Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.—Joel 2.28
|
C O L L E C T I O N OF Farewel Sermons, Preached by
Sermon, Mr. Lye's Rehearsal at the conclusion of the last Morning Exercise, at Allhallowes Lombard-street, Mr. Calamy's Sermon Preached at Aldermanbury, Decemb. 28th last. And Mr. Wat- son's Sermon against Popery. With their several Prayers. now Collected into one entire Volume, more perfect than any other extant, containing 42 Sermons. London, Printed in the Year, 1663. |
The Prayers of several of these Divines.
|
The following collection of prayers is taken from the 1663 edition of the Collection of Farewell Sermons. These are provided as helpful examples of public prayers of pastors who knew what it was to pray with the spirit and to pray with the understanding also, and likewise to give thanks so as to edify. (1 Cor. 14.) Some question might be made concerning the propriety of some of their prayers for Charles II. We will not undertake a thorough examination here, but readers who wish to satisfy themselves as to the point at which Charles II forfeited his claim to authority over the British Isles are referred to Alexander Shields' Hind Let Loose. Of this subject two things are certain: First, That when Charles II commanded his subjects to disregard and disown the Solemn League & Covenant, he necessitated and, in a manner, commanded them to disregard and disown his own authority and his exercise thereof, this Solemn League & Covenant being the only lawful ground of all their obligation to him. Secondly, That whereas this was more evident in Scotland due to the manner of the "king's" exercise of his "authority" there, (after the Restoration,) as well as the blasphemous & ridiculous acts of the Scottish "parliament" in favour of his tyranny, so there is a greater measure of Christian Charity due to pastors in England than is due to pastors in Scotland, who discerned not their duty at this juncture of time. Lastly, let it be noted concerning the variety of courses taken by those ministers who were ejected in 1662, that whatever may have been necessitated by circumstances of immediate persecution, yet, as the Gospel is so plain that every Christian ought to obey God rather than men, and as every Presbyterian owns the divine mission of ecclesiastical officers, as independent of all civil supremacy, so it was the duty of every Minister of the Gospel and Servant of Jesus Christ, at the time of the Ejection, to continue preaching and keep to his calling, (though perhaps driven from his particular charge,) trusting in his Heavenly Master to support & uphold him in the execution of his office. There is but one name for those shepherds who lay by from the necessary work of preaching the Gospel in the Land, when wolves come to devour the flock: John 10.12. On this topic, the reader may consult John Brown of Wamphray's Apologetical Relation, the United Societies' Informatory Vindication, and similar Covenanter works from that time. |
Mr. Calamy's Prayer at Aldermanbury.
OH most Holy! thou ever blessed Lord God, thou fillest Heaven and Earth with thy Presence: We pray thee fill all our hearts with the Presence of thy Grace and let it appear that thou art in the midst of us with that powerful assistance of thy Spirit, that we may receive a token of thy love from thee at this time. It is a singular favour that the doors of thy Sanctuary are open to us, and that yet we may meet together in thy Name; we pray thee continue it to us and sanctify it to us, that every Sabbath may add to our stature in Jesus Christ. We confess we have forfeited all our mercies; we have heard much of God, and Christ, and Heaven with our ears, but there is little of God, Christ, and Heaven in our hearts.
We confess many of us by hearing Sermons, are grown Sermon-proof: We know how to scoff and mock at Sermons, but we know not how to live Sermons.
It is a miracle of free grace, thou hast not taken the Gospel from us ere this time; but thou art a merciful God, and though we cannot please thee, yet Mercy pleaseth thee; and we have no argument to {} bring along with us to beg thy favour, but thy Mercy in Jesus Christ.
We pray thee that thou wilt glorify thy Sovereignty; in being gracious to us, and pardon our many and great transgressions.
Thou makest use of the malice of men for thy Glory: Thou killest Goliah with his own Sword. O help us to put our trust in thee, thou that canst kill, and cure by killing.
Bless these Nations of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and find out yet a way to save us. Pour down thy blessings upon the head and heart of our Sovereign Charles, by thy Grace, King of Great Britain, thou hast done great things for him, let him do Great things for thee. Bless him in his Royal Consort, in his Royal Relations, in his Council. Bless the Magistrates and Ministers of this Realm: Lord forgive us, for we live as if we had been delivered to work wickedness; we cannot sin at so cheap a rate as others do: we pray thee humble us under our great and grievous sins, give us repentance unto Salvation, and a lively Faith in the Blood of Jesus Christ: Quicken our graces, forgive our sins, make alive our Souls, let us be such as thou wouldst have us to be; make us Christians, not only by an outward Profession, but an inward Conversation, that we may live in Heaven, while we are on Earth, and come to Heaven when we shall leave the Earth. To that purpose, bless thy Word unto us at this time, and give us all grace to make conscience of what we heard, and how we hear, and all for Jesus Christ his sake, to whom with thy blessed Self and Spirit, be all Glory and Honour. Amen.
Mr. Nalton's Prayer at Foster-lane.
ETERNAL, most Mighty, and most glorious Lord God, thou art God alone, and besides thee there is no Saviour or helper: our strength stands in thy Name, who hast made both Heaven and Earth: of our selves we are able to do nothing that is pleasing in thy sight; we can pollute thy Name, but we cannot honour thy Name; we can run away from thee, but we cannot run unto thee, unless thou dost powerfully draw us by the holy spirit. We can grieve thy spirit, but we cannot grieve for grieving thy spirit.
Oh let thy strength be manifested in our weakness; look upon us with the favour thou bearest to thy children. Enter not into judgment with thy servants, for we cannot answer thee one of a thousand, not one thought of a thousand thoughts, nor one word of a thousand words; most of our actions have been reproveable, and the best of our services have been unprofitable: our omissions, commissions, and presumptions {} have been multiplied intolerably. Oh! how often have we taken thy Name in vain, while we have been confessing our sins: how often have we run from confessing our sins, to the committing of sins? and from committing sins, to the confessing sin again, as if we had but mocked thy sacred Majesty. Though we know thy Favour is better than life, we have parted with it upon easy terms. Oh the pride and stubbornness that is in our hearts: All the mercies thou hast bestowed upon us, have not melted us into tears for our unkindness, and all those blows that have fallen upon our backs, have not beat folly out of our hearts. We have been unprofitable all our days; some have done thee more service in one year, than we in all our time: We have forgotten thee in the day of prosperity, and sung a lullaby to our own Souls: Oh that we could speak these things with broken and bleeding hearts! But as in the time of our ignorance we could sin without reluctancy, so now we can sin without repentance. Oh that thou wouldst smite the rock, that there might flow out tears.
We can do nothing by way of expiation, if we would weep out our eyes; nothing but the blood of Christ can take away our guilt. O that there might be a spring of that blood upon our souls at this time! Oh that that blood may at this time bring a report of love, and a message of mercy to us!
Do we beg any more than thou hast promised? Oh hast not thou accepted of that satisfaction that Christ hath made in his own person? If we had suffered the torments of Hell, it could not have made that satisfaction that Christ hath made. Give us the witness of thy Spirit, and thy Love and we will say we have enough: give us hearts of flesh; crush the head of the serpent in our souls. O Lord Christ, thou camest into the world to destroy the works of the Devil in our hearts, and to build up the Kingdom of the spirit in us: Oh when shall we see the old man decay in us, and the new man to live more and more?
O be wisdom to guide us and Righteousness to cleanse us from guilt, and redemption to deliver us from the wages of sin: let us be nothing in ourselves, that we may be all in thee our saviour: Oh, honour us so far, that we may honour thee. We pray thee strengthen our weak faith, quiet our consciences, we would not live a day longer, than that we may honour thee: tread Satan under our feet, fit us for our places and employments; let not our conditions be so low, but that our hearts may be lower: we are posting to death; Oh let sin die before we die: let us know our names are written in the Book of Life, before thou take away our life. {}
Look upon thy servant, our dread Sovereign, Charles, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, oh enrich his Royal heart with all those saving graces of thy Spirit, in order unto a wise and happy Government of these Kingdoms. Look upon his Royal Consort, his Royal relations, the Lords of his Privy council, and make them blessings to this Nation. Oh sanctify thy good word; oh give thy gracious assistance to us, both in speaking and hearing: let us hear it as that word by which we must be judged, that we may be convinced by it, and say, it is the power of God to salvation to every soul of us. Let our meeting be for the better to all of us, that we may be built up in the most holy Faith; and let us know we have not sought thy face in vain for Jesus Christ his sake, our dear Saviour, for whom we bless thy Majesty, to whom with thee and thy Spirit be praise for ever. Amen.
Mr. Jenkin's Prayer at Christ Church.
MOST blessed and holy Lord God, thou art infinitely beyond our apprehensions, who wast infinitely happy before the world was made and wantest none of thy creatures nor their services to make thee more excellent than thou art in thy self: we daily want thee, thou never wantest us: thou art pleased to make use of ordinances, Ministers, Sabbaths, as thy Institutions to accomplish and bring about the great work of thy Glory, and man's Salvation: yet Lord thou dost not need them, thy Spirit is not made efficacious by these things, but it is that that makes these things efficacious: though thou art pleased to tie us to them, when we may have them and duly enjoy them, yet thou dost not tie thyself to them. We desire in these our addresses to eye the happiness of Saints that depends upon him that depends upon none: we are here in thy presence by thy goodness and grace: O whither should we go but to thee? and how should we come but by thee? Oh strengthen our faith, kill our corruptions, inflame our love, give us assurance of thy love to our souls: oh that God would teach us how to pray, that we may taste and see how good the Lord is this day, that our souls may be filled as with marrow, that we may by our own experience be able to say, It is good for us to draw nigh to God, and that a day in his house is better than a thousand elsewhere; that there may be a communion between us and God; let there be a disunion between us and sin: we confess we brought sin enough into the world with us, to cause thee to withdraw thy blessed self from us: and to cast such unprofitable servants as we are into utter darkness; we have been a long time in thy school, and {} yet how dull are we? we might have been teachers of others, but we need ourselves be taught which are the first Principles of the oracles of God: we love less than we know, and we do less than we love; we have neither done that good, nor received that good which we should, or might have done and received: We have been trees that have cumbered the ground in thy orchard, but we have brought forth no fruit. Woe unto us that we have not known the day of our visitation: many of us have one foot in the grave, and yet we have lived without God in the world; we are wise in everything but in our own Salvation; we live as if Hell were a privilege: those of us that have some knowledge of thee, have great cause to repent that we have walked so unworthily of God. Which of us pray continually, and fervently, or live the life of faith? we confess we neither take our afflictions humbly, nor our mercies thankfully, nor want our comforts contentedly, nor fill up our relations fruitfully: We live as if Hell were a scare-crow, as if all the threatenings of thy word were an empty noise, as if there were neither sweetness in Heaven, nor bitterness in Hell. When we come into thy presence, where are our hearts? what earthly dispositions do we bring along with us? the sins of our Prayers cry louder than the Supplications of our prayers; what hypocrisy and formality cleaves unto us? If thou dost not look upon the iniquities of our holy things [Exod. 28.38,] with an eye of pity, what will become of us? O Lord be pleased to smell a sweet savour of rest and peace through thy dear Son. O Lord, it is only his precious Blood that can sprinkle our hearts and quiet our Consciences, and no other thing: We do renounce our own Works, and we cry out in ourselves, Undone, undone.
It is through thy beloved Son that we are accepted: and therefore to that end bring us to him by a saving operation on thy part, and by our lively trust through the Covenant of Grace on our part: let there be such a unity between Christ and us, that all the powers of hell may not be able to separate us from thee: speak peace to our hearts, still our consciences, say I have received a sacrifice for you, I shall befriend you, I will be just and faithful to forgive your sins: my Law is fully fulfilled by another, though broken by you: my Justice is fully satisfied by another, though provoked by you: my wrath is ceased by the means of another, though incensed by you.
Oh Lord what a cordial would this be! canst not thou amongst this great multitude of people espy some that through the Spirit of thy Son would worship thee in thine own way? speak peace to every such soul. {} Is there any soul before thee, O Lord, to whom thou hast given the grace of desire? O lord give them grace according to their desire: and thou which didst regard us when we were running from thee, do not reject us now we are drawing near thee. And thou which bidst us believe by the command of thy Word, help us to believe by the operation of thy Spirit; draw us that we may be able to follow thee: thy loving kindness is better than life.
Some do say, Who will shew us any good? But Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us, and thou wilt glad our hearts more than in the time when Corn, or wine, or Oil increaseth. Let it be fair above head when it is dirty below; let us see one contrary in another; let us confute an eye of sense with an eye of faith; and when we come to see nothing here that can gratify our senses, let us have something to quiet our souls.
We would fain be at war with sin, that we may be at peace with thee though we cannot return as much as we have received, yet help us to return as much as we can: give us repentance unto life, repentance from dead works; a mourning far greater for the remembrance of sin, than we have pleasure in the committing of sin: those secret distempers in our souls, that no eye sees but thine, let us cry out, Wretched men that we are, who should deliver us from this body of sin? And as the fear of condemnation doth decrease, so let the fear of transgression increase. And because O Lord, thou hast not made us to bleed with thy greatness, O Lord make us to blush with thy goodness; let us as truly desire that Heaven would enter into us into a way of holiness here, as we desire to enter into Heaven in the way of happiness hereafter.
Let us see that our kindness to sin is cruelty to our Saviour; let not that live quietly one minute with us, that would not let Christ live: let us see there is nothing small by which the great God is offended, and an immortal soul is damned. We are to be in the world but for a while, to take a turn or two and be gone: Oh that we might make it the business of our life to get into Christ; though it be the scorn of men, and burdensome to nature, yet this is that which will bring us peace at last. Let us be what we profess ourselves to be: let us love Christ, and evangelically keep his commandments: let us live by faith, let us keep thy Commandments, let us be above the world in the world; above the love of life, and above the fear of death: let not the smiles of the world allure us nor the frowns thereof affright us from thee, but in all these things let us be more than conquerors through Jesus Christ: Let us {} love him much whom we cannot love too much: Help us to be above the power of Hell; let us ever say, My soul, it is good for me to draw nigh to God. Let us be willing rather to be saved with a few, than go to Hell in a crowd: let us live as if Eternity were long, and life but short; let us thrive in holiness, and be brought nearer to thyself by every dispensation; let us in this our day know the things that concern our peace, before they be hid from our eyes, and know the time of our visitation; and though God suffer long, he will strike at last O Lord; bow the heavens and come down among us at this time, and be with the unworthiest of thy servants; and give unto him a door or utterance, and to this great people a door of entrance, and let them be all taught of God; and let them truly find that the great God is teaching to the heart, when that a weak worm is speaking to the ear; let all the work be done by thee, and let all the praise redound unto thee; and let him that is with us be greater than he that is in the world: behold us in the Son of thy love, smell a sweet savor of rest on these our poor prayers; speak peace to our consciences, rebuke the tempter, tread him under our feet shortly, raise us up to newness of life: let us remember when that which is perfect is come, that which is imperfect shall be done away. Hear us, and help us, through our dear Redeemer: let us live for him here, and with him hereafter, and all for his sake, whom not seeing, we love, in whom believing we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: to whom, with thee, and thy Spirit, be Glory and Honour, now and forever. Amen.
Mr. Cradocott's Prayer at St. Sepulchres.
MOST glorious, and most gracious Lord God, who art God, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hast put thine own Name and stamp upon this Day, wilt thou be pleased to appear now, and prepare and dispose our unprepared and indisposed souls for holy Observation of this thine holy day. Will the Lord vouchsafe us the incomes of his Spirit, and influences of his Grace, whereby we may be enabled to offer up spiritual Sacrifice, which may be acceptable to Jesus Christ; Lord thou requirest, praying hearts, but thou hast not commanded us to use Prayer-books; and if thou wilt give us the Spirit of Prayer, we shall not need them: Lord, give us praying hearts at this time; let us find by experience that the Sabbath is a day of Souls opportunity, that thine Ordinances are full of marrow, and thou hast not said unto thy Children, the seed of Jacob, seek my face in vain. {}
We acknowledge we are unworthy to lift up our eyes to heaven, we have cause enough to cry out, God be merciful to us sinners, undeserving, ill-deserving men and women; we acknowledge our natures are blots of all wickednesses; we are by nature enemies to thy Majesty, heirs of death, children of darkness, slaves to sin, captives to lust, dead to sins and trespasses; how are our understandings darkened, and our hearts hardened? what are our hearts but a store house of malicious thoughts? a brothel house of adultery? a palace of pride? we are by nature wholly flesh, totally opposite to the holy Laws of thy Majesty, and were it not for thy renewing and restraining grace we should break forth into as vile abominations as the vilest of men: our lives have been a continual piece of rebellion against God, who did make us, and doth feed and clothe us; all thy paths have been paths of mercy to us, but we have requited thee evil for thy good, and hatred for thy love: Oh foolish men and women that we have been! we acknowledge our Gospel-sins are of a deep dye: Thou hast not been a Wilderness or Land of darkness to us; we have been exalted to heaven in the means of salvation: but, Oh! how short do we come of knowledge to the time and means we have enjoyed; and our obedience comes short of our knowledge, we have not walked up to that light which thou hast given us.
We desire to lay ourselves low before thee, O do thou open our eyes, and present us to ourselves; show us the vileness of our lives: Blessed be thy Name that thou hast laid help upon one that is mighty to save all that come to thy Majesty by him; and thou hast promised all that believe on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Oh help us to receive him in all his Offices in our hearts; help us to give him the keys of our hearts; and help us to live and die to him that died for us; and let our souls be united to thee by him, that his death may be ours, and his life ours, and his intercession ours: Oh let our unity to Christ be demonstrated to us by our communion with, and conformity to him in grace and holiness.
And we pray thee, dearest Lord, pardon our sins in the Court of heaven, and in the Court of our own consciences; besprinkle our consciences in the blood of Christ, and say to all before thee at this time, that desire to fear thee more, and serve thee better, Sons and Daughters be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you.
And do not only justify us, but sanctify us, purge our consciences from dead works; inform our understanding: conform our wills to thy holy Will; let our hearts and lives be conformed to the Image of thy {} Son, that beholding thereof, we may be changed from glory to glory; and let us have more knowledge of thy will, that we may do thy will and suffer thy will with more patience, and be filled with the fruits of Righteousness, which are to the glory of God. Let us not be empty Vines that bring forth fruit to themselves, but let us bring forth fruit to God, whereby thou mayest be glorified: Oh plant that great grace of Self-denial in our souls, and let us take the Cross of Jesus Christ and follow him wheresoever he goes.
Remember all thine, extend thy favour to those thou hast cast on beds of sickness and let there be a saving change wrought in them, before that change by death shall come, and they that are drawing nigh their time of Travel, let the arms of the All-sufficient God be under them, and be better to them than their Faith or our prayers: and look graciously upon poor children, entitle them to an inheritance that fadeth not away, make them a blessing in themselves, and a blessing to their Parents: And those that desire the conversion of Relations that walk in ways of perdition, do not let them find peace in any way against thy Majesty, and let them know that sin will be bitter in the latter end.
Look upon us that are before thee at this time, before we go hence, and shall be here no more: make thy face to shine upon us: let our coming together be for the better and not for the worse to any of us; let thy poor Servant be able to deliver thy Message plainly and powerfully and give thy People hearing ears and obedient hearts, and let us rejoice that we did wait upon thee in thy Worship this day; and all For Christ his sake, in whose Name and Words we call upon thee.
Our Father which art in Heaven, &c.
Doctor Manton's Prayer at Covent-garden.
O Lord God, all that we can do is nothing of ourselves, we can do nothing; Oh let us have the gracious Assistance of thy Spirit at this time; let thy love constrain us; say unto us, Thou art our Salvation. Do not say that we shall fill up the measure of our Iniquities, and there shall be no hope for us. O Lord, we are ashamed that we have waited so long in thine Ordinances, and have got no more profit to our poor souls; but we have given up our hearts to the pleasures and vanities of this world, that are but for a season; even those that thou hast drawn out after thee, do not walk worthy of thee (answerable to that blessed hope of future Happiness) in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, Jesus Christ is to many of us become a stumbling-block, and a rock of offence while our hearts are carried out after the world with such {} strong affections. Oh! when shall we carry ourselves so, as those that profess themselves to be seekers of a better life? We come into thy presence now for strength, do thou manifest thyself to us; thou hast promised to pour out thy Spirit upon all Flesh; Oh let it be unto us according to thy promise.
O Lord, our hearts naturally are averse to thee, so that of ourselves we shall never be able to do anything that may be well-pleasing to thee; but do thou regulate us by thy blessed Spirit, that we may observe thy statutes and do them, and that thy Commands may not be grievous to us, that it may not be burdensome for us to do the work of God; O Lord, when shall our hearts be made sound in thy statutes? we wait upon thee in the use of thine Ordinances, that we may have a new supply from thee, that at length we may come to see that thou art at work with us to save our souls; O help us to be followers of them, who with faith and patience do follow thee, & to do nothing unbecoming our holy Call: suffer us not to swerve from thy Commandments, but let us have a constant and earnest desire after thee.
Let the choicest of thy Mercies come down on our Sovereign Charles King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland; let His heart be guided by thee, & let him always set thee before his eyes that under the shadow of his Government, we may have Peace in all Godliness and honesty: Bless him in his Relations, in his Councils. Teach our Senators wisdom: Be with all thy Faithful Magistrates and Ministers, let them be a terrour to evil doers, and an encouragement to them that do well. Be with us in the way of thy worship; we are here met together to hear and handle thy holy Word, Oh do thou command it to light upon all our hearts, let it come in the evidence and demonstration of thy Spirit; and all for Christ his sake; for whom we bless thee: to him, with thee and thy holy Spirit, be Praise and Glory for evermore.
Dr. Anesley's Prayer at Giles-Cripplegate.
HOLY and great God of Heaven and Earth, such is the condescension of thy Grace, that thou art pleased to manifest thy special presence to thy poor creatures, though thou hatest sin with a perfect hatred, yet thou lovest sinners with an infinite Love; though thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, yet thou art pleased to manifest thy Love to sinners that approach to thy service. O Lord, when shall we admire enough thy Grace and Love, how thou art pleased to communicate thyself to a poor man. Dear Father, raise and fix our hearts, help us to mind the business that we come about, and to deal very faithfully with our own souls in the matters of eternal moment. Oh that we could {} pray so, that our prayers through grace might be returned upon us with a blessing. O that we could wait upon thee, to hear thy Word as the Oracles of God; let us hear what Christ will discover to us for our spiritual benefit: Lord grant that our souls may know what it is to be in the Spirit in the Lord's day: Dear Father thou canst deal with such hearts as ours for the curing of them, we pray thee do it; we must needs acknowledge, hadst not thou laid help upon one that is mighty, that is able to save to the uttermost, we must have perished to all eternity, for we do not know any upon the earth more vile than ourselves: The very aggravations of our sins, to render us monstrously abominable; the means of grace we have afforded us, the stirrings of thy spirit in us, the patience and goodness of God towards us, makes it a wonder that our hearts do remain so blockish. But dear Lord, we do find by experience, that our immortal souls are much debased; all the faculties of our souls are out of tune; our understandings are so dark, our conceptions of God are so low, our consciences are so benum'd, that the stirrings of them are scarce discerned or perceived; our affections are spent upon the creature, that we cannot gather them up again; our wills are perverse, our memories are apt to retain the dross, and let out all that is good: we pray thee for Christ's sake, make an experiment upon our souls, what thou canst do, what sinners Christ can save; what corruptions the spirit of God can subdue in our souls; teach all our hearts, do not stand behind the wall and look through the lattice; do so much as may leave us without excuse; but good Lord put thy hand in at the hole of the door, and let thy fingers drop honey upon the handle of the Lock. And, oh; set open these everlasting Doors, that the King of glory may enter in: Subdue us entirely to thyself; do not ask our wills, whether we be willing or no, but make us willing: do not ask us what we would have but give us what thou knowst is good for us. Dear Lord, we pray thee deliver us from sin according to thy hatred of it, and pour out thy grace upon us, according to thy love of grace, that our souls may be refreshed that we may find thy thoughts are above ours, as high as heaven is above the earth. Dear Father, it is thy promise, that those that wait upon thee, shall renew their strengths: we have no might; the Devil baffles us, our own hearts are treacherous to us: The world entices us to sin against God: oh! deliver us from all these enemies, & especially from the plagues of our own hearts, that we may perfect holiness in the fear of God: give us spiritual blessings, whatsoever thou givest us, or whatsoever thou deniest us; thou knowest thou art rather willing to give us spiritual blessings, than any other mercies; and we want spiritual mercies most: {} Oh give us spiritual Mercies, that we may say, This is the way of God in his Sanctuary: Where grace is not wrought, work it; where it is begun, increase it. Dear Father, convince those that are not yet convinced. Make thy word a quickening word, and engrafted word, to the saving of our souls; help us to hear as for our lives & as those that long after God. Hear Prayers for the King, bless him in his Royal Relations, and grant under him, we may live a quiet life in all godliness and honesty. Bless the Magistrates, and help them to remember, that causes one day must be heard over again. Help thy Ministers to keep close to thee in ways that are well pleasing. Be with us at this time. Lord, assist the meanest of thy servants, let our souls now find that thou dost magnify thy word above all thy Name; do us good, receive us, quicken us, that we may live in heaven upon earth, that we may know what it is to be filled with the fullness of God, and know the height, breadth, depth, and length of thy love, that passeth knowledge. Communicate thyself to us as thou usest to do to thy people; let us feel thy presence; let us not think of any thing, but the business we are about; let us with singleness of heart, set our selves to mind the concernment of our immortal souls; and all we beg for Christ his sake, who hath taught us thus to pray: Our Father, &c.
Dr. Bates his Prayer at Dunstans in the West.
O Lord, thou art a most holy high God, the Glorious Angels when they stand before thee, cover their faces (yet they did never violate thy Laws) and if they, how much more need have we to do it?
We are sinful dust and ashes; our solemn Services are sin: We desire to approach thy presence, and to have an eye to thy glory in all our services and addresses.
We beseech thee give us a serious and a deep sense of our own hearts, and vile affections, that we may cast ourselves down at thy feet with all humility: We have infinite reason to be abased in ourselves; our God help us. We came into the world with sin, and as soon as we did breathe in the air, we infected it: there is an infection and pollution in all our faculties; what coldness is there in our affections and what unbelief in our faith, and our wills do stand opposite against thy holy nature.
We confess we have had ten thousand experiences of those corruptions that are within us; for our whole Lives are full of provocations against God.
How many vain thoughts, and how many rebellious actions! blessed Father, we confess we are out of measure sinful, we have sinned against the clearest convictions of thy word, and the tender compassions of thy Gospel, against {} the most severe promises we have made of our service to God, against the checks of our own Consciences; we confess the sins of the Heathen, who live without God in the world, are small in comparison of ours, and we fear therefore a greater degree of wrath will fall upon us.
O Lord, how many ways hast thou used to reclaim us! what Arts hath thy blessed Spirit used! how many times hast thou approached to our souls, and shewed us something of thy glory, and the glory of heaven, and the terrours of hell, the one to allure us, and the other to scare us. But, Oh! how many times have we grieved thy blessed Spirit, who came to seal us, and despised thy Son who came from heaven to earth, and lived a sorrowful life, and died a shameful death? how often hath he offered us grace and glory, if we would bow to his Scepter, but we have preferred a base lust before that excellency that he hath purchased us: Oh how often hast thou condescended so far, as to entreat us to be reconciled, how easy hast thou been to forgive! and how hard have we been to be forgiven! We confess thou mightest pass an eternal Doom upon us, for we are sensible of the dishonour that we have brought upon thy Name.
Do thou at this time strike upon all these rocks that are in thy presence at this time: give us hearts of flesh, let our repentance prepare us for conversion, let there be such a thorough conviction, that thy grace and Mercy may be admirable in our eyes.
We entreat thee bear us, pardon all our iniquities, let us be monuments of thy grace and favour, speak peace to our Consciences; convey those clear evidences of thy love unto us, that may enable us to scatter all our fears, that we may rejoice in God, and have hope of glory.
Let the image of thy Son be engraven on all our hearts, and let our souls be made subject to him; while we are in the world, preserve us from the evil of it.
If thou givest us outward happiness, give us withal inward holiness: and if we do suffer, help us with patience to bear all, knowing we are in our journey and our passage to a better life; and let our whole time be spent in a serious Preparation to appear before thy Tribunal, and let us consider the unchangeableness of that state hereafter.
Remember thy whole Church, make the Name of Christ glorious in the world; shed abroad thy light and thy truth: heal our back-slidings, and love us freely: Let thine Ordinances continue among us; and let thy blessings descend upon our sovereign Lord the King, of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith; Incline his heart to thy Law, make him an instrument of publick good, protect his person, and give him prosperous affairs. Bless his Royal Consort, his Relations, his privy Council, let {} them promote solid Piety, and real Godliness. Bless the Ministers of thy Word and Sacraments: Let their labours be precious in thy sight; and remember all afflicted ones: revive thy Mourners, and let thy grace answer all their fears. Let thy presence be in the midst of us, and help us to hear as our last; and let us be raised nearer heaven, and make thy word powerful and effectual to all our souls, and let thy word subdue our lusts; and all we beg for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whose Name and words we sum up our imperfect Prayers.
Our Father which art in Heaven, &c.
Dr. Jacomb's Prayer at Martins Ludgate.
BLESSED God, thou art a God blessed for ever; thou givest Mercy to all returning and repenting sinners; thou art worthy to be praised by all that draw nigh unto thee.
Thou hast vouchsafed to us one Sabbath more; Oh that we might all of us be in the spirit upon the Lord's day, that whatever we do, we may do it in the strength of God, that we may offer spiritual Sacrifices to God this day, through our Mediator the Lord Jesus.
It is a very great condescension, that thou shouldst suffer such as we are to come unto thee; O Lord, we are unclean, we are unclean, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, we are overspread with the leprosy of sin; all the faculties of our souls are defiled; our understandings are darkened; our wills are corrupted; we have affections but they are carnal; we have hearts, but they are impure; we have consciences but they are seared: and as our inward man, so our lives are unholy; as the fountain is, so is the stream: besides that, our general guilt that we brought into the world, we are guilty of innumerable actual transgressions against thy holy Law: We think, O Lord, there are no greater sinners in the world than we; our sins are attended with many aggravations.
We have sinned against Prayers, against vows and promises; we have had as much light shining before us, as any in the world have had: great is our unbelief. Oh that we could lay these things to our hearts! We do refuse to come to Christ; we go about to establish a righteousness of our own, and reject the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ: how are our hearts glued to the present things of this world! Oh! what do we do for thy glory? How unreformed are we under all the ways of God, that he hath taken to make us a holy people! Give us a sight of our sins O Lord; we confess sometimes we do make a formal confession but we do not find our hearts melted for sin as they should. {}
Oh take away from every one of us this heart of stone, & give a heart of flesh; give us tender hearts, make us sensible of all our departing from thee. Oh let us look upon him whom we have pierced & let us mourn, that the Water of penitential sorrow may flow from us; we are strangers to ourselves; we do not see what a hell there is in our nature: Oh! how should we put our mouths in the dust, and loath ourselves, if so be there might be hope. O Lord convince us of sin, give us such a sight of sin as may make us fly to thee; give us such a sight of our own guilt, that may prepare us for the Grace of God; now we are stung with the fiery Serpents, help us to come to Jesus Christ our brazen Serpent; give us the holy Spirit to bring us out of the state of nature, to let that God that made us Creatures, make us new Creatures:—O Lord, we are thine own work, but we are dead in trespasses and sins; give us grace, and speak a word to them that are dead; put out thine Almighty Power, and draw some sinner to Christ this day; and those that have any breathings after thee, Oh! thou that gavest them that desire, carry on thine own work in them; where thou hast begun a good work, carry it on; let sin, as the house of Saul, grow weaker and weaker, and grace, as the house of David, grow stronger and stronger: Oh! increase our faith; O Lord at this time we do not only stand in need of grace but of a great measure of grace. Oh! help us by faith to rely upon God, that thou mayest help us at last: Bless with us all thine; remember thy people from one end of the world to the other: Thy people are very low; this is a time of Jacob's troubles, the Bush is burning every day. Oh thou the Hope of Israel & the Saviour thereof! shew thyself in mercy to these Nations. We bless thee for all thy mercies, that thy judgments do not seize upon us every day, that thou dost not sweep us away, that thou dost not rain Fire & Brimstone on England as thou didst on Sodom: our sins cry aloud to heaven for vengeance: God is greatly provoked every day, & it is a miracle of patience that thou hast not destroyed us. God can pardon the sins of the Nation at once; but we are not fit for pardon; we do not humble ourselves; O Lord, humble us, give repentance to England from the highest to the lowest that we may return unto thee.
We desire to bless thee, that our Enemies have not had their wills over us: they said, they would pursue and overtake, and satisfy their lusts, but God did blow upon them, and they did sink in the mighty Water and thou hast yet preserved thy Church; we pray thee do not leave us, nor remove thy Gospel, whatsoever thou dost.
Pour down the choicest of thy blessings upon our Sovereign Charles by thy Grace, of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland. Bless him with {} the Blessings of Heaven and Earth; make him a blessing to all of us: Bless him in all his Relations; the Lords of the privy Council. Look on them that have desired an interest in our prayers, known to thee are all of them; know their souls in this time of adversity; make their beds in their sickness: Give Faith to them that complain of unbelief: give the Spirit of Prayer to those that complain they cannot pray: be a Counsellor to those that want counsel in their affairs, either by Sea or Land, let thy blessing go with them wherever they go: Spare the lives of Children if it be thy will.
Prepare us for thy good and holy Word, let it be a savour of life unto life, and let it come with power unto us. Oh let us hear it as thy Word, not as the word of a poor man, but as the Word of God; and all for the Lord Christ his sake; for whom we bless thee; to whom, with thee and the Spirit of Grace, be given Glory and Honour for evermore.
Mr. Watson's Prayer in Walbrook.
O Lord God, all our springs are in thee, it is good for us to draw nigh to thee through Jesus Christ; thou art all fullness, thou art the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in him our Father; thou art our light; thou givest us these blessed opportunities of enjoying communion with thyself, God blessed for ever.
These mercies are forfeited mercies—we have abused the blessings of thy House; we have grieved thy blessed Spirit; therefore it is just with thee to deprive us of these comforts, and to make us know the worth of these mercies by the want of them.
Lord, we desire to judge ourselves, that we may not be condemned with the world: Righteous art thou, O Lord, and just in all thy judgments: we confess we are unworthy to have any converse with so holy a God: we are polluted dust and ashes not worthy to tread thy Courts, and it is of thy mercy that we are not consumed; how often have we pluckt fruit from the forbidden tree! we have sinned presumptuously against the clearest Light, and the dearest love: always have we sinned; thy footsteps have dropt fatness, thou hast shown mercy to us, but the better thou hast been to us, the worse we have been to thee; thou hast loaded us with thy mercies and we have wearied thee with our sins, when we look into ourselves, Oh the poison of our natures, whatever the Leper did touch, was unclean. Thus do we by our spiritual Leprosy infect our holy things; our prayers had need have pardon, and our tears had need have the blood of sprinkling to wash them: how vain are our vows! how sensual are our affections! we confess we are untuned and {} unstrung for every holy Action; we are never out of tune to sin, but always out of tune to pray: we give the world our mal-affections and our strong desires: we should use this world as if we used it not, and always we pray, as if we prayed not; and serve thee, as if we served thee not: there is not that reverence, nor that devotion, nor that activeness of faith that there should be. Lord, if thou wouldest say that thou wouldst pardon all our sins to this time, only judge us for this prayer, woe unto us; what breathings of unbelief and hypocrisy is there now, when we approach unto thee! we pray thee pardon us for Christ's sake. Who can tell how oft he doth offend? we can as well reckon the drops of the Ocean, as number our sins; we have filled the number of the Nation's sins, but we have not filled thy bottle with our tears: This is that that doth exceedingly aggravate our sins, that we cannot mourn for sin; we can grieve for our losses, but we cannot mourn for our unkindnesses; we have crucified the Lord of life; sin hath not only defiled us, but hardened us: nothing can melt us but the love of Christ, nothing can soften us but the blood of Christ: O withhold not thy mercies from us, O help us to eat the Passover with bitter herbs. Let us look on Christ & weep over him; let us look on a broken Christ with broken hearts, and on a bleeding Christ with bleeding hearts, let us mourn for our dis-ingenuity, that we should grieve that God that is always doing us good. Oh! humble us for our unkindness, and for Christ's sake blot out our transgressions; they are more than we can number, not more than God can pardon.
Though we have lost the duty of children, thou hast not lost the goodness of a Father: Let us be held forth as patterns of mercy, so shall we trumpet forth thy praise to all Eternity. Whatever afflictions thou layest upon our bodies, let not our sins be unpardoned, let not sin and affliction be together upon us; let there be peace in Heaven, and peace in the Court of Conscience: We have found this part of thy Word true: In the world we shall have troubles; let us find the other part true, in Jesus Christ we shall have peace. [John 16.33.] Oh let peace and holiness go together: make us new Creatures, that we may be glorious Creatures: Without Faith Christ will not profit us; when we can call nothing in the world ours, let us call Christ ours.
Lord, draw thine Image every day more lively upon us, a more lively hope, and a more inflamed love to Christ; Let us have a spirit of courage and resolution; keep us from the fallacies of our own hearts; keep us from the defilements of the times; make us pure in heart, that we may see God, that we may have Gospel spirits, humble spirits, meek spirits: as Christ did take our flesh, let us partake of his Spirit. Why {} dost thou embitter the breast of the Creature to us, but that we should find the sweetness of the Promises? There is as much in the Promises as ever; let us live upon God, let us cast anchor in Heaven, and we shall never sink.
Shower down thy blessings (even the choicest of them) upon the head and heart of our dread Sovereign Charles, by thy appointment, of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith; let him see wherein his chiefest interest lies; let him count those his best subjects, that are Christ's subjects: Bless him in his Royal Consort, in his Royal Relations, the Lords of his Privy Council; let them be a terror to evil doers, and encouragers of those that do well.
Bless all thy Ordinances to us, make them to be fullness of life to every one before thee: we are come this day to partake of them. Oh pour in Wine and oil into our souls, let us be a watered garden; let this blessed Sacrament be a poison to our lust, and nourishment for our Grace. Hear us; be our God, follow us with mercy, crown us with acceptance, and all for Christ his sake, whom not seeing, we love, in whom believing, we rejoice; to Christ, with thee and thy holy Spirit, be Glory, Honour, and Praise, now and forever, Amen.
Mr. Lye's Prayer at Allhallows Lumber-street,
O Lord our great God, thou canst do all things, for thou dost dispose and govern all the ways, and works, and words of thy Creature to thine own praise; We thy poor Creatures, the workmanship of thy hands, the price and purchase of thy Son's blood, do desire this morning to fall down and humble ourselves at the Throne of thy Grace; we desire to lift up an eye of Faith to thee, that thou mayest dart an eye of Love to us: since thou hast commanded us to come unto thee, Oh bless us now we come: Let it not be in vain for any of us, from the highest to the lowest, from the richest to the poorest, that we have sought thy Face this morning Blessed Father, pour down a spirit of Prayer, a Spirit of preaching, a Spirit of Rejoicing, a spirit of Practicing in the midst of us; let us not only be enabled to know what to do, but to do what we know. Thou that didst cure the eyes of the blind with clay and spittle, Oh heal that natural dimness that is in the best of us: Thy Rod in the hand of Moses, brought water out of the Rock: Oh do thou strike upon those rocky hearts, that our adamantine hearts being softened, may gush out into Rivers of tears. Oh drown our sins in the Red sea of our saviour's blood; help us to smite upon our thigh, and to ask ourselves {} what we have been, and what we have done? and humble us under the omission of any commanded duty and commission of any forbidden sin, sins of thoughts, words, and deeds; sins against the Law, against the Gospel, of youth, manhood, and old age; sins before, under, and since conversion; sins against prayers, vows, promises, covenants, and oaths. Oh Lord, if thou didst prefer thy Bill against us, we could not stand; if we were weighed in the balance of the Sanctuary, we should be found too light: but holy Father, remember not against us our former sins, bur rather have mercy upon us according to thy loving kindness; cross, and blot out our iniquities, blot them out so fully and wholly, that it may be to us as to Judah in the promise, that the sins of Judah should be sought for and not found.
O bathe our souls in that Fountain that was set open for Judah and Jerusalem; though our sins have been as Scarlet, let them be as white as Snow; though they be red like Crimson, let them be like Wool.
We have read that a flood of sin brought down a deluge of water, that they covered the tops of the mountains. Oh let thy deluge of mercy cover the tops of the mountains of our sins.
It is the glory of a God to pardon great sins: We desire to turn unto thee with our whole hearts; do thou subdue our iniquities; let us be not only cleansed, but let us have the efficacy of the spirit of Christ to wash us from the guilt of sin, because we boast we are not under the Law but under Grace.
Be gracious to our Sovereign Lord Charles, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland: It is thy promise that kings shall be Nursing Fathers to thy children; grant that under the shadow of his Majesty thy people may be protected, that we may live a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty. Oh let thy people possess the Land from Dan to Beersheba. Oh give us Scripture-Magistrates, and Gospel-Ministers, as long as the Sun and Moon endures.
Let thy Word be sanctified to us; let it not be only as water, to get out our spots, but as a Refiners fire to purge our dross, and take away our tin.
And holy Father, where thou hast begun a good work, do thou go on and bring it to perfection; let not the light that is in us, be like the glimmering light of the evening, but as the light of the morning that shineth more and more to the day. Let our best wine be kept to the last; let the end of our lives, be the end of sinning.
Thou hast cast our lot in the midst of temptations of all sorts, thou hast brought many of us through the red Sea; but we are in the wilderness {} with Zeba and Zalmunna, and those that dwell at Tyre, the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, and all the forces that Hell can make against us: Oh put upon us all the whole Armour of God. Now in these days of Errour, gird us with the Girdle of Truth: Oh now in these days of falsity, give us a Helmet of Hope.
Now the Devil darts at us, give us the Shield of Faith: Oh, give us the Sword of the Spirit, of the word of God, that it may enable us to confute the gain-saying of foolish men.
Oh help us to pray with all manner of prayer, constantly, fervently, faithfully, feelingly, that we stand and not fall, and that not in our strength, but in God's.
To this end be with us, upon this thine own day; our Manna falls every day, and it is double upon the Lord's day: Oh let us be as thy servant John, in the Spirit upon the Lord's day; let God by his Spirit come into our spirits, understandings, consciences, wills, memory, and affections, that all our conversations without, and affections within, may be obedient to thy Word.
Enable thy Servant to deliver thy Word faithfully: God forbid thy Servant should stand upon so sandy a foundation, as the Wisdom of Man: one iota of thy Word hath more wisdom in it, than all men and Angels have.
Good Father give thy people a hearing ear: it is too much they have played by the light of the Candle, slighted thy Manna so long: Oh now therefore today give us to hear and know, and believe, and do the things that concern our everlasting peace. Hear us for Christ his sake: to whom, with thy blessed Self and Spirit, be glory now and for ever.
The Prayer of Mr. Caryl, at Magnes, Bridge foot.
OH our Father, what a privilege is this that we may draw near to thee! all our springs are in thee: the Creature is but a dry heap a barren wilderness, 'tis but a Cistern, and a broken Cistern, It hath no water of its own, nor can it hold that which is poured into it: Oh that our hearts were taken off and dis-engaged from all things on this side thy self, that we could say with thy Servant, Whom have we in heaven but thee? and on earth there is none that we desire in comparison of thee: Then, though our flesh and hearts fail us, yet God would be our portion for ever.
We pray thee manifest thy Grace to us at all time, and especially at {} this time, that we may come before God in this publick worship as we should; Let us see thy goings out in thy Sanctuary, and let us be satisfied with the fatness of thy house, and drink of those pleasures that are for evermore.
Lord, we have given thee cause to withdraw from us, for we have not laboured to be fruitful under means: and therefore thou in judgment mightest make them hereafter to be fruitless unto us: and because we have taken no pains to get good by them, thou mightest justly say, they shall do you no good. We have heard much of thee, but we know thee but little: we acknowledge thou mightest judge us because we know so little: and thou mightest punish us, because we do so little of what we know, according as that faithless Servant was punished, which knew his Master's will, and did it not.
Oh! where be those manifestations of God that we have had? Have we had not the light of the knowledge of God shining to us in the face of Jesus Christ? But we have not rejoiced in this light, but have compassed ourselves about with sparks of our own kindling and therefore it is just we should lie down in sorrow, and yet thou lengthenest out thy patience to us, and yet we have one opportunity more to come unto thee. Oh, we pray thee, let us understand the things belonging to our peace, before they be hid from our eyes: let our souls be bound in the bundle of life with Christ Jesus: We pray thee, that that Spirit of thine may strengthen us, that the Spirit may guide us, and let us into all truth: leave us not to our own strength, nor to our own counsel, but shew us the secrets of thy Word and Works: Thou hast promised, Thy secret shall be with them that fear thee, and thou wilt shew them thy covenant.
And as thou dost give us thy Sabbaths, so give us to thrive by them; and help us to grow as the Herb, and send forth our fruit as Lebanon.
Let thy Word come with power on every one of us, that it may not be as the beating of the air, but let it fit us for Duty that we may honor our God in the midst of these changes until we come to that place where there is no change; and all for the sake of our dear Lord Jesus, to whom, with Thee and the blessed Spirit: be Glory and Honour now and for ever.
Mr. Venning's Prayer at Olaves, before Sermon.
OH Lord God, thou art the Fountain of Life, yea, thou givest to all Life, It is necessity draws us now unto thee, and we acknowledge {} it is a very great favour that thou wilt admit us to come into thy presence: Indeed the services we do, are not worthy thy acceptance, thou gettest nothing by them, but the gain of godliness is to ourselves. But woe unto us, what a loss, and what a curse will it be to us, to have a form of Godliness, and yet be ungodly? Oh Lord, how should this endear thee, and thy word and thy service, that thou wouldst have us do good for our own sakes! thou turnest our obedience into privileges; thou hast made the means of our happiness a part of it: If there were no other glory but to glorify thee, oh what a glory would it be to be found doing thy will! there is a sweetness to be found in it more than in the Honey or in the Honey comb. It is a great happiness to be conformable to God, to be loving to God, to be like to God, is the greatest happiness that we can be capable of; if we were now in heaven, we could not have other happiness, but this in a greater degree. O Lord, how should our souls be drawn forth to acknowledge thee? may we not cry out in admiration, Lord, what is man? and among the sons of men, what are we that thou art so mindful of us? Thou mightest have displayed thy Word to many thousands in the world, and we left ignorant: But blessed be thy Name, thou art pleased to admit even us also thereunto: Oh let it not be a small thing unto us, seeing we may yet live to serve God. Oh Lord, in Christ it will be worth our while to live; and in him 'twill be worth our while to die: Oh that we may mind the end of living, and the end of dying, that whether we live or die, we may be the Lord's. Indeed, it were not worth our while to live, and spend so much time in the world, if it were only to have pleasure and honour, and gratify ourselves to eat and drink, and to be merry; this is not worth our while: What would it be, O Lord, to die in our sin, and be eased of the miseries of this world, and be sent to the place of torment? But seeing thou hast provided for our living and our dying well, give us to improve these means, and that we may live and die well, let not our affections though our bodies be upon the earth, though we converse with flesh yet let not our conversation be after the flesh, but let us be like them which have sent their hearts up to heaven, and do but tarry here to finish their Master's business, and then we shall go where our hearts are and where our dear Lord Jesus Christ is.
Indeed, Lord, we have cause to complain of our hearts, how we mind this world, as it never would have an end: and the world to come, as if it would never have any beginning: as if we had no souls to mind, or had no mind to look to our souls.
We live as if all those glorious Reports thou hast made, were but as a {} tale that is told; we have cause to be ashamed that we have the means and the names of Christians, and have not lived answerable to the discovery of the Lord Jesus Christ: Indeed we have cause to bear our shame; & yet how few of us know what it is to be ashamed, to sigh over our sins, and groan over our iniquities! how few out of tenderness do mourn for sin, but as if it were indifferent to us, whether we have our sins pardoned, or the grace that we beg to be granted; and if we do beg to be pardoned, where are the souls that desire to be purged? If thou shouldst let us have our wills, Oh then we should think thou wert a good God; whereas it is thy great Love that thou dost deny us our wills: we poor wretches, we are up and down as the things of this world do come into us, and go from us; if God give us great things, then we think ourselves in Paradise, and if God take from us, then we fall out with God himself: Oh! how ill do we take it at thy hands, if thou dost not give us what we would, or take from us what we would; The doctrine of self-denial is a mere riddle to us; we would fain spend the strength of our youth in following the lust of the eye, and gratify our sensual affections; and when we come to die it may be we would have a Lord have mercy upon us in our mouths, and think it strange if God should not give us what we ask.
O Lord, convince us now, that we may be willing to be crucified to the world, and to die to sin: Lord, we may flatter with ourselves, but our hearts do but abuse us, while we think there is such contentment in the enjoying of this world; what is this when we come to die! Alas, if we were not besotted, content is sooner gained by self-denial, than by pleasing ourselves. Can we think we shall be at ease till we come to God? Is it like to be well with us while our ways are contrary to the ways of God? are not thy ways the ways of peace? Oh! how can we be at rest when our ways are contrary to thine? Oh! un-lust us; we had better part from our idols here, than that they should part us from God hereafter. Lord, if there were no other hell, this is damnation to be a sinner, for this is the nature of sin to separate us from God. Oh help us to account the reproaches of Christ, better than the honors of the Cross of Christ, better than the Crown of the world. O shew us the sinfulness of sin, and the emptiness of the world, that we may take thy Counsel, and mind thy Glory, and be ruled by thy Will: Oh how happy would it be with us if our souls were brought into such a frame! We are, Lord, as yet great strangers to the life of God, Oh! let us know what it is to live with thee, and to thee, and with thee, that we may say, For us to live is Christ, and to die is gain; and that we may say, Whom have {} we in Heaven but thee, O Lord? We depend upon thee, let thy goodness be seen, do not put us off with the means of grace, but give us grace itself. And seeing thou art pleased to make use of such a poor thing as the preaching of the Gospel is, and seeing this is the means to bring our souls to eternal life, Oh let it be so to us, that we may repent from sin, and believe in the righteousness of the Gospel: Oh Lord, thou knowest all our frailties, and all our necessities: find out them that are dead in sins, and quicken them; find out the hard hearts, and soften them; found out the proud hearts, and humble them; find out the formalists, and bring them to the power of godliness and pour in wine and oil into the wounds of the wounded in spirit; and let the administration of the Gospel, be in the demonstration of the Spirit, that as the truth is delivered to us, we may be delivered to the truth, that while we touch the hem of thy garment, Virtue may come out from thee. Thou hast said that mercy pleaseth thee, we are sure it will pleasure us. Oh! let us not loose our time, but do thou teach us to profit, and supply our wants, for the sake of our dear Lord; to whom with Thee and thy Spirit, be given more Glory, from now, unto eternity.
Mr. G. N. his Prayer.
To thee, O Lord Jesus, we commend ourselves: To thee who judgeth rightly, thy poor Servant resigneth, and committeth this Congregation. The Lord pardon unto me wherein I have been wanting unto them: The Lord pardon unto them, wherein they have been wanting in the hearing of thy Word, that we may not part with sin in our hearts. Unto thee who judgest uprightly I commend them. The Bishop of Souls take care of them: Preserve them from the love of the World: teach them to wait on thee, and to receive from thee whatever any one or Family may stand in need of.
Provide them a Pastor according unto thine own will, only in the mean time give us that Anointing [that] shall lead us out of our own wills and ways, that we may walk in the ways of Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus say now amongst them, I am your Shepherd, you shall not want. Say to them as thou didst to thy Disciples, Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in the Father, believe also in me. So far as we are able we put thy Name upon them: we name the Name of the Lord Jesus over them. The Lord Jesus bless them; teach them to follow Holiness, Peace, and a Heavenly Conversation. The Lord make them useful to each other. The Lord Jesus be a blessing to them, and me and all ours. The God of Peace and Consolation fill them with blessings according as thou seest every one stand in need of. To thee, O Lord, we commend them, do thou receive them, that under thy counsel they may be preserved blameless, until the day [of] Jesus, where we may all meet crowned with Glory. Amen.
F I N I S.