A Spiritual Propine of a Pastor to his People

Morning prayer before ye enter to warke.

O Great Creator of all things, our gracious Lord & sweet father in Christ, we the warke of thine awin hands, thy pure seruands and children mayest humbly adores and worships before the throne of thy majesty, acknawledging and extolling thee for thy wonderful warkes, all wrought of thy gudnes, in power and wisdom inspeakeable, in making of all, upholding of all; & ordering and ruling of all, for the well and comfort of man; whom thou haste appointed, Lord over all thy creatures: that of him above all where thou might be served and glorified. Lord, we heartily thank thee for all thy benefits sa largely bestowed upon us, that our hearts cannot sufficiently think on thē, meikle less our mouths express them, as for that thou hast this night watched over us, keiped us from all danger of body & saule, & given us comfortable rest for refreshing of the weariness of our weak nature, humbly beseeching thee for thy mercy & grace, in respect of our manifold sins committed against thee this night, & all the nights and times of our life by-past; that in the lawer of the precious blood of thy son Jesus Christ our Savior, all our uncleanness of saule and body may be washed away. Suffer not Lord our sins to stay the course of thy blessing, and bring on us thy fearful curse, as mayest justly they deserve; bot rather amend us be a maire forcible working of thy spirit of grace and sanctification: That as thou continues the course of time, the day after the night, and night after the day: sa the course of thy kindness, and love may be continued with us thy seruands and children beyond all time, and sa Lord, vouchsafe to receive us this day under thy gracious government and favorable protection: waken us out of the sleep of sin, raise us out of the bed of security, make us to cast off the warks of darkness, and put on the armor of light, that we may walk honestly as in the day time, yea as in thy sight and presence, before whom the greatest darkness even of the hid thoughts of the 〈◊〉 shines as the clear light. Make the day 〈…〉 thy gospel to lighten our minds 〈◊〉 that 〈…〉 Christ •• ••• to shine before the eyes of our faith, and the heat beams of thy spirit to kendel up that lively warmenes and wholesome heat of love in our hearts, and guide us sa, be thy grace in all thy ways, that in thought, word, and deed, we may glorify thy name, and edify vthers be our gude example in all godliness and virtue. Lord, as we are mindful of this body to cleange, cleithe, and feide the same daily, make us as careful of our saules and inward man, to purge it be repentance, wash it in the precious blood of the lamb the Lord Jesus, cleith it with his righteousness, and feide the samin be his body broken for us: that is, be true faith in his death and passion, keep our hearts and thoughts from all ungodly, dishonest, unlawful, wrangous, filthy & unclean devises and desires: keep our mouths and tongues from all blasphemy, swearing, banning, cursing, foul, evil, vain and profaine speaking, keep our hands & feet from all violent wrang, wicked and dishonest turns & ways, and make our hearts, hands, and feet, and haill saule and body rightly sanctified and ruled be thy spirit, to think, speak or do nothing this day, bot that whilk flowing from faith, directed be the square of thy law, may tend to thy praise, the we • l and profit of our brethren and neighbors, joy and contentment of our awin consciences, and to the forderance of the gud & lawful turns of our occupation, lest these members infected with the leprosy, & botch of sin, being a just curse and plague upon us and all our labors. Garde us therefore by thy gracious power fra the devil, world, and flesh: that we be not snared be their craft, entangled with their tentatiōs, nor allured be their delitious, pleasures, furnish us out of thy rich and vnwasted store, all things needful and comfortable for body and saule; let thy bountiful blessing be upon our occupations and warks of our hands, without the whilk, all our cair and business is vain and lost, give us grace to seek and luke for all gud things at thy gracious hands allanerlie, traveling faithfully and diligently in our vocations, & to return also the lawful and right use thereof again, with thankful hearts to thine honor & praise. Lord, teach us sa to compt & number our days, that we may apply our hearts to heavenly wisdom, and seek after the life everlasting, and fill us sa with thy mercies this morning, and every morning, that we may repose and be glad in thee all the days of our life; and finally, make us sa to spend this day: and all the days and times of this miserable pilgrimage, in thy fear, love, and obedience, that when it sall please thee, where and how we may happily end it in Jesus Christ, beginning that joyful morning in saule, first after the departure from the body, and thereafter baith in saule and body, rejoined in ane immortal estaite, at the resurrection of the just, that never sall have evening fallowing.

Lord, as in our prayers we have always before our eyes thy glory, whereof above all things we beseike thee to make us zealous, that we may thereby kenne our selves to be thy servants & children; sa we recommend to thy love and mercy, the caire and protection of thy haill Kirk, our common mother and thy dear spouse, and the Kirks in special that trauailis under the cross of thy Christ, for g •• d and faithful Pastors and Magistrates, to be steired up and assisted be thy grace for their comfort; & for thy favor, power, and wisdom, to be 〈◊〉 to the malice, force, & craft of their enemies, 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 and for comfort, patience, & constancy to them whereby they may glorify thy name in suffering, and move vthers by their gud example to do the same. Hasten Lord their deliverance, and make us baith to joy and sorrow with thy people and children: that we may find our selves loving & feilling members of the body of thy Christ, we beseik thee for every member of that body in particular: specially, such as are under thy correcting hand: to give them the assurance of thy favor in Christ, patience, strength, & comfort, acknawledging, that it is the hand of thee their loving father, working for their weil-fair, whose gud-will is their well, and fra whom na hurt or evil can come unto them, make them therefore gladly to give over themselves in thy hands, abiding patiently thy will and leisure, with assured hope of a sweet & comfortable ende of all their sufferings: and prepare us Lord against the day of our trial and visitation, and give us grace to use the examples of thy warks set before our eyes, and instructions, & admonitions of thy word sounding in our ears fruitfullie for that effect. That duty of remembrance in our prayers, whilk we have promised to such as are by acquaintance, knit with us in the bowels of Christ Jesus, and the estate whereof is communicate and recommended unto us, we discharge it Lord before thee, and earnestly committeth them and their estate to thy grace, beseiking thee mayest effectually for them as for our selves. Lord, our prayers are imperfit, & when we have prayed, we have need to cry mercy, for that we have not prayed aright, for neither knaw we what thy glory requires in particular, nor the necessity of thy kirk, or any member theirof, na not our awin neids, nor can we be moved for the samin as we ought. Make us therefore Lord with understanding and right disposition of thy Sprit to commend all unto thee, & rightly to glorify thy name, by incalling the same in that form of prayer mayest perfect, that thy son our savior Jesus Christ hath teached us to use, saying, Our father, &c.

Form of blessing before meat.

BE merciful to us, O our gud God and father, and bless us, and make the light of thy countenance to shine upon us, sanctify us thy seruands mair & mair unto thee in thy Christ, and bless thy gud creatures to our use: give us grace to take them thankfully fra thy hands, & use them moderately, that we being refreshed thereby, may be inhabled to go for-ward in the journey of this life, serving thee always in Jesus Christ our only Lord and Savior: in whose name we humbly and reverently entreat thee for all things to be prayed for as he hath teached us, saying, Our father▪ &c.

Grace or thanksgiving after meat.

THe Lord our gud God mayest mighty, wise, gracious, and bountiful father: wha hes elected us before the foundation of the world was laid: wha hath made us all of a blood in our father the first Adam at the beginning of time, and at the acceptable fullness of time, when we were utterly lost, of his free mercy pitiing our misery, hes made us new again, and redeemed us from the Devil, death & hell, be the precious blood of the second Adam, his awin only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior: wha hes translated us out of darkness, into this marvelous light of the gospel, whilk we sa lang enjoy: wha hes justified & sanctified us in sum measure, by his holy spirit of adoption, to ane assured hope of the life everlasting: wha hes keeped us unto this hour, and furnished to us abundantly all things needful, and comfortable for body and saule, as he hath now presently refreshed and fed us: & sa ceases notto pour mair and mair the plentifulnes of his rich graces and blessings upon us: even this our gud God & mayest gracious father be blessed, praised, honored, and sanctified, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer after meat.

DEare and bountiful father, as thou hast refreshed our bodies, that mon decay and turn to dust, with thir things earthly, whereof we have sa great an appetit, desire, and pleasure: sa we beseik thee to give us a greater care of our selves & inward man, that mon live forever, that we may hunger & thirst for the nuriture thereof, and take delight and pleasure therein, to wit, the Lord Jesus Christ, that bread of life that came down from the heavens, and is offered to us in thy holy Gospel. Lord, make us sa to feed upon him be a lively faith and warking of the spirit of sanctification; that our inward man may daily mair and mair be nurished, refreshed and strengthened, for the exercise and discharge of all the dewties, whilk thou requires of us to be done for thy service and honor. Mortify we beseik thee farther and farther, the lusts and earthly affections of our outward man; that likes always to live here, to eat and drink and enjoy the pleasures of this world, and that till he be even utterly abolished, and quicken and augment our inward man, till he come to that full and ripe age in the stature of Christ: that is, meet to enjoy the kingdom, and bliss everlasting. Amen

Euening Prayer.

WE humbly present unto thee in the name of thy son Jesus Christ, everlasting praise and thanks (almighty God and father mayest merciful) for all thy benefits and blessings sa largely bestowed upon us, all the days and times of our life, preserving us in saule and body from all evil, and providing for us abundantly all things needful & comfortable baith for the ane and other, blessing the warkes of our hands in that measure that thou hes thought meetest, like as we have found these benefits in fresh and new experience this present day. Lord, let not our sins committed against thee this day, nor na day heretofore, procure the withdrawing of thy blessings, and pouring of thy plagues upon us, as we confess, that they mayest justly deserve, bot as of thy free mercy and grace in Jesus Christ, thou hes been unto this hour, a gracious & bountiful Lord and father unto us, sa of the same grace and mercy in Jesus Christ, we earnestly beseike thee, to warke amendment in us, be a mair effectual force of thy holy Spirit, and sa to continue thy bounty and favor toward us. And now Lord, this night vouchsafe to receive us under thy gracious protection and saifegard, for we commend and give over our saules and bodies, our houses, guds, gear, and whatsumeuer perteins to us into thy hands, watch therefore over us gud Lord, & make thy holy Angels to campe about us; that we may sa safely rest & refresh our wearied bodies with sleep; that in the mean time our saules having their conversation with thee, may await for the glorious appearing of Christ our King to the last judgment. And grant O father, that when he fall come to judge ather the world in general or in particular, to call any of us from this life, we be not found sleeping in cairles security, nor drunken with surfeit of sin or love of things temporal, nor blinded in the darkness of ignorance with the miserable multitude of the world, that fall perish eternally: bot weil occupied, watching & praying in sobriety, prepared with the precious oil of faith & love in the lamps of our hearts burning, that we may readely and gladly meet our Lord Jesus, and accompany him to the rest and joy everlasting. O Lord our life is bot as a day; and a thousand year is bot a day before thee, the evening is as the end of our life, our sleep as death, our bed a grave, our sheittes winding sheittes, the cocks wakning bells, as the arch-angels trumpetes sounding to judgment. And luke how surely we knaw that we man die, sa uncertain are we, where, when, & how. Make us therefore we beseik thee gud Lord sa resolved, that we may end this day as we wald ende our life, enter in our bed as in our grave, resting in the peace of our conscience, and assurance of thy love with a steadfast hope of that joyful resurrection amangs thy saints, and that by true and sure faith in the resurrection of our Christ, wha in that pleasand morning, fall change our vile bodies, and fashion them like unto his glorious body, to be placed with him in the presence and at the right hand of his father, where the fullness of joys and pleasures ar forever. Grant us thir things dear Father, and whatsoever else thou knowis to be for thy awin glory, the well of thy Kirk of this Congregation, and all the members thereof, of this family, and every ane of us, and such in special as we have promised to remember in our prayers, asking all in that form mayest perfect, that CHRIST hes commanded us saying, Our father, &c.

The manner how to use the Catechism in verse, pleasandly and fruitfully.

HEre I will insert the manner how ye may use the Catechism in verse, pleasandly & fruitfully: as I have some experience in my awin family. The night before the Sabbath (whilk I wauld ye suld have always free from your warldlie turns, except in necessities, and that for a preparation to the Sabbothe) ye sall expone to your servands and children some part of the said Catechism, as a petition of the prayer, or artickle of the Belief, or ane of the Commandments, to mak it cleir in proof to them, whilk is shortly packed up in verse: syne enjoin that to such as can read, to be tuned perquere the Sabbath following, of the whilk at night thou sall take account; and on the first day of the oulk following, after morning prayer, thou sall enter in conference be questioning thereupon with thy children and servands, shortly, to assay their understanding and cleir and help the • amin: the whilk when thou hes done, then let such as can read, sing clearly and distinctly the same part, that such as cannot, may take tent & follow, & so learn: And in conclusion, praise God with these verses taken out of 68. and 89. Psalms.

Thereafter use the prayer for working of the spirit to mak the word fruitful, as ye have it hereafter, & end with the blessing, to be always pronounced by the Father, Mother, or master of the family or company. And siklik, after evening prayer the same pairt, & so continue all the oulk, gif they he hard to learn, till it become familiar, but gif they be able to learn, and have beneanes or twice through, then may ye have a pairt ever-ilk day. This order, or the like being daily used without intermission, and cairfull over-sight of discipline joined therewith, by the Father and Masters of family and companies, for a godly and honest conversation: but question, by the grace of God, thou sal find great growth, baith of knowledge, and godliness: and sa of all other blessings, in thy family or companies.

A mayest pithy prayer, for obtaining of the working of the holy spirit, be the word and Sacraments, taken out of the 1. &. 3. Eph. & Phil. 3.

WE bow our knees unto thee, O God of glory, and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom is named the holy family of thy Kirk in Heaven & in earth; beseik and thee according to the riches of thy glory, to lighten the eyes of our minds with the spirit of wisdom and knowledge, that we may understand what is the hope of thy calling, and the riches of the glory of thy inheritance amangst the Saints, & what is the excellency of the greatness of thy power amangst them that believe, according to that efficacy of thy strong power, whilk thou shown forth in Christ, when thou raised him from the dead, and set him at the right hand in the heavens. And grant, Lord, that we may be strenthened by thy Spirit in the inward man, that thy Christ may dwell in our hearts be saith; that we being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the faints; what is the breadth & length, the depth & height of that inestimable grace, redempption, and glory, that thou hast prepared for them, and to embrace that love of Christ, whilk passeth all understanding, that we may be filled with all fullness of God. Grant O Lord & Father, that thy spirit, the true and inward teacher and comforter, wauld by the fruitful use of thy word and sacraments, mak our faith and love to grow and abound yet mair and mair in knowledge and feeling, that we may rightly discern, betuixte gud and evil, thy will, and our will, thy Love, and the love of this warlde, that we may be pure, 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 and without offense, unto the day of our CHRIST, filled with the fruits of righteousness, whilk at by JESUS CHRIST unto the glory and praise of thee our God, & thir things, as for our selves, even sa in hearty affection, we ask for all thine, with whom in thy CHRIST, we gladly profess that mayest happy communion & blessed unity. Therefore unto thee, O Father, wha is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all whilk we can ask or think, according to the power of thy spirit, whilk worketh in us, be praise in the Kirk by JESUS Christ throughout all generations forever. Amen.

A Prayer for the Sabbath day at Morne.

BLessed God and bountiful father, wha hes commanded us to keep holy the Sabbath, abstaining haliley from our awin warkes, for using of thy warkes, word, sacraments, and other means of thy worshipping holelie and rightly, for thy honor and praise, and the life and well of our saules and inward man everlasting. We acknowledge and confess, as the truth is, that we ar altogidder, wicked, corrupt, vnhalie, vain, wandering, profane, and earthly; and that thou art gud, puir, holy, constant, and full of heigh & heavenly majesty; sa that we ar vn-worthy, and mayest vnmeit to tread in thy courts, or approach to thy presence; yea, to behold the light of thy heavens a moment, to let be to set our selves to sanctify and keep holy a Sabbath unto thee: nevertheless, since it hath pleased thee sa to command us, and promise to accept of us in thy Holy ane, the Lord JESUS our Mediator, and of thy vn-speakable mercy and gudnesse, to give this liberty, occasion▪ health of body, and other things neidful for the samin: We humbly beseik thy grace to be merciful unto us, and purge us in the precious blood of the Lamb the Lord JESUS; to wound our hearts with vn-feigned sorrow for our sins; & heal the samin again by a plaster of his heart blood, applied by faith unto our conscience, and sa to sanctify us by that holy comforter, that we may come before thee rightly prepared, for all the holy & spiritual exercises of thy Sabbath: Disposed accordingly in the mean while thereof, & find in end the effectual and solid fruits of the samin, to our growth in godliness and direction aright in all thy holy ways, with heavenly strength and vigor, to follow out the samin this oulk, and all the days and oulkes of our jorneying in this wretched wilderness, till we attain till that comfortable Canaan and heavenly inheritance, where halelie and holelie but any corruption, impediment, or interruption, we fall sanctify to thee a Sabbath and rest everlasting. Lord furnish to thy servands that thou sends out this day to speak in thy name unto thy people, such store of sound and wholesome doctrine, prayer, praise, and thanks-giving, with the grace of uttering the samin, with such force, evidence, zeal, and weight of thy spirit, as may baith instruct thy people clearly, and ravish and move them mightily, to the fervent reverence, fear, and love of thee their God, detestation of them selves for their sin, and feilling of the sweitnes of thy grace in Jesus Christ, that sa they may rightly serve and worship thee their God and Father, and earnestly seek thy face, & not depart there •• a, with out a spiritual comfort and blessing. Lord resist Satan and stay all his impediments, and purge us in special from this vennome of hypocrisy, whilk is mayest detestable in thy sight, when outwardly coming before thee in our bodies, and yet the heart is far from thee; and keep us Lord from that curse pronounced upon such as dost thy work negligently. Lord draw us away from this earth and thought of things earthly, that we may be haillie set upon thee, and things heavenly and incorruptible. Lighten our understanding whilk is dark and blind in the self, stablish our wandering minds, confirm our slippery memory, bow our rebellious willes, purge all our corrupt affections, & grant sufficient ability of the inward man, both to will & do according to that measure of grace, that thou thinkest meit for us, & for that effect we beseik thy majesty, yet again to work in our harts be the force of that inward teacher, disposer & mover, & let always our intentions, meditations of our harts, & words of mouths, & all our actions & doings be acceptable in the name, & for the merits of our high law-giver, King & Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. In whose name we ask thir and all other things thou kennis to be meit this day and always for thy glory, the well of thy Kirk, of us, and all the members thereof, praying as he hath teached, Our father, &c.

For the Sabbath at Night.

NOw Lord of thy great mercy, we have enjoyed this Sabbath, and the mayest comfortable exercises thereof; for the whilk we offer to thee in the name of thy son Jesus, what thanks our harts ar able to contain & present unto thee. But alas, O Lord, if thou suld enter in judgment with us, thou might lay maa and greater sins to our charge this day, nor any day of the oulk: forsa-meikle the halier a thing it is, to sanctify thy holy name aright on the Sabbath; sa meikle the greater guiltiness do they contract wha takes the same in vain, setting themselves to the exercise thereof without right preparation, disposition, & seiking of fruit & comfort, and luik how meikle the higher & greater ar thy warks nor our awin, so meikle the mair heavy is the curse vpō such as dost the same negligently. And alas, ô lord, if thou try us, what sal we be found to have done this day, but taken thy holy name in vain. In hearing of thy word, meditating on thy warks, using of prayer & thanksgiuing without right preparation, dispositiō or fruit, & so done thy wark negligently. O Lord therefore be merciful unto us, and give us grace to wey this great sin that we commit against thee, even when we ar about to be best & mayest hailely occupied, to be sorry for it, & humbly beg thy mercy, for Jesus Christ's sake, & freith us for thy mean grace from that curse of neglegence, for of a truth when we have done all that we can, we ar but unprofitable, & unworthy servants. And yet Lord, whatsoever hes flowed from thy gud spirit working in us, accept it as fra us, for thy Christ's saik, as the marks & duties of thy servands & children, assuring & comforting our saules and consciences thereby. And make the instructions, admonitions, comfort, and consolation that we have heard of thy word, and found in mutual example and conference, amang our selves to hide in our memories, and show forth the fruit in our lives and conversation this oulk following, and all the time of our life; yea Lord, if it be thy pleasure, make us sa earnest and deep in meditation thereof this Night, that even in our sleep, we may find our saules filled and occupied with the thought & consideration thereof, and taken with the delight, comfort and joy of the samin, that when we awaike, we may find our selves with thee, and that thy word be the working of thy spirit, hath transformed and changed us in the very nature thereof, in wisdom, verity, cleanness, halines, and sanctification, to stand and abide in happiness and permanent felicity forever. Now for Jesus Christ sake, wha is Lord of the Sabbath, grant us this, and what ever thou knawis to be gud for thyself, for us, and for all thine, adding his perfect prayer, Our father, &c.

A prayer before the holy Communion.

MOste merciful God, and gracious father, wha knawis the weakness and vnabilitie of man, to conceive the mysteries of thy grace, hes not only appointed thy word to instruct him be hearing: but also the use of thy holy Sacraments, wherein his haill senses being outwardly occupied, the mind within might clearly conceive, and the heart firmly believe and embrace the samin. That be the right use of these signs & seilles of thy covenant of grace; to wit, the outward and inward matters and actions coupled togidder be the Sacramental union, that is, be virtue of the institution, command & promise of Christ declared and believed, and be the prayer and obedience of the Kirk in doing as is required, Christ Jesus with his hail blessings may not only clearly be represented, bot given and received for life and salvation, yea, even verelie, really, and with mayest mighty force and effect applied, convoyed into,& sealed up in the saules of the believer, as be a mayest commodious and effectual instrumente of the holy Ghaist. Grant we beseik thee, that as thou in holy and secreit unity and substance of nature and trinity of persons in on Godhead, presents thy Christ a sanctified and perfect mediator, consecrate and perfyted be his awin prayers and suffering, even in thir actions of thy Sacraments, ordaned be thee for that effect, and sa offers and exhibits him with all his merits & blessings on that ane part. Sa it wald please thee on that other part, to give us a true and lively faith, be the use of thir actions and power of thy holy spirit, mair and mair quickened, steired up, confirmed, & augmented, whereby we may receive and apply, grippe injoye, and possess Jesus Christ mair and mair, for righteousness and sanctification, and sa for life and Salvation everlasting. O Lord prepare us aright thereunto, be an earnest and diligent trial of the knowledge of the points of thy heavenly verity, and practice thereof, in faith & repentance: that finding out and feiling our wants in the ane and other, we may be reconciled with thee, and our neighbors, & seek confirmation, & increase of that small measure we have, in the use of thir actions according to thy ordinance: that in the mean time thereof, we may be wounded and humbled with a sense and conscience of our sins, and yet raised up again and healed with an assurance, and feiling of thy mercy grace and love in Jesus Christ, sa that moved with exceeding joy and gladness of spirit, we may burst out in thy praises. And namely now Lord in this Sacrament of the holy Supper and present action thereof, grant that we may seal up our continual growth, & increase in that blessed communion and fellowship of Jesus Christ, that we may be nurished and fed mair & mair in our saule and inward man, be declaring the death of thy son Jesus Christ, constantly believing his body to have been broken, and his precious blood shed, yea, him to have suffered whatsoever might satisfy the justice of thee our God, for our sins and safety. And sa to magnify and extol thy gudnes, love, mercy, and grace, thy justice, power, and wisdom, whilk are infinite, passing the reatch of all consideration. And finally, that we may set our selves thus ways, fed & strenghned in the inward man, to do the dewties of thy redeemed servants and children, in love, fear, obedience, and holiness all the days of our life. Amen.

A meditation of the faithful saule with God, after the receiving of the holy Communion.

WE might utterly despair in consideration of our manifold sins and infinite offenses, had not thy word, O Lord our God, been made flesh, and dwelt amang us: But now all praise be unto thy merciful grace, we neither need, nor dare despair: for gif when I was thy enemy, I was reconciled to thee by the death of thy Son, how meikle mair being reconciled, sall I be saved by his life: For all mine hope and my confidence is reposed, in that precious blood whilk was shed for me and for my salvation. In that blood I reviue wha before was dead, I take my heart again wha before was heartles, & resting thereupon▪. I covet to come to thee, wha before hated thee, & followed after Satan, I cum to thee putting no doubt, but now I sall be acceptable, not having my awin righteousness, but whilk is through faith of my Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, O most gracious and merciful God, lover of all mankind, and lover of thy faithful Saints: but lover of me in special, wha through Jesus Christ thy son my Lord, even when I was in the estate of damnation be reason of sin, hast delivered and faued me after such a way, as neither man nor Angel could dream off: what craves thou again for this thy love that thou hes kythed upon me pure wretch but thankfulness? I therefore, unworthy to think upon thee, unworthy that thy holiness suld be conceived in my profane & filthy heart, yet fra my heart, whilk in sum parte is renewed by thy holy Spirit, I thank thy gracious gudnes; yea, I highly thank thee for that thou hast sent thy only begotten son, from thy awin bosom to save sinners, and to save me, of all sinners the greatest, the very child of wrath; I thank thee for his holy incarnation, & birth of his blessed mother, of whom he vouchsafed to take my flesh for my salvation; that as he was very God of God, sa he might be very man, of man: I thank thee for his bitter passion, cross, and death; I thank thee for his glorious resurrection, and ascension to heaven, and sitting at thy right hand, pouring down the holy Spirit according to his promise, upon me his child of adoption. I thank thee, both for the shedding of that his precious blood, wherewith we are redeemed, and also for his instituting of his holy and lively Sacrament of his body and blood that was given for me, where withal thus in thy Kirk I am nurished, refreshed, sanctified, strengthened & quickened in my inward man, and made partaker of ane heavenly and divine nature: again, I thank thee for thy immeasurable love, wherewith thou hes so loved me, miserable and catiue wretch in thy only weil beloved son Jesus Christ, in whom I have this reconciliation, with thee my God & Father, this redemption, forgiveness of all my sins, righteousness, adoption, sanctification, and finally assured life, and heritable infeftment of the kingdom of glory. O pity unspeakable! O wonderful love, to save thy unworthy seruand, thou hes given thy dear son▪ God was made man, that I of the wretched seed of man, might be plucked out of the snare of the devil, how dearly hes thou Lord Jesus my sweet Savior loved me, wha thoght it not enough to humble thyself from the most heigh and glorious majesty of the Godhead, to take on my slavish nature, unless that for me also, and for my salvation, thou hadst shed thy precious blood, and suffered the most shameful death of the cross. O rare love! O tender kindness! Wha had hard the like at any time, wha rightly considering, will not be amazed at such bowels of mercy. O strange judgment! O unspeakable disposition of the mystery of God. The sinner offended, the just is punished: the guilty transgressed, the innocent is struken. The wicked sinned; the Godly is damned: that whilk the evil deserveth, the gud suffers, the seruand dost amiss, the master makes the mends, man commits the sin, and God bears the punishment. Ah, O son of God, how hes thou abased thyself, how hes thou burned in affection? how far is thy mercies stretched out? how great is thy kindness? how large is thy love? for I did wickedly, and thou was punished: I sinned and thou was afflicted: I offended and thou was tormented: I lifted up myself proudly, & of a vile worm made a God of myself, but thou was humbled, and of the everlasting God made thyself a worm: I was disobedient, but thou obediently bare the punishment of my disobedience: I served the belly, but thou endured hunger: the forbidē tree, allured me to unlawful concupiscence; but perfect charity led thee to the cross: I tasted of pleasure, but thou suffered torments: I felt the sweetness of sin, bot thou tasted the bitter gall. Loe, O King of glory, this is my ungodliness & thy mercy manifest, this mine unrighteousness & thy innocence is evident. And now O my Kinge and my God, what sall I rander unto thee for all thy benefits towards me? for man's heart cannot conceive that whilk may worthily recompense these thy sa ample graces. Can the wit of man find out any thing answerable to God's love and mercy? Na: It is not for a creature to enterprise to recompense and meet God his creator. Notwithstanding sweet Savior in this sa wonderful dispensation, sumthing any frailty by the force of thy spirit is able to do: namely, gif by thy visitation the mind being pricked, it crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof: whilk thou having wrought, I begin then as it were to suffer with thee, because thou died with meikle pain for me: and sa throw the conquest of the inner man, I sal be armed, thou being captain, and thy spirit furnishing strength unto the attaining of the outward victory: In asmeikle as I fear not having over-cum the spiritual battle, to be subject for thy sake, even to bodily torments, to the sword, to the fire, to the cross, to prison, banishment, or whatsumeuer else: in whilk respect the weakness of my conditione, gif it like thy gudnes, sall be able according to the power it hes to answer to the greatness of thee the Creator. And this is heavenly Phisick, O sweet Jesus, this is the preservation of thy love. Now I beseik thee, by thy wonted mercies, to make that this oil and wine poured in the wounds of my saul in this holy Sacrament, it may purge all corrupt contagion of venoumous humors, and may restore me again to my first health and holy jmage of God, whereto I was created: and having tasted of the sap of thy sweetness, may make me fra the very heart, to despise the intisments of the world: abhor the wickedness, lusts & vanities theirof, yea, nor to fear na adversity theirof for thy names sake, but being always mindful of thy everlasting life and glory, thus ways by thee my Christ purchased to me, may boldly contemn the death, and be ready to gif my life again for thy love and glory. Deare Christ, seeing I have here sealed up this conjunction and union with thee: make me by thy spirit to abide in the same to the ende, and eternally, and make me daily maire & mair to find thee my Christ by faith dwelling in my heart; the whilk I may perceive be the undoubted fruits and marks thereof, in the exercise of all gud warkes in sobernes, piety, and righteousness fra time to time increasing. And seeing I am thus, not only received within thy household, O my God and father, but also refreshed nurished and sustained theirin; I mayest humbly beseik thee for a mair and mair effectual working of thy Spirit, whereby I may carefully, reuerendly, and faithfully, do the duty of thy child and seruand within the same. And being thus redeemed from the devil & the servitude of sin, be my great and strong Savior, to be the free Citiziner, and heir of his kingdom of justice & life. Grant O Lord, by this renewed force of the quickening spirit of thy Christ, that niether the pairts, faculties nor powers of my saule, nor the instruments and members of my body, be any mair employed to serve Satan and sin, conformed to the facions of this world, but that both saule & body, withal the powers and members thereof, may be presented and consecrated unto thee, as a living sacrifice, pure & holy, & being transformed by the renewing of the inward man, may be always bent, and intend to discern and obey the will of thee my God, whilk is gud, acceptable and perfect: I beseik thee, Lord my God, let nothing seem sweet to me without thee, and let nothing that can fall out, seem sour & hard to me, gif I have thee, let nothing please me, nor warldly thing like me, besid thee: let me not love that whilk thou dost abhor, and let thy gud pleasure be all my desire continually, let it be a grief to me to rejoice without thee, & make me glad to be afflicted for thy names sake, let thy name be my joy, and thy remembrance my consolation: let the law of thy mouth be better to me, then thousands of gold and silver; and finally, Lord my God, be thou all in all unto me, thy word and holy worshipping my comfort and pleasure, and thy sweet Christ my only vantage and gain, both in life and death. To whom with thee, the father, and that holy spirit my comforter, be glory infinite and eternal. Amen.

Ane short exhortation anent trial.

FOr want of trial and consideration of their awin estaite, the greater multitude perishes in ignorance, they of knowledge carry with them the greater condemnation, for not doing the will of him whom they know; and such as hes begun to do, relents, leaves off, and falls on sleep, til God waken them by some cross, least they should fall with the former in utter condemnation. Men in public charge in Kirk & policy, sleuthis, perverts & misfaris all, and men in private occupations, runs loose without fear of God, or aequitable and charitable dealing with their neighbor, & sa the heap of this common confusion of sin, grows huge out of measure; that it is the wonderful mercy and long suffering of God, that stays the consuming fire of his wrath, from finding out such mater, and burning there upon, to the bottom of hell. My counsel and warning is therefore to all in the love of Christ, that they caste aside the business & cares of this world, wherewith they are haillelie occupied, to the wrak and loss of their saules, and esteeming the chief earand and turn, whilk they have to do in this world to be, how, that after a miserable, short, and vain life, they may live happelie hereafter forever: That in this consideration, I say▪ they take large time, and great pains in this exercise of trial and examination of the estaite wherein they stand before God: sa that they neither sleep nor eat ane day or night, before they have spente some piece of time, fectfullie and fruitfully, in the wark of trial; that finding out their wants, danger and misery, they may be moved earnestly to seek and embrace the furniture and remedy, whilk God of his superabundant grace, vouchsafes daily to offer by the preaching of his word, and profitable writings of his godly and learned servants. And that this be done by speedy redeeming time without farther delay: for it is now high time, and fuire days, our day of the Gospel is past noon, and the Sun thereof tendes toward going down: Yet then today if ye will hear his voice, hardin not your harts, neither sleipe in ignorance, infidelity, and sin, least being debarred, ye perish with the multitude of the foolish, ignorant, faithless and rebellious. For this purpose then, I exhort and earnestly beseik all and every ane, (specially of you dear flock) after your very names, to wey and consider the Scriptures following, whilk now and then ye hear opened up and entreated for this effect; and that with grace and sanctification of your saules, the whilk only God is able to give, by the working of his spirit, and hes promised to such as will seek for the samin: Ask therefore the samin earnestly, and seek him carefully, that ye may receive and find, and by all means, quicken and steir up the measure of that gift whilk ye sall get of your bountiful God. Now seeing many things appeir that is not, and Christ himself as man was deceived with the Fig-tree, well busked with leaves, & fruitful-like a far-off, but found barren and fruitless when it was ryped nearly, and therefore accursed. We are blind in our awin faults, we pass over lightly, we easily forgive them, and flatter our selves therein, as though we were gud enough, yea, and better nor our neighbors. Therefore see that this trial be taken not cauldlie, negligently, flouthfullie, but gravely, carefully, and diligently, not as before men, but before God, wha sees the secret of thy heart: not in maters knawin to men only, but to thy awin heart and conscience, yea to God wha is greater nor thy heart and conscience; neither mon this be done generally, but particularly, ryping out all the hirnes and plies of thy heart, and calling narrowly thy memory to a count of all thoughts, words and deeds; and finally, not suddenly as a thing fectles, and of small importance, that may be easily past over, or used for a fashion of religion or halinesse; but gravely, with lang time & weighty attention, as the greatest matter thou hes to do in the world, for the honor of thy God, and thine awin salvation eternal.

Now thought but doubt, if thou try thyself aright, thou sall see ane ouglie sight, whilk may terrify thy conscience exceedinglie, yet despair not, but assure thee there is infinite store of mercy and grace in God, offered in the Lord Jesus Christ, to all that humbly acknowledge their misery, hungers and thirstes for his grace, and embraces the faithful promises thereof, be a lively faith.

That Christians ought to try themselves always, and namely, before they come to the Table of the Lord: For thir reasons easy to be gathered of the Texts following.

• 1 Sa God commands, therefore if they be his children and servants they mon obey.
• 2 They sall have great and everlasting profit and honor in sa doing.
• 3 They sall incur great and everlasting skaith and shame in omitting and not doing:

Texts of Scripture.

TRy yourselves, if ye be in the faith, prove yourselves: do ye not acknowledge yourselves that Christ Jesus is in you, and if not, that year reprobates.

If any man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, his awin heart deceaues him, let ilk man therefore try himself.

Be commoo • ed and sin not, examine your hearts in your bed and leave of to do evil.

Wash yourselves, purge yourselves, cast away the wickedness of your actions from before my face, leave off to do evil, learn to do gud, seek right, come and let us reason togidder. If your sins were as Scarlet, they sall be white as snaw: If ye apply and hear, ye sall enjoy the gud things of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be consumed by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hes spoken it.

Thou hes heard me reckon my ways, teach me thy statutes.

I take count of my ways, that I may bring again my feet to thy testimonies.

Blessed is that man, that walks not in the counsel of the wicked, and insists not in the way of sinners▪ & sits not in the seat of scorners, if sa be his delight be in the law of the Lord, & in that law meditates day and night.

For he sal be as the tree planted by the rivers of water, whilk brings forth fruct in the awin time, whase leaf fades not & whatsoever he dost sall prosper.

Bot the wicked sal not be sa, bot as the chaff whilk the wind driveth, therefore the wicked sall not stand in that Judgment, nor the sinners in the company of the just, for the Lord acknawledges the way of the just, bot the way of the wicked sall perish.

The lute, the harp, the timbrell, and shalme, and gud wine aboundeth in your banquets: bot the warks of God, you respect not, nor yet have ye consideration of his doings. Therefore hes hell enlarged her self, and opened her mouth without all measure, and the stout, high, and glorious of the people sal descend thereinto.

The heart is a deceatful and deadly thing above all, wha can knaw it, I JEHOVAH the searcher of the heart & reins, that I may give to every ane according to their ways, according to the fruit of their actiones.

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue only, but indeed and in truth, for thereby we knaw, that we are of the truth, and sall assure our hearts before him, for if our hearts condemn us, God is greater then our hearts, and knawes all things.

Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not, then have we baldness toward God, and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandment, and do the things whilk are pleasand in his sight.

This is then his commandment, that ye believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ, and love ane another, as he gave commandment, for he that keeps his commandments dwellis in him, & he in him, hereby knaw we that he abides in us, even be that spirit whilk he hes given us.

Deerely beloved, believe not every spirit, bot try the spirits if they be of God.

Above all things that thou takes heed to keep thy heart, for thereout springs the actiones of life, remove from thee the peruersitie of the mouth, & set far from thee thrawardnes of the lips.

Let thy eyes luke right before thee, & thy eye-liddes behauld things that are right before thee, wey the paths of thy feet that all thy ways may be straight.

Decline not to the right hand, nor to the left, set away thy feet from evil.

Let us try and ripe out our ways, & turn unto the Lord, let us lift up our hearts with our hands, unto the strong God of heaven, and say, we have made a defection & rebelled, therefore thou spares not.

When the Pharisees saw the Disciples eat with unwashen hands. &c.

Christ calling togidder the haill multitude: Saide, hear me all and understand, there is nothing without a man, that entering within him can pollute him, bot the things that comes out of him, thy are the things that pollute him. If any hes ears to hear, let him hear.

Then the disciples asked him the parable; and he said, understand ye not? The things that outwardly comes into man, cannot pollute him, for it enters not in his heart, but in his womb, and goes to the closet, purging all meats: bot he said, that whilk comes out of man defiles him, for from within, out of the heart of man, comes out evil thoughts, adulteries, harlatries, slaughter, thifts, covetousness, wickedness, deceitfulness, uncleanness, a wicked eye, pryd, backbiting, foolishness, all these evil things comes from within, and defiles the man.

Verily, verily, I say unto you (says Christ) of every idle word that comes out of man's mouth, they sall rander a compt thereof, at the day of judgment.

We mon all appear before the tribunal of Christ, that every ane may receive in his body, according to that he hes done whidder evil or gud.

Behauld, I stand at the door, if any hear my voice & open, I will come into him, and sup with him, and he with me.

Behauld, I come shortly, hauld that whilk thou hes, that nane take thy crown fra thee.

We mon fight, we mon big, Luck. 14, we mon give a compt of our talent, we mon have our lamps light to meet the bridgroome. Mat. 25. & therefor prepare, try, & take heed to your selves, with watching sobriety, and cairfull consideration: finally for special trial & searching out of thy sins, use thir texts quoted. Rom. 12. and 3. Ephe. 4. & 5. Col, 5. 3. 2. Pet. 2

Before the Communion.

I Wald not ye should be ignorant brethren, that all our fathers were under that cloud, and all past throw the sea, and all were Baptized in Moses, with the cloud & sea, & all eat the same spiritual fude, & all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank of the spiritual rock that followed, & the rock was Christ, but God approved not many of them: for they were casten down in the desert. Now thir were exampls unto us, that we suld not covet evil things as they coveted, be not therefore Idolaters as some of them, nether let us commit fornication as some of them did, and fell in a day three and twenty thousand, neither tempt Christ as some tempted & perished be serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured & perished be the destroyer, all these things came on them for example, and are written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the world are fallen; therefore let him that thinks he stands, bewar he fall not.

Let every ane prove himself, and sa eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For who so eats & drinks unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to themselves, for not discerning the Lord's body.

Therefore is there many weak amang you and diseased, & many sleep, for if we suld judge our selves, we suld not be punished, but when we are punished, we are chastised be the Lord that we be not condemned with the world.

Follow the form of trial in particular, of misery and mercy, be thir several pointes and columnes.

1 COnsider the happy and holy estate, wherein Adam was first made and his filthy defection and fall, and understand, that God may justly lay to thy charge his sin, & all the sins of thy forefathers, betwixt thee & him: because thou art a pairt of their substance, and be them all begotten in sin, sa that their sin is thy natural heritage.

2 Examine thy original corruption in thy mind, conscience, memory, will, and in all thy affections, as in gladness, sadness, pity, confidence, hope, despair, fear, cair, shame, desire, leathing, love, hatred, disestiming, esteeming, anger, contentment, miscontentment, zeal, cauldnesse. &c.

3 Try out thy actual sins, in thought, word, and deed, and to that effect, go through the commands with right understanding, and diligent examination of thy life thereby, in the particular circumstances of time place, persons, and manner of doing in all thy actions & proceedings: namely, gif flowing from faith, they have been directed be lawful means unto the right ende.

4 Examin all thy senses, whereby sin is sa drunken in, as the beast drinks water be the mouth; thy sight, hearing, smelling, taisting, tuitching, how thou hes used them, and in like manner, all the members of thy body inward & outward, whilk are the weapons and instruments of committing of sin.

5 Examine thy life throughout all the ages thou hes past, bairn-head, youth-head, man-head, and aulde age, how thy God hes dealt with thee therein, and how thou hes recompensed him again.

6 Try thy estate, occupation, calling, and trade of life, if thou hes walked in the fear of God, faithfully and rightly therein. And here is the trial of Magistrates, Pastors, Elders, Fathers, Mothers, Masters, husbands, wives, people, flock, children, servants, occupations, trades and crafts: be land, be Sea, in City & country.

7 And last, wey the foulnes of the guiltiness of sin, how odious and detestable it is before God, and what punishments in his justice he hes laid thereon, from the beginning of the world, and weight of wrath he hes to lay thereon, eternally in the hell; and questionless, thou will see such an ouglie and terrible sight of thy misery, that will sa affray and move thee, that thou will never be blythe, til thou have gotten a grippe of the remedy thereof in the mercy of God.

Miserable man that I am, wha sall deliver me from the body of this death.

1 COnsider the infinite gudnesse, love, grace, and mercy of God, wha pitying our misery, provyded a remeid theirfoir in the precious blood of his awin son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom he elected his awin, before the foundation of the world.

2 Try and consider, if thou have the right knowledge and possession of Christ in thy heart, be faith in his natures, & their personal union, in his offices, prophecy, Priest-head, and Kingdom.

3 Try if thou hes found those benefits of Christ, whilk be the perfect fulfilling of the office of mediator, he hes purchased to his awin, to wit, redemption, reconciliation, justification, adoption, sanctificatiō, mortification, newness of life, intercession; and in sum, deliverance from all evil, and perfect felicity.

4 Considder and examine thyself if thou hes the knowledge, faith, feeling, and enjoying of the holy ghaist, wha calls the chosen effectually, applies Christ unto them, and makes them to apprehend and receive him, and all his blessings be a true faith.

5 Then try thy faith, if thou be assured that God sent his Christ in the world to save thee, and vnlade thee of the haill burden of thy misery, and ladin thee with the rich store of his blessings and perfect happiness.

6 Try thy repentance the chief effect of faith, if thou have a true sorrow for thy sins committed, that hes made the holy Lamb of God to suffer sa shamefullie and cruelly for them, & ane earnest purpose of amendment and newness of life in time to come.

7 And finally, because there is great hypocrisy in flesh, and counterfetting of calling, faith, and repentance, be the craft of Satan, as also terrible assailzeing of the conscience, by his fiery tentationes. Therefore, there is great need here, of a diligent and accurat trial, to find out the true marks of thy election: & sa of salvation. First, be the testimony of the spirit: Secondly, by the motiones & working thereof. Then try well, if at any time thou hes found the holy spirit, to speak, as it were within thee, & testify to thy spirit, that thou art the child of God. If thou hes found in thy heart the love of God and Christ, and of the things that he loves, and the hatred of the Devil and his warkes. If thou hes found a heart to pray and thank God, to meditate and delight in him and his word, to love his servands and children, and delight in their company. And finally, if thou finds hope with patience, and a continual battle against sin, and the intysements of the world: then may thou be certain, that God hes given thee to Christ, na power shall be able to take thee from him, or separate thee from his love, or stay him from giving thee life everlasting. And here is the joy and peace of conscience, that continual feast.

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 7.

The form of trial and examination, taken of all such as ar admitted to the Table of the Lord.