Devotions in the ancient way of offices with psalms, hymns, and prayers for every day in the week and every holiday in the year.

Psal. LXXXVIII.

THis life indeed is the way we must walk; but this alone cannot bring us to our end:

Ere we arrive at our appointed home; we must be led through the gates of death:

Where we shall absolutely be stript of all we have; and carry nothing with us but what we are:

Where we not only must quit the whole world; but leave behind us even part of our selvs:

Hast thou, my soul, seen som Neighbour dy? and dost thou remember those circumstances of sorrow?

VVe are sure, the case ere long, will be our own; and are not sure but it may be very soon:

Have we our selvs been dangerously sick? and do we remember the thoughts we had then?

How we resolv'd to correct our passions; and strive against the vices that particularly indan∣ger us:

'Twill come to this again, and no reprieve be found, * stay one single minute the hand of death:

But he immediately will seize upon us; and bear us away to the region of spirits:

There to be rang'd in our proper place; as the course of our life has qualify'd us here.

Nor is this all, to expire and dy; and dwell for a time in a state of separation:

VVe must expect another Day; a day of pub∣lick accounts and restiution of all things:

When the Archangel shal sound his trumpet; and proclaim aloud this universal summons:

Arise you dead, and come to Judgment; a∣rise and appear before the Throne of God:

Then shall the little heaps of dust immediate∣ly awake; and every soul put on her proper bo∣dy:

Immediately all the children of Adam shal be gather'd together; from heav'n and hell and e∣very corner of the earth.

There they must stand, and all attend their doom; but O with how sad and fatal a diffe∣rence!

The Just shal look up with a cheerful confi∣dence; and in their new white robes triumph and sing,

Alleluia, let us rejoyce, for the marriage of the Lamb is come; and his Bride has prepar'd her self:

Let us rejoyce, for the Kingdom of the world is made our Lords and his Christs; and He shal reign for ever and ever:

Let us rejoyce, for now our Redeemer is nigh; behold he comes quickly, and his reward is with him:

Come, come, Lord JESU, thou long Desire of our harts; come quickly, thou full Delight of our Souls:

Come, and declare to all the world thy glo∣ry; come, and reward before all the world thy servants:

Lo, where aloft he comes in power and Maje∣sty; attended with a train of innumerable An∣gels:

Behold where he sits inthron'd on the wings of Cherubins; and takes at once a view of all mankind:

Soon he commands his Angels to sever his Sheep; and gather them together on his right hand:

First then to them he turns his glorious face; and shines upon them with these ravishing words:

Come you Blessed of my Father, possess the Kingdom * prepared for you from the begining of the world:

O the joys their souls shal feel; when those heav'nly words sound in their ears!

Joys that the wit of man cannot conceive; joys, that the tongues of Angels cannot ex∣press.

Let it suffize, themselvs shal tast their own felicity; and feed on its sweetnes for ever.

But O, with what dejected eys and trembling harts, * shal the wicked stand expecting their Judg:

What shal they do when, where're they look, * their ey can meet with nothing but despair?

Above, the offended Judge ready to condemn them; below, the bottomless pit gaping to de∣vour them:

Within, the worm of conscience knawing their bowels; and round about all the world in flames:

What shal they do, when that terrible voice * shal strike them suddenly down to the bottom of hell?

Go you accursed into everlasting fire, * pre∣par'd for the Devil and his Angels:

The day of man is past, when siners did what they pleas'd; and God seem'd to hold his peace:

'Tis now the day of God; when his wrath shal speak in thunder; and siners suffer what their wickednes deservs.

Then shal they sink immediately into the pit of sorrow; and dwel in darknes and torments for ever:

While the Just shal go up in joy and triumph; and reign with our Lord in his Kingdom for e∣ver.

Thus shal the whole Creation be finally dis∣pos'd; and mercy and justice divide the world.

O my soul! who now art here below; and read'st these dreadful truths as things afar off:

Know, thou shalt then be present, and see them with thine eys; and be thy self concern'd for all eternity:

Know, as thou livest, thou art like to dy; and as thou dy'st thou art sure to be judg'd:

Think what a sad condition it will be, * to

find thy self on the wrong hand:

Think what thou then would'st give to have repented in time; think what thou would'st give for a litle time to repent.

Watch therfore now and continually pray; for we know not the hour when the Son of man will come.

O Son of God and man, who cam'st in mer∣cy to save us; bring the same mercy with thee, when thou com'st to judg us!

Mean while, assist us with thy heav'nly grace; to stand perpetually with our accounts prepar'd:

That we may dy in the peace of God and his holy Church; and go to live with Him and his blessed Saints. Glory be, &c.

Antiph. It is decreed for all men once to dy; and, after death, judgment.

Capit. Tytus 2.

SPeak thou the things which becom sound doctrin; that the aged men be sober, chast, wise, sound in faith, in charity, in patience: likewise the aged women, that they be in holy attire, not speaking ill of others; not given to much wine, teaching good things, that they may learn the young women wisdom; to love their husbands, to love their children, to be pru∣dent, chast, sober, to have a care of the house, to be gentle; subject to their husbands; that the word of God be not blasphem'd: Young men

also exhort to be sober: Servants to be obedi∣ent to their Masters; pleasing them in every thing, not contradicting, not defrauding, but shewing good fidelity in all things; that in all things they may adorn the doctrin of God our Saviour.

Hymn XXVII.

LOrd, what a pleasant life were this, If all did well their parts: If all did one another love Sincerely with their harts!

No Suits of law, no noise of war our quiet minds would fright: No fear to lose, no care to keep What justly is our right.

No envious thought, no sland'ring tongue Would e're disturb our peace: We should help them, and they help us, And all unkindnes cease.

But the All-wise chose other laws, And thought it better so: He made the world, and sure he knows What's best with it to do.

'Tis for our good, that all this ill Is suffer'd here below:

Tis to correct those dangerous sweets, That else would poyson grow.

So storms are rais'd to clear the ayr. And chase the clouds away: So weeds grow up to cure our wounds, And all our pains allay.

How often, Lord, do we mistake, When we our plots design! Rule Thou herafter thine own world, Only Thy self be mine.

Or rather, Lord, let me be thine; Else I am not mine own: Give me Thy self, or take Thou me, Undone if left alone.

To Thee great God of heav'n and earth! Each knee for ever bow: May all thy Blessed sing above, And we adore below.

Antiph. Thou giv'st us tasts of Good here; to beget and feed in us an appetite: Thou giv'st us but tasts here, to draw our affections up to thy self; whose fruition alone can fully satisfy us.

V. Vain and preposterous it is to expect our Port at Sea:

R. Or to look for a heav'n on earth, but in hope.

O Lord hear our prayers:

And let our supplications come to Thee:

Let us pray.

O Merciful God, whose Providence dispa∣rages with shortnesses and crosses all the injoyments of this world, to allay their tempta∣tiousnes, and slacken their hold on our harts! grant us grace, we beseech Thee, wisely to dis∣cern and praise Thee, for this their most benefi∣cial nature: and since we cannot attain Thee, the heav'n of heav'ns, but by our sole Fixure on Thy self, nor be rais'd to That, without a sense of dissatisfyingnes in what ever else we do or can possess; make us check and overcome the repinings of flesh and blood, with juster adorations of Thy infinite mercy, for qualify∣ing so fitly this womb of our souls, that, by its own uneasines, it more easily disposes them for a happy birth into thy blessed eternity, through our Lord—

O Lord hear, &c. as page 45.

Saturday Complin.

OUr help is in, &c. as page 46.

Antiph. Too often are we troubled about many things; when the truly necessary is but One.