The Devout Christian Instructed How to Pray and Give Thanks, church · Prayers 1
A ſhort Prayer before Divine Service begins.
BEhold, O Lord of heaven and earth, a Soul proſtrate before thee; deſirous to be filled with ſuch an awful ſenſe of thy divine Majeſty, that no other thing may interpoſe it ſelf, while I am in thy preſence. Fix my inconſtant thoughts in a ſteadfaſt attention to thy moſt holy Word. Inſpire me with devout affections, when I ſet forth thy praiſe, and render thanks for all thy benefits. And excite in me ſuch fervent deſires for all thoſe things, which I ask of thee; that I may feel my ſelf better diſpoſed by theſe addreſſes to thee, to every Chriſtian duty the reſt of this day; through Chriſt Jeſus our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
Another.
IN an humble and thankful ſenſe of thine infinite goodneſs, which honoureth us ſo much as to ſpeak to us, and gives us leave to ſpeak to thee; I bow down my ſelf before thee, O moſt high and holy Lord, the Creator of the world, deſiring my mind may be poſſeſſed with ſuch great thoughts of thee, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, and who openeſt thy hand and filleſt all things with good, that I may moſt reverently worſhip thee; and affectionately acknowledge thy bounty; and ſet my heart open to receive thy holy Word; and my mouth may praiſe thee with joyful lips. Silence all other thoughts and deſires in me, while I am here in thy preſence. And lift up my heart ſo towards heaven, that I may feel it united to that glorious company above; who perpetually praiſe thee, and rejoyce in thee, and do thy Commandments, hearkning to the voice of thy Word. Which I humbly beg in the name of Chriſt Jeſus, which is ever dear unto thee; and by whom thou haſt promiſed to hear us. Amen.
Or thoſe words of the Prophet David (which you read, Pſal. 5.7. 17.1. 118.28. 119.47,48, &c.) may be a little altered, in this manner:
IN the multitude of thy mercy I am come into thy houſe: and in thy fear will I worſhip toward thy holy place. Attend unto my cry, O Lord, and give ear unto my Prayer that goeth not out of feigned lips. Thou art my God, and I will praiſe thee; thou art my God, and I will exalt thee. And I will delight my ſelf in thy Commandments which I have loved. My hands alſo will I lift up to thy commandments which I have loved: and I will meditate in thy ſtatutes. Let thy tender mercies come alſo unto me, O Lord; even thy Salvation according to thy Word. Look upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou uſeſt to do to thoſe that love thy Name. Order my ſteps in thy Word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Amen.
A longer Prayer in the Church, when there is time for it, before the begining of divine Service.
I Caſt down my ſelf, O Lord, in an holy fear and humble adoration of thine incomprehenſible Majeſty, who filleſt heaven and earth; but delighteſt to make thy ſelf more peculiarly preſent to thoſe that acknowledge and praiſe thee, and are deſirous to be filled with a conſtant ſenſe of thee, and intire love to thee. Bleſſed be thy infinite goodneſs, which hath incouraged ſuch wretches, as I am, by the declaration of thy good will to us in Chriſt Jeſus, by thy moſt gracious invitations and precious promiſes, and by the long experience I have had of thy kindneſs, to approach unto thee, O Lord moſt High.
I accept moſt thankfully of this freedom and liberty of acceſs with confidence by the faith of Jeſus; and am here to joyn with the reſt of thy ſervants, in extolling and magnifying thy eternal Power, Wiſdom and Goodneſs; in giving thanks to thee for thy innumerable bleſſings; in hearing thy moſt holy Word; and making our humble ſupplications, for the continuance of thy undeſerved grace and favour towards us. Compoſe mine and every one of our thoughts, to the moſt ſilent admiration of thee: Strike our Spirits with a reverend apprehenſion of the ſurpaſſing greatneſs and glory of thy Majeſty: Raiſe our affections to the higheſt pitch of love and gratitude to thee: bow our wills to the moſt chearful ſubmiſſion to all thy holy commands: and touch us with an unſpeakable joy, when we read and hear thy exceeding great and precious promiſes.
Vouchſafe, moſt loving Father, the power of thy holy Spirit to attend upon me; to draw my mind from all other things, and to give me ſuch a lively taſte of the pleaſures of thy houſe, as may make me ever delight to attend upon thee here, and walk with thee, in every other place, with a perfect heart. That ſo my own 1 Joh. 3.21,22.heart not condemning me, I may have more and more confidence towards thee, that whatſoever I ask I ſhall receive of thee; becauſe I keep thy commandments, and do thoſe things which are pleaſing in thy ſight. Pſal. 62.1.O my God, truly my ſoul waiteth upon thee; from thee cometh my ſalvation. 61.1.Hear my cry, O God, and attend unto my prayer, for the honour of our Lord Jeſus, and the love thou beareſt to him; who hath bid us ask, and we ſhall receive; ſeek, and we ſhall find; knock, and it ſhall be opened unto us. Let it be to thy ſervant, I moſt ardently beſeech thee, according to his Word. Amen.
Another more large.
O Lord of heaven and earth, who art infinite and incomprehenſible in thy being, eternal in thy duration, and unchangeable in thy Nature: who canſt do what thou wilt; and delighteſt in doing us good. By thy Power I and all creatures were made; by thy Wiſdom we are govern'd; by thy Goodneſs and Bounty we are provided for; under thy Soveraign Dominion we live; and unto thy Majeſty we owe all reverence, ſervice and faithful obedience. I adore and humbly worſhip thee. I acknowledge my ſelf bound by innumerable tyes to fear thee, to love thee, to praiſe thee, and to ſerve thee with all my heart, and ſoul, and ſtrength. Bleſſed be thy Goodneſs that I have any hope, thou wilt accept of ſuch a worthleſs thing as my love. Bleſſed be thy Goodneſs. I admire at the riches of thy Grace, that thou doſt not reject all the ſervice that I can tender thee. Nay, it is to be aſcribed to this alone, that I am alive to worſhip thee, and have the doors of thy houſe ſtand open to me; and that I have any heart to enter into it, to offer up ſpiritual Sacrifices by Chriſt Jeſus.
O God, I offer thee here my whole ſelf, which is all due to thee, becauſe I received it all from thee: beſeeching thee moſt earneſtly to make me feel that I am not mine own any longer, but thine; by taking off my thoughts and affections from all other things at this preſent, and filling me with ſuch a reverend apprehenſion of thee, ſuch hearty devotion to thee, and heavenly joy in thee; that I may every day offer up my ſelf to thee more holy and more pure, more meek and merciful, more humble and thankful, more chearfully diſpoſed to every good work, and better prepared to bear a part in the praiſes and ſervices of the glorious company above.
Thou knoweſt the weakneſs of our nature, how ſoon our thoughts are tyred and apt to ſtart aſide when we direct them towards heaven: Vouchſafe me therefore the aſſiſtance of thy holy Spirit to compoſe my mind to the moſt ſerious, the moſt earneſt, the moſt devout and chearful attention, in all the parts of thy Divine Service. That I may have the livelieſt ſenſe of thy glorious perfections when I praiſe thee; and the moſt delightful remembrance of thy Mercies, when I give thee thanks; and the moſt thirſty deſires to be conformed to thy Will, and to feel more and more the influences of thy Grace, when I hear thy holy Word, and preſent my prayers and ſupplications before thee.
Accept, O bleſſed God, of this good will and ſincere affection that I have to thy ſervice; though performed with broken and diſtracted thoughts, and with too great liſtleſſneſs and dulneſs of ſpirit. And help me continually to out-grow this weakneſs, and to preſent thee with an heart more quiet, calm and fit to receive thee; more perfect and intire in ardent love to thee; and more ſetled and fixed in thee, as its chiefeſt joy and happineſs. That ſo all the reſt of the actions of my life may be a more conſtant and even performance of my duty, according to the command and example of my bleſſed Lord and Maſter Chriſt Jeſus. In whoſe name it is that I am bold to approach into thy preſence: believing the Power and Authority thou haſt given him over all, to bleſs us, and to do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. By him be glory unto thee, O Father Almighty, in the Church, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
At the concluſion of Divine Service after theſe words, The grace of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, &c.
Say, Amen, with the heartieſt and moſt earneſt affection. And add ſome ſuch words as theſe.
BLeſſed be thy name, O God, for the good hope which thy infinite charity hath given us; by thy great grace in Chriſt Jeſus, and the plentiful communication of the holy Ghoſt. O let thy mercy be upon me according as I hope in thee. Preſerve me alway in thy love, through that abundant grace in thy Son Chriſt, and the powerful preſence of thy holy Spirit working in me mightily, this day and ever.
Or, after The peace of God which paſſeth all underſtanding, &c. you may ſay as the Apoſtle St. Paul, (2 Theſſ. 3.16.) and the Pſalmiſt 115.12,13,18.
NOw the Lord of peace himſelf give me peace always, by all means. The Lord be with us all. The Lord hath been mindful of us, he will bleſs us. He will bleſs them that fear him, both ſmall and great. And we will bleſs the Lord from this time forth, and for evermore. Amen.
A ſhort Prayer for the Lords-day, or any other, to be uſed at home before Morning Service.
O Lord, the Almighty Creator of the world, and the merciful Saviour of mankind; who art above all our thoughts, and excelleſt the praiſes of the higheſt Angels. Thou art greatly to be feared in the aſſembly of thy Saints, and to be had in reverence of all thoſe, that are about thee. I moſt humbly deſire leave to joyn my ſelf with all thoſe holy ones, to worſhip thy moſt glorious Majeſty, to expreſs the due ſenſe I have of all thy benefits (by paying thee my moſt thankful acknowledgements for them) to make thee the beſt oblation I am able, and devote my ſelf intirely to thy obedience. Since thou haſt graciouſly inclined me to go into thy houſe, and there to ſet forth thy praiſe, to declare thy loving kindneſs, to reſign my ſelf to thy Will, to recommend my ſelf to thy Wiſdom, to ſubmit to thy Government, to approve the juſtice and goodneſs of all thy Laws, to profeſs that I am thy ſervant, to renounce all thy enemies, and to teſtifie my continued purpoſe to follow thee againſt all the temptations of the world, the fleſh and the Devil: be pleaſed, good Lord, to pardon all my former failings, and at this preſent to accept my holy intentions, and to inſpire me from above, that I may chearfully perform all theſe acts of devotion to thy Divine Majeſty.
And vouchſafe more fully to inform me in my duty, to correct and amend what is amiſs in me, to incourage and ſtrengthen my good reſolutions, and to aſſiſt me in all well doing. Fill me with a great love to thee, and to my bleſſed Saviour; to thy holy Word, and to all holy duties; to Chriſtian people every where, and to all mankind. Perfect me in Wiſdom, in Holineſs, and in Goodneſs. By all thy inſtructions, by all thy mercies, by all thy chaſtiſements, and by all my prayers, praiſes and thankſgivings to thee, the Father of mercies; make me ſuch as thou canſt love, and delight in, and reward at the great day of the Lord Jeſus. Amen.
A ſhort Prayer at home, after we are come from Church; before Dinner.
I Adore thee again, O Lord of Life and glory; I acknowledge my dependence on thee. I thank thee for thy mercies, which thou never ceaſeſt to heap upon me. Accept, I beſeech thee, of that dedication I have made of ſoul and body, with praiſes and thankſgivings, unto thee in the publick Congregation. Be merciful to all my ſins: and indue me with the grace of thy holy Spirit, to inable me to preſent my ſelf, when I appear again before thee, a more holy and devout Sacrifice unto thee; ſteadfaſtly reſolved, and chearfully diſpoſed, in every thing to be ordered by thy Will. For which end be pleaſed to ſettle and root in my heart a ſtronger belief of thy holy Goſpel, and to fix my thoughts and affections upon that unſeen happineſs and bliſs where our Saviour is: That nothing here below may either allure or affright me from my duty, nor ever make me remiſs or negligent in it; but I may be zealous of good works, fervent in ſpirit ſerving my Lord, from whom I expect the reward of an immortal inheritance.
Preſerve in me always a Religious ſenſe of thee. And make me now ſo thankful and ſober a partaker of the refreſhments of my body, that they may not damp the devotion of my ſoul: But I may rather return to worſhip thee with greater chearfulneſs and gladneſs of heart, after thou haſt added the good things of this world, to thoſe of the other; according to thy abundant love in Chriſt Jeſus. Amen.
A Prayer in private before the Evening Service.
O God who art rich in mercy to all that call upon thee, and haſt bid us 1 Theſſ. 5.pray without ceaſing, and rejoyce evermore. In obedience to thy command, and incouraged by the goodneſs of thy Nature, thy gracious invitations, thy moſt precious promiſes, and the long experience that I and others have had of thy bounty, I am bold again to approach into thy preſence; to renew my requeſts unto thee, to bleſs thy holy name, to make profeſſion of my love to thee, and readineſs in all things to obey thee. Quicken my thoughts and affections, O Lord, to a free and joyful attendance on thee in all holy duties: that no dulneſs nor wearineſs may ſeize upon my ſpirit; but ſuch a fervent love to thee may poſſeſs my heart, as may render all the imployments of Religion my delight, and the doing thy Will both now and alway my greateſt pleaſure.
And paſs by, I moſt humbly beſeech thee, all my unwilling indiſpoſitions. Accept of ſuch ſervice as I am able to render thee. And diſpoſe me by all my addreſſes to thee, to be more circumſpect and watchful, more diligent and induſtrious, more forward and zealous in the performance of every part of my duty. That being led by thy Counſel, governed by thy Spirit, and preſerved by thy gracious Providence, I may at laſt be admitted into the company of the bleſſed; there to perfect my praiſes and acknowledgements, and to receive the reward of patient continuance in well doing, through Chriſt Jeſus. Whoſe grace be with my ſpirit. Amen.
Another after the Evening Service is done, as ſoon as there is opportunity to retire alone.
I Acknowledge thy manifold bleſſings, O Lord, which are renewed upon me every moment. I owe my life continually to thee, with all the comforts of it. If I had no more to thank thee for, but the mercies of this day, they are ſo many, ſo great, that I could never thank thee enough for them. Thou takeſt care of my body, and of my ſoul. Thou feedeſt me at thy houſe, and at my own. Thou letteſt me taſte the bread of Life which came down from Heaven, beſides the many ſupports and refreſhments which thou affordeſt for this natural life. Several of thy creatures loſe their lives to preſerve mine, and thy dear Son hath not thought it too much to lay down his precious Life for my ſake. Thou ſpeakeſt to me, and giveſt me leave to ſpeak to thee. Thou inſtructeſt me in my duty, and haſt made thoſe things my duty, which are really my happineſs. Thou ingageſt me to do my ſelf good here, by promiſing a greater good hereafter.
I praiſe thee; I thank thee; and will be ever ſpeaking good of thee. And it is a new favour that I may thus praiſe and bleſs thee, both in the aſſemblies of thy people, and in my own retirements. O give me an heart to delight in it, and in all other duties of a Chriſtian life. That obeying thy holy Goſpel in all things, and being never weary in well doing, I may find thy unwearied goodneſs extending it ſelf to immortal life and bliſs through Chriſt Jeſus.
O bleſſed Jeſus that thy holy Laws may be more deeply ingraven on my heart! O that every truth I have learnt this day, may be ſo faithfully preſerved and kept in mind; as to become the rule of my life, or the ground of my hope, and a powerful motive to univerſal and uniform obedience to the end of my days! O that the remainder of my days may be the better for this day: and the holy reſt we obſerve here on earth may be a beginning of the eternal reſt which we wait for at thy ſecond coming. Amen. Come Lord Jeſus.