The Ambassador Between Heaven and Earth, Title page – Calendar

The Ambassador Between Heaven and Earth · Title page – Calendar

THE EMBASSADOR BETWEEN Heauen and Earth, betweene God and Man.

OR A BOOKE Of Heauenly and Healthy Meditations and Prayers for earthly and ſickly Soules and Sinners.

Fit to be borne in the hand, and worne in the heart of eueryevery good Chriſtian.

By W. C. Preacher of the word.

MATH. 7. 7.

Aske and it ſhall be giuen you, ſeeke and you ſhall finde, knocke and it ſhall be opened vntounto you.

LONDON Printed by N. O. for Lenard Becket and are to be ſold at his ſhop in the Inner Temple. 1613.

To the Chriſtian and ſupplicant Reader.

REligious reader, the manifould myſeries and calamities of this our wretched life, our Sauiour Ieſus Chriſt, the Apoſtles, and fathers of the Church; theſe & eueryevery one of theſe, with as many motiues, as there are thoughts in the hart, or ſpectacles to the eye of man, teach vsus and hauehave taught vntounto vsus the neceſſity, force, & vſe of prayer, and withall inciting vsus both to frequency and feruency therin, without which beſides many other benefits which therby we eyther obtaine or loſe, can neyther ſathan be reſiſted, nor our faith manifeſted, nor God daily honoured: with an innumerable conſideration on the other ſide, vsus like-wayes thereunto mouing, as the ſhortneſſe of our life, but a ſpan, the ſuddainneſſe of Chriſts comming in a moment, the ſtrict and fearfull account that muſt be rendered at the day of his appearing. And for that prayer is a mourning and deſire of the ſpirit to God for that which ſhe lacketh, euen as the ſicke-man ſorroweth for his health, whereby being reconciled to God by faith we may inioy the thing we craue or hauehave need of; In what a deſperate danger & ſecuritye may wee be then thought, if we ſhall ſhew our ſelues ſlacke or careles herein, in this ſo avayleable a duty, let vsus therefore pray in all places, and at all times calling to mind the largnes of Gods gratious louelove, and his louing kindnes in Chriſt Ieſus our ſauiour, who biddeth vsus aske and it ſhall be giuen, knocke and it ſhall be opened, and whenſoeuer thou art burdened or oppreſt with thy ſins, or any other miſery or calamity in the world, be thou aſſured the Lord will offer himſelfe to be reconciled to thee if thou thy ſelfe be ready and faithfull to call for the ſame at his hands, to the furthering whereof, and as it were the tracing a path thereto thou haſt heare good reader both the manner and the method, both the forme and the faſhion, both how to pray and what to pray; mouldes and methodes, fitted vntounto ſeuerall occaſions and purpoſes for thy releife and benefit, as time and neceſſity ſhall require in that behalfe, which requiſit regard and ſerious conſideration (that theſe heauenly Embaſſadours may be the more gratious in the eyes of God, and ſucceſſe-ful in our occaſions) is moſt intirely to be tendered thereunto. So that God may bleſſe both them and vsus, with an happy e…rneſt in this world of the eternitye in the world to come, whither by his bleſſed will (ſo proſpering this intended meanes that it be able to bring vsus) he grant, for the glory of his owne great name Amen.

Thine in the Lord. W. C.

IF by the abſence of the author, difficulty of the hand, miſplacing of points, ſome ſillables or wordes miſtaken, the ſence in any place be obſcured, the iuditious reader may be pleaſed to correct ſuch eaſy faults as by theſe meanes hauehave eſcaped, which I truſt are not many.

A view of the Contents and Prayers as they orderly ſtand in this Booke.

1 A Treatiſe of the vanity of all earthly pleaſures, and the miſery of our life, ſuch as they are to enioy them.

2 Of the force, the vſe, and neceſſity of Prayer.

3 A Morning Prayer for the Saboth day.

4 An Euening Prayer for the ſaboth day.

5 A Deſcription of Heauenly Ieruſalem, and the happineſſe there, out of the Manual of M^r. Craſhaw.

6 An eueryevery-dayes ſacrifice, or a Morning praier for any day in the weeke, or eueryevery day in the weeke.

7 An Euening praier for any day in the weeke, or eueryevery day in the weeke, for a priuate perſon, or other, changing but the number.

8 Another Morning praier.

9 An Euening Praier to the ſame.

10 A Morning praier for a priuate family▪

11 An Euening praier for a priuate family▪

12 A praier to God the father for the forgiueneſſe of ſinnes.

13 A praier to bee ſaid before the vndertaking of any iourney.

14 Another for the ſame, ſomewhat more ample, both by ſea and land.

15 A praier for internall and externall peace, and againſt debate, and contentious going to law.

16 A prayer for ſeaſonable weather, vponupon ſenſible conſideration therefore.

17 A Meditation of Gods louelove and mercy towards vsus, and our vnthankefulneſſe towards him, alluding to the phraſe of Saint Auſtin.

Miſereri mei Domine indigna facientis, & digna patientis.

18 A meditation againſt the feare of death written in French by P. M. S. de Pleſſis.

19 The ſick-mans Praier.

20 The commendation of the ſoule to bee ſaid at a ſicke mans death, out the Manual of M^r. Craſhaw.

21 Six ſignes vponupon the which a man may rest confident of his ſaluation.

22 Another meditation againſt the feare of death, and for ſtrength and patience in that last houre.

23 Sir Thomas Moores verſes of the vncertainty of life.

24 A Praier or Meditaion before the receiuing of the holy Communion.

25 A meditation or thankeſgiuing after the receiuing of the Holy Communion.

26 A thankeſgiuing to God the father, vſed by the R. W. Muſc. and fit to be vſed of al good Chriſtians.

27 Martin Luthers Praier.

28 Saint Auſtins Praier.

29 A Praier for a woman with childe, or in trauaile.

30 The Priſoners Praier, written by a Gentleman in paſſion and penitence a few daies before his triall.

31 A thankeſgiuing for our Redemption, and for other both corporall and ſpirituall bleſſings.

32 Of the danger of deferring our repentance, with a praier ſuddenly to conceiue it, and ſoone to practiſe it.

33 A Praier againſt that dangerous and deadly ſinne of Deſperation.

34 A praier in time of pestilence.

35 A praier for Humility.

36 The liuing words of a dying man, cloſed vp in that vertue.

37 The ſumme of the praier of the Lady I. G. at the time of her execution.

38 A generall thankeſgiuing to God for all his benefits and mercies to man.

39 A thankeſgiuing before meat.

40 A thankeſgiuing after meat.

41 Two other for the ſame.

42 Certaine Rules and Preceps for the good ordering and gouernement of a mans life.

43 Certaine Sentences, or Rules of good life, & pertinent to the precepts going before them.

44 The Deriuation of man.

45 Admonition againſt ſinne.

46 Zacheus certaine gaine, the worlds imagined loſſe.

47 The fiue thoughts of a Chriſtian.

48 Foure kinde of men, according to Dauid, that are moſt indebted vntounto God for their liues.

49 A Praier for Conſtancy and grace againſt all worldly vanities and allurements.

50 A ſhort Memoratiue of the mortality of our life, and folly of our liuing.

SHORT KALENDER NOTES.

Of the Yeare, and the parts thereof.

A yeare is properly that ſpace of time that the Sunne runnes through the whole Signes and Zodiacke.

A yeare containeth

Months Solar. 12

Lunar 13

Weeks 52 and a Day.

Dayes 365

So many veines in the body of Man.

Howers 8766

The yeare Aſtronomicall addeth thereunto 6. houres, and 8. minutes, which eueryevery fourth yeare increaſe a day, which maketh the Leap-yeare, and taketh place on the Eue of Saint▪ Mathias▪ then adding to the monethmonth of February one day.

A Rule to know how many dayes be contained in eueryevery MonethMonth.

Nouember and September ſay

They hauehave great wrōg to want a day

And Iune and Aprill likewiſe lame,

That more then thirty cannot claime.

When all the reſt, as they paſſe by,

HaueHave one and thirty wet or dry,

But February more bereft,

That hath but eight & twenty left,

Except a Leap-yeare, once in foure,

That ſends her one day & no more.

Holy-dayes.

The holy-dayes within the yeare,

Are three tims ten, or very neere;

But if you reckon Sundaies ſo

Ther's two and fifty more you know.

For Kalends, Nones, and Ides, and ſuch like, that are more for knowledge then vſe, I paſſe them ouer, being ſtore of Tables in that kinde.