Meditations for the Evening
LEWIS BAYLY
THE PRACTICE OF PIETY
MEDITATIONS FOR THE EVENING.
At evening, when thou preparest thyself to take thy rest, meditate on these few points:— 1. That seeing thy days are numbered (Psal. xc.; Job xiv. 5), there is one more of thy number spent, and thou art now the nearer to thy end by a day.
2. Sit down a while before thou goest to bed, and consider with thyself what memorable thing thou hast seen, heard, or read that day, more than thou sawest, heardst, or knewest before, and make the best use of them; but especially call to mind what sin thou hast committed that day against God or man, and what good thou hast omitted, and humble thyself for both. If thou findest that thou hast done any goodness, acknowledge it to be God's grace, and give him the glory; and count that day lost wherein thou hast not done some good. Heu perdidi diem!
3. If, by frailty or strong temptation, thou shalt perceive that thou hast committed any grievous sin or fault, presume not to sleep till thou have upon thy knees made a particular reconciliation with God in Christ, both by confessing the fault, and by fervently praying for pardon. Thus making thy score even with Christ every night, thou shalt have the less to account for when thou art to make thy final reckoning before his majesty in the judgment-day.
4. If thou hast fallen out with any in the day, let not the sun go down on thine anger that night (Eph. iv. 26.) If thy conscience tell thee that thou hast wronged him, acknowledge thine offence, and entreat him to forgive thee. If he have wronged thee, offer him reconciliation; and if he will not be reconciled, yet do thou from thy heart forgive him (Matt. v. 23.) But in any case presume not to be thine own revenger, for in so doing thou doest God a double injury—First, in offering to take the sword of justice out of his hand, as though he were not just, having reserved the execution of vengeance to himself (Rom. xii. 19.) Secondly, in usurping authority over his servant, without referring the cause to his hearing and censure, being his and thy Master. Besides, thou art too partial to be a revenger: for if thou be to execute revenge on thyself, thou wilt do it too lightly; if on thy enemy, too heavily. It belongeth, therefore, to God to revenge, to thee to forgive.
And in testimony that thou hast freely forgiven him, pray to God for the forgiveness of his fault and the amendment of his life; and the next time that occasion is offered, and it lies in thy power, do him good, and rejoice in doing it: for he that doth good to his enemies shews himself the child of God (Matt. iii. 39; Rom. xii. 20), and his reward is with God his Father.
5. Use not sleep as a means to satiate the foggy litherness of thy flesh, but as a medicine to refresh thy tired senses and members: sufficient sleep
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THE PRACTICE OF PIETY
quickens the mind, and revives the body; but immoderate sleep dulls the one, and fattens the other.
6. Remember that many go to bed, and never rise again till they be wakened and raised up by the fearful sound of the last trumpet; but he that sleepeth and wakeneth with prayer, sleepeth and wakeneth with Christ. If, therefore, thou desirest to sleep securely and safely, yield up thyself into the hands of God whilst thou art waking, and so go to bed with a reverence of God's majesty and consideration of thine own misery, which thou mayest imprint in thy heart in some measure by these and the like meditations:
Read a chapter in the same order as was prescribed in the morning; and when thou hast done, kneel down on thy knees at the bedside, or some other convenient place in thy chamber, and lifting up thy heart, thine eyes, and hands, to thy heavenly Father, in the name and mediation of his holy Son
Jesus, pray to him, if thou have the gift of prayer— 1. Confessing thy sins, especially those which thou hast committed that day.
2. Craving most earnestly, for Christ's sake, pardon and forgiveness for them.
3. Requesting the assistance of his holy Spirit for amendment of life.
4. In giving thanks for benefits received, especially for thy preservation that day.
5. Praying for rest and protection that night.
6. Remembering the state of the church, the queen, and the royal posterity, our ministers and magistrates, and all our brethren visited or persecuted.
7. Lastly, Commending thyself and all thine to his gracious custody.
All which thou mayest do in these or the like words:
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THE PRACTICE OF PIETY
A Prayer for the Evening.
A Prayer for the Evening.
O most gracious God and loving Father, who art about my bed and knowest my down-lying and my uprising, and art near unto all that call upon thee in truth and sincerity, I, wretched sinner, do beseech thee to look upon me with the eyes of thy mercy, and not to behold me as I am in myself; for then thou shalt see but an unclean and defiled creature, conceived in sin, and living in iniquity, so that I am ashamed to lift up mine eyes to heaven, knowing how grievously I have sinned against heaven and before thee; for, O Lord, I have transgressed all thy commandments and righteous laws, not only through negligence and infirmity, but oftentimes through wilful presumption, contrary to my knowledge; yea, contrary to the motions of thy Holy Spirit reclaiming me from them: so that I have wounded my conscience, and grieved thy Holy Spirit, by whom thou hast sealed me to the day of redemption. Thou hast consecrated my soul and body to be the temples of the Holy Ghost; I, wretched sinner, have defiled both with all manner of pollution and uncleanness: my eyes, in taking pleasure to behold vanity; mine ears, in hearing impure and unchaste speeches; my tongue, in leasing and evil speaking; my hands are so full of impurity, that I am ashamed to lift them up unto thee; and my feet have carried me after mine own ways; my understanding and reasoning, which are so quick in all earthly matters, are only blind and stupid when I come to meditate or discourse of spiritual and heavenly things; my memory, which should be the treasury of all goodness, is not so apt to remember anything, as those things which are vile and vain; yea, Lord, by woful experience I find, that naturally all the imaginations of the thoughts of my heart are only evil continually; and my sins are more in number than the hairs which grow upon mine head, and they have grown over me like a loathsome leprosy, that from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet, there remains no part which they have not infected; they make me seem vile in mine own eyes—how much more abominable must I then appear in thy sight! And the custom of sinning hath almost taken away the conscience of sin, and brought upon me such dulness of sense and hardness of heart, that thy judgments denounced against my sins by the faithful preachers of thy word, do not terrify me to return unto thee by unfeigned repentance for them; and if thou, Lord, shouldst but deal with me according to thy justice and my desert, I should utterly be confounded and condemned; but seeing that of thine infinite mercy thou hast spared me so long, and still waitest for my repentance, I humbly beseech thee, for the sake of the bitter death and bloody passion which Jesus Christ hath suffered for me, that thou wouldst pardon and forgive me all my sins and offences, and open unto me that ever-streaming fountain of the blood of Christ, which thou hast promised to open under the New Testament to the penitent of the house of David; that all my sins and
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uncleanness may be so bathed in his blood, buried in his death, and hid in his wounds, that they may never more be seen, to shame me in this life, or to condemn me before thy judgment-seat in the world which is to come. And forasmuch, O Lord, as thou knowest that it is not in man to turn his own heart, unless thou dost first give him grace to convert; and seeing that it is as easy with thee to make me righteous and holy, as to bid me to be such, O my God, give me grace to do what thou commandest, and then command what thou wilt,47 and thou shalt find me willing to do thy blessed will: and to this end give me thy Holy Spirit, which thou hast promised to give, to the world's end, to all thy elect people; and let the same Holy Spirit purge my heart, heal my corruption, sanctify my nature, and consecrate my soul and body, that they may become the temples of the Holy Ghost, to serve thee in righteousness and holiness all the days of my life; that when, by the direction and assistance of thy Holy Spirit, I shall finish my course in this short and transitory life, I may cheerfully leave this world, and resign my soul into thy fatherly hands, in the assured confidence of enjoying everlasting life with thee in thine heavenly kingdom, which thou hast prepared for thy elect saints, who love the Lord
Jesus and expect his appearing.
In the meanwhile, O Father, I beseech thee let thy Holy Spirit work in me such a serious repentance, as that I may with tears lament my sins past, with grief of heart be humbled for my sins present, and with all my endeavour resist the like sins in time to come. And let the same Holy Spirit likewise keep me in the unity of thy church, lead me in the truth of thy word, and preserve me, that I never swerve from the same, to Popery nor any error or false worship. And let thy Spirit open my eyes more and more, to see the wondrous things of thy law: and open my lips, that my mouth may daily defend thy truth, and set forth thy praise. Increase in me those good gifts, which of thy mercy thou hast already bestowed upon me, and give me a patient spirit, a chaste heart, a contented mind, pure affections, wise behaviour, and all other graces which thou seest to be necessary for me to govern my heart in thy fear, and to guide all my life in thy favour; that whether I live or die, I may live and die unto thee, who art my God and my Redeemer.
And here, O Lord, according as I am bound, I render unto thee from the altar of my humblest heart, all possible thanks for all those blessings and benefits which so graciously and plenteously thou hast bestowed upon my soul and body, for this life, and for that which is to come; namely, for my election, creation, redemption, vocation, justification, sanctification, and preservation from my childhood until this present day and hour; and for the firm hope which thou hast given me of my glorification: likewise for my health, wealth, food, raiment, and prosperity; and more especially, for that thou hast defended me this day now past, from all perils and dangers both of body and soul, furnishing me with all necessary good things that I stand in need of; and as thou hast
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ordained the day for man to travel in, and the night for him to take his rest, so,
I beseech thee, sanctify unto me this night's rest and sleep, that I may enjoy the same as thy sweet blessing and benefit; that so this dull and wearied body of mine, being refreshed with moderate sleep and rest, I may be the better enabled to walk before thee, doing all such good works as thou hast appointed, when it shall please thee by thy divine power to waken me the next morning.
And whilst I sleep, do thou, O Lord, who art the keeper of Israel, that neither slumberest nor sleepest, watch over me in thy holy providence, to protect me from all dangers, so that neither the evil angels of Satan, nor any wicked enemy, may have any power to do me any harm or evil; and to this end, give a charge unto thy holy angels, that they, at thine appointment, may pitch their tents roundabout me, for my defence and safety; as thou hast promised that they should do about them that fear thy name. And knowing that thy name is a strong tower of defence unto all those that trust therein, I here recommend myself, and all that belong to me, unto thy holy protection and custody. If it be thy blessed will to call for me in my sleep, O Lord, for Christ's sake, have mercy upon me, and receive my soul into thy heavenly kingdom; and if it be thy blessed pleasure to add more days to my life, O Lord, add more amendment to my days, and wean my mind from the love of the world and worldly vanities, and cause me more and more to settle my conversation on heaven and heavenly things. And perfect daily in me, that good work which thou hast begun, to the glory of thy name, and the salvation of my sinful soul.
O Lord, I beseech thee likewise, save and defend from all evil and danger, thy holy church, the Queen, and all the royal family; keep them all in the sincerity of thy truth, and prosper them in all grace and happiness. Bless the nobility, ministers, and magistrates of these churches and kingdoms, each of them with those graces which are expedient for their place and calling. And be thou, O Lord, a comfort and consolation to all thy people whom thou hast thought meet to visit with any kind of sickness, cross, or calamity. Hasten, O
Father, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Make me ever mindful of my last end, and of the reckoning that I am then to make unto thee; and in the meanwhile, careful so to follow Christ in the regeneration during this life, as that with Christ I may have a portion in the resurrection of the just, when this mortal life is ended. These graces, and all other blessings, which thou, O
Father, knowest to be requisite and necessary for me, I humbly beg and crave at thy hands, in the name and mediation of Jesus Christ thy Son, and in that form of prayer which he himself hath taught me to say unto thee:—
"Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name," &c.
47Da Domine quod jubes, et jube quod vis.—Aug.
LEWIS BAYLY
THE PRACTICE OF PIETY
Another Shorter Evening Prayer.
Another shorter Evening Prayer.
O eternal God and heavenly Father, if I were not taught and assured by the promises of thy gospel, and the examples of Peter, Mary Magdalene, the publican, the prodigal child, and many other penitent sinners, that thou art so full of compassion, and so ready to forgive the greatest sinners, who are heaviest laden with sin, at what time soever they return unto thee with penitent hearts, lamenting their sins, and imploring thy grace, I should despair for mine own sins, and be utterly discouraged from presuming to come into thy presence; considering the hardness of my heart, the unruliness of my affections, and the uncleanness of my conversation, by means of which I have transgressed all thy laws, and deserved thy curse, which might cause my body to be smitten with some fearful disease, my soul to languish with the death of sin, my good name to be traduced with scandalous reproaches, and make mine estate liable to all manner of crosses and casualties. And I confess, Lord, that thy mercy is the cause that I have not been long ago confounded. But, O my
God, as thy mercy only staid thy judgment from falling upon me hitherto, so I humbly beseech thee, in the bowels of the mercy of Jesus Christ, in whom only thou art well pleased, that thou wilt not deal with me according to my deserts, but that thou wouldst freely and fully remit unto me all my sins and transgressions; and that thou wouldst wash them clean from me, with the virtue of that most precious blood, which thy Son Jesus Christ hath shed for me: for he alone is the physician, and his blood only is the medicine that can heal my sickness; and he is the true brazen serpent, that can cure that poison wherewith the fiery serpents of my sins have stung and poisoned my sick and wounded soul; and give me, I beseech thee, thine Holy Spirit, which may assure me of mine adoption, and that may confirm my faith, increase my repentance, enlighten my understanding, purify my heart, rectify my will and affections, and so sanctify me throughout, that my whole body, soul, and spirit may be kept unblameable until the glorious coming of my Lord Jesus Christ.
And now, O Lord, I give thee hearty thanks and praise for that thou hast this day preserved me from all harms and perils, notwithstanding all my sins and evil deserts; and I beseech thee likewise, defend me this night from the roaring lion which night and day seeketh to devour me. Watch thou, O Lord, over me this night, to keep me from his temptations and tyranny, and let thy mercy shield me from his unappeasable rage and malice; and to this end, I commend myself into thy hands and protection: beseeching thee, O my Lord and God, not to suffer Satan, nor any of his evil members, to have power to do me any hurt or violence this night. And grant, good Lord, that whether I sleep or wake, live or die, I may sleep, wake, live, and die unto thee, and to the glory of thy name, and the salvation of my soul. Lord, bless and defend all thy chosen people
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everywhere. Grant our Queen a long and happy reign over us; bless all the royal family, together with all our magistrates and ministers; comfort them who are in misery, need, or sickness; good Lord, give me grace to be one of those wise virgins, which may have my heart prepared like a lamp furnished with the oil of faith, and light of good works, to meet the Lord Jesus, the heavenly bridegroom, at his second and sudden coming in glory. Grant this, good Father, for Christ Jesus' sake, my only Saviour and Mediator, in whose blessed name, and in whose own words, I call upon thee, as he hath taught me:— "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name," &c.
Thy grace, O Lord Jesus Christ; thy love, O heavenly Father; thy comfort and consolation, O holy and blessed Spirit, be with me, and dwell in my heart this night and evermore. Amen.
Then rising up in holy reverence, meditate as thou art putting off thy clothes— 1. That the day is coming when thou must be barely unstript of all that thou hast in the world, as thou art now of thy clothes; thou hast, therefore, here but the use of all things, as a steward, for a time, and that upon accounts (Luke xvi. 2;) whilst, therefore, thou art trusted with this stewardship be wise and faithful (Matt. xxiv. 2.) 2. When thou seest thy bed, let it put thee in mind of thy grave (Job. xvii.
13), which is now the bed of Christ: for Christ, by laying his holy body to rest three days and three nights in the grave (Matt. xii. 40), hath sanctified, and, as it were, warmed it for the bodies of his saints to rest and sleep in (1 Thess. iv.
13), till the morning of the resurrection; so that now, unto the faithful, death is but a sweet sleep, and the grave but Christ's bed, where their bodies rest and sleep in peace (Isa. lvii. 2), until the joyful morning of the resurrection day shall dawn unto them (Isa. xxvi. 20.) Let, therefore, thy bed-clothes represent to thee the mould of the earth that shall cover thee; thy sheets, thy winding-sheet; thy sleep, thy death; thy waking, thy resurrection: and being laid down in thy bed, when thou perceivest sleep to approach, say, "I will lay me down and sleep in peace, for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety." (Psal. iv. 8.)
Thus religiously opening every morning thy heart, and shutting it up again every evening with the word of God and prayer, as it were with a lock and key; and so beginning the day with God's worship, continuing it in his fear, and ending it in his favour, thou shalt be sure to find the blessing of God upon all thy day's labours and good endeavours; and at night thou mayest assure thyself thou shalt sleep safely and sweetly in the arms of thy heavenly Father's providence.
LEWIS BAYLY
THE PRACTICE OF PIETY
Thus far of the piety which every Christian, in private, ought to practise every day. Now followeth that which he, being a householder, must practise publicly with his family.