unto. Think, that now you are nearer your end by one day's journey than you were in the morning. When you feel sleep to be coming, pray : LORD Jesus Christ, my watchman and keeper, take me to thy care: grant that my body sleeping, my mind may watch in thee, and be made merry by some sight of that celestial and heavenly life, wherein thou art the King and Prince, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost, where thy angels and holy souls be most happy citizens. Oh purify my soul, keep clean my body; that in for ever. A FORM OF PRAYER MEET FOR OUR STATE AND TIME, TO MOVE US TO TRUE REPENTANCE, AND TO TURN AWAY GOD'S SHARP SCOURGES YET THREATENED AGAINST US. ALMIGHTY and everliving Lord God, the dear Father of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which hast made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is, which art the only ruler and governor, conserver and keeper of all things, together with thy dearly beloved Son Christ Jesus our Lord, and with thy Holy Ghost the Comforter: O holy, righteous, and wise: O strong, terrible, mighty and fearful Lord God and Judge of all men: 0 exorable, patient, and most gracious Father, whose eyes are upon the ways of all men, and are so clean that they cannot abide impiety: thou searchest the hearts and triest the very thoughts and reins of all men: thou hatest sin and abhorrest iniquity for sin's sake thou hast grievously punished mankind, thy most dear creature, as thou hast declared, by the penalty of death laid upon all the children of Adam; by the casting out of Adam and his offspring forth of paradise; by the cursing of the earth; by the drowning of the world; by the burning up of Sodom and Gomorrah; by the hardening the heart of Pharaoh, so that no miracle could convert him; by the drowning of him and his people with him in the Red Sea; by the overthrowing of the Israelites in the wilderness, so that of six hundred thousand there was but two that entered into the land of promise; by rejecting king Saul; by the great punishments upon thy servant David, notwithstanding his hearty repentance; by grievously afflicting Salomon in himself and in his posterity; by the captivity of the ten tribes, and by the thraldom of the Jews, wherein until this present day they continue a notable spectacle of thy wrath to the world against and for sin. But of all spectacles of thy anger against sin, the greatest and most notable is the death and bloody passion of thy dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ. Great is thine anger against sin, when in heaven and earth nothing could be found which might appease thy wrath, save the bloodshedding of thine only and most dearly-beloved Son, in whom was and is all thy delight. Great is the sore of sin that needed such a salve; mighty was the malady that needed such a medicine. If in Christ, in whom was no sin, thy wrath was so fierce for our sin, that he was constrained to cry, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? how great and importable then is thine anger against us which are nothing but sinful! Thy children, through the contemplation of thine anger against sin, set forth most evidently in the death of Christ, do tremble and are afraid, lamenting themselves upon him, and heartily crying for mercy; whereas the wicked are altogether careless and contemptuous, nothing lamenting their iniquities, or crying to thee heartily for mercy and pardon; amongst whom we are rather to be placed, than amongst thy children, for that we are so shameless for our sin, and careless for thy wrath, heaping daily sin upon sin, so that the measure hath overflowed and ascended up to heaven, and brought thy heavy plagues upon us, which are but earnest for greater to ensue: therefore to us pertaineth shame, and nothing else is due but confusion. What shall we do? What shall we say? Who can give us penitent hearts? Who can open our lips, that our mouths might make acceptable confession unto thee? Alas! of ourselves we cannot think any good, much less wish it, and least of all do it. As for angels or any other creatures, they have nothing but that which they have received, and they are made to minister unto us; so that where it passeth the power of the master, the minister must needs want. Alas, then, what shall we do? Thou art holy, and we unholy; thou art good, and we nothing but evil; thou art pure, we altogether impure; thou art light, and we most dark darkness: how then can there be any agreement betwixt us? O what now may we do? Despair? No; for thou art God, and therefore good; thou art merciful, and therefore thou forgivest sins; with thee is mercy and propitiation, and therefore thou art worshipped. When Adam had sinned, thou gavest him mercy before he desired it: and wilt thou deny us mercy, which now desire the same? Adam excused his fault and accused thee, but we accuse ourselves and excuse thee; and shall we be sent empty away? Noah found favour when thy fury abounded, and shall we seeking grace be frustrate? Abraham was pulled out of idolatry, when the world was drowned therein; and art thou his God only? Israel in captivity in Egypt was graciously visited and delivered; and, dear God, the same good Lord, shall we always be forgotten? How often in the wilderness didst thou defer and spare thy plagues at the request of Moses, when the people themselves made no petition to thee; and seeing we not only now make our petitions unto thee through thy goodness, but also have a mediator for us far above Moses, even Jesus Christ, shall we (I say), dear Lord, depart ashamed? So soon as David said, I have sinned, thou didst forthwith answer him that he should not die, thou hadst taken away his sins; and, gracious God, even the self-same God, shall not we which now with David gladly confess that we have sinned, shall not we (I say) hear by thy good Spirit that our sins be pardoned? O grant that with Manasses we may find favour and mercy. Remember that thou hast not spared thine own only dear Son Jesus Christ, but given him to die for our sins, to rise for our righteousness, to ascend for our possession taking in heaven, and to appear before thee for us for ever a high priest after the order of Melchisedec, that through him we might have free access to come to thy throne, now rather of grace than of justice. Remember that thou by him hast bidden ask, and promised that we should receive, saying, Ask, and ye shall have; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. O dear God, and most meek and merciful Father, we heartily beseech thee to be merciful unto us for this thy Christ's sake, for his death's sake, for thy promise, truth, and mercies' sake. Have mercy upon us; pardon and forgive us all our sins, iniquities, and trespasses, whatsoever we have committed against thee in thought, word, or deed, at any time hitherto, by any means. Though we be poor, yet our Christ is rich; though we be sinners, yet He is righteous ; though we be fools, yet is He wise; though we be impure, yet He is pure and holy for his sake therefore be merciful to us. Call to mind how thou hast promised that thou wilt pour out of thy clean waters, and wash us from our filth, and cleanse us from our evils. Forget not that thou hast promised to take from us our stony hearts, and dost promise to give us : |