An exposition on the church-catechism, or, The practice of divine love composed for the Diocese of Bath & Wells.

Q. My good child, know this, that thou art not able to do these things of thy self, nor to walk in the Commandments of God, and to serve him without his special grace, which thou must learn at all times to call for by diligent Prayer. Let me hear therefore if thou canst say the Lords Prayer?

A. Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass a∣gainst us. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.

Q. What desirest thou of God in this prayer?

A. I desire my Lord God our heavenly Father, who is the giver of all goodness, to send his grace unto me, and to all people, that we may worship him, serve him, and obey him as we ought to do. And I pray unto God, that he will send us all things that be needful both for our souls and bodies. And that he will be merciful unto us, and forgive us our sins, and that it will please him to save and defend us in all dangers ghostly and bodily, and that he will keep us from all sin and wickedness, and from our ghostly enemy, and from everlasting death.

And this I trust he will do of his mercy and goodness, through our Lord Iesus Christ. And therefore I say Amen. So be it.

* 1.1O infinite Lord, it is my duty and my happiness to love thee; but alas! my own sad experience teaches me, how little able I am to love.

* 1.2Ah Lord, there is a dark cloud of Ignorance spread over my Soul, that intercepts thy beams, I cannot clearly see, I cannot fully know how lovely thou art.

Ah Lord, when ever any gleams of thy loveliness break in upon my Spirit, and attract my will; a crowd of strange Loves importune and tempt me to wander after them.

* 1.3Since O my God, I can of my self neither know, nor love thee, since I cannot by my own strength do those things thou requirest, nor walk in thy Commandments, nor serve thee, nor think so much as one good thought a 1.4: whither can I fly but only to thy free and unbounded love? Thou art my hope, my help, and my salvation b 1.5; thou only canst teach and enable me to know and to love thy own goodness.

* 1.6By thy special Grace, O my God, by thy par∣ticular assistance, by the strength of thy Love I can do all things c 1.7: O let thy Grace ever enlighten and enflame me; let it ever prevent, and accompany and follow me; let it ever excite, and encrease, and support thy love in my heart; O let it ever work in me both to will and to do of thy good plea∣sure d 1.8.

* 1.9I know Lord, that thy Grace, and all other blessings I must learn at all times to call for by diligent Prayer, and I adore and love thy in∣finite Benignity to sinners, in indulging us the privilege, the honour, the happiness to pray to theee 1.10, to pour out our souls, to breath out our desires, to present our wants, and to unbosom our griefs at thy Throne of love.

* 1.11I praise and I love thee, O sovereign Love, for not only permitting us miserable Wretches to pray to thee, but also for giving us all imaginable en∣couragement to so important and divine a Duty.

I adore and love thee, O munificent goodness, for inviting f 1.12, for commanding us to pray g 1.13: I adore and love thee for pouring out thy holy spirit of grace and supplication on us,h 1.14 to help our Infir∣mities, to assist us in praying, to make intercessi∣ons for us with Sighs and Groans that cannot be uttered * 1.15, with the utmost ardours of a peni∣tential and indigent love. I adore and love thee for giving us so many glorious promises i 1.16 of hear∣ing our Prayers, so many firm assurances of a gracious acceptance.

* 1.17O thou great Prophet of Divine Love, who, as if thy invitation, and command, and assistance, and promise were not enough to move us to pray; hast condescended to teach us this duty thy self; and to give us a perfect pattern of Prayer, for which I adore and love thee.

* 1.18Glory be to thee, O blessed Master of Devotion, who in dictating a form of Prayer, and enjoyning us to use it k 1.19, hast complied with our weakness, and warned us not to relie on rash and unpreme∣ditated Effusions; who in dictating a short form, hast taught us to avoid vain repetitions, or think∣ing we shall be heard for much sp••aking, and to measure our Prayers rather by their fervency than length.

* 1.20That Prayer which was composed by thy own self, O God that hearest Prayer, we are sure is most divine and excellent, and perfect like its Au∣thor, and most agreeable and acceptable to thee, for which I adore and love thee.

* 1.21O Blessed Jesus, the only beloved of God, thou best understandest the language of Love, and in that language thou hast taught us to pray, and whenever we pray in that language, we have an humble confidence thy heavenly Father will hear us, who with the words of his own beloved Son will ever be well pleased; and therefore I adore and love thee.

* 1.22Thou O heavenly Guide of our Devotion and our Love, by teaching us to pray, hast shewed us that Prayer is our treasury where all Blessings are kept, our Armoury where all our strength and weapons are stored, the only great preservative, and the very vital heat of Divine Love. Give me grace therefore to call on thee at all times by di∣ligent Prayer.

* 1.23O the unspeakable misery of those who either totally neglect the duty of Prayer l 1.24, or else pro∣phane it by drawing near to God with their lips, when their hearts are far removed from him, whose Prayers being void of all Devotion and con∣cern, are turned into fresh sins m 1.25: How de∣servedly shall he have God for his Enemy; who would not beg pardon of a most reconcileable Fa∣ther? How deservedly shall he suffer eternal wrath, who thought Heaven not worth the asking?

* 1.26O my God, let me daily offer up to thee my morning and evening Sacrifice n 1.27 in private, and in publick too, if my circumstances permit, and as near as I can, let me omit no opportunities of praying, or of praising thee.

* 1.28O my God, may I ever keep my self in thy Love, by praying in the holy Ghost o 1.29, and by praying without ceasing p 1.30, since I incessantly want the suc∣cours of thy Love.

Ah Lord, I know my Devotion has daily many unavoidable and necessary interruptions, and I cannot always be actually praying, all I can do is to beg of thy Love, to keep my heart always in an habitual disposition to Devotion, and in mind∣fulness of thy divine presence, that I may perpe∣tuate my Prayer by frequent Ejaculations.

O my God, as thy infinite Love is ever-stream∣ing in Blessings on me; O set my Soul be ever breathing Love to thee.

* 1.31O my God, to Prayer whereby I address to thee, give me grace to add the daily reading and me∣ditation of thy word q 1.32, whereby thou art pleased to converse with me.

It is thy abundant Love to us, O Lord, that thou indulgest us thy word in our own mother Tongue, that from those dear Volumes of thy Love, every devout Lover may daily and on all occasions supply proper fewel to his Love; for which all Love, all Glory be to thee

* 1.33I adore and love thee, O heavenly Oracle of Love, for contriving this Prayer in that admirable method; that thou hast withal taught us all the requisites of an acceptable Prayer; thou in the Preface hast taught us how to Pray: In the Peti∣tions for what to Pray: and in the Conclusion, what ought to be the end of our Prayers, for which I adore and love thee.

Father.

* 1.34Glory be to Thee O Jesu, who hast taught us to whom to direct our Prayers, to God only, r 1.35 since he only is Omniscient to know, and all∣sufficient to succour, all our necessities.

Glory be to thee who hast taught us for whose sake only we can hope to be heard, even for thy own, O blessed Jesus, for it is through thy alone Mediation, f 1.36 that we sinners can call God Father, or have access to his Throne.

Glory be to thee, O beloved Jesu, who in teaching us to call God Father, hast taught us to pray with the affections of a Child, with Reverential Love, and Reliance on the Pater∣nal care, and benignity, and love of our Heavenly Father. t 1.37

Our Father.

Glory be to thee, O Lord, who in teaching me to call God,* 1.38 Our Father, has taught me not to confine my Charity to my self, but to pray also with the affections of a Brother, u 1.39 to all man∣kind, who are children by Creation, to all Chri∣stians, who are children by Adoption, of the same Heavenly Father. O give me that Brotherly kindness, to them all, that I may beg the same blessings for them, as for my self, and earnestly pray that they may all share with me in thy Fatherly Love.

Which art in Heaven.

* 1.40Glory be to thee, O thou beloved of the Fa∣ther, who in teaching us to pray to Our Fa∣ther in Heaven, hast taught me the infinite di∣stance between God and us, and to pray with the Humility of a supplicant x 1.41. with that awe that becomes a frail Creature, a miserable Sinner, be∣fore his Creator, and his Judge.

O Father Almighty, though thou fillest all places, yet thy Glory is most manifested in Heaven, and there thy Majesty does most Illustri∣ously dwell, and to thy Throne there, y 1.42 are we

to lift up our hearts when we Pray, O let my soul fly up to thee, when I pray, in Heavenly Thoughts, and Desires, and Love: O let me savour nothing of the earth, whenever I treat with thee in Heaven!

* 1.43Glory be to thee O Gratious Lord, who in the Petitions of thy most Divine Prayer, hast taught us for what we are to Pray, for all blessings Tem∣poral, and Eternal, for all things lawful, and ac∣ording to thy will. z 1.44

Glory be to thee, O Jesu, who in ranking the Petitions for Spiritual blessings first, hast taught us to seek Heaven in the first place, a 1.45 grant Lord that I may always beg thy blessings in their due order, that I may pray for blessings Spiritual with holy violence b 1.46, with importunity, and resolution not to be denyed, as being the proper ingredients of thy Love and absolutely necessary to my eternal welfare, c 1.47 and for Temporal, with Indifference and Resignation to thy will, since I may Love thee, and be eternally happy without them.

* 1.48Hallowed be thy Name.

O Lord God, may Thy Name, * 1.49 thy own Glorious, and Amiable self have a Love and Honour separate, and incommunicable. May thy infinite Goodness and Greatness be for ever, by all Men and all Angels, Confest, and Admired, and Adored, and Magnified d 1.50 both in Private and Publick, in our Hearts, our Mouths and our Lives.

All Creatures share in thy Goodness e 1.51 O God, O let all Creatures help us to Glorifie thy Name.

O may every thing that hath breath, praise the Lord.

Thy Kingdom come.

O thou King of Kings, may Thy Kingdom of Grace, f 1.52 the Church Militant, the Catholick Seminary of Divine Love, come to its utmost Evangelical perfection in this life.

O may thy Gospel, Lord, be dayly propa∣gated, Unbelieving Nations Converted, g 1.53 and the number of thy Saints augmented.

Grant, O Lord God, that thy true Religion, thy Word, thy Conveyances of Grace, all the Holy Institutions, Laws and Governours; fixt by thee in thy Spiritual Kingdom, h 1.54 may be Loved and Honoured, and Obeyed: and that thy faithful Subjects may be protected against all the malice of wicked men, or the powers of darkness. i 1.55

O my God, let it be thy good Pleasure to put a period to sin and misery, to infirmity and death; to compleat the number of thine Elect, and to hasten thy Kingdom of Glory: k 1.56 that s, and all that wait for thy Salvation, may in the Church Triumphant eternally Love, and I Praise thee.

Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven.

O my God, thy Will, and thy Commands, are most Holy, Iust, and Good, l 1.57 and conde∣scending to our weakness, and by no means grie∣vous, m 1.58 O give me Grace Conscientiously to ob∣serve them.

Thy blessed Angels, O Lord, always behold thy Face in Heaven, n 1.59 They have the Beatifick Vision of thy incomparable Amiableness, they can∣not but unalterably choose thee, they must needs to their utmost capacity Praise and Love thee. n 1.60 they cannot possibly offend thee, o 1.61 they ever per∣fectly obey thee, and are always upon the Wing at thy Command.

Lord give me Grace, in imitation of the blessed spirits above, to set thee always before me, O six my serious Contemplation on thee. Ravish my soul with a lively sense of thy infinite Am••ableness, O vouchsafe me one short glimps of thy Goodness. O may I once tast and see how Gratious Thou art, p 1.62 that all things besides thee may be tastless to me, that my desires may be always flying up towards thee, that I may render thee Love, and Praise, and Obedience, Pure and Chearful, Constant and Zealous, Uni∣versal and Uniform, like that the Holy Angels render thee in Heaven.

Give us this day our dayly Bread.

* 1.63Glory be to thee, O Heavenly Benefactor, who openest thy hand, and fillest all things living with plenteousness. q 1.64

O let it be thy good pleasure to give me, and all the wait on thy Beneficent Love, our food in due season, Give us Bread, and all that is comprehended by it, Health, Food, Raiment, and all the necessaries of Life.

Give us, O Heavenly Father, Dayly Bread, nothing to gratifie our Luxury, but such a compe∣tence r 1.65 as thy Divine wisdom sees fittest for us.

Give us, O bountiful Creatour, Dayly Bread this day, Teach us to live without covetous anxi∣ety for to morrow, with a fiducial dependance on thy Fatherly Goodness, and to be content and thankful for the present portion, s 1.66 thy Love has indulged us.

O merciful Lord, give us Our Bread, that which is our own Bread, by honest Labour, t 1.67 or a lawful Title, and grant that we may never eat the Bread of Idleness, or of deceit.

Do Thou Lord, Give us our Bread, for un∣less thou givest it, we cannot have it, and toge∣ther with our Bread give us thy blessing, u 1.68 other∣wise our very Bread will not nourish us.

Above all, O Lord God, give us the Bread of Life, the Bread that came down from Heaven, the Body and Blood of thy most Blessed Son, to feed our Souls to Life eternal.

Blessed Jesus, O that it might be my meat, as it was thine, to do the will of thy Heavenly Fa∣ther! x 1.69

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.

For thy own in••inite mercies sake, and for the Merits of the Son of thy Love, Forgive me, and all penitent sinners Our trespasses, our sins Known or Secret, of Omission or Commission, which are the vast debts y 1.70 we owe, to thy vindi∣ctive justice.

Forgive us, O Lord, as we forgive all them, even our greatest Enemies that t••••es••••ss against us, their trespasses, which are infinitely inconsi∣derable in comparison of our trespasses against thee.

Glory be to thee, O Lord, who to teach us Charity, hast made our forgiveness, the condition of obtaining Thine.

O Easie, O Gratious condition of Pardon, who would not forgive his Brother a few pence in this Life, to have ten Thousand Talents, z 1.71 for∣given in the next!

O let my love, Lord, learn from thine, not only to forgive my Enemies, but to be Zealous also to do them good.

And lead us not into temptation.

O Lord God, thou seest how our Ghostly Ene∣mies, the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, are every moment soliciting, inticing, alluring, or tempting us to evil; O be merciful to us, save, and help, and deliver us.

Thou seest, O my God, how infirm I am, and how ready my own deceitful heart is a 1.72, to surren∣der it self to the Tempter; and I know that Sa∣tan cannot tempt me without thy permission b 1.73: O lead me not if it be thy good pleasure, suffer me not to fall into violent or lasting Temptations, that may endanger my perseverance.

I know O heavenly Father, that to be tempted is no sin, for thy own beloved Son, God incarnate, was tempted c 1.74 to the most horrid of all Sins, to fall down and worship the very Devil, I know Lord, the Sin lies in yielding to the Temptation.

O my God, if thou for trial of my Love, lead me into any great Temptation, and let me conti∣nue under it, thy Will Lord be done, not mine d 1.75: O let thy paternal tenderness limit and controul the Tempter: O let thy All-sufficient Grace re∣strain my consent, and keep me always on my guard, watching and praying, and let me at last be more than Conquerour.

I am content, Lord, to be tried and assaulted, so I be not wicked, though it be grievous for those that Love thee, to be tempted to offend thee.

But deliver us from evil,

O Father of mercy, if thou thinkest fit to lead me into Temptation, deliver me from the Evil to which I am tempted: Deliver me from the Evil of Sin, and the Evil of Punishment, from the evil one e 1.76, from the evil World, f 1.77 and from my own evil Heart g 1.78, and from all suggestions to Evil, for all that is Evil is most hateful to thee, who art infinite goodness, and most destructive of thy Love. And therefore from all that is Evil, O Almighty Lord defend me.

* 1.79For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, for ever and ever.

I adore, and Love thee, O Jesu, who by conclu∣ding, this Prayer with a Doxology, hast taught us, that the right end of our Prayers should be the Glory of God, that we should be ever careful to mix Praise with our Prayers, and to be as zealous to give thanks for what we receive h 1.80, as to Pray for what we want.

To thee, O Lord God, do we pray, on thee only we rely and depend for acceptance, to thee only we offer up our Praises, for thine is the King∣dom i 1.81 and Sovereign Right to dispose of all things, thine is the Power k 1.82 Almighty, to relieve and bless us, thine is the Glory l 1.83. All, the Communicati∣ons of thy Goodness, as they flow from thee, re∣turn to thee again in Sacrifices of Love, of Praise, and Adoration.

Amen.

For the sake O Heavenly Father of thy beloved, m 1.84 in whom all thy Promises are Amen, and who is himself the Amen, the faithful and true Witness of thy Love to us. Hear me, and pardon my wandrings and coldness, and help me to sum up and enforce my whole Prayer; all my own wants, and all the wants of those I pray for, in a hearty and fervent, and comprehensive, Amen.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Previous considera∣tions.
• * 1.2

  Our Im∣potence to good.
• * 1.3

  God is our Refuge.
• a 1.4

  2 Cor. 3.5.
• b 1.5

  Psal. 62.7. Iohn 15.4.5.
• * 1.6

  Our Assi∣stance from God.
• c 1.7

  Eph. 3.16. Phil. 4.13.
• d 1.8

  2.13.
• * 1.9

  Gain'd by Prayer.
• e 1.10

  Rom. 1••.13
• * 1.11

  Encou∣rage∣ments to Pray.
• f 1.12

  Psal. 50 15.
• g 1.13

  Phil. 4.6.
• h 1.14

  Zach. 12.10.
• * 1.15

  Rom. 8.26.
• i 1.16

  Mat. 7.7▪
• * 1.17

  A Pat∣tern of Prayer.
• * 1.18

  A Form most con∣descend∣ing.
• k 1.19

  Mat. 6.7, 8, 9. Luk. 11.2••
• * 1.20

  Most Di∣vine.
• * 1.21

  Most Ac∣ceptable.
• * 1.22

  Necessity of Prayer
• * 1.23

  Misery of those who do not Pray.
• l 1.24

  Psal. 10▪4.
• m 1.25

  Psalm 109.7.
• * 1.26

  Prayer Ought to be daily.
• n 1.27

  Psalm 5.3.141.2.
• * 1.28

  Incessant.
• o 1.29

  Iude 20.21.
• p 1.30

  1 Thes. 5.17.
• * 1.31

  Ioyned with read∣ing and meditati∣on.
• q 1.32

  Psal. 1.2.
• * 1.33

  The me∣thod of Prayer.
• * 1.34

  The Pre∣face teach∣es how to pray.

  To whom? To God only.

  For Iesus sake.

  With the affections of a Child.
• r 1.35

  Psal. 65.2.
• f 1.36

  Iohn 16.23. Ephes. 1.6.2▪ 18.
• t 1.37

  Isa. 63.15, 16. Luke 11.13. Mal. 1.6.
• * 1.38

  Of a Bro∣ther.
• u 1.39

  Eph. 4.6. 1 Pet. 3.8.
• * 1.40

  With the humility of a Sup∣plicant.
• x 1.41

  Eccl. 5.1. Hebr. 12.28, 29.
• y 1.42

  Psal. 11.4. Isa 57.15
• * 1.43

  Petitions in general teach us for what to Pray. For things lawful. And in what order.
• z 1.44

  1 Iohn 5.14, 15.
• a 1.45

  Mat. 6.33.
• b 1.46

  Mat. 11.12.
• c 1.47

  Gen. 32.26.
• * 1.48

  In parti∣cular for Blessings Spiritual relating to God.
• * 1.49

  Psal. 8.1.9.111.9.
• d 1.50

  Ps. 148.
• e 1.51

  Ps. 145.9, 10.
• f 1.52

  Luke. 1.32 Mat. 3.2. 1 Col. 13.
• g 1.53

  Isa. 2.2.3
• h 1.54

  Ioh. 18.36.
• i 1.55

  1 Pet. 3.13. Mal. 12.28, 29,
• k 1.56

  2 Pet. 1.11.
• l 1.57

  Rom. 7.12.
• m 1.58

  1 Ioh. 5.
• n 1.59

  Mat. 18.10.
• n 1.60

  Mat. 18.10.
• o 1.61

  Ps. 103.20.
• p 1.62

  Psal. 34.8.
• * 1.63

  Petitions relating to our selves.
• q 1.64

  Ps. 145.16.
• r 1.65

  Prov. 30.8, 9.
• s 1.66

  1 Tim. 4.4. 1 Tim. 6.6. 1 Pet. 5.7.
• t 1.67

  Gen. 3.19. Deut. 21.17.
• u 1.68

  Eccl. 5.19. Mich. 6.14.
• x 1.69

  Ioh. 4.34.
• y 1.70

  Mat. 6.12. Luk. 11.4.
• z 1.71

  Mat. 18.22, 24, 28.
• a 1.72

  Ier. 17.9.
• b 1.73

  Mat. 8.31.
• c 1.74

  Mat. 4.1.9.
• d 1.75

  1 Cor. 10.13. 1 Pet. 5.8. 2 Cor. 12.7, 9. Iam. 4.7.
• e 1.76

  1 Ioh. 2.14.
• f 1.77

  Gal. 1.4.
• g 1.78

  Heb. 3.12.
• * 1.79

  The Con∣clusion teaches to Pray for a right end, Gods Glo∣ry.
• h 1.80

  Phil. 4.6. Neh. 9.5, 6.
• i 1.81

  Psal. 47.2.7.
• k 1.82

  135.6.
• l 1.83

  Ps. 96.7, 8.
• m 1.84

  2 Cor. 1. Rev. 3.14.