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OR THE

PRIVATE MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS

OF THE

RIGHT REV. THOMAS WILSON, D. D.

LORD BISHOP OF SODOR AND MAN.

NEW-YORK:

THOMAS GEORGE, JR. 162 NASSAU STREET.

PREFACE.

THE truly Reverend Doctor THOMAS WILSON, fif- of them, which there is no occasion to adhere to.ty-eight years Bishop of Sodor and Man, was blessed He may take them up, and lay them down, at his with the spirit of prayer in a very uncommon mea- own discretion and convenience. It is recommendsure of which his Sacra Privata, or Private Me-ed to him to go through them regularly, and to conditations and Prayers, are an eminent instance.

They have hitherto been locked up from the world in an expensive book; and are mixed throughout with so much meditation and prayer that can come properly from the clergy only, (to whom they are an invaluable treasure,) as to unfit them for general use.

They are now presented to the public in a separate volume: so that pious Christians may, at a reasonable expense, distribute them amongst such people as either will not or cannot buy them; and the petitions peculiar to the clergy only are all thrown

out.

The pious reader will find those Meditations and Prayers too long, according to the present division

tinue the use of them his whole life; selecting such parts for more frequent meditation, as are best adapted to his necessity and disposition.

As prayer is one of the most important works a man can be engaged in, and few find themselves able to discharge it in the manner they wish to do; it is humbly hoped, that this book, if duly attended to as it deserves, may with God's assistance teach them to pray; may lead our thoughts to meditate on religious subjects; and habituate us to clothe our meditations in the language of decent, pious, and fervent prayer.

That this valuable book may have this effect, is the intention and the earnest prayer of

THE EDITOR.

ON DEVOTION AND PRAYER.

TRUE Devotion consists in having our hearts always devoted to GOD as the sole Fountain of all happiness, and who is ready to hear and help his otherwise help less, miserable creatures.

It is to be attained,

1st. By earnest prayer. HE THAT HUNGERS AFTER

RIGHTEOUSNESS, WILL CERTAINLY BE FILLED.

2dly. By possessing our hearts with a deep sense of our own misery, our wants, and danger: This is the grace of humility.

3dly. By considering God's goodness, power, and readiness to help us: This is called faith in God.

Lastly; By convincing our hearts of the vanity of every thing else to afford us any real help or comfort: This is to be effected by self-denial.

Dying persons are generally more devout than others, because they then see their own misery, that nothing in this world can help them, and that God is their only refuge.

We must change our lives if we desire to change our hearts. God will have no regard to the prayers

of those who have none to his commands.

The spirit of God will not dwell in a divided heart. We cannot feel the pleasure of devotion while the world is our delight. Not that all pleasures are criminal; but the closer union we have with the world, the less is our union with God. A Christian, therefore, who strives after devotion, should taste sensual pleasures very sparingly; should make necessity, not bodily delight, his rule.

In order to dispose our hearts to devotion, THE ACTIVE LIFE is to be preferred to the CONTEMPLATIVE. To be doing good to mankind, disposes the soul most powerfully to devotion. And indeed we are surrounded with motives to piety and devotion, if we would but mind them.

The poor are designed to excite our liberality;-the miserable, our pity;-the sick, our assistance;;-the ignorant, our instruction;-those that are fallen, our helping hand. In those that are vain, we see the vanity of this world. In those that are wicked, our own frailty. When we see good men rewarded, it confirms our hope; and when evil men are punished, it excites us to fear.

He that would be devout must beware of indulging an habit of wandering in prayer. It is a crime that will grow upon us, and will deprive us of the blessings we pray for.

The oftener we renew our intercourse with God, the greater will be our devotion.

Frequent prayer, as it is an exercise of holy thoughts, is a most natural remedy against the power of sin. Importunity makes no change in God, but it creates in us such dispositions as God thinks fit to reward.

Make it a law to yourself to meditate before you pray; as also to make certain pauses, to see whether your heart goes along with your lips.

They whose hearts desire nothing, pray for nothing. Give me, O God, the spirit of true devotion, such as may give life to all my prayers, so that they may find acceptance in thy sight, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

SACRA PRIVATA.

Mat. vi. 6. Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

How good is God! who will not only give us what laying our wants before him. we pray for, but will reward us for going to him, and

firm faith and hope in his promises and mercy ;—with May I always present myself before God,-with a great reverence to his infinite majesty-with the hu mility of an offender-and with a full purpose of keeping all God's commandments!

tions;-my wants make me earnest;-my backslidings May the thoughts of eternity quicken my devomake me persevere;—and may I never wilfully give way to any distracting thoughts.

May I wait with patience, and leave it to Thee, my God and Father, how and when to grant my petitions. He that has learned to pray as he ought, has got the secret of an holy life.

It is a greater advantage to us than we imagine, that learn by that, that whereunto we have already attained, God does not grant our petitions immediately. We it was the gift of God.

not to let the mind wander too much at other times; The best way to prevent wandering in prayer is, but to have God always in our minds in the whole course of our lives. The end of prayer is not to inform God, but to give man a sight of his own misery; to that there is his Father and his inheritance. raise his soul towards heaven, and to put him in mind

Matt. vii. 7. "Ask, and it shall be given you." Grant me, Lord, a faith which shall make me know Avoid, as much as may be, multiplicity of business: my wants, that I may ask them with earnestness and Neither the innocency nor the goodness of the employ-humility, and depend upon thy gracious promise. ment will excuse us, if it possess our hearts when we are praying to God.

When our Lord bids us TO TAKE NO THOUGHT FOR THE MORROW, he intended to hinder those cares and fears which are apt to distract our devotions,-which are the more unreasonable, because they can never change the state of things.

Never be curious to know what passes in the world, any further than duty obliges you; it will only distract the mind when it should be better employed.

THE DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN.

That man leads a sincere Christian life,

1st. Who endeavors to serve and obey God to the best of his understanding and power. 2dly. Who strives to please his neighbor to edification.

3dly. Who endeavors to do his duty in that state of life into which it has pleased God to call him.

Whoever would continue in the practice of these Never intermit devotion, if you can help it; you things unto his life's end, it is necessary that he should, will return to your duty like Sampson when his locks-call himself often to an account, whether he does so were cut, weak and indifferent as other people of the world.

or not;-constantly pray for grace to know, and to do, his duty; and preserve himself in such a teachable

temper as to be always ready to receive the truth when I it is fairly proposed to him.

It is a rudeness amongst men to ask a favor, and not stay for an answer. And do we count it no fault to pray for blessings,-and never to think of them afterwards,-never to wait for them,-never to give God thanks for them?

Let us make prayer familiar to us, for without the help of God, we are every hour in danger.

The Devil knows, that when we have a relish for prayer, and apply ourselves in good earnest to it, we are in the way of life; he therefore strives by all ways possible to divert us.

Let us not run over our prayers with an insensible and distracted mind.

Let your prayers be as particular as may be, against the sins of your particular state, and for the graces which you in particular do most stand in need of. This is the best preservative against sin;-makes us best acquainted with our condition; puts us continual ly in mind of mending what is amiss; lets us see what particular graces we most want, what are most needful for the cure of our own particular corruption and disorder; and is the best trial of our hearts. For example; if I pray for charity, and for every instance which is necessary to render me truly charitable, I pray for grace--to avoid evil speaking; to pray for my enemies; to do them good, &c., and so of all other sins and graces.

God grant that I may never seek his face in vain! Luke xi. 1. Lord, teach us to pray. Pour upon us the spirit of supplication and prayer.

God will deny us nothing that we ask in the name of his Son.

PRAYERS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

When we offer our prayers through his mediation, it is then he that prays, his love that intercedes, his blood that pleads, it is he who obtains all from his Fa

ther.

PREPARATORY PRAYER.

O Holy Spirit of grace! give us a true sight of our miseries, and a sincere shame and sorrow, when we make confession of our sins; a feeling sense of our need of mercy, and an hope of obtaining pardon, when we beg it for thy Son's sake. May we resign our wills to Thee, and to thy goodness, when we pray for temporal things; and when we pray for spiritual graces, may we hunger and thirst after righteousness. Give us a real love for thy holy Word, and grace to hear it with attention. May we thankfully close with all the meaus of grace and salvation. When we praise thee for thy works of nature and of grace, and give Thee thanks for thy mercies, let us do it with high esteem and gratitude. Cause us to hear thy holy Word with faith and attention, and to profit by what we hear, that we may return from thy church with a blessing.

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Gracious God, coutinue to me these favors so long, and in such measure, as shall most contribute to thy honor, and my salvation. And in great mercy sup

port and relieve all that want these blessings. What shall I offer unto the Lord for his mercies renewed unto me every morning? "The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and a contrite heart God will not despise."*

But most unfit is mine to be to God presented, until I have obtained his pardon, through the merits of the Lord Jesus, for the many sins by which it hath been defiled.

Jer. iii. 12. "I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God."

Psa. xxxii. 5. "I acknowledge my sin unto thec, O God, and mine iniquities will I not hide."

I do therefore implore thy pardon, and plead thy gracious promises, with full purpose of heart, by the assistance of thy grace, never again to return to folly. Jer. xvii. 9. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

I cannot answer for mine own heart; but there is no word, O Lord, impossible with thee. In Thee do I put my trust; let me never be put to confusion.

Keep it ever in the heart of thy servant, that it is indeed an evil thing and bitter to offend the Lord.

Keep me from presumptuous sins, that I may never grieve thy Holy Spirit, nor provoke Thee to leave me to myself.

Matt. xxvi. 41, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation."

Lord, make me ever mindful of my infirmities and backslidings, that I may be more watchful, and more importunate for grace, for the time to come.

1 Peter v. 8. "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour."

O Lord, grant that this adversary of our souls may never find me off my guard, or from under thy protection.

Matt. xvi. 24. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

O my Saviour! how long have I professed to follow Thee, without following the blessed steps of thy most holy life; thy patience and humility; thy great disregard for the world, its pleasures, profits, honors. and all its idols!

O Lord, obtain for me the spirit of mortification and self-denial, that I may follow Thee, as I hope to live with Thee for ever. Amen.

Matt. vi. 24. No man can serve two masters. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."

May my fear and love never be divided between Thee and the world. May I never set up any thing, O God, in competition with thee in the possession of my heart. May I never attempt to reconcile thy service with that world which is at enmity with Thee, my God and Father.

Mark x. 17. “What shall I do, that I may inherit eternal life?"

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Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

O that this love of God may be the commanding principle of my soul! May I always have this comfortable proof of his love abiding in me, that I study to please him, and to keep his commandments. And may my love to my neighbor be such as he has conmanded, that I may forgive, and give, and love, as becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Eccles. xii. 13. "Fear God, and keep his command

Psalm li. 17.

ments, for this is the whole duty of man :" that is, the happiness of man.

May I, great God, continue in thy fear all the day long. May I keep thy statutes, and observe thy laws. Heb. iv. 13. " All things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."

Grant that I may always live aud act as having Thee, O God, the constant witness of my conduct, for Jesus Christ's sake.

Eccles. ix. 10. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might: for the night cometh when no man can work."

Make me, O God, ever sensible of the great evil of delaying the work in its season, which thou hast appointed, lest the night surprise me unawares.

1 John v. 14. "This is the confidence we have in God, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us."

That it may be unto thy servant according to his word, I beseech Thee, to hear me in the full importance of that holy prayer which thy blessed Son hath taught us:

Our Father, which art in Heaven:

In whom we live, and move, and have our being; grant that I, and all Christians, may live worthy of this glorious relation, and that we may not sin; knowing

that we are accounted thine.

We are thine by adoption O make us thine by the choice of our will.

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But deliver us from evil.

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enemy, and from everlasting death, good Lord deliver From all sin and wickedness, from our spiritual

us.

Deliver us from the evil of sin, and from the evil of punishment.

corrupt nature; from the temptations and snares of an Deliver us, O Heavenly Father, from our evil and have repented of. evil world; and from falling again into the sins we

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

By thy Almighty power, O King of Heaven, for the us all these blessings which thy Son hath taught us to glory of thy name, and for the love of a Father, grant pray

for.

than we can ask or think, unto him be glory in the Unto him that is able to do for us abundantly more church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

To God the Creator, the Preserver, and Disposer of all things, be the glory of all the good wrought in us, by us, and upon us.

and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, ever and ever. Amen.

and truth, are the only sure foundation on which we Thine infinite power, wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, may depend. O give us a firm faith in these thy glorious perfections.

Heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, With angels and archangels, and all the company of LORD GOD OF HOSTS, heaven and earth are full of thy evermore praising Thee, and saying, Holy, holy, holy glory. Glory be to Thee, O God most High. Amen. Jude 24, 25. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the

May the kingdoms of the world become the king-presence of his glory with exceeding joy; to the only doms of the Lord and of his Christ. And may all that own Thee for their King, become thy faithful subjects, and obey thy laws. Dethrone, O God, and destroy Satan, and his kingdom; and enlarge the kingdom of

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Give us this day our daily bread.

O Heavenly Father, who knowest what we have need of, give us the necessaries and comforts of this life with thy blessing; but above all give us the bread that nourisheth to eternal life.

Acts xvii. "O God, who givest to all life, and breath, and all things; give us grace to impart, to such as are in want, of what thou hast given more than our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.

Make us truly sensible of thy goodness, and mercy, and patience towards us, that we may from our hearts forgiv every one his brother their trespasses.

May my enemies ever have place in my prayers and in thy mercy.

And lead us not into temptation. Support us, O Heavenly Father, under all our saving trials, and grant that they may yield us the peaceable fruits of righteousness

wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Rom. xi. 36. For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things; to whom be glory for ever.

Amen.

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Grant that I may this day escape all the snares laid for me by the devil, the world, or mine own corrupt heart.

Grant that I may this day omit no part of my duty. 1 Tim. iv. 15. "Give thyself wholly to these things, that thy profiting may appear to all."

God grant that I may do so; and I pray God preserve me from ease, idleness, and trifling away my pre

cious time.

Philemon 4. "I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers."

that we may all be upright in our dealings, obedient to Extend and suit thy graces to all conditions of men, our governors, peaceable in our lives, sober, honest, temperate, chaste in our conversation, and charitable to the poor, and one towards another.

Increase the number and the graces of all such as love and fear Thee, enlighten the minds of the ignorant, awaken the consciences of the careless, silence the gainsayers, convert the profane, and all that hold the truth in righteousness.

Rebuke the spirit of antichrist, idolatry, and liber

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