The Practice of Piety, Treatise · Part 9
Meditations for the Evening.
At Evening when thou preparest thy self to take thy rest, meditate on these few points
1. THat seeing thy days are numbred,Job 14. 5. there is one more of thy number spent:Vive memor quàm sis aevi brevis. Hor. and thou art now the nearer to thy end by a day.
2. Sit down a while before thou goest to bed, and consider with thy self what memorable thing thou hast seen, heard, or read that day, more than thou sawest, heard'st, or knewest before; and make thy best use of them; but especially, call to mind, what sin thou hast committed that day against God or Man, and what good thou hast omitted; and humble thy self for both. If thou findest that thou hast done any goodness, acknowledge it to be God's grace, and give him the glory: and count that day*He… perdidi diem. Tit-Vesp. Apophthegm. lost wherein thou hast not done some good.Nullus sine linea dies.
3. If by frailty or strong tentation, thou shalt perceive that thou hast committed any grievous sin or fault; presume not to sleep, till thou hast upon thy knees, made a particular reconciliation with God in Christ for the same: both by confessing the fault, and by fervent praying for the pardon of the same. Thus making thy score even with Christ every night, thou shalt have the less to account for, when thou art to make thy final reckoning before his Majesty in the Judgment day.
4. If thou hast fallen out with any in the day,Eph. 4. 26. let not the Sun go down in thine anger that night. If thy conscience tells thee that thou hast wronged him, acknowledge thine offence, and*Non turpe est veniam precari; turpe est deum aut hominem habere inimicum. entreat him to forgive thee. If he have wronged thee, offer him reconciliation; and if he will not be reconciled, yet do thou from thy heart forgive him, Mat. 5. 23. But in any case presume not to be thine own revenger. For in so doing thou do'st God a double injury: First, in offering to take the Sword of Justice out of his hand, as though he were not just, having reserved the execution of aMihi vindicta, dicit Dominus.vengeance to himself.Rom. 12. 19. Secondly, in usurping authority over his bNon est tibi jus in servum alienum, imò in conservum tuum.servant, without referring the cause to his hearing and censure, being his, and thy Master. Besides, thou art too partial to be a Revenger. For if thou be to execute revenge on thy self, thou wilt do it too lightly; if on thy enemy, too heavily. It belongeth therefore to God to revenge; to thee to forgive.
And in testimony that thou hast freely †Cui semel ignoveris, cu…a ut ille sentiat bona fide id esse actu… & si qua in r… illum juvare potes, experiatur te amicum. V…ves.forgiven him, pray unto God for the forgiveness of his fault, and the amendment of his life; and the next time that occasion is offered, (and it lies in thy power) do him good, and rejoyce in doing it: for he that doth good to hiscMat. 3. 39. enemies, shews himself the child of God; and his reward is with God his Father.
5. Use not sleep as a means to satiate the foggy litherness of thy flesh; Rom. 12. 20.but as a medicine to refresh thy tired Senses and Members:In vita, tempus quod tomno impenditur, no… est vita. Vita enim vigilia est. sufficient sleep quickneth the mind, and reviveth the body; but immoderate sleep dulleth the one, and fatneth the other.
6. Remember that many go to bed, and never rise again, till they be wakened a…d raised up by the fearful sound of the last trumpet. But he that sleepeth and wakeneth with prayer, sleepeth and wakeneth with Christ. If therefore thou desirest to sleep securely, and safely, yield up thy self into the hands of God, whilst thou art waking: and so go to bed, with a reverence of God's Majesty, and consideration of thine own misery, which thou maist imprint in thy heart in some measure, by these and the like meditations.
Read a Chapter in the same order as was prescribed in the morning: and when thou hast done, kneel down on both thy knees at thy bed-side, or some other convenient place in thy Chamber, and lifting up thy heart, thine eyes and hands, to thy heavenly Father, in the name and mediation of his holy Son Jesus; pray unto him, if thou hast the gift of Prayer.
1. Confessing thy sins, especially those which thou hast committed that day.
2. Craving most earnestly (for Christ his sake) pardon and forgiveness for them.
3. Requesting the assistance of his Holy Spirit for amendment of life.
4. In Giving thanks for benefits received, especially for thy preservation that day.
5. Praying for rest and protection that night.
6. Remembering the state of the Church, the King, and the Royal Posterity, our Ministers and Magistrates, and all our Brethren visited or persecuted.
7. Lastly, commending thy self and all thine to his gracious custody.
All which thou maist do in these or the like words.