omnipotency bee a brazen wall about it; leade it we beseech thee into all truth, concord and sincerity; save it from all schismes, errors and heresies; mightily fence it from bloody Tyrants, hellish Atheists and mercilesse Polititians.
Comfort we beseech thee all those that bee comfortlesse, and distressed with sorrow, need, sicknesse, imprisonment, banishment, slanderous tongues, or any other crosse or calamity. Especially good LORD, speake comfortably unto them in whose soules are the arrowes of thine indignation, and the venome thereof drinkes up their spirit, those that groane under the burthen of a vexed conscience, and those that suffer persecution for the testimony of thy truth. LORD give them faith, patience and constancy to abide their triall, and a joyfull issue to all their temptations.
And as at this time we are bound wee humbly intreate thy tender mercies and loving kindnesse for all those in this Land that thou hast heavily visited with the Plague of Pestilence. For CHRIST JESUS sake if it be thy blessed pleasure command thy Angell to cease from striking, put up the sword of judgement, which in great wrath and indignation thou hast drawne out against them. And LORD in the meane time give them joy and comfort in thy holy Spirit, that howsoever they be strangely and fearefully tormented in their body in this life, yet they may be assured of eternall happinesse in the life to come. And teach we beseech thee both them and us by thy holy Spirit to take a right view of all our sins, the true causes of thy wrathfull displeasure, and faithfully to repent for the same. And so much the rather O LORD, because the reprobate and such as thou forsakest cannot praise thee nor call upon thy Name, but the broken heart, the sorrowfull mind and a conscience hungring after righteousness shall ever set forth thy praise and glory.
Lastly most loving Father we beseech thee take us into thy defence and protection this night, let thy carefull providence watch over us, let thy blessed Angels pitch about us, preserve us from all perills and dangers, from all the assaults of Satan, from vaine, idle, and wicked dreames. Grant unto our bodies comfortable rest and quiet sleepe, but let our soules continually watch for the comming of our Saviour in the clouds to end these last and worst daies. Amen, even so come LORD JESVS, that we with thee and the rest of thy Elect may joyfully and triumphantly ascend unto the heavenly Jerusalem, there to enjoy fullnesse of joy and pleasures at thy right hand for evermore.
Our Father which art in Heaven, &c.
A Prayer before a Sermon.
O LORD prepare our dull and unprepared hearts with feare and humility to enter the presence of thy great and glorious Majesty.
O Most gracious God, our loving and mercifull Father in CHRIST JESVS. We thy poore and sinfull servants most humbly beseech thee, at this time to blesse, and sanctifie unto us the hearing of thy holy Word, it is the glorious instrument which thou hast appointed for the conversion and salvation of the soules of men. But unto us miserable wretches and full of pollution, it hath beene many times through the barrennesse of our hearts, the secret and deceitfull corruptions of our nature, but even the breath of thy Ministers scattered in the ayre, and as water spilt upon the ground. Whereas it might be unto some being humbly and reverently received, as a two edged sword, that would enter through even unto the dividing asunder of the soule and the spirit, and of the joynts and the marrow, that would breake in peeces their hard hearts, and strike their conscience with terrour and remorse for their sinnes, a necessary step to regeneration. And whereas it might be unto others a pretious restorative to repaire the ruines of their conscience, and to put life into their dead zeale and affections, graciously to enforme them in all the parts of their callings; it is but even as a witnesse of our coldnesse, sencelessenesse and unthankefullnesse, registred in the booke of our conscience against the day of our visitation. LORD wee beseech thee out of thy tender compassions to forgive us all our former untowardnesse, irreverence and unprofitablenesse in these holy exercises. And now at length before wee goe downe into our graves, into black and cruell habitations, from whence wee must never returne to praise thee upon earth, let us feele thy divine power working in us effectually at the preaching of thy Word, let us have a sence of thy Omnipotency in in conquering our corruptions and temptations, let thy powerfull Spirit stirre up our hearts, and quicken our affections to embrace the power of religion and true godlinesse, that so being freed from sinne by the blood of CHRIST, and forsaking all our knowne sinnes, and labouring sincerely to please thee in all things, wee may have our fruit in holinesse, and the end everlasting happinesse.