The Practice of Christian Graces, Part 2
DIRECTIONS for NIGHT.
AT NIGHT, when it drawes towards the time of rest, bethink thy self, how thou hast passed the day, examine thine own heart, what sin either of Thought, Word, or Deed thou hast committed, what opportunity of doing good thou hast omitted, and whatsoever thou findest to accuse thy self of, confess humbly and penitently to God, renew thy purposes, and resolutions of amendment, and beg his pardon in Christ, and this not slightly, and onelyonly as of course, but with all devout earnestness, and heartiness, as thou wouldst do, if thou wert sure thy death were as neer approaching, as thy sleep, which for ought thou knowest may be so indeed, and therefore thou shouldest no more venture to sleep unreconciled to God, the… thou wouldest dare to die so. In the next place, consider what special and extraordinary mercies thou hast that day received, as if thou hast had any great deliverance, either in thy inward man, from some dangerous temptations, or in thy outward, from any great and apparent danger, and offer to God thy hearty and devout praise for the same; Or if nothing extraordinary have so happened, and thou hast been kept even from the approach of danger, thou hast not the less but the greater cause to magnify God, who hath by his protection so guarded thee, that not so much as the fear of evil hat… assaulted thee. And therefore omit not to pay him the tribute of humble thankfulness, as well for his usual and daily preservations, as his more extraordinary deliverances. And above all, endeavour still by the considerations of his mercies to have thy heart the more closely knit to him, remembring that every favour received from him is a new engagement upon thee, to love and obey him.
PRAYERS for NIGHT.
O Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons and one God, have mercy upon me a miserable sinner.
Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought, O let thy Spirit help my infirmities, and enable me to offer up a spiritual Sacrifice acceptable unto thee by Jesus Christ.
A CONFESSION.
O MOST Holy Lord God, who are of purer eyes then to behold iniquity, now shall I abominable wretch dare to appear before thee, who am nothing but pollution; I am defiled in my very nature, having a backwardness to all good, and a readiness to all evil; but I have defiled my self yet much worse by my own actual sins and wicked customes; I have transgrest my duty to thee, my neighbour, and my self, and that both in thought, in word, in deed, by doing those things which thou hast expresly forbidden, and by neglecting to do those things thou hast commanded me. And this not onelyonly through ignorance, and frailty, but knowingly, and wilfully, against the motions of thy Spirit, and the checks of my own conscience to the contrary. And to make all these out of measure sinful, I have gone on in a daily course of repeating these provocations against thee, notwithstanding all thy calls to, and my own purposes and …owes of amendmeut; yea, this very day I have not ceased to add new sins to all my former guilts. [Here name the Particulars] And now, O Lord, what shall I say, or how shall I open my mouth, seeing I have done these things, I know that the wages of these sins is death; but O thou who willest not the death of a sinner, have mercy upon me; work in me, I beseech thee, a sincere contrition, and a perfect hatred of my sins, and let me not daily confess, and yet as daily renew them, but grant, O Lord, that from this instant I may give a bill of divorce to all my most beloved …lusts, and then be thou pleased to marry me to thy self, in truth, in righteousness and holiness, And for all my past sins, O Lord, receive a reconciliation; accept of that ransom thy blessed Son hath paid for me, and for his sake whom thou hast set forth as a propitiation, pardon all my offences, and receive me to thy favour. And when thou hast thus spoken peace to my soul, Lord keep me that I turn not any more to folly, but so establish me with thy grace, that no temptation of the world, the Divel or my own flesh may ever draw me to offend thee, that being made free from sin, and becoming a servant unto God, I may have my fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
A THANKSGIVING.
O Thou Father of mercies, who art kind even to the unthankful, I acknowledg my self to have abundantly experimented, that gracious property of thine, for notwithstanding my daily provocations against thee, thou still heapest mercies and loving kindness upon me. All my contempts and despisings of thy spiritual favours have not yet made thee withdraw them, but in the riches of thy goodness and long-suffering, thou still continuest to me the offers of grace, and life in thy Son. And all my abuses of thy temporal blessings thou hast not punished with an utter deprivation of them, but art still pleased to afford me a liberal portion of them. The sins of this day thou hast not repayed as justly thou might'st, by sweeping me away with a swift destruction, but hast spared and preserved me according to the greatness of thy mercy; [Here mention the particular mercies of that day.] What shall I render unto the Lord for all these benefits he hath done unto me? Lord, let this goodness of thine lead me to repentance, and grant that I may not only offer thee thanks and praise, but may also order my conversation aright, that so I may at the last see the salvation of God, through Jesus Christ.
Here use the Prayer for Grace and that of Intercession appointed for the Morning.
For PRESERVATION.
O Blessed Lord, the Keeper of Israel, that neither slumbrest nor sleepest, be pleased in thy mercy to watch over me this night, keep me by thy grace from all works of darkness, and defend me by thy power from all dangers, grant me moderate and refreshing sleep, such as may fit me for the duties of the day following. And Lord make me ever mindful of that time, when I shall lye down in the dust, and because I know neither the day, nor the hour of my Masters coming, grant me grace that I may be always ready, that I may never live in such a state, as I shall fear to dye in, but that whether I live, I may live unto the Lord, or whether I dye, I may dye unto the Lord, so that living and dying I may be thine, through Jesus Christ.
Vse the same concluding prayer as in the Morning.
As thou art putting off thy clothes, thi…k with thy self that the time approaches, that thou must put off thy body also, and then thy soul must appear naked before Gods judgment feat and therefore thou hadst need be careful to make it so clean, and pure by repentance and holiness, that he who will not look on iniquity, may graciously behold and accept it.
Let thy bed put thee in mind of thy grave, and when thou lyest down, say,
O Blessed Saviour, who by thy precious death and burial didst take away the sting of death and power of the grave, grant me the joyful fruits of that thy victory, and be thou to me in life and death advantage.
I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest, for it is thou Lord only, that makest me dwell in safety.
Into thy hands I commend my spirit, for thou hast redeemed it, O Lord, thou God of truth.
IN the ANCIENT CHURCH there were besides morning and night, Four other times every day which were called HOURS OF PRAYER, and the zeal of thos… first Christians was such, as made them constantly observed. It would be thought too great a strictness now in this lukewarm age, to enj…yn the like frequency, yet I cannot but mention the example, and say, that for those who are not by very necessary business prevented, it will be but reasonable to imitate it, and make up in publick and private those FOUR TIMES of PRAYER besides the OFFICES, already set down for MORNING and NIGHT: and that none may be to seek how to exer ise their devotions at these times, I have added divers COLLECTS for several Graces, whereof every man may use at each such time of Prayer, so many as his zeal and leisure shall point out to him, adding if he please, one of the Confessions appointed for morning or night, and never omitting the LORDS PRAYER.
But if any mans state of life be really so busy, as will not allow him time for so long, and solemn devotions, yet certainly there is no man so overlayed with business, but that he may find leisure oftentimes in a day to say the LORDS PRAYER alone▪ and therefore let him use that if he cannot more. But because it is the Charracter of a Christian, Phil. 3. 20. That he hath his conversation in Heaven, it is very fit that besides these set times of Prayer, he should divers times in a day by short and sudden E…C…LATIONS, dart up his soul thither. And for this sort of devotion no man can want leisure, for it may be performed in the midst of business; the Artificer at his work, the husband man at his plough may practice it. Now as he cannot want time, so that he may not want matter for it, I have thought it not unuseful out of that rich store house the BOOK of PSALMS, to furnish him with some texts, which may very fitly be used for this purpose, which being learned by heart will alwayes be ready at hand to imploy his devotion; and the matter of them being various, some for pardon of sin some for grace, some for the light of Gods countenance, some for the church, some for thanksgiving, &c. every man may fit himself a cord…n… to the tresent need and temper of his soul. I have given these not as a full collection, but only as a taste, by which the Readers appeti…e may be raised to search after more in that Book, and other parts of holy Scripture.