The Ambassador Between Heaven and Earth, Prayers · Prayer 5 – Prayer 7
An Euening prayer for any day in the week, or eueryevery day in the weeke for a priuate perſon.
O Eternal God & moſt mercifull Father, the faithfull guardian both of our bodies and ſoules, who art about my bed, & knoweſt my down-lying, & mine vpriſing, and art ne…e vntounto all ſuch that call vponupon thee in truth and ſincerity, bee preſent therefore O Lord, I wretch…d ſinner do beſeech thee, and with thy mercy couer the multitude of my ſins, which like a leproſie hauehave run ouer my whole body, and ſo defiled both the outward and inward man, that but for thy word & promiſe ſake, and the examples of thy mercy and forgiueneſſe ſo frequent and vſuall to ſinners of ſo high a degree in offending, ſuch as were Peter, Mary Magdalen, the Publicane, the Prodigall childe, the Thiefe on the Croſſe, and others, thy praying for thine enemies, thy torments, thy crucifiers, & many ſuch examples of my comfort, & thy compaſſion, that elſe with Iudas, in the bitterneſſe of heart, and deſperation of mercy, I ſhould cry out: My ſinnes are greater then can be forgiuen, & ſo bee vtterly diſcouraged from preſuming to come into thy preſence, conſidering the hardneſſe of mine heart, and the vnrulineſſe of mine affection, and the vncleaneſſe of my conuerſation, by meanes whereof I hauehave tranſgreſſed all thy lawes, and broken thy Commandements, and deſerued thereby thy heauy diſpleaſure, which in iuſtice might draw from thy hand ſome fearefull puniſhment vponupon this wretched body of mine, and my ſoule to languiſh the death of ſinne, my reputation & name to periſh vponupon earth, as ſalt that hath loſt his ſauour, & my temporal eſtate to be ruind by caſualties and loſſe: For why ſhould any thing proſper that I take in hand, being thus ouergrowne in wickedneſſe, and wherefore ſhouldſt thou giuegive good ſucceſſe to that which I attribute not vntounto thee, how euer it fall out? bu… to the worke of mine owne hands, and the pollicy of my contriuing, robbing thee of thy honour, and due to whom it belongs: O Lord, as thy mercy hath thus long preſerued me ſound in all theſe, ſo let it worke in me, that at laſt I may …ee my errour, and amend it, ſee my wound, and labour to cure it, my finnes, and repent mee of them from the bottome of my heart, that thou mayſt forgiue me them. Turne me, O Lord, and I ſhall be turned, waſh me cleane with water, and I ſhall be cleanſed, renue me as the Eagle her dayes, and I ſhall bee renued, gather thy thoſen Flocke from th… mountains and deſarts wherein they ſtray, to fulfill thy fold, & I ſhall be gathered, ſweep thy houſe and find thy greate and I ſhall be found, be gratious vntounto me heareafter, as thou haſt bene good vntounto me heretofore, let not my vnworthyneſſe weary out thy goodneſſe, but continue it vntounto me to the end: & now O Lord I giuegive thee harty thankes and praiſe for that thou haſt this day preſerued mée from all harmes and perilles, notwithſtanding all my ſins and ill deſerts, ſo I beſeech thee likewayes defend mee this night from all the dangers and aſſaults that may accompany this vncomfortable ſeaſon, and to this end I commend into thine hands my ſelfe, my ſoule and body, beſeching thee my Lord and God not to ſuffer ſathan nor any of his miniſters to hauehave power to doe me any hurt or violence this night, & graunt good Lord▪ that whether I ſleep or wake, liue or dye, it may be vntounto thee & the ſaluation of my ſoule, which grant Lord for thy mercies ſake. Thy grace o Lord Ieſus Chriſt, thy louelove o heauenly father, thy comfort and conſolation, o holy and bleſſed ſpirit be with me and dwell in mee both in hart and mind, in ſoule and body this night, and all the nights and dayes of my life.
Amen.
Another mornings Prayer.
Eyther priuate or publicke, changing but the number.
MOſt gratious God in the name of Chriſt Ieſus our moſt mercifull Sauiour and redeemer we giuegive thee moſt humble and harty thankes for the quiet reſt and repoſe, this night thou haſt beſtowed vponupon our weary and tyred bodies to the refreſhing and noriſhing of the ſame, and for thy gratious prouidence and vigilancy ouer vsus, all the dayes and nights paſt euer ſince we were borne and came into the world, for our creation, redemption, for thy moſt ſacred word, a lanſhorue to our feet, and a light vntounto our ſteppes, for thy long and vnwearied patience, ſo long expecting our repentance and turning vntounto thee, that day by day hauehave put thee off, till we hauehave heaped vp many yeares of iniquity by greiuous ſins in tedious times ouer and vponupon our owne heads, able and waightie enough to pull vsus downe to the pit of perdition, where long ſince we hauehave deſerued to hauehave layne in endleſſe wo and myſery, but that thy mercy and louing kindneſſe hath preuented vsus, o Lord giuegive vsus grace to be mindfull of theſe mercies that our tongues may ſpeake and harts may meditate theron in exultation and ioy, and Lord giuegive vsus grace to conſider and make vſe thereof, that as the night is paſt wherein our ſpirit and vigor is renued, which brought vsus into ſleepe, the true image of death and layd vsus in our beds the repreſentation of our graues, for, vt ſomnus mortis ſic lectus imago ſepulcri, and that the day hath taken vsus vp againe to begin our toyle with his, which ſuddainly finds a period and concluſion and ſets it ſelfe againe in darkeneſſe which afterwards muſt giuegive place to the light, and that theſe two conſumers of the world, the day and night, which with there eaſy lenghts, there ſpannes and fadomes ſince the commandement was firſt giuen, let there be day and night, hauehave brought age and maturity, the ſithes and ſickles that hauehave reaped downe whole harueſtes of fleſh and layd the groth of nature in the duſt, teach vsus o Lord with this remembrance to way the inſtability & tranſmutation of time and nature, the incertainty of all worldly things, our vnwarranted duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page liues that hange vponupon a brittle third, a dials point, that with the ſun in the morne with ſtrength and ſplendor addreſſe our ſelues like giantes to runne our courſe, when many times we are taken vp within few minuts after and caried into the bowels of the earth in the begining of our race, becomming wormes and not men, gueſtes for the ſolitary tabernacles of ſilence, and forgetfulneſſe, and to frame our liues and actions thereafter, that whenſoeuer thy good will and pleaſure is to take vsus out of this world of miſery to bind vp our bones in peace and reſt, we may yeild vp our ſoules and bodi…s into thy hands, with full confidence and aſſurance that our ſins and offences are waſht away in the bloud of that pure and immaculate lambe Chriſt Ieſus, and ſhall not condemne vsus, proſper vsus o Lord in all our actions, giuegive good ſucceſſe to our true indeauors, and graunt that this day and all the dayes of our life may be ſo ſpent, by thy councell fauour and direction, that we may ſo beare our ſelues through this dale of myſery, that at the laſt we may raigne with thee in eternity and glory.
Amen.
An euening Prayer to the ſame.
MOſt gratious God and mercifull father in Chriſt Ieſus we doe heare how downe the knees of our ſoules and bodies in thy preſence, offering vp our prayer and prayſe vntounto thee with all poſſible thankes for all thy fauours towards vsus, namely for electing vsus vntounto eternall life, for creating vsus vntounto thine owne image, for redeeming vsus by the bloud of thy ſonne, for ſanctifying …s by thy holy ſpirit, for our health, peace and liberty, and all thy bleſſings that we reioyce in, for the which we can giuegive no reaſō for, but thy mercy: and if thou ſhouldeſt withdraw them all backe againe, we cannot accuſe thee of iniuſtice, not deſeruing the leaſt, of them by reaſon of our ſins which are ſo greuous and infinite that we cannot reckon them, able to make a perpetual ſeperation betweene thee and vsus but that thou art a mercifull, patient, long ſuffering God & thou deſireſt not the confuſion of ſinners but that they ſhould turne from there wickedneſſe & liue, and to that end thou haſt forborne vsus hetherto with a heauye and greeued aſpect, and haſt not raigned downe thy puniſhments vponupon vsus, therefore now o Lord giuegive vsus a time of grace as thou haſt giuen vsus time of mercy, that we may take a ſuruaye of our eſtate, that perceiuing the danger we are in from the which none can deliuer vsus but thy out-ſtretched arme, we rely not vponupon our ſelues, nor continuing therein forſake thee ſo long, till at laſt thou forſake vsus and we periſh vtterly, but Lord (preuenting it) ſo rend our harts that they may bleed in ſorrow for the ſame, that thou maiſt forgiue vsus our great vnthankefullneſſ, end all the reſt … our ſins, our ignorances, willfullneſſe, necligences, preſumptions, and all other our tranſgreſſions and rebellions, o Lord forgiue them all vntounto vsus for Ieſus Chriſt his ſake, waſh them all away in his bloud, nayle them faſt vntounto his Croſſe and bury them in his graue, where let them conſume to nothing hauing not that reſurrection that our bodies ſhall hauehave from thence, leaſt thy ſhould come to iudgement with vsus, cloath vsus we pray thee with his robes, and honour vsus with his ſpirit, worke in vsus godly ſorrow and remorſfull minds, mortifie our ſinful luſts and adorne vsus withall thy graces, open our eyes that we may ſee thy will and incline our harts to follow it, direct vsus in thy wayes and keepe vsus from declining from thee, teach vsus ſo to frame our liues before thee in this world; that we may liue for euer with thee in the world to come: and to that end we beſech thee be mercifull vntounto vsus at this time, and receiue vsus into thy fatherly protection, pardon the weakeneſſe of our prayers, watch thou ouer vsus to our good, and giuegive vsus ſuch reſt and ſleepe that we may be fitter inabled to ſerue thée the next day in our exerciſes, ſtudyes and callings: heare holy father from heauen, and graunt vsus all theſe our requeſts and whatſoeuer elſe thou knoweſt may be for our good for Ieſus Chriſt his ſake thine only ſonne and our only ſauious, to whom with thee and thine holy ſpirit one moſt wiſe glorious and eternall God be rendered all power praiſe and glory this night and for euermore.
Amen.