The Practice of Piety, Treatise · Part 19
A Private Evening Prayer for the Lord's-day.
O Holy, *Isa. 6. 1, 3.Holy, Holy Lord God of Sabbath, suffer me, who am butbGen. 18. 27. dust and ashes, to speak unto thy most glorious Maj…sty. I know that thou art acHeb. 12. 29. consuming …ire; I acknowledge that I am but withereddJob 21. 18. stubble. MyePsal. 91. 3. sins are in thy sight, and SatanfZ…ch. 3. 1, …. stands at my right-hand to accuse me for them; I come not to excuse, but tog1 Cor. 21. 31. judg my self worthy of all those judgments, which thy Justice might most justly inflict upon me a wretched Creature, for my sins and transgressions. The Number of them is so great, the Nature of them is so grievous, that they make me seem vile in mine own eyes, 2 Sam. 6. 22.how much more loathsome in thy sight? I confess they make me so far from being worthy to be called thy Son, Luke 15. 21.that I am altogether unworthy to have the Name of thy meanest Servant. And if thou shouldest but recompence me according to my desert, the Earth (as weary of such a sinful burthen) should open her mouth, and swallow me up,Psal. 106. 17. like one of Dathan's Family, into the bettomless pit of Hell. For if thou didst not spare the natural branches, those Angels of glorious Excellency,2 Pet. 2. 4. but hurldst them down from the heavenly Habitations, into the pains of hellish darkness, to be kept unto damnation, when they sinned but once against thy Majesty; and didst expel our first Parents out of Paradise, Gen. 3. 23.when they did but transgress one of thy Laws: alas, what vengeance may I expect, who have not offended in one sin only,Rom. 2. 5. heaping daily un upon sin, without any true repentance, drinking iniquity as it were water, Job 15. 16.ever pouring in, but never pouring out any filthyness; and have transgressed not one, but all thy holy laws and commandments! Yea, this present day, which thou hast straitly commanded me to keep holy, to thy praise and worship, I have not so religiously kept and observed, nor prepared my soul in that holiness and chastity of heart, as was fit to mee… thy blessed Majesty in the holy assembly of the Saints. I have not attended to the preaching of thy Word, nor to the administration of thy Sacraments with that humility, reverence, and devotion that I should. For tho' I was present at those holy exercises in my body, yet Lord, I was overtaken with much drowsiness. And when I was awake, my mind was so distracted and carried away with vain and worldly thoughts, that my …oul seemed to be absent, and o… of the Church. I have not so duly (as I should) meditated with my self, nor conferred with my Family, upon those good instru…ctions which we have heard and received out of thy holy Word, by the publick Ministry. For default whereof, Satan hath stoln the most part of those instructions out of my heart, and I wretched creature have forgotten them, as though they had never been heard. And my family doth not thrive in knowledge and sanctification under my government, as they should. Though I know where many of my poor brethren live in want and necessity, and some in pain, and comfortless; yet I have not remembred to relieve the one with my Alms, nor the other with Consolations: but I have feasted my self, and satisfied mine own Lusts. I have spent the most part of the day in idle talk, vain sports and exercises: Yea, Lord I have, &c. *Here confess whatsoever fault thou hast done that day by omission or commission, and then fetching from thy heart a deep sigh, say,And for all these my sins my Conscience cries guilty, thy Law condemns me, and I am in thy hand to receive the sentence and curse that is due to the wilful breach of so holy a Commandment. But what if I am by thy Law condemned? Yet, Lord, thy Gospel assures me, that thy mercy is above all thy works: that thy grace transcends thy Law; and thy goodness delighteth there to reign, where sins do most†Rom. 5. …0. abound. In the multitude therefore of thy Mercies, and for the Merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour, I beseech thee, O Lord (who despiseth not the sighings of a contrite heart, nor desirest the death of a penitent sinner) to pardon and forgive me all those my sins, and all the errors of this day, and of my whole life; and free my soul from that curse and Judgment which is due unto me for them. Thou that didst justifie the contrite Publican for Four Words of confession,Luke 18. 13. and received'st the Prodigal Child (when he had spent all the stock of thy grace) into favour upon his repentance: pardon my sins likewise, O Lord, and suffer me not to perish for my transgressions. O spare me, and receive me into thy favour again. Wil… thou (O Lord) reject me,Mat. 21. 31, 32. who hast received all Publicans, Harlots, and Sinners, that upon repentance sued to thee for grace? Shall I alone be excluded from thy mercy? Far be it from me to think so, for thou art the same God of mercy unto me that thou wast unto them, and thy compassions never fail. Wherefore, O Lord, deal not with me after my merits, but according to thy great mercy. Execute …ot thy severe Justice against me a sinner, but exercise thy long-sufferance in forbearing thine own creature. I have nothing to present unto thee for a satisfaction, but only those Bloody Wounds, bitter Death and Passion, which thy blessed Son, my only Saviour, hath suffered for me. Him (in whom only thou art well pleased) I offer unto thee for all my sins, wherewith thou art displeased. Him my Mediator, the Request of whose Blood,Heb. 12. 24 speaking better things than that of Abel, thy mercy can never gain-say. Illuminate my understanding, and sanctifie my heart with thy holy Spirit that it may bring to my remembrance all those good and profitable lessons, which this day and at other times have been taught me out of thy holy Word; that I may remember thy Commandments to keep them, thy Judgments to avoid them, a…d thy sweet Promises to rely upon them in time of misery and distress. And now, O Lord, I resign my self to thy most holy Will: O receive me into thy favour; and so draw me by thy grace unto thy self, that I may as well be thine by love and imitation, as by calling and creation, and give me grace so to keep holy thy Sabbaths in this life; as that (when this life is ended) I may with all thy Saints and Angels, celebrate an eternal Sabbath of joys and praise, to the honour of thy most glorious Name, in thy heavenly Kingdom, for evermore. Amen.
And then calling thy Family together, shut up the Sabbath with the Meditations and Prayers before prescribed for thy Family. And the Lord will give thee … Night a more sweet and quiet rest than ordinary, and prosper thee the better in all the labours of the week following.
Thus far of the ordinary Practice of Piety, both in private and publick.