Private Devotions for Ordinary and Extraordinary Occasions, Prayers 1
Directions for Night.
AT NIGHT, when it draws towards the time of reſt, bethink thy ſelf how thou haſt paſſed the day, examine thine own heart, what ſin either of Thought, Word, or Deed thou haſt committed, what opportunity of doing good thou haſt omitted, and whatſoever thou findeſt to accuſe thy ſelf of, confeſs humbly and penitently to God, renew thy purpoſes, and reſolutions of amendment, and beg his pardon in Christ, and this not ſlightly, and only as of courſe, but with all devout earneſtneſs, and heartineſs, as thou wouldeſt do, if thou wert ſure thy death were as near approaching, as thy ſleep, which for ought thou knoweſt may be ſo indeed, and therefore thou ſhouldeſt no more venture to ſleep unreconciled to God, then thou wouldeſt dare to die ſo. In the next place, conſider what ſpecial and extraordinary mercies thou haſt that day received, as if thou haſt had any great deliverance, either in thy inward man, from ſome dangerous temptations, or in thy outward, from any great and apparent danger, and offer to God thy hearty and devout praiſe for the ſame; or if nothing extraordinary have ſo happened, and thou haſt been kept even from the approach of danger, thou haſt not the leſs, but the greater cauſe to magnifie God, who hath by his protection ſo guarded thee, that not ſo much as the fear of evil hath aſſaulted thee. And therefore omit not to pay him the tribute of humble thankfulneſs, as well for his uſuall and daily preſervations, as his more extraordinary deliverances. And above all endeavour ſtill by the conſiderations of his mercies to have thy heart the more cloſely knit to him, remembring that every favour received from him is a new engagement upon thee, to love and obey him.
Prayers for Night.
O Holy, bleſſed and glorious Trinity, three perſons and one God, have mercy upon me a miſerable ſinner.
Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought, O let thy Spirit help my infirmities, and enable me to offer up a ſpiritual Sacrifice acceptable unto thee by Jeſus Chriſt.
A Confeſſion.
O MOST Holy Lord God, who art of purer eyes then to behold iniquity, how ſhall I abominable wretch dare to appear before thee, who am nothing but pollution? I am defiled in my very nature, having a backwardneſs to all good, and a readineſs to all evil; but I have defiled my ſelf yet much worſe by my own actual ſins and wicked cuſtomes; I have tranſgreſt my duty to Thee, my Neighbour, and my Self, and that both in thought, in word, in deed, by doing thoſe things which thou haſt expreſly forbidden, and by neglecting to do thoſe things thou haſt commanded me. And this not only through ignorance and frailty, but knowingly, and wilfully, againſt the motions of thy Spirit, and the checks of my own conſcience to the contrary. And to make all theſe out of meaſure ſinful, I have gone on in a daily courſe of repeating theſe provocations againſt thee, notwithſtanding all thy calls to, and my own purpoſes and vows of amendment; yea, this very day I have not ceaſed to adde new ſins to all my former guilts. [Here name the particulars.] And now, O Lord, what ſhall I ſay, or how ſhall I open my mouth, ſeeing I have done theſe things? I know that the wages of theſe ſins is death; but O thou who willeſt not the death of a ſinner, have mercy upon me; work in me I beſeech thee a ſincere contrition, and a perfect hatred of my ſins, and let me not daily confeſs, and yet as dayly renew them, but grant, O Lord, that from this inſtant I may give a bill of Divorce to to all my moſt beloved luſts, and then be thou pleaſed to marry me to thy ſelf in truth, in righteouſnes & holineſs. And for al my paſt ſins, O Lord, receive a reconciliation; accept of that ranſome thy bleſſed Son hath paid for me, and for his ſake whom thou haſt ſet forth as a propitiation, pardon all my offencies, and receive me to thy favour. And when thou haſt thus ſpoken peace to my ſoul, Lord keep me that I turn not any more to folly, but ſo eſtabliſh me with thy grace, that no temptation of the world, the Divil or my own fleſh may ever draw me to offend thee, that being made free from ſin, and becoming a ſervant unto God, I may have my fruit unto holineſs, and the end everlaſting life, through Jeſus Chriſt our Lord.
A Thanksgiving.
O thou Father of Mercies, who art kind even to the unthankful, I acknowledge my ſelf to have abundantly experimented that gracious propertie of thine, for notwithſtanding my dayly provocations againſt thee, thou ſtill heapeſt mercy and loving kindneſs upon me. All my contempts and deſpiſings of thy ſpiritual favours have not yet made thee withdraw them, but in the riches of thy goodneſs and long ſuffering thou ſtill continueſt to me the offers of grace and life in thy Son. And all my abuſes of thy temporal bleſſings thou haſt not puniſhed with an utter deprivation of them, but art ſtill pleaſed to afford me a liberal portion of them. The ſins of this day thou haſt not repayed as juſtly thou might'ſt, by ſweeping me away with a ſwift deſtruction, but haſt ſpared and preſerved me according to the greatneſs of thy mercy. [Here mention the particular mercies of that day.] What ſhal I render unto the Lord, for all theſe benefits he hath done unto me? Lord, let this goodneſs of thine lead me to repentance, and grant that I may not only offer thee thanks and praiſe, but may alſo order my converſation aright, that ſo I may at the laſt ſee the ſalvation of God, through Jeſus Chriſt.
Here uſe the Prayer for Grace and that of Interceſſion appointed for the Morning.
For Preſervation
O bleſſed Lord, the Keeper of Iſrael, that neither ſlumbreſt nor ſleepeſt, be pleaſed in thy merciemercy to watch over me this night, keep me by thy grace from all works of darkneſs, and defend me by thy power from all dangers, grant me moderate and refreſhing ſleep, ſuch as may fit me for the duties of the day following. And, Lord, make me ever mindful of that time when I ſhall lie down in the duſt; and becauſe I know neither the day nor the houre of my Maſters coming, grant me grace that I may be always readie, that I may never live in ſuch a ſtate as I ſhall fear to die in, but that whether I live, I may live unto the Lord; or whether I die, I may die unto the Lord, ſo that living and dying I may be thine, through Jeſus Chriſt.
Ʋſe the ſame concluding prayer as in the Morning.
AS thou art putting off thy clothes, think with thy ſelf that the time approaches that thou muſt put off thy body alſo, and then thy Soul muſt appear naked before Gods judgment Seat, and therefore thou hadſt need be careful to make it ſo clean and pure by repentance and holineſs, that he who will not look on iniquity may graciouſly behold and accept it.
Let thy Bed put the in mind of thy Grave, and when thou lyeſt down, ſay,
O Bleſſed Saviour, who by thy precious death and burial didſt take away the ſting of death and power of the grave, grant me the joyful fruits of that thy victory, and be thou to me in life and death advantage.
I will lay me down in peace, and take my reſt, for it is thou Lord only that makeſt me dwell in ſafety.
Into thy hands I commend my ſpirit, for thou haſt redeemed it, O Lord, thou God of truth.
IN the ANTIENT CHURCH there were beſides morning and night, four other times every day which were called HOURS OF PRAYER, and the zeal of thoſe firſt Chriſtians was ſuch as made them conſtantly obſerved. It would be thought too great a ſtrictneſs now in this lukewarm age to enjoyn the like frequency, yet I cannot but mention the example, and ſay, that for thoſe who are not by very neceſſary buſineſs prevented, it will be but reaſonable to imitate it, and make up in publick and private thoſe FOUR TIMES of PRAYER, beſides the OFFICES already ſet down for MORNING and NIGHT: and that none may be to ſeek how to exerciſe their devotions at theſe times, I have added divers COLLECTS for ſeveral Graces, whereof every man may uſe at each ſuch time of prayer ſo many as his zeal and leiſure ſhall point out to him, adding, if he pleaſe, one of the confeſſions appointed for morning or night, and never omitting the LODRS PRAYER.
But if any mans ſtate of life be really ſo buſie as will not allow him time for ſo long and ſolemn devotions, yet certainly there is no man ſo overlayed with buſineſs, but that he may finde leiſure oftentimes in a day to ſay the LORDS PRAYER alone, and therefore let him uſe that, if he cannot more. But becauſe it is the Character of a Chriſtian, Phil. 3. 20. That he hath his converſation in Heaven, it is very fit that beſides theſe ſet times of Prayer, he ſhould divers times in a day by ſhort and ſuddain EJACULATIONS dart up his ſoul thither. And for this ſort of devotion no man can want leiſure, for it may be performed in the midſt of buſineſs; the Artificer at his work, the Husband man at his Plough may practice it. Now as he cannot want time, ſo that he may not want matter for it, I have thought it not unuſeful out of that rich ſtore-houſe, the BOOK of PSALMS, to furniſh him with ſome texts, which may very fitly be uſed for this purpoſe, which being learned by heart will alwayes be ready at hand to imploy his devotion; and the matter of them being various, ſome for Pardon of ſin; ſome for Grace; ſome for the light of Gods countenance; ſome for the Church; ſome for Thanksgiving, &c. every man may fit himſelf according to the preſent need and temper of his ſoul. I have given theſe not as a full collection, but only as a taſte, by which the Readers appetite may be raiſed to ſearch after more in that Book, and other parts of holy Scripture.