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Ken's Catechism
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Genre
Catechism
Date
1685
Full Title
An exposition on the Church-Catechism, or the Practice of Divine Love.
Source
Wing K261
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Sample 1
The original format is octavo.
The original contains contains footnotes,contains elements such as change of font,italics,contains comments and references,
AN EXPOSITION ON THE Church-Catechism, &c.
Question.
WHAT is your Name?
WHAT is your Name?
Answer.
N. or M.
N. or M.
Q. Why do you answer by that Name, rather
than by your Sirname?
than by your Sirname?
A. Because it is my Christian Name, and was
given me when I was made a Christian, and puts
me in mind both of the Happiness, and duty of a
Christian.
given me when I was made a Christian, and puts
me in mind both of the Happiness, and duty of a
Christian.
Q. Where do you learn the Happiness, and the
Duty of a Christian?
Duty of a Christian?
A. The very next answer teaches me the Happiness,
and all the rest of the Catechism, the Duty of
a Christian.
and all the rest of the Catechism, the Duty of
a Christian.
Q. Who gave you this Name?
A. My Godfathers and Godmothers
in my Baptism, wherein I
was made a Member of Christ, the
Child of God, and an Inheritour of
the Kingdom of Heaven.
in my Baptism, wherein I
was made a Member of Christ, the
Child of God, and an Inheritour of
the Kingdom of Heaven.
A4
1
Q. Shew me from hence the Happiness of a
Christian.
Christian.
A. The Happiness of a good Christian, is altogether
unutterable, he is one who has Christ for
his Head, God for his Father, and Heaven with all
its joys and glories, which are all eternal, for his
Inheritance.
unutterable, he is one who has Christ for
his Head, God for his Father, and Heaven with all
its joys and glories, which are all eternal, for his
Inheritance.
Q. Shew me on the contrary the condition of a
bad Christian.
bad Christian.
A. The misery of a bad Christian is altogether
insupportable, He has Christ for his Enemy, the
Devil for his Father, and Hell, with all its miseries,
and torments, and despair, which are all eternal,
for his Doom.
insupportable, He has Christ for his Enemy, the
Devil for his Father, and Hell, with all its miseries,
and torments, and despair, which are all eternal,
for his Doom.
Q. Which of these Conditions do you chuse?
A. I adore the goodness of God, who has set before
me life and death, blessing and cursing; and in
great compassion to my Soul, has bid me chuse
life, and with all my heart I chuse life, even life
eternal.
me life and death, blessing and cursing; and in
great compassion to my Soul, has bid me chuse
life, and with all my heart I chuse life, even life
eternal.
Q. Are there not many in the World that chuse
death?
death?
A. It is too too visible there are, such is the extreme
madness and folly of obstinate Sinners, that
they chuse the Service of the Devil before the Service
of God, and Hell before Heaven, the damnation
of such men is wholly from themselves, and
having chosen death, even death eternal, it is most
just with God to give them their choice.
madness and folly of obstinate Sinners, that
they chuse the Service of the Devil before the Service
of God, and Hell before Heaven, the damnation
of such men is wholly from themselves, and
having chosen death, even death eternal, it is most
just with God to give them their choice.
Q. Blessed be God who has given you grace, to
make a right choice; Tell me what you must doe
to obtain that which you have chosen, life eternal?
make a right choice; Tell me what you must doe
to obtain that which you have chosen, life eternal?
A. All that I am to doe is reduc'd to one word
onely, and that is Love; This is the first and the
great Command; which comprehends all others, the
proper Evangelical Grace; and eternal Truth has
assured me, This doe, and thou shalt live; So
that if I truly love God, I shall live beloved by
God to all eternity.
onely, and that is Love; This is the first and the
great Command; which comprehends all others, the
proper Evangelical Grace; and eternal Truth has
assured me, This doe, and thou shalt live; So
that if I truly love God, I shall live beloved by
God to all eternity.
Q. Tell me wherein the love of God doth consist?
A. The love of God is a grace rather to be felt
than defin'd, So that I can doe no more than rudely
describe it; It is the general inclination and tendency
of the whole man, of all his heart, and soul,
and strength, of all his powers and affections, and
chief, and onely, and perfect, and infinite Good.
than defin'd, So that I can doe no more than rudely
describe it; It is the general inclination and tendency
of the whole man, of all his heart, and soul,
and strength, of all his powers and affections, and
2
of the utmost strength of them all to God, as hischief, and onely, and perfect, and infinite Good.
Q. Is this love of God taught in the Catechism?
A. The Catechism having in the entrance of it
presented to our choice the happiness of a Christian,
does throughout all the remaining parts of it
instruct us in the duties of a Christian, by which
that happiness is to be attain'd, which are all
sum'd up in the love of God, which is here most
methodically taught.
presented to our choice the happiness of a Christian,
does throughout all the remaining parts of it
instruct us in the duties of a Christian, by which
that happiness is to be attain'd, which are all
sum'd up in the love of God, which is here most
methodically taught.
Q. In what method does the Catechism teach
the love of God?
the love of God?
A. In a method so excellent and natural, that
if by God's help, I can but faithfully observe it, I
shall not fail of the love of God.
if by God's help, I can but faithfully observe it, I
shall not fail of the love of God.
Q. Explain this method to me.
A. It teaches me how the love of God is produc'd,
how practis'd, and how preserved.
how practis'd, and how preserved.
Q. Shew me more distinctly in what parts of the
Catechism each of these particulars is coucht.
Catechism each of these particulars is coucht.
A. If I seriously desire the love God, I must
first expell all contrary loves out of my heart, and
then consider the motives and causes that excite it,
the former is taught in the Vow of Baptism, the
latter in the Creed.
When divine love is once produc'd, my next
care is to put it in practice, and that is, by bringing
forth the fruits, or effects of Love, which are
all contain'd in the Ten Commandments.
When the love of God is produc'd in my heart,
and is set on work, my last concern is to preserve,
and ensure, and quicken it; It is preserv'd by
Prayer, the pattern of which is the Lord's Prayer;
It is ensured to us by the Sacraments, which are the
Pledges of Love; and more particularly it is quickned
by the Holy Eucharist, which is the feast of
Love. So that the plain order of the Catechism
teaches me the rise, the progress, and the perfection
of Divine love, which God of his great mercy
give me grace to follow.
first expell all contrary loves out of my heart, and
then consider the motives and causes that excite it,
the former is taught in the Vow of Baptism, the
latter in the Creed.
When divine love is once produc'd, my next
care is to put it in practice, and that is, by bringing
forth the fruits, or effects of Love, which are
all contain'd in the Ten Commandments.
When the love of God is produc'd in my heart,
and is set on work, my last concern is to preserve,
and ensure, and quicken it; It is preserv'd by
Prayer, the pattern of which is the Lord's Prayer;
It is ensured to us by the Sacraments, which are the
Pledges of Love; and more particularly it is quickned
by the Holy Eucharist, which is the feast of
Love. So that the plain order of the Catechism
teaches me the rise, the progress, and the perfection
of Divine love, which God of his great mercy
give me grace to follow.
Q. I beseech God to give you the grace you pray
for, that you may prosecute this method with your
heart, as well as with your words.
for, that you may prosecute this method with your
heart, as well as with your words.
A. It is the full purpose of my Soul so to doe,
and I trust in God I shall doe it.
and I trust in God I shall doe it.
3
Q. You are to begin with the vow you made at
your Baptism. Tell me,
What did your Godfathers and
Godmothers then for you?
your Baptism. Tell me,
What did your Godfathers and
Godmothers then for you?
A. They did promise and vow
three things in my name.
First, That I should renounce the
Devil and all his works; the pomps
and vanities of this wicked World,
and all the sinfull lusts of the flesh.
Secondly, That I should believe
all the Articles of the Christian
Faith.
And thirdly, That I should keep
God's holy Will and Commandments,
and walk in the same all the
days of my life.
three things in my name.
First, That I should renounce the
Devil and all his works; the pomps
and vanities of this wicked World,
and all the sinfull lusts of the flesh.
Secondly, That I should believe
all the Articles of the Christian
Faith.
And thirdly, That I should keep
God's holy Will and Commandments,
and walk in the same all the
days of my life.
Q. Dost thou not think thou art
bound to believe, and to doe as they
have promised for thee?
bound to believe, and to doe as they
have promised for thee?
A. Yes verily; and by God's help
so I will, and I heartily thank our
Heavenly Father, that he hath call'd
me to his state of Salvation, through
Iesus Christ our Saviour. And I
pray unto God to give me his grace,
that I may continue in the same unto
my lives end.
so I will, and I heartily thank our
Heavenly Father, that he hath call'd
me to his state of Salvation, through
Iesus Christ our Saviour. And I
pray unto God to give me his grace,
that I may continue in the same unto
my lives end.
Q. The promises of faith and obedience, which
you made in your baptism, will be mention'd
in their proper places, when you come to the
Creed, and to the Decalogue; that which now lies
before you is to shew, how your Abrenunciation is
preparatory to the love of God.
you made in your baptism, will be mention'd
in their proper places, when you come to the
Creed, and to the Decalogue; that which now lies
before you is to shew, how your Abrenunciation is
preparatory to the love of God.
A. As all particular graces are but the love of
God, varied by different instances and relations, so
all particular sins are nothing but concupiscence, or
the love of one Creature or other, in competition
Creatures on which we set our love, are reducible to
these three, the Devil, the World, and the Flesh, and
my heart must be emptied of these impure Loves,
before it is capable of entertaining the pure love
of God.
God, varied by different instances and relations, so
all particular sins are nothing but concupiscence, or
the love of one Creature or other, in competition
4
with, or opposition to, the love of God; Now all theCreatures on which we set our love, are reducible to
these three, the Devil, the World, and the Flesh, and
my heart must be emptied of these impure Loves,
before it is capable of entertaining the pure love
of God.
Q. If you are conscious to your self, that you
have entertained these impure Loves, and have violated
your baptismal Vow, and have in your heart
renounc'd God, instead of renouncing his Enemies,
what must you doe to recover that favour of God
you have lost, and to be deliver'd from the wrath
to come?
have entertained these impure Loves, and have violated
your baptismal Vow, and have in your heart
renounc'd God, instead of renouncing his Enemies,
what must you doe to recover that favour of God
you have lost, and to be deliver'd from the wrath
to come?
A. I must throughly repent of all the breaches of
my vow, and I must seriously renew it.
my vow, and I must seriously renew it.
Q. Express your repentance for breaking it.
A. I express it thus.
O Lord God, with shame, and sorrow, and confusion
of Face, I confess and acknowledge thy infinite
mercy and goodness to me, my infinite vileness
and ingratitude to thee!
Thou Lord infinitely good and gratious wast
pleas'd out of thy own free mercy, first to love me,
to excite me to love again, glory be to thee.
Thou Lord didst vouchsafe, of a miserable Sinner,
to make me a Member of my Saviour, thy
own Child, and an Heir of Heaven, glory be to
thee.
I infinitely wicked and unworthy, have despis'd,
and rejected, and forfeited all the inestimable Blessings,
to which I was intitled by my Baptism; Lord
have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, wretch that I am, I have cut my
self off by my sins, from being a true Member of
Christ's Mystical Body, and from all the gratious
influences I might have deriv'd from my union to
him; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, wretch that I am, I have by my
numerous provocations, lost that holy Spirit of
Adoption, whereby I might become thy Child, O
God, and call thee Father, and am become a Child
of wrath; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, wretch that I am, I have by my
own willfull impiety, disclaimed my being an Inheritour
of the Kingdom of Heaven, and am become
an Heir to the Kingdom of Darkness, Lord
have mercy upon me.
of Satan, and have wrought the works of my
Father the Devil; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, I have greedily coveted and pursued
the pomps and vanity of this wicked World;
Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, I have often indulg'd the sinfull
lusts of the Flesh; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, I have lov'd all things which thou
Lord hatest, and am my self become odious in thy
sight; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, I have neither believ'd in thee, O
my God, nor obey'd thee, nor lov'd thee, as I
ought, and as I solemnly vow'd I would; Lord
have mercy upon me.
O Lord God most gratious and reconcileable,
Pitty and pardon me.
I lament, O Lord God, my detestable impiety,
for having so long, and so often, and so obstinately
offended thee.
In the bitterness of my Soul, O Father of mercy,
I bewail and abhor my unworthiness, and the hardness
of my heart, that has despis'd the riches of thy
goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, which
should have lead me to repentance.
O Lord God, whatever thou deny'st me, deny
me not a broken and a contrite heart.
O that my head were waters, and my eyes fountains
of tears, that I might weep much and love
much, having much to be forgiven.
Lord, hear me, help me, save me, for thy own
gratious promise sake, for thy own tender mercies
sake, for the merits and sufferings of Jesus thy beloved,
in whom thou hast made Penitents accepted.
Amen. Amen.
O Lord God, with shame, and sorrow, and confusion
of Face, I confess and acknowledge thy infinite
mercy and goodness to me, my infinite vileness
and ingratitude to thee!
Thou Lord infinitely good and gratious wast
pleas'd out of thy own free mercy, first to love me,
to excite me to love again, glory be to thee.
Thou Lord didst vouchsafe, of a miserable Sinner,
to make me a Member of my Saviour, thy
own Child, and an Heir of Heaven, glory be to
thee.
I infinitely wicked and unworthy, have despis'd,
and rejected, and forfeited all the inestimable Blessings,
to which I was intitled by my Baptism; Lord
have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, wretch that I am, I have cut my
self off by my sins, from being a true Member of
Christ's Mystical Body, and from all the gratious
influences I might have deriv'd from my union to
him; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, wretch that I am, I have by my
numerous provocations, lost that holy Spirit of
Adoption, whereby I might become thy Child, O
God, and call thee Father, and am become a Child
of wrath; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, wretch that I am, I have by my
own willfull impiety, disclaimed my being an Inheritour
of the Kingdom of Heaven, and am become
an Heir to the Kingdom of Darkness, Lord
have mercy upon me.
5
Woe is me, I have easily yielded to the temptationsof Satan, and have wrought the works of my
Father the Devil; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, I have greedily coveted and pursued
the pomps and vanity of this wicked World;
Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, I have often indulg'd the sinfull
lusts of the Flesh; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, I have lov'd all things which thou
Lord hatest, and am my self become odious in thy
sight; Lord have mercy upon me.
Woe is me, I have neither believ'd in thee, O
my God, nor obey'd thee, nor lov'd thee, as I
ought, and as I solemnly vow'd I would; Lord
have mercy upon me.
O Lord God most gratious and reconcileable,
Pitty and pardon me.
I lament, O Lord God, my detestable impiety,
for having so long, and so often, and so obstinately
offended thee.
In the bitterness of my Soul, O Father of mercy,
I bewail and abhor my unworthiness, and the hardness
of my heart, that has despis'd the riches of thy
goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, which
should have lead me to repentance.
O Lord God, whatever thou deny'st me, deny
me not a broken and a contrite heart.
O that my head were waters, and my eyes fountains
of tears, that I might weep much and love
much, having much to be forgiven.
Lord, hear me, help me, save me, for thy own
gratious promise sake, for thy own tender mercies
sake, for the merits and sufferings of Jesus thy beloved,
in whom thou hast made Penitents accepted.
Amen. Amen.
Q. Having repented of the violations of your
Baptismal Vow, shew me how you will renew it.
Baptismal Vow, shew me how you will renew it.
A. I shall doe it after this manner.
I have sinned, O Lord God, I have sinned, and
done evil in thy sight, but I repent, I turn to thee.
I confess, and forsake my wickedness, and am
sorry for my sins.
It grieves me, O most amiable Goodness, it
grieves me that ever I offended thee.
the Sacred vow, which, alas! alas! I have
so often violated.
O Lord God, I do, for the future, Renounce
the devil, that Arch-rebel against thee, with all
his Apostate-Angels.
I renounce all his worship, all his impious suggestions,
delusions and temptations, for which
he is called the tempter, and all the ways of consulting
him, which ungodly men have taken.
I renounce all his works, all those sins of the
Spirit, all pride, and malice, and envy; all
treachery and lying, revenge and cruelty; all
tempting others to Sin, hatred to Holiness and
Apostasie, which are his daily practice, and are
truly diabolical.
I utterly renounce, O Lord God, the pomps
and vanity of this wicked world; all covetous
desires of honour, riches and pleasure; all sinfull
excesses in things lawfull.
I renounce, Lord, all evil customs, all evil
companions, all that is vain or wicked in the
world, all that friendship with the world, which
is enmity with thee; all things that may alienate my
heart from thee.
I renounce, O Lord God, all worldly comforts
and possessions; all my natural relations, and my
own life, whenever they stand in competition with
my duty to thee.
I utterly renounce, O Lord God, all the sinfull
lusts of the flesh, all the inordinate desires
of my own corrupt nature, of my own carnal
mind, which is enmity with thee.
I Renounce, Lord, all fleshly lusts which war against
thee, and against my own Soul, all sloth
and idleness, and intemperance, and lasciviousness;
all filthiness of flesh and spirit, which render us
unclean in thy sight.
O Lord God, I utterly Renounce all things that
may any way displease thee; from them all let it be
thy good pleasure to deliver me.
I know, Lord, that Sin is the utmost abomination
to thy purity, the most audacious outrage to
thy Adorable Majesty, the perfect contradiction to
thy Deity, and therefore I utterly renounce and
abhor it.
of thy wrath, and to vengeance eternal; I know
it sets the Sinner at the extremest distance, and
opposition and defiance to thee, and therefore I
utterly renounce and abhor it.
I know, Lord, I cannot love thee, but I must
hate evil, and therefore I renounce and detest it.
Turn thou me, O Lord God, and so shall I be
turned.
Turn, O Lord, the whole stream of my affections,
from sensual love, to the love of thee.
O my God, let thy heavenly love be the constant
byass of my Soul; O may it be the natural spring
and weight of my heart, that it may always move
towards thee.
Thy love, O my God, shall hereafter be the sole
rule and guide of my life; I will love thee, and
love whatever thou lovest, and hate whatever thou
hatest, I will believe all the Articles of the
Christian Faith, and I will keep thy Holy
Will and Commandments, and walk in the
same all the days of my life.
All this, O my God, I own my self bound to
believe and doe, and though of my self I am impotent
to all good, yet by thy help I will
perform it; and I heartily thank thee, O heavenly
Father, who out of mere compassion to
my Soul, hast call'd me to this state of salvation,
through Iesus Christ our Lord.
Glory be to thee, O Lord, who hast indulg'd me
this opportunity of repentance; Glory be to thee
who hast wrought in me this Will, to renew my
Baptismal vow.
O my God, I humbly, I earnestly pray unto
thee to give me continual supplies of thy grace,
that I may continue in thy love unto my lives
end, that being faithfull to death, I may receive the
Crown of life.
O Lord God, I have sworn, and I will perform
it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
My heart is empty and disengag'd, and longs for
thee; my heart is entirely devoted to thee: Enter,
O my God; possess it with thy gratious presence,
and fill it with thy love.
Lord, for thy tender mercies sake, restore me
to thy favour; to all the graces and privileges of
sins.
Lord, make me a living member of thy Church,
the mystical body of thy Son.
O my God, unite me inseparably to Christ my
Head, and from thence let his gratious influences,
be ever streaming into my soul.
Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and in thy
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy Son:
But I return with the Prodigal; O let thy paternal
bowels yearn on me, and gratiously receive me.
Lord, send thy Spirit of Adoption into my heart,
to instill true filial affections, that I may again be
own'd by thee for thy Child, and call thee Father,
and share in the blessings of thy Children, and at
last become an Inheritour of the Kingdom of
Heaven.
O heavenly Father, accept my imperfect repentance,
compassionate my infirmities, forgive my
wickedness, purifie my uncleanness, strengthen my
weakness, fix my unstableness, and let thy love
ever rule in my heart, through the merits, and sufferings,
and love of the Son of thy love, in whom
thou art always infinitely pleas'd. Amen.
This Office may be us'd in times of devout Retirement,I have sinned, O Lord God, I have sinned, and
done evil in thy sight, but I repent, I turn to thee.
I confess, and forsake my wickedness, and am
sorry for my sins.
It grieves me, O most amiable Goodness, it
grieves me that ever I offended thee.
6
With all my heart, O my God, do I now renewthe Sacred vow, which, alas! alas! I have
so often violated.
O Lord God, I do, for the future, Renounce
the devil, that Arch-rebel against thee, with all
his Apostate-Angels.
I renounce all his worship, all his impious suggestions,
delusions and temptations, for which
he is called the tempter, and all the ways of consulting
him, which ungodly men have taken.
I renounce all his works, all those sins of the
Spirit, all pride, and malice, and envy; all
treachery and lying, revenge and cruelty; all
tempting others to Sin, hatred to Holiness and
Apostasie, which are his daily practice, and are
truly diabolical.
I utterly renounce, O Lord God, the pomps
and vanity of this wicked world; all covetous
desires of honour, riches and pleasure; all sinfull
excesses in things lawfull.
I renounce, Lord, all evil customs, all evil
companions, all that is vain or wicked in the
world, all that friendship with the world, which
is enmity with thee; all things that may alienate my
heart from thee.
I renounce, O Lord God, all worldly comforts
and possessions; all my natural relations, and my
own life, whenever they stand in competition with
my duty to thee.
I utterly renounce, O Lord God, all the sinfull
lusts of the flesh, all the inordinate desires
of my own corrupt nature, of my own carnal
mind, which is enmity with thee.
I Renounce, Lord, all fleshly lusts which war against
thee, and against my own Soul, all sloth
and idleness, and intemperance, and lasciviousness;
all filthiness of flesh and spirit, which render us
unclean in thy sight.
O Lord God, I utterly Renounce all things that
may any way displease thee; from them all let it be
thy good pleasure to deliver me.
I know, Lord, that Sin is the utmost abomination
to thy purity, the most audacious outrage to
thy Adorable Majesty, the perfect contradiction to
thy Deity, and therefore I utterly renounce and
abhor it.
7
I know, Lord, that Sin exposes us to all the Vialsof thy wrath, and to vengeance eternal; I know
it sets the Sinner at the extremest distance, and
opposition and defiance to thee, and therefore I
utterly renounce and abhor it.
I know, Lord, I cannot love thee, but I must
hate evil, and therefore I renounce and detest it.
Turn thou me, O Lord God, and so shall I be
turned.
Turn, O Lord, the whole stream of my affections,
from sensual love, to the love of thee.
O my God, let thy heavenly love be the constant
byass of my Soul; O may it be the natural spring
and weight of my heart, that it may always move
towards thee.
Thy love, O my God, shall hereafter be the sole
rule and guide of my life; I will love thee, and
love whatever thou lovest, and hate whatever thou
hatest, I will believe all the Articles of the
Christian Faith, and I will keep thy Holy
Will and Commandments, and walk in the
same all the days of my life.
All this, O my God, I own my self bound to
believe and doe, and though of my self I am impotent
to all good, yet by thy help I will
perform it; and I heartily thank thee, O heavenly
Father, who out of mere compassion to
my Soul, hast call'd me to this state of salvation,
through Iesus Christ our Lord.
Glory be to thee, O Lord, who hast indulg'd me
this opportunity of repentance; Glory be to thee
who hast wrought in me this Will, to renew my
Baptismal vow.
O my God, I humbly, I earnestly pray unto
thee to give me continual supplies of thy grace,
that I may continue in thy love unto my lives
end, that being faithfull to death, I may receive the
Crown of life.
O Lord God, I have sworn, and I will perform
it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
My heart is empty and disengag'd, and longs for
thee; my heart is entirely devoted to thee: Enter,
O my God; possess it with thy gratious presence,
and fill it with thy love.
Lord, for thy tender mercies sake, restore me
to thy favour; to all the graces and privileges of
8
my Baptism, of which I have been spoil'd by mysins.
Lord, make me a living member of thy Church,
the mystical body of thy Son.
O my God, unite me inseparably to Christ my
Head, and from thence let his gratious influences,
be ever streaming into my soul.
Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and in thy
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy Son:
But I return with the Prodigal; O let thy paternal
bowels yearn on me, and gratiously receive me.
Lord, send thy Spirit of Adoption into my heart,
to instill true filial affections, that I may again be
own'd by thee for thy Child, and call thee Father,
and share in the blessings of thy Children, and at
last become an Inheritour of the Kingdom of
Heaven.
O heavenly Father, accept my imperfect repentance,
compassionate my infirmities, forgive my
wickedness, purifie my uncleanness, strengthen my
weakness, fix my unstableness, and let thy love
ever rule in my heart, through the merits, and sufferings,
and love of the Son of thy love, in whom
thou art always infinitely pleas'd. Amen.
or on the Lord's day, or in Affliction or
Sickness, but especially before the Holy Eucharist.
Q. Rehearse the Articles of your
Belief.
Belief.
A. I. I Believe in God the Father
Almighty, maker of Heaven and
Earth.
II. And in Iesus Christ his onely
Son our Lord,
III. Who was Conceived by the
Holy Ghost,
Born of the Uirgin Mary.
was Crucified, Dead and Buried,
He descended into Hell.
V. The third day He rose again
from the Dead.
VI. He ascended into Heaven, and
sitteth at the right hand of God the
Father Almighty;
VII. From thence he shall come to
judge the quick and the dead.
VIII. I believe in the Holy Ghost.
IX. The Holy Catholick Church,
the Communion of Saints.
X. The Forgiveness of Sins.
XI. The resurrection of the body.
XII. And the life everlasting. Amen.
Almighty, maker of Heaven and
Earth.
II. And in Iesus Christ his onely
Son our Lord,
III. Who was Conceived by the
Holy Ghost,
Born of the Uirgin Mary.
9
IV. Suffered under Pontius Pilate,was Crucified, Dead and Buried,
He descended into Hell.
V. The third day He rose again
from the Dead.
VI. He ascended into Heaven, and
sitteth at the right hand of God the
Father Almighty;
VII. From thence he shall come to
judge the quick and the dead.
VIII. I believe in the Holy Ghost.
IX. The Holy Catholick Church,
the Communion of Saints.
X. The Forgiveness of Sins.
XI. The resurrection of the body.
XII. And the life everlasting. Amen.
Q. What dost thou chiefly learn
in these Articles of thy belief?
in these Articles of thy belief?
A. First, I learn to believe in
God the Father, who hath made me
and all the world.
Secondly, in God the Son, who
hath redeemed me, and all mankind.
Thirdly, In God the Holy Ghost,
who sanctifieth me, and all the Elect
people of God.
God the Father, who hath made me
and all the world.
Secondly, in God the Son, who
hath redeemed me, and all mankind.
Thirdly, In God the Holy Ghost,
who sanctifieth me, and all the Elect
people of God.
Q. What is the method of the Creed?
A. The Creed teaches me to believe in God, and
to believe his Church.
to believe his Church.
Q. How in God?
A. It teaches me to believe in God, with respect
to his Unity, and then to the Trinity of Persons in
that Unity, Father, Son, and holy Ghost.
to his Unity, and then to the Trinity of Persons in
that Unity, Father, Son, and holy Ghost.
Q. How does it teach you to believe the Church?
A. It teaches me to believe the Church, with regard
or Triumphant above.
10
to its two different states, either Militant below,or Triumphant above.
Q. How are the Articles of the Creed Motives of
Love?
Love?
A. Every Article includes a Blessing as well as a
Mystery, and is as proper to excite our Love, as to
engage our Faith.
Mystery, and is as proper to excite our Love, as to
engage our Faith.
Q. Give me such a Paraphrase on the Creed, that
throughout the whole, your Faith may work by
Love.
throughout the whole, your Faith may work by
Love.
A. I shall doe it to the best of my power, in such
Instructive and Pathetical Aspirations, as follow.
Instructive and Pathetical Aspirations, as follow.
I Believe.
My Lord and my God, with a full, free and firmassent, I believe all the Articles of my Creed, because
thou hast revealed them; I know thou art
infallible Truth, and canst not, thou art infinite
Love, and wilt not deceive me: Glory be to
thee.
With all my heart, O my God, do I love and
praise thee, who art so infinitely amiable in thy
self, and so full of love to us, that all I can know,
or believe of thee, excites me to love thee.
Lord, daily increase my Faith; make it active
and fruitfull, that I may believe and love thee as
entirely, as becomes one entirely devoted to thee.
In God.
I believe, O my God, that thou art One, andthat there is no other God besides thee; thou art that
One infinite and independent Being, that One onely
true God, whom all Men, and all Angels are to
Adore: All glory be to thee.
O Lord God, help me to love and to praise
thee with God-like affections, and a sutable Devotion.
I believe, O my God, that in the Unity of thy
Godhead, there is a Trinity of Persons, I believe
in thee, O Father, Son and Holy Ghost, in
whose Name I was baptized, to whose Service I
am religiously devoted: All glory be to thee.
I believe, I admire, I love, I praise, I adore thee,
O most blessed and glorious Trinity, God the Father,
B
11
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, forbeing the joint Authours of our Salvation: All
glory be to thee.
O sacred, and dreadfull, and mysterious Trinity,
though I cannot conceive thee, yet let me daily
experiment thy goodness; Let thy Grace, O Lord
Jesus; let thy Love, O God the Father; let thy Communications,
O Holy Spirit, be ever with me.
The Father.
I believe, and love, and praise thee, O my God,the first Person in the most Adorable Trinity; the
Fountain of the Godhead; the Eternal Father of
thy coeternal Son, Jesus my Saviour.
Glory be to thee, O God the Father, for so loving
the world, as to give thy onely begotten Son to redeem
us.
Glory be to thee, O heavenly Father, for first
loving us, and giving the dearest thing thou hadst
for us; O help me to love again, and to think nothing
too dear for thee.
Almighty.
I believe, O my God, that thou art a Spiritmost pure, and holy, and infinite in all perfections,
in Power, and Knowledge, and Goodness;
that thou art Eternal, Immutable, and
Omnipresent; all love, all glory be to thee.
I believe, O Lord, that thou art most wise and
just, most happy and glorious, and allsufficient,
most gratious and mercifull, and tender,
and benign, and liberal, and beneficent; all
love, all glory be to thee.
I believe thy Divine Nature, O my God, to be
in all respects amiable, to be Amiableness it self, to
be Love it self; and therefore I love, I admire, I
praise, and fear, and adore thee.
Thou, Lord, art my Hope, my Trust, my Life,
my Joy, my Glory, my God, my All, my Love.
12
Maker of Heaven and Earth.
I believe that thou, O Father Almighty, didstcreate Heaven and Earth, the whole World, and
all things in it, visible and invisible, out of nothing,
and by thy Word onely: All glory be to
thee.
I believe, O thou great Creatour, that thy Divine
Love made thee communicate Being to thy
Creatures; that thou lovest all things, and hatest
nothing thou hast made: Glory be to thee.
I believe, O God, that thou art the sole Lord,
and Proprietour of all things thou hast made;
that all things do necessarily depend on thee; that
'tis in thee onely we live, and move, and have our
Being: All Love, all Glory be to thee.
I believe, O thou Communicative Goodness,
that thou dost preserve, and sustain, and protect,
and bless all things thou hast made, sutably to the
Natures thou hast given them: All Love, all
Glory be to thee.
I believe, O mighty Wisedom, that thou dost
most sweetly order and govern, and dispose all
things; even the most minute; even the very
sins of men, to conspire in thy Glory; O do
thou conduct my whole life, steer every motion of
my soul, towards the great End of our Creation;
to love, and to glorifie thee.
I believe, O Lord, that thy Love was more illustrious
in the Creation of Man, than in all the rest
of the visible World; thou wert pleased to make
him in thy own Image, and after thy own divine
likeness: All Love, all Glory be to thee.
Thou, Lord, didst make Man for thy self, and
all things visible for Man; Thou designedst all creatures
for his use, and didst subject them to his
Dominion; the very Angels thou didst charge to
keep him in all his ways: All Love, all Glory be
to thee.
Thy Works, O Lord, are wonderfull and amiable;
I love, and admire, and praise thy Universal
Providence over the whole World; the perpetual
flux of thy Goodness on every Creature: All glory
be to thee.
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13
I love and praise thee, O my God, for all theparticular vouchsafements of thy love to me, for
all thy deliverances and blessings, either to my body
or to my soul, known or unknown; for all that I
do not remember, or did not consider: All Love,
all Glory be to thee.
The longer I live, O my God, the more reason
I have to love thee, because every day supplies me
with fresh experiments and new motives of thy
manifold love to me; and therefore all Love, all
Glory be to thee.
And in Iesus.
I believe in thee, O Jesus, and rejoice in thatdear Name which is so full and expressive of thy
Love.
Thou art Jesus our Saviour, because thou camest
into the World on purpose to save us from our sins:
All Love, all Glory be to thee,
O be thou ever Jesus to me; O let me feel the
kind force of that sweet name, in which I and all
sinners do reade our danger, and our deliverance,
our guilt, and our salvation.
O most benign Jesu! He well deserves to be accursed
that does not love thee: Who, Lord, can ever
hope to share in thy Salvation, who does not
love thee his Saviour?
Christ.
I believe, O mercifull Jesus, that thou art Christthe true Messias, the Anointed of the Lord, the
promised seed which was to bruise the Serpent's head,
long expected by the Fathers, foretold by the
Prophets, represented by Types, which were
all fulfilled in thee, O thou the desire of all Nations:
All Love, all Glory be to thee.
I believe that thou, O Jesus, wert Anointed with
the Holy Spirit, that all his Gifts and Graces were
poured out, and diffused like a sweet ointment on thy
soul, without measure; thou art altogether lovely,
O Christ, and of thy fulness we all receive: All
Love, all Glory be to thee.
14
I believe, O thou Anointed of God, that asKings, and Priests, and Prophets, were heretofore
anointed with Material oil; so by thy Heavenly
Anointing, thou wast Consecrated to be our
Prophet, our King, and our Priest, and in all those
three Offices, to manifest thy love to us; and
therefore all Love, all Glory be to thee.
Glory be to thee, O Christ, our Prophet, who
didst teach, and reveal, and interpret thy Father's
Will, and all saving truth to the World.
Glory be to thee, O Christ, our King, who
dost give Laws to thy People, dost govern and
protect us, and hast subdued all our Ghostly Enemies.
Glory be to thee, O Christ, our Priest, who dost
bless us, who didst offer thy self a sacrifice, and
dost still make intercession for us.
Our Redemption, our Illumination, our Support
is wholly from thy Love, O thou Anointed of God:
All Love, all Glory be to thee.
His onely Son.
I believe that thou, O most Adorable Jesus, artthe Son of God by ineffable generation; thou
didst from Eternity derive thy Godhead from the
Father; thou art the brightness of his Glory, and
the express Image of his Person: All Love, all Glory
be to thee.
Thou, O blessed Jesu, art the onely Son of God,
the onely begotten Son, full of Grace and Truth;
Thou art the onely beloved Son, in whom thy Father
is well pleased; 'tis onely in thee, and for thee, that
Sinners have Hope; and therefore all Love, all Glory
be to thee.
Thou art equal to thy Father, O Jesu, in amiableness
and in love to us, and art equally to be loved
by us; and therefore all Love and praise be to
the Father that eternally begat, and to the Son
eternally begotten.
Our Lord.
I believe, O thou eternal Son of the Father, thatthou art the great and true God, Jehovah our
Righteousness, God above all blessed for ever, and
B3
15
mighty to save: All love, all Glory be to thee.I believe, O Lord Jesus, that thou didst make,
and dost sustain all things by thy Power, and that
thou art to be honoured by Men, and by Angels, as
thy Father is honoured: All Love, all Glory be
to thee.
I believe, O thou King of Kings, and Lord of
Lords, that thou art the Lord, and the Authour
of the new Creation, as well as of the old, that
thou art more peculiarly Lord of us Sinners by purchase;
O that I, and all that own thy Dominion,
may for ever love, and revere, and obey so powerfull
and gratious a Lord!
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost.
I believe, O most condescending Majesty, thatwhen thou didst stoop so low as to assume our frail
Nature, the Holy Ghost came on thy sacred Mother.
and that the Power of the Highest did overshadow
her, and that she did conceive, and lodge thee
in her Womb, where thou, who fillest Heaven and
Earth, wert about nine months for our sakes imprison'd;
and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.
Born of the Uirgin Mary.
I believe, O most adorable Humility, that thouwast at last born into the World, that thou having
onely God for thy Father, and Mary, a pure Virgin,
for thy Mother, whom all Generations do call
Blessed, both thy Conception and Birth were
perfectly immaculate, that being without sin thy
self, thou mightest be a fit sacrifice to attone for
us Sinners, who being born of unclean Parents,
were all by nature unclean; and therefore all love,
all glory be to thee, O immaculate Lamb of God,
who takest away the sins of the World.
I believe, O blessed Saviour, that the two Natures
of God, and of Man, were in thee so mysteriously
united, without either change, or confusion,
that they made in thee but one Person, but one Mediatour,
one Lord: Thou, O Eternal Word,
didst become flesh, and didst dwell among us, on
purpose to save us; and therefore all love, all glory
be to thee.
16
Suffered.
I believe, O adorable Love, that thy whole lifewas made up of sufferings, and that for sinfull men,
and in particular for me; O let me never cease to
adore and love thee.
It was for us Sinners, O tenderest Love, that in thy
very infancy thou wast circumcis'd, and design'd
by Herod for slaughter, and forc't to fly into Egypt,
and therefore I praise and love thee.
It was for us Sinners that thou, O afflicted Love,
were all thy life-long, a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief, that thou wast persecuted and revil'd,
despis'd and rejected, and hadst not where to
lay thy head, and therefore I am bound to praise,
and love thee.
It was for us Sinners, that thou, O compassionate
Love, when thou tookest on thee our nature, wast
toucht with a feeling of our infirmities, and wast in all
points tempted like as we are, yet without sin, that
thou mightest the more affectionately pity the
weak, and succour the tempted; and therefore I
praise and love thee.
It was for us Sinners, that thou, O beneficent
Love, didst go about doing good, preaching repentance,
publishing the glad tidings of salvation, sending
thy Disciples, confirming thy heavenly Doctrine
by many glorious Miracles, and illustrating
it by a God-like example; all thy life is full of attractives
of sweetest love and pity to us Sinners,
which kindly and forcibly constrain us to praise
and love thee.
O most exuberant Love, how amiable are all thy
Graces, O fill my heart with thy love, and transform
me into thy likeness, that I may all my life-long
imitate thy perfect obedience, unspotted Holiness,
unchangeable Resolution, universal Charity,
uninterrupted Devotion, contempt of the World,
Heavenly-mindedness, gratious Condescention, ardent
Zeal for thy Father's Glory, and unbounded
Love, and that for the sake of that dearest Love,
which inclined thee to become incarnate for me.
B4
17
Under Pontius Pilate.
I believe, O my Lord, and my God, that thoughthou didst suffer all thy life long, yet thy greatest
sufferings were under the Roman Governour of Judea,
Pontius Pilate; I believe all those mighty sufferings,
but am as little able to express the greatness
of them, as I am the greatness of thy love which
mov'd thee to suffer: All I can doe is to love, and
to praise thee.
How great were thy sufferings, O Saviour of the
World, when the very apprehension of them made
thy Soul very heavy, exceeding sorrowfull even to
death, made thee offer up prayers, with strong crying
and tears, that if it were thy Father's will the Cup
might pass from thee, threw thee into an agony and
bloudy sweat, insomuch that there was an Angel
sent from Heaven on purpose to strengthen thee! O
thou agonising Love, impress on my heart so tender
a sense of thy sufferings for me, that I may agonise
with thee, that I may feel all thy sorrows, that
though I cannot sweat bloud like thee, I may dissolve
into tears for thee, that I may love and suffer
with thee throughout every part of thy Passion.
O suffering Jesus, when my Meditations follow
thee from the Garden to Mount Calvary, I grieve
and I love all the way.
I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O Incarnate
God, who couldst command more than twelve
legions of Angels for thy rescue; out of love to Sinners,
and in particular to me, one of the vilest of
all that number, humbling thy self to be apprehended,
and bound by the rude Souldiers, as a Malefactour.
I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O gratious
Lord, for my sake, betray'd by the treacherous
kiss of Judas, deny'd by Peter, and forsaken of
all thy Disciples.
I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O spotless
innocence, out of love to me, dragg'd to Annas
and Caiaphas the High-priest, when I see thee accus'd
by false Witnesses, arraign'd and condemn'd.
I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O divine
Majesty, out of love to me, spit upon, and blindfolded,
and buffeted, and mockt, sent to Pilate
18
an Infidel Judge, then to wicked Herod, whowith his men of war set thee at naught, array'd
thee in a white Robe of Mockery, and sent thee
again to Pilate.
I grieve, and I love, O injur'd Goodness, when
I see thee, though declar'd innocent by the very
Traytour Judas, who out of horrour for his Crime,
went and hang'd himself, though declar'd innocent
by Pilate himself, the Judge to whom thine Enemies
appeal'd, yet worried to death by the clamours
of the Rabble, that cry'd out Crucify, Crucify, when
I see Barabbas a Traytour and a Murtherer preferr'd
before thee.
I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O lover
of Souls, for my sake most unjustly given up into
the hands of infidel Souldiers, to be stript naked,
and tied to a Pillar, and scourg'd; to see the
Plowers plowing on thy back, and making long furrows.
I grieve, and I love, O King of Heaven, when
I see thee out of love to me, humbling thy self to
be array'd in Purple, with a Reed in thy hand,
when I see thee crown'd with Thorns, to multiply
thy torments; when I see thee mockt by barbarous
Wretches, with their bended knee, and with hail
King of the Jews.
I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O Lord
God, whom the Angels worship, spit upon again,
and buffeted, and for my sake, made the extreme
scorn, and contempt, and sport, of thy insolent
and insulting Enemies; and though still declar'd
innocent by Pilate, yet surrender'd to the
unrelenting Cruelty of the multitude, to be crucified.
My Lord, my God, my Saviour, with all my
heart, I love and adore thy infinite love and benignity
to Sinners; with all my heart, I lament and
detest the hatred, and outrage of Sinners to thee.
Was crucifyed.
I grieve, and I love, O sorrowful Jesus, whenI see thee for my sake opprest with the weight of
thy own Cross, till thy tender Body, quite spent
with sufferings, sank under it.
19
I grieve, and I love, O thou great Martyr ofLove, when for my sake I see thy virgin Body stript
naked, thy Hands and thy Feet nail'd to the Cross;
when I see thee crucified between two Thieves, and
numbred with the Transgressours, when I see Gall given
thee to eat, and Vinegar to drink.
I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O incarnate
Deity hanging on the Cross, and for my sake,
by thy own People, in the height of thy anguish,
derided, reproacht and blasphem'd with wagging of
their heads mockt by the Souldiers, and by the impenitent
Thief.
I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O God blessed
for evermore, O Fountain of all blessing, hang bleeding
on the Cross, and made a curse for me; How
does my indignation swell against the injustice, and
ingratitude, and inhumanity of the Jews, who
could thus cruelly treat so unreproachable an Innocence,
so amiable a Charity, so compassionate a Saviour!
Alas, alas, it was the Sinner, O Love incarnate,
rather than the Jew, that betray'd, and derided
and blasphemed and tortur'd and crucify'd thee;
the sins of lapst mankind, and particularly my sins,
they were thy Tormentours; and therefore from my
heart I bewail, detest and abjure them.
My Lord, and my God, instill penitential love
into my Soul, that I may grieve for my sins, which
griev'd thee, that I may love thee for suffering for
us Sinners, who occasion'd all thy griefs; O may I
always love thee, O may I never grieve thee
more!
Dead.
I grieve, and I love, O bleeding Love, when Isee thee on the Cross, quite spent with pain and
anguish, when I see thee in thy dying pangs commending
thy Spirit into the hands of thy heavenly Father,
bowing thy head, and giving up the Ghost.
Thou, O Lord of life, didst for us Sinners humble
thy self to death, even to the death of the Cross, a
death of utmost shame and ignominy, and of torment
insupportable; all love, all glory be to thee.
Was ever any sorrow, O crucify'd Lord, like that
sorrow my sins created thee?
20
Was ever any love, O outrag'd Mercy, like thatlove thou didst shew, in dying for Sinners!
All the frame of Nature, O dying Saviour, fell
into convulsions at the crucifixion of their great
Creatour; The Sun was darkned, the veil of the
Temple was rent from the top to the bottom, the Earth
quak't, the Rocks clave asunder, the Bodies of dead
Saints rose out of their Graves, insomuch that the
Centurion and infidel Souldiers acknowledg'd thee
to be the Son of God, thou wast lovely, and glorious,
and adorable in thy lowest humiliation; all
love, all praise be to thee.
Thy bodily Sufferings, O almighty Love, were
intolerable, but yet thy inward were far greater.
I grieve, I love, I melt all o'er, when I hear
thee on the Cross crying out, My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me. Ah sinfull Wretch that I
am, how infinite and unconceivable were the inward
Dolours and Agonies thou didst undergo for us
Sinners, when thou didst tread the Winepress of thy
Father's wrath alone, when it pleas'd thy own most
beloved Father to bruise thee, and to put thee to grief,
when the iniquities of the whole World were laid on
thee, and my numerous sins increast thy load, and
heightned thy torment, when thy own Deity withdrew
all consolation from thee, when God, offended
by our sins, did afflict thee in the day of his fierce
anger; no sufferings, no love was ever like unto
thine for me; no grief, no love but thy own should
exceed mine for thee.
For whom, O unutterable goodness, didst thou
suffer the extreme bitterness of sorrow, but for the
vilest of all thy Creatures, sinfull man, and for me
one of the worst of Sinners? and therefore I praise
and love thee.
For what end didst thou suffer, O most ardent
Charity, but to save Sinners from all things that
were destructicve, the Curse of the Law, the Terrours
of Death, the Tyranny of Sin, the Powers
of Darkness, and Torments Eternal, to purchase
for us all things conducible to our Happiness,
Pardon and Grace, Consolation and Acceptance,
and the everlasting Joys and Glories of the Kingdom
of Heaven; and therefore I praise and love
thee.
21
Out of what motive didst thou suffer, Oboundless Benignity, but out of thy own preventing
love, free mercy, and pure compassion,
and therefore I praise and love thee.
When no other Sacrifice could attone thy Father's
Anger, O thou the beloved Son of God, and
reconcile Divine Justice and Mercy together, but
the Sacrifice of God incarnate, who as man was to
die, and to suffer in our stead, as God was to
merit and make satisfaction for our sins; 'twas then
that thou, O God the Son, didst become Man, the
very meanest of Men, didst take upon thee the form of
a Servant, and didst on the Cross shew us the mystery
and the Miracle of Love, God crucified for Sinners,
and Sinners redeem'd by the bloud of God.
O thou propitious Wonder, God incarnate on
the Cross, by what Names shall I adore thee, all
are too short, too scanty, to express thee, Love
onely, nothing but Love will reach thee, thou art
Love, O Jesu, thou art all love, O tenderest, O
sweetest, O purest, O dearest Love, soften, sweeten,
refine, love me into all Love like thee!
By the love of thy Cross, O Jesu, I live, in
that I will onely glory, that above all things will I
study, that before all things will I value; by
the love of thy Cross I will take up my Cross daily,
and follow thee, I will persecute and torment, and
crucify my sinfull Affections and Lusts, which persecuted,
tormented and crucify'd thee; and if thy
love calls me to it, I will suffer on the Cross for
thee, as thou hast done for me.
How illustrious and amiable were thy Graces amidst
all thy Sufferings, O thou afflicted Jesu; I admire,
and I love thy profound Humility, unwearied
Patience, Lamb-like Meekness, immaculate Innocence,
invincible Courage, absolute Resignation,
compassionate love of Souls, and perfect Charity
to thy Enemies. O my Love, I cannot love thee,
but I must desire above all things to be like my
Beloved; O give me grace to tread in thy steps,
and conform me to thy Divine Image, that the
more I grow like thee, the more I may love thee,
and the more I may be lov'd by thee.
22
And Buried, He descended into Hell.
I believe, O crucified Lord, that thou wast reallydead, and that there was a separation of thy
Body and Soul: That thy side was mortally wounded,
and pierced with a Spear on the Cross, and
thy sacred Body was buried, to assure us of thy
death: All love, all glory be to thee.
I believe, O pierced, O wounded Love, that thy
Soul in the state of separation did descend into
Hell, to vanquish Death and all the Spirits of
darkness in their own Dominions, and therefore I
adore and love thee.
Glory be to thee, O thou great Champion of
Love, who didst for our sakes singly encounter all
our ghostly Enemies, who didst thy self taste of
death, that thou mightst take away the sting of
death, who didst wrestle with principalities and
powers, and all the force of Hell that we might
share in thy Victory; for which wonderfull Salvation
I will always praise and love thee.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
I believe, O Almighty Love, that, according tothe Types and Prophecies which went before of
thee, and according to thy own infallible predictions,
thou didst by thy own power rise from the
dead the third day: All love, all glory be to thee.
Glory be to thee, who didst lie so long in the
Grave to undergo the full condition of the dead,
and to convince all the world thou wert dead; and
didst rise so soon that thou mightst not see corruption
or retard our joy; All love, all glory
be to thee.
He ascended into Heaven.
I believe, O Victorious Love, that thou, afterthy conquest over Death and Hell, didst ascend in
triumph to Heaven, that thou mightst prepare
Mansions for us, and from thence as Conquerour
bestow the gifts of they conquest on us, and above
all the gift of thy Holy Spirit; that thou mightst
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enter into the Holy of Holies, as our great High-priest,to present to thy Father the sweet-smelling
Sacrifice of his crucified Son, the sole propitiation
for Sinners; and therefore all Love, all
glory be to thee.
Glory be to thee, O Jesu, who didst leave the world
and ascend to Heaven about the 33d year of thy age,
to teach us in the prime of our years to despise this
world, when we are best able to enjoy it, and to
reserve our full vigour for Heaven and for thy Love.
O thou whom my Soul loveth, since thou hast
left the world, what was there ever in it worthy
of our Love! O let all my affections ascend after
thee, and never return to the earth more; for
whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none
upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee.
And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
I believe, O Triumphant Love, that thou nowsittest in full and peacefull possession of bliss, and
at the right hand of God, that thy humane Nature
is exalted to the most honourable place in Heaven,
where thou sittest on thy throne of glory, ador'd
by Angels, and interceding for Sinners; and
therefore all love, all glory be to thee.
Glory be to thee, O Love enthron'd, thy Resurrection,
Ascension and Session, are all signal instances
of thy love, and earnests of our future felicity,
the entire purchase of thy love: All our hopes
of Heaven, our Resurrection, Ascension and Glorification
depend on, and are derived from thine,
and are all the trophies of thy love to us; and
therefore I will ever praise and love thee.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe, O Glorified Love, that from thyThrone at God's right hand, where thou now sittest,
thou wilt come again to judge the world,
attended with thy holy Angels. All glory be to
thee.
I believe, O thou adorable Judge, that all mankind
shall be summon'd before thy awfull Tribunal.
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All the Dead, who shall be wak'd out of theirGraves when the Angel shall blow the last Trump,
and all that are then Quick, and alive, shall then
appear before thee. All glory be to thee.
I believe, Lord, that I and all the world shall
give a strict account of all our thoughts, and words,
and actions; that the Books will be then opened,
that out of those dreadfull Registers we shall be
judged; that Satan and our own Consciences
will be our accusers. O let the last Trump be ever
sounding in my ears, that I may ever be mindfull
of my great accounts, and that I may neither
speak, nor doe, nor think any thing that may
wound my own Conscience, or provoke thy Anger,
or make me tremble at the awfull day.
I know, O thou adorable Judge, that Love onely
shall then endure that terrible Test, that Love
onely shall be acquitted, that love onely shall be
eternally blest; and therefore I will ever praise and
love thee.
Glory be to thee, O thou beloved Son of God,
to whom the Father has committed all Judgment.
How can they that love thee, O Jesu, ever despond,
though their love in this life is always imperfect,
when at last they shall have love for their
Judge, Love that hath felt and will compassionate
all their infirmities; and therefore all love, all glory
be to thee.
I believe in the Holy Ghost.
I believe in thee, O thou Spirit of God, thethird Person in the most adorable Trinity; I believe,
O blessed Spirit, that thou art the Lord,
that thou art God eternal and omniscient,
a Person distinct from both the Father and the
Son, eternally proceeding from both, and equally
sent by both, and joint-authour with both of
our Salvation; and therefore all love, all glory be
to thee.
I believe, O blessed Spirit, that thou art Holy,
essentially Holy, in respect of thy own Divine Nature,
and being essentially Holy, art infinitely Amiable;
and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.
I believe, O blessed Spirit, that thou art personally
Holy, that thou art the Authour of all internal
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Holiness, and all internal and sanctifying Grace,that thou art the principle of all spirituall life in us;
and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.
Glory be to thee, O Love Incarnate, for sending
the Spirit in thy stead, and for promising it to our
Prayers; all love, all glory be to thee.
Glory be to thee, O Spirit of Love, for shedding
the love of God abroad in our hearts, for
filling all that love thee with exuberance of joy
and consolation; all love, all glory be to thee.
O thou blessed Spirit the Comforter, purifie my
Soul, and infuse thy love into it, and consecrate it
to be thy Temple, and fix thy Throne immovably
there, and set all my affections on fire, that my
heart may be a continual Sacrifice of Love offer'd
up to thee, and the flame may be ever aspiring towards
thee.
The Holy Catholick Church.
I believe, O blessed and adorable Mediatour, thatthe Church is a Society of persons, founded by thy
love to Sinners, united into one Body of which
thou art the Head, initiated by Baptism, nourish't
by the Eucharist, govern'd by Pastours
commission'd by thee, and endow'd with the power
of the Keys, professing the Doctrine taught by
thee, and deliver'd to the Saints, and devoted
to praise and to love thee.
I believe, O holy Jesus, that thy Church is holy
like thee its authour; holy by the original design
of its Institution, holy by baptismal dedication,
holy in all its administrations which tend to produce
holiness; and though there will be always
a mixture of good and bad in it in this world, yet
that it has always many real Saints in it; and therefore
all love, all glory be to thee.