The rule and exercises of holy living. In which are described the means and instruments of obtaining every vertue, and the remedies against every vice, and considerations serving to the resisting all temptations. Together with prayers containing the whole duty of a Christian, and the parts of devotion fitted to all occasions, and furnish'd for all necessities.

Ad Sect. 6.] Special dev••tions to be used upon the Lords-day, and the great Festivalls Of Christians.

In the Morning recite the following forme of Thanksgiving: upon the special Festivalls ad∣ding the commemoration of the special blessing according to the following prayers: adding such prayers as you shall choose out of the fore∣g••ing Devotions.

2. Besides the ordinary and publick duties of the day, if you retire into your closet to read and meditate; after you have performed that duty, say the song of S. Ambrose commonly called the [Te Deum] or [We praise thee, &c] then add the prayers for particular graces which are at the end of the former Chapters, such and as many of them as shall fit your present needs and

affections: ending with the Lords prayer. This form of devotion, may for variety, be indifferently used at other times.

A forme of thanksgiving with a recital of publick and private blessings: To be used upon Easter-day, Whit-sunday, Ascension-day, and all Sun∣dayes of the year: but the middle part of it may be reserved for the more solemn Festivals; and the other used upon the ordinary; as every mans af∣fections or leisure shall determine.

[I.] Ex Liturgiâ S. Basilii magnâ ex parte.

O Eternal Essence, Lord God, Father Al∣mighty, Maker of all things in Heaven and Earth, it is a good thing to give thanks to thee, O Lord, and to pay to thee all reverence, wor∣ship and devotion from a clean and prepared heart; and with an humble spirit to present a living and reasonable sacrifice to thy holinesse and Majesty: for thou hast given unto us the knowledge of thy truth: and who is able to declare thy greatnesse, and to recount all thy marvellous works which thou hast done in all the generations of the world.

O Great Lord and Governour of all things, Lord and Creator of all things visible and invi∣sible, who sittest upon the throne of thy glory, and beholdest the secrets of the lowest abysse and darknesse, thou art without beginning, un∣circumscribed, incomprehensible, unalterable, and seated for ever unmoveable in thy own essential happinesse and tranquillity: Thou art the Father of our Lord JESU SCHRIST: who is,

Our Dearest and most Gracious Saviour, our hope, the wisdom of the Father, the image

of thy goodnesse, the Word eternal and the brightnesse of thy person, the power of God from eternal ages, the true light that lightneth every Man that cometh into the World, the Redemption of Man, and the Sanctification of our Spirits.

By whom the holy Ghost descended upon the Church; the holy Spirit of truth, the seal of adoption, the earnest of the inheritance of the Saints, the first fruits of everlasting feli∣city, the life-giving power, the fountain of sanctification, the comfort of the Church, the ease of the afflicted, the support of the weak, the wealth of the poor, the teacher of the doubtful, scrupulous and ignorant, the anchor of the fearful, the infinite reward of all faithful souls, by whom all reasonable and understand∣ing creatures serve thee, and send up a never-ceasing, and a never-rejected sacrifice of pray∣er, and praises, and adoration.

All Angels and Archangels, all Thrones and Dominions, all Principalities and Powers, the Cherubins with many eyes, and the Seraphin•• covered with wings from the terror and amaze∣ment of thy brightest glory: These and all the powers of Heaven do perpetually sing prai∣ses and never-ceasing Hymns, and eternal An∣thems to the glory of the eternal God, the Al∣mighty Father of Men and Angels.

Holy is our God: Holy is the Almighty: Holy is the Immortal: Holy, Holy, Holy▪ Lord God of Sabaoth, Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory. Amen. * With these holy and blessed Spirits I also thy ser∣vant, O thou great lover of souls, though I be unworthy to offer praise to such a Majesty, yet out of my bounden duty humbly offer up my

heart and voice to joyn in this blessed quire, and confesse the glories of the Lord. * For thou art holy, and of thy greatnesse there is no end; and in thy justice and goodnesse thou hast measured out to us all thy works.

[ 3] Thou madest man out of the earth and didst form him after thine own image: thou didst place him in a garden of pleasure, and gavest him laws of righteousnesse to be to him a seed of immortality.

O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodnesse: and declare the wonders that he hath done for the children of men.

For when man sinned and listned to the whispers of a tempting spirit, and refused to hear the voice of God, thou didst throw him out from Paradise, and sentest him to till the Earth; but yet left nor his condition without remedy, but didst provide for him the salvation of a new birth, and by the blood of thy Son didst redeem and pay the price to thine own justice for thine own creature, lest the work of thine own hands should perish.

O that men would therefore praise the Lord, &c.

For thou, O Lord, in every age didst send testimonies from Heaven, blessings and Pro∣phets, and fruitful seasons, and preachers of righteousness, and miracles of power, and mer∣cy: thou spakest by thy Prophets and saidst, I will help by one that is mighty: and in the ful∣nesse of time spakest to us by thy Son, by whom thou didst make both the Worlds: who by the word of his power, sustains all things in Heaven and Earth: who thought it no robbe∣ry to be equal to the Father: who being be∣fore all time was pleased to be born in time, to converse with men, to be incarnate of a holy

Virgin: he emptied himself of all his glories, took on him the form of a servant, in all things being made like unto us, in a soul of passions and discourse, in a body of humility and sor∣row, but in all things innocent, and in all things afflicted: and suffered death for us, that we by him might live and be partakers of his nature and his glories, of his body and of his Spirit, of the blessings of earth, and of immor∣tal felicities in Heaven.

O that men would therefore praise the Lord &c.

For thou O holy and immortal God, O sweetest Saviour Jesus, wert made under the Law to condemn sin in the flesh: thou who knewest no sin wert made sin for us: thou gavest to us righteous Commandements, and madest known to us all thy Fathers will: thou didst redeem us from our vain con∣versation, and from the vanity of Idols, false principles, and foolish confidences, and broughtest us to the knowledge of the true and onely God and our Father, and hast made us to thy self a peculiar people, of thy own purchase, a royal Priesthood, a holy Nation: Thou hast washed our soules in the Laver of Regeneration, the Sacrament of Baptisme: Thou hast reconciled us by thy death, justi∣fied us by thy Resurrection, sanctified us by thy Spirit [sending him upon thy Church in visible formes, and giving him in powers, and miracles, and mighty signes, and con∣tinuing this incomparable favour in gi••ts and san••tifying graces, and promising that hee shall abide with us for ever] thou hast fed us with thine own broken body, and given drink to our soules out of thine own heart: and hast ascended up on high,

and hast overcome all the powers of Death and Hell, and redeemed us from the miseries of a sad eternity: and sittest at the right hand of God, making intercession for us with a never-ceasing charity.

O that men would therefore praise the Lord, &c.

The grave could not hold thee long, O holy & eternal Jesus, thy body could not see corruption, neither could thy soul be left in Hell; thou wert free among the dead, and thou brakest the iron gates of Death, and the bars and chains of the lower prisons: Thou broughtest comfort to the souls of the Patriarchs who waited for thy coming, who long'd for the redemption of Man, and the revelation of thy day. Abraham, Isaac, and Iacob saw thy day, and rejoyced: and when thou didst arise from thy bed of darknesse, and leftest the grave-clothes be∣hinde thee, and put on a robe of glory (over which for 40 dayes thou didst wear a vail) and then entred into a cloud, and then into glory, then the powers of Hell were confounded, then Death lost its power and was swallowed up into victory; & though death is not quite destroyed, yet it is made harmlesse and without a sting, and the condition of Humane Nature is made an entrance to eternal glory; & art become the Prince of life, the first fruits of the resurrection, the first-born from the dead, having made the way plain before our faces, that we may also rise again in the Resurrection of the last day, when thou shalt come again unto us to render to e∣very Man according to his works.

O that men would therefore praise the Lord, &c. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious: and his mercy endureth for ever. O all ye angels of the Lords, praise ye the Lord: praise him and magnifie him for ever.

O ye spirits and souls of the Righteous, praise ye the Lord: praise him and magnifie him for ever.

And now, O Lord God, what shall I render to thy Divine Majesty for all the benefits thou [ 3] hast done unto thy servant in my personal ca∣pacity.

Thou art my Creator and my Father, my Protector and my Guardian, thou hast brought me from my Mothers wombe, thou hast told all my joynts, and in thy book were all my members written: Thou hast given me a comely body, Christian and careful parents, holy education; Thou hast been my guide and my teacher all my dayes: Thou hast given me ready faculties, and unloosed tongue, a cheerful spirit, strait limbs, a good reputation, and li∣berty of person, a quiet life, and a tender con∣science [a loving wife or husband, and hopeful children] thou wert my hope from my youth, through thee have I been holden up ever since I was born: Thou hast clothed me and fed me, given me friends and blessed them; given me many dayes of comfort and health, free from those sad infirmities, with which many of thy Saints and dearest servants are afflicted: Thou hast sent thy Angel to snatch me from the vio∣lence of fire and water, to prevent praecipices, fracture of bones, to rescue me from thunder and lightning, plague and pestilential diseases, murder and robbery, violence of chance and enemies, and all the spirits of darknesse: and in the dayes of sorrow thou hast refreshed me: in the destitution of provisions thou hast taken care of me, and thou hast said unto me, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart, secretly among the faithful and in the congre∣gation.

Thou O my dearest Lord and Father hast ta∣ken care of my soul, hast pitied my miseries, sustained my infirmities, relieved and instruct∣ed my ignorances; and though I have broken thy righteous Lawes and Commandements, run passionately after vanities and was in love with Death, and was dead in sin, and was ex∣posed to thousands of temptations, and fell foully, and continued in it, and lov'd to have it so, and hated to be reformed; yet thou didst call me with the checks of conscience, with daily Sermons and precepts of holinesse, with fear and shame, with benefits and the ad∣monitions of thy most holy Spirit, by the counsel of my friends, by the example of good persons, with holy books and thousands of ex∣cellent arts, and wouldest not suffer me to pe∣rish in my folly, but didst force me to attend to thy gracious calling, and hast put me into a state of repentance, and possibilities of par∣don, being infinitely desirous I should live, and recover, and make use of thy grace, and partake of thy glories.

I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart, secretly among the faithful, and in the con∣gregation. * For salvation belongeth unto the Lord, and thy blessing is upon thy servant. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercies, and in thy fear will I worship to∣ward thy holy temple. * For of thee, and in thee, and through thee, and for thee are all things. Bles∣sed be the name of God from generation to generati∣on. Amen.

A ••hort Form of thanksgiving to be said upon any special deliverance, as from Ch••ld-birth, from Sickness, from ba••••el, or imminent danger at sea, or Land, &c.

O most merciful and gracious God, thou fountain of all mercy and blessing, thou hast opened the hand of thy mercy to fill me with blessings, and the sweet effects of thy loving kindnesse: thou feedest us like a Shepherd, thou governest us as a king, thou bearest us in thy arms like a nurse, thou doest cover us under the shadow of thy wings, and shelter us like a hen; thou (O Dearest Lord) wakest for us as a Watchman, thou providest for us like a Hus∣band, thou lovest us as a friend, and thinkest on us perpetually, as a careful mother on her helplesse babe, and art exceeding merciful to all that fear thee; and now, O Lord, thou hast added this great blessing of deliverance from my late danger, (here name the blessing) it was thy hand and the help of thy mercy that relieved me, the waters of af∣fliction had drowned me, and the stream had gone over my soul, if the spirit of the Lord had not moved upon these waters: Thou O Lord, didst re∣voke thy angry sentence which I had deserved, and which was gone out against me: Unto thee, O Lord, I ascribe the praise and honour of my redemption: I will be glad and rejoyce in thy mercy, for thou hast considered my trouble, and hast known my soul in adversity: As thou has•• s••r••ad thy hand upon me for a covering, so also enlarge my heart with thankfulnesse, and fill my mouth with praises, that my duty and returns to the•• may be great as my needs of mercie are; and let thy gracious favours, and loving kindnes••e endure for ever and ever upon thy servant: and grant

that what thou hast sown in mercy may spring up in duty: and let thy grace so strengthen my purpo∣ses that I may sin no more, lest thy threatning re∣turn upon me in anger, and thy anger break me in∣to pieces: but let me walk in the light of thy fa∣vour, and in the paths of thy Commandments; that I living here to the glory of thy name, may at last enter into the glory of my Lord, to spend a whole eternity in giving praise to thy exalted and ever glorious name. Amen.

We praise thee O God: we knowledge thee to be the Lord, * All the earth doth worship thee the Father Everlasting. * To thee All Angels cry a∣loud, the Heavens and all the powers therein. * To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry. * Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. * Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory. * The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee. * The goodly fellowship of the Pro∣phets praise thee. * The noble army of Martyrs praise thee. * The holy Church throughout all the world doth knowledge thee. * The Father of an infinite Majesty. * Thy honourable, true and only Son. * Also the Holy Ghost the Comforter. * Thou art the King of glory O Christ. * Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. * When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgins womb. * When thou hadst overcome the sharpnesse of death, thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers. * Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father. * We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge. * We therefore pray thee help thy servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. * Make them to be numbered with thy Saints in glory everlasting. * O Lord save thy peo∣ple, and blesse thine heritage. * Govern them

and lift them up for ever. * Day by day we mag∣nifie thee. * And we worship thy name ever world without end. * Vouchsafe O Lord, to keep us this day without ••in. * O Lord have mercy upon us: have mercy upon us. * O Lord let thy mercy lighten upon us as our trust is in thee. O Lord in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded. Amen.