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<ETS>
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<DATE>2014-08-15</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140624.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B43695">
<STC T="W">P3195aA</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">625259210</BIBNO>
<VID>211310</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="prayer">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2" MS="y">
<HEAD>A Prayer to God, <HI>Which the Chri&s;tian Soul may make every day, there|by to declare the Senti|ments which &s;he de&s;ires to have at the point of Death. Wherein are di&s;cover'd the Acts of all the highe&s;t Vir|tues, and e&s;pecially the Di|vine Virtue of Contrition, and a perfect Love of God.</HI></HEAD>
<P>O My Lord, and my God, in that un|certainty in which thou art plea&s;ed that I &s;hould live, as well in relation to the time and place, as manner of my Death, I come to adore the Orders of
<PB N="2" REF="3">thy Divine Providence, for what thou ha&s;t appointed from all Eternity; and not knowing what the Sentiments of my Soul may be at that Hour, I do at pre&s;ent, that which I de&s;ire &s;hould be done then, and I humbly pray thee to accept and ratifie again&s;t that time, what I declare and prote&s;t at pre&s;ent.</P>
<P>I give thee thanks, O my Lord, and my God, at this In&s;tant, in&s;tead of the la&s;t moment of my Life, when po&s;&s;ibly being deprived both of Speech and Rea&s;on, I may not be able either to &s;peak or think of thee. I thank thee, Fir&s;t, for giving me a Birth, and that I was not left without a Being. Secondly, That thou wert plea&s;ed that I &s;hould be Born in a Place among Chri&s;tians and in a time when the Light of the Go&s;pel is &s;hining upon us, where as thou might&s;t have cau&s;ed my Na|tivity to have happened in an Age of darkne&s;s, and in a Country of Infidels. 3dly. That thou ha&s;t regenerated me by Bapti&s;m, when thou might&s;t let me have died in my Mothers Womb, as &s;o many others have, before they could receive it.</P>
<PB N="3" REF="3">
<P>I adore thee, O my God, as the Ori|ginal of my Life in Nature, as the Ori|ginal of my Generation by Grace, as the la&s;t end of my Soul, and as my la&s;t Fe|licity in Glory! Thou art the fir&s;t Veri|ty, and I firmly believe what thou ha&s;t &s;aid: Thou are the Sovereign Fi|delity, and I ince&s;&s;antly hope what thou ha&s;t promi&s;ed: Thou art the Supreme Goodne&s;s, and I love only, and would love only that which thou art.</P>
<P>'Tis thou, O my God, Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t, One in E&s;&s;ence, and Three in Per&s;ons, who ha&s;t Created me by the Effect of thy Power, who ha&s;t Redeemed me by the Exce&s;s of thy Bounty, who ha&s;t Sanctifyed me by the Infu&s;ion of thy Grace, who ha&s;t guided me by the Conduct of thy Pro|vidence, and who ha&s;t Ordained me to the participation of thy Glory.</P>
<P>For this end thou ha&s;t admitted me into the Bo&s;ome of the Church thy Spou&s;e, there thou ha&s;t illuminated my Soul with thy pure&s;t Lights, there thou ha&s;t upheld me with thy mo&s;t Holy Graces, there thou ha&s;t touched me with
<PB N="4" REF="4">thy mo&s;t tender Motions, there thou ha&s;t prepared for me thy mo&s;t Vene|rable Sacraments, there thou ha&s;t Fed me with the Sacred Body of <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> thy only Son my Saviour, and there thou ha&s;t as often &s;howr'd down upon my Soul the Gifts and Graces, of thy Divine Spirit.</P>
<P>O what Love! O what Benefactions! O what Conde&s;centions! O what Fa|vour! O what Graces! O what Mer|cies have been vouch&s;afed to this poor Soul! That in return for &s;o many Ble&s;|&s;ings, (of which thou only knowe&s;t the number and the value) hath during the whole Cour&s;e of its Life performed nothing but Impieties, Infidelities, In|gratitude, Iniquities and Crimes &s;ur|pa&s;&s;ing in Number the Hairs of my Head, and Days of my Life.</P>
<P>But, O my Lord God, the more &s;hame belongs to me for having offended, the more Glory is due to thee for pardoning my Offences: And Sins without num|ber, like mine, require a Mercy with|out end, like thine.</P>
<PB N="5" REF="4">
<P>And to &s;uch an Inexhau&s;tible Mercy I approach, repenting for having &s;o long offended thee, My Lord and my God, &s;o lately known thee, and &s;o little loved thee.</P>
<P>Were I never to enjoy more time then this moment, I would imploy it all in the Love of thee, O Sovereign Goodne&s;s! Becau&s;e thou art what thou art, and becau&s;e thou only do&s;t merit the Love and Adoration of all thy Creatures.</P>
<P>'Tis for thy &s;ake alone, O eternal Love, who art ever Lovely, and never &s;ufficiently beloved, that I dete&s;t all the Sins of my Life; becau&s;e they are contrary to thy adorable Sanctity. And I dete&s;t the&s;e Sins on the &s;ame mo|tive that my Lord <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> dete&s;ted them at his Agony in the Garden, and on the &s;ame Motive, on which thou, O my God, Father, Son and Holy Gho&s;t, One in E&s;&s;ence, and Three in Per&s;ons, doe&s;t dete&s;t them. And I humbly offer in Reparation of that Outrage and di&s;plea|&s;ure, which mine Iniquities have done thee, the Love and Obedience of my
<PB N="6" REF="5">Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> to atone for, and &s;upply the defects of mine.</P>
<P>In expiation of the&s;e Iniquities of my Life, I accept of Death, as a Traytor whom thou ha&s;t mo&s;t ju&s;tly Condem|ned to die; I accept the De&s;truction of this Body which has been the Founda|tion of &s;o many Intemperances, and the Subject of &s;o many Sins; I accept of the De&s;truction of my whole Being in Ho|mage to that Soveraign Dominion which thou ha&s;t over me; I accept of all Derelictions, all Bitterne&s;s of Spirit, all Angui&s;hes, all Pains, all Temptations, and all Evils, (except only that of Sin and thy di&s;plea&s;ure) as all the &s;atisfa|ction which I can pay thy Adorable Maje&s;ty.</P>
<P>Not being able to do more, I be&s;eech thee, O my Lord, and my God, to re|member that I am the Work of thy Hands the Purcha&s;e of thy Blood, the Conque&s;t of thy Cro&s;s, the Wa|ges of thy Death, and the effect of thy Love. To thy Death I Unite mine, and to thy Love I Unite mine; prote&s;ting that I admit no &s;entiments
<PB N="7" REF="5">but tho&s;e which are agreeable to the Faith of the Catholick Church, and I di&s;claim, O Lord, all hopes and de|pendance, but in thy Merits, Love and Goodne&s;s.</P>
<P>If ever any thing appears in my Acti|ons contrary to this, I di&s;avow it, I renounce it. And I de&s;ire that the la&s;t Motion of my heart may be a Motion of Adoration to do thee Homage for my Being, &s;ince that very being belongs more to thee than to my &s;elf; O Father of Mercies and God of all Comforts, under who&s;e Command are all the Powers of my Soul, make my Life to expire in an Act of Love, rai&s;ed by a clear apprehen&s;ion of thy Excellency and Goodne&s;s, and &s;o vigorou&s;ly exerted towards thee, the great and proper Ob|ject of Love, that being begun here it may continue to all Eternity.</P>
<P>It is true, O my God, that after all this my Fears are great, becau&s;e my Crimes are &s;o, and thy Judgments ve|ry terrible. But it is al&s;o true that not|with&s;tanding all tho&s;e Fears, yet my hope is &s;till greater, &s;ince thou art Mer|ciful
<PB N="8" REF="6">and apt to pardon; thy Mercy is tran&s;cendently Great, and thou do&s;t Pardon without mea&s;ure; thy Mercy is Infinite, and thou do&s;t Pardon without end; thou art all Mercy, and Mercy it &s;elf, and thou Pardone&s;t all.</P>
<P>Full of this ravi&s;hing and mo&s;t &s;weet Confidence which I have in thee, I hope to &s;ee thy Ble&s;&s;ings in the Land of the Living, where thou art the Re&s;urrection and the Life; and Ado|ring again thy Power that Created me, thy Goodne&s;s that Redeemed me, thy Wi&s;dom which hath enlightned me, thy Providence which hath Go|verned me, thy Mercy which hath forgiven me &s;o many Sins. I Adore al&s;o thy Ju&s;tice; and I &s;ubmit my &s;elf intirely to the time by thee appointed for my Judgment, with this Confi|dence and Tru&s;t, that thy Divine Goodne&s;s will not then ca&s;t me off, but will it &s;elf an&s;wer for me to thy Ju&s;tice, and that I &s;hall eternally &s;ing of, and Celebrate, thy Mercies, World without end. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
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<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P><HI>London:</HI> Printed for <HI>Sam. Keble,</HI> at the <HI>Turks-head</HI> in <HI>Fleet&s;treet.</HI> 1697.</P>
<PB REF="6">
</DIV1>
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