Four sermons preachedFoure sermons preached

Another zealous Prayer.

Eternal God, almighty, and all merciful: we thy unworthy servants, prostrate before thy throne of grace, do yield our selves body & soul unto thee for all thy benefits, which thou from our birth hast heaped upon us, as though we had always done thy will although we be occupied about vain things, never marked, never loved, never served, never thanked thee so heartily for them, as we esteem a mortal friend for the least courtesy. Therefore we come with shame & sorrow to confess our sins, not small, but grievous; not a few, but infinite; not past, but present; not secret, but presumptuous; against thy express word & will: against our own conscience, knowledge and liking, if any had done them but our selves. O Lord, if thou shouldest require but the least of them at our hands, Satan would challenge us for his, & we should never see thy face again, nor the Heavens, nor the earth, nor all the goodness which thou hast prepared for man. What shall we do then, but appeal unto thy mercy, and humbly desire thy fatherly goodness, to extend that compassion towards us, which thy beloved son our loving Saviour hath purchased, so mightily, so graciously, and so dearly for us; we believe and know, that one drop of his blood is sufficient to heal our infirmities, pardon our iniquities, and supply our necessities, but without thy grace, our light, our strength, our guide, we are able to do nothing but sin, as woeful experience hath taught us too long, and the example of them that are void thereof, whose life is nothing else but the service of the world, the flesh and the Devil. Therefore good father, as rhou in ⟨image 53⟩special favour hast appointed us to serve thee, like as thou hast ordained all other creatures to serve us; so may it please thee to send down thy heavenly spirit into this earthly mansion, to illuminate our minds, mollify our hearts, change our affections, subdue our reason, regenerate our wills, and purify our nature to this duty; so shall not thy benefits, nor thy chastisements, nor thy word return void, but accomplish that for which they were sent, until we be renewed to the image of thy son.