Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. A charge is made on all overdue books. University of Illinois Library rta I i la jt No: 1,5 libs hit'. U » 'inn f ., INCV 2 4 l9Sp DEC 0 « 1990 DEC 3 n 1968 9 ,■? -tjh' MAY 1 8S9 DEC 2 4 '9H. M32 - • X Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/holylivingdyingtOOtayl HOLY LIYINO AND DYING: TOGETHER WITH PRAYERS CONTAINING IBjinlp Dutij nf n CjirMian, AND THE PARTS OF DEVOTION FITTED TO ALL OCCASIONS, AND FURNISHED FOR ALL NECESSITIES. BY JEREMY TAYLOR, D. D. CflAPi^AlN IN ORDINARY TO KING CHARLES THE FIRST. NEW EDITION. CAREEULLY REVISED. LONDON: BELL & DALDY, 6, YOEK STBEET, COVENT GARDEN, AND 186, FLEET STREET. 1867. / I PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. I 240 T 2 / r ) Th'" CONTENTS. THE RULE AND EXERCISES OF HOLY LIVING. PAGE . xi Dedication CHAP. -^Consideration of the General Instruments and Means serving to a Holy Life, by way of Introduction. Sect. I.—The first General Instrument of Holy Li\fing, Care of our „ Time . .. .3 Kules for employing our Time ..... o The Benefits of this Exercise . . . . . .11 Sect. II.—The second General Instrument of Holy Livinsr, Puritv of Intention . . . . . . . .12 Rules for our Intentions . . 1 q Signs of Purity of Intention ..... Tfi Sect. III.-—The third General Instrument of Holy Living; or the I Practice of the Presence of God . . . . .19 ^ Several Manners of the Divine Presence ' . . . . * 20 . Rules of exercising this Consideration .... 2o i. The Benefits of this Exercise ..... 25 ^ Prayers and Devotions according to the Religion and Purposes of the ^ foregoing Considerations . . . . . .27 For Grace to spend our Time’well . . . . . * ib. The first Prayers in the Morning as soon as we are dressed . . 28 j An Act of Adoration, being the Song that the Angels sing in Heaven ib. I An Act of Thanlpgiving, being the Song of David, for the Morning ib. An Act of Oblation, or presenting Ourselves to God for the Day . 29 An Act of Repentance or Contrition ..... ib. Prayer or Petition . . . . . . . ’ 30 An Act of Intercession or Prayer for Others, to be added to this or any other Office, as our Devotion, or Duty, or their Needs, shall de¬ termine ns , For the Church ..... ^ ^ Another Form of Prayer, for the ^ An Ejaculation . . , For our Family For all in Misery For the King For the Clergy For Wife or Husband . For our Children For Friends and Benefactors Morning . ib. ib. ib. 31 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 32 34 > ■j ' 4 .’ IV CONTENTS. p An Exercise to be used at any Time of the Day Hymn, collected out of the Psalms, recounting the Excellences and Greatness of God . . . Another Hymn ....... Ejaculations ........ Prayer ........ A Form of Prayer for the Evening, to he said by such who have not Time or Opportunity to say the public Prayers appointed for this 0 ITlce Another Form of Evening Prayer, which may also be used at Bed¬ time ........ Ejaculations and short Meditations, to be used in the Night, when we awake ........ Ad Sect. II.] A Prayer for holy Intention in the Beginning and Pur¬ suit of any considerable Action, as Study, Preaching, &c. Ad Sect. III.] A Prayer meditating and referring to the Divine Pre¬ sence ...... . . CHAP. II.— Of Christian Sobriety. Sect. I.—Of Sobriety in the General Sense Evil Consequences of Voluptuousness or Sensuality . Degrees of Sobriety ..... Rules for suppressing Voluptuousness Sect. II.—Of Temperance in Eating and Drinking . Measures of Temperance in Eating Signs and Effects of Temperance Of Drunkenness . . . . . Evil Consequents of Drunkenness . Signs of Drunkenness . . . . . Pwules for obtaining Temperance Sect. III.— Of Chastity ..... The evil Consequents of Uncleanness Acts of Chastity in general .... Acts of Virginal Chastity .... Rules for Widows, or Vidual Chastity Rules for Married Persons, or INIatrimonial Chastity Remedies against Uncleanness .... Sect. IV. — Of Humility .... Arguments against Pride, by way of Consideration Acts or Offices of Humility .... Means and Exercises for obtaining and increasing the Grace of mility ....... Signs of Humility ..... Sect. V. —Of Modesty ..... Acts and Duties of Modesty, as it is opposed to Curiosity Acts of Modesty, as it is opposed to Boldness . Acts of Modesty, as it is opposed to Indecency Sect. VI. —Of Contentedness in all Estates and Accidents Instruments or Exercises to procure Contentedness Means to obtain Content, by way of Consideration Poverty, or a low Fortune .... The Charge of many Children .... Violent Necessities ..... Death of Children or nearest Relatives and Friends . Untimely Death ..... Hu- age 34 ib. 35 36 ib. 38 39 41 42 43 43 44 45 ib. 48 49 50 51 52 54 ib. 56 59 62 64 65 ib. 68 72 ib. 74 79 84 ib. 85 87 88 91 95 105 111 116 117 118 119 CONTENTS. PAGE Death -unseasonable ...... Sudden Death, or Violent ...... Being Childless ....... Evil or unfortunate Children ..... Our own Death . . . . . . Praj^ers for the several Graces and Parts of Christian Sobriety A Prayer against Sensuality ..... For Temperance ....... For Chastity; to be said especially by unmarried Persons A Prayer for the Love of God, to be said by Virgins and Widows professed or resolved so to live; and may be used by any one A Prayer to be said by Married Persons in behalf of themselves and each other ....... A Prayer for the Grace of Humility .... Acts of Humility and Modesty, by way of Prayer and Meditation A Prayer for a eontented Spirit, and the Grace of Moderation and Patience ....... 120 122 ib. ib. 123 ib. ib. 124 ib. ib. 12o 126 ib. 12 CHAP. III.— Of Christian Justice. Sect. I.—Of Obedience to our Superiors .... 129 Acts and Duties of Obedience to all our Superiors . . . ib. Kemedies against Disobedience, and Means to endear our Obedi¬ ence; by way of consideration . . . . .133 Degrees of Obedience ...... 136 Sect. II.—Of Provision, or that part of Justice -which is due from Su¬ periors to Inferiors . . . . . .137 Duties of Kings, and all the Supreme Power, as Lawgivers . . ib. The Duty of Superiors, as they are Judges . . . 139 The Duty of Parents to their Children . . . .140 Rules for Married Persons ...... 142 The Duty of Masters of Families ..... 144 The Duty of Guardians or Tutors ..... ib. Sect. Ill,—Of Negotiation, or Civil Contracts .... 145 Rules and Measures of Justice in Bargaining . . . ib. Sect. IV.—Of Restitution ....... 148 Rules of making Restitution . . . . .149 Prayers to be said in relation to the several Obligations and Offices of Justice . . . . . , . .155 A Prayer for the Grace of Obedience, to be said by all Persons under Command ........ ib. Prayers for Kings and all Magistrates, for our Parents, spiritual and natural, are in the following Litanies, at the end of the fourth chapter ........ 156 A Prayer to be said by Subjects when the Land is invaded and over¬ run by barbarous or wicked people, enemies of the Religion or the Government . . . . . . . ib. A Prayer to be said by Kings or Magistrates, for themselves and their People ....... 158 A Prayer to be said by Parents for their Children . . . ib. A Prayer to be said by Masters of Families, Curates, Tutors, or other obliged Persons, for their Charges ..... 159 A Prayer to be said by Merchants, Tradesm-en, and Handicraftsmen ib. A Prayer to be said by Debtors, and all persons obliged, whether by Crime or Contract . . . . . .160 A Prayer for Patrons and Benefactom ..... 161 VI CONTENTS. ‘ CHAP. ly.— Of Christian Religion. Of the Internal Actions of Religion . Sect I.—Of Faith ...... The Acts and Offices of Faith Signs of true Faith ..... The Means and Instruments to obtain Faith Sect. II.—Of the Hope of a Christian The Acts of Hope ..... Rules to govern our Hope .... Means of Hope, and Remedies against Despair Sect. III.—Of Charity, or the Love of God The Acts of Love to God .... The Measures and Rules of Divine Love Helps to increase our Love to God, by way of Exercise The two States of Love to God .... Cautions and Rules concerning Zeal Of the external Actions of Religion . . . Sect. IV.—Of reading or hearing the Word of God . Rules for hearing or reading the Word of God Advice concerning Spiritual Books and Ordinary Sermons Sect. y.—Of Fasting Rules for The Benefits of Fasting Sect. yi.—Of keeping Festivals, and Days holy to the Lord, j)articu- larly the Lord’s Day ....... Rules for keeping the Lord’s Day, and other Christian Festivals Sect. yil.—Of Prayer ....... Motives to Prayer ....... Rules for the Practice of Prayer . . . . . Cautions for making yows ...... Remedies against Wandei'ing Thoughts in Prayer Signs of Tediousness of Spirit in our Prayers and all Actions of Re¬ ligion ......... Remedies against Tediousness of Spirit .... Sect. yill.—Of Alms ....... Works of Mercy, or the several Kinds of corporal Alms . Works of Spiritual Alms and Mercy . . . . . Rules for giving Alms ...... Motives to Charity ....... Remedies against Unmercifulness and Uncharitableness . Christian Fasting O 1. Against Envy, by way of consideration .... 2. Remedies against Anger, by way of exercise . Remedies against Anger, by way of consideration 3. Remedies against Covetousness, the third Enemy of Mercy Sect. IX.—Of Repentance ...... Acts and Parts of Repentance ..... Motives to Repentance ....... Sect. X.—Of Preparation to, and the Manner how to receive, the holy Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper ..... The Effects and Benefits of worthy Communicating Prayers for all Sorts of Men and all Necessities; relating to the several parts of the yirtue of Religion .... A Prayer for the Graces of Faith, Hope, Charity Acts of Love, by way of Prayer and Ejaculation; to be used in private PASS 1G2 ib. ib. 163 16.5 167 ib. 168 170 174 175 177 178 180 ISl 183 184 185 186 187 ib. 192 ib. 194 197 198 199 205 206 207 208 211 212 213 214 220 221 ib 222 226 228 233 235 211 243 250 252 ib 253 CONTENTS. Vll PAGE A Prayer to be said in any Affliction, as Death of Children, of Hus¬ band or Wife, in great Poverty, in Imprisonment, in a sad and dis¬ consolate Spirit, and in temptations to Despair . Ejaculations and short Meditations to be used in time of Sickness and Sorrow, or Danger of Death ... . . An Act of Faith concerning the Resurrection and the Day of Judg¬ ment, to be said by Sick Persons, or meditated . Short Prayers to be said by Sick Persons .... Acts of Hope, to be used by Sick Persons after a pious Life A Prayer to be said in behalf of a Sick or Dying Person A Prayer to be said in a Storm at Sea An Act of Resignation ....... A Form of a Vow in the time of Danger .... A Form of a Prayer to be used for a blessing on an enterprise A Prayer before a Journey . . ... Ad Sect. IV.] A Prayer to be said before the hearing or reading the Word of God ........ Ad Sect. y. IX. X.] A Form of Confession of Sins and Repentance ; to be used upon Fasting Days, or Days of Humiliation ; especially in Lent, and before the Holy Sacrament .... Prayer .*...... Ad Sect. VI.] Special Devotions to be used upon the Lord’s Day, and the great Festivals of Christians ..... [1.] Ex Liturgia S. Basilii magna ex parte .... A short Form of Thanksgiving to be said upon any special Deliver¬ ance, as from Childbirth, from Sickness, from Battle, or imminent Danger at Sea or Land, &c. ...... A Prayer of Thanksgiving after the receiving of some great Blessing, as the Birth of an Heir, the Success of an honest Design, a Victory, a good Harvest, &c. ...... A Prayer to be said on the Feast of Christmas, or the Birth of our blessed Saviour Jesus : the same also may be said on the Feast of the Annunciation and Purification of the B. Virgin Mary . A Prayer to be said upon our Birthday, or Day of Baptism A Prayer to be said upon the Days of the Memory of Apostles, Mar¬ tyrs, &c. ........ A Form of Prayer recording all the parts and mysteries of Christ’s Passion, being a short history of it; to be used especially in the Week of the Passion, and before the receiving of the blessed Sacra¬ ment ........ Prayer ......... Ad Sect. VII. VIII. X.] A Form of Prayer or Intercession for all Estates of People in the Christian Church : the parts of which may be added to any other forms ; and the whole office, entirely as it lies, is proper to be said in our preparation to the Holy Sacrament, or on the day of celebration ...... 1. For Ourselves ....... 2. For the whole Catholic Church . . . . . 3. For all Christian Kings, Princes, and Governors 4. For all the Orders of them that minister about Holy Things 5. For our nearest Relatives, as Husband, Wife, Children, Family, &o ••••••••• 6 . For our Parents, our Kindred in the Flesh, our Friends and Be¬ nefactors ........ 7. For all that lie under the Rod of War, Famine, Pestilence : to be said in the Time of Plague or War, &c. .... 254 ib. 256 ib. 258 259 260 ib. ib 261 ib ib. ib. 264 ib. 265 269 271 272 273 274 ib. 278 ib. 279 ib. ib. 280 ib. 281 ib. CONTENTS.’ • • • Vlll PAGE 8. For all 'Womeii with. Child, and for unborn Children . . 281 9, For all Estates of Men and Women in the Christian Church . 282 Ad Sect. X.] The Manner of using these Devotions, by way of Prepar¬ ation to the receiving the blessed Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper 284 A Prayer of Preparation or Address to the Holy Sacrament . . ib. An Act of Love ....... ib. An Act of Desire. . , . . . . ' . ib. An Act of Contrition ...... 285 An Act of Faith . . . . . . , . ib. Petition ........ 286 Ejaculations to be said before, or at the receiving, the Holy Sacra¬ ment ........ lb. Ejaculations to be used any Time that Day, after the Solemnity is ended ......... 289 THE EULE AND EXEECISES OF HOLY DYING. Dedication ........ 291 CHAP. I .—A General Preparation towards a holy and blessed Deaths by way of consideration. Sect. I.—Consideration of the Vanity and Shortness of Man’s Life . 299 Sect. II.—The Consideration reduced to Practice . . . 305 Sect. III.—Rules and Spiritual Arts of lengthening our Days, and to take off the objection of a Short Life . . . .312 Sect. IV.—Consideration of the Miseries of Man’s Life . . 322 Sect. V.—The Consideration reduced to Practice . . . 327 CHAP. 11.—A General Preparation towards a holy and blessed Deaths by loay of exercise. Sect. I.—Three Precepts preparatory to a holy Death, to be practised in our whole Life ....... 330 Sect. II.—Of daily Examination of our Actions in the whole Course of our Health, preparatory to our Death-bed . . . 335 Reasons for a daily Examination . . , . . ib. The Benefits of this Exercise ..... 337 Sect. III.—Of exercising Charity during our whole Life . . 343 Sect. IV.—General Considerations to enforce the former Practices . 345 The Circumstances of a Dying Man’s Sorrow and Danger . . 346 CHAP. HI .—Of the State of Sickness, and the Temptations incident to it, with their proper Remedies, Sect. I.—Of the State of Sickness ..... 349 Sect. II.—Of the first Temptation proper to the State of Sickness, Im¬ patience ........ 352 Sect. III.—Constituent or integral Parts of Patience . . . 354 Sect. IV.—Remedies against Impatience, by way of Consideration . 356 Sect. V.—Remedies against Impatience, by way of Exercise . . 364 CONTENTS. IX PAGE Sect. VI.—Advantages of Sickness ..... 368 Sect. VII.—'The second Temptation proper to the State of Sickness, Fear of Death, with its Remedies .... 382 Remedies against the Fear of Death, by way of Consideration . 383 Sect. VIII.—Remedies against the Fear of Death, by way of Exercise 388 Sect. IX.—General Rules and Exercises whereby our Sickness may be¬ come safe and sanctified ...... 394 CHAP. IV.— Of the Practice of the Graces proper to the State of Sicknessy which a Sick Man may practise alone. Sect. I.—Of the Practice of Patience .... 402 The Practice and Acts of Patience, by way of Rule . . . 403 Sect. II.—Acts of Patience, by way of Prayer and Ejaculation . 410 The Prayer to be said in the Beginning of a Sickness . .414 An Act of Resignation, to be said by a Sick Person in all the evil Ac¬ cidents of his Sickness . . . . . . ib. A Prayer for the Grace of Patience ..... 415 A Prayer to be said when the Sick Man takes Physic . . 416 Sect. III.—Of the Practice of the Grace of Faith in the Time of Sick¬ ness ......... 417 Sect. IV.—Acts of Faith, by way of Prayer and Ejaculation, to be said by Sick Men, in the Days of their Temptation . . . 421 The Prayer for the Grace and Strengths of Faith . . . 423 Sect. V.—Of the Practice of the Grace of Repentance in Sickness . ib. Sect. VI.—Rules for the Practice of Repentance in Sickness . . 428 Means of exciting Contrition, or Repentance of Sins, proceeding from the Love of God ...... 431 Sect. VII.—Acts of Repentance, by way of Prayer and Ejaculation, to be used especially by Old Men in their Age, and by all Men in their Sickness ....... 436 A Prayer for the Grace and Perfection of Repentance . . 438 A Prayer for Pardon of Sins, to be said frequently in time of Sick¬ ness, and in all the portions of Old Age .... 439 An Act of holy Resolution of Amendment of Life, in case of Recovery 441 Sect. VIII.—An Analysis or Resolution of the Decalogue, and the Special Precepts of the Gospel, describing the Duties enjoined, and the Sins forbidden respectively ; for the Assistance of Sick Men in making their Confessions to God and his Ministers, and the ren¬ dering their Repentance more particular and perfect . . 442 I. Comm. Thou shalt have none other Gods but me . . ib. II. Comm. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor worship it . . . . . . , . 443 III. Comm. Thou shalt not take God’s name in vain . . 444 IV. Comm. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day . 445 V. Comm. Honour thy father and thy mother . . . ib. VI. Comm. Thou shalt do no murder .... 446 VII. Comm. Thou shalt not commit adultery . . . 447 VIII. Comm. Thou shalt not steal . . . . ib. IX. Comm. Thou shalt not bear false witness . . . 448 X. Comm. Thou shalt not covet ..... ib. The Special Precepts of the Gospel ..... 449 Sect. IX.—Of the Sick Man’s Practice of Charity and Justice, by way of Rule ........ 452 Sect. X.—Acts of Charity, by way of Prayer and Ejaculation ; which may also be used for Thanksgiving in case of Recovery . . 457 Prayer ... .... 458 X CONTENTS. CHAP. y.— Of the Visitation of the Sick; or the Assistance that is to he done to Dying Persons by the Ministry of their Clergy Guides. PAGE Sect. I.—General Observations ...... 460 Sect. II.—Rules for the Manner of Visitation of sick Persons , 462 Sect. III.—Of ministering in the Sick Man’s Confession of Sins and Repentance ....... 465 Arguments and Exhortations to move the Sick Man to Confession of Sins ........ ib. Instruments, by 'way of Consideration, to awaken a careless Person and a stupid Conscience ...... 468 Sect. IV.—Of the Ministering to the Restitution and Pardon, or Re¬ conciliation of the Sick Person, by administering the Holy Sacra¬ ment ......... 477 Sect. V.—Of ministering to the Sick Person by the Spiritual Man, as he is the Physician of vSouls ...... 487 Considerations against Unreasonable Fears of not having our Sins pardoned ........ 488 An Exercise against Despair in the Day of our Death . . 494 Sect. VI.—Considerations against Presumption .... 500 Sect. VII.—Offices to be said by the Minister in his Visitation of the Sick A Prayer to be said by the Priest secretly .... A Psalm ........ Another Prayer ....... A Prayer to be said by the Standers-by Another Prayer ....... Ejaculations ....... The Blessing ....... The Doxology A Prayer to be said in the Case of a sudden Surprise by Death, as by a mortal Wound, or e^il Accidents in Childbirth, when the Fonns and Solemnities of Preparation cannot be used . . . 512 Sect. VIII.—A Peroration concerning the Contingencies and Treatings of our departed Friends after Death, in order to their Burial, &c. 513 . 503 ib. . ib. 504 . 507 509 . 510 511 . ib. TO THE EIGHT HONOURABLE AND TRULY NOBLE RICHARD LORD VAUGHAJI, EARL OF CARBERY, KNIGHT OF THE HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH. My Lord, I HAVE lived to see religion painted upon banners, and thrust out of churches; and the temple turned into a tabernacle, and that tabernacle made ambulatory, and covered with skins of beasts and torn curtains; and God to be worshipped, not as he is, “ the Father of our Lord Jesus,” (an afflicted Prince, the King of sufferings,) nor as the “ God of peace,” (which two appellatives God newly took upon him in the Kew Testament, and glories in for ever,) but he is owned now rather as ‘‘ The Lord of hosts,” which title he was pleased to lay aside, when the kingdom of the gospel was preached by the Prince of peace. But when religion puts on ar¬ mour, and God is not acknowledged by his KeAV Testament titles, religion may have in it the power of the sword, but not the power of godliness; and we may complain of this to God, and amongst them that are afflicted, but we have no remedy but what we must expect from the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, and the returns of the God of peace. In the mean time, and now that* religion pre¬ tends to stranger actions upon new principles; and men are apt to prefer a prosperous error before an afflicted truth ; and some will think they are religious enough if their Avorshippings have in them the prevailing ingredient; and the ministers of religion are so scat¬ tered that they cannot unite to stop the inundation, and from chairs or pulpits, from their synods or tribunals, chastise the iniquity of the error, and the ambition of evil guides, and the infidelity of the willingly seduced multitude ; and that those feAV good people who have no other plot in their religion but to serve God and save their souls, do want such assistances of ghostly counsel as may serve their emergent needs, and assist their endeavours in the acquist of Aurtues, and relieve their dangers Avhen they are tempted to sin and death; —I thought I had reasons enough inviting me to draAv into one Xll DEDICATIOX. body those advices which the several necessities of many men must use at some time or other, and many of them daily; that by a col¬ lection of holy precepts they might less feel the want of personal and attending guides, and that the rules for conduct of souls might be committed to a book which they might always have ; since they could not always have a prophet at their needs, nor be suffered to go up to the house of the Lord to inquire of the appointed oracles. I know, my Lord, that there are some interested persons who add scorn to the afflictions of the church of England; and, because she is afflicted by men, call her “ forsaken of the Lord and be¬ cause her solemn assemblies are scattered, think that the religion is lost, and the church divorced from God, supposing Christ (who was a man of sorrows) to be angry with his spouse when she is like him [for that is the true state of the error] ; and that he who promised his Spirit to assist his servants in their troubles, will, because they are in trouble, take away the Comforter from them; who cannot be a comforter but while he cures our sadnesses, and relieves our sorrows, and turns our persecutions into joys, and crowns, and sceptres. But, concerning the present state of the church of England, I consider, that because we now want the blessings of external communion in many degrees, and the circumstances of a prosperous and unafflicted people, we are to take estimate of our¬ selves with single judgments, and every man is to give sentence concerning the state of his own soul by the precepts and rules of our Lawgiver, not by the after-decrees and usages of the church; that is, by the essential parts of religion, rather than by the uncer¬ tain significations of any exterior adherences: for, though it be un¬ certain when a man is the member of a church whether he be a mem¬ ber to Christ or no, because in the church's net there are fishes good and bad ; yet we may be sure that, if we be members of Christ, we are of a church to all purposes of spiritual religion and salva¬ tion ; and in order to this, give me leave to speak this great truth :— That man does certainly belong to God, who, 1. Believes and is baptized into all the articles of the Christian faith, and studies to improve his knowledge in the matters of God, so as may best make him to live a holy life. 2. He that, in obedience to Christ, wor¬ ships God diligently, frequently, and constantly, with natural reli¬ gion; that is, of prayer, praises, and thanksgiving. 3. He that takes all opportunities to remember Christs death by a frequent sacrament, (as it can be had,) or else by inward acts of understand¬ ing, will, and memory, (which is the spiritual communion,) supplies the want of the external rite. 4. He that lives chastely; 5. And is merciful; 6. And despises the world, using it as a man, but never suffering it to rifle a duty; 7. And .is just in his dealing, and dili¬ gent in his calling. 8. He that is humble in his spirit; 9. And obe¬ dient to government; 10. And content in his fortune and employ¬ ment. 11. He that does his duty because he loves God; 12. And DEDICATION. Xlll especially if, after all this, he be afflicted, and patient, or prepared to sutler affliction for the cause of God: the man that hath these twelve signs of grace and predestination, does as certainly belono- to vrocl, and is nis son as suroly, as he is his croaturc. ^ And if my brethren in persecution and in the bonds of the Lord Jesus can truly show these marks, they shall not need be troubled tliat others can show a prosperous outside, great revenues, public assemblies, uninterrupted successions of bishops, prevailino- armies or any arm of flesh or less certain circumstance. These" are the marks ot the Lord Jesus, and the characters of a Christian; this is a good religion; and these things God’s grace hath put into our powers, and God s laws have made to be our duty, and the nature of men and the needs of commonwealths have made to be necessary I he other accidents and pomps of a church are things without our power, and are not m our choice: they are good to be used when they may be had, and they help to illustrate or advantage it; but It any of them constitute a church in the being of a society and a government, yet they are not of its constitution, as it is Christian and hopes to be saved. • case is so with us that we are reduced to that reli¬ gion which no man can forbid; which we can keep in the midst of a persecution; by which the martyrs, in the days of our fathers, went to heaven; that by which we can be servants of God, and re¬ ceive the spirit of Christ, and make use of his comforts, and live in perish' charity with all men : and they that do so cannot My Loiffl, I have now described some general lines and features of that religion which I have more particularly set down in the lollowing pages; m which I have neither served nor disserved the interest of any party of Christians, as they are divided by un¬ charitable names from the rest of their brethren; and no man will have reason to be angry with me for refusing to mingle in his un¬ necessary or vicious quarrels; especially while I study to do him pod by conducting him in the narrow way to heaven, without in- tricatmg hm m the ippinths and wild turnings of questions and uncertain talkings. I have told what men ought to do, and bv what means they may be assisted; and in most cases I have also told them why; ap yet with as much quickness as I could think necessary to establish a rule, and not to engage in homily or dis- f 2 although they are plain, useful, and fitted for the best and worst understandings, and for the needs ot all men, yet I shall desire the reader to proceed with the follow- ing advices. 1. They that will with profit make use of the proper instruments ot virtue, must so live as if they were always under the physician’s Hand, b or the counsels of religion are not to be applied to the dis¬ tempers of the soul as men used to take hellebore; but they must XIV DEDICATION. dwell together with the spirit of a man, and be twisted about his understanding for ever; they must be used like nourishment, that is, by a daily care and meditation; not like a single medicine, and upon the actual pressure of a present necessity: for counsels and wise discourses, applied to an actual distemper, at the best are but like strong smells to an epileptic person; sometimes they may raise him, but they never cure him. The following rules, if they be made familiar to our natures and the thoughts of every day, may make virtue and religion become easy and habitual; but when the temptation is present, and hath already seized upon some portions '^f our consent, we are not so apt to be counselled, and we find no gust or relish in the precept: the lessons are the same, but the in¬ strument is unstrung, or out of tune. 2. In using the instruments of virtue, we must be curious to dis¬ tinguish instruments from duties, and prudent advices from neces¬ sary injunctions; and if by any other means the duty can be secured, let there be no scruples stirred concerning any other helps : only if they can, in that case, strengthen and secure the duty, or help to¬ wards perseverance, let them serve in that station in which they can be placed. For there are some persons in whom the Spirit of God hath breathed so bright a flame of love, that they do all their acts of virtue by perfect choice and without objection, and their zeal is warmer than that it will be allayed by temptation; and to such persons mortification by philosophical instruments, as fasting, sackcloth, and other rudenesses to the body, is wholly useless; it is always a more uncertain means to acquire any virtue, or secure any duty; and if love hath filled all the corners of our soul, it alone is able to do all the work of God. 3. Be not nice in stating the obligations of religion; but Avhere the duty is necessary, and the means very reasonable in itself, dis¬ pute not too busily whether, in all circumstances, it can fit thy par¬ ticular ; but “ super totam materiam,” upon the whole make use of it. For it is a good sign of a great religion, and no imprudence, when we have sufficiently considered the substance of affairs, then to be easy, humble, obedient, apt, and credulous in the circumstances, which are appointed to us in particular by our spiritual guides, or, in general, by all wise men in cases not unlike. He that gives alms does best not always to consider the minutes and strict measures of liis ability, but to give freely, incuriously, and abundantly. A man must not weigh grains in the accounts of his repentance; but for a great sin have a great sorrow, and a great severity; and in this take the ordinary advices, though, it may be, a less rigour might not he insufficient; aKpif^oSiKaiov^ or arithmetical measures, especially of our own proportioning, are but arguments of want of love and of forwardness in religion ; or else are instruments of scruple, and then become dangerous. Use the rule heartily and enough, and there will be no harm in thy error if any should happen. DEDICATION. XV 4.^ If thou intendest heartily to serve God, and avoid sin in anv one instance, refuse not the hardest and most severe advice that is I prescribed in order to it, though possibly it be a stranger to thee • I tor whatsoever it be, custom will make it easy. ’ , 5. When many instruments for the obtaining any virtue or re¬ straining any vice, are propounded, observe which of them fits thv person or the circumstances of thy need, and use it rather than the other; that by this means thou mayest be engaged to watch and use spiritual arts and observation about thy soul. Concernino- the managing of which, as the interest is greater, so the necessities are more, and the cases more intricate, and the accidents and dangers greater and more importunate; and there is greater skill required than in the securing an estate, or restoring health to an infirm body. I wish all men m the world did heartily believe so much ot this as IS true; it would very much help to do the work of God ^ J^and to reach out this little scroll of cautions to all those, who, by seeing your honour- ed name set before my book, shall, by the fairness of such a frontis¬ piece, be invited to look into it. I must confess it cannot but look like a design in me, to borrow your name and beg your patronage to mv book, that, if there he no other worth in it, yet at least it may have the splendour and warmth of a burning-glass, which, borrowing a flame from the eye of heaven, shines and burns by the rays of the sun its patron. ^ I will not quit myself from the suspicion, for I cannot pretend it to be a present either of itself fit to be offered to such a personage, or any part of a just return ; but I humbly desire you would o\\n it for an acknowledgment ot those great endearments and noblest usages you have past upon me; but so men in their rel^ion give a, piece of gum, or the fat of a cheap lamb, in sacrifice to film that gives them all that they have or need; and unless He who was pleased to employ your Lordship as a great minister of his providence, in making a promise of his good to me, the meanest of bis servants, that he would never leave me nor forsake me,” shall enable me, by greater services of religion, to pay my great debt to your honour, I must still increase my score; since I shall now spend as inuch in my needs of pardon for this boldness, as in the reception 11 * ^ accountable to your Lordship in all the bands of service and gratitude; though I am, in the deepest sense of duty and affection, My most honoured Lord, Your Honour’s most obliged And most humble Servant, JEK. TAYLOR. r' I t '‘4 . r?'i:l'•;■' ■• • ’«iF^ • / \J» '.. s?? n ' ’'S*'r; - *'; . • -^c ‘ ;.yrrrv^'“ >'v-’V' ^ j jj C' ■ * •« - W 4. il^". ^ ■ ‘ ‘V -> f . . ■!^^: 5 l'^v^ir&|^;--^rtl 5 ^fi Vv.a' pr. ■;i^ vJBlfc .. '1^ ..Ls ■ ^r- • ■ ’"O &r-. v-y^a •. , •■•**•'*.. ' *&, . •-J'-C.. Tli liT^ii I I » a k ' • ' • / •■ /. .,■' “•1y '(,';' ^'>'’'^j^'*^'''' ■'. Jifci ‘‘f'" i‘^'4: ■ . ■« <> THE EXILE AND EXEECISES OF HOLY LIVII^G, &c. CHAPTER I. COXSIDEE.ATIOX OF THE GENERAL INSTRUMENTS AND MEANS SERVING TO A HOLY LIFE, BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION. It is necessary that every man should consider, that, since God hath given him an excellent nature, wisdom and choice, an understanding soul, and an immortal spirit; having made him lord over the beasts, and but a little lower than the angels; he hath also appointed for him a work and a service great enough to employ those abilities, and hath also designed him to a state of life after this, to which he can only arrive by that service and obedience. And therefore, as every man is wholly God’s own portion by the title of creation, so all our labours and care, all our powers and faculties, must be wholly employed in the service of God, and even all the days of our life ; that, this life being ended, we may live with him for ever. Neither is it sufficient that we think of the service of God as a work of the least necessity, or of small employment, but that it be done by us as God intended it; and that it be done with great earnestness and passion, with much zeal and de¬ sire ; that we refuse no labour ; that we bestow upon it much time; that we use the best guides, and arrive at the end of glory by all the ways of grace, of prudence, and religion. And, indeed, if we consider how much of our lives is taken up by the needs of nature ; how many years are wholly spent, before we come to any use of reason; how many years more, before that reason is useful to us to any great purposes ; how imperfect our discourse is made by our evil education, false B o THE INTRODUCTION TO HOLY LIFE. principles, ill conipany, bad examples, and want of experience ; bow many parts of our wisest and best years are spent in eat¬ ing and sleeping, in necessary businesses and unnecessary vani¬ ties, in worldly civilities and less useful circumstances, in the learning arts and sciences, languages, or trades ; that little portion of hours that is left for the practices of piety and re¬ ligious walking with God, is so short and trifling, that, were not the goodness of God infinitely great, it might seem un¬ reasonable or impossible for us to expect of him eternal joys in heaven, even after the well spending those few minutes which are left for God and God’s service, after we have served ourselves and our own occasions. And yet it is considerable, that the fruit which comes from the many days of recreation ^nd vanity is very little ; and, although we scatter much, yet we gather but little profit: but from the few hours we spend in prayer and the exercises of a pious life, the return is great and profitable ; and what we sow in the minutes and spare portions of a few years, grows up to crowns and sceptres in a happy and a glorious eternity. 1. Therefore, although it cannot be enjoined, that the greatest part of our time be spent in the direct actions of de¬ votion and religion, yet it will become, not only a duty, but also a great providence, to lay aside, for the services of God and the businesses of the Spirit, as much as we can; because God rewards our minutes with long and eternal happiness; and the greater portion of our time we give to God, the more we treasure up for ourselves ; and no man is a better mer¬ chant than he that lays out his time upon God, and his money upon the poor.” 2. Only it becomes us to remember, and to adore God’s goodness for it, that God hath not only permitted us to serve the necessities of our nature, but hath made them to become parts of our duty ; that if we, by directing these actions to the glory of God, intend them as instruments to continue our persons in his service, he, by adopting them into religion, may turn our nature into grace, and accept our natural actions as actions of religion. God is pleased to esteem it for a part of Ins service,^ if we eat or drink; so it be done temperately, ^ TIvOohevov TLvbg^ ttwc £crrtV iaQiuv ap^rrTujq ^eolg; ei diKaio)Q tcrriv, fcai eiiyvajj-ioviog, Kai ’l(Tiog, Kai iyKparujg, Kal tcoa^'nog, ovk tan Kai dpeariitg roig ^ao7g. —Arrian, Epict. 1. i. c. 13. CARE OF OUR TIME. and as may best preserve our health, that our health may en¬ able our services towards him : and there is no one minute of our lives, (after we are come to the use of reason,) but we are or may be doing the work of God, even then when we most of all serve ourselves. 3. To which if we add, that in these and all other actions of our lives we always stand before God, acting, and speaking, and thinking in his presence, and that it matters not that our conscience is sealed with secrecy, since it lies open to God ; it will concern us to behave ourselves carefully, as in the pre¬ sence of our Judge. These three considerations, rightly managed, and applied to the several parts and instances of our lives, will be like Elisha stretched upon the child, apt to put life and quickness into every part of it, and to make us live the life of grace, and do the work of God. I shall, therefore, by way of introduction, reduce these three to practice, and show how every Christian may improve ail and each of these to the advantage of piety, in the whole course of his life; that if he please to bear but one of them upon his spirit, he may feel the benefit, like an universal instrument, helpful in all spiritual and temporal actions. Sect. I. The first general Instrument of Holy Living^ Care of our Time. He that is choice of his time will also be choice of his com¬ pany, and choice of his actions ; lest the first engage him in vanity and loss ; and the latter, by being criminal, be a throw¬ ing his time and himself away, and a going back in the accounts of eternity. God hath given to man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends ; but so, that for every hour of our life (after we are persons capable of laws, and know good from evil) we must give account to the great Judge of men and angels. And this is it which our blessed Saviour told us, that we must account for every idle word ; not mean¬ ing, that every word which is not designed to edification, or is less prudent, shall be reckoned for a sin ; but that the time which we spend in our idle talking and unprofitable discours- ings, that time which might and ought to have been employed to spiritual and useful purposes, that is to be accounted for. R 2 4 CARE OF OUR TIME. For we must remember, that we have a great work to do, many enemies to conquer, many evils to prevent, much danger to run through, many difficulties to be mastered, many neces¬ sities to serve, and much good to do ; many children to provide for, or many friends to support, or many poor to relieve, or many diseases to cure; besides the needs of nature and of rela¬ tion, our private and our public cares, and duties of the world, which necessity and the providence of God have adopted into the family of Religion. And that we need not fear this instrument to be a snare' to us, or that the duty must end in scruple, vexation, and eter¬ nal fears, we must remember, that the life of every man may be so ordered (and indeed must) that it may be a perpetual serving of God: the greatest trouble and most busy trade and worldly encumbrances, when they are necessary, or charitable, or profitable in order to any of those ends which we are bound to serve, whether public or private, being a doing God’s work. For God provides the good things of the world to serve the needs of nature, by the labours of the ploughman, the skill and pains of the artisan, and the dangers and traffic of the mer¬ chant : these men are, in their calling, the ministers of the Divine Providence, and the stewards of the creation, and serv¬ ants of a great family of God, the world, in the employment of procuring necessaries for food and clothing, ornament, and physic. In their proportions, also, a king, and a priest, and a prophet, a judge, and an advocate, doing the Avorks of their employment according to their proper rules, are doing the work of God; because they serve those necessities Avhich God hath made, and yet made no provisions for them but by their ministry. So that no man can complain that his calling takes him off from religion ; his calling itself, and his very worldly employment in honest trades and offices, is a serving of God; and, if it be moderately pursued, and according to the rules of Christian prudence, Avill leave void spaces enough for prayers and retirements of a more spiritual religion. God hath given every man work enough to do, that there shall be no room for idleness; and yet hath so ordered the Avorld, tliat there shall be space for devotion. He that hath the fewest businesses of the world is called upon to spend more time in the dressing of his soul; and he that hath the most affairs may so order them that they shall be a service of CARE OF OUR TIME. 5 God; whilst at certain periods, they are blessed with prayers and actions ot religion, and all day long are hallowed by a holy intention. However, so long as idleness is quite shut out from our lives, all the sins of.wantonness, softness, and effeminacv are prevented, and there is but little room left for temptation ; and, therefore, to a busy man temptation is fain to climb up toge¬ ther with his businesses, and sins creep upon him only by ac¬ cidents and occasions ; whereas to an idle person they come in a full body, and with open violence, and the impudence of a restless importunity. Idleness is called the sin of Sodom and her daughters,^^^ and indeed is the burial of a living man ^ an idle person being so useless to any purposes of God and man, that he is like one that is dead, unconcerned in the changes and neces¬ sities of the world; and he only lives to spend his time, and eat the fruits of the earth: like a vermin or a wolf, when their time comes they die and perish, and in the mean time do no good; they neither plough nor carry burdens ; all that they do either is unprofitable or mischievous. Idleness is the greatest prodigality in the world; it throws away that which is invaluable in respect of its present use, and irreparable when it is past, being to be recovered by no power of art or nature. But the way to secure and improve our time we may practise in the following Rules. Rules for employing our Time, 1. In the morning, when you awake, accustom yourself to think first upon God, or something in order to his service ; and at night also, let him close thine eyes: and let your sleep be necessary and healthful, not idle and expensive of time, beyond the needs and conveniences of nature; and sometimes be curious to see the preparation which the sun makes, when he is coming forth from his chambers of the east. 2. Let every man that hath a calling be diligent in pur¬ suance of its employment, so as not lightly or without reason¬ able occasion to neglect it in any of those times which are usually, and by the custom of prudent persons and good hus¬ bands, employed in it. 3. Let all the intervals or void space of time be employed 2 Ezek. xvi. 49 3 Senec. 6 CARE OF OUR TIME. in prayers, reading, meditating, works of nature, recreation, charity, friendliness and neighbourhood, and means of spiritual and corporal health; ever remembering so to work in our calling, as not to neglect the work of our high calling; but to begin and end the day with God, with such forms of devotion as shall be proper to our necessities. 4. The resting days of Christians, and festivals of the church, must, in no sense, be days of idleness; for it is better to plough upon holy days, than to do nothing or to do vicious¬ ly : but let them be spent in the works of the day, that is, of religion and charity, according to the rules appointed.'^ 5. Avoid the company of drunkards and busy-bodies, and all such as are apt to talk much to little purpose; for no man can be provident of his time that is not prudent in the choice of liis company ; and if one of the speakers be vain, tedious, and trilling, he that hears, and he that answers, in the discourse, are equal losers of their time. 6. Never walk with any man, or undertake any trifling em¬ ployment, merely to pass the time away for every day well spent may become a ‘‘day of salvation,” and time rightly em¬ ployed is an “ acceptable time.” And remember, that the time thou triflest away was given thee to repent in, to pray for par¬ don of sins, to work out thy salvation, to do the work of grace, to lay up against the day of judgment a treasure of good works, that thy time may be crowned with eternity. 7. In the midst of the works of thy calling, often retire to God^ in short prayers and ejaculations; and those may make up the want of those larger portions of time, which, it may be, thou desirest for devotion, and in which thou thinkest other persons have advantage of thee; for so thou reconcilest the outward vrork and thy inward calling, the church and the com¬ monwealth, the employment of the body and the interest of thy soul: for be sure that God is present at thy breathings and hearty sighings of prayer, as soon as at the longer ofl^ices of less busied persons ; and thy time is as truly sanctified by a trade, and devout though shorter prayers, as by the longer offices of those whose time is not filled up with labour and useful business. * See Chap. iv. Sect. 6. * S. Bern, de Triplici Custodia. ^ Laudatur Caesar apud Lucanum, -media inter praelia semper Stellarum coelifiue plagis, siiperisque vacavi.—x. 186. CARE OF OUR TDIE. V / 8. Let your employment be such as m.ay become a reason¬ able person ; and not be a business fit for children or distract¬ ed people, but fit for your age and understanding. For a man may be very idly busy, and take great pains to so little pur¬ pose, that, in his labours and expense of time, he shall serve no end but of folly and vanity. There are some trades that wholly serve the ends of idle persons and fools, and such as are fit to be seized upon by the severity of laws and banished from under the sun ; and there are some people who are busy, but it is, as Domitian was, in catching flies. 9. Let your employment be fitted to your person and call¬ ing. Some there are that employ their time in affairs infinite¬ ly below the dignity of their person ; and, being called by God or by the republic to help to bear great burdens, and to judge a people, do enfeeble their understandings and disable their persons by sordid and brutish business. Thus Nero went up and down Greece, and challenged the fiddlers at their trade. Aeropus, a IMacedonian king, made lanterns. Harcatius, the king of Parthia, was a mole-catcher: and Biantes, the Lydian, filed needles. He that is appointed to minister in holy things must not suffer secular affairs and sordid arts to eat up great portions of his employment: a clergyman must not keep a tavern, nor a judge be an innkeeper: and it was a great idle¬ ness in Theophylact, the patriarch of C. P., to spend his time in his stable of horses, when he should have been in his study, or the pulpit, or saying his holy offices. Such employments are the diseases of labour, and the rust of time, which it con¬ tracts, not by lying still, but by dirty employment. 10. Let our employment be such as becomes a Christian ; that is, in no sense mingled with sin : for he that takes pains to serve the ends of covetousness, or ministers to another’s lust, or keeps a shop of impurities or intemperance, is idle in the worst sense : for every hour so spent runs him backAvard, and must be spent again in the remaining and shorter part of his life, and spent better. 11. Persons of great quality, and of no trade, are to be most prudent and curious in their employment and traffic of time. They are miserable, if their education hath been so loose and undisciplined as to leave them unfurnished of skill to spend their time: but most miserable are they, if such misgovern- ment and unskilfuiness make them fall into vicious and bai>er 8 CARE OF OUR TIME. company, and drive on their time by the sad minutes and pe¬ riods of sin and death. Tiiey that are learned know the worth of time, and the manner how well to improve a day ; and they are to prepare themselves for such purposes, ii which they may be most useful in order to arts or arms, to counsel in pub¬ lic, or government in their country; but for others of them, that are unlearned, let them choose good company, such as may not tempt them to a vice, or join with them in any; but that may supply their defects by counsel and discourse, by way of conduct and conversation. Let them learn easy and useful things, read history and the laws of the land, learn the cus¬ toms of their country, the condition of their own estate, profit¬ able and charitable contrivances of it: let them study pru¬ dently to govern their families, learn the burdens of their tenants, the necessities of their neighbours, and in their pro¬ portion supply them, and reconcile their enmities, and pre¬ vent their lawsuits, or quickly end them; and in this glut of leisure and disemployment, let them set apart greater portions of their time for religion and the necessities of their souls. 12. Let the women of noble birth and great fortunes do the same things in their proportions and capacities; nurse their children, look to the affairs of the house, visit poor cottages, and relieve their necessities; be courteous to the neighbour¬ hood, learn in silence of their husbands or their spiritual guides, read good books, pray often and speak little, and learn to do good works for necessary usesfor by that phrase St. Paul expresses the obligation of Christian women to good housewifery, and charitable, provisions for their family and neighbqurhood. 13. Let all persons of all conditions avoid all delicacy and niceness in their clothing or diet, because such softness engages them upon great misspendings of their time, while they dress and comb out all their opportunities of their morning devo¬ tion, and half the day’s severity, and sleep out the care and provision for their souls. 14. Let every one of every condition avoid curiosity, and all inquiry into things that concern them not. For all business in things that concern us not, is an employing our time to no good of ours, and therefore not in order to a happy eternity. In this account our neighbours* necessities are not to be reck¬ oned ; for they concern us, as one member is concerned in the CARE OF OUR TIME. 9 ifricf of anotlior i but going from liouso to liouso, tnttlors cind lusy-bodies, which are the canker and rust of idleness, as idle¬ ness is the rust of time, are reproved by the apostle in severe anguage, and forbidden in order to this exercise. : fo. As much as may be, cut off all impertinent and useless employments of your life, unnecessary and fantastic visits, long waitings upon great personages, where neither duty, nor ne¬ cessity'^ nor charity obliges us ; all vain meetings, all laborious i;rifles, and whatsoever spends much time to no real, civil, religious, or charitable purpose. 16. Let not your recreations be lavish spenders of your ,:ime; but choose such which are healthful, short, transient, recreative, and apt to refresh you; but at no hand dwell upon them, or make them your great employment; for he that spends his time in sports, and calls it recreation, is like him whose garment is all made of fringes, and his meat nothing but sauces j they are healthless, chargeable, and useless. And (therefore avoid such games which rec^uire much time or long lattendance, or which are apt to steal thy affections fiom more severe employments, bor to whatsoever thou hast given thy affections, thou wilt not grudge to give thy time. Natural necessity, and the example of bt. John, Avho recreated himself with sporting with a tame partridge,'^ teach us that it is law¬ ful to relax and unbend our bow, but not to suffer it to be unready or unstrung. 17. Set apart some portions of every day for more solemn devotion and religious employment, which be severe in observ'- ing : and if variety of employment, or prudent affairs, or civil : society, press upon you, yet so order thy rule, that the ne¬ cessary parts of it be not omitted; and though just occasions imay make our prayers shorter, yet let nothing but a violent, sudden, and impatient necessity make thee, upon any one day, wholly to omit thy morning and evening devotions; which, if you be forced to make very short, you may supply and lengthen with ejaculations and short retirements in the day-time, in the midst of your employment or of your company. 18. Do not the '‘work of God negligently”® and idly: let ' not thy heart be upon the world when thy hand is lifted up in prayer ; and be sure to prefer an action of religion, in its place 1 and proper season, before all worldly pleasure, letting secular ^ Cassian, Collat. ‘24. c. xxi. ® Jer. xlviii. 10. 10 CARE OF OUR TIME. things, that may be dispensed with in themselves, in thes< circumstances wait upon the other: not like the patriarch who ran from the altar in St. Sophia to his stable, in all hh pontificals, and in the midst of his office, to see a colt newl} fallen from his beloved and much-valued mare Phorbante More prudent and severe was that of Sir Thomas More, who. being sent for by the king when he was at his prayers in pub¬ lic, returned answer he would attend liim when he had firsi performed his service to the King of kings. And it did honoui to Rusticus,^ that, when letters from Caesar were given t( him, he refused to open them till the philosopher had done his lecture. In honouring God and doing his work, put fortl ail thy strength; for of that time only thou mayest be mosi confident that it is gained, which is prudently and zealousl} spent in God’s service. 19. When the clock strikes, or however else you shall mea¬ sure the day, it is good to say a short ejaculation every hour, that the parts and returns of devotion may be the measure o; your time: and do so also in all the breaches of thy sleep that those spaces which have in them no direct business o: the world, may be filled with religion. 20. If, by thus doing, you have not secured your time b} an early and fore-handed care, yet be sure by a timely diligenct to redeem the time ; that is, to be pious and religious in sucl instances in which formerly you have sinned, and to bestov your time especially upon such graces, the contrary whereo you have formerly practised, doing actions of chastity anc temperance with as great a zeal and earnestness as you die once act your uncleanness ; and then, by all arts, to watcii against your present and future dangers, from day to day se¬ curing your standing : this is properly to redeem your time that is, to buy your security of it at the rate of any labom and honest arts. 21. Let him that is most busied set apart some ‘‘solemi time every year,” in which, for the time, quitting all worldl} business, he may attend wholly to fasting and prayer, and tin dressing of his soul by confessions, meditations, and attend- ® Plutarch, de Curiosit. c. xv. Ol Iv avToiQ tv^OKif-iovvTf^Q, oJg y/iictproj^f evTrpeTrearspav ryv anoXo yiav tidaei (p'^pQifrai. —ih'oeop. 2. Vandal. “ 1 Cor. vii. 5. CARE OF OUR TIME. 11 ances upon God; that he may make up his accounts, renew ! his vows, make amends for his carelessness, and retire back again, from whence levity and the vanities of the world, or the opportunity of temptations, or the distraction of secular affairs, have carried him. 22. In this we shall be much assisted, and we shall find the work more easy, if, before we sleep, every night,we examine the actions of the past day with a particular scrutiny, if there have been any accident extraordinary; as long discourse, a feast, much business, variety of company. If nothing but common hath happened, the less examination will suffice ; only let us take care that we sleep not without such a recollection of the actions of the day, as may represent any thing that is re¬ markable and great, either to be the matter of sorrow or thanks¬ giving : for other things a general care is proportionable. 23. Let all these things be done prudently and moderately, not with scruple and vexation. For these are good advan¬ tages, but the particulars are not Divine commandments ; and, therefore, are to be used as shall be found expedient to every one’s condition. For, provided that our duty be secured, for the degrees and for the instruments every man is permitted to himself, and the conduct of such who shall be appointed to him. He is happy that can secure every hour to a sober or a pious employment: but the duty consists not scrupulously in minutes and half-hours, but in greater portions of time; pro¬ vided that no minute be employed in sin, and the greater por¬ tions of our time be spent in sober employment, and all the appointed days, and some portions of every day, be allowed for religion. In all the lesser parts of time, we are left to our own elections and prudent management, and to the consider¬ ation of the great degrees and differences of glory that are laid up in heaven for us, according to the degrees of our care, and piety, and diligence. The Benefits of this Exercise, This exercise, besides that it hath influence upon our whole ijlives, it hath a special efficacy for the preventing of, 1. beg- ^garly sins: that is, those sins which idleness and beggary Mr}d’ vTTvov fia\aKoi(nv Itt’ ofxfiacn Trpoo’^e^ao’Oca, Tlplv twv hfXEpivCjv ■yujv TpiQ sKacrrov eTreXOsTv’ IT^} TrapsfSrjv ; ri d’ ri fiOL isov ovk iXsaOrj ;—Pythagor. Aur. Carm. 12 PURITY OF INTENTION. usually betray men to; such as are lying, flattery, stealing, and dissimulation. 2. It is a proper antidote against carnal sins, and such as proceed from fulness of bread and emptiness of employment. 3. It is a great instrument of preventing the smallest sins and irregularities of our life, which usually creep upon idle, disemployed, and curious persons. 4. It not only teaches us to avoid evil, but engages us upon doing good, as the proper business of all our days. 5. It prepares us so against sudden changes, that we shall not easily be surprised at the sudden coming of the day of the Lord: for he that is curious of his time will not easily be unready and unfurnished. Sect. II. The general Instrument of Holy Living^ Purity of Intention, That we should intend and design God’s glory in every action we do, whether it be natural or chosen, is expressed by St. Paul,^ “ Whether ye eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.” Which rule when we observe, every action of nature becomes religious, and every meal is an act of worship, and shall have its reward in its proportion, as well as an act of prayer.! Blessed be that goodness and grace of God, which, out ofi infinite desire to glorify and save mankind, would make the very works of nature capable of becoming acts of virtue, that all our lifetime we mav do him service. This grace is so excellent that it sanctifies the most common action of our life; and yet so necessary that, without it, the/ very best actions of our devotion are imperfect and vicious.! For he that prays out of custom, or gives alms for praise, or fasts to be accounted religious, is but a Pharisee in his devo¬ tion, and a beggar in his alms, and a hypocrite in his fast. But a holv end sanctifies all these and all other actions which can be made holy, and gives distinction to them, and pro¬ cures acceptance. For as to know the end distinguishes a man from a beast, so to choose a good end distinguishes him from an evil man. Ilezekiah repeated his good deeds upon his sick-bed, and ob¬ tained favour of God, but the Pharisee was accounted insoleni for doing ^ the same thing : because this man did it to upbraid ^ 1 Cor. X. 31. 2 Atticus, eximie si coenat, laiitus Jiabetiir; Si Kutilus, demeiis. Juvtii. Sat. 11. PURITY OF INTENTION. 13 lis brother, the other to obtain a mercy of God. Zacharias questioned with the angel about his message, and was made fpeechless for his incredulity; but the blessed Virgin Mary questioned too, and was blameless; for she did it to inquire ifter the manner of the thing, but he did not believe the thing tself: he doubted of God’s power, or the truth of the mes- ;enger; but she, only of her own incapacity. This was it vhich distinguished the mourning of David from the exclama- ion of Saul; the confession of Pharaoh from that of Man asses ; he tears of Peter from the repentance of Judas: ‘‘for the )raise is not in the deed done, but in the manner of its doins:.^ r- ' O T a man visits his sick friend, and watches at his pillow lor diarity’s sake, and because of his old affection, we approve it; )ut if he does it in hope of legacy, he is a vulture, and only vatches for the carcass. The same things are honest and dis- lonest: the manner of doing them, and the end of the design, nakes the separation.” Holy intention is to the actions of a man that which the soul s to the body, or form to its matter, or the root to the tree, or he sun to the world, or the fountain to a river, or the base o a pillar: for without these the body is a dead trunk, the natter is sluggish, the tree is a block, the world is darkness, he river is quickly dry, the pillar rushes into flatness and a ■uin ; and the action is sinful, or unpi’ofitable and vain. The )oor farmer that gave a dish of cold water to Artaxerxes was •ewarded with a golden goblet; and he that gives the same to a lisciple in the name of a disciple, shall have a crown : but if he fives water in despite, when the disciple needs wine or a cordial, lis reward shall be to want that water to cool his tongue. But this duty must be reduced to rules :— Rules for our Intentions, 1. In every action reflect upon the end ; and in your un- lertaking it, consider why you do it, and what you propound 0 yourself for a reward, and to your action as its end. 2. Begin every action in the name of the Father, of the Son, md of the Holy Ghost; the meaning of which is, 1. that we )e careful that we do not the action without the permission or varrant of God: 2. that we design it to the glory of God, if [ lot in the direct action, yet at least in its consequence ; if not ^ Seneca. 14 PURITY OF IXTENTIOX. in the particular, yet at least in the whole order of things and accidents: 3. that it may be so blessed, that what you intend for innocent and holy purposes may not by any chance, or abuse or misunderstanding of men, be turned into evil, or made the occasion of sin. 3. Let every action of concernment be begun with prayer, that God would not only bless the action, but sanctify youi purpose ; and make an oblation of the action to God: holy and well-intended actions being the best oblations and presents we can make to God ; and, when God is entitled to them, he will the rather keep the fire upon the altar bright and shining. 4. In the prosecution of the action, renew and re-enkindh your purpose by short ejaculations to these purposes: Nol unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name let all praise be givenand consider, Now I am working the work oi God ; I am his servant, I am in a happy employment, I an: doing my Master’s business, I am not at my own dispose, I am using his talents, and all the gain must be hisfor then be sure, as the glory is his, so the reward shall be thine. If thor blindest his ^oods home with increase, he will make thee rulei over cities. o. Have a care that, while the altar thus sends up a holy fume, thou dost not suffer the birds to come and carry away the sacrifice : that is, let not that which began well, and was in-i tended for God’s glory, decline and end in thy own praise, oi temporal satisfaction, or a sin. A story told to represent.the j vileness of unchastity, is well begun ; but if thy female auditoil be pleased with thy language, and begins rather to like thji person for thy story than to dislike the crime, be watchful lesi this goodly head of gold descend in silver and brass, and enc in iron and clay, like Nebuchadnezzar’s image ; for from the end it shall have its name and reward.'* 6. If any accidental event, which was not first intended b} thee, can come to pass, let it not be taken into thy purposes, noi at all be made use of; as if, by telling a true story, you can dc an ill turn to your enemy, by no means do it ; but when the temptation is found out, turn all thy enmity upon that. 7. In every more solemn action of religion join togethei many good ends, that the consideration of them may entertaii all your alFections ; and that, when any one ceases, the purit} * Qui furatur ut mocchetur, moDchus est magis quam fur.—Arist. Elh» i PURITY OF INTENTION. 15 of your intention may be supported by another supply. He that fasts only to tame a rebellious body, when he is provided of a remedy either in grace or nature, may be tempted to leave off fasting. But he that in his fast intends the mortification iof every unruly appetite, and accustoming himself to bear the yoke of the Lord, a contempt of the pleasures of meat and drink, humiliation of all wilder thoughts, obedience and hu¬ mility, austerity and charity, and the convenience and assist¬ ance to devotion, and to do an act of repentance; whatever happens, will have reason enough to make him to continue his {purpose, and to sanctify it. And certain it is, the more good ends are designed in an action, the more degrees of excellency the man. obtains. 8. If any temptation to spoil your purpose happens in a re¬ ligious duty, do not presently omit the action, but rather strive 10 rectify your intention, and to mortify the temptation. St. Bernard taught us this rule : for when the devil, observing him :o preach excellently and to do much benefit to his hearers, :empted him to vain-glory, hoping that the good man, to avoid , ;hat, would cease preaching, he gave this answer only, “ I nei- her began for thee, neither for thee will I make an end.” 9. In all actions which are of long continuance, delibera- ;ion, and abode, let your holy and pious intention be actual; -hat is, that it be, by a special prayer or action, by a peculiar act of resignation or oblation, given to God: but in smaller LCtions, and little things and indifferent, fail not to secure a )ious habitual intention-; that is, that it be included within ^our general care, that no action have an ill end; and that it )e comprehended in your general prayers, whereby you offer ^ourself and all you do to God’s glory. 10. Call not every temporal end a defiling of thy intention, »ut only, 1. when it contradicts any of the ends of God ; or, 2. '/hen it is principally intended in an action of religion. For ometimes a temporal end is part of our duty; and such are 11 the actions of our calling, whether our employment be re- igious or civil. We are commanded to provide for our family: •ut if the minister of divine offices shall take upon him that oly calling for covetous or ambitious ends, or shall not design be glory of God principally and especially, he hath polluted is hands and his heart; and the fire of the altar is quenched, I r it sends forth nothing but the smoke of mushrooms or un- 16 PURITY OF INTENTION. pleasant gums. And it is a great unwortbiness to prefer tbe interest of a creature before tbe ends of God tbe Almighty Creator. ^ But because many cases may happen in which a man s heart may deceive him, and he may not well know what is in his own spirit; therefore by these following signs we shall best make a judgment whether our intentions be pure and our purposes holy. Signs of Purity of Intention, 1. It is probable our hearts^ are right with God, and our intentions innocent and pious, if we set upon actions of religion or civil life with an affection proportionate to the quality ofi the work; that we act our temporal^ affairs with a desire no greater than our necessity; and that, in actions of religion, wej be zealous, active, and operative, so far as prudence will per-| mit; but, in all cases, that we value a religious design before] a temporal, when otherwise they are in equal order to their several ends : that is, that whatsoever is necessary in order tc our soul’s health be higher esteemed than what is for boddy: and the necessities, the indispensable necessities of the spirit; be served before the needs of nature, when they are requirec in their several circumstances ; or plainer yet, when we choose any temporal inconvenience rather than commit a^ sin, anc when we choose to do a duty rather than to get gain. he that does his recreation or his merchandise cheerfully promptly, readily, and busily, and the works of religion slowly flatly, and without appetite, and the spirit moves like Pha raoh’s chariots when the wheels were off; it is a sign that hi heart is not right with God, but it cleaves too much to the v orh 2. It is likely our hearts are pure and our intentions spotless when we are not solicitous of the opinion and censures of men but only that we do our duty, and be accepted of God. Fo our eyes will certainly be fixed there from whence we expec our reward: and if we desire that God should approve us, it i a sign we do his work, and expect him our paymaster. 3? He that does as well in private, between God and hi own soul, as in public, in pulpits, in theatres, and mai vet places, hath given himself a good testimony that his purpose are lull of honesty, nobleness, and integrity. For what lie kanah said to the mother of Samuel, ‘‘ Am not I better to tlu » Sec Sect. 1. of this Chapter, Rule 18. PURITY OF INTENTION. 17 than ten sons ? ’’ is most certainly verified concerning God ; that he, who is to be our judge, is better than ten thousand •Nvitnesses. But he that would have his virtue published stu¬ dies, not virtue, but glory. ‘‘He is not just ^ that will not be just without praise: but he is a righteous man that does jus¬ tice, when to do so is made infamous ; and he is a wise man who is delighted with an ill name that is well gotten.” And indeed that man hath a strange*^ covetousness, or folly, that is not contented with this reward, that he hath pleased God. And see what he gets by it. He that does good works ® for praise or secular ends, sells an inestimable jewel for a trifle; and that which would purchase heaven for him he parts with for the breath of the people; which at best is but air, and that I not often wholesome. 4. It is well, also, when we are not solicitous or troubled concerning the effect and event of all our actions; but that being first by prayer recommended to him is left at his dis¬ pose : for then, in case the event be not answerable to our de¬ sires, or to the efficacy of the instrument, we have nothing left to rest in but the honesty of our purposes; which it is the more likely we have secured, by how much more we are in¬ different concerning the success. St. James converted but eight persons, when he preached in Spain; and our blessed I Saviour converted fewer than his own disciples did: and if thy labours prove unprosperous, if thou beest much troubled at that, it is certain thou didst not think thyself secure of a reward for thine intention ; which thou mightest have done, if it had been pure and just. ■ 5, He loves virtue for God’s sake and its own that loves and honours it wherever it is to be seen; but he that is en- dous or angry at a virtue that is not his own, at the perfection jW excellency of his neighbour, is not covetous of the virtue, : 'Ut of its reward and reputation ; and then his intentions are I olluted. It was a great ingenuity in Moses that wished all I le people might be prophets ; but if he had designed his own I onour, he would have prophesied alone. But he that de- , xres only that the work of God and religion shall go on, is pleased with it, whosoever is the instrument. 6. He that despises the world, and all its appendant vani- • Seneca, Ep. 113. ^ St. Chrys. 1. ii. de Compun. Cordis. ® St. Greg. Moral. 8, cap. xxv. c 18 PURITY OF INTENTION. ties, is the best judge, and the most secured of his intentions; i because he is the furthest removed from a temptation. Every I degree of mortification is a testimony of the purity of our pur¬ poses ; and in what degree we despise sensual pleasure, or se- : cular honours, or worldly reputation, in the same degree we : shall conclude our heart right to religion and spiritual designs. 7. When we are not solicitous concerning the instruments and means of our actions, but use those means which God hath laid before us, with resignation, indififerency, and thank¬ fulness ; it is a good sign that we are rather intent upon the end of God’s glory than our own conveniency, or temporal, satisfaction. He that is indifferent whether he serve God in riches or in poverty, is rather a seeker of God than of himself; and he that will throw away a good book because it is not curiously gilded, is more curious to please his eye than to in¬ form his understanding. 8. When a temporal end consisting with a spiritual, and pretended to be subordinate to it, happens to fail and be de¬ feated, if we can rejoice in that, so God’s glory may be secured, and the interests of religion, it is a great sign our hearts are right, and our ends prudently designed and ordered. When our intentions are thus balanced, regulated, and dis¬ cerned, we may consider, 1. That this exercise is of so universal efficacy in the whole course of a holy life, that it is like the soul i to every holy action, and must be provided for in every under-^ taking ; and is of itself alone sufficient to make all natural and i indifferent actions to be adopted into the family of religion. . 2. That there are some actions, which are usually reckoned - as parts of our religion, which yet, of themselves, are so rela-, tive and imperfect, that without the purity of intention they degenerate: and unless they be directed and proceed on to those purposes which God designed them to, they return into the family of common, secular, or sinful actions. Thus, almsi are for charity, fasting for temperance, prayer is for religion, humiliation is for humility, austerity or sufferance is in order to the virtue of patience : and when these actions fail of their several ends, or are not directed to their own purposes, alms are misspent, fasting is an impertinent trouble, prayer is but lip-labour, humiliation is but hypocrisy, sufferance is but vex-' ation ; for such were the alms of the Pharisee, the fast of Je¬ zebel, the prayer of Judah reproved by the prophet Isaiah, the PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OP GOD. 19 humiliation of Aliab, the martyrdom of heretics ; in which no¬ thing is given to God but the body, or the forms of religion ; but the soul and the power of godliness is wholly wanting. 3. We are to consider that no intention can sanctify an un¬ holy or unlawful action. Saul, the king, disobeyed God’s commandment, and spared the cattle of Amalek to reserve the best for sacrifice; and Saul, the Pharisee, persecuted the church of God, with a design to do God service; and they that killed the apostles had also good purposes, but they had unhallowed actions. When there is both truth in election, and charity in .the intentionwhen we go to God in ways of his own choos¬ ing or approving, then our eye is single, and our hands are clean, and our hearts are pure. But when a man does evil that good may come of it, or good to an evil purpose, that man does like him that rolls himself in thorns that he may sleep easily; he roasts himself in the fire that he may quench his thirst with own sweat; he turns his face to the east that e may go to bed with the sun. I end this with the sayinn of a wise heathen:“ He is to be called evil that is good only for his own sake. Regard not how full hands you bring to God but how pure. Many cease from sin out of fear alone, not out of innocence or love of virtueand they, as yet, are not to be called innocent, but timorous. Sect. III. The third general Instrument of Holy Living ; or the Practice of the Presence of God, That God is present in all places, that he sees every action, hears all discourses, and understands every thought, is no strange thing to a Christian ear who hath been taught this doctrine, not only by right reason and the consent of all the 'Vise men in the world, but also by God himself in Holy Scrip- «• V ^ ^ hand, saith the Lord, and not a God xtar off . Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not ^ heaven and earth ?”' _JNeither is there any creature that is not manifest in his nght; but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him ^th whom we have to do.” ^ “ For in him we live, and move, wholly in every place; in¬ cluded in no place; not bound with cords except those of love; ® St. Bern. lib. de Preecept. Jer. xxiii. 23, 24. 2 Heb. iv. 13. c 2 Publius Mimus. ^ Acts xvii. 28, 20 PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. not divided into parts, not changeable into several shapes; filling heaven and earth with his present power and with his never absent nature. • So St. Augustine^ expresses this article. So that we may imagine God to be as the air and the sea; and we all enclosed in his circle, wrapped up in the lap of his infinite nature; or as infants in the wombs of their pregnant mothers: and we can no more be removed from the presence of God than from our own being. Several Manners of the Divine Presence, The presence of God is understood by us in several man¬ ners, and to several purposes. 1. God is present by his essence; which, because it is infi¬ nite, cannot be contained within the limits of any place ; and because he is of an essential purity and spiritual nature, he cannot be undervalued by being supposed present in the places of unnatural uncleanness ; because as the sun, reflecting upon the mud of strands and shores, is unpolluted in its beams, so is God not dishonoured when we suppose him in every of his creatures, and in every part of every one of them ; and is still as unmixt with any unhandsome adherence as is the soul in the bowels of the body. 2. God is every where present by his power.^ He rolls the orbs of heaven with his hand; he fixes the earth with his foot; he guides all the creatures with his eye, and refreshes them with his influence ; he makes the powers of hell to shake with his terrors, and binds the devils ^vith his word, and throwsj them out with his command ; and sends the angels on embassies with his decrees; he hardens the joints of infimts, and con¬ firms the bones, when they are fashioned beneath secretly in the earth. He it is that assists at the numerous productions of fishes ; and there is not one hollowness in the bottom of the sea, but he shows himself to be Lord of it by sustaining there the creatures that come to dwell in it: and in the wilderness, the bittern and the stork, the dragon and the satyr, the unicorn and the elk, live upon his provisions, and revere his power, and feel the force of his almightiness. .3. God is more specially present, in some places, by the several and more special manifestations of himself to extraor- ^ Lib. vii. de Civit. c. xxx. ® TrepdxEi rij PovXijcrei to Tvav fieiCoJV Tov TravTog waTvtp ry ovcia, ovnog Kai Ty —liesp. ad Orthod PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 21 dinary purposes. First, by glory. Thus, his seat is in heaven, because there he sits encircled with all the outward demon¬ strations of his glory, which he is pleased to show to all the inhabitants of those his inward and secret courts. And thus, they that die in the Lord,” may be properly said to be gone to God with whom although they were before, yet now they enter into his courts, into the secret of his tabernacle, into the retinue and splendour of his glory. That is called walking with God, but this is dwelling or being with him. I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christso said St. Paul. But this manner of the Divine presence is reserved for the elect people of God, and for their portion in their country. 4. God is, by grace and benediction, specially present in holy places,® and in the solemn assemblies of his servants. If holy people meet in grots and dens of the earth, when persecu¬ tion or a public necessity disturbs the public order, circum¬ stance, and convenience, God fails not to come thither to them: but God is also, by the same or a greater reason, pre¬ sent there, where they meet ordinarily, by order, and public authority; there God is present ordinarily, that is, at every such meeting. 'God will go out of his way to meet his saints, when themselves are forced out of their way of order by a sad necessity: but else, God’s usual way is to be present in those places where his servants are appointed ordinarily ^ to meet. But his presence there signifies nothing but a readiness to hear their prayers, to bless their persons, to accept their ofiices, and to like even the circumstance of orderly and public meeting. For thither the prayers of consecration, the public authority separating it, and God’s love of order, and the reasonable cus¬ toms of religion, have in ordinary, and in a certain degree, fixed this manner of his presence; and he loves to have it so. ^ 5. God is especially present in the hearts of his people, by his Holy Spirit: and indeed the hearts of holy men are temples ^ in the truth of things, and, in type and shadow, they are hoaven itself. For God reigns in the hearts of his servants: there is his kingdom. The power of grace hath subdued all his enemies: there is his power. They serve him night and day, and give him thanks and praise: that is his glory. This is the religion ^and worship of God in the temple. The temple itself is the heart of man; Christ is the High Priest, who from thence Matt, xviii. 20 ; Heb. x. 25. ^ 1 Kings V. 9 ; Psal. cxxxviii. 1, 2. \ 22 PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. send? up the incense of prayers, and joins them to his own in¬ tercession, and presents all together to his Father; and the Holy Ghost, by his dwelling there, hath also consecrated it into a temple and God dwells in our hearts by faith, and Christ by his Spirit, and the Spirit by his purities; so that we i are also cabinets of the mysterious Trinity; and what is this Short of heaven itself, but as infancy is short of manhood, and letters of words ? The same state of life it is, but not the same j ao'e. It is heaven in a looking-glass, dark, but yet tru^re¬ presenting the beauties of the soul, and the graces of Cod, and the images of his eternal glory, by the reality of a special 6. God is especially present in the consciences ot all per¬ sons, good and bad, by way of testimony and judgment: that is, he is there a remembrancer to call our actions to mind, a witness to bring them to judgment, and a judge to acquit or to condemn. And although this manner of presence is, in this life, after the manner of this life, that is, imperfect, and we forget many actions of our lives ; yet the greatest changes of our state of grace or sin, our most considerable actions, are ; always present, like capital letters to an aged and dim eye: | and, at the day of judgment, God shall draw aside the cloud, . and manifest this manner of his presence more notorious y, j and make it appear that he was an observer of our very: thoughts, and that he only laid those things by, which, be-1 cause we covered with dust and negligence, were not them^ discerned. But when ive are risen from our dust and imper-, fection, they all appear plain and legible. . Now, the consideration of this great truth is of a verj^ universal use in the whole course of the life of a Christian, j All the consequents and effects of it are universal. He that | remembers that God stands a witness and a judge, beholdingi every secrecy, besides his impiety, must have put on impu-^ dence, if he be not much restrained in his temptation to sin.' “ For the greatest part of sin is taken away,® if a man have ai witness of his conversation: and he is a great despiser of God. who sends a boy away, when he is going to commit fornication,' and yet will dare to do it though he knows God is present,] and cannot be sent off: as if the eye of a little boy were more; awful than the all-seeing eye of God. He is to be feared ir « 1 Cor. iii. 16; 2 Cor. vi. 16. ' S. Aug. de verbis Doniinicis, c. iii PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 23 public, he is to be feared in private: if you go forth, he spies you; if you go in, he sees you: when you light the candle, he observes you; when you put it out, then also God marks you. Be sure, that while you are in his sight, you behave yourself as becomes so holy a presence.” But if you will sin, retire yourself wisely, and go where God cannot see; for no where else can you be safe. And certainly, if men would always actually consider, and really esteem this truth, that God is the great eye of the world, always watching over our actions, and an ever-open ear to hear all our words, and an unwearied arm ever lifted up to crush a sinner into ruin, it would be the readiest way in the world to make sin to cease from amongst the children of men, and for men to approach to the blessed estate of the saints in heaven who cannot sin, for they always walk in the presence and behold the face of God. This instrument is to be reduced to practice, according to the following rules. Rules of exercising this consideration, 1 . Bet this actual thought often return, that God is omni¬ present, filling every place; and say with David, Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, thou art there,” &c. This thought, by being frequent, will make an habitual dread and reverence to¬ wards God, and fear in all thy actions. For it is a great ne¬ cessity and engagement to do unblamably, when we act before ^ ^ infallible in his sentence, all-knowing in his information, severe in his anger, powerful in his provi¬ dence, and intolerable in his wrath and indignation. 2. In the beginning of actions of religion, make an act of adoration, that is, solemnly worship God, and place thyself in God s presence, and behold him with the eye of faith ; and let thy desires actually fix on him, as the object of thy worship, and the reason of thy hope, and the fountain of thy blessino-’. For when thou hast placed thyself before him, and kneelest in ais presence, it is inostTikely, all the following parts of thy levotion will be answerable to the wisdom of such an appre- aension, ^nd the glory of such a presence. 3. Let every thing you see represent to your spirit the pre- Fsai. cxxxix. 7, 8. Boeth. 1. v. de Consol. 24 PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. sence, the excellency, and the power of God; and let your conversation with the creatures lead you unto the Creator ; for so shall your actions be done, more frequently, with an actual eye to God’s presence, by your often seeing him in the glass of the creation. In the face of the sun you may see God’s beauty ; in the fire you may feel his heat warming; in the water, his gentleness to refresh you: he it is that comforts your spirit when you have taken cordials ; it is the dew of heaven that makes your field give you bread; and the breasts of God are the bottles that minister drink to your necessities. This phi¬ losophy, which is obvious to every man’s experience, is a good advantage to our piety; and, by this act of understanding, our wills are checked from violence and misdemeanour. 4. In your retirement, make frequent colloquies, or short discoursings, between God and thy own soul. ‘‘ Seven times a day do I praise thee: and in the night season al^o I thought upon thee, while I was waking.” So did David; and every act of complaint or thanksgiving, every act of rejoicing or of mourning, every petition and every return of the heart in these intercourses, is a going to God, an appearing in his pre¬ sence, and a representing him present to thy spirit and to thy necessity. And this was long since by a spiritual person called, a building to God a chapel in our heart.” It reconciles Martha’s employment with Mary’s devotion, charity and re- | ligion, the necessities of our calling and the employments of devotion. For thus, in the midst of the works of your trade, you may retire into your chapel, your heart; and converse | with God by frequent addresses and returns. , 5. Represent and offer to God “ acts of love and fear,” which are the proper effects of this apprehension, and the proper exercise of this consideration. For, as God is every where present by his power, he calls for reverence and godly fear : as he is present to thee in all thy needs, and relieves them, he deserves thy love: and since, in every accident of our lives, we find one or other of these apparent, and in most things we see both, it is a proper and proportionate return, that, to every such demonstration of God, we express ourselves sensible of it, by admiring the Divine goodness, or trembling at his pre¬ sence ; ever obeying him because we love him, and efer obey¬ ing him because we fear to offend him. This is that which Enoch did, who thus “ walked with God.” PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 25 6. Let us remember that God is in us, and that we are in him: we are his workmanship, let us not deface it; we are in his presence, let us not pollute it by unholy and impure actions. iGod hath ^‘also wrought all our works in us and, because * he rejoices in his own works, if we defile them, and make them junpleasant to him, we walk perversely with God, and he will Isvalk crookedly towards us. ! 7. “ God is in the bowels of thy brotherrefresh them, isvhen he needs it, and then you give your alms in the presence dF God, and to God; and he feels the relief which thou pro- ridest for thy brother. 8. God is in every place: suppose it therefore to be a church ; ind that decency of deportment and piety of carriage which YOU are taught by religion, or by custom, or by civility and public manners, to use in churches, the same use in all places : with this difference only, that in churches let your deportment be religious in external forms and circumstances also; but -there and every where let it be religious in abstaining from , spiritual indecencies, and in readiness to do good actions ; that \ it may not be said of us, as God once complained of his people, Why hath my beloved done wickedness in my house 9. God is in every creature: be cruel towards none, neither ibuse any by intemperance. Remember, that the creatures, and every member of thy own body, is one of the lesser cabi- aets and receptacles of God. They are such which God hath : blessed with his presence, hallowed by his touch, and separated 1 ifrom unholy use, by making them to belong to his dwelling. 10. He walks as in the presence of God that converses with him in frequent prayer and frequent communion ; that runs to him in all his necessities, that asks counsel of him in all his doublings ; that opens all his wants to him; that weeps before ihim for his sins ; that asks remedy and support for his weak¬ ness ; that fears him as a judge ; reverences him as a lord ; obeys him as a father; and loves him as a patron. The Benefits of this Exercise. The benefits of this consideration and exercise being uni- i versal upon all the parts of piety, I shall less need to specify any particulars; but yet, most properly, this exercise of con- s;sidering the Divine presence is, 1. An excellent help to prayer, i Isa. xxvi. 12. Jer. xi. 15. secund. vulg. edit. I 26 PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. producing in us reverence and awfulness to the Divine Majest); of God, and actual devotion in our offices. 2. It produces a] confidence in God, and fearlessness of our enemies, patience ■ in trouble, and liope of remedy ; since God is so nigh in all oui I sad accidents, he is a disposer of the hearts of men and the j events of things, he proportions out our trials, and supplies usj with remedy, and, where his rod strikes us, his staff supports I us. To which we may add this ; that God, who is always witl us, is especially, by promise, with us in tribulation, to turn thei misery into a mercy, and that our greatest trouble may become! our advantage, by entitling us to a new manner of the Divine j presence. 3. It is apt to produce joy and rejoicing in God.fl ■we being more apt to delight in the partners and witnesses oi j our conversation ; every degree of mutual abiding and con*i versing being a relation and an endearment: we are of the same household with God ; he is with us in our natural actions.] to preserve us ; in our recreations, to restrain us ; in our public actions, to applaud or reprove us ; in our private, to observe us ; in our sleeps, to watch by us ; in our watchings, to refresL | us : and if we walk with God in all his ways, as he walks with us in all ours, we shall find perpetual reasons to enablei us to keep that rule of God, Rejoice in the Lord ahvays, and i again I say rejoice.” And this puts me in mind of a saying: of an old religious person,“ There is one way of overcoming our ghostly enemies ; spiritual mirth, and a perpetual bearing of God in our minds.” This effectively resists the devil, and suffers us to receive no hurt from him. 4. This exercise ij apt, also, to enkindle holy desires of the enjoyment of God, be -1 cause it produces joy, when we do enjoy him ; the same desires): that a weak man hath for a defender; the sick man, for a physician; the poor, for a patron; the child, for his father :i the espoused lover, for her betrothed. 5. From the same foun-1 tain are apt to issue humility of spirit, apprehensions of our' great distance and our great needs, our daily wants and hourly i supplies, admiration of God’s unspeakable mercies: it is the cause of great modesty and decency in our actions ; it helps to i recollection of mind, and restrains the scatterings and loose¬ ness of wandering thoughts; it establishes the heart in good; purposes, and leadeth on to perseverance; it gains purity and perfection, (according to the saying of God to Abraham, “ walk In Vita S. Anton. PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 27 j ‘ before me and be perfect,”) holy fear, and holy love, and in- ! deed every thing that pertains to holy living; when we see ourselves placed in the eye of God, who sets us on work and i will reward us plenteously, to serve him with an eye-service I is very pleasing ; for he also sees the heart : and the want of j this consideration was declared to be the cause why Israel i sinned so grievously, ‘‘ for they say. The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not:”^^ therefore “ the land is [full of blood, and the city full of perverseness.” What a child would do in the eye of his father, and a pupil before his tutor, land a wife in the presence of her husband, and a servant in the sight of his master, let us always do the same; for we are made a spectacle to God, to angels, and to men ; we are I always in the sight and presence of the all-seeing and almighty IGod, who also is to us a father and a guardian, a husband and a lord. Prayers and Devotions^ according to the religion and purposes of the foregoing considerations, I.— For grace to spend our time well, i 0 eternal God, who from all eternity dost behold and love jthy own glories and perfections infinite, and hast created me Ito do the work of God after the manner of men, and to serve thee in this generation and according to my capacities ; give me thy grace that I may be a curious and prudent spender of my time, so as I may best prevent or resist all temptation, and be profitable to the Christian commonwealth, and, by dis- icharging all my duty, may glorify thy name. Take from me .all slothfulness, and give me a diligent and an active spirit, and wisdom to choose my employment: that I may do works [proportionable to my person and to the dignity of a Chris¬ tian, and may fill up all the spaces of my time with actions of jreligion and charity; that, when the devil assaults me, he may 'not find me idle; and my dearest Lord at his sudden coming may find me busy in lawful, necessary, and pious actions ; im¬ proving my talent intrusted to me by thee, my Lord; that I may enter into the joy of my Lord, to partake of his eternal - Telicities, even for thy mercy’s sake, and for my dearest Sa- f eiour’s sake. Amen. Psal. X. 11. Ezek. ix. 9. 28 DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. Here follows the devotion of ordinary days; for the right employment of those portions ot time which every day must allow for religion. The first Prayers in the morning^ as soon we are dressed. Humbly and reverently compose yourself, with heart lift up : to God, and your head bowed, and meekly kneeling upon your knees, say the Lord’s Prayer: after which use the fol¬ lowing collects, or as many of them as you shall choose. —Our Father, which art in heaven,” &c. 1. An Act of Adoration, being the song that the angels sing in heaven. Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come: heaven and earth, angels and men, the air and the sea, give glory, and honour, and thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth for ever and everd^ All the bless¬ ed spirits and souls of the righteous cast their crowns before the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and everd^ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and ' power ; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created. Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty: just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.^^ Thy wisdom is infinite, thy mercies are glorious ; and I am not worthy, O Lord, to appear in thy presence, before whom the angels hide their faces. O holy and eternalJesus, Lamb of God, who wert slain from the be¬ ginning of the world, thou hast redeemed us to God by thyJ blood out of every nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign with thee for ever. Blessing, honour, glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen. 2. An Act of Thanksgiving, being the song of David, for the morning. Sing praises unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give | thanks to him for a remembrance of his holiness. For his! wrath endureth but the twinkling of an eye, and in his plea¬ sure is life; heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Thou, Lord, hast preserved me this night Rev. xi. 17. Rev. v. 10, 13. Rev. iv. 10. Rev. xv. 3. ; DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. 29 from the violence of the spirits of darkness, from all sad casual¬ ties and evil accidents, from the wrath which I have every day deserved; thou hast brought my soul out of hell; thou hast kept my life from them that go down into the pit; thou hast showed me marvellous great kindness, and hast blessed aie for ever: the greatness of thy glory reacheth unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Therefore shall every ^ood man sing of thy praise without ceasing. O my God, I vill give thanks unto thee for ever. Hallelujah ! 3. An Act of Oblation^ or 'presenting ourselves to God for the day. Most holy and eternal God, lord and sovereign of all the ireatures, I humbly present to thy Divine Majesty myself, my joul and body, my thoughts and my words, my actions and in¬ dentions, my passions and my suferings, to be disposed by ;hee to thy glory; to be blessed by thy providence ; to be guided by thy counsel; to be sanctified by thy Spirit; and, ifterwards, that my body and soul may be received into glory : or nothing can perish which is under thy custody ; and the memy of souls cannot devour what is thy portion, nor take it )ut of thy hands. This day, 0 Lord, and all the days of my ife, I dedicate to thy honour, and the actions of my calling to he uses of grace, and the religion of all my days to be united 0 the merits and intercession of my holy Saviour Jesus ; that n him and for him I may be pardoned and accepted. Amen. 4. An Act of Repentance or Contrition, For, as for me, I am not worthy to be called thy servant; Quch less am I worthy to be thy son: for I am the vilest of inners and the worst of men; a lover of the things of the vorld, and a despiser of the things of God; proud and envious, ustful and intemperate, greedy of sin, and impatient of re¬ proof, desirous to seem holy, and negligent of being so; trans¬ ited with interest; fooled with presumption and false prin¬ ciples ; disturbed with anger, with a peevish and unmortified pirit, and disordered by a whole body of sin and death. Lord, i-ardon all my sins for my sweetest Saviour’s sake: thou, who idst die for me, holy Jesus, save me and deliver me: reserve lot my sins to be punished in the day of wrath and eternal I 'engeanoe; but wash away my sins and blot them out of thy 30 DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. remembrance, and purify my soul with the waters of repent¬ ance and the blood of the cross; that, for what is past, thy i wrath may not come out against me ; and, for the time to come, I may never provoke thee to anger or to jealousy. O just and dear God, be pitiful and gracious to thy servant. Amen. 5. The Prayer or Petition. Bless me, gracious God, in my calling to such purposes as j thou shalt choose for me, or employ me in: relieve me in all my sadnesses ; make my bed in my sickness ; give me patience : in my sorrows, confidence in thee, and grace to call upon thee in all temptations. O be thou my guide in all my actions; j my protector in all dangers; give me a healthful body, and a < clear understanding; a sanctified and just, a charitable and humble, a religious and a contented spirit; let not my life be j miserable and wretched; nor my name stained with sin and j shame; nor my condition lifted up to a tempting and danger- j ous fortune : but let my condition be blessed, my conversation j useful to my neighbours, and pleasing to thee ; that, when my ' body shall lie down in its bed of darkness, my soul may pass into the regions of light, and live with thee for ever, through : Jesus Christ. Amen. 6. An Act of Intercession or Prayer for others^ to he added to this or any other office, as our devotion, or duty, or their needs, shall determine us. 0 God of infinite mercy, who hast compassion on all men, , and relieves! the necessities of all that call to thee for help,' hear the prayers of thy servant, who is unworthy to ask any petition for himself, yet, in humility and duty, is bound to pray for others. For the Church. O let thy mercy descend upon the whole church; preserve, her in truth and peace, in unity and safety, in all storms, and against all temptations and enemies ; that she, offering to thy glory the never-ceasing sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving,! may advance the honour of her Lord, and be filled with his Spirit, and partake of his glory. Amen. For the King. In mercy, remember the king; preserve his person in health DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. 31 ^ and honour ; his crown, in wealth and dignity; his kingdoms, jin peace and plenty; the churches under his protection, in I piety and knowledge, and a strict and holy religion : keep him perpetually in thy fear and favour, and crown him with glory iand immortality. Amen. ° ^ For the Clergy. Remember them that minister about holy things; let them be clcfthed with righteousness, and sing with joyfulness. Amen. For Wife or Husband. Bless thy servant [my wife or husband] with health of body md of spirit. O let the hand of thy blessing be upon his [or her\ head, night and day, and support him in all necessities, istrengthen Am in all temptations, comfort him in all his sor- I'ows, and let hirn be thy servant in all changes: and make u? ooth to dwell with thee for ever in thy favour, in the light of (by countenance, and in thy glory. Amen. For our Children. Bless my children with healthful bodies, with good under- .itandings, with the graces and gifts of thy Spirit, with sweet bspositions and holy habits; and sanctify them throughout .n their bodies, and souls, and spirits, and keep them un¬ tamable to the coming of the Lord Jesus. Amen. For Friends and Benefactors. Be pleased, 0 Lord, to remember my friends, all that have ■rayed for me, and all that have done me good. {Here name uch whom you would especially recommend.'] Do thou good 3 them, and return all their kindness double into their own losom rewarding them with blessings, and sanctifying them ^ith thj graces, and bringing them to glory. For our Family, Let all my family and kindred, my neighbours and acquaint- lice [Acre name what other relations you please'], receive the leneht of my prayers, and the blessings of God ; the comforts lad supports of thy providence, and the sanctification of thy Ipirit. ^ \ For all in Misery, I Relieve and comfort all tlie persecuted and afflicted; speak 32 DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. peace to troubled consciences ; strengthen the weak; confirm the strong; instruct the ignorant; deliver the oppressed from him that'^spoileth him, and relieve the needy that hath no helper; and bring us all, by the waters of comfort, and in the ways of righteousness, to the kingdom of rest and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. To God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; to the eternal Son, that was incarnate and born of a virgin; to the .Spiril of the Father and the Son, be all honour and glory, worshi]. and thanksgiving, now and for ever. Amen. Another Form of Prayer, for the Morning, Li the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Our Father, &c. I. Most glorious and eternal God, Father of mercy, and Go( of all comfort, I worship and adore thee with the lowest hu mility of my soul and body, and give thee all thanks and prais for thy infinite and essential glories and perfections, and fo the continual demonstration ot thy mercies upon me, upon al mine, and upon thy holy catholic church. II . I acknowledge, dear God, that I have deserved the greates of thy wrath and indignation ; and that, if thou hadst dea. with me according to my deserving, I had now, at this instan been desperately bewailing my miseries, in the sorrows an horrors of a sad eternity. Lut, thy mercy triumphing ovc thy justice and my sins, thou hast still continued to me lil and time of repentance; thou hast opened to me the gates < grace and mercy, and perpetually callest upon me to enter ii and to walk in the paths of a holy life, that I might gloril thee, and be glorified of thee eternally. HI. Behold, O God, for this thy great and unspeakable goo( ness, for the preservation of me this night, and for all otlr thy graces and blessings, I offer up my soul and body, all th I am, and all that I have, as a sacrifice to thee and thy service humbly begging of thee to pardon all my sins, to defend n from all evil, to lead me into all good; and let my portion 1 DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. 33 amongst thy redeemed ones, in the gathering together of the saints in the kingdom of grace and glory. IV. Guide me, 0 Lord, in all the changes and varieties of the world; that in all things that shall happen I may have an evenness and tranquillity of spirit; that my soul may be wholly resigned to thy divinest will and pleasure, never murmuring at thy gentle chastisements and fatherly correction; never waxing proud and insolent, though I feel a torrent of comforts and prosperous successes. V. Fix my thoughts, my hopes, and my desires, upon heaven and heavenly things ; teach me to despise the world, to repent me deeply for my sins ; give me holy purposes of amendment, and ghostly strength, and assistances to perform faithfully whatsoever I shall intend piously. Enrich my understanding with an eternal treasure of Divine truths, that I may know thy will: and thou, who workest in us to will and to do of thy good pleasure, teach me to obey all thy commandments, to be¬ lieve all thy revelations, and make me partaker of all thy gracious promises. VI. Teach me to watch over all my ways, that I may never be surprised by sudden temptations or a careless spirit, nor ever return to folly and vanity. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keep the door of my lips, that I offend not in my tongue, neither against piety nor charity. Teach me to think of nothing but thee, and what is in order to thy glory and service: to speak nothing but of thee, and thy glories; and to do nothing but what becomes thy servant, whom thy infinite mercy, by the graces of thy Holy Spirit, hath sealed up to the day of redemption. VII. Let all my passions and affections be so mortified and brought under the dominion of grace, that I may never, by de- , liberation and purpose, nor yet by levity, rashness, or incon¬ sideration, offend thy Divine Majesty. Make me such as thou wouldest have me to be: strengthen my faith, confirm my hope, 34 devotions for ordinary days. and give me a daily increase of charity, that, this day and ever, I may serve thee according to all my opportunities and capa¬ cities, growing from grace to grace; till, at last, by thy mer¬ cies, I shall receive the consummation and perfection of grace, even the glories of thy kingdom, in the full fruition of the face and excellences of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; to whom be glory and praise, honour and adoration, given by all angels, and all men, and all creatures, now, and to all eternity. Amen. ^ To this may be added the prayer of intercession for others, whom we are bound to remember, which is at the end of the foregoing prayer ; or else you may take such special prayers which M\ow at the end of the fourth chapter [for parents, for children, &c.]. jiftev which^ conclude with this ejctculcition. Now, in all tribulation and anguish of spirit, in all dangers of soul and body, in prosperity and adversity, in the hour of death and in the day of judgment, holy and most bleped Sa¬ viour Jesus, have mercy upon me, save me, and deliver me and all faithful people. Amen. % Between this and noon, usually, are said the public prayers appointed by authority; to which all the clergy are obliged, and other devout persons that have leisure, to accompany them. ^ Afternoon, or at any time of the day, when a devout person retires into his closet for private prayer or spiritual exer¬ cises, he may say the following devotions. jfln exercise to be used at any time of the day. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, &c. Our Father, &c. ' The Hymn, collected out of the Psalms, recounting the excel- lences and greatness of God, O be joyful in God, all ye lands; sing praises unto the honour of his name, make his name to be glorious. O come hitlier, and behold the works of God, how wonderful he is in DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. 35 his doings towards the children of men. He ruleth with his power for ever.^’ He is the Father of the fatherless, and defendeth the cause of the widow, even God in his holy habitation. He is the God that maketh men to be of one mind in a house, and bring- eth the prisoners out of captivity; but letteth the runagates continue in scarceness.^^ It is the Lord that commandeth the waters; it is the glori¬ ous God that maketh the thunder. It is the Lord that ruleth the sea: the voice of the Lord is mighty in operation; the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.^^ Let all the earth fear the Lord: stand in awe of him, all ye that dwell in the world.^^ Thou shalt show us wonderful things in thy righteousness, O God of our saltation ; thou art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that remain in the broad sea.^^ Glory be to the Father, &c. Or this: O Lord, thou art my God, I will exalt thee; I will praise thy name, for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.^^ Thou, in thy strength, settest fast the mountains, and art girded about with power. Thou stillest the raging of the sea, and the noise of his waves, and the madness of his people.^*^ They, also, that remain in the uttermost parts of the earth shall be afraid at thy tokens ; thou, that makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to praise thee. O Lord God of hosts, who is like unto thee ? thy truth, most mighty Lord, is on every side.^^ Among the gods there is none like unto thee: O Lord, there is none that can do as thou doest. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things ; thou art God alone.^^ God is very greatly to be feared in the council of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him.^^ Righteousness and equity are in the habitation of thy seat; mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Glory and worship are before him; power and honour are in his sanctuary.^^ Psal. Ixvi. 1, 4, 6. Psal. Ixviii. 5, 6. Psal. xxix. 3, 4. Psal. xxxiii. 8. pg^l. Ixv. 5. Isa. xxv. 1. Psal. Ixv. 6—8. 28 Psal. Ixxxix. 9. 29 Psal. Ixxxvi. 8, 9. f Psal. Ixxxix. 8, 15. Psal. xcvi. 6. D 2 36 DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. Thou, Lord, art the thing that I long for ; thou art mj hope, even from my youth. Through thee have I been holden up, ever since I was born; thou art he that took me out of my mother’s womb ; my praise shall be always of thee.^^ Glory be to the Father, &c. IF After this may be read some portion of Holy Scripture, out of the New Testament, or out of the Sapiential books of the Old, viz., Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, &c., because these are of great use to piety, and to civil conversation. Upon which, when you have awhile meditated, humbly composing your- j self upon your knees, say as followeth. Ejaculations. My help standeth in the name of the Lord, who hath made heaven and earth.^^ Show the light of thy countenance upon thy servant, and I shall be safe.^^ Do well, 0 Lord, to them that be true of heart, and ever¬ more mightily defend them.^^ Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art my Sa¬ viour, and my great Master.^^ Keep me from sin and death eternal, and from my enemies visible and invisible. Give me grace to live a holy life, and thy favour, that I may die a godly and happy death. Lord, hear the prayer of thy servant, and give me thy Holy Spirit. The Prayer, O eternal God, merciful and gracious, vouchsafe thy favour and thy blessing to thy servant: let the love of thy mercies, and the dread and fear of thy majesty, make me careful and inquisitive to search thy will, and diligent to perform it, and to persevere in the practices of a holy life, even till the last of my days. II. Keep me, O Lord, for I am thine by creation; guide me, for I am thine by purchase; thou hast redeemed me by tlie blood of thy Son ; and loved me with the love of a father, for I am thy child by adoption and grace: let thy mercy pardon my sins, thy providence secure me from the punishments and 32 Psal. Ixxi. 5, 6. ” p^al. cxxiv. 8. ^4 jxxx. 7. 3^ Psal. cxxv. 4. Psal. xxv. 5. DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DATS. 37 evils I have deserved, and thy care watch over me, that I may never any more offend thee: make me, in malice, to be a child ; but in understanding, piety, and the fear of God, let me be a perfect man in Christ, innocent and prudent, readily furnished and instructed to every good work. III. Keep me, 0 Lord, from the destroying angel, and from the wrath of God: let thy anger never rise against me, but thy rod gently correct my follies, and guide me in thy ways, and thy staff support me in all sufferings and changes. Preserve me from fracture of bones, from noisome, infectious, and sharp sicknesses ; from great violences of fortune and sudden sur¬ prises : keep all my senses entire till the day of my death, and let my death be neither sudden, untimely, nor unprovided: let it be after the common manner of men, having in it no¬ thing extraordinary, but an extraordinary piety, and the manifestation of thy great and miraculous mercy. ly. Let no riches make me ever forget myself^ no poverty ever make me to forget thee : let no hope or fear, no pleasure or pain, no accident without, no weakness within, hinder or dis¬ compose my duty, or turn me from the ways of thy command¬ ments. 0, let thy Spirit dwell with me for ever, and make niy soul just and charitable, full of honesty, full of religion, resolute and constant in holy purposes, but inflexible to evil! Make me humble and obedient, peaceable and pious ; let me never envy any man’s good, nor deserve to be despised myself: and if I be, teach me to bear it with meekness and charity. y. Give me a tender conscience ; a conversation discreet and affable, modest and patient, liberal and obliging ; a body chaste and healthful, competency of living according to my condition, contentedness in all estates, a resigned will and mortified af- I feet ions; that I may be as thou wouldest have me, and my [portion may be in the lot of the righteous, in the brightness of thy countenance, and the glories of eternity. Amen. Holy is our God. Holy is the Almighty. Holy is the Immortal. Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth, have mercy upon me. 38 DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. A Form of Prayer for the Evening, to he said hy such who have not time or opportunity to say the public prayers ap- pointed for this office. Evening Prayer, 1 , O eternal Grod, great Fatlier of men and angels, jvlio hast established the heavens and the earth in a wonderful order, making day and night to succeed each other; I make my humble address to thy Divine Majesty, begging of thee mercy and protection this night and ever. O Lord, pardon all my sins, my light and rash words, the vanity and impiety of my thoughts, my unjust and uncharitable actions, and whatsoever I have transgressed against thee this day, or at any time be¬ fore. Behold, O God, my soul is troubled in the remembrance of my sins, in the frailty and sinfulness of my flesh, exposed to every temptation, and of itself not able to resist any. Lord God of mercy, I earnestly beg of thee to give me a great portion of thy grace, such as may be sufficient and efiectual for the mortification of all my sins, and vanities, and disorders. that, as I have formerly served my lust and unworthy desires, so now I may give myself up wholly to thy service and the studies of a holy life. II. Blessed Lord, teach me frequently and sadly to remember my sins; and be thou pleased to remember them no more: let me never forget thy mercies, and do thou still remember to do me good. Teach me to walk always as in thy presence: ennoble my soul with great degrees of love to thee,^ and con¬ sign my spirit with great fear, religion, and veneration of thy holy name and laws ; that it may become the great employ¬ ment of my whole life to serve thee, to advance thy glory, to root out all the accursed habits of sin ; that in holiness oi lif^j in humility, in charity, in chastity, and all the ornaments o grace, I may by patience wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus. Amen. III. Teach me, O Lord, to number my days, that I may apply my heart unto wisdom ; ever to remember my last end, that I may not dare to sin against thee. Let thy holy angels be DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. 39 ever present with me, to keep me in all my ways from the malice and violence of the spirits of darkness, from evil com¬ pany, and the occasions and opportunities of evil, from perish¬ ing in popular judgments, from all the ways of sinful shame, from the hands of all mine enemies, from a sinful life, and from despair in the day of my death. Then, O brightest Jesu, shine gloriously upon me, let thy mercies and the light of thy countenance sustain me in all my agonies, weaknesses, and temptations. Give me opportunity of a prudent and spiritual guide, and of receiving the holy sacrament; and let thy loving spirit so guide me in the ways of peace and safety, that with the testimony of a good conscience, and the sense of thy mercies and refreshment, I may depart this life in the unity of the church, in the love of God, and a certain hope of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and most blessed Saviour. Amen. Our Father, &c. # Another Form of Evening Prayer^ which may also be used at bed-time. Our Father, &c. I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.^^ My help cometh of the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper ; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, neither the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall pre¬ serve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth for evermore. Glory be to the Father, &c. I. Visit, I beseech thee, O Lord, this habitation with thy mercy, and me with thy grace and salvation. Let thy holy angels pitch their tents round about and dwell here, that no Psal. cxxi. 1, &c. 40 DEVOTIONS FOR ORDINARY DAYS. illusion of the night may abuse me, the spirits of darkness may not come near to hurt me, no evil or sad accident oppress me ; and let the eternal Spirit of the Father dwell in my soul and body, filling every corner of my heart with light and grace. Let no deed of darkness overtake me; and let thy blessing, most blessed God, be upon me for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. II. Into thy hands, most blessed Jesu, I commend my soul and body, for thou hast redeemed both with thy precious blood. So bless and sanctify my sleep unto me, that it may be tem¬ perate, holy, and safe; a refreshment to my wearied body, to enable it so to serve my soul that both may serve thee with a never-failing duty. O, let me never sleep in sin or death eternal, but give me a watchful and a prudent spirit, that I may omit no opportunity of serving thee; that whether I sleep or wake, live or die, I may be thy servant and thy child: that when the work of my life is done, I may rest in the bosom of my Lord, till by the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, I shall be awakened, and called to sit down and feast in the eternal supper of the Lamb. Grant this, O Lamb of God, for the honour of thy mercies, and the glory of thy name, 0 most merciful Saviour and Redeemer Jesus. Amen. III. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, who hath sent his angels, and kept me this day from the destruction that walketh at noon, and the arrow that flieth by day; and hath given me his Spirit to restrain me from those evils to which my own weaknesses, and my evil habits, and my un¬ quiet enemies, would easily betray me. Blessed and for ever hallowed be thy name for that never-ceasing shower of bless¬ ing by which I live, and am content and blessed, and provided for in all necessities, and set forward in my duty and way to heaven. Blessing, honour, glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen. Holy is our God. Holy is the Almighty. Holy is the Immortal. Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sahaoth, have mercy upon me. DEVOTIONS FOB ORDINARY DAYS. 41 j Ejaculations and short Meditations to he used in the nighty when we awake. \ Stand in awe and sin not; commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still. I will lay me down in peace and 'sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety.^® O Father of spirits, and the God of all flesh, have mercy md pity upon all sick and dying Christians, and receive the i souls which thou hast redeemed returning unto thee. Blessed are they that dwell in the heavenly Jerusalem, where there is no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to ishine in it: for the glory of God does lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle; for the Lord God giveth ithem light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.^® Meditate on Jacob’s wrestling with the angel all night; be Lou also importunate with God for a blessing, and give not )ver till he hath blessed thee. Meditate on the angel passing over the children of Israel, > ind destroying the Egyptians for disobedience and oppression. jPray for the grace of obedience and charity, and for the Divine protection. i Meditate on the angel who destroyed in a night the whole ijirmy of the Assyrians for fornication. Call to mind the sins I )f thy youth, the sins of thy bed; and say, with David, My •eins chasten me in the night season, and my soul refuseth |;oxnfort.” Pray for pardon and the grace of chastity. I Meditate on the agonies of Christ in the garden, his sad- less and affliction all that night i and thank and adore him or his love, that made him sufier so much for thee; and hate hy sins, which made it necessary for the Son of God to sufier 10 much. Meditate on the four last things. 1. The certainty of death. II. The terrors of the day of judgment. 3. The joys of heaven. :. The pains of hell; and the eternity of both. Think upon all thy friends who are gone before thee; and I>ray that God would grant to thee to meet them in a joyful lesurrection. j The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in * Psal. iv. 4, 9, Rev. xxi, ‘23. Rev. xxii. 5. 2 Pet. iii. 10 DEVOTIONS FOB ORDINARY DATS. 42 the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Seeing, then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of per¬ sons ought we to he, in all holy conversation and go