Devotions in the ancient way of offices. With psalms, hymns, and prayers for every day of the week and every holiday in the year. / Reformed by A person of quality, ; and published by George Hickes, D.D.

Friday MATTINS.

Invitatory.

Come let's Adore our God that redeem'd us. Come let's Adore our God that redeem'd us.

Psalm 66.

WHen we had sold our selves to Sin, and were all become the Slaves of Satan, our blessed Jesu descended from Heaven, and brought a vast Price to buy out our Freedom.

Come let's adore our God that redeem'd us.

The Price was no less than his own dearest Blood, which he plenteously shed on the Holy Cross, depositing so his in∣estimable Life, to rescue us Sinners from the Jaws of Death.

Come let's Adore our God that redeem'd us.

Let us consecrate this Day to his sacred Memory, and tenderly Compassionate his unparallell'd Sufferings, repenting from our Hearts our many Sins, and thankfully ad∣miring his infinite Mercies.

Come let's Adore our God that redeem'd us.

Let us wean our Minds from unbe∣coming Delights, and mortifie our Senses with a prudent Restraint, that, carry'd on the Wings of Fasting and Alms, our Pray∣ers may mount up more swiftly to Hea∣ven.

Come let's Adore our God that redeem'd us.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, World without end. Amen.

Hymn 21.

COme, let's adore the King of Love, A King of Suff'rings too: For Love it was that brought him down, And set him here in wo.

Love drew him from his Paradise, Where Flow'rs that fade not grow: And planted him in our poor Dust, Among us Weeds below.

Here for a time this Heav'nly Plant Fairly grew up and thriv'd: Diffus'd its sweetness all about, And all in sweetness liv'd.

But envious Frosts and furious Storms So long, so fiercely chide; This tender Flow'r at last bow'd down Its bruised Head, and dy'd.

O narrow Thoughts, and narrower Speech, Here your Defects confess; The Life of Christ, the Death of God, How faintly you express!

May he who from a Virgin Root, Made this fair Flow'r to spring, Help us to raise both Heart and Voice And with more Spirit sing.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, One undivided Three, All highest Praise, all humblest Thanks, Now and for ever be. Amen.

Antiphon.

Take up thy Cross, and follow thy Lord; for his Yoke is easie, and his bur∣then light.

Psalm 67.

MY God, who can complain of doing too much; if they consider the Labours of Jesus?

Those painful Labours he so freely un∣dertook; and mildly stoop'd to his hum∣ble Task.

When he might have flown on the Wings of Cherubims; he chose to walk with us Worms in the Dust.

When he might have made the Angels his Footstool; he rather became the Ser∣vant of his Parents.

Living with them in their little Cot∣tage; and readily obeying even their least Command.

There in that humble Privacy he in∣creas'd in Wisdom; and grew in favour both with God and Man.

Still by his pious Candor, gaining the Love of those happy few that saw his Life:

That saw thy holy Life, O glorious Jesu; and heard with Joy and Wonder thy incomparable Sayings.

That felt a gentle motion stir their Hearts, to love and imitate so blest a Pattern.

O that the same sweet Spirit of Grace might draw our Minds, dear Lord, to thee!

O that we could in every Passage of our Lives, actually reflect on the example of thine!

Thy Retirements were fill'd with holy Speculations; and in the midst of business thy Mind was free for Heaven.

Thy converse with others mispent no time, but bestow'd every moment in ex∣cellent Charity.

To instruct the Ignorant, to reduce the Deceived; to comfort the Afflicted, and heal the Diseased.

To convince the Froward, and absolve the Penitent; and perswade all the World to be truly happy.

It was thy Meat and Drink to do thy Father's Will; O make it ours to perform thine.

Make us in every Action still think on Thee; what thou wouldst counsel us to do.

What thou thy self wouldst do, O bles∣sed Jesu; if thou again wert here amongst us.

And when we thus have learnt our Du∣ty, Lord make us to do what thou hast made us to know.

Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c.

Antiphon.

Take up thy Cross, and follow thy Lord; for his Yoke is easie, and his bur∣den light.

Ant.] He humbled himself for us, and became obedient to Death, even the death of the Cross.

Psalm 68.

MY God, who can repine, as suffering too much, if they remember the Afflictions of Jesus?

Those many Afflictions he so patiently endured, and bore with silence all their weight.

Even from his humble Cradle in the Grot of Bethlehem; to his bitter Cross on the Mount of Calvary.

How little do we read of Glad and Prosperous; how much of Pains and Grief, and perpetual Affronts?

Sometimes abandon'd by his dearest Friends, and left alone among all his Dis∣comforts.

Sometimes pursued by his fiercest Ene∣mies; and made the common Mark of all their spight!

Sometimes they plot to snare him in his words; and enviously slander his mi∣raculous Deeds.

Sometimes tumultuously they gather about him; to gaze and abuse this Man of Sorrows.

Sometimes they furiously seize on his Person; and hale and drag him along the Streets.

At last they all conspire to take away his Life; and condemn him to a sharp and cruel Death.

Have you not seen a harmless Lamb stand silent in the midst of ravening Wolves?

So stood the Prince of Peace and Inno∣cence; besieg'd with a Ring of Savage Jews.

When they blasphem'd him, he reply'd not again; and when they injuriously struck him, he only observ'd their Rash∣ness.

When they provok'd him with their ut∣most Malice, he pleaded their Excuse; and when they kill'd him, he earnestly pray'd for their Pardon.

O strange Ingratitude of humane Na∣ture; thus barbarously to Crucify the World's Redeemer.

O admirable Love of the World's Re∣deemer; thus patiently to dye for humane Nature!

Say now, my Soul, for whom thy dearest Lord endur'd all this, and infinite∣ly more.

Canst thou complain of thy little Trou∣bles, when the King of Glory was thus afflicted?

Canst thou complain of a meanly fur∣nish'd House; when the Son of God had not where to lay his Head?

We wear the Badge of a Crucified Savi∣our; and shall we shrink back at every Cross we meet?

We believe in a Lord, that was crown'd with Thorns; and shall we abide to tread on nothing but Roses?

Before our Eyes, O Jesu, we see Thee Humble and Meek; and shall thy Ser∣vants be Proud and Insolent?

We see Thee travel up and down, poor and unregarded; and shall thy Followers make it their chief aim to be rich and e∣steem'd?

Thy charitable Labours were malici∣ously Slander'd; and shall not our Faults have the Patience to be reprov'd?

Thou disdain'dst not to be call'd in Scorn the Carpenters Son; and cannot our vile∣ness bear a little disparagement?

O how unlike are we to that blest Ori∣ginal; who descended from Heaven to become our Pattern!

How do we go astray from that sacred Path; which the Holy Jesus trac'd with his own Steps?

Pity; O dear Redeemer, the Infirmi∣ties of thy Children; and strengthen with thy Grace our fainting Hearts?

Arm us, O glorious Conqueror of Sin and Death! against all the Fears and Terrors of the World.

Arm all our Powers with those celestial Vertues, of Faith, and Hope, and invin∣cible Love.

That we may still go on, and resolute∣ly meet whatever stands in our way to Heaven.

Since we must suffer as Christians, and deserve it as Sinners; Lord, let us bear it as become thy Servants.

Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the Beginning, &c.

Antiphon.

He humbl'd himself for us, and became obedient to Death, even the death of the Cross.

Ant.] Unworthy are we, O Lord, of the least of thy Favours; O let thy Pas∣sion make us worthy of the greatest.

Psalm 69.

MY God, when I consider what thou hast suffer'd for us; and what we have done against Thee:

I am amaz'd at the wonders of thy Goodness; and confounded at the vile∣ness of our Misery.

Our Sins were the cause of thy cruel Death, yet still we permit them to live in us.

We entertain the worst of thy Enemies; and treacherously lodge them in our own Bosoms.

Preferring a petty Interest before thy Heaven; a transitory Pleasure before thy Felicity.

Many, we confess, are the Follies of our Life, and our Consciences tremble at their own great Guilt.

Many are the times thou hast graci∣ously pardon'd us; and still we relapse, and abuse thy Clemency.

The memory of our Transgressions are bitter unto us; and the thought of our Ingratitude extreamly afflicts us.

But is there, O holy Jesus, any stain so foul, which thy gracious Blood cannot wash away?

Is there any heap of Sins so vast, to ex∣ceed the number of thine infinite Mer∣cies?

O no; thou canst Forgive more than we can Offend; but thou wilt not For∣give unless we fear to Offend:

Unless we seek to Thee for Peace and Reconciliation; and humble our selves in thy holy Presence.

Wherefore behold we fall down at thy crucified Feet; and there ask Pardon for our perverse Affections.

Reverently we kiss thy pierced Hands; and implore Forgiveness of our wicked Actions.

Humbly we salute thy bleeding Side, and supplicate thy Grace to purifie our Intentions.

All we can offer thy offended Majesty, to pacifie the Justice of thy Wrath;

Is only an humble Eye bathed in Tears, and a faithful penitent Heart, broken with contrition.

Only a firm resolve to mend our Lives; and even all this we must beg of Thee:

O thou our gracious and indulgent Lord, who freely pardon'st all that truly Repent:

Who givest Repentance to all that ask; and invitest all to ask, by promising to give.

Make us look seriously into our own Breasts; and heartily lament our own Failings.

Make us search diligently for our Bo∣som Sins; and strive to cast them out with Prayer and Fasting.

Open thou, O Lord, our Lips, to ac∣cuse our Crimes; that we blush not to confess, what we fear'd not to do.

Correct our past Sins with the works of Repentance; that the Stains they leave may be quite taken away.

Preserve us hereafter with thy power∣ful Grace; that no Temptation surprise or overcome us.

Extend thy Mercy, O Lord, over all our Works; since thy self hast declar'd 'tis above all thine own.

Glory be to the Father, &c. As it was in the beginning, &c.

Antiphon.

Unworthy are we, O Lord, of the least of thy Favours; O let thy Passion make us worthy of thy greatest.

First Lesson. Isa. 51. 14.

HEarken unto me, my People, give ear unto me, O my Nation, for a Law shall proceed from me; and I will make my Judgment to rest for a Light of the People.

Isa. 50. 6. I gave my Back to the Smi∣ters, and my Cheeks to them that plucked off the Hair: I hid not my Face from Spitting.

Isa. 63. 3. I have trodden the Wine∣press alone, and of the People there was none with me.

And Ver. 5. I looked and there was none to help.

Psal. 22. 7. All that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out their Lips, they shake the Head, saying, He trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him, let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Psal. 21, &c. I was as one that is Deaf, and heard not; as a Dumb Man that o∣pens not his Mouth.

They gaped upon me with their Mouths, as a ravening and a roaring Lyon; for Dogs have compassed me, the assem∣bly of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my Hands and my Feet. All my Bones are out of Joint. They part my Garments among them, and cast Lots for my Vesture.

And Psal. 96. 2. They gave me Gaul for my Meat, and in my Thirst they gave me Vinegar to Drink.

And Psal. 22. 15. My strength is dry'd up as a Potsherd; and my Tongue

cleaveth to my Jaws, and thou hast brought me to the dust of Death.

R. All this, O holy Jesus, thou taughtest by thy holy Prophets, to prepare the World for thy Coming.

All this and infinitely more, thou veri∣fiedst in thine own Person, with Pains, and Sorrows, and Reproaches, able to make even Patience it self break forth into this sad Complaint, Lam 1. 12. Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by? Be∣hold and see if there be any Sorrow, like unto my Sorrow, which is done unto me, &c.

I was betray'd, and bound, and led a∣way Captive; I was revil'd, buffeted, and scornfully spit on; I was stript, scourg'd, and condemn'd to a cruel Death; I was crown'd with Thorns, and pierc'd with Nails, and crucified among Thieves. O all ye that pass by the way, behold my Sorrow.

Second Lesson. Joel 2. 12.

THerefore also now saith the Lord, Turn ye even unto me with all your Heart, with Fasting, with Weeping, and with Mourning.

And rent your Hearts and not your Garments, and turn unto the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to Anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the Evil.

Who knoweth if he will return, and re∣pent, and leave a blessing behind him?

Isa. 59. 1. Behold the Lord's hand is not shorten'd that he cannot save; neither his ear heavy that he cannot hear.

But your Iniquities have separated be∣tween you and your God, and your Sins have hid his Face from you, that he will not hear.

Isa. 55. 7. Let the wicked forsake his Way, and the unrighteous Man his Thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have Mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly Pardon.

Isa. 4. 16. Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine Eyes; cease to do Evil,

learn to do well, seek Judgment, relieve the Oppressed, judge the Fatherless, plead for the Widow.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your Sins be as Scarlet, they shall be as white as Snow; though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as Wooll.

Res. Oh that my Head were Waters, and mine Eyes a Fountain of Tears, that I might continually weep, and mourn, and lament for my own Sins, and for my Sa∣viour's Sufferings. O my ador'd Re∣deemer, make us heartily sorry to have offended Thee; make us speedily amend, lest we ruine our selves; thou hast given us these holy Rules to guide our Lives, and enforc'd them on us by thine own Ex∣ample, Fasting, and Praying, and Weeping, and humbling thy self unto Death, even the death of the Cross.

Third Lesson. Isa. 58. 3, 4, &c.

BEhold in the day of your Fast you find Pleasure, and exact all your Labours.

Behold you fast for Strife and Debate; and to smite with the Fists of Wicked∣ness, &c.

This is the Fast that I have chosen to loose the Bands of Wickedness; to undo the heavy Burdens, and let the Oppressed go free; and that ye break every Yoke.

It is to deal thy Bread to the Hungry, and that thou bring the Poor that are cast out unto thy House, when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thy self from thine own Flesh.

Then shall thy light break forth as the Morning, and thy health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before Thee, the Glory of the Lord shall be thy ••ere ward.

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer thee; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, here am I.

Isa. 43. 25. I, even I am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions, for mine own sake, and will not remember thy Sins.

I am the Lord thy God, who teach thee to Profit, and govern thee in the way thou shouldst go in, Isa. 48. 17.

Res. My God! never let me so rely upon any outward Performances, that I neglect the improvement of my Mind;

lest my Fasting become an unprofitable Trouble, and my Prayer a vain Lip-la∣bour. The Soul and the Body make one Man, and the Spirit and Discipline make a Christian: Never let me so pretend to inward Perfection, that I slight the out∣ward Observances of Religion; lest my Thoughts grow proud and fantastick, and all my Arguments but a cover for Licen∣tiousness.

Antiphon.

O ye foolish, when will you under∣stand the gracious Providence of the Lord, in chastening whom he loves, and scourg∣ing every Child he receives?

V. Gold is try'd and refin'd in the Fire.

R. And the faithful Man in the Fur∣nace of Affliction.

Let us pray.

O God, who by our great Masters dear Example, hast taught us what La∣bours and Sufferings Heaven deserves, and may require to take it by Violence: Confound, we humbly beseech Thee, the nice tenderness of our nature in us, by this thy more tenderly condescending Grace, and dispose us more easily to fol∣low it by this plain reflection, that since

Flesh and Blood cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, whatever inures us practically to put them off here, by pru∣dently denying even their just Content∣ments, most certainly helps us in our way thither; and is useful to perfect farther, even the perfectest, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth ever One God, World without End. Amen.