The Daily Practice of Devotion, Hour of prayer 2 – Hour of prayer 3
THE SECOND HOUR OF PRAYER, AT THE Sun-riſing, or Firſt Hour of the day. About VI. in the Morning.
Eccleſ 11. 9.
Rejoyce, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart chear thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the ſight of thine Eyes:
But know thou that for all theſe things God will bring thee into Judgment.
Chap. 12. 1.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou ſhalt ſay, I have no pleaſure in them.
MORNING.
I Laid me down and ſlept, and roſe up again, and the Lord ſuſtained me, Pſal. 3. 5.
I. As ſoon as you open your eyes,Pſal. 121. 1. lift them up unto the Hills from whence cometh your help, and begin the work of the day with thankſgiving to God, who hath delivered you from the dangers of the forepaſſed night, refreſhed your weary body with quiet ſleep, and brought you ſafely to the beginning of another day.
II. Conſider, That perhaps many others, no worſe than you, have this night been hurried from their beds to the bar of Judgment, and there received a ſad ſentence of eternal woe; yet God of his infinite and undeſerved goodneſs hath ſpared you until now, to repent and prepare your accounts.
III. Return him all poſſible thanks and praiſe for this ineſtimable mercy: and commend your ſelf to his Grace and protection for the following day, and the reſt of your life; humbly beſeeching him to continue his mercy and goodneſs to you, in preſerving you from all evils, and ſupplying you with all neccſſaries ſpiritual and temporal; and implore his Grace to guide and direct you in all your undertakings and actions, as may moſt conduce to the glory of his great Name, and the good of your own ſoul.
IV. Conſider what ſin or ſins you have more eſpecially been guilty of yeſterday, or ſince the laſt time of your ſolemn repentance; and reſolve by the grace of God aſſiſting you, to avoid thoſe ſins, and all occaſions of them.
V. Conſider what you have to do this day: Reſolve, not to ſpend it in idleneſs or evil imployments; and be careful to undertake nothing, in which you cannot with confidence and a good conſcience deſire the gracious aſſiſtance of God, without which all endeavour and induſtry, all toil and travel is vain and fruitleſs.
Whatſoever thou takeſt in hand, remember the end, and thou ſhalt never do amiſs, Ecclus. 7. 36.
VI. Keep diligent watch over your ſelf in all your ways: and where you find you have gone awry, delay not to return preſently: for the longer you go forward, the farther you have back again, and the leſs time left for that and the reſt of your Journey.
VII. Be careful of your precious Time, that you do not loſe it in doing nothing, or caſt it away on that which is worſe: for you know not how ſoon you may be called to account for every idle and ill-ſpent minute.
Reſolve to ſpend this day as that which, for ought you know, may be your laſt: and remember, that as the Night, ſo Death draws on every hour, and may perhaps overtake you before Mid-day.
Morning Prayer.
O Let me hear thy Loving kindneſs betimes in the morning, for in thee is my truſt. Shew thou me the way that I ſhould walk in, for I lift up my Soul unto thee, Pſal. 143. 8.
O hearken unto the voice of my calling, my King and my God; for utto the will I make my Prayer.
My voice ſhalt thou hear betimes, O Lord: early in the morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee, and will look up.
But make me to remember that thou art God, and haſt no pleaſure in wickedneſs, neither ſhall any evil dwell with thee, Pſal. 5. 2, 3, 4.
OUR Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name; thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven: Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our treſpaſſes, as we forgive them that treſpaſs againſt us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
O Lord, open thou my lips.
And my mouth ſhall ſhew forth thy praiſe.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoſt.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever ſhall be world without end. Amen.
Pſal. 19.
THE Heavens declare the glory of God, and the Firmament ſheweth his handy work.
One day telleth another, and one night certifieth another.
There is neither ſpeech nor language, but their voices are heard among them.
Their ſound is gone out into all Lands, and their words into the ends of the world.
In them hath he ſet a Tabernacle for the Sun, which cometh forth as a Bridegroom out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a Giant to run his courſe.
It goeth forth from the uttermoſt part of the Heaven, and runneth about unto the end of it again; and there is nothing hid from the Heat thereof.
The Law of the Lord is an undefiled Law, converting the Soul: the Teſtimony of the Lord is ſure, and giveth wiſdom unto the ſimple.
The Statutes of the Lord are right, and rejoyce the Heart; the Commandment of the Lord is pure, and giveth light unto the eyes.
The Fear of the Lord is clean, and indureth for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be deſired are they than Gold, yea than much fine Gold: ſweeter alſo than Honey and the Honey-comb.
Moreover, by them is thy ſervant taught: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
Who can tell how oft he offendeth! O cleanſe thou me from my ſecret faults.
Keep thy ſervant alſo from preſumtuous ſins, left they get the dominion over me: ſo ſhall I be undefiled and innocent from the great offence.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be always acceptable in thy ſight, O Lord my ſtrength and my Redeemer.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoſt.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever ſhall be world without end. Amen.
The Song of Zachary.
BLeſſed be the Lord God of Iſrael, for he hath viſited and redeemed his people: Luke 1. 68.
And hath raiſed up a mighty Salvation for us in the Houſe of his Servant David.
As he ſpake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, which have been ſince the world began.
That we ſhould be ſaved from our enemies, and from the hands of all that hate us.
To perform the mercy promiſed to our Forefathers, and to remember his holy Covenant.
To perform the Oath which he ſware to our Forefather Abraham, that he would give us.
That we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might ſerve him without fear;
In holineſs and righteouſneſs before him all the days of our life.
And thou Child ſhalt be called the Prophet of the Higheſt, for thou ſhalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
To give knowledge of Salvation to his people for the remiſſion of their ſins,
Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-ſpring from on high hath viſited us,
To give light to them that ſit in darkneſs, and in the ſhadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoſt.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever ſhall be world without end. Amen.
BLeſſed be thy holy Name, O Lord, who haſt ſhewed me the light of thy countenance, and haſt delivered me from the darkneſs and dangers of this night, and refreſhed me with quiet ſleep; and raiſed me up again as it were from the grave, and reſtored me to life, and the joyful light of another day.
Give me grace to make it a reſurrection to newneſs of life alſo, that I may ſpend this day, and all that thou ſhalt yet be pleaſed to add to it, in thy Service, to the Glory of thy Name, and the Good of my own Soul.
O Lord, blot out as a nightmiſt mine iniquities, and ſcatter my ſins as a morning cloud, Iſai. 44. 22.
Grant that I may become a Child of the Light and of the Day;1 Theſ. 5. 5. 8. that I may walk ſoberly,Rom. 13. 13. chaſtly, and honeſtly as in the day.
Open thou mine eyes that I may ſee,Pſal. 119. 18, 36, 133. incline my heart that I may affect, and order my ſteps that I may walk and run in the way of thy Commandements.
Hold me faſt, and keep me cloſe by thee. Guide me with thy Hand. Uphold me when I am falling: lift me up when I am down. Reduce me when I go aſtray, and hedge in my way, that I find not the path to follow after vanity.
Keep me in all my ways,Pſal. 91. 2. and defend me from all the dangers and evils of this day,Pſal. 121. 8. O Lord, preſerve my going out and coming in, from this time for evermore.
And now, O Lord, I offer up my ſelf a living Sacrifice unto thee, beſeeching thee mercifully and graciouſly to receive me. Cleanſe me from all my Pollutions; heal all my infirmities, and ſanctifie all the Powers and Faculties of my Soul and Body to thy ſervice this day; that in all my thoughts, words, and works, I may always have an eye to that Supreme end of my Creation; and ſo order the whole courſe of my life, that I may be always ready and prepared for death, and that ſevere account which I muſt one day make unto thee, that ſo I may do it with joy and not with ſorrow, and receive that Crown which thou haſt promiſed to them that perſevere unto the end, Heb. 13. 17.
And with my ſelf I commend unto thee all whom any bond of Nature, or Freindſhip, or Religion, commands me to pray for; eſpecially—
—and all that have at any time done good to me, thou, O Lord, do good to them, and reward them ſeven-fold into their boſom.
Preſerve us, O Lord,Pſal. 121. 7. from all evil: O Lord I beſeech thee,Jude 24. keep our Souls; keep us from falling, and preſent us faultleſs before the preſence of thy Glory at that day.
And the Peace of God,Phil. 4. 7. which paſſeth all underſtanding,Com. Pr. keep our hearts and minds in the Knowledge and Love of God, and of his Son Jeſus Chriſt our Lord.
And the Bleſſing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoſt, be with us this day, the reſt of our lives, and for evermore. Amen.
OF PUBLICK PRAYER AT THE THIRD HOVR.
Pſal. 119. 9.
Wherewithal ſhall a young man cleanſe his way?
Even by ruling himſelf after thy Word.
Pſal. 111. 10.
The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wiſdom. A good underſtanding have all they that do thereafter. The praiſe of it endureth for ever.
NOW as Private Prayer hath this Promiſe of our Saviour, that being performed in the Cloſet ſecretly, Mat. 6. 6.it ſhall yet be rewarded openly: Mat. 18. 20.ſo, much more when two or three are gathered together in his Name, hath he promiſed to be in the midſt of them, and hear their requeſts.
This therefore being the uſual Hour wherein the Publick Service of the Church is every day to be celebrated, this Private Form is far from any purpoſe to ſupplant the uſe, or pretence to ſupply the want of that.
Which though it be now by the Children of this generation ſhamefully eaſt out of the Houſe of God, yet certainly all true Children of the Church will receive it into their own Houſes, and make their Family their Congregation.
But they that want even this Convenience alſo, may yet at leaſt perform their part of the Publick Duty in the Privacy of their Cloſet, and comfort themſelves with this Conſideration, that the Prayers which are ſent up from never ſo divers aud diſtant places on Earth, yet all meet together in the High Court of Heaven.
The following Form therefore is intended for no more than a Preparation to the Publick. And ſo likewiſe at the Fifth Hour, whereon the Evening Service of the Church is to be celebrated.
THE THIRD HOUR OF PRAYER, AT THE Third Hour of the Day, About IX. in the Morning.
HEar my Prayer, O God, and hide not thy ſelf from my Petition.
OUR Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name; thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven: Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our treſpaſſes, as we forgive them that treſpaſs againſt us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from all evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
O Lord, open thou my lips,
And my mouth ſhall ſhew forth thy praiſe.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoſt.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever ſhall be world without end. Amen.
Pſal. 25.
UNto thee, O Lord, will I lift up my Soul. My God I have put my truſt in thee; O let me not be confounded, neither let mine enemies triumph over me.
For all they that hope in thee ſhall not be aſhamed; but ſuch as trangreſs without a cauſe ſhall be put to confuſion.
Shew me thy ways, O Lord, and teach me thy paths.
Lead me forth in thy Truth, and learn me; for thou art the God of my Salvation. In thee hath been my hope all the day long.
Call to remembrance, O Lord, thy tender mercies, and thy loving kindneſs, which hath been ever of old.
O remember not the ſins and offences of my Youth: but according to thy mercy think thou upon me, O Lord, for thy goodneſs.
Gracious and righteous is the Lord, therefore will we teach ſinners in the way.
Them that be meek ſhall he guide in judgment: and ſuch as be gentle, them ſhall he learn his way.
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto ſuch as keep his Covenant and his Teſtimonies.
For thy Names ſake, O Lord be merciful unto my ſin, for it is great.
What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him ſhall he teach in the way that he ſhall chuſe.
His Soul ſhall dwell at eaſe, and his Seed ſhall inherit the Land.
The Secret of the Lord is among them that fear him, and he will ſhew them his Covenant.
Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord, for he ſhall pluck my feet out of the Net.
Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me, for I am deſolate and in miſery.
The ſorrows of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my troubles.
Look upon my adverſity and miſery, and forgive me all my ſin.
Conſider mine Enemies how many they are, and they bear a tyrannous hate againſt me.
O keep my Soul and deliver me: let me not be confounded, for I have put my truſt in thee.
Let perfectneſs and righteous dealing wait upon me, for my hope hath been in thee.
Deliver Iſrael, O God, out of all his troubles.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoſt.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever ſhall be world without end. Amen.
ALmighty Lord God, who haſt created all things for thine own Glory and Service, give us grace to direct all our thoughts, words, and works to that one end, that ſo having ſerved thee faithfully here, we may glorifie thee eternally in thy Kingdom hereafter, through Jeſus Chriſt our Saviour. Amen.
NOW unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,Eph. 3. 20. according to the Power that worketh in us; unto him be Glory in the Church by Chriſt Jeſus, throughout all ages world without end. Amen.