a prayer, upon a solemn occasion, O Eternal God most holy and most glorious, who dwells in the highest heavens, and with righteousness and truth sways the scepter of the whole world, you are judge to the wicked and rebellious wretches, a terrible judge and a consuming fire, but to the humble and repentant sinners a strong tower of defense and their exceeding great reward. We, the most miserable and wretched of all your creatures, though the most noble by creation, for they and their kinds in several conditions do you honor and service, but we whom you have placed in this world for a more singular and extraordinary glorifying of you, have not only made ourselves more vile than the basest creatures, and more senseless in your service than the beasts that perish, but have even combined with Satan, with hell and with all the powers of darkness, to blaspheme and dishonor your great name, to profane your Sabbath, to break all your holy laws and commandments. O Lord, we thus sinful and unworthy are here ashamed and confounded in your presence. for our iniquities are increased over our heads, and our trespasses are grown up to the heavens. So that if now in your just judgment you should come against us, as we have many times, and do daily most justly provoke you, it had been far better for us, had we never been born. Satan would challenge us for his, We shall never see your face again, nor the heavens, nor the earth, nor all the goodness which you have prepared for man. from the foul pollution of original sin which has universally infected and possessed all the powers and parts both of our souls and bodies, is from a filthy puddle, if it should all kinds of impurities, many works of darkness and fearful transgressions, both in our thoughts and words and actions, much profaneness and hardness of heart, pride and hypocrisy, contempt to the power of godliness and godly men, a senseless neglect of your word and judgments of the way to heaven and the salvation of our own souls. Even the best of us, before our calling, wearied ourselves in the vain pleasures and sinful passions of this wretched world, being detained by the policies of hell, either in notorious sinfulness or only formal hypocrisy, We walked with boldness in the way of darkness and of death, after the devices and desires of our own wicked hearts, in much bitterness and malice against your children and your sincerity. Nay, and since it has pleased you to enlighten our understanding with saving knowledge, and to pull us by the power of your good spirit out of the slavery of sin and Satan, into the glorious liberty of your children, Our best actions and your good graces in us have been foully stained by private pride and secret hypocrisy. We many times take your blessing from us by our dullness and untowardness at religious exercises. And by reason we do not faithfully those good things which we know. We have the knowledge of many evil things kept from us which we unadvisedly commit. And whereas, before this, on our new birth, the sins of our unregenerate state have woefully vexed and disquieted our consciences, yet such is the wretchedness of our corrupted nature, that we have sometimes looked back upon them even with delight, escaped relapse and backsliding, We do not with that thankfulness and cheerfulness as we ought embrace in this happy time of grace and peace those good means which you have ordained for our comfort and salvation. So that indeed we walk, not worthy of that blessed vocation in which we are called, but by our many slips, imperfections and carelessness, we bring much discomfort upon our souls, disgrace to our Christian profession, dishonor to your majesty. and a fence to our brethren. O Lord, we beseech you for your holy namesake, and for your rich mercies in Christ Jesus to pardon us all these offenses, and to forgive us all our sins, known and unknown, howsoever, or whensoever committed, since are before our calling, and to bury them in the death and passion of our blessed Savior. and to hide them in His righteousness forevermore. There is no comfort to be expected to our conscience, wounded with the terror of sin, either in heaven or in earth, in angel, saint, or mortal man, but only in the spotless justice of your dear Son. Therefore, we beseech you upon a good ground, with plentiful assurance, every one of our souls, that his precious blood was shed for our sins in particular, that we may sensibly feel the forgiveness of our sins and rejoice in the hope of eternal life. And for the time to come we humbly entreat you to mortify in us all sinful affections, unruly lusts, and unlawful desires, to subduing us the power of sin, and every corruption in which Satan keeps us anyway in his slavery, or at any time gets the dominion over us. Save us, we beseech you, from idleness, worldliness, profaneness, security, and all occasions in which your good spirit is grieved in us. Our grace is weakened, and your great name dishonored. vouchsafe us a spirit of judgment that we may discern between the short span of this wretched life and the length and breadth of immortality, that we never prefer the pleasures of sin for a moment and a little glory and preferment in this world before the testimony of a good conscience and an excellent weight of glory laid up in heaven for all your children. make us faithful and conscionable in our callings, zealous and sincere in all religious duties and services, and wisely resolute to stand for your honor and truth against all opposition, either by devils or wicked men. And so direct we beseech you, and sanctify all our courses that for a few and evil days in this veil of tears We may so store ourselves with spiritual comfort, with a sound heart, with a strong faith and a good conscience, that we may stand firm and sure at the day of our visitation And when upon our death's bed we shall be set upon by the weakness of our own flesh, the terrors of death, the fearfulness of the grave, and the fires, darts of Satan, we may comfortably pass through them all in the name and power of your Son, and be received with joyfulness and triumph into those sacred mansions which he has already made ready in heaven. For all those that truly love and fear you, In His blessed name we pour out our souls in thankfulness for all those many blessings and comforts which you have vouchsafed us, both upon our souls and body, both for this life and a better one, for our health, wealth, and liberty, our peace, plenty, and prosperity, our food, apparel, and preservation from our infancy to this very and for all the good means of all these, for the free passage of your glorious gospel now so many years amongst us. But amongst all other temporal blessings of our times let us never forget, nor we nor all our posterity forever, how it pleased you in our days miraculously to magnify the glory of your mercy in our wonderful deliverance from the most secret, bloody, and fiery plot of the gunpowder treason. that create astonishment of men and angels. All these outward comforts, both public and particular, are excellent and precious. Yet they are such as we have common with the reprobates and those that shall never see your face with comfort. But after a short time spent in the miserable pleasures of this vain world, shall be turned to hell an everlasting fire. We therefore more especially magnify your great name for the more special pledges and tokens of your infinite love. for that it pleased you, to confirm and seal to us by our affectual calling, in earnest of your good spirit our election to eternal life from all eternity, our particular redemption from the powers of hell by the death of your son, and an undoubted assurance of the joys of heaven and the world to come. Increase on us, good Lord, we beseech you daily more and more this blessed assurance, which we infinitely esteem more dear than ten thousand worlds, by making us to grow in repentance and faith and spiritual wisdom and framing us to the obedience of your Son in all knowledge, love, and obedience. Furthermore, gracious Father, we humbly entreat you, with the bowels of your tenderest compassions, to be merciful to your whole church and every member of it. Sit mightily with the spirit of truth, knowledge, and zeal and constancy, that in these worst and last days it may make a strong resistance against the great main floods of potpourri. Schism, profaneness, and atheism. Be gracious to this sinful kingdom, and do not enter into judgment with the horrible and crying sins and the many fearful provocations of it. In the same, look down with a special eye of providence and protection upon our dread sovereign, King James, by your grace, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland. Defender of the truly Catholic faith, in all causes and over all persons, next and immediately under your Son, Christ Jesus, in all His dominion, Supreme Governor, O Lord, if you have enlarged His royal heart even as a sand which is in the seashore for understanding, learning, and wisdom, so we beseech you to continue to Him a proportionable measure of holiness, ill and sanctification, for the execution of that great place in which you have set him, and the enlargement of your kingdom here on earth. Settle your crown fast upon his head, that he may long and religiously reign over us, in the spite of all of his enemies both at home and abroad. Gracious Father, for this sacred business we have now in hand, we humbly beseech you to bless and sanctify to us at this time the preaching and hearing of your holy word. It is the ordinance of your own infinite wisdom. It is the glorious instrument which you have appointed for the conversion and salvation of the souls of men. But to us miserable wretches it has been many times, through the baseness of our hearts, the secret and deceitful corruptions of our nature, much sleepiness and drowsiness, but as water spilt on the ground, and even the breath of your pastor scattered in the air. Forgive us, dear Father, all our former untowardness, irreverence, and unprofitableness in these holy exercises. And now, at length, before we go down into our graves, into black and cruel habitations from whence we must never return to praise you upon earth, Let us feel your divine finger working effectually at the preaching of your word. Let us have the sense of your omnipotency in conquering our corruptions and temptations. We be emphorically sanctified both in our souls and bodies. forsaken all our known sins and laboring with sincerity to please you in all things may have our fruit in holiness in the end everlasting life hear us we pray amen