I did sin with greediness and passion, with great desires and an unabated choice: O let me be as great in my repentance, as ever I have been in my calamity and shame: let my hatred of sin be as great as my love to thee, and both as near to infinite, as my proportion can receive. III. O Lord, I renounce all affection to sin, and would not buy my health nor redeem my life with doing any thing against the laws of my God, but would rather die than offend thee. O dearest Saviour, have pity upon thy servant: let me, by thy sentence, be doomed to perpetual penance during the abode of this life: let every sigh be the expression of a repentance, and every groan an accent of spiritual life, and every stroke of my disease a punishment of my sin, and an instrument of pardon; that, at my return to the land of innocence and pleasure, I may eat of the votive sacrifice of the supper of the Lamb, that was, from the beginning of the world, slain for the sins of every sorrowful and returning sinner. O grant me sorrow here and joy hereafter, through Jesus Christ, who is our hope, the resurrection of the dead, the justifier of a sinner, and the glory of all faithful souls. Amen. A Prayer for Pardon of Sins, to be said frequently in time of Sickness, and in all the portions of Old Age. I. O eternal and most gracious Father, I humbly throw myself down at the foot of thy mercy-seat, upon the confidence of thy essential mercy, and thy commandment, that we should come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may find mercy in time of need. O my God, hear the prayers and cries of a sinner, who calls earnestly for mercy. Lord, my needs are greater, than all the degrees of my desire can be; unless thou hast pity upon me, I perish infinitely and intolerably; and then there will be one voice fewer in the choir of singers, who shall recite thy praises to eternal ages. But, O Lord, in mercy deliver my soul. O save me for thy mercy's sake. For, in the second death, there is no remembrance of thee in that grave, who shall give thee thanks? f Psal. vi. 4, 5. II. O just and dear God, my sins are innumerable; they are upon my soul in multitudes; they are a burden too heavy for me to bear; they already bring sorrow and sickness, shame and displeasure, guilt and a decaying spirit, a sense of thy present displeasure, and fear of worse, of infinitely worse. But it is to thee so essential, so delightful, so usual, so desired by thee to shew mercy, that although my sin be very great, and my fear proportionable, yet thy mercy is infinitely greater than all the world, and my hope and my comfort rise up in proportions towards it, that I trust the devils shall never be able to reprove it, nor my own weakness discompose it. Lord, thou hast sent thy Son to die for the pardon of my sins: thou hast given me thy Holy Spirit, as a seal of adoption to consign the article of remission of sins: thou hast, for all my sins, still continued to invite me to conditions of life by thy ministers the prophets; and thou hast, with variety of holy acts, softened my spirit, and possessed my fancy, and instructed my understanding, and bended and inclined my will, and directed or overruled my passions in order to repentance and pardon: and why should not thy servant beg passionately, and humbly hope for, the effects of all these thy strange and miraculous acts of loving-kindness? Lord, I deserve it not, but I hope thou wilt pardon all my sins; and I beg it of thee for Jesus Christ's sake, whom thou hast made the great endearment of thy promises, and the foundation of our hopes, and the mighty instrument whereby we can obtain of thee whatsoever we need and can receive. III. O my God, how shall thy servant be disposed to receive such a favour, which is so great, that the ever-blessed Jesus did die to purchase it for us; so great that the falling angels never could hope, and never shall obtain it? Lord, I do from my soul forgive all, that have sinned against me: O forgive me my sins, as I forgive them, that have sinned against me. Lord, I confess my sins unto thee daily, by the accusations and secret acts of conscience; and if we confess our sins, thou hast called it a part of justice to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord, I put my trust in thee; and thou art ever gracious to them, that put their trust in thee. I call upon my God for mercy; and thou art always more ready to hear, than we to pray. But all that I can do, and all that I am, and all that I know of myself, is nothing but sin, and infirmity, and misery; therefore I go forth of myself, and throw myself wholly into the arms of thy mercy through Jesus Christ, and beg of thee for his death and passion's sake, by his resurrection and ascension, by all the parts of our redemption, and thy infinite mercy, in which thou pleasest thyself above all the works of the creation, to be pitiful and compassionate to thy servant in the abolition of all my sins: so shall I praise thy glories with a tongue not defiled with evil language, and a heart purged by thy grace, quitted by thy mercy, and absolved by thy sentence, from generation to generation. Amen. An Act of holy Resolution of Amendment of Life, O most just and most merciful Lord God, who hast sent evil diseases, sorrow and fear, trouble and uneasiness, briers and thorns, into the world, and planted them in our houses, and round about our dwellings, to keep sin from our souls, or to drive it thence; I humbly bcg of thee, that this my sickness may serve the ends of the spirit, and be a messenger of spiritual life, an instrument of reducing me to more religious and sober courses. I say, O Lord, that I am unready and unprepared in my accounts, having thrown away great portions of my time in vanity, and set myself hugely back in the accounts of eternity; and I had need live my life over again, and live it better: but thy counsels are in the great deep, and thy footsteps in the water; and I know not what thou wilt determine of me. If I die, I throw myself into the arms of the holy Jesus, whom I love above all things; and if I perish, I know I have deserved it; but thou wilt not reject him that loves thee. But if I recover, I will live, by thy grace and help, to do the work of God, and passionately pursue my interest of heaven, and serve thee in the labour of love, with the charities of a holy zeal, and the diligence of a firm and humble obedience. Lord, I will dwell in thy temple, and in thy service: religion shall be my employment, and alms shall be my recreation, and patience shall be my rest, and to do thy will shall be my meat and drink; and to live shall be Christ, and then to die shall be gain. "O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength, before I go hence, and be no more seen." done on earth, as it is in heaven." Amen. 66 Thy will be SECTION 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 rendering their Repentance more particular and perfect. 1. Thou shalt have none other gods but me. Duties commanded are, 1. To love God above all things. 2. To obey him and fear him. 3. To worship him with prayers, vows, thanksgivings, presenting to him our souls and bodies, and all such actions and expressions, which the consent of nations, or the laws and customs of the place where we live, have appropriated to God. 4. To design all to God's glory. 5. To inquire after his will. 6. To believe all his word. 7. To submit to his providence. 8. To proceed towards all our lawful ends by such means as himself hath appointed. 9. To speak and think honourably of God, and recite his praises, and confess his attributes and perfections. They sin against this commandment, 1. Who love themselves or any of the creatures inordinately and intemperately. 2. They that despise or neglect any of the Divine precepts. 3. They that pray to unknown, or false gods. 4. They that disbelieve, or deny, there is a God. 5. They that make vows to creatures. 6. Or say prayers to the honour of men or women, or angels; as paternosters to the honour of the Virgin Mary, or St. Peter, which is a taking a part of that honour, which is due to God, and giving it to the creature: it is a religion paid to men and women out of God's proper portion, out of prayers directed to God immediately; and it is an act contrary to that religion, which makes God the last end of all things; for this, through our addresses to God, passes something to the creatures, as if they stood beyond him; for by the intermedial worship paid to God, they ultimately do honour to the man, or angel. 7. They that make consumptive oblations to the creatures; as the Collyridians, who offered cakes, and those that burnt incense or candles to the Virgin Mary. 8. They that give themselves to the devil, or make contracts with him, and use fantastic conversation with him. 9. They that consult witches and fortune-tellers. 10. They that rely upon dreams and superstitious observances. 11. That use charms, spells, superstitious words and characters, verses of psalms, the consecrated elements, to cure diseases, to be shot-free, to recover stolen goods, or inquire into secrets. 12. That are wilfully ignorant of the laws of God, or love to be deceived in their persuasions, that they may sin with confidence. 13. They that neglect to pray to God. 14. They that arrogate to themselves the glory of any action or power, and do not give the glory to God, as Herod. 15. They that doubt of, or disbelieve, any article of the Creed, or any proposition of Scripture, or put false glosses to serve secular or vicious ends, against their conscience, or with violence any way done to their reason. 16. They that violently or passionately pursue any temporal end with an eagerness greater, than the thing is, in prudent account. 17. They that make religion to serve ill ends, or do good to evil purposes, or evil to good purposes. 18. They that accuse God of injustice or unmercifulness, remissness or cruelty; such as are the presumptuous, and the desperate. 19. All hypocrites and pretenders to religion, walking in forms and shadows, but denying the power of godliness. 20. All impatient persons: all that repine or murmur against the prosperities of the wicked, or the calamities of the godly, or their own afflictions. 21. All that blaspheme God, or speak dishonourable things of so sacred a Majesty. 22. They that tempt God, or rely upon his protection against his rules, and without his promise, and besides reason, entering into danger, from which, without a miracle, they cannot be rescued. 23. They that are bold, in the midst of judgment, and fearless in the midst of the Divine vengeance, and the ac cents of his anger |