may bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance. O let it be thy good Pleasure to create in me a faving Knowledge of thee, and of my Duty, juftifying Faith, true fanctifying Grace, and a purifying Hope, an ardent Love, and a filial Fear of thee, a conftant Defire of pleafing thee, and a great Tenderness of offending thee. Lord, create in me a penitent Heart, a refigned Will, and mortified Affections, an habitual Mindfulness of thy Prefence, and a steady Devotion in my Prayers, fincere Intentions and Zeal for thy Glory, Perfeverance in all holy Purposes, and Conftancy in all Trials and Temptations. Lord, create in me a reverential Awe of thy Name, a Delight in thy Service, a fecret Regard to this Day and House of Prayer, and a great Attention to thy Word; a daily Care of my Time, and Diligence in my Studies. Lord, make me chafte and temperate, humble and advifable, and patient of Reproof; and create in me me a cheerful and meek, a contented and confiderate, a quiet and peaceful Spirit. Lord, blefs me with Health, and Competency of Living, with a good Understanding, a retentive Memory, and a ready Apprehenfion; and with fuch a Measure of temporal good Things, as thou feeft good for me; and give me Grace to make a right Ufe of all thofe Bleffings I have already receiv'd. Lord, purify my Thoughts, bridle my Tongue, guide all my Actions, guard all my Senfes, ftop my Ears, and turn away my Eyes from Sin and Vanity. Lord, give me Grace to be juft in all my Dealings; to do to all Men as I would they fhould do to me, to be fubject to my Parents, and to all my Superiors; to the King as Supreme, and to all Civil Magiftrates; to the Paftors of the Church, and to all my Governors in this Place: O grant that I may tender due Honour and Obedience to them all in their feveral Stations. D 3 Lord, Lord, make me willing to forgive Injuries, and unwilling to offer any; make me grateful to my Benefactors, friendly to my Equals, condefcending to my Inferiors, compaffionate to the Afflicted, charitable to the Poor according to my Ability, a Lover of good Men, and kind to my Enemies; and give me Grace to keep always a Confcience void of Offence towards thee, and towards Men, and to continue in the Communion of the Church without wavering. O merciful God, keep thy Servant from all wilful, deliberate, or prefumptuous Sins, and let no Wickednefs have Dominion over me. From Stubbornnefs and Pride, Idlenefs and Sloth, Intemperance and youthful Lufts, Inconftancy and Lying, Good Lord deliver me. From irreligious Principles, and falfe Teachers, unruly Paflions, and violent Temptations; from contracting vicious Habits, or taking Pleafure in Sin; from Profanenefs, and ill Company, Envy and Malice, Detraction and Uncharitablenefs, Good Lord deliver me, From From the Errors and Vices of the Age, and all remanent Affections to Sin; from the Sin (or Sins) my corrupt Nature is moft inclined to; [Here name it, or them;] from whatsoever is offenfive to thee, or deftructive to my own Soul, Good Lord deliver me. Hear me, O Heavenly Father, and conform my whole Life to the Example of my bleffed Saviour, and that for his fake, in whofe holy Words I fum up all my Wants: Cur Father which art in Heaven, &c. You are now, good Philotheus, by God's Help, gone over the hardest Part of your Preparation for the Holy Sacrament, the next Thing you are to do, is to examine your felf whether you do fufficiently underftand what the Sacrament is; then to ask your felf with what Intentions you do approach it, and to pray for God's Grace to difpofe you for worthily Receiving; and all thefe Particulars, together with all that you are to know and believe concerning D. 4 the the bleffed Sacrament, are contained in thefe following Meditations, which I advife you to read over devoutly at feveral Times, till you are in fome measure affected with them. Meditations on the Holy On the Outward Elements. thou now inviteft me, and of what Parts it confifts: Of an outward and vifible Sign, and of an inward and fpiritual Grace! For thou, Lord, who knoweft our Infirmities, and how little able we are to conceive Things Heavenly and Spiritual, in Pity to our dark and feeble Apprehenfions, haft ordain'd outward, and obvious, and visible Signs to reprefent to our Minds thy Grace which is inward and invifible: Thou haft ordained Bread and Wine, which is our corporal |