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<DATE>2014-03-24</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Simon Charles</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed.</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">D2575</STC>
<STC T="C">R171859</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">51784506</BIBNO>
<VID>174918</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<PB REF="1">
<P>A WEEK OF Soliloquies AND PRAYERS. With a PREPARATION for the Holy Communion.</P>
<P>By PETER Du-MOULIN the Son, &s;o D. Moulin.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>H. Mo&s;eley</HI> at the Princes Arms in S. <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard. 1657.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE Right Honourable ELIZABETH Counte&s;&s;e of CORKE.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>MADAM,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_GOD hath &s;ent mee lately a vi&s;itation, e|nough to hum|ble me, and make me
<PB REF="3"> keep my Chamber, not to di&s;able me (I prai&s;e him for it) in any fa|culty of my body or minde. Which therefore I e&s;teemed my &s;elf ob|liged to imploy to the be&s;t &s;ervice of God and your Ladi&s;hip, &s;ince I am called to that ho|nour in your noble Hou&s;e to di&s;charge tho&s;e two &s;ervices in one. And I have endeavoured that my retirement &s;hould make &s;ome amends for the di&s;continuance of mine attendance. Whil&s;t your Ladi&s;hip expre&s;t &s;o much charity and ten|der
<PB REF="3"> care for my recove|ry, I &s;pent &s;ome thoughts upon a care proper to my place, to give to your de|votion what help lieth in me, that when you pray you may ever meet God, whom many times wee mi&s;&s;e when we go about to &s;eek him by prayer.</P>
<P>Truly we ought to ob|&s;erve with our be&s;t care what may be the rea&s;on why &s;o often either wee finde no return of our prayers, or finde a re|turn of di&s;plea&s;ure in|&s;tead of comfort. As for the perver&s;e and hard-hearted, who yet
<PB REF="4"> take upon them to pray, the blinde man healed by Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>John 9.31.</HI> That <HI>God heareth not &s;inners,</HI> and hee &s;aith right, for he means impe|nitent &s;inners.</P>
<P>But what have I to do with them that are without, &s;peaking now to your godly &s;oul en|dowed with Gods fear and love? Why then are the prayers of them that love and fear God &s;o lit|tle effectual many times? The main cau&s;e is the wandring of their thoughts when they are about that holy duty.
<PB REF="4"> For it is no wonder that God granteth not what we ask when we think not what we ask. And it were a wonder if that Holie&s;t of Holies, being &s;poken to without atten|tion, did not re&s;ent &s;o great a contempt which we would not u&s;e to our inferiours. Since then the wandring of our thoughts is the cau&s;e of that great evil, what is the cau&s;e of that wan|dering? Indeed the prime cau&s;e is the incapacity of our low carnal nature to comprehend the infinite God; who being invi&s;i|ble
<PB REF="5"> and immaterial doth not help the minde with any image proportionate to the &s;en&s;e and imagina|tion; without which it is very hard for the un|der&s;tanding to fix his thoughts. And that de|fect in our nature is made wor&s;e by this de|fect in our duty, that we make our addre&s;&s;es to God having not con&s;ide|red before what we are going about, what God is, and what we are.</P>
<P>And as the be&s;t things may be of ill u&s;e, the &s;aying of prayers by heart &s;o nece&s;&s;ary to many peo|ple,
<PB REF="5"> as uncapable to frame prayers, yet with|out an e&s;pecial good heed will give more licen&s;e to the wandering of our thoughts: For words &s;etled in the memory by long cu&s;tome will come to our tongues end before they enter into our mind; and &s;uch is mans weak|ne&s;&s;e that things mo&s;t or|dinary are lea&s;t heeded.</P>
<P>For a help again&s;t the&s;e inconveniencies, I have here &s;et down mo|dels of prayers for every day of the week, and two for the Lords day. And before every prayer I
<PB REF="6"> have &s;et a Soliloquie guided by a text of Scri|pture. That diver&s;ity of prayers may help to &s;tay your attention, and more yet, the Soliloquies that u&s;her them.</P>
<P>For becau&s;e we u&s;e to fall on our knees with our mindes full of the bu&s;ine&s;&s;es and companies from which we come, it will be a wi&s;e cour&s;e to take time to meditate a little, and recollect our thoughts before we be|gin to pray. And becau&s;e many times we are no more fit to &s;peak to our &s;elves of God then to
<PB REF="6"> God, your Ladi&s;hip &s;hall find here Soliloquies rea|dy made.</P>
<P>For the &s;everal dayes I have cho&s;en different &s;ubjects, and &s;uch as con|tain in this &s;mal number the whole duty of the Chri&s;tian, and laid them in the order that I thought fitte&s;t to &s;et a con&s;cience in a good frame. For otherwi&s;e I intend not to tie devo|tion to certain dayes; the prayer for Munday being alike good for Tue&s;day.</P>
<P>To the&s;e prayers your Ladi&s;hip may adde ac|cording
<PB REF="7"> as your nece&s;&s;ity or di&s;cretion &s;hall &s;ug|ge&s;t. Which that you might freely do, I made them not overlong, &s;o that one Soliloquie with the prayer will not hold you above a quarter of an hour.</P>
<P>I know your Ladi&s;hip u&s;eth other good helps, to your own more parti|cular a&s;pirations to hea|ven. And I pre&s;ume not hereby to make you de|cline any form or devout cu&s;tome where you have found edification. But by u&s;ing the&s;e &s;ometimes the other will become new
<PB REF="7"> to your Ladi&s;hip, and variety will make them more acceptable and pro|fitable.</P>
<P>One coun&s;el I humbly crave leave to urge upon your godline&s;&s;e, that you never &s;et your &s;elf to pray without &s;ome fore|going meditation, either of your owne good thoughts, or anothers made ready to your hand. To which end, <HI>I</HI> have in the end of this Week of Devotions ad|ded a preparatory Soli|loquie for any kinde of prayer. For there being &s;uch an immen&s;e di&s;tance
<PB REF="8"> between God in heaven and man upon earth, it is almo&s;t impo&s;&s;ible for him that prayeth, to fix his minde newly come from worldly bu&s;ine&s;&s;es upon his Father which is in heaven, except hee make before a Bridge of meditation between the&s;e &s;o distant &s;hores.</P>
<P>Here al&s;o your Ladi|&s;hip &s;hall finde a prepa|ration for the holy Com|munion, although you want not the labours of others that have worthi|ly meditated upon this &s;ubject, who&s;e good ex|ample ought not to &s;lack|en
<PB REF="8"> the diligence of other Divines, but encourage their indu&s;try. And the more this duty is oppos'd or neglected by others, the more it concernes us to attend it with devotion and diligence.</P>
<P>Though there be bet|ter helps abroad for the practi&s;e of piety, the&s;e may bee more effectual with your Ladi&s;hip, be|cau&s;e they are your dome|&s;tical goods, and produ|ctions of your charitable care of my health, which provoked my endeavours to take this care for the health of your &s;oul.</P>
<PB REF="9">
<P>Yet by the&s;e helps of devotion I do not &s;o much intend to ea&s;e your medi|tation of a labour, as to &s;tir up towards the&s;e &s;a|cred duties the rare abi|lities of your brave mind, ble&s;t with a gracious di|&s;po&s;ition to godline&s;s and good works. Of which I could &s;ay much, but that it is not the duty of my place to prai&s;e it, but to labour to encrea&s;e it.</P>
<P>For that end I humbly pre&s;ent the&s;e Meditati|ons as Handmaids to your Ladi&s;hips devotion, be&s;eeching God to a&s;&s;i&s;t them with his vertue
<PB REF="9"> from above, that you may be &s;trengthned with might by his Spirit in the inner man, growing every day from grace to grace, and finally from grace to glory. I re&s;t</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>Madam</SALUTE>
<SIGNED>Your Ladi&s;hips Mo&s;t dutiful and and mo&s;t affe|ctionate Ser|vant, P. Du Moulin.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE>From your Hou&s;e at Yoghall, <DATE>Febr. 20. 1653.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="10">
<PB REF="10">
<OPENER><SALUTE>READER,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>I Intended not to publi&s;h this &s;mal thing in this Learned and Curi|ous Age. But &s;eri|ou&s;ly I was &s;o weary of giving Copies, and &s;o afraid to &s;ee this printed upon &s;ome negligent tran|&s;cript, that in the end I give way to
<PB REF="11"> the coun&s;el of many good foules, who re|pre&s;ented to me that the&s;e Meditations, being of their nature of general u&s;e, ought not to be confined to private benefit.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="prayer book">
<PB N="1" REF="11">
<DIV2 TYPE="soliloquies and prayers">
<HEAD>A WEEKE of Soliloquies and Prayers.</HEAD>
<DIV3 N="Monday" TYPE="day">
<HEAD>For MUNDAY.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="soliloquy">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>P&s;al. xxxviii. ver. v.</BIBL>
<P>For mine iniquities are gone over my head, as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<HEAD>Soliloquy</HEAD>
<P>_THe life of a faithful &s;oul is a journ<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">y to God. And I prai&s;e his mercy, that
<PB N="2" REF="12"> I feel within me a &s;in|cere de&s;ire to be a tra|veller in that journey. For I know that to draw near unto God is my good, and to draw back from him is cer|tain perdition.</P>
<P>But when <HI>I</HI> endea|vour to ri&s;e up to God, <HI>I</HI> feel a heavie burden of the fle&s;h lying upon the wings of my devoti|on, that keepeth it down. Then the num|ber of my &s;ins fills me with &s;hame, and the high ju&s;tice and holi|ne&s;s of God &s;trikes me with terrour. For if the <HI>Seraphins</HI> cover their
<PB N="3" REF="12"> faces with their wings before him as not holy enough to behold that holie&s;t of holies, how can <HI>I</HI> appear before him with my weak un|clean nature? how can the &s;tuble &s;tand before that con&s;uming fire?</P>
<P>I &s;ee then that to ri&s;e up to God, the fir&s;t round of the ladder is humilitie. I &s;ee that if I will be acquitted I mu&s;t condemn my &s;elf, and that my judge will not pronounce me guilt|le&s;s till I plead guiltie.</P>
<P>Woe is me! I have to much cau&s;e for it. When I con&s;ider what
<PB N="4" REF="13"> I have received of God, and what I have repay|ed him. He hath crea|ted me after his image, and I have di&s;figured it by &s;in. He hath made me for his glorie, and I have &s;ought mine own. He hath &s;hone upon me with the light of his truth, and I have not walked in his light.</P>
<P>He hath bought me with the precious bloud of his beloved &s;on, and I did not deliver to him that, which he bought at &s;o dear a rate. My body and my &s;oul be|long to him by right
<PB N="5" REF="13"> of creation, redempti|on, and pre&s;ervation; and I did not worthily glorifie him in my bo|dy, and in my &s;pirit which are his. How many graces have I re|ceived of his liberality. And what account can I give him of the u&s;e I put them to? What thanks did I give him for &s;upplying my wants, and helping me out of my dangers? How many times in&s;tead of thanks, when he defended me I offended him, and he while I offended him defended me, as if his goodne&s;s and mine un|thankfulne&s;s
<PB N="6" REF="14"> had bin &s;triving for ma&s;terie?</P>
<P><HI>Salomon</HI> tells me that <HI>to puni&s;h the ju&s;t it is not good. Nor to &s;trike Princes for equitie.</HI> Yet it is the u&s;age that I have offered to my God. I have &s;tricken at the ju&s;t one and the ju&s;tice it &s;elf, by grie|ving his good &s;pirit. And that ju&s;t one is my Prince. And it is for his equitie and for|bearance that I abu&s;ed him, for had he &s;unck me into hell when I was wilfully &s;inking in|to &s;in; had he not con|tinued unto me life
<PB N="7" REF="14"> &s;trength and plentie, I could not have im|ployed his benefits to offend my benefactor as I have done. <HI>Pro.</HI> 27.26.</P>
<P>How &s;lackly, how overly have I perfor|med the duties of his &s;ervice! what gadding of my thoughts in my prayers! What cold|ne&s;s in my devotion! What neglect of good works! Have I heard his word with attenti|on! Have I meditated on it with affection! Have I kept it with &s;in|ceritie! And when God toucht me with
<PB N="8" REF="15"> his good Spirit, did I readily receive and en|tertain his good moti|ons! Did I open to him every time that he knockt, and &s;aid to me as to the <HI>Spou&s;e, open to me my &s;i&s;ter my love!</HI> Did I not rather de&s;pi&s;e the riches of his good|ne&s;s and forbearance and long &s;uffering, not knowing, or (which is wor&s;e) not minding that the goodne&s;s of God leadeth me to re|pentance! How &s;lowly do <HI>I</HI> &s;tir to rai&s;e my thoughts to God, and how quick are my mo|tions towards the
<PB N="9" REF="15"> world! How ea&s;ily am I intangled with un|beleeving cares and fears, and lulled with the deceitfulne&s;s of wordly hopes? Poor &s;oul that a&s;pire&s;t to hea|ven thy country, what a &s;trange aire do&s;t thou live in? where the world engro&s;&s;eth all the time, and one cannot think of God but by &s;tealth, what a fle&s;hly pri&s;on art thou confi|ned in, where Piety is langui&s;hing and &s;in is lively? Where nature helpeth her captivitie and feareth her liber|tie? O wretched &s;oul
<PB N="10" REF="16"> that I am, who &s;hall deliver me from the body of this death! <HI>Cant.</HI> 5.2. <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.24.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Great God, who&s;e maje&s;tie is infi|nite, the holine&s;s per|fect, the eyes all &s;eeing, and the ju&s;tice formi|dable. I am ca&s;t down with &s;hame and confu|&s;ion of face, when I think how pure thou art and how impure I am; herein the more guiltie becau&s;e thou ha&s;t created me after thine image, and en|dowed
<PB N="11" REF="16"> me with thy ho|ly knowledge, honour|ing me &s;o much as to acknowledge me for one of thy children in thy &s;on Je&s;us Chri&s;t; which high grace ought to have made me &s;tudi|ous to become like my Father which is in hea|ven. Thou ha&s;t given me holy lawes, thou ha&s;t compa&s;&s;ed me a|bout with loving kind|ne&s;s and tender mercies, thou ha&s;t comforted my &s;oule with thy &s;a|ving promi&s;es; but I have tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed thy lawes, abu&s;ed thy ten|der mercies, and turned
<PB N="12" REF="17"> the comfort of thy &s;a|ving promi&s;es into an occa&s;ion of carnal &s;ecu|ritie. I have bin active for the world and &s;low in thy &s;ervice, I have &s;ought mine own things more then the things of the Lord Je&s;us: this deceitful world hath many times &s;tolen my love which to thee only is due. And the &s;ub|jects thou ha&s;t given me to love and glorifie thee, I have mi&s;apli|ed to the contrary, be|ing with-drawn from thee by thy benefits which &s;hould have drawn me to thee with
<PB N="13" REF="17"> cords of humanitie. I have cumbred my minde with diffident cares, and fears offen|&s;ive to thy love and providence, whereas I &s;hould have ca&s;t all my cares upon thee for thou care&s;t for me: how many faults of pre&s;ump|tion; how many faults of errour, how many &s;ecret faults do I daily commit before thee the holy one, and the ju&s;t that hate&s;t iniquitie and ju&s;tifie&s;t not the wicked! And how far am I from that holine&s;s requi&s;ite in words, in thoughts, in actions and
<PB N="14" REF="18"> more in affections to walk in thy pre&s;ence! O great and holy God, that &s;ee&s;t all, that judge&s;t all, and &s;earch|e&s;t the hearts and reins! I have &s;inned what &s;hall I do to thee thou pre&s;erver of men? O Lord that hate&s;t not the work of thy hands, what doe&s;t thou expect of me a &s;inful creature, but that I humble and condemn my &s;elf before thy ju&s;tice, and then by a faith working by love appeal from thy ju&s;tice to thy mercie? O Father of mercies, though I am a great
<PB N="15" REF="18"> &s;inner, yet am I in a con|dition to pre&s;ent unto thee an acceptable &s;a|crifice, &s;ince the &s;acri|fices of God are a bro|ken &s;pirit, a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not de&s;pi&s;e. Our hearts are never whole before thee till they be broken, and they can not be broken until thou break them thy &s;elf by thy good &s;pirit, with the whol|&s;ome brui&s;e of repen|tance. Our hearts are hard till thy &s;elf make them &s;oft; and our lips clo&s;e in matter of con|fe&s;&s;ing our &s;ines, and
<PB N="16" REF="19"> thy prai&s;es untill thou open them. Here is then Lord the begin|ning of my hope; yea of my confidence, while I am &s;itting in the a&s;hes and tears of my con|trition. For this con|trition is the work of thy grace in me, &s;eeing that in me aiddeth no good; and my &s;erious di&s;plea&s;ure to have of|fended thee, and my de&s;ire to return unto thee is the action of thy &s;pirit drawing me to make me run after thee. <HI>Iob.</HI> 7.20. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51.17.</P>
<P>O Lord <HI>there is for|givene&s;s with thee that
<PB N="17" REF="19"> thou maie&s;t be feared.</HI> If we were not &s;inners, in vain had thy beloved Son come into the world; and the grie|vou&s;ne&s;s of my &s;ins pro|voketh the greatne&s;s of thy mercie. The greate&s;t &s;ins are cove|red with the merit of thy Saviour Je&s;us, as the tops of the highe&s;t hills were covered with the waters of the flood. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 130.</P>
<P>O my God whom I have &s;o much offended, I will not adde unto my other &s;ins that of incredulitie: I will im|brace thy holy promi&s;es
<PB N="18" REF="20"> that <HI>who&s;oever beleeveth in Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hall not peri&s;h but have everla|&s;ting life,</HI> yea that <HI>he that beleeveth on him though he were dead yet &s;hall he live.</HI> Lord I beleeve help thou my unbelief; make me to hear joy and gladne&s;s that the bones which thou ha&s;te broken may rejoyce. Hide thy face from my &s;ins and blot out all mine iniquities. Re&s;tore unto me joy of thy Salvation and up|hold me with thy free &s;pirit. <HI>Joh.</HI> 3.16. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51.</P>
<P>Truly I have &s;in in
<PB N="19" REF="20"> my bo&s;ome which is a wor&s;e death then the natural. But there by thy grace I have al&s;o the &s;parks of faith which is the life of the &s;oul. O increa&s;e them thou holy and good &s;pirit. And &s;ince the righteous &s;hall live by faith, O God give me a faith that may frame in me the life of righ|teou&s;ne&s;s, and endow me with righteou&s;ne&s;s that I may live by faith. <HI>Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right &s;pirit within me.</HI> Lord Je&s;u who being made guiltie for me
<PB N="20" REF="21"> ha&s;t taken away the guilt of my &s;in be plea|&s;ed al&s;o to take away the iniquitie of the &s;ame. For that which is mo&s;t terrible to me in my &s;in is not the ter|rour of thy judgements, it is &s;in it &s;elf. It is &s;in that frights me with its ugline&s;s, that con|founds me with its e|normitie, that breaks my back with its weight. <HI>Mine iniqui|ties are gone over my head as an heavie bur|den, they are too heavie for me.</HI> O great deli|verer of the captive and the oppre&s;&s;ed, thou
<PB N="21" REF="21"> that &s;aye&s;t <HI>come unto me all yee that are wearie and heavie laden and I will ea&s;e you,</HI> I, come to thee wearie and hea|vie laden with the weight of my &s;ins. Ea&s;e me O my Saviour ac|cording to thy good promi&s;es, free me from the yoke of iniquitie and &s;o &s;trengthen me with thy free &s;pirit that I may lay a&s;ide every weight and the &s;in that doth &s;o ea&s;ily be-&s;et me, and that I may run with patience the race that is &s;et before me, looking unto the Lord Je&s;u the author
<PB N="22" REF="22"> and fini&s;her of my faith. To whom with thy father and thy good &s;pirit be glory for ever Amen.</P>
<P><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51. <HI>Mat.</HI> 11.28.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="Tuesday" TYPE="day">
<PB N="23" REF="22">
<HEAD>For TUESDAY.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="soliloquy">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>Rom. v. Ver&s;e I.</BIBL>
<P>Therefore being ju&s;tified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<HEAD>Soliloquie</HEAD>
<P>WHich way &s;oe|ver I look upon the world whether I con&s;ider the extent of all his regions, or the variety of events, or the multiplicitie of con|ditions of men, or the &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of years &s;ince the fir&s;t &s;in till now; I find in all times and places the la|mentable
<PB N="24" REF="23"> effects of the di&s;&s;ention between God and man. In man I &s;ee a general and opini|atre Apo&s;tacie from his maker, his thoughts are far from God, his af|fections are deboi&s;hed from his love, his acti|ons are oppo&s;ite to his commandements. Yea, he goeth about to per&s;wade him&s;elf that God is but a Chimera invented by Princes to keep the &s;ubject in awe. <HI>The fool hath &s;aid in his heart there is no God.</HI> For though he cannot &s;ay &s;o much in his un|der&s;tanding that con|vinceth
<PB N="25" REF="23"> him of the con|trary, yet he enter|taineth it in his heart, becau&s;e he wi&s;heth it were &s;o; there being nothing more ter|rible to a fellon then to think on his Judge. Out of that enmitie a|gain&s;t God proceed all the wicked deeds that are committed in the world, tho&s;e heaps of iniquitie that &s;trike heaven with their height, and make the earth groan under their weight. I &s;ee on the other &s;ide how God ju&s;tly irritated &s;heweth forth by his judgements
<PB N="26" REF="24"> the quarrel he hath a|gain&s;t man, making the Summer to &s;corch him, the winter to chil him, his ground to be barren, his ayre to be Pe&s;tiferous, the &s;torms to beat him, the &s;ea to wrack him, vermin to con&s;ume him, wilde bea&s;ts to tear him, hurts and &s;ickne&s;&s;es, to torment his body, care and remor&s;e to torture his &s;oule, and the world to be puni&s;ht by his own wickedne&s;s; for what el&s;e are robbe|ries by &s;ea and land, violences of war and op|pre&s;&s;ions of law, but
<PB N="27" REF="24"> puni&s;hments that men inflict one upon another for rebelling again&s;t God? And yet that which is &s;een of Gods judgements is nothing to that which is not &s;een, the torments of con&s;cience and that lake of fire and brim|&s;ton prepared for Gods enemies, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, wherer there is wailing and gna&s;hing of teeth, where the torment hath no end, becau&s;e the enmitie with God hath none. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 14.1.</P>
<P>And when from a|bout
<PB N="28" REF="25"> me I turn mine eyes within me there I finde to my great grief a remnant of that car|nal minde which is en|mitie again&s;t God; <HI>the fle&s;h lu&s;teth again&s;t the spirit and the &s;pirit a|gain&s;t the fle&s;h, and the&s;e are contrary the one to the other &s;o that I cannot do the things that I would.</HI> And I cannot but im|pute all my cro&s;&s;es, and all mine infirmities of body, and troubles of minde, to that old quarrel that God hath again&s;t &s;in. But I &s;uffer nothing but what is common to the
<PB N="29" REF="25"> children of God that have peace with him through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord. For while the indignation of God is &s;pread over the per|ver&s;e world, and the children of God them|&s;elves are not exempt of it in this world, be|cau&s;e they are not yet altogether exempt of perver&s;ne&s;s: Yet a|mong the&s;e remnants of &s;in, and in the mid&s;t of the wages of &s;in which are death and affliction, the peace of God which pa&s;&s;eth all undet&s;tanding keep|eth their hearts and
<PB N="30" REF="26"> mindes through Je&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>Phil.</HI> 4.7. And they feel within a holy per&s;wa&s;ion that their peace is made with God. <HI>How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publi&s;heth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publi&s;heth Salvation, that &s;aith un|to Sion thy God reigneth? E&s;a.</HI> 52.4. O accep|table news to me that am conceived in iniqui|tie, and by nature a child of wrath even as others, that God &s;peak|eth to my heart and
<PB N="31" REF="26"> there crieth <HI>that my in|iquitie is pardoned, that I have received of the Lords hand double for all my &s;ins!</HI> Yea, though my many &s;ins were a hundred times more numerous, God my judge hath received double &s;atisfaction for them, &s;o precious is the merit of my Saviour, &s;o effectual is the ver|tue of his death which he &s;uffered for me. That great peace is offered to all, but re|ceived by few. Chri&s;t came unto his own and his own received him not, but as many as
<PB N="32" REF="27"> received him to them gave he power to be|come the &s;ons of God even to them that be|leeve on his name. I ble&s;s his grace I am one of them that have re|ceived him, and he dwelling in my heart through faith, which him&s;elf hath given me, a&s;&s;ureth me that of an enemie by nature I am become one of his chil|dren. <HI>He that dwelleth in the high and holy place, with him al&s;o that is of an humble and contrite</HI> &s;pirit, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 57.15. is plea&s;ed to make his dwelling within me by
<PB N="33" REF="27"> his gracious pre&s;ence, and there to &s;et his throne of peace, where|by he &s;tilleth the &s;torm of my perplexities, cares, and fears, of that fear e&s;pecially that makes one for fear of death to be all his life &s;ubject unto bondage. <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.15. By the grace of my God I fear not death eternal, for my Saviour hath &s;wal|lowed it in victorie. I fear not the temporal, for that great Saviour hath &s;anctified it, and changed its nature by his death, making it from a gate of Hell,
<PB N="34" REF="28"> that it was, the gate of heaven to them that be|leeve on him.</P>
<P>From this &s;tate of grace and peace I look as from a &s;afe harbour upon the tempe&s;ts that are rai&s;ed abroad, by the turbulent perver&s;i|tie of men de&s;titute of the grace of God; who al&s;o ju&s;tly pow|reth upon them the vials of his wrath. Great empires are &s;ha|king, Monarchies are hurled down. Men teare one another with wars and law&s;uits, and mine intere&s;&s;es are not free from the to&s;&s;ing of
<PB N="35" REF="28"> the general. But a|mong that tumult I injoy within the peace of my God; and my heart is a &s;anctuarie where God dwells with me and I with him. If he &s;end me afflictions it is onely to multiplie his comforts, and &s;hew his marvelous loving kindne&s;s by &s;aving me by his right hand. <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 17.7. He hath delive|red me from eternal pains, and &s;anctifieth the temporal for my good. He makes his rod like that of <HI>Aaron</HI> to bring me both fruits and flowers. I am a&s;&s;u|red
<PB N="36" REF="29"> that all that he &s;ends me is good, &s;ince it comes from the hand of my God and Father, and that finally he will make me victorious, tri|umphing of all the en|mitie of Satan, the world, and the fle&s;h; and receive me into his great eternal peace, clad with the righte|ou&s;ne&s;s of my Saviour. For being ju&s;tified by faith I have peace with God through Je&s;us Chri&s;t my Lord.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="37" REF="29">
<HEAD>PRAYER</HEAD>
<P>ALmightie God and merciful father, who teache&s;t me by thine Apo&s;tle that mer|cie rejoyceth again&s;t judgement; <HI>Jam.</HI> 2.13. I prai&s;e and glorifie thee with all mine af|fections, that thou ma|ke&s;t me finde in my con&s;cience the expo&s;i|tion of that holy do|ctrine. For when I con&s;ider the general condemnation of the wicked world, living in natural enmitie a|gain&s;t thee, and that my &s;elf being born in
<PB N="38" REF="30"> that condemnation, neverthele&s;s it plea&s;eth thee to &s;peak peace to my &s;oul, and &s;eal in my heart the remi&s;&s;ion of my &s;ins by a lively faith, I am rapt up with an holy admirati|on, and deeply toucht with humilitie, joy, gratefulne&s;s, and love, looking with bowed head and fixt eyes into the depths of thy mer|cy.</P>
<P>O what depth of mercie that thou great God of infinite Maje&s;tie and power ha&s;t given thine own &s;on to re|deem our enemies!
<PB N="39" REF="30"> That thine eternal &s;on hath taken my fle&s;h to give me thy &s;pirit, that he hath &s;uffered death to give me life, that he hath born the weight of thy wrath to give me thy peace. That whereas I was by nature a child of wrath I am adopted now in|to the rights of thy children! Father of mercies O that I might know thy mercie e|nough to love thee e|nough! O <HI>God</HI> of my Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t the father of glory. <HI>Give me the spirit of wi&s;dom and Revelation in the
<PB N="40" REF="31"> knowledge of him. The eyes of my under&s;tanding being inlightened that I may know what is the hope of thy calling, and what the riches of the glorie of thine inheritance in the Saints, and what is the exceeding great|ne&s;s of thy power towards us who beleeve according to the working of thy mightie power which thou ha&s;t wrought in Chri&s;t.</HI> Ephe. 1.17. O Chri&s;t the great and only me|diator of my peace with thy father, how &s;hall I ever &s;ufficiently com|prehend the excellencie of thy love and the
<PB N="41" REF="31"> greatne&s;s of thy bene|fits! I am naturally de|filed with iniquitie, but thou ha&s;t wa&s;ht me in thy blood. My &s;ins are a heavie bur|den, but thou ha&s;t born them upon thine own &s;houlders. I am guiltie before the judi|tial throne of thy fa|ther, but I am acquit|ted by thine interce&s;&s;i|on. I am unrighteous, but thou ha&s;t covered me with thy merit. Nay, Father, I am no more unrighteous be|fore thy ju&s;tice, I am righteous by the righ|tecu&s;ne&s;s of thy &s;on.
<PB N="42" REF="32"> O father of my Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, thou &s;ee&s;t no more iniquitie in me, for thou &s;ee&s;t nothing about me but the obe|dience of thy &s;on wherein I am inwrapt all about by faith. I appear now before thee all righteous holy and blamele&s;s, &s;ince it plea|&s;eth thee to look upon me through the merit of thy righteous &s;on. <HI>Who &s;hall lay any thing to my charge</HI> &s;ince <HI>Chri&s;t ju&s;tifieth me? Rom.</HI> 8.33. And how can&s;t thou condemn me if the righteou&s;ne&s;s of thy &s;on be upon me? My God I
<PB N="43" REF="32"> am &s;o far from expect|ing condemnation for my &s;ins, that I expect recompence for the righteou&s;ne&s;s of thy &s;on, now mine own. And no le&s;s recompence I expect then the kingdome of heaven, for no recompence is too great for the merit of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t which is mine.</P>
<P>That harve&s;t, by thy grace, is &s;ure to me; but it is yet in the blade. Yet I feel the eare &s;hooting forth within me by thy peace which pa&s;&s;eth all under|&s;tanding, whereby I am
<PB N="44" REF="33"> made certain that thou art my father, that Je|&s;us Chri&s;t is my Savi|our, that thy Kingdom is mine inheritance.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e &s;in li|veth &s;till in me, and the fle&s;h is &s;tubborn, the world &s;etting upon me, now with &s;educti|ons now with open ho|&s;tilitie, aad Satans con|tinual work is to trouble the peace of thy chil|dren by ca&s;ting new guilt upon their con&s;ci|ence, I be&s;eech thee, O great Prince of peace, to come thy &s;elf, and take in thy hands the reignes of mine affecti|ons,
<PB N="45" REF="33"> keeping them in obedience under the empire of thy &s;pirit; That being ever ruled by him I never break peace with thee by any rebellion. That being ju&s;tified by faith I be &s;anctified by the &s;ame. That my peace being made with thee by the merit of my Saviour I hate &s;in which is the di&s;|cord and ho&s;tilitie a|gain&s;t thee, bringing trouble to the con&s;ci|ence, and &s;etting the &s;oul at variance with her &s;elf. Let righte|ou&s;ne&s;s and peace ki&s;s each other in my &s;oul.
<PB N="46" REF="34"> <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 85. Let thy peace in my heart bring forth that right u&s;e declared by thy word, that thou wilt &s;peak peace unto thy people and to thy Saints, that they may turn no more unto fol|lie. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 85.8. Do this, O God of peace, for the love of thy &s;on our peace-maker. To whom with thee and thy holy &s;pirit that &s;ealeth thy peace in our hearts, be glorie for evermore. Amen</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="Wednesday" TYPE="day">
<PB N="47" REF="34">
<HEAD>For WEDNESDAY.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="soliloquy">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>Rom. 6. ver. 21. 22.</BIBL>
<P>What fruit had ye then in tho&s;e things whereof you are now a&s;hamed, for the end of tho&s;e things is death.</P>
<P>But now being made free from &s;in and become &s;ervants to God, ye have your fruit unto holine&s;s, and the end everla&s;ting life.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<HEAD>Soliloquy</HEAD>
<P>HOw imperfect is the condition of the faithful &s;oul in this world! After I have
<PB N="48" REF="35"> left &s;in by repentance, and lift up my heart to God by faith, I mu&s;t yet look back upon &s;in with &s;orrow. For though I leave it, it will not leave me; I have condemned it, but I have not yet cru|cified it. I &s;hake it, but I cannot make it ungra&s;p.</P>
<P>Yet, ble&s;&s;ed be God, it hath not that rule o|ver me, which it had before: for Chri&s;t who hath freed me from Hell, hath now begun that freedome in me by cutting off many bonds of &s;in, that fa|ctor
<PB N="49" REF="35"> of hell which lay|eth us a&s;leep, and then binds us to deliver us up to the Devil. The &s;ins that tempted my de&s;ire, now move mine indignation, and af|fright me more with their ugline&s;s then ever they allured me with their &s;miles.</P>
<P>And as all things help together for good unto them that love God, the remem|brance of my &s;in teach|eth me to hate it. For what fruit did I reap but &s;hame by &s;inning? And yet that is the be&s;t that comes out of it.
<PB N="50" REF="36"> For it is far wor&s;e when by &s;in we lo&s;e &s;hame and get impudence and hardne&s;s.</P>
<P>What a &s;hame is it to me to have &s;ubjected this beam of the God|head, mine intelligent &s;oul, to things far under me, to have captivated the &s;pirit under the fle&s;h, and (as far as lay in me,) God under the world? What a &s;hame to have ventured the lo&s;s of my birth-right for a poor Me&s;s, &amp; more re&s;pected the favour or d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">sfavour of men then of God, who&s;e all-&s;ee|ing eyes do alwayes
<PB N="51" REF="36"> look upon me and into me? Yet it is no more &s;hameful then true that I have offended my God that created me after his image, redeemed me by the blood of his &s;on, &s;ealed me by his &s;pirit, and pre&s;erved me by his providence.</P>
<P>And what had be|come of me if God ju&s;t|ly angrie had given me over to the pride of life, and the charming va|nitie of this wicked world? For the end of tho&s;e things is death. That vanitie is a Syren which drawes us on with &s;miles and fair
<PB N="52" REF="37"> words to ca&s;t us head|long. It is a &s;mooth &s;tream which carrieth them that float upon it into a gulf of perdition. It is a captivitie ending in death like that of re|bels overcome in battel, which are put to the &s;word. And this is the fruit of the bondage of &s;in.</P>
<P>Whereas being made free from &s;in and be|come &s;ervants of God we have our fruit unto holine&s;s, and the end everla&s;ting life. God by his great mercie hath freed me from Hell al|together, and already
<PB N="53" REF="37"> from &s;in in part; but I &s;hall lo&s;e the la&s;t and be&s;t part of that free|dome, and the fir&s;t al|&s;o in the end, if I turn my libertie into licenti|ou&s;ne&s;s. For Chri&s;t hath not freed me from the bondage of Satan that I &s;hould have no ma&s;ter, <HI>but being made free from &s;in I am become a &s;ervant of righteou&s;ne&s;s. Rom.</HI> 6.17.</P>
<P>In Countries where &s;laves are &s;old, who e|ver bought a &s;ervant to have no &s;ervice from him? And &s;hall not God who is as wi&s;e as he is merciful get &s;er|vice
<PB N="54" REF="38"> from tho&s;e whom he hath bought by the blood of his &s;on and freed by his Spirit? Good rea&s;on he &s;hould. I am the Lords freed &s;ervant, and therefore his &s;ervant becau&s;e I am freed by him, for there|fore he freed me that I might &s;erve him. As on the other &s;ide I am free becau&s;e I am his &s;ervant, for in his &s;er|vice lieth the &s;overaign libertie of the creature; and he truly reigneth, and he only, that &s;ub|jecteth him&s;elf wholy to God, for then he is ma&s;ter at home, com|manding
<PB N="55" REF="38"> his de&s;ires and affections in Gods right. Whereas he that &s;ubjecteth not him|&s;elf to him is the &s;ervant of &s;in, and liveth mi&s;e|rable under his unruly pa&s;&s;ions, as in a di&s;tra|cted common wealth torn between many pet|tie tyrants.</P>
<P>Come then, my &s;oul, let us labour to perfect that freedome which God hath already wrought in us by his good &s;pirit. Let us break what remains in us of the bonds of &s;in, which tie us &s;till too fa&s;t to the world and
<PB N="56" REF="39"> the fle&s;h. Let us <HI>&s;tand fa&s;t in the libertie where|with Chri&s;t hath made us free, and let us not be intangled again with the yoak of bondage. Gal.</HI> 5.1. O what goodly fruit, what ble&s;&s;ed end is brought forth by this &s;piritual freedome! The <HI>fruit thereof is un|to holine&s;s, and the end everla&s;ting life.</HI> Fir&s;t, the fruit of holine&s;s, then the end everla&s;|ing life, a divine and inviolable order. I mu&s;t not hope to have for the end everla&s;ting life, unle&s;s I yeeld be|fore the fruit of holi|ne&s;s.
<PB N="57" REF="39"> And with good rea&s;on holine&s;s is called a fruit, &s;ince it feeds our faith, which is our &s;piritual life. If I be holie, I reap all the fruit of my holine&s;s. And what greater fruit can a faithful &s;oul con|ceive then to plea&s;e him that loved her &s;o much? God in his goodne&s;s will take <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">are to give me eternal life; but the care that I mu&s;t take is, that I may walk worthy of the Lord unto all plea&s;ing, being fruitful in every good work, and increa|&s;ing in the knowledge
<PB N="58" REF="40"> of God. <HI>Col.</HI> 1.10. But for that I mu&s;t humbly crave his help</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MY Saviour Je&s;us, who ha&s;t loved me and wa&s;hed me from my &s;ins in thy blood, and ha&s;t pre&s;ented me arrayed and deckt with thy pretious merit un|to God thy Father: the more thy grace is admirable towards me, the more am I a&s;hamed and grieved, that any thing di&s;plea&s;ing unto thee &s;hould remain yet within me. The re|membrance
<PB N="59" REF="40"> of my &s;ins pa&s;t is di&s;plea&s;ing unto me, and much more the &s;en&s;e of the pre&s;ent. I have a deep &s;orrow that I have offended thee, but more that I offend thee &s;till. O when &s;hall the full de|liverance come when all the bonds of &s;in &s;hall be cut off, when there will be no more cloud between heaven and me that &s;top the pa&s;&s;age of prayer, and no more weight that keep the &s;pirit from ri|&s;ing to thee?</P>
<P>O Lord Je&s;u who ha&s;t pluckt me out of the
<PB N="60" REF="41"> jawes of Hell by thy victorie over death, be plea&s;ed to compleat thy conque&s;t in my &s;oul. For <HI>I</HI> &s;hall not account my &s;elf fully redeemed till <HI>I</HI> be re&s;cued from the power of &s;in; and that is the principal end of thy comming, that is the principal effect of thine obedience. <HI>I</HI> learn of thine Angel fore-runner and fore|teller of thy birth, that thou beare&s;t the name of Je&s;us, <HI>becau&s;e thou &s;ave&s;t thy people from their &s;ins. Mat.</HI> 1.21. <HI>There is with thee plenti|ous redemption, and thou
<PB N="61" REF="41"> &s;halt vedeem I&s;rael from all his iniquities. P&s;al.</HI> 130.7. Lord it is that plenteous redemption that my &s;oul longeth for; <HI>I</HI> cannot be con|tented with le&s;s, then to be redeemed from all mine iniquities. <HI>I</HI> can|not conceive neither Salvation nor libertie without it.</P>
<P>Therefore will I call upon thee to be freed from &s;in, I will my &s;elf labour for it with all mine endeavour. And the freedome which it hath plea&s;ed thee to be|gin within me, kind|leth my de&s;ire and pro|voketh
<PB N="62" REF="42"> my diligence to bring it to perfection. Yea, Lord I will &s;ay after thy &s;ervant Da|vid, <HI>I will walk at liber|tie, for I &s;eek thy precepts, P&s;al.</HI> 119 45. being a&s;|&s;ured that I &s;hall finde in thy &s;ervice perfect freedome. O what freedome; yea, what empire &s;hall my &s;oul po&s;&s;e&s;s, when &s;he &s;hall be altogether &s;ubjected to thy good &s;pirit, who in recompence will &s;ub|ject this rebellious fle&s;h unto the more &s;piritu|al part of the &s;oul, this fle&s;h which &s;o often rai&s;eth, even in faith|ful
<PB N="63" REF="42"> hearts, a partie a|gain&s;t God; and &s;ets on the pa&s;&s;ions to &s;hake off the maji&s;tracy of pi|etie and rea&s;on.</P>
<P>O Son of God <HI>who make&s;t us free and then wee are free indeed. Joh.</HI> 8.36. I de&s;ire not to be free to make liber|tie a covering of mali|ciou&s;ne&s;s, or to turn thy grace into wanton|ne&s;s. I de&s;ire but to change one &s;ervice for another, the &s;ervice to &s;in for the &s;ervice to righteou&s;ne&s;s, I de&s;ire to be free that I may be thy &s;ervant; yea, that I may &s;erve thee with
<PB N="64" REF="43"> full libertie, freely be|&s;towing all the powers and faculties of my &s;oul upon thy &s;ervice, and making my heart a burnt offering, <HI>a living Sacrifice, holie accep|table unto thee, which is my rea&s;onable &s;ervice.</HI></P>
<P>O God and father of my Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, thou ha&s;t &s;an|ctified me in &s;ome mea|&s;ure by thy Spirit, be|cau&s;e thou had&s;t before redeemed me by thy Son; but I long for the perfect &s;tature: all is not well with me till <HI>I</HI> have the full mea&s;ure. And how far <HI>I</HI> am yet
<PB N="65" REF="43"> from it, it grieves me to think on. <HI>But this one thing I do, forgetting tho&s;e things which are behinde, and reaching forth unto tho&s;e things which are before, I pre&s;s towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us. Phil.</HI> 3.13. O Lord if <HI>I</HI> have the grace &s;incerely to pre&s;s to|wards the mark, <HI>I</HI> can|not mi&s;s the prize of thy high calling. Give me but the grace to pre&s;s towards the mark, and <HI>I</HI> leave to thy goodne&s;s the care of be&s;towing the prize up|on
<PB N="66" REF="44"> me. Let thy Sab|bath be my delights, thy word my food, thy will my rule, thy commandements my bu&s;ine&s;s, and thy pro|mi&s;es my incourage|ment. <HI>I</HI> long more to be &s;anctified then to be glorified; and <HI>I</HI> long to be glorious that <HI>I</HI> may be holie. But it is of thee, O Lord, that <HI>I</HI> mu&s;t expect both: <HI>draw me, O Lord, and I &s;hall run after thee.</HI> Cant. 1.4. <HI>Turn me and I &s;hall be turned.</HI> Jer. 3.19. <HI>Teach me to do thy will for thou art my God.</HI>
<PB N="67" REF="44"> P&s;al. 143.10. <HI>Work in me both to will and to do according to thy good plea&s;ure.</HI> Phil. 2.13. For thy Sons &s;ake, and by thy Spirit, and per|fect my holine&s;s for thy glorie. Amen.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="Thursday" TYPE="day">
<PB N="68" REF="45">
<HEAD>For THURSDAY.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="soliloquy">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>P&s;al. 116. Ver&s;e 12.</BIBL>
<P>What &s;hall I render unto the Lord for all his be|nefits towards me?</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<HEAD>Soliloquy.</HEAD>
<P>IT is the querulous and ungrateful hu|mour of man to keep an exact reckoning of his afflictions, mo&s;t of which are but imagi|narie, and to murmur again&s;t God, but to forget his benefits, and take no notice of them, no not when he fills
<PB N="69" REF="45"> him&s;elf with them. Although there is none &s;o afflicted upon earth, but hath more rea&s;on to thank God then to complain, though he had nothing but life and the way open for repentance.</P>
<P>To prai&s;e God for his graces is the highe&s;t dutie of the Chri&s;tian, and together his high|e&s;t felicitie. It is the everla&s;ting imployment of glorious &s;oules in heaven to prai&s;e God for his &s;alvation, cry|ing with a loud voice, <HI>Salvation belongs to our God which &s;itteth upon
<PB N="70" REF="46"> the Throne and to the Lamb. To which the</HI> armies of Angels an|&s;wer, <HI>Amen, ble&s;&s;ing and glorie and wi&s;dome and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.</HI></P>
<P>Let us now, my &s;oul, joyne with that con|&s;ort of heavenly prai&s;es. Let us anticipate the date of our felicitie, &s;inging our part alrea|dy in the mu&s;ique of Angels. And what have <HI>I</HI> el&s;e to render unto God for his bene|fits, but to employ for his prai&s;e the gift he
<PB N="71" REF="46"> made to me of a &s;oul ca|pable and de&s;irous to know him, to love him, and to prai&s;e him?</P>
<P>But when <HI>I</HI> come to think on that numerous univer&s;alitie of all Gods benefits upon me, <HI>I</HI> feel my meditation &s;wallowed up in a bot|tomle&s;s gulf. Nature, providence, and grace call me all three toge|ther to admiration and thankfulne&s;s.</P>
<P>Nature as the neare&s;t pre&s;ents me to my felf, and &s;hewing me my bo|dy made with &s;uch di|vine art and &s;ymmetrie,
<PB N="72" REF="47"> teacheth me to &s;ay with David, <HI>I will prai&s;e the Lord for I am wonder|fully made. P&s;al.</HI> 139.14. In that bodie God hath lodged a &s;oul &s;tamped with his own image, endowed with rea&s;on, and inabled with intellectual facul|ties. To comprehend what I owe to God for my bodie only, I &s;hould value every piece one by one, and think what I would re|fu&s;e to part with them. What would I take for one of my arms? Not Millions. What for an eye? Not a whole
<PB N="73" REF="47"> world. What then for both? What for health and life? I mu&s;t ac|count that I po&s;&s;e&s;s as much trea&s;ure as I would refu&s;e, rather then be deprived of e|very one, and of any one of the&s;e natural goods; and upon that account I mu&s;t e&s;timate my obligation, and the greatne&s;s of my debt to my great benefactor.</P>
<P>How much then do I owe unto God for my &s;oul, which is the breath and the living image of God, in compari&s;on of which this bodie which we &s;o
<PB N="74" REF="48"> much value is of no va|lue. To under&s;tand my obligation to God for my &s;oul I &s;hould know her nature and her work. That know|ledge is too wonderful for me. But as dark|ne&s;s teacheth us to va|lue the light. I learn to admire the value of a &s;oul in her right &s;en&s;e, when I &s;ee one out of it, a man become a bea&s;t. It &s;trikes me with horrour, and makes me exclaim, how much am I indebted to God, for giving and pre&s;er|ving unto me a rea&s;on|able &s;oul?</P>
<PB N="75" REF="48">
<P>And when from within I look without, what a numberle&s;s mul|titude of benefits of God are crowding a|bout me! the earth that bears me, the aire which I breath, the heaven that &s;hines up|on me, the plentie of nature that feeds me, her varietie that de|lights me, the &s;everal creatures that &s;erve me. What readine&s;s, what utilitie, what dutiful attendance of &s;o many good things which God made for me!</P>
<P>And all the&s;e goods of nature are managed
<PB N="76" REF="49"> by his providence for my u&s;e. To provi|dence I owe the good|ne&s;s of my Father, the tenderne&s;s of my mo|ther, that loving care whereby I was brought up from the cradle, &s;upported in the infir|mitie of mine infancie, and conducted in the &s;implicitie of my youth. To the provident care of my heavenly Father I owe the &s;ucking, next after my nur&s;es milk, of the principles of pi|etie and hone&s;tie, which to me &s;ince have been pre&s;ervatives a|gain&s;t tho&s;e mi&s;chiefes
<PB N="77" REF="49"> which I have &s;een o|thers run into for want of good breeding. When I &s;ee &s;o many per&s;ons disfigured with &s;ickne&s;s, their limbs broken, their bodie &s;poiled by &s;ad acci|dents; others groaning under the la&s;h of ill re|nown, perhaps wrong|fully, &s;ome mi&s;erable out of want, &s;ome out of plentie, &s;ome op|pre&s;t by wicked neigh|bours, &s;ome by their own melancholy, <HI>I</HI> cannot but think my &s;elf well u&s;ed, not|with&s;tanding all the in|firmities within and
<PB N="78" REF="50"> difficulties without, which I mu&s;t wre&s;tle with. And I mu&s;t ex|alt the bountie of God, who &s;o carefully pre|&s;erveth my per&s;on, my peace, and my reputa|tion.</P>
<P>What private helps did God &s;end me in the publick ruines! What wayes did he open to me where there was no way! How graciou&s;ly, how miraculou&s;ly did he make Manna fall be|fore me when bread failed, and wrought for me a &s;ub&s;i&s;tence out of the harde&s;t natures and bu&s;ine&s;&s;es, as it
<PB N="79" REF="50"> were fetching water out of the rock! How lo|ving are his very cha|&s;tenings, denying me the things that I de&s;i|red, to give me better then I de&s;ired; and &s;ending me the things that I feared, to make them occa&s;ions of ble&s;&s;ings!</P>
<P>I &s;hould never have done numbring the be|nefits of his provi|dence; but here his grace interrupteth the reckoning a&s;cribing to her &s;elf all the ble&s;&s;ings both of providence and nature. For it is out of that love before all
<PB N="80" REF="51"> times in his beloved &s;on, that he feedeth me and furni&s;heth me with all the goods of nature, and a&s;&s;igneth his Angels for my keep|ers which carry me in their hands.</P>
<P>But what are all the&s;e great benefits but &s;mall productions of the in|e&s;timable trea&s;ures of that grace whereby I enter upon all the rights of Gods chil|dren? Oh that I could once apprehend what a high grace it is to have God for my fa|ther, Chri&s;t for my brother, his kingdome
<PB N="81" REF="51"> for mine inheritance, yea, God him&s;elf for my portion for ever? How gracious is his re|demption! How free is his pardon! How precious is his loving kindene&s;s! What ful|ne&s;s of joy is at his right hand! What e|ternal plea&s;ures in the contemplation of his face! And in that ex|pectation, how com|fortable is the pre&s;ence of his good &s;pirit in my heart, giving me eares to hear his word, and a &s;incere de&s;ire to keep it, &s;trengthening me in my troubles, rai&s;ing
<PB N="82" REF="52"> me in my falls, wound|ing my &s;oul with con|trition for my &s;ins, and then healing it with faith in his promi&s;es! O pretious gue&s;t! O ble&s;&s;ed company! O Paradi&s;e upon earth! O beginning of the kingdome of heaven! Ble&s;s the Lord, O my &s;oul, and all that is with|in me ble&s;s his holie name. Ble&s;s the Lord, O my &s;oul, and for|get not all his benefits. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 103.1.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="83" REF="52">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MO&s;t merciful Fa|ther when I com|pare mine indignitie with the greatne&s;s of thy benefits, I feel in my heart a compound of humble repentance and heartie thankful|ne&s;s. For what am I by nature but a child of wrath, conceived in iniquitie, which origi|nal corruption I have &s;ince increa&s;ed with in|numerable actual tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ions? And yet, Lord, where &s;in aboun|ded thy grace hath a|bounded much more,
<PB N="84" REF="53"> and thine infinite love hath prevented me when I was thine ene|mie. Lord who am I, that thou great maker and Soveraign of hea|ven and earth, po&s;&s;e&s;t with infinite glorie, and dwelling in a light not to be approacht unto, woulde&s;t grace me &s;o much as to make me one of thy children, and inrich me with the inheritance of thy king|dome? That thou woulde&s;t give me thy beloved &s;on for the price of my redempti|on, which I may pre|&s;ent unto thee by faith?
<PB N="85" REF="53"> That thou woulde&s;t give me thy good &s;pi|rit to &s;eal my adopti|on, and work my re|generation, and &s;ay to my &s;oul, &s;oul, I am thy Salvation.</P>
<P>With what wonders of mercy was that Sal|vation purcha&s;ed for me? Thine only &s;on in whom thou art well plea&s;ed mu&s;t put on an infirm fle&s;h like unto mine, to make me like unto him by his good &s;pirit. He mu&s;t make him&s;elf a &s;ervant to make me free. He mu&s;t &s;uffer death to give me life. He mu&s;t
<PB N="86" REF="54"> crie, <HI>my God my God why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me,</HI> to bring me back to my God whom I had for&s;aken. He mu&s;t overcome death to intitle me to his vi|ctorie. He mu&s;t a&s;|cend into heaven, and there &s;it at the right hand of his Father, that I might be <HI>ble&s;t with all spiritual ble&s;&s;ings in hea|venly places in Chri&s;t. Ephe.</HI> 1.3.</P>
<P>O Father of mercies, the great, the good, the wonderful, be plea&s;ed to adde to the&s;e thy mercies one more, even the thankfulne&s;s
<PB N="87" REF="54"> of my heart, an&s;we|rable, as far as mans capacitie can reach, to the greatne&s;s of the ob|ligation. O that thou woulde&s;t <HI>grant me ac|cording to the riches of thy glorie to be &s;treng|thened with might by thy &s;pirit in the inner man. That Chri&s;t may dwell in my heart by faith, that I being rooted and groun|ded in love, may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Chri&s;t which pa&s;&s;eth knowledge, that I may be filled with
<PB N="88" REF="55"> all the fulne&s;s of God.</HI> Ephe. 3.16.</P>
<P>Mo&s;t gracious God I expect from the riches of thy glorie to be fil|led in heaven with all thy fulne&s;s, by the ble&s;&s;ed contemplation of thy face. But even in this pre&s;ent weak condition of mine, be plea&s;ed to powre into me &s;ome drops of that fulne&s;s, enough to fill this &s;mall frail ve&s;&s;el with thy love, and a feeling re&s;entment of thy bountie. And as all things about me &s;peak to me of thy love, &s;o let all things help me
<PB N="89" REF="55"> to be thankful, and to acknowledge and love him that loved me &s;o much in Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>'Tis true, Lord, that even thine enemies en|joy out of thy bountie the light and heat of the Sun, and the fer|tilitie of the earth, and in thee live and move and have their be|ing. But I enjoy all the&s;e benefits with a better title and reli&s;h in the very bread which I eate, and in the aire which I breath, thine eternal love in thy be|loved &s;on. For &s;ince thou ha&s;t elected me in
<PB N="90" REF="56"> him, and redeemed me by him, it is by him al|&s;o and for his &s;ake, that thou pre&s;erve&s;t my bo|die and &s;oul which he hath redeemed, and make&s;t me to injoy the promi&s;es of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.8.</P>
<P>What &s;hall I render unto thee Lord for all thy benefits towards me? With what fa|therly care ha&s;t thou fed pre&s;erved, and defended me? What help of thy providence did&s;t thou make me finde in the whole
<PB N="91" REF="56"> cour&s;e of my life? With what vigilance and wi&s;dome ha&s;t thou made me a way through a thou&s;and dangers that be &s;et me? With what compa&s;&s;ion ha&s;t thou held me up when I was falling, and gui|ded me when I went a&s;tray? How graci|ou&s;ly ha&s;t thou moved me to repentance by thy word, by thy &s;pi|rit, by thy gifts, by thy rods, &s;ometimes pul|ling me with fear as plucking me out of the fire, &s;ometimes drawing me with love by tem|poral comforts, and by
<PB N="92" REF="57"> the &s;weetne&s;s of thy promi&s;es? How quick and powerful are the comforts of thy &s;pirit, a&s;&s;uring me of thy re|conciliation with me, and giving me a fore|ta&s;te of eternal life?</P>
<P>Among thy many ble&s;&s;ings I reckon it for a mercie, Lord, that thou did&s;t not leave me without di&s;|cipline, but ha&s;t exer|ci&s;ed me with thy cha|&s;tenings to awake my faith, warm my zeal, and make me to have recour&s;e to the &s;helter of that very hand that &s;mote me. I prai&s;e thee
<PB N="93" REF="57"> for not giving me all my de&s;ires in this world, that my heart might be weaned from it. O Soveraign Phy|&s;ician, in thy hand e|ven poi&s;ons are reme|dies; and thou never did&s;t &s;end me affliction but in the end turned into a ble&s;&s;ing, by thy wonderful wayes which fetch light out of dark|ne&s;s. Thus Lord, which way &s;oever I look, whether to pro&s;|peritie or adver&s;itie, whether to the goods of this world, or tho&s;e of a better, whether to my de&s;ires fru&s;trated,
<PB N="94" REF="58"> or to thy liberalitie in thy &s;on which pa&s;&s;eth all my de&s;ires, I finde my &s;elf in all things ob|liged to glorifie thee.</P>
<P>What then &s;hall I render unto thee for &s;o many benefits? Lord I have nothing but thine. Then all that is thine I will render unto thee. I will con|&s;ecrate unto thee this body and &s;oul which thou ha&s;t made and re|deemed, and &s;o care|fully pre&s;erved. <HI>I</HI> will employ mine under|&s;tanding to meditate on thee, my heart to love thee, my mouth
<PB N="95" REF="58"> to prai&s;e thee, all my faculties to obey and plea&s;e thee. And be|cau&s;e my goodne&s;s ex|tendeth not to thee, I will endeavour to make it extend to the Saints are in the earth, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 16.2. according to the mea&s;ure of my abilitie; and to feed and cloath my Saviour Je&s;us in his members, as he hath fed me with the bread of life, and clothed me with the cloak of his righteou&s;|ne&s;s, be&s;ides his care of me for the tempo|ral. My God give me holy re&s;olutions which
<PB N="96" REF="59"> may be attended with holy actions. My God grant that my life may be a continual thanks|giving in affections, in words, and in works. <HI>My &s;oul doth magnifie the Lord and my &s;pirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour, for he hath regarded the lowli|ne&s;s of his &s;ervant. Un|to him that loved us and wa&s;hed us from our &s;ins in his own blood, and hath made us Kings and Prie&s;ts unto God and his Father; to him be glo|rie and dominion for e|ver Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="Friday" TYPE="day">
<PB N="97" REF="59">
<HEAD>For FRIDAY.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="soliloquy">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>1 John 11. Ver&s;. 15.</BIBL>
<P>Love not the world, nei|ther the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<HEAD>Soliloquy.</HEAD>
<P>HOw high is this le&s;&s;on, and how unwelcome to the &s;en&s;e of the fle&s;h! But how beneficial to them that under&s;tand and practi&s;e it! God commands me not to hate mankinde, nor to hate the wicked, in which &s;ignification
<PB N="98" REF="60"> the world &s;ometimes is taken in Scripture. Much le&s;s doth he com|mand me to hate that great and precious work of his, heaven and earth. It is &s;o com|pleat and hand&s;ome and bears &s;uch lively cha|racters of the wi&s;e|dome, power, and bountie of his Maker, that it is impo&s;&s;ible to &s;ee it and not delight in it. For without ex|tending my thoughts upon all the plentie and varietie wherewith God hath inricht this fine nature, for the &s;er|vice of man, who &s;ees
<PB N="99" REF="60"> not that the great crea|tour had a purpo&s;e to delight him and make him in love with his works, by the &s;inging of birds, the &s;mell and colour of flowers, the plea&s;antne&s;s of pro&s;|pects, and the glorie of the &s;tars, wherewith the roof of this great palace is adorned?</P>
<P>But there is within this world another world which God for|bids me to love, and he is plea&s;ed to give me a rea&s;on for it, <HI>for all that is in the world, the lu&s;t of the fle&s;h, the lu&s;t of the eyes, and the pride
<PB N="100" REF="61"> of life, is not of the Fa|ther but is of the world.</HI> 1 Joh. 2.16. That world is the world of the Devil, which he hath created within the world of God. For whereas God in the creation &s;et light out of darkne&s;s, Satan fetch|eth darkne&s;s out of light, making the ex|cellent creatures of God his in&s;truments of temp|tation and inticements to evil.</P>
<P>But how ea&s;ily do we pa&s;s from the world of God to the world of the Devil, how in&s;en|&s;ibly the admiration of
<PB N="101" REF="61"> the beautie and good|ne&s;s of creatures dege|nerates into the lu&s;t of the fle&s;h, the lu&s;t of the eyes, and the pride of life! How hard is it to u&s;e this world and not abu&s;e it, and &s;et ju&s;t limits which we ne|ver overpa&s;s, to that love which it is lawful for us to bear to crea|tures! Yet as hard as it is, it is nece&s;&s;arie. For if we love the world the love of the Father is not in us. There is in every &s;oul a ma&s;ter-love that &s;ubjects all o|ther affections to it; that ma&s;ter-love is due
<PB N="102" REF="62"> to the Father; to give it to the world, and to the Father together we cannot. And there can be no more two ma&s;ters in a &s;oul then in a kingdome. To love any thing but God and not for his &s;ake is a &s;acriledge that tran&s;|ports to another what we owe to him alone. And when we love any thing without relation to God, we come &s;hortly to love it above him, for to love both equally we cannot, we love alwayes the one more then the other.</P>
<P>The compari&s;on be|ing
<PB N="103" REF="62"> infinitely unequal between God and the world, rea&s;on with little in&s;truction will be brought to give her verdict for God, and adjudge him the love and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the &s;oul. But at the &s;ame time the world gets in|to the &s;oul without leave of rea&s;on, find|ing alwayes the five doores of the &s;en&s;es o|pen to him, and the imagination fit and ad|equate to his objects. God is not in all the thoughts of the wicked, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 10.4 and hardly &s;ettleth in the thoughts
<PB N="104" REF="63"> of the be&s;t; becau&s;e of the great di&s;paritit between the nature of that high and pure &s;pi|rit, and our low and impure fle&s;h. We love the world by na|ture, and God again&s;t nature, before his &s;pi|rit hath &s;o far inlight|ned our mindes, and wrought upon our hearts, as to make us apprehend that we &s;ub|&s;i&s;t in God, and that to come near him by love is returning to our true being. And our only Soveraign good.</P>
<P>The love of the world being &s;o agree|able
<PB N="105" REF="63"> to my nature, and the love of God &s;o ne|ce&s;&s;ary both for my du|tie and happine&s;s. I wi&s;h &s;ometimes that I might love the world for Gods &s;ake, and with a degree of love far inferiour. But a|las, my heart is &s;o prone to be deceived by the flatterie of the amiable things of this world, that if I give leave to my heart to love the world for Gods &s;ake, I fear I &s;hall &s;oon come to love it for his own; and by loving it I &s;hall &s;oon come to tru&s;t in it, and
<PB N="106" REF="64"> repo&s;e upon it my hoper and joyes. So I &s;hall finde ere I be aware, that my love, my faith, my hope and my joy are pa&s;t from the Creatour to the crea|ture. And then where am I but in a gulf of mi&s;erie, fear and per|petual unquietne&s;s? For God leaveth tho&s;e that leave him, and in their nece&s;&s;ities turns them over to &s;eek de|liverance in tho&s;e things in which they have pla|ced their tru&s;t and af|fection.</P>
<P>O then how much do I need firmly to lay
<PB N="107" REF="64"> the two hands of love and faith upon my God, le&s;t I be drawn from him and he from me! What care mu&s;t I take that I &s;uffer not the world to pull with God for my heart! Le&s;t God in his jealou&s;ly give over pulling for a thing of &s;o &s;mall value; for all he will have or nothing, I cannot &s;erve God and Mammon. <HI>Matt.</HI> 6.24. For love, when it is come to the hight, is a &s;ervice and a captivitie of the &s;oul under the beloved ob|ject. I cannot &s;erve two ma&s;ters, e&s;pecially
<PB N="108" REF="65"> the&s;e two &s;o different that require &s;uch diffe|rent love and &s;ervice. To my God then, to him only I mu&s;t dedi|cate the &s;ervice of my love; a &s;ervice which giveth a perfect liber|tie. Whereas the &s;er|vice to the world is a mi&s;erable &s;ervitude, keeping the &s;oul in a continual &s;haking &s;u&s;|pence betwixt fear and hope. That love pro|mi&s;eth much and per|formeth little, idoli|zing a fal&s;e image of good which is of no u&s;e in the greate&s;t need. The redemption of a
<PB N="109" REF="65"> &s;oul is precious, too dear to be purcha&s;ed with all the goods of the world. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 49.9.</P>
<P>How little &s;atisfacti|on do all the goods of the world give! How hard are they to get, how trouble&s;ome to keep, how ea&s;ie to lo&s;e! And though they &s;hould never leave us, yet we mu&s;t leave them, and go out of the world naked as we came into it.</P>
<P>O how the love we bear unto the world is many times an evil coun&s;ellour, &s;welling
<PB N="110" REF="66"> the heart with pride, inflaming it with evil de&s;ires, making the minde run wilde with vanitie, and to compre|hend all evils in one, turning us away from God! God then on|ly, by the help of his good &s;pirit, I am re|&s;olved to love, and with-draw my affecti|ons from the world, con&s;idering it in its right u&s;e, as made to &s;erve me, not to be &s;er|ved by me. And the chief &s;ervice that I will put it to will be to &s;erve God.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="111" REF="66">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MY Lord and my God, the only good, and only wor|thy to be beloved with all the heart and &s;oul; I have &s;een enough of this world to learn that all is vanitie and vexa|tion of &s;pirit. Wealth is a burden, Honours are golden &s;etters, plea&s;ures are follies or crimes, the life of the world is a tragedie of a few dayes, and a con|tinual pageant. I have been near enough to that tumultuous noi&s;e and lu&s;tre without
<PB N="112" REF="67"> &s;ub&s;tance to know that it is not a worthy ob|ject of my love nor a firm ground for my hopes. And in&s;tead of finding there the comfort of the &s;oul and quietne&s;s of minde, I have found nothing but temptations and &s;orrows.</P>
<P>Yet Lord, as it is hard to walk upon the fire and not be burnt, I acknowledge that I have not lived in the world without a taint of his corruption. And I have too much lo|ved the world and the things that are in the
<PB N="113" REF="67"> world. I was almo&s;t in all evil, and &s;hould have &s;unk into it had not thy &s;pirit upheld me, and thy very rods helped me out.</P>
<P>Lord, where &s;hall I begin, either to prai&s;e thee for not abandon|ning me to the temp|tations of the world or to crave thy pardon for loving it too much? My God, I will do both together, I will prai&s;e thee with my humil|tie, and acknowledg|ing that in me abideth no good, I will al&s;o ac|knowledge that it is of thy great mercy
<PB N="114" REF="68"> that the love of the world hath not quencht the love of the Father in my heart. O how ea&s;ily the love of the world creeps into my carnal heart! How prone am I to be abu&s;ed by the deceitfulne&s;s of riches, whether I po&s;&s;e&s;s them or labour for them, or bewail the lo&s;s of them! How many times have I been diverted from thy &s;er|vice by dome&s;tical cares! How oft have I provoked thee to jea|lou&s;ie by loving tho&s;e very per&s;ons whom thou commande&s;t me
<PB N="115" REF="68"> to love, and made the mo&s;t lawful affections for the things of this world to become un|lawful by letting them run to exce&s;s? There being neither parents nor husband, nor wife nor children, who&s;e love do not become vi|cious, when to feed it &s;elf it with-drawes the love that is due unto thee. Many times, O Lord, I have &s;ought my content without thee, and placed my tru&s;t and my joy upon other things then thee.</P>
<P>But, O my God, as thou loved'&s;t me be|fore
<PB N="116" REF="69"> I loved thee, now be plea&s;ed to love me when I am defective in my love to thee. Blot out my &s;ins by thine eternal love in thy &s;on Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And the effect of that love which I chiefly crave at thy hands is, that it may plea&s;e thee to renew and increa&s;e my love to thee, &s;o that I properly love nothing but thee, and all things el&s;e which my dutie obligeth me to love, only for thy &s;ake, and in a degree &s;ubordinate to the love which I owe thee. Let me not
<PB N="117" REF="69"> &s;ettle mine affections and my hopes upon per|&s;ons and things, which it is impo&s;&s;ible for me to keep, and which mu&s;t leave me or I them.</P>
<P>Let me be built up|on the rock of thy love to me in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that when the windes blow, and the rain falls, and the floods come, I may &s;tand fa&s;t, while the &s;torm &s;hall beat others to ruin who are built upon the quick-&s;and of this un|&s;tayed and deceitful world. Lord, the fa&s;hi|on of this world pa&s;&s;eth
<PB N="118" REF="70"> away, and <HI>I</HI> mu&s;t pre|pare to remove from this hou&s;e of clay, my frail body. O give me grace before hand to remove my heart from the world and it, and &s;ettle it upon thee, and mine eternal man&s;ion with thee.</P>
<P>Let me not covet tho&s;e goods which thou give&s;t many times to thine enemies in great|ter mea&s;ure, which make not the po&s;&s;e&s;|ours better, but com|monly make them wor&s;e; that &s;well the minde with pride, and together beat it down
<PB N="119" REF="70"> with fears and cares; that give no &s;atisfacti|on to the minde, and no refuge again&s;t thine indignation. But let me be covetous of the true trea&s;ures that give a &s;olid content to the &s;oul, and follow the &s;oul to heaven when the bodie dieth. O Lord inrich my &s;oul with thy love and thy fear; Powre into me the riches of thy grace. Dwell in my heart by faith, for no le&s;s wealth then thy &s;elf do I ask, and I cannot be &s;atis|fied unle&s;s thou give thy &s;elf unto me. O
<PB N="120" REF="71"> my God thou art the portion of mine inhe|ritance. Thou art my &s;tock and my rent, mine eternal po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and mine only good. <HI>There be many that &s;ay, who will &s;hew us any good?</HI> But I will &s;ay, <HI>Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me.</HI> P&s;al. 4.6. Ea&s;e my minde of all earthly cares, which give a torment to no purpo&s;e, and give me the grace to &s;eek thy kingdome and thy righteou&s;ne&s;s, being &s;ure that all things &s;hall be added here|unto.
<PB N="121" REF="71"> And after all gifts, O my God, a|gain, I be&s;eech thee give thy &s;elf to me. As I for my part de&s;ire to re&s;igne my &s;elf whol|ly to thee as <HI>having no|thing in heaven but thee, and there being nothing on earth that I de&s;ire be&s;ides thee. Lord thou wilt lead me by thy coun|&s;el, and afterwards re|ceive me to glory. A|men.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="Saturday" TYPE="day">
<PB N="122" REF="72">
<HEAD>For SATURDAY.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="soliloquy">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>Matth. 26. Ver&s;e 39.</BIBL>
<P>&mdash; not as I will but as thou wilt.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<HEAD>Soliloquy.</HEAD>
<P>AS men are prone to tran&s;gre&s;s the will of Gods comman|dement, &s;o they are apt to controul the will of his decree, of which our Saviour Je&s;us &s;peaks here. We mea&s;ure the actions of Gods provi|dence with the ell of our intere&s;t, and of our blinde de&s;ire, which is to bring the
<PB N="123" REF="72"> rule under unruline&s;s, for the will of God is the rule of perfection, but the carnal will of man hath neither rule nor mea&s;ure. We let our de&s;ires loo&s;e, and flatter our &s;elves with hopes, before we know whether God will have it, and without pre|paring our &s;elves to pa|tience if he will not. We grieve to mi&s;s what we de&s;ired, and to meet with that we fea|red, becau&s;e in our projects we had made our reckoning without God: no wonder if we mu&s;t reckon twice.
<PB N="124" REF="73"> Many men if they dur&s;t utter their thoughts when events fall cro&s;s-grain to their de&s;ires, would invert the pra|yer of Chri&s;t, and &s;ay, <HI>Not as thou wilt, but as I will.</HI></P>
<P>The cau&s;e of this impatience is, that we have no good opinion of God. Fle&s;h and blood will not be per|&s;waded that God doth well when he &s;ends af|fliction, or that he is wi&s;e, or that he is good, or that he hath the power to work good out of evil. If the fle&s;h re&s;i&s;teth Gods will
<PB N="125" REF="73"> when God is teaching, &s;he will do it much more when he is &s;tri|king.</P>
<P><HI>I</HI> cannot give a good account to God of my obedience to this com|mand, the harde&s;t of all to keep, that we have no will but his will: and I confe&s;s with humilitie that my will did not bow under his as it &s;hould have done.</P>
<P>Alas! the wayes of God are not my wayes, and his thoughts are not my thoughts; he doeth good by evil. He advanceth his glo|ry
<PB N="126" REF="74"> and our good by means in all likelihood contrary. He affli|cteth his children to mend them. He brings them by the cro&s;s to glory. He &s;uffers inju&s;tice to tread upon his Church for the execution of his ju&s;tice, yea, for the &s;etting forth of his mercy in due time. For God pre&s;erveth tho&s;e whom he loveth, even by ad|ver&s;itie, as we are taught by David in this text of profound do|ctrine, <HI>ble&s;&s;ed is the man whom thou cha&s;tene&s;t, O Lord, and teache&s;t
<PB N="127" REF="74"> him out of thy law, that thou maye&s;t give him re&s;t from the dayes of adver|&s;itie until the pit be dig|ged for the wicked.</HI> P&s;al. 94.12 That wi&s;|dome is too high and wonderful for a &s;oul that liveth in the fle&s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">: and I hope that God will, rather in com|pa&s;&s;ion then anger, look upon the difficul|tie that my &s;oul findes &s;ometimes to bring my will under his.</P>
<P>To be proficient in that high task, I mu&s;t look to the pattern of all perfection, my Savi|our
<PB N="128" REF="75"> Je&s;us, the author and fini&s;her of my faith. Who being in his greate&s;t agonies bearing the burden of Gods wrath for the &s;ins of the whole world, and &s;weating out of an|gui&s;h drops of blood trickling down to the ground, yet even then ma&s;tered his mo&s;t ten|der and natural affecti|ons, and rejected his own will to embrace Gods will. He would &s;uffer, he would die, becau&s;e it was Gods will.</P>
<P>I will look upon the rea&s;on that bowed his
<PB N="129" REF="75"> will to yeeld &s;uch a free obedience to &s;uch a hard &s;entence: <HI>now &s;aid he, is my &s;oul trou|bled; and what &s;hall I &s;ay? Father, &s;ave me from this houre, but for this cau&s;e came I unto this houre. Father glo|rifie thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven &s;aying, I have both glorified it, and I will glorifie it again.</HI> John 12.27.</P>
<P>This was it that made him di&s;ge&s;t the bitter cup of Gods wrath; God therby was glorified. After that con&s;ideration he
<PB N="130" REF="76"> had no will for pre&s;er|ving his own life. Come &s;hame, torments, the whips, the nails, the cro&s;s, and death in the end; all is welcome if God be glorified.</P>
<P>The &s;ame rea&s;on I have to &s;ubject my will unto Gods will in all my cro&s;&s;es, whether God denie me what is mo&s;t plea&s;ing to me, or &s;end me what is mo&s;t &s;marting. I mu&s;t be a&s;&s;ured that God does nothing but for his glo|rie. And though I &s;ee it not, he &s;eeth it, and that mu&s;t content me. Now if God afflict me
<PB N="131" REF="76"> for his glorie, how can it be but for my good? For being one of his children, if my hea|venly Father be glori|fied I cannot but be happie: and he &s;hall bring forth my happi|ne&s;s by tho&s;e wayes which he likes be&s;t, according to his father|ly love and his Sove|raign wi&s;dom; unto which in &s;ilence and humilitie I &s;ubmit my will, and with confi|dence and joy commit my &s;elf, never to have any will but his.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="132" REF="77">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MY GOD and Fa|ther who among thy many mercies ha&s;t vi&s;ited me with thy rods, which I reckon al&s;o among thy mercies. I humbly confe&s;s that I did not make the right u&s;e of them, and did not bow my will as readily and freely as I &s;hould have done under thy holy will. I have de&s;ired certain things too eagerly, before I knew whether my de|&s;ires agreed with thy good plea&s;ure. And I have born with im|patience
<PB N="133" REF="77"> patience other things which were &s;ent to me by thy good plea&s;ure: whereas I &s;hould have &s;aid after thy &s;ervant David, <HI>I will be dumb and keep &s;ilence, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t done it. P&s;al.</HI> 39.9.</P>
<P>O Lord Je&s;u, who in thy greate&s;t agonies did&s;t &s;ay, <HI>Father not my will but thy will be done.</HI> Be plea&s;ed to ex|tend upon me the me|rit of that wonderful obedience which thou did&s;t yeeld to thy fa|ther in the&s;e words. For in that obedience con&s;i&s;teth the invaluable
<PB N="134" REF="78"> price of our redempti|on. O Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, ac|cept that obedience of infinite merit for &s;atis|faction for my &s;ins. Impute it to me as if I had yeelded it in mine own per&s;on; and ha|ving ju&s;tified me by his righteou&s;ne&s;s, be plea|&s;ed to reform me upon his example, &s;o that my will be &s;incerely &s;ub|jected to thy will as his was. Give me that grace that I may ever finde thy will good, plea&s;ant and perfect, printing this a&s;&s;urance in my heart by a lively
<PB N="135" REF="78"> faith, that thou love&s;t me more then I love my &s;elf; and that as thou art mo&s;t good thou art al&s;o mo&s;t wi&s;e, and never &s;ende&s;t afflictions to thy children but to turn them into ble&s;|&s;ings. Since it is the dutie of children to let them&s;elves be ruled by their parents, frame my heart, O my hea|venly father, to an entire and filial &s;ub|mi&s;&s;ion under thy wi&s;e and loving providence; &s;o that even when I feel the &s;mart of thy rods, I receive them with a meek and willing heart,
<PB N="136" REF="79"> acknowleding thy po|werful fatherly hand, and &s;aying with Heli, <HI>It is the Lord, let him do what &s;eemeth him good.</HI> 1 Sam. 5.18. This &s;ub|duing of nature is a work too hard for me, unle&s;s thy good &s;pirit work in me powerfully an impartial renoun|cing of my &s;elf, and a full re&s;ignation of all mine affections unto thy holie will.</P>
<P>O God, who com|mande&s;t them that want wi&s;dome to ask it of thee in faith, with a promi&s;e to give it, <HI>Jam.</HI> 1.9. give me faith
<PB N="137" REF="79"> to ask and to obtain &s;o much wi&s;dom of thee, that when thou &s;ende&s;t me trials unplea&s;ing to my nature, I <HI>behave and quiet my &s;elf as a child weaned of his mother,</HI> P&s;al. 131.2. taming my pa&s;&s;ion, yea, and &s;ilencing my rea&s;on, when thou calle&s;t me to bow under thy will. Make me capable of this heavenly doctrine, that when thy will is become our will, thy glorie al|&s;o is become our glorie, and thy goods our goods, and that we have all that thou ha&s;t when we will all that
<PB N="138" REF="80"> thou wilt. For O Lord thou belonge&s;t to them that are thine, and the way for us to be thine is to re&s;igne our &s;elves ab&s;olutely to thy will.</P>
<P>When &s;hall it be, O Lord, that no will &s;hall live within me but thy will, whether it be to obey thy commande|ments with readine&s;s, or to undergo thy de|crees with patience? And &s;ince the felicitie of Angels con&s;i&s;teth in the union of their wills with thine, I am cove|tous, O my God, of that Angelical felicitie. I be&s;eech thee make me
<PB N="139" REF="80"> conformable to them before I meet with them, at lea&s;t in this point, that my will be ever thy will, and that I have no intere&s;t but thine.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e this poor &s;oul of mine liveth as yet in the fle&s;h, and the fle&s;h is infirm; I be&s;eech thee, O mer|ciful. Father, <HI>let no temptation take me hut &s;uch as is common to man, for,</HI> O my God <HI>thou art faithful who wilt not &s;uffer me to be tempted above that I am able, but wilt with the temptation al&s;o make a|way
<PB N="140" REF="81"> to e&s;cape, that I may be able to bear it.</HI> 1 Cor. 10.3. It is my great and &s;erious de&s;ire to follow thy will in all things. O &s;end me no trial too hard for my will to follow thine. Never hide thy graci|ous face from me, and let thy will never be &s;o &s;evere towards me, that I lo&s;e the per&s;wa&s;ion of thy good will in thy &s;on Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>O God increa&s;e my faith. <HI>Let neither death, nor life, nor tribulation, nor di&s;tre&s;s,</HI> nor temp|tation, nor per&s;ecuti|on <HI>be able to &s;eparate me
<PB N="141" REF="81"> from that love of thine in Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord. Amen.</HI> Rom. 8.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="Sunday" TYPE="day">
<PB N="142" REF="82">
<DIV4 N="morning" TYPE="time">
<HEAD>For the LORDS DAY Morning.</HEAD>
<DIV5 TYPE="soliloquy">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>P&s;al. 31. Ver&s;e 23.</BIBL>
<P>O love the Lord all ye his Saints <HI>[otherwi&s;e]</HI> his beloved.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>WAs there ever a more rea&s;o|nable de&s;ire, that tho&s;e whom God loveth &s;hould love him again? For &s;o many ble&s;&s;ings which God &s;ends down in great &s;howres upon them, can they do le&s;s then &s;end up to him the Vapours of their holie affections and thanks?
<PB N="143" REF="82"> Truly it was by him that love began. <HI>Here|in is love, not that we loved him, but that he lo|ved us.</HI> Yea, <HI>we love him, becau&s;e he fir&s;t loved us.</HI> 1 Joh. 4 10. And the chiefe&s;t effect of his love to me is the grace that he giveth me to love him. O if love re|quires love, and if be|nefits demand thankful|ne&s;s, what love, what thankfulne&s;s do I owe to my God in whom I have both my being and well being?</P>
<P>But as the Sun makes us lo&s;e the &s;ight of the Stars, there is an effect
<PB N="144" REF="83"> of his love which &s;eems to &s;wallow all the other effects, and by its great light drawes upon it|&s;elf alone the eyes of the devout &s;oul. And that is the &s;ending of the &s;on of God for our redemption. <HI>For God hath &s;o loved the world, that he &s;ent his only &s;on into the world, that who|&s;oever beleeveth on him &s;hould not peri&s;h but have everla&s;ting life.</HI> Joh. 3.16. O unfathomable depth of the love of God! Love &s;tronger then death! death of the &s;on of God that gives us life! Happie is
<PB N="145" REF="83"> he that can dive inro that gulf of mercy. Not to finde the bot|tom, for it hath none, but to lo&s;e him&s;elf in it with love and admira|tion. But it is a com|fort to me in this tem|poral condition where rea&s;on is &s;hort-&s;ighted and cannot reach to the height of the know|ledge of God, that it is po&s;&s;ible for me to love more then I know. And without compre|hending his mi&s;teries I may rejoyce in his love. Prai&s;ed be God that I know enough of him to love him,
<PB N="146" REF="84"> though I &s;hould know no more of him but that he loveth me.</P>
<P>Then that I may per|fectly love him, I will take for my pattern the perfect love that he bears to me. He loved me and elected me in Chri&s;t before the foun|dation of the world. As his love is eternal, mine mu&s;t be perpetual, and partake of the per|petuity of its object and original. He loved me freely and without hope of profit, for though he fetch glory out of his mercy to me, he could have glory
<PB N="147" REF="84"> enough without it. And he could fetch glo|ry out of his ju&s;tice, if he had cho&s;en rather to condemn me. My love to him then mu&s;t be altogether free; I mu&s;t not love him with a mercenary love only, for mine own utilitie, but purely and &s;imply, becau&s;e he is good to me, good in him&s;elf, and the prime perfecti|on. And becau&s;e it is the dutie of the crea|ture to love the Crea|tor, and of the redeem|ed to love the Redee|mer.</P>
<P>He hath loved me
<PB N="148" REF="85"> with a &s;ingular love, for Chri&s;t hath taken as much labour to re|deem me as if he had none but me to redeem. It is not by the great, it is in particular and by vertue of a &s;ingular e|lection that I am re|deemed. And I may fay after S^t. Paul that <HI>God loved me and gave him&s;elf for me.</HI> Gal. 2.20. Be&s;ides, his love guideth and tendeth me as carefully in all my wayes, yea in all my &s;teps, as if he had none but me to tend in all the world, I mu&s;t then for that &s;ingular love
<PB N="149" REF="85"> return him a love alto|gether &s;ingular. I mu&s;t love nothing properly but him, all other things in him and for him, nothing out of him. He loved me &s;o much as to die for me, I mu&s;t al&s;o love him more then my life. He loved me as his Spou&s;e, I mu&s;t al&s;o love him as my husband, but a husband to whom I owe my life and my &s;elf; a husband that married me with eter|nal compa&s;&s;ions, when I was by nature his e|nemie; and marrying me he endowed me
<PB N="150" REF="86"> with his own king|dome.</P>
<P>How it grieves me that I have nothing to bring to a husband &s;o great and &s;o good! For what can I bring to him in marriage &s;ince he hath given me what I have, and made me what I am? What then? Shall I bring him nothing? Yes tru|ly; I will bring him my heart, I will give him my love. For though I hold from him my heart and the grace to love him, yet it is a gift of mine when I pre&s;ent it to him, be|cau&s;e
<PB N="151" REF="86"> I pre&s;ent it freely. Be the di&s;parity never &s;o great between the Creator and the crea|ture, I may give him love for love: the e|ternal God that loveth me, payeth him&s;elf with the love of his little &s;ervant.</P>
<P><HI>I will put him as a &s;eal upon my heart.</HI> Cant. 8.6. I will keep him fa&s;t and clo&s;e to my heart, that my heart may take the print of him and never lo&s;e his ble&s;&s;ed figure. He is &s;o good that he defends me even when I offend him, I will be
<PB N="152" REF="87"> &s;o good as to love him even when he &s;trikes me. He keeps near me when I turn away from him, I mu&s;t keep neer him even when he &s;eems to hide his face from me. God pati|ently expects my re|pentance, I will pati|ently epect his delive|rance. <HI>He loved his own unto the end,</HI> Joh. 13.1. <HI>and he &s;tayes with them alwayes, unto the end of the world,</HI> Mat. 28.20. and beyond, even to eternitie. His love to me hath no end, no mea&s;ure, no inter|mi&s;&s;ion; O that my
<PB N="153" REF="87"> heart were towards him as his is towards me! O that I could love him to the end, yea without end, and that the world and the fle&s;h &s;hould make no intermi&s;&s;ion in my love! O that I could rai&s;e my love to &s;uch a high de|gree, and there keep, that <HI>many waters could not quench that love, nei|ther could, the floods drown it.</HI> Cant. 8.7. But to that end I mu&s;t crave the help of his holy &s;pirit.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="154" REF="88">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O My God my mo&s;t gracious Father, who ha&s;t loved me from all eternitie, and wilt yet love me to all eter|nitie, I am too little to comprehend the greatne&s;s of thy com|pa&s;&s;ions, and the excel|lencie of thy promi&s;es to me. O Lord how excellent is thy loving kindne&s;s! <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 36. Thou ha&s;t not only made me after thy like|ne&s;s, fed me with thy bountie, and pre&s;erved me by thy providence, but thou ha&s;t not been
<PB N="155" REF="88"> &s;paring of thine own &s;on, and thy &s;on hath not been &s;paring of his own life to redeem me from death, and give me the inheritance of thy kingdome. <HI>O the depth of the riches both of thy wi&s;dome and mer|cy!</HI> O incomprehen|&s;ible goodne&s;s! O in|finite love! What &s;hall I render thee for the ine&s;timable trea&s;ures of thy grace? But even this belongs to the in|finitie of thy love, that thou accepte&s;t the love of thy little creature in exchange of thine in|finite love. Come
<PB N="156" REF="89"> then, let me love thee, let me ble&s;s thee, O my God, <HI>who for give&s;t all mine iniquities, who heale&s;t all my di&s;ea&s;es; who redeeme&s;t my life from de&s;truction, who crowne&s;t me with loving kindne&s;s and tender mer|cies, who &s;atisfie&s;t my mouth with good things.</HI> P&s;al. 103.3. O my Sa|viour Je&s;u, who for my &s;ake had&s;t thy hands and feet pierced with nails, and thy &s;ide launcht with a &s;pear, be plea&s;ed to make a whol&s;ome wound in my brea&s;t with the point of thy love. For
<PB N="157" REF="89"> as by thy light we &s;ee light, &s;o by thy &s;er|vent love to us, we are inflamed with love to thee.</P>
<P>O thou the fir&s;t beua|tie, the fir&s;t goodne&s;s, who only de&s;erve&s;t that I make an incen&s;e of my affections unto thee with the fire of love; I de&s;ire to know thy perfections better, that I may love them better. I de&s;ire to love thee with all my heart, and with all mine un|der&s;tanding, and more yet with my heart, be|cau&s;e it is more capable to embrace thee then
<PB N="158" REF="90"> mine under&s;tanding to know thee. Lord how I e&s;teem the cele&s;tial glory, becau&s;e there the &s;oul knowes thee and loves thee perfect|ly! And how the world and mine own fle&s;h di&s;plea&s;e me, be|cau&s;e they make me in|capable to know and love thee as much as I de&s;ire! But although I feel my &s;elf full of imperfection, <HI>yet the de&s;ire of my &s;oul is to thy name O Lord, and to the remembrance of thee. With my &s;oul have I de|&s;ired thee in the night, yea, with my &s;pirit with|in
<PB N="159" REF="90"> me will I &s;eek thee early.</HI> I&s;a. 26.8. I will &s;eek thee, O Lord, but I have need that thou &s;eek me and finde me, and bring me thy &s;elf to thee, and put far from me all things and all de&s;ires that make me go a&s;tray from thee.</P>
<P>My God, becau&s;e I love thee, I de&s;ire to plea&s;e thee, and that I may plea&s;e thee I de|&s;ire to be like unto thee. O great Bride|groom of my &s;oul when wilt thou make me like unto thee that I may be all hand&s;ome, and a fit Bride for thee? When
<PB N="160" REF="91"> &s;hall I be clad all about, all over, with <HI>the new man which after God is created in righteou&s;ne&s;s and true holine&s;s!</HI> Ephe. 4.24. How am|bitious am I to be deckt with the precious je|wels of faith, chari|tie, zeal, the <HI>ornament of a meek and quiet &s;pi|rit which before thee is of great price,</HI> 1 Pet. 3.4. <HI>and above all with thy love which is the bond of perfectne&s;s,</HI> Col. 3.14. that the&s;e Chri&s;tian vertues be <HI>an ornament of grace unto my head and chaines a|bout my neck.</HI> Pro. 1.9.
<PB N="161" REF="91"> Lord thou ha&s;t a|dorned me with the imputation of thy per|fect righteou&s;ne&s;s, my glorious wedding gown, whereby I do appear before God thy father and mine all righteous and all per|fect. <HI>I will greatly re|joyce in the Lord, my &s;oul &s;hall be joyful in my God, for he hath cloa|thed me with the gar|ments of &s;alvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteou&s;ne&s;s, as a Bridegroom decketh him&s;elf with ornament, and as a Bride adorneth her&s;elf with her jewels.</HI>
<PB N="162" REF="92"> I&s;a. 61.10.</P>
<P>O Chri&s;t who ha&s;t already made me fine with the jewels of thy merit, be plea&s;ed to adde unto them tho&s;e of thy &s;pirit, that thy righte|ou&s;ne&s;s &s;erve not only to ju&s;tifie me, but much more to &s;anctifie me. For I &s;hall never be a Spou&s;e hand&s;ome enough for &s;uch a per|fect Bridegroom till thy vertues pa&s;s unto and into me, and change me into thy likene&s;s by the opera|tion of thy powerfull &s;pirit, the chief effect thereof being a fervent
<PB N="163" REF="92"> love expre&s;t in a &s;eri|ous imitation. O Lord, <HI>thy banner over me is love,</HI> Cant. 2.4. my wedding livery is love. With that livery I ex|pect to be led by thee into the wedding cham|ber. O in that expe|ctation let love produce his be&s;t effect in me, which is to change the per&s;on loving into the beloved, &s;o that I may truly &s;ay, <HI>I am cruci|fied with Chri&s;t, never|thele&s;s I live, yet not I, but Chri&s;t liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the fle&s;h I live <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> the faith of the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">
<PB N="164" REF="93"> God, who loved me and gave him&s;elf for me.</HI> Gal. 2.20. I look for an eternal habitation to live with thee and live by thy life. But it is to long for me to ex|pect till thou bring me into that wedding room. I have a wed|ding room for thee in my heart, not &s;o well furni&s;ht as I could wi&s;h to receive &s;uch a great gue&s;t, but come Lord and bring thy furniture of grace a long with thee. That hou&s;e can|not want accomodation &s;pi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters"> is graced by thy there<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ce. O Lord <HI>be
<PB N="165" REF="93"> thou in me and I in thee, as thou Father art in the Son, and thou Son in the Father, that I al&s;o may be one with you,</HI> John 17. by the holy Gho&s;t the &s;pirit and bond of love. And to you three per&s;ons and one God be glory for ever|more. Amen.</P>
</DIV5>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 N="evening" TYPE="time">
<PB N="166" REF="94">
<HEAD>For the LORDS DAY Evening.</HEAD>
<DIV5 TYPE="soliloquy">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>Joh. 14. Ver&s;. 23.</BIBL>
<P>If a man love me he &s;hall keep my word.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>HOw ordinary it is to hear Gods word, and how rare to keep it! And how &s;imply will men per|&s;wade them&s;elves that they love God, when they take no care to plea&s;e him! They love God as they do their hor&s;es, for their u&s;e, which is not loving God but them&s;elves.
<PB N="167" REF="94"> He that will love God and not keep his word doth as a wife married to a worthy husband, to whom &s;he &s;hould &s;ay, I will love you for my plea&s;ure and profit, but out of that I will do nothing that you require of me. How near this compa|ri&s;on comes to me who&s;e &s;oul is betro|thed to my Saviour Je|&s;us who loved me and gave him&s;elf for me, and hath &s;igned the con|tract of marriage with his own blood? For it is too true that my love to him hath more
<PB N="168" REF="95"> re&s;pected my benefit then my dutie.</P>
<P>I have often prote|&s;ted that I loved him. Now he puts my love to the trial, <HI>If you love me keep my commande|ments. If a man love me he &s;hall keep my words.</HI> Joh. 14, 15. He will have love from his Spou&s;e (and &s;uch is every Chri&s;tian &s;oul) but it is according to the lawes of matrimo|ny <HI>to love, to cheri&s;h, and to obey.</HI> It is the le&s;&s;on made to that roy|al Bride, which repre|&s;ents both the Church of the fir&s;t born which
<PB N="169" REF="95"> are written in heaven, and every good &s;oul. <HI>Forget thine own people and thy fathers hou&s;e, &s;o &s;hall the King great|ly de&s;ire thy beautie, for he is thy Lord, and wor|&s;hip thou him.</HI> P&s;a. 45.10. That I may con&s;e|crate my &s;elf to the love of that King and Bridegroom of my &s;oul he will have me to for|get my carnal intere&s;&s;es. He greatly de&s;ireth and delighteth in that beau|tie which him&s;elf hath given me, his renewed image con&s;i&s;ting in his knowledge and love, and faith in his promi|&s;es.
<PB N="170" REF="96"> But unle&s;s I wor|&s;hip him, humbly bowing and &s;ubjecting all mine affections un|to his word and plea|&s;ure, I have not that beautie which he de&s;i|reth and delighteth in, and I deceive my &s;elf with a fal&s;e per&s;wa&s;ion that I love him. For how can I love his per|&s;on without loving his plea&s;ure? And how can I make a &s;eparation between him and his will &s;ince his will is him&s;elf?</P>
<P>My &s;oul be thou to thy God and husband a loving and obedient
<PB N="171" REF="96"> wife, let his word be precious to thee, learn it. cheri&s;h it, keep it. It is more de&s;irable then gold, and &s;weeter then hony. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 19.10. It is that heavenly wi&s;|dom who&s;e <HI>wayes are wayes of plea&s;antne&s;s, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her, and happie is every one that retains her.</HI> Pro. 3.17.</P>
<P>But what is it to lay hold upon her, it is to profe&s;s the truth? What is it to retain her, it is to argue about re|ligion in di&s;pute? Sure
<PB N="172" REF="97"> there goes more to that dutie. It is to main|tain the excellency of it by practi&s;e. <HI>Pure re|ligion and undefiled be|fore God and the father is this, to vi&s;it the father|le&s;s and widdowes in their affliction, and to keep him&s;elf un&s;potted from the world.</HI> Jam. 1.27. The love that God expects of me mu&s;t be &s;hewed to his com|mandements, &s;o that I may &s;ay with David, <HI>my &s;oul hath kept thy te&s;timonies and I love them exceedingly.</HI> P&s;al. 119.167.</P>
<P>That I may love God
<PB N="173" REF="97"> as I ought, I mu&s;t love all that he loveth. <HI>He loveth righteou&s;ne&s;s and judgement,</HI> P&s;al. 33.5. I will then give to all their right, begin|ning by him&s;elf, pay|ing the love, the faith, the reverence, and the obedience to him due. Next I will give to my neighbours their right, being &s;incere in my words, faithful in my promi&s;es, ju&s;t in my conver&s;ation, po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ing nothing but what is ju&s;tly mine, accoun|ting the unju&s;t gain to be a lo&s;s and a cur&s;e. <HI>God de&s;pi&s;eth not the &s;a|crifice
<PB N="174" REF="98"> of a broken and a contrite heart.</HI> P&s;al. 51.17. David calls it the &s;acrifice of God. I will then endeavour to break my heart with contrition, of which I have but too much cau&s;e, and make it a fit &s;acrifice for him.</P>
<P>I am commanded to <HI>do good and communi|cate, for with &s;uch &s;a|cri&s;ices God is well plea|&s;ed.</HI> Heb. 13.16. And I am taught that <HI>God loveth a cheerful giver.</HI> 2 Cor 9.7. I will then chearfully offer unto God tho&s;e &s;acrifices of beneficence which he
<PB N="175" REF="98"> loveth. And &s;ince I can do no good to my Saviour that does me &s;o much good. I will do good to his Di&s;ciples.</P>
<P>God loveth the meek, and it was to them that Chri&s;t came to preach good tidings. Since he loveth them &s;o much, I will love them al&s;o, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 61.1. and I will endeavour to be meek that he may love me. In the&s;e and in all things el&s;e I will en|deavour to keep his word, becau&s;e I love him that gave it me to keep, and becau&s;e his will is my delight. O
<PB N="176" REF="99"> when &s;hall that happie day come, when I &s;hall perfectly keep Gods word, becau&s;e I &s;hall perfectly love him? When &s;hall I live far from tho&s;e that keep not his word, becau&s;e they do not love him, and &s;educe or offend or interrupt them that would keep it! When &s;hall I live with the life of the Saints and ble&s;&s;ed, that finde all their plea&s;ure in loving and &s;erving God, and know no difference between their dutie and their delight!</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="177" REF="99">
<HEAD>PRAPER.</HEAD>
<P>O God Almightie and all good, when I con&s;ider that thou <HI>make&s;t the windes thine Angels, and the flames of fire thy Mini|&s;ters, and that fire and haile, &s;now, Vapour, and &s;tormy winde are fulfilling thy word,</HI> P&s;al. 148. I wonder that things incapable to love thee &s;hould inviolably keep thy word, and that no creatures &s;hould decline to obey it, but tho&s;e whom thou ha&s;t indowed in their crea|tion with a capacitie to
<PB N="178" REF="100"> know and love thee. Lord, what a &s;hame is this to me, that <HI>I</HI> &s;houl be overcome in readine&s;s of obedience by tho&s;e creatures that know not their obliga|tion to obey thee! Yet, O my God, that knowe&s;t all things, thou knowe&s;t that I love thee, which is more then they do. But it is clear that I love thee not enough &s;ince I do not obey thee as readily out of love and rea&s;on as other creatures do without either, out of a meer in&s;tinct of nature. My
<PB N="179" REF="100"> God I humbly crave thy pardon for that want of obedience, and for my want of love which is the cau&s;e of it, O Father of mercies co|ver that &s;hortne&s;s of love with the infinitie of thine. Enter not into judgement with me for being &s;o cold to love thee, &s;o &s;low to &s;erve thee, &s;o carele&s;s to hear and keep thy word. I cannot tell the number of the acts of my di&s;obedience a|gain&s;t thy word, nor &s;ufficiently comprehend the greatne&s;s of thy <HI>mercy which is in the
<PB N="180" REF="101"> heavens, and of thy faithfulne&s;s reaching unto the clouds.</HI> O Lord &s;ince thy heavenly mercie is &s;o great as to promi&s;e remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins to all that would have their recour&s;e un|to thee by the merit and interce&s;&s;ion of thy Son, thy faithfulne&s;s al&s;o &s;hall be &s;o great as to fulfil thy promi&s;e to me thy &s;inful &s;ervant, who now embrace by faith the merit of thy beloved &s;on, and im|plore the benefit of his gracious interce&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>And that hereafter I may &s;o love thee that I
<PB N="181" REF="101"> may keep thy word, give me grace by the operation of thy &s;pirit to learn of that holy word how I may love thee. Let me love thy word with a fervent heart. Let me come to it with a holy appe|tite, as thy Prophet, <HI>Who found thy words and did eat them, and thy word was unto him the joy and rejoycing of his heart.</HI> Jer. 15.16. Let it be to me <HI>quick &amp; powerful, &amp; &s;harper then any two edged &s;word.</HI> Heb. 4.12. Let me &s;en|&s;ibly finde it <HI>profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
<PB N="182" REF="102"> for correction, for in|&s;truction in righteou&s;|ne&s;s, till I may be per|fect thoroughly furni&s;h|ed unto all good works.</HI> 2. Tim. 3.16. Be plea|&s;ed to make me diligent in good works, zea|lous for thy glory, and charitable to my neigh|bours. Let me <HI>not love them in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.</HI> Iam. 3.18. <HI>Let me &s;et mine affecti|ons on things above not on things on the earth.</HI> Col. 3.2. Let not my heart be &s;et upon the world which I mu&s;t leave, but upon thee
<PB N="183" REF="102"> my permanent po&s;&s;e&s;&s;i|on. Let my brea&s;t be a Sanctuary, where the incen&s;e of my holy affections a&s;cend to thee continually, and where thy &s;elf be plea&s;ed to dwell, fitting between faith and love as it were between the Cheru|bims. Let thy will e|ver be my rule, thy fear my guide, thy wi&s;dom my councel|lour, and thy promi|&s;es my comfort. <HI>Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy &s;ight O Lord my &s;trength and my redee|mer.</HI>
<PB N="184" REF="103"> P&s;al. 19.14. <HI>Let me be blamele&s;s and harmle&s;s, the child of God, without rebuke, in the mid&s;t of a crooked and perver&s;e nation, a|mong whom I may &s;hine as a light in the world.</HI> Phil. 2.15.</P>
<P>O Lord open the eyes and turn the hearts of tho&s;e that love thee not and keep not thy word. Sanctifie them that know thee, and in who&s;e hearts thou ha&s;t already kindled &s;ome &s;parks of thy love. Deliver thy Church re|deemed with thy blood from here&s;ies, &s;chi&s;mes,
<PB N="185" REF="103"> and &s;candals. And &s;ince &s;he is thy Spou&s;e let her be <HI>pre&s;ented unto thee as a cha&s;t Virgin, having neither &s;pot nor wrinkle.</HI> Ephe. 5.27. And let my &s;oul which is al&s;o thy Spou&s;e be &s;o pre&s;ented before thee. Strengthen by thy &s;pi|rit thy children to&s;&s;ed between per&s;ecutions and temptations, and perfect thy vertue in their weakne&s;s. Wipe off the foul a&s;per&s;ions ca&s;t upon thy Go&s;pel, and let not the &s;ins of the profe&s;&s;ours thereof be imputed unto the holy truth which they
<PB N="186" REF="104"> profe&s;s. O let thy truth &s;hine as the light and thy righteou&s;ne&s;s as the noon day. Rai&s;e again the walls of thy decayed Jeru&s;alem. O great and jealous God &s;tir up thy jealou&s;ie and the bowels of thy mer|cies. Suffer not for e|ver thy name to be bla&s;phemed, and thy redeemed children to be expo&s;ed to the rage of the world and the De|vil. God of peace <HI>brui&s;e Satan under our feet &s;hortly.</HI> Rom. 16.20. <HI>Lord Je&s;u come quickly,</HI> Reve. 22. ha|&s;ten the fulfilling of thy
<PB N="187" REF="104"> kingdome. Begin now thy kingdome within us, delivering us from the bondage of &s;in, who&s;e yoak is a thou, &s;and times heavier to them that love thee in truth, then that of all the tyrants and per&s;e|cutors. O Lord if we be holy we cannot be mi&s;erable, and if we love thee we cannot be beaten down by the ha|tred of the world. O let me ever a&s;pire to tho&s;e eternal taber|nacles where they are in a &s;overaigne happi|ne&s;s, becau&s;e they are filled with a &s;overaign
<PB N="188" REF="105"> love of thee. Endue me with vertue to fight the good fight, the remnant of the daies of my vanitie, with a firm expectation that I &s;hall &s;hortly and for ever enjoy thy great peace, and that victo|rie into which death was &s;wallowed up by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to whom with thee and the holie Gho&s;t be glo|rie for evermore. A|men.</P>
</DIV5>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="soliloquy">
<PB N="189" REF="105">
<HEAD>A PREPARATORY Meditation for all &s;orts of Prayers.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>Eccle&s;. 5. Ver&s;e 2.</BIBL>
<P>Be not ra&s;h with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be ha&s;tie to utter any thing before God, for God is in heaven and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>HA&s;tine&s;s is the mo|ther of confu&s;ion in all things, and in prayer more then in a|ny. Thereby the re|proach comes upon us
<PB N="190" REF="106"> which we make to them that pray in an un|known tongue, that they know not what they &s;ay. But it is no wonder that we pray &s;o often not thinking what we &s;ay&punc; &s;ince we commonly begin our prayer without think|ing before what we are, who is he that we mu&s;t &s;peak to, and what we have to &s;ay to him.</P>
<P>Many actions of our life have no need to be thought upon but when we take them in hand, by rea&s;on of their fa|cilitie, and becau&s;e the per&s;ons and things that
<PB N="191" REF="106"> we have to do with are equal or inferiour to us. Prayer is not in that rank, there being no|thing of greater diffi|cultie then to fix our minde (that liveth in the fle&s;h and perceiveth nothing but by the &s;en|&s;es) upon God whom no man hath &s;een at any time, and who is alto|gether &s;piritual and im|material. And there being no inequalitie like that between the Creator infinite and mo&s;t holy, and the creature finite and &s;in|ful.</P>
<P>Truly when we con|&s;ider
<PB N="192" REF="107"> what God is and what we are, that make bold to addre&s;s our &s;elves to him. Wee have great rea&s;on to think both on him and us before we open our mouth, he is the Lord, the incomprehen&s;ible the mo&s;t holy, the mo&s;t ju&s;t, the father of lights <HI>before whom the very Stars are not pure.</HI> Job. 25.5. He created heaven and earth with his bare word, and with one word he may bring them to nothing. He governs all, he di&s;po|&s;eth of all, the clo&s;e&s;t
<PB N="193" REF="107"> hearts are open in his &s;ight, and he doth not hold the &s;inner guiltle&s;s. He that in his prayer hath his mind gadding abroad, as he hath no rea&s;on to expect of Gods facility, that he give him what he asketh when his mind goes not along with his tongue; So he hath no rea&s;on to be free of the feare of his ju&s;tice, vainely hoping that God will take no notice of that he &s;aid, becau&s;e him&s;elfe did not think of it. Though it were to be wi&s;ht for many that in their prayers
<PB N="194" REF="108"> God would think no more of them then they think on him.</P>
<P>And if from God in Heaven we turn our eyes upon our &s;elves that are on earth, poor, weak, guilty things in his pre&s;ence, that can|not &s;ub&s;i&s;t one moment without him, O what humility, what rever|ence, what feare and trembling &s;hould &s;eize on us when we ap|proach, we &s;o little, to him that is &s;o great! What pain ought we to take to fix our thoughts upon him, and keep them from their
<PB N="195" REF="108"> ordinary wanderings! What adoration ought we to render to that magnificent Maje&s;ty, that inacce&s;&s;ible light, that Supream Holines, that Soveraign Ju&s;tice, that infinite bounty I Could the thought of the&s;e Attributes of the Godhead enter deep into our minds, and there &s;tay, then a de|vout re&s;pect would &s;tay our attention in our prayers. We &s;hould be humble and contrite in the confe&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins, full of faith in cra|ving pardon through Je&s;us Chri&s;t, fervent
<PB N="196" REF="109"> and &s;incere in praying for our conver&s;ion and &s;anctification, carne&s;t and zealous in praying for the advancement of Gods glory and the good of his Church. Prayers begun with a holy trembling would grow by &s;peaking with God to confidence and familiarity; and would end in joy and com|fort! And God would graciou&s;ly grant our petitions, for <HI>the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Iam.</HI> 5.16.</P>
<P>There is a general and
<PB N="197" REF="109"> perpetual preparation for prayer, which is holines of life, for it is le&s;&s;e difficult to elevate our affections unto God in prayer, and fix them upon him, when they have bin trained to that duty in the mid&s;t of temporall bu&s;ine&s;&s;es. He that alwayes walkes as in the pre&s;ence of God, looking to his way that he may plea&s;e him in all his conver|&s;ation, &s;hall ea&s;ily find the way to heaven when he &s;ets him&s;elfe to pray. For the im|mediate cau&s;es of the wandering of our
<PB N="198" REF="110"> thoughts and the de|boi&s;h in our affections in our prayers are the next preceding &s;innes. The con&s;cience, being removed &s;ome &s;teps from God, finds that God hath removed as many &s;teps from her, and that there is a bar|ricado made between God and the &s;oule, which &s;tops the pa&s;&s;age of prayer to heaven.</P>
<P>There is a particular preparation for the time of prayer, which is to take lei&s;ure to view the &s;tate of our con&s;cience. And if companies or &s;ports or
<PB N="199" REF="110"> bu&s;ine&s;&s;e or cro&s;&s;es have cau&s;ed &s;ome agitation in our mind, we mu&s;t labour to &s;ettle that emotion, that we may bring a tranquill &s;oule to Gods &s;ervice.</P>
<P>E&s;pecially we mu&s;t examin whether we have lately added any thing to the &s;core of our &s;innes, that we may mend it by a new repentance.</P>
<P>God and the world are &s;o fare a&s;under, that it is almo&s;t impo&s;&s;ible to pa&s;&s;e from the one to the other &s;uddenly. And the mind be&s;ieged with worldly thoughts
<PB N="200" REF="111"> and objects, hath need to make a vigorous &s;allie to rai&s;e that Siege, before it can have its way free to God.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t imitate <HI>Abraham,</HI> who going up to the Mount of Sacrifice left his Ser|vants and his A&s;&s;e at the foote of the Moun|taine. For before we begin our prayer which is our Sacrifice to God, and before we mount up heaven-wards&punc; with our thoughts and our hearts, we mu&s;t leave below all that is &s;ervile and bruti&s;h in our affections or imaginati|ons,
<PB N="201" REF="111"> forbidding the cares of this world, yea the mo&s;t lawfull, to follow us when the duty of prayer calls us to draw neere God.</P>
<P>Al&s;o let us take &s;ome time to acknowledge our infinite obligation to Gods bounty, and with what ungrateful|ne&s;s we have repayed his benefits. Let us think of his Ju&s;tice which hath terrible judgements ready again&s;t &s;inners. Let us think of his mercy that acquits us, when we pre&s;ent unto him the merit of his beloved
<PB N="202" REF="112"> Sonne by Faith. Let us think on the holines of his divine E&s;&s;ence, and the righteou&s;ne&s;s of his lawes, which we mu&s;t re&s;olve to keep carefully, and to crave the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of his Spirit to that effect. Let us think on the excellency of his pro|mi&s;es, and his Fatherly care of tho&s;e that love and feare him. Let us think on his glory which above all things we mu&s;t aske of God.</P>
<P>Having thus our minds full of God and our duty, let us pre&s;ent our &s;elves to him with
<PB N="203" REF="112"> the di&s;po&s;itions of re|verence, humility, faith, and zeale. And becau&s;e God is pure and &s;imple, let us u&s;e &s;implicity, and few words in our prayers. <HI>In the multi|tude of words there are divers vanities, but fear thou God, &s;aith</HI> the Royal Preacher: <HI>Eccl.</HI> 5. Teaching us, that if after that warning of human frailty, we u&s;e many words in our prayer, we &s;hew want of the fear of God, ven|turing thus boldly to tell him many vanities among many words.</P>
<P>In long di&s;cour&s;es,
<PB N="204" REF="113"> even of things of the world, both the hearer and the &s;peaker will &s;lacken their attention, like a bow too long bent. Much more in di&s;cour&s;es of divine things, which want the natural and &s;en&s;ible helpes for attention.</P>
<P>The Lord that com|mands us to pray to him be plea&s;ed to frame in our hearts &s;uch prayers as may be ac|ceptable unto him, even for his Sonnes &s;ake, and by the vertue of his <HI>Spirit helping our in|firmities, for we know not what we &s;hould pray
<PB N="205" REF="113"> for as we ought, but the Spirit him&s;elf makes interce&s;&s;ion for us, with groanings which cannot he vttered. Rom.</HI> 8.26. Yea Lord give us the Spirit of &s;upplication. Give us grace to ask what thou comman|de&s;t, and then we can|not mi&s;&s;e to obtain what we demand.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="preparation">
<PB N="206" REF="114">
<HEAD>PREPARATION for the Holy Communion.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="soliloquy">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>1 Cor. 11. ver. 24.</BIBL>
<P>This do in remembrance of me.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<HEAD>Soliloquy.</HEAD>
<P>I Have great rea&s;on indeed to remember him that remembred me in his great agonies, and to do what he bids me to do in remem|brance of him, &s;ince he forgot his own pre&s;er|vation
<PB N="207" REF="114"> to remember mine. It is too little for me now to con&s;ider his authority which obligeth me to do this. I will &s;tay upon his love. In what ca&s;e was he when he celebrated this Sacrament of his body and blood, and commanded his Di&s;ci|ples (of whom I am one) to do this in re|membrance of him?</P>
<P>Alas! it was the la&s;t night before his mo&s;t bitter Pa&s;&s;ion, and he had then in his &s;oul that horrible agonie which about and hour after made him &s;weat
<PB N="208" REF="115"> great drops of blood trickling down to the ground. And it was for us his Di&s;ciples that he felt that agonie. It was for us that he was going to put his neck under the heavy burden of the Cro&s;&s;e. Of which that we might ever be &s;en&s;ible, he left to us in his la&s;t words a perpetual remembrance of the end and of the benefit of his death and of his love to us. He ble&s;&s;eth the bread and the cup, calleth them his body and blood, repre&s;ents to us under this bread broken the
<PB N="209" REF="115"> &s;ufferings of his body, under this wine powred into the cup the &s;hed|ding of his blood; gives us together the &s;igne and the thing &s;ignified, making all faithful communicants as truly partakers of the benefit of his &s;ufferings, as if they had borne them in their owne per&s;ons; feeds them with that my&s;tical meat and drink to &s;piritual and eternal life, makes them one body and one &s;pirit with their Saviour whom they receive, and graciou&s;ly &s;ealeth Gods covenant
<PB N="210" REF="116"> and peace with them.</P>
<P>Who can but wonder at the greatne&s;s of this love and the liberty of this great &s;oule, that he would, that he could think of all tho&s;e things, when he had a mo&s;t cruel death before his eyes, and was hard|ly breathing under the weight of Gods wrath, as great as the &s;ins of all men de&s;erved! But he would &s;hew that this was his proper and chiefe bu&s;ine&s;s in the world, and that the motive that made him go to meet death, was to give us his body and
<PB N="211" REF="116"> his blood for our pro|pitiation before God.</P>
<P>For that great Sonne of God &s;eemes to &s;peake thus to us in this fare-well and declaration of his la&s;t will before his death; My friends, I mu&s;t now drink the cup of Gods wrath, but it is that you may drink the cup of &s;alvation, and here it is. I drink the bitter, that you may drink the &s;weet. The Cro&s;&s;e brings me death, but it brings you life. I am going to &s;hed my blood to &s;pare yours. And for a perpetual pledge that it is for you
<PB N="212" REF="117"> that my body &s;uffereth, and my blood is &s;hed, I enjoin you to cele|brate this perpetual remembrance of my death. As oft as you eat this bread and drink this cup, &s;hew ye my death till I come. Every time that you &s;hall &s;ee them, let them put you in mind of my body and blood, and of my love &s;tronger the~ death, which made me deliver my &s;elfe unto death to worke your peace with God. Take them, and be a&s;&s;ured that the&s;e outward elements that you eat and drink are
<PB N="213" REF="117"> not more yours then my body and my blood and the whole benefit of my death and obedi|ence. Fare you well, Death calls upon me, Enjoy the fruit of my death and remember me.</P>
<P>I am then invited with the greate&s;t and holie&s;t &s;olemnity to the table of the Lord, and to him&s;elfe. And the meate and drink which he gives me is him&s;elfe. O infinite love! Miraculous ver|tue, love! Miraculous ver|tue, love! Miraculous ver|tue, which turnes the death of my Saviour into a fea&s;t, and his
<PB N="214" REF="118"> Adieu when he went to dye into an invita|tion! O for thoughts and affections worthy of &s;uch a &s;ublime and peerele&s;&s;e love.</P>
<P>As for thoughts, it is in vaine, my &s;oule, that thou &s;eeke&s;t them, though thou had&s;t the under&s;tanding of An|gels: For they are the depths of Gods love which the Angels de&s;ire to looke into. And the Apo&s;tle telling us that they de&s;ire it, teacheth us that it is beyond their reach, though they try for it, the &s;trength of their pure
<PB N="215" REF="118"> cleare&s;ighted eyes en|lightened with Gods light. But it is lawful for our affections to ri&s;e higher then the reach of our thoughts. It is lawful for them to love that great Saviour as much as he loveth us, if it were po&s;&s;ible. And there we may &s;trive to ri&s;e above our &s;trength without offence. O that I could love him more then I can! But &s;ince I cannot give him more then my&s;elfe; How gladly would I give my &s;elf wholly to him, for his gift to me of his whole precious
<PB N="216" REF="119"> &s;elfe! It is too little to wi&s;h it. I mu&s;t doe it. Since I am invited to take the bread of life and the cup of &s;alvation, I will go and take them, and taking them give my &s;elfe together unto him that giveth them me.</P>
<P>But whither doe I go? Let me con&s;ider before what I am to take and to give. I am going to take the body and blood of the Sonne of God and his whole &s;elfe. But have I taken this to &s;erious con&s;ide|ration, that he that eateth and drinketh
<PB N="217" REF="119"> unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to him&s;elfe? I am going to pre&s;ent and give my &s;elfe to him. But have I con&s;idered what I pre&s;ent him with, and whether I make a good or an evill gift to him?</P>
<P>Alas who am I that pre&s;ume to come to the Lords table? How much have I tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ed his commande|ments? How much have I abu&s;ed his graces? Have I not bin &s;educed by the vanities of this world? Hath not the World &s;tollen away part of my heart
<PB N="218" REF="120"> which I owe to God whole and undivided? Did I not more repo&s;e my&s;elfe upon temporal helpes then I tru&s;ted his wi&s;dome and boun|ty? What thanks did I returne him for his innumerable ble&s;&s;ings of heaven and earth? and did I not make an ill u&s;e of his ble&s;&s;ings of the earth to turne away my heart and mind from the ble&s;&s;ings of heaven? And have I not laboured more for that bread which peri&s;heth, then for that which endureth unto everla&s;ting life? How
<PB N="219" REF="120"> many vaine thoughts di&s;tract my attention in my prayers and in the hearing of the word of God? Hath my faith in his holy promi&s;es never &s;taggored? Have I bin &s;en&s;ible as I &s;hould have bin of the affli|ction of Gods Church, and the outrage done to his holy name, which is bla&s;phemed, and to his truth which is de|&s;amed? Have I bin patient, meek and chari|table to my neighbours? And did I apply my &s;elfe freely and cheer|fully to the duty of good workes? Did I
<PB N="220" REF="121"> beare with humility the afflictions which God &s;ent me, and have I ab&s;olutely re&s;igned my will unto his?</P>
<P>O when I think on the evills that I have committed and the duties which I have omitted, one deepe calls to another deepe. And I am lo&s;t in the confu&s;ed number of my &s;ins. O &s;tubborn fle&s;h! O &s;low nature to &s;erve God, and active to &s;erve the world! O body of death that keepe&s;t the &s;pirit under the law of &s;inne! how quick thou art &s;till within me!
<PB N="221" REF="121"> And how a&s;hamed and &s;orrowfull am I, that after &s;o many benefits of God and &s;uch a long prenti&s;hip in the &s;choole of his word and &s;pirit, there re|maines yet in me &s;o much of my natural corruption?</P>
<P>But this &s;hame and &s;orrow is unto me a matter of hope, and I beginne to ri&s;e againe becau&s;e I am beaten down. For did I not belong to God, and did I not love him, I &s;hould have no di&s;plea&s;ure to have offended him. And had be not loved me fir&s;t, I &s;hould not
<PB N="222" REF="122"> love him. Why then &s;hould I deprive my &s;elfe of the table of the Lord as unworthy? It is becau&s;e I am unwor|thy that I mu&s;t come neere, that I may be|come worthy. If none could receive the body and blood of the Lord worthily but &s;uch as are worthy, there would be no worthy receiving. But tho&s;e are worthy receivers that acknowledge their unworthines, and la|ment it, and finding no worthine&s;s at home, come with hunger and thir&s;t after righteou&s;nes
<PB N="223" REF="122"> to &s;eeke worthine&s;s in this holy table.</P>
<P>In the parable, he is plea&s;ed to invite to his table the lame and the maimed, to &s;hew that the abundance of his grace is moved by the lowe&s;t ca&s;e of our in|firmity: Becau&s;e I have no righteou&s;ne&s;s I have the more need to goe to him that hath righ|teou&s;ne&s;s to &s;pare, and doth without &s;paring be&s;tow it on them that begge it at his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ands, To what end had Chri&s;t &s;uffered if we were righteous? Could he have dyed for our &s;ins
<PB N="224" REF="123"> if we had none? And was it not to all peni|tent &s;inners in the per&s;ons of his Apo&s;tles that he &s;ayd when he gave this holy Cup, <HI>Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood of the new te&s;tament, which is &s;hed for many, for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes? Matth.</HI> 26.27. &amp; 28.</P>
<P>It is true that the &s;inner cannot &s;ub&s;i&s;t before the mo&s;t holy God. <HI>Who &s;hall &s;tand when he appeareth?</HI> &s;aith Malachi. Mal. 3.3. But there he &s;peaks of &s;tand|ing before the throne of his ju&s;tice. 'Tis not there that I mu&s;t now
<PB N="225" REF="123"> appeare. I am invited to the throne of his grace. I am called to the fea&s;t of the riches of his mercy. Where being once arayed with the nuptial garments of the merits of my Savi|our the Sonne of God, I &s;hall not feare to ap|peare before the ju&s;tice of his father. <HI>Come unto me</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will ea&s;e you. Matth.</HI> 11.28. O precious invita|tion! And who is he that invites us &s;o? the &s;ame that <HI>hath borne our griefes and carried
<PB N="226" REF="124"> our &s;orrowes,</HI> and on whom the Lord <HI>layd the iniquity of us all. I&s;a.</HI> 53.4. So he ea&s;eth us, Him&s;elfe carrieth our burden.</P>
<P>We then that labour and are heavy laden. we who&s;e con&s;cience is groaning under the burden of our &s;ins, Let us goe to him and boldly unloade our burden upon him. He requires it, He calls us to it. There is no burden too heavy for his divine &s;trength. There is no offence &s;o great, but is overcome by the greatne&s;s of his
<PB N="227" REF="124"> love. Let us goe confi|dently to him. He is the reliefe of the di|&s;tre&s;&s;ed, the re&s;t of the weary, the deliverer of the captive, the Advo|cate of repenting offen|ders, for whom he ob|taineth ab&s;olution from his Father, pre&s;enting them to him clad all over with his owne righteou&s;ne&s;s. Let us, <HI>O let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtaine mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb.</HI> 4.16.</P>
<P>Let me feede now the eyes of my faith
<PB N="228" REF="125"> with the cheere that I am invited unto, before I come neerer. I &s;ee but one di&s;h upon this table, which is <HI>the Lambe of God that takes away the &s;ins of the world.</HI> But that onely di&s;h comprehends all the plenty and all the variety of the dainties of Gods hou&s;e. Here I find before all things a remedy to all my di&s;ea&s;es, the remi&s;&s;ion of my &s;ins according to the riches of his grace; for the blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t clean&s;eth us from all &s;inne. 1 Iohn 1.7. And my &s;ins being
<PB N="229" REF="125"> pardoned and my &s;oule ju&s;tified, how much grace, how much glory followeth! God be|comes my father, his beloved &s;onne becomes my brother, his Spirit becomes my life, his kingdome becomes mine heritage: And God gives me now in his table the pledges and earne&s;t of that eternal fea&s;t, where Chri&s;t hath prepared a place for me in his heavenly glory. Al|ready in the table of this holy Sacrament he feedes me with the &s;ame meat and the &s;ame drink
<PB N="230" REF="126"> that I &s;hall be fea&s;ted with for ever in heaven. Here the Sonne of God receiveth me for his Spou&s;e, and makes me one fle&s;h with him, for by giving me his body, he incorporateth him|&s;elfe with me by faith. So that he and I are no more two, but one fle&s;h. O dear, O preci|ous fea&s;t, where my God him&s;elfe is my food, where <HI>I ta&s;te how the Lord is gracious!</HI> 1 <HI>Pet</HI> 23. O life of my &s;oule! O &s;weet fore|ta&s;te of the fatnes of Gods hou&s;e and the rivers of his plea&s;ures!
<PB N="231" REF="126"> Ble&s;&s;ed am I if I can reli&s;h the goodnes of the Lord, more ble&s;&s;ed if I can expre&s;&s;e it by my thank fulnes.</P>
<P>Now this is the thing, O my &s;oule, which thou mu&s;t &s;eriou&s;ly looke to. Thou ha&s;t bin con&s;ider|ing what goods are given thee at the Lords table. But ha&s;t thou con&s;idered what duties are required of thee by this holy Communion? Looke to thy &s;elfe, and pre&s;ume not to come to receive the benefits, not being di&s;po&s;ed to render the duties. Here
<PB N="232" REF="127"> Chri&s;t gives him&s;elfe to me, But it is upon condition that I &s;hall give my &s;elfe to him. He gives me his body and blood to be recei|ved by faith, but it mu&s;t be a <HI>faith that purifies the heart, and is working by love. Act.</HI> 15.9. <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.6. El&s;e it is no faith but pre|&s;umption. He gives me his body and blood for my food, but it is that I may be renewed to a better life. He grafteth me upon him&s;elfe, but it is that I may beare fruit an&s;werable to the tree that beareth me.
<PB N="233" REF="127"> <HI>I am the vine</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>and you are the branches, he that abideth in me and I in him, the &s;ame brings forth much fruit. Iohn</HI> 15.5. He makes me one body with him, but it is that I may live with his life and follow his example. I come to embrace the benefit of his &s;ufferings: But his Apo&s;tle Peter teacheth me, that <HI>Chri&s;t hath &s;uffered for us, leaving us an example, that we &s;hould follow his &s;teps; Who did no &s;inne, neither was guile found in his mouth.</HI> 1 <HI>Pet</HI> 2 21. Chri&s;t feedes me, and
<PB N="234" REF="128"> his other members with me, with the &s;ame bread, the bread of his table, that we may be all one body whereof him&s;elfe is the head. I mu&s;t then come neere this Sacrament of chari|ty with a mind full of charity. And joining with Chri&s;t and his Church with this my|&s;tical bond, I mu&s;t &s;tudy hereafter to keepe that vnion holy and invio|lable by charity unfain|ed. This Sacrament is a &s;eale of my Covenant with God. It obligeth me then to a grateful ob&s;ervation of that
<PB N="235" REF="128"> high Covenant, made with me in the holy Communion. O that I had the eyes of mine under&s;tanding inligh|tened and my heart open to apprehend deepely the importance of the Covenant made me in this holy table! O that my fervent affections were &s;en&s;ible enough to re&s;ent what obligation this &s;eale of his eternal love layeth upon me? That the body and blood of Chri&s;t here given me are the price of my re|demption. And that being redeemed by &s;uch
<PB N="236" REF="129"> a great price, I am no more mine owne, but Chri&s;ts, that purcha&s;ed me to have my &s;ervice, Then before I receive. this body and blood, I mu&s;t thus ca&s;t my reckoning; I am going to take the price which the Sonne of God hath payd to buy me. So when I receive that payment, I mu&s;t at the &s;ame time deliver to him that which he hath bought, and wholy re&s;igne my &s;elfe to him by a &s;incere love and obedience. Without that the bargain will not hold, and the Cove|nant
<PB N="237" REF="129"> is null. For to think to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the price that he payed to buy me, and not deliver to him what he bought, that would be keeping the cloath and the money: that would be affronting the Lord Je&s;us, and provoking him to keepe his body and blood to him&s;elf, &s;ince we will not give him our bodies and our &s;pirits in exchange. Can I find in my heart to take &s;o much of him, and deny him &s;o &s;mall a thing? And &s;hall I not be moved <HI>by the
<PB N="238" REF="130"> compa&s;&s;ions of God to pre&s;ent my body a living &s;acrifice, holy, acceptable unto him which is my rea&s;onable &s;ervice? Rom.</HI> 12.1.</P>
<P>It is my rea&s;onable &s;ervice indeed to &s;acri|fice my &s;elfe to him that &s;acrificed him&s;elf for me. And &s;ince he gives me the incen&s;e of his merit, it is my bounden duty to bring to it the fire of my love, to &s;end up to heaven the &s;weet &s;avour of zeale and prai&s;es and of a holy conver&s;ation. Since Chri&s;t is dead for me, it is my duty to dye for
<PB N="239" REF="130"> him, killing within me that Old Man of &s;inne who hath bin the cau&s;e of the death of my Saviour; He loved me when I was by nature his enemie; I will then learne of him to love mine enemies. He hath forgiven me a debt of ten thou&s;and talents, I mu&s;t forgive a hundreth pence to my fellow &s;er|vants. Yea, as God for|giveth me offen&s;es without number, &s;o I mu&s;t to my neighbours. He hath bin obedient to his father even to the death of the Cro&s;&s;e, I mu&s;t al&s;o obey him
<PB N="240" REF="131"> in the harde&s;t things, though it were to re|&s;i&s;t unto blood, I take Chri&s;t in his table for my Saviour, I mu&s;t take him at the &s;ame time for my Lord and the pattern for my imi|tation.</P>
<P>Being thus di&s;po&s;ed I will make bold to come neere his holy Table. My &s;oule re|joyce thou in the Lord, Take hold of his &s;alvati|on, Take hold of him|&s;elfe, Get life in his death, and health in his wounds. <HI>O ta&s;t and &s;ee that the Lord is good, Ble&s;&s;ed is the man that
<PB N="241" REF="131"> tru&s;teth in him. P&s;.</HI> 34 8. The Lord Je&s;us hath made an exchange with me. He hath taken my &s;ins upon him&s;elf, and put his righteou&s;|ne&s;s upon me. He hath made my peace with God. He hath given me the inheritance of the Saints in the light. Je&s;us him&s;elf is mine in|heritance; He is my food, my life, and my joy. To him then I am going with a ferven<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> zeal both to tak<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> him, and give my &s;elf to him. I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine. I will take him, and will
<PB N="242" REF="132"> not let him go. Neither life nor death &s;hall &s;eparate me from him.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>A PRAYER before the Holy Communion.</HEAD>
<P>MY mo&s;t gracious God, who ha&s;t &s;o loved me as to give thy dear onely Sonne, and deliver him over to the bitter death of the cro&s;&s;e to make propitiation for my &s;innes, the pledges and a&s;&s;urances whereof thou
<PB N="243" REF="132"> give&s;t me in thy holy Table. My minde is &s;wallowed in the ad|miration of thy bounty, and lo&s;eth it &s;elfe in the boundle&s;s and bot|tomle&s;s Ocean of thy compa&s;&s;ions; and to|gether I am beaten down with a deepe confu&s;ion and griefe, when I con&s;ider how unworthy I have made my &s;elfe of thy great love, and how I have provoked thy Iu&s;tice&punc; O Lord had&s;t thou borne thy &s;elfe towards me as a Iudge, and had&s;t thou called me to account how I have ob|&s;erved
<PB N="244" REF="133"> thy commande|ments, and what profit I have made of the talent of thy graces? in&s;tead of being invited at this time to be partaker of thy Sonnes body and blood, I &s;hould have been ca&s;t long ago into outer darkne&s;&s;e, where there is wailing and gna&s;hing of teeth, for I have grievou&s;ly offended again&s;t thy lawes and abu&s;ed thy benefits. I have not been zealous in the duties of thy &s;ervice, nor diligent in good workes, nor weaned from the love
<PB N="245" REF="133"> of the world, nor feruent in thy love, which requireth the whole heart and &s;oule.</P>
<P>But, O my God, thou ha&s;t lookt upon my guilty condition through the merit of thy Sonne, and there|fore not with an eye of a Judge but of a tender hearted Father. Like as a father pittieth his children, &s;o the Lord pittieth them that feare him. Thou art mercifull and graci|ous, O Lord, &s;low to anger and plenteous in mercy. Thou ha&s;t not dealt with me after my
<PB N="246" REF="134"> &s;ins, nor rewarded me according to mine in|iquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, &s;o great is thy mercy towards me thy &s;infull &s;ervant. <HI>P&s;.</HI> 103.</P>
<P>Wherefore, O Lord, though I have never &s;o great rea&s;on to grieve for my &s;innes, I have more rea&s;on yet to rejoyce at thy love.</P>
<P>O how great is thy mercy! How wonder|full is thy love, which in&s;tead of turning away from me, becau&s;e I turned away from thee, was plea&s;ed to runne
<PB N="247" REF="134"> after me, and bring me home when I was lo&s;t. What an infinite height of bounty, that thou did&s;t pitty me, not only becau&s;e I was mi&s;erable, but becau&s;e I was guilty, and to have made me of a &s;ubject of thy wrath a motive for thy com|pa&s;&s;ions!</P>
<P>O my God, when I behold upon thy holy table the &s;acred me|morial of the death of my Saviour, and &s;ee with the eyes of faith his body and his blood, which are the &s;inne-offering whereby my
<PB N="248" REF="135"> peace was made with thee; Then &s;ay I with humble and hearty thankfulnes, joined with a deepe amaze|ment. Who am I Lord that thy beloved Sonne, one God with thee ble&s;&s;ed for evermore, &s;hould &s;o deba&s;e him&s;elf for me, as to &s;uffer that I &s;hould not &s;uffer, and undergoe the vile&s;t reproach, and the bittere&s;t death of all, to give me his riches, his glory, his kingdome, and, which is more then all, him&s;elfe? That entring into the agonies of his death,
<PB N="249" REF="135"> he would make a de|claration of his la&s;t will, whereby he leaveth me the legacy of his mo&s;t holy body and blood, and the benefit of his meritorious death. That he would invite me by his gracious command to come and take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of it, and encourage me to come neere by the inward a&s;&s;urances of faith, that my reconciliation is made with thee by the merit of his obedience. How excellent is thy loving kindnes O God! therefore the children of men put their tru&s;t
<PB N="250" REF="136"> in the &s;hadow of thy wings, They &s;hall be abundantly &s;atisfyed with the fatnes of thy hou&s;e, and thou &s;hall make them drinke of the river of thy plea|&s;ures. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 36.7.</P>
<P>Now, my God, as the greatne&s;s of thy bounty to me is infinite|ly above mine unwor|thine&s;s, it is as much above my capacity. And what &s;hall I doe to receive &s;uch high benefits worthily? O Lord I might well be in great perplexity upon that point, if the wor|thine&s;s of the communi|cants
<PB N="251" REF="136"> was nece&s;&s;ary for a worthy receiving of thy Sonnes body and blood, Nay it is for a remedy to their unwor|thine&s;s that they are called by thee to this &s;acred fea&s;t. It is becau&s;e I am unworthy, It is becau&s;e I am &s;inful that I prepare my &s;elfe to come to thy table. It is becau&s;e I have pro|voked thy ju&s;tice that I have now recour&s;e unto the throne of thy grace. It is becau&s;e I am de&s;titude of righ|teou&s;ne&s;s that I come to &s;eeke it in the merit of thy Sonne.</P>
<PB N="252" REF="137">
<P>Yet, Lord, becau&s;e none can be a real and &s;piritual gue&s;t at thy holy table without the wedding garment and due preparation; I be&s;eech thee, my God, to make thy grace complete in me, give me a &s;erious repentance of my &s;ins, and that &s;acrifice acceptable unto thee of a broken and a contrite heart. Give me a true faith in thy mercy by the merit of thy Sonne. Cover me with the imputation of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that nuptial robe re|qui&s;ite to &s;it at thy table
<PB N="253" REF="137"> in thy kingdome, of which this holy Com|munion is the earne&s;t and the foreta&s;te. Give me a holy appetite of thy grace, that hunger and thir&s;t after righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, a feeling acknowledgement of thy bounty, the joy of my &s;alvation, the &s;weet a&s;&s;urances of thy love.</P>
<P>And &s;ince our com|munion with thee is the common bond of the communion of Saints, Give me, O Lord, a &s;incere charity, where|by I may be one with thee my head, and with all thy redeemed my
<PB N="254" REF="138"> fellow-members, and whereby I may have peace with all men. Enable me to &s;hew that I love thee by loving my neighbours and doing them good for thy &s;ake who do&s;t me &s;o much good. As thou forgive&s;t me, give me grace to forgive.</P>
<P>Lord I come to receive the Sacrament of thy Covenant. Grant that I may now renew it, con&s;ecrating to thee with a free heart this body and &s;oule which thou ha&s;t redeemed. As I live from thee in my nature, and by thee
<PB N="255" REF="138"> through redemption, and in thee through regeneration, grant me al&s;o to live onely for thee, and glorifie thee in my body and in my Spirit which are thine. Unto thee, O Lord, I humbly pre&s;ent them. O take thou &s;uch an ab&s;olute po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of them that nothing but thy &s;elfe live in me. That I be now filled with thy grace, and for ever &s;erve to thy glory. Amen</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="256" REF="139">
<HEAD>A Shorter Prayer to u&s;e a little before the Communion.</HEAD>
<P>O Lord Je&s;u, who calle&s;t me to thy Table, be plea&s;ed to meet me, and bring me to it thy &s;elfe. Give me the two wings of faith and love to rai&s;e my heart to thee.</P>
<P>O Sonne of God, who ha&s;t given thy &s;elfe for me, and do&s;t at this time give thy &s;elfe to me, open thou my heart to receive thee, give me holy affections to enter|taine
<PB N="257" REF="139"> thee. That with a confidence tempered with humility and a joy full of holy trembling, I receive this high my|&s;tery of my &s;aluation, yea, that I enjoy thine owne &s;elfe really and truly.</P>
<P>O thou that would&s;t be conceived in the Vir|gins wombe, be con|ceived againe in my heart, that hereafter I may live with thy life.</P>
<P>O thou that would&s;t die for me, make me now feele the efficacy of thy death in the comfort of my &s;oule and the morti|fication of my &s;infull affections.</P>
<PB N="258" REF="140">
<P>O thou that art ri&s;en from the dead, and a&s;|cended to heaven, worke a re&s;urrection of holines in my heart, and a lively faith to a&s;cend to hea|ven after thee. There to embrace thee, and hold thee, while I take with my hand the outward elements of bread and wine. O bread of life come feede my &s;oule. O holy Gho&s;t give me the true ta&s;te of the&s;e great mercies. And for the fruits of thy bounty let me ever returne the fruits of my love and thankfulne&s;s.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="259" REF="140">
<HEAD>Thanksgiving after the holy Communion.</HEAD>
<P>MY God, mo&s;t gracious Father, who ha&s;t this day given me the pledges of my &s;alvation &amp; the earne&s;t of eternal life; My God, who ha&s;t fed me with the body and blood of thy &s;onne, and ha&s;t quickened me with the merit of his obedience ap|plied to my heart through faith; I am full with thy bounty: My &s;oule is &s;atisfied as with marrow and fatne&s;s, and my mouth prai&s;eth thee with joyful lips. My &s;oule hath been thir&s;ty after thee as a thir&s;ty land, and thou ha&s;t made it a watered garden. P&s;al. 63.5. P&s;al. 143 6. I&s;a. 58.11. I have pre&s;ented unto thee my brui&s;ed heart, and thou ha&s;t
<PB N="260" REF="141"> made it whole with thy &s;weete&s;t comforts. I came unto thee poore and hungry after thy grace, and I returne rich and full with the bread de&s;cended from heaven. O the trea&s;ures of thy mercy which pa&s;&s;eth all under|&s;tanding! Thou ha&s;t given me thy Sonne. Thou ha&s;t given me thine owne &s;elfe. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup, thou maintaine&s;t my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in plea&s;ant places, yea, I have a goodly heritage. There|fore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoyceth, My, fle&s;h al&s;o &s;hall re&s;t in hope. P&s;al. 16.5.</P>
<P>O that I had the tongue of Angels, to give thee glory in the highe&s;t, for the peace which thou make&s;t on earth, with the men honored with thy good will! Let thy
<PB N="261" REF="141"> redeemed people glorifie thee. Let all thy workes magnifie thee. Let my &s;oule be delivered by thine eternal compa&s;&s;ions, comforted by thy love, and already ble&s;&s;ed in heavenly places in the per&s;on of Chri&s;t my head, love thee, prai&s;e thee, magnifie thee, and con&s;ecrate her &s;elfe unto thee, who ha&s;t be&s;towed thy Sonne upon me. I heartily de&s;ire O my God, to &s;et up thy kingdome in my heart, to &s;ubject all my affections and imagina|tions unto thee alone, to have no will but thy will, to know no intere&s;t but thy glory, to place all my felicity in walking before thee unto all plea&s;ing.</P>
<P>But, O my God. I live yet in the fle&s;h. The fle&s;h is in|firme, Satan is crafty and vigilant to &s;educe me; And the world is contrary, whe|ther
<PB N="262" REF="142"> he per&s;ecute me, or &s;mile upon me. My zeale may take a flight to thee, but hath not the wing &s;trong enough to keep me up in that height. And after I am rai&s;ed up to heaven, I am prone to fall down againe to the ground. Wherefore, O Lord, be plea&s;ed to &s;u&s;taine me with thy vertue from above. And as after &s;ending of thy Sonne thou did&s;t &s;end thy Spirit to thy Church, So now after thou ha&s;t given me thy Sonne this day, O give me al&s;o the vertue of thy good Spirit.</P>
<P>Yea come, holy Gho&s;t, make my heart thy dwelling place. Sanctifie me to thy &s;elfe, mortifie my &s;infull affections. Fill me with faith, charity, meekene&s;s and all Chri&s;tian vertues. Pre&s;erve me again&s;t the &s;eductions of the world. Endue me with
<PB N="263" REF="142"> &s;trength again&s;t all the fiery darts of the wicked.</P>
<P>Be my coun&s;ellour in my perplexities, My comforter in my troubles, and my guide in all my wayes.</P>
<P>My God, who ha&s;t fed me this day in the hope of a better life &s;piritual and eternal, Give me grace to begin it already. O enable me to live in earth as they live in heaven, as much as my temporal condition is capable of it, advancing in thy knowledge, loving thee, prai&s;ing thee and obeying thee with all my heart, with all my &s;oule, with all my &s;trength, and with all my under&s;tanding. Suffer me not to love the world, nor the things that are in the world, but let my heart be where my trea&s;ure is. 1. Ioh. 3. Mar. 6.</P>
<P>And after I have fought
<PB N="264" REF="143"> the good fight, and kept the faith, be plea&s;ed to give me the crowne incorruptible of life. Let me finally po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e to the full thy beloved Sonne that loved me and gave him|&s;elfe for me. Let me once enjoy that fulne&s;s of joy that lyeth in thy pre&s;ence, and tho&s;e plea&s;ures for evermore that are at thy right hand, Where I may find mine eternal delight in prai&s;ing thee eternally, for thine eternal love in thy Sonne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>To whom with thee and the holy Gho&s;t be glory for evermore. Amen.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="143">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
