A Word to Sinners and a Word to Saints, Prayer 1
A Morning Prayer for a Family.
BLessed Lord God, who art great and glorious in thy self, good and gracious in and through thy beloved, Jesus Christ. A God glorious in thy justice to execute vengeance upon the wilfull, and impenitent; but gracious in thy mercy to pass by the offences of poor penitent sinners. Lord, hadst not thou been exceeding good and gracious unto us, we might this night have slept the sleep of death: and from the darkness of the night been sent away into outer darkness. But such hath been thy mercy and goodness unto us, as to add another day unto our lives: most meet therefore it is that we should consecrate the same unto thee, by offering up a Morning Sacrifice of Prayer and thanksgiving. Lord we acknowledge our great unworthiness to come into thy presence, to present our Prayers and supplications unto thee. But though we are unworthy, yet Christ is worthy. We beseech thee therefore for his sake to look graciously upon us; to pass by our unworthiness, and to strengthen our weakness. To this end as we draw near unto thee, so be thou pleased to draw near unto us, enabling us to pray as with humility and sincerity; so with zeal and fervency of spirit, and with faith in Jesus Christ, looking for audience and acceptance in and thorow him. Blessed Lord God, we cannot but acknowledge, thou didst at first create us in a blessed and happy estate, even after thine own image, endowing us with true knowledge, holiness, and righteousness. But we soon fell from that state of innocency and blessedness, in the loynes of our first Father Adam; and implunged our selves with him into a dreadfull gulf of sin and misery. For, O Lord, besides the guilt of Adams sin, we have contracted from him a Mass of corruption, which hath poysoned our very natures: polluted and defiled all the faculties of our souls, with all the parts and members of our bodies. So that we may more truly in regard of our spiritual uncleanness, cry out Vnclean, Vnclean, than the Leper under the Law in regard of his bodily uncleanness. And O Lord, to this corruption of our natures we have added many many actual sins of our own: which as they have been hainous in their quality, so in their number and multitude have far exceeded the hairs of our heads, and the sands on the Sea-shore, which cannot be numbred. The which we have committed through the whole course of our lives, from our infancy to this present time. So that we are now grown old in sin, and overgrown with corruption. Though the time thou hast allotted us here to live is very little, even as a moment to Eternity; yet, alas, how little of this little have we lived to thee our God, or to the good of our own souls, having mis-spent the greatest part of our dayes in vanity and pleasure. We have continued ignorant of thee: how much means of knowledge have we had, and yet how little knowledge have we gotten? oh how little have we done for our souls, or the other World? We have not considered what is like to become of us hereafter. How little care and pains have we taken to make sure for Eternity? we have taken the course to undo our selves for ever. We have broken every one of thy most holy and righteous Laws ten thousand, thousand times. Yea we have sinned against thy Gospel in slighting the offers of grace. Though thou hast sent unto us Ambassadour after Ambassadour, to wooe and beseech us to abandon our sins, and to receive Jesus Christ, yet alas, how have we slighted thy messengers, and turned a deaf ear to all thy gracious invitations. Though we are willing to take Christ for our Saviour, to preserve us from hell and damnation; yet, alas, how unwilling are we to take him for our Lord and King, to yield obedience and subjection unto him. Lord we cannot but acknowledge our great unthankfulness under those manifold favours and mercies thou hast in a plentiful measure conferred on us; as also our unprofitableness under thy Fatherly chastis…ments, laid upon us in love and for our good: our discontentedness at our present state and condition. And oh how careless and negligent have we been in the discharge of the duties of our places, callings, and relations! Oh the multitude of worldly and covetous thoughts, of proud and ambitious thoughts, of wicked and prophane thoughts, of wanton and unclean thoughts, yea and of blasphemous and atheistical thoughts that lodge in the hearts of most of us, and there revel it day and night. And O Lord, we cannot but acknowledge the deadness of our hearts, the distractions of our minds in the performing holy duties. We are active and lively about our worldly businesses, but oh how dull and flat are we in our religious exercises! praying as if we prayed not, and hearing as if we heard not. Lord, make us truly apprehensive of our sins and misery, that we may humble our selves under a sense of them, and turn unto thee by true and unfained repentance. Turn us, O God, and we shall be turned, draw us, and we will run after thee. And, O Lord, whilest we are returning unto thee, meet us, we pray thee, in the way: and like a tender Father, embrace us with the arms of thy mercy. Our sins, we confess, are many and hainous, yet we know and believe thy mercies are far more, and the merits of Jesus Christ are far greater: and therefore we are resolved to adventure our souls, as upon the mercies of the… our God, so upon the merits of Jesus Christ, into whose arms we here cast our selves.
Oh be pleased to make us partakers both of the merit of Christs death in freeing us from the guilt of sin, and of the virtue of Christs death in freeing us from the power and dominion of sin, that it may not rule and raign in us as formerly. Lord, work in us a loathing, and a true hatred of every sin, especially of such we have been most addicted to, and have most delighted in. To this end convince us what a folly, yea madness it is, for the short fruition of a momentany pleasure here, to implunge our selves into everlasting burnings. Oh convert every unconverted soul among us; bring us to Christ; make us adventurers for the other World: let us be resolved henceforth for an holy and righteous life: instruct us in thy wayes, and teach us thy S…atutes. Break the power of our sins, subdue our rebellion, and make us willing to be the Lord's. Change our evil natures, and give us another Spirit. Help us sincer…ly to choose thee as our portion; to love, and fear, and trust in thee; and to walk humbly with thee all the dayes of our life. Help us to set our affections on things abov…, and no longer on this earth: let us dye daily to sin, and this World: let us exercise our selv…s in keeping a good Cons…i…nce towards God and men: let us work out our Salvation with fear and trembling, and give all diligence to make our calling and election sure; and let not our labour herein be in vain. Keep us, O Lord, from our iniquities; keep us from the way of lying, from all unrighteous and unjust dealing, from wrath, and evil speaking; let us be true, temperate, peaceable, and mercifull, as the children of our heavenly Father. Help us to be serious, and savoury, and tender, and watchfull: and hold us on constantly in our holy course to the end of our dayes.
Lord, take us into thy keeping and protection this day: keep us from all danger, especially from sinning against thee. To this end make us watchfull both against the occasions of sins, and temptations thereunto. Keep us, we pray thee, from …dleness, as knowing that our idle time is the Devils working tim…, who is most busie with us, when we are most at leisure. And bless all our undertakings. So sp…ritualize our hearts and affections, that we may have heavenly hearts in earthly imployments, and so may serve thee our God, whilest we are serving our own necessities.
Together with us bless, we beseech thee, thy whole Church; Call thine ancient people the Jews; and bring in the fulness of the Gentiles. And particularly we pray thee for our own Nation, the Land of our Nativity: pardon the crying sins thereof. Showre down thy blessings upon it both temporal and spiritual. In special we pray thee so to bless our royal Soveraign, that under him we may live a quiet, and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Bless likewise all our Magistrates, and Ministers of thy holy Word. Thou the Lord of the harvest, send plenty of Labourers into thy harvest. And, O Father of mercy, look down with the eye of pitty and compassion upon all thine afflicted ones: let thy mercies be suitable to their several needs and necessities. Bless all Christian families, this in particular; enrich every soul with all needfull, saving graces.
Blessed Lord God, according to our bounden duty, we offer up our Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving unto thy blessed Majesty, in the name and mediation of thy beloved Son Jesus Christ. Blessing and praising thee for our health, wealth, food and rayment, for our preservation from our first being to this present time. We bless thy name above all for that gift of gifts the Lord Jesus. And for the Gospel wherein thou hast freely offered Christ, with all his benefits to us. We bless thee for whatever grace hath been wrought in any of us by the Gospel; and for that good hope thou hast given us through grace. We bless thy name for the last nights quiet rest, this dayes protection hitherto. Add, we Pray thee, this mercy, give us grace to live as in thy sight, who seeth all our wayes, and art privy to every secret thing which we do. And now, O Lord, accept our persons, though sinfull; and our service, though full of weaknesses, in thy beloved Son, with whom thou art well pleased. In whose name and words, we further call upon thee, saying, Our Father which art in Heaven, &c.