disquiets thee Doubtless thou art Soul-sick thy Spirit is wounded within thee and what can thus affect thy Soul but sin Or what can this Affection of thy Soul be for Sin but true Penitence 7. THOU repliedst I am indeed sorrowful for Sin but not upon the right Grounds I grieve for the misery that Sin hath brought upon me not for the evil of Sin but for the Punishment not the Offence for my Peril not for the displeasure of my God Beware lest an undue Humility cause thee falsely to accuse the Graces of God's Spirit Thou art no competent Judge whilst thou art under Temptations Had not thy Sorrow a relation to God why wouldst thou Sigh to Heaven Why would thy Heart challenge thee for unkindness in Offending And to cry out of the Sordidness not of the Peril of thy Sin What renders the act of thy Sin to be sinful but the offence against the Divine Majesty How canst thou be sorry that thou hast Sinned and not be sorry that thou hast Offended Tell me What is it thy Conscience primarily suggests to thee in this impression of thy Sorrow Is it thou shalt be Punish'd or that thou hast Sinned And were it put to thy Choice Whether thou hadst rather enjoy the Favour of God with extremity of Pain or continue in his Displeasure with Ease Or if Liberty were tendred to thee that thou mightst freely sin without danger of Punishment Whether doth not thy Heart rise at the Condition as ready to flie in the Face of the Offerer Besides Fear and Horror dost thou not find an internal Indignation at thy Miscarriage and such a detestation of thy Sin that were it to be reiterated if it were possible to be concealed from God and Men and if there were no Hell to avenge it woulst thou not abhor to commit it All these are strong Convictions of the right grounds of thy Repentance and of the injury which thou dost thy Soul in the unjust Scruples which thou raisest against it 8. IF the grounds thou say'st of my Repentance be regular yet the measure is Insufficient I am sorrowful for Sin but not enough An effectual grief for sin should be serious deep hearty intensive mine is slight and superficial I Sigh but my Sighs proceed not from an humble Heart I can sometimes Weep but cannot pour out my self in Tears I mourn but don't continue my Sorrow To this I Answer Thou hast to do with a God which in all the dispositions of thy Soul regards Validity and not Quantity If he find thy Remorse he exacts not the solid Measure He doth not meet up our Repentance by Inches or Hours but where he finds sincerity of Penitence is Indulgent Look upon David and acknowledge his Sin formidably detestable no less than Adultery Inebriation and Murder Yet no sooner did he in a true Compunction of Heart cry out I have sinned against the Lord then he hears from that Mouth which accused him The Lord also hath put away thy Sin thou shalt not die 2 Sam. 12 13. Here is a penitent Confession which was efficacious in the Expiation of those grievous Crimes Thou art deceived if thou imaginest God delights in the Affliction of his Creatures So far only is the grief of his Servants pleasing to him that it may conduce to the health of their Souls in the sensibleness of their Sin and meet capacity of Mercy 9. I do not with some Casuists flatter thee with an Opinion of the sufficiency of any slight Attrition and empty wishes that thou hast not Sinned doubtâ—ess a true Contrition of Spirit and Compunction of Heart are necessarily required to a saving Repentance And these wert thou but an indifferent Censurer of thine own ways thou would'd find within thy self Why is thy Countenance so dejected thy Cheeks pale and watered so oft with Tears thy want of Rest and loss of Appetite Wherefore dost thou pour out those doleful Complaints and vehement Deprecations But after all this art thou such as thou accusest thy self defective in thy Repentance Dost thou rest contented in this condition and not complain of it as the greatest Misery Art thou not heartily sorry that thou canst be no more grieved for thy Sin Comfort thy self even this is an acceptable Repentance and God accepts it What is Repentance but a change from Evil to Good And how sensible is this Change that thou who formerly delightedst in thy Sin now detests it and thy self for it and art yet ambitious of more Grief for being transported into it Let not thy Souls Enemy who desires nothing more than to make thee perfectly Miserable so allure thee as to render thee unsatisfied with the Measure of that Penitency which is accepted of God Rather turn thine Eyes from thy Sins and look to Heaven and fix 'em upon thine All-sufficient Mediator and behold his Face smiling upon thy humbled Soul and perfectly reconciling thee to his Eternal Father as being fully assured That being justified by Faith we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by Faith into this Grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the Glory of God Rom. 5.1 2. 10. THERE thou say'st is the very root of my Complaint I want that Faith that should give me an interest in my Saviour and afford true Comfort to my Soul and Boldness and Access with Confidence to the Throne of Grace Ephes. 3.12 I can be sorry but cannot believe my Grief is not so great as my Infidelity I see others full of Joy and Peace in believing Rom. 15.13 But my stubborn Heart cannot soar up to a conformable apprehension of my Saviour So as indeed I dwell in obdurate Darkness and a sad ponderosity of Incredulity wanting that Assurance which others profess to find in themselves Take heed lest whilst thou art too querulous thou prove unthankful and whilst thy Humbleness disparages thee thou make God a Loser A Man may have a rich Mine in his Ground which he knows not of and there are Shells furnish'd with Pearls whose Worth many are not sensible of This is thy State Thou hast that Grace thou complainest to want and there is no measuring of thy self by Sense especially in the time of Temptation Thou coulst not so sensibly lament the want of Faith if thou hadst it not Thou canst not deny an Assent to the verity of all God's Promises Thou acknowledgst he could not be what he is if he were not even Verity it self Thou canst not doubt but he hath made those promises of Grace and Mercy to all Penitent Sinners which tend to their Salvation and thou canst not but grant thou art sinful enough to need Mercy and sorrowful enough to desire and Embrace it 11. CANST thou but love thy self so well that when thou seest a Pardon held forth to stretch forth thy Hand and take it This Hand is thy Faith which takes hold of thy Redeemer As for that Assurance thou mentions they
PATIENCE â— H. â—an Hove Sculp The ART of PATIENCE AND Balm of Gilead UNDER ALL Afflictions An APPENDIX to the ART of CONTENTMENT By the AUTHOR of The Whole Duty of Man It is good that a Man should both hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of the Lord Lam. 3.26 The Second Impression with Additional Prayers Suitable to the several Occasions LONDON Printed by R. Smith for E. Mory at the Three Bibles in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCXCIV Licensed Octob. 14. 1693. THE PREFACE THIS Tract meeting with so Candid a Reception at its first Appearance has Encouraged it to make a farther Essay And what was omitted in the former Impression is incerted in this viz. The Prayers annexed to the several Sections which doubtless will prove very acceptable and Practical to the Contemplative The Original Part of this Discourse was Extracted from a Foundation laid by a Learned and Reverend Prelate upon whose Basis this Superstructure is Erected He like a Wise Master-Builder laid the Corner Stone as a Pattern for others to imitate and they which attain to his height of Perfection shall enjoy what Christ said to his Disciples In their Patience they shall possess their own Souls And indeed we never wanted more Motives to excite us to this Duty than now When this Virtue appears so dissentaneous to most Dispositions But I would to God those Turbulent Spirits would listen to the grave Council of St. Chrysostom If with a Desire of Judging thou wouldst needs be a Judge I will shew thee the Judgment-Seat which shall be adventageous to thee and no way touch thy Conscience Let thy Mind and Thought sit down to give Sentence call forth all thy Offences and begin to say with thy self Why hast thou done this or that This private Examining of Themselves would soon make these Publick Controllers of all others by plausible Pretences of Reformation look nearer Home and subdue that in themselves they are apt to spy in others St. Paul blamed their Course whose manner was to go from House to House Tit. 1.13 Esau that lost the Blessing was Hunting but Jacob that enjoy'd it and the Inheritance kept at home Gen. 17.30 The Just Man saith Solomon first accuseth himself And Judah spake humbly of an Offender when he said She is more Righteous than I Gen. 38.26 But let such hot Spirits take along with them this Information That Obedience is better than Sacrifice and that he which giveth Grace to the Humble is also said to resist the Proud And they may be well assured that this Counterfeit Coyn will prove dross when it comes to the Test. It is an easier Task for Malecontents to reprehend others than to amend themselves as those who have blemish'd Eyes think the Sky ever cloudy Nothing more common with troublesome Dispositions which have not known the way of Peace than to be ever Contending seldom Contented The Elements though in quality divers yet they accord for the Constitution of the Corporeal Nature And I would to God that all who profess and call themselves Christians would accord together for the Conservation of Church and State That Peace may dwell in our Land We are all sheep of that Fold whereof Christ is the Shepherd Stones of that Building whereof he is the chief Corner Stone Branches of that Vine whereof he is the Stock We have but one God for our Father that Created us one Saviour that Redeemed us and one Holy-Ghost our Sanctifier that adorns us We are here but Pilgrims and Strangers and we shall one day find that a Peaceable Christian Life with a good departure hence shall bear a greater Value than all Temporal Enjoyments can afford us In pursuance of which let us all endeavour to learn these following Instructions by which means we shall not only attain to be Schollars but Proficients in this School of Patience and acquire that Conquest over our unruly Passions and inordinate Affections but shall be enabled cheerfully to run with Patience the Race which is set before us looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith who for the Joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the Shame and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God Heb. 12.1 2. and therefore beseech we God That Mercy and Truth may meet together that Righteousness and Peace may Kiss each other and that his Glory may dwell in our Land until we come to inhabite in the Land of Glory THE CONTENTS With a Prayer to every SECTION Sect. 1. OF the Connexion between Humility Meekness and Patience Pag. 1 Sect. 2. In time of Sickness Pag. 12 Sect. 3. Affliction of Conscience Pag. 26 Sect. 4. Remedies against Temptations Pag. 47 Sect. 5. Imbecillity of Grace Pag. 56 Sect. 6. Loss of Reputation Pag. 62 Sect. 7. Of Publick Calamities Pag. 68 Sect. 8. Loss of Friends Pag. 80 Sect. 9. Of Poverty Pag. 85 Sect. 10. Of Confinement Pag. 91 Sect. 11. In Exile Pag. 97 Sect. 12. Of Blindness and Deafness Pag. 102 Sect. 13. Of Sterility Pag. 111 Sect. 14. Want of Repose Pag. 116 Sect. 15. Of Gray Hairs Pag. 121 Sect. 16. Of Mortality Pag. 130 Sect. 17. Of Judgment Pag. 143 Sect. 18. Spiritual Conflicts Pag. 149 Sect. 19. Character of Patience Pag. 157 The Close Pag. 162 The ART of PATIENCE AND Balm of Gilead UNDER ALL Afflictions SECT I. Of the Connexion between Humility Meekness and Patience 1. GOD the Fountain of Goodness from whom cometh Every Good and Perfect Gift Jam. 1.17 hath laid down such Rules and Precepts in Holy Scripture that whoever is Diligent in the search Shall find in them Eternal Life John 5.39 We are commanded to Follow Peace with all Men and Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 and to practice those Celestial Duties of Humilty Meekness and Patience 2. HUMILITY is first a Duty we owe to God which is to have such a Sense of our Unworthiness and his Excellency as may operate in us a lowly and unfeign'd Submission to Him Now this Submission is twofold First To his Will Secondly To his Wisdom The Submission to his Will is of two sorts Obedience and Patience Obedience is our yielding up our selves with alacrity to do what his Divine Will and Pleasure command us and to enable us to perform This Humility is exceeding necessary And to acquire this Obedience we must endeavour to possess our Hearts with the Sense of that great unspeakable Distance between God and us To consider Him a God of Infinite Majesty Power and Glory and we poor Worms of the Earth He of Infinite Purity and Holiness and we polluted and dead in Trespasses and Sins He of Power able to do all things and we nothing but by his Divine Assistance 3. A Second sort of Submission to his Will is Patience the Subject-matter of our Discourse This consists in suffering his Will as that of Obedience did in acting it and is composed of a voluntary yielding
to what ever Afflictions God is pleased to inflict upon us In this Humility is a great Assistant and renders things easie to us perswading us not to murmur or repine at any thing God does but let what Afflictions soever come though in the heaviest kind we may be always ready to say Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven And with old Eli when that great Affliction came of Gods threatning the Destruction of his Family he loss of the Priesthood the Cutting off both his Sons in one Day yet considering it was the Lord inabled him calmly to yield to 'em saying Let him do what seemeth him good 1 Sam. 3.18 The same Effect it had on David in his Affliction I was dumb I opened not my Mouth because thou didst it Psal. 39.9 God doing it silenc'd all Murmurings and Repinings in him And it must operate the same Effect in us in all our Afflictions if we intend to acquire this Duty of Patience 4. THEREFORE when ever God strikes we are not only Patiently to endure his Rod but kiss it also that is be truly thankful that he is pleased not to Give us over to our own Hearts Lusts Psal. 18.12 But still continuing his tender Care over us sending Afflictions as so many Messengers to call us to himself From whence we may learn what an absurd Folly it is to murmur at those Stripes which are design'd so graciously 5. THIS Duty is not compleated by only a Quietness and Thankfulness under Affictions but there must be Fruitfulness also or all the rest will be of no Advantage which is the production of that for which the Afflictions were sent viz. the Amendment of our Lives So that in Time of Affliction it is a necessary Duty to examine our Hearts and Lives and make a severe Scrutiny what Sins have provoked God to scourge us and whatsoever we find our selves guilty of humbly to confess to him and immediately to forsake them Redeeming what we have lost the Time to come 6. OUR next Duty concerning Patience is That we are as much bound to comply with one sort of Sufferings as another whether they be immediately from God as Sickness loss of Friends or the like or whether it be from Men who sometimes are Instruments of afflicting us and cannot prejudice us without Gods Permission And God may as well create the Instruments of punishing us as to do it directly Himself for it is a Counterfeit Patience that pretends to submit to God and yet can bear nothing from Men. We see an Instance of Holy Job who is recorded in Sacred Scripture as a Pattern of true Patience he made no such Difference in his Afflictions but took the loss of his Cattle which the Chaldeans and Sabeans robb'd him of with as much Meekness as he did that which was consumed by Fire from Heaven Therefore whatever we suffer from Men if it be never so unjust in respect of them we are humbly to confess it is most just in respect of God and instead of looking upon them with Rage and Revenge as the vulgar custom of the World is we are to look up to God and acknowledge his Justice in the Affliction imploring his Pardon most earnestly for those Sins which have provoked his wrath against us and patiently and thankfully to bear those Sufferings till He shall in his own good time see fit to remove them still saying with Job Blessed be the Name of the Lord Job 1.21 7. A Second sort of Submission in Humility is to the Wisdom of God and that is to acknowledge him Infinitely Wise And whatsoever he doth we must confess it the best and fittest to be done And this Confession we are to put in practice both in his Commands and in his disposing and ordering of all things First Whatsoever he commands us to believe we are to believe how impossible soever it seems to our shallow Understandings Secondly To do whatever he commands us how opposite soever it be to our Carnal Reason and Humour and to conclude in both that his Commandments are most reasonable and not grievous 1 Joh. 5.3 8. NEXT we are to submit to his Wisdom in disposing and ordering of Things which is to acknowledge He desposes of all things most wisely Not only to the World in General but in what concerns every one in particular So that in what Condition soever we are in We are to be Content 1 Tim. 6.8 and not to be impatient and disturb'd at any Choice which God makes since he chuses for us who cannot err But to leave all things to him to fit us with such an Estate and Condition as he sees best for us Perhaps it may not please our unreasonable Humours because we cannot live in that Splendour equal to our Superiours And the Reason is we are so full of our selves that we can see nothing beyond it We expect God should place us where we please though by it he discomposes the whole Scheme of his Providence But he like a wise Master-Builder knows that every Stone is not fit for the Corner not every little Rafter for the main Beam And sure there cannot be a more vile contempt of the Divine Wisdom than to dispute his Choice who knows what is fitter for us than we do our selves Therefore when ever we are disappointed of any of our Aims or Wishes let us not only patiently but joyfully submit to it and acknowledge that it is certainly best for us it being chosen by the unerring Wisdom of our Heavenly Father 9. HAVING spoken of the Humility due towards God I am now to speak of Humility as it concerns our selves which will be no less necessary than the former This Humility is of two sorts the first is the having a mean and low Opinion of our selves the second is being content that others should have so of us The first of these is contrary to Pride and the second to Vain-glory. Pride cast the Angels out of Heaven and it is the greatest Sin the Devil hath been guilty of And we may frequently find in Scripture the hainousness of it Prov. 16.5 Every one that is proud in Heart is an abomination to the Lord and in Chap. 6. among many things which the Lord hates a Proud Look is set as the chiefest It is indeed a most prolifick Vice and there are few Sins to which it is not either Parent or Nurse to There are many places of Scripture which shews the detestableness of it I shall only add one James 4.7 That God resisteth the Proud but giveth Grace to the Humble 10. AND the means of relinquishing this Sin of Pride is perform'd by Humility by these Directions First We are to consider the hainousness of the Sin with that Regret as may operate in us no petty Contempt but a deep and irreconcileable Hatred against it Secondly To be vigilant over our Hearts that they foment not any Originals of it never suffering them to feed on the Phantasm
of our own Magnificence But when ever such Cogitations arise let us reverberate it immediately with the Memorial of some of our Follies and Vices so we may make this very Motion of our Pride an occasion of Humility Thirdly We are to make no Comparison of our selves with those we think are more foolish and vicious than we are lest we fall into the same Snare with the Pharisee Luk. 16.11 Extol our selves for being better But if we will compare and associate our selves let us do it with the Wise Sober and Religious and there we shall find we come so far short of 'em that we can have no high Esteem of our selves but rather a more Submission to Humility than we had before Lastly Let us humbly and earnestly invoke the Almighty That he would eradicate all Degrees of this Sin in us and make us of the number of those that are Poor in Spirit Mat. 5.3 to whom the Blessing even of Heaven it self is pronounced and promised 11. THE next Vice in opposition to Humility is Vain-glory which is a hungring and thirsting after the Praise of Men and first that it is a Sin the Words of our Saviour prove it John 5.44 How can ye believe that receive Honour one of another So it is not only a Sin but such a one as hinders the Reception of Christ into the Heart Secondly The great danger of this Sin is such if it keep Christ out of our Hearts it brings us to inevitable Destruction for all our Hope of escaping the Wrath to come depends in our Reception of Him And this Sin where ever it takes Possession in the Minds of Men it endangers the being guilty of many others and he that seeks so much for popular Applause may be in danger of the Mobile's Hissing and without Repentance in danger of Hell Fire Mat. 5.22 12. THIRDLY The Folly of it is we pursue after a Blast of Wind the Breath of Men which affords us no real Advantage Secondly It is not only unprofitable but dolorous and difficult also for he that eagerly seeks Praise is not Master of himself but must suit all his Actions to that end and purpose and contrary to what his own Reason and Conscience dictates to him he must take care to do what will bring him in Commendations and so captivates himself to every one that hath a Tongue to extol him And this Sin is further prejudicial when it is used in Religious Duties or any Christian Acts it destroys all the Fruits of it They that pray or distribute Alms to be seen of Men must accept of that for their Portion Mat. 6.2 Verily I say unto you They have their Reward for they must expect none from God but the reward of those Hypocrites that love the Praise of Men more than the Praise of God And they that make such a miserable Exchange are not only guilty of Folly but are in danger of losing their own Souls Mark 8.36 13. AND the Remedies against this Vice are these First We are to keep a strict Watch over our selves and to observe in any Christian Duty whether we consider the Praise of Men or in the most indifferent Action whether we have not an earnest Inclination to it and if we find our selves leaning that way we must endeavour to have a a strict Eye upon it and whenever we find it moves reprehend and resist it Secondly Let this be our Design to please God that when we intend any thing we may make this inquiry whether it hath his Approbation and then we shall have no time to think what Praise it will bring us from Men for it is a greater Benefit for us to please God who is able to give us Eternal Rewards than Men whose Applauses are vain and empty and none of us can but think it reasonable to make the former our only Care Thirdly If at any time we receive Praise of Men let us not be fond of it nor think a tittle the better of our selves If it be Virtue we are esteem'd for we must remember it came from God and return him the Glory and not imagine any belongs to our selves Indifferent Actions can deserve no Praise and bad Ones ought to set us a trembling else that Woe of our Saviour belongs to us Luke 6.26 Woe unto you when Men speak well of you for so did their Fathers to the False Prophets and there is not a greater Appearance of an hardned Heart than when Men make their Sins the Object of their Glory 14. THE next Virtue is Meekness which is composed of a calmness and quietness of Spirit opposite to the Rage and Impatiences of Anger This Virtue is a Duty to God of which I have already spoken of under the Head of Humility and may be exercised towards our Neighbor and our selves I shall begin with that towards our selves First The advantage we receive by it is this We have the Blessing which Christ pronounced Mat. 5.5 Blessed are the Meek not only in the World to come but in this They shall inherit the Earth and indeed none hath a more perfect Enjoyment than Meek Persons For the Impatient can never enjoy the greatest Prosperities and the uneasiness of this Passion is such that it raises Storms within their own Breasts and a Perturbation upon their Spirits 15. SECONDLY We acquire Honour by it for we resemble Christ that blest Pattern of Meekness Learn of me saith he for I am meek and lowly in Heart Matth. 11.28 And by it we conquer our selves and our unruly Passions which is the noblest Victory Thirdly It makes us deport our selves like Men whereas Anger transforms us to the Fierceness and Wildness of Savage Beasts The One is esteemed and the Other abhorred every one shunning an outragious Man as they would a tameless Beast Moreover Meekness inferreth a sober Mind whereas Anger is direct Madness and renders him uncapable of being his own Master exciting him to those things as himself in his serious Temper utterly detests Many Men have committed those things in their Rage which they have repented all their Life after Therefore seeing how much Anger resembles Beastiality a mad Man than a sober Man let us imbrace this Vertue of Meekness and abandon the contrary Vice of Anger 16. MEEKNESS in the next place makes the worst Condition tolerable and easie and if we meekly bear any Suffering it takes off the Edge that it cannot wound us whereas they that rage whets it and makes it sharper than it would be as in the case of reproachful words which in themselves do no prejudice to our Bodies nor Estates all the mischief they can do is to make us angery and then the Anger will create more Strife and Debate and animate the Espoused Party but more against us Whereas he that Meekly passes them by is never the worse but the better for he shall he rewarded of God for that Patience And St. Paul to Titus gives us this Advice To speak Evil of
no Man to be no Brawlers but gentle shewing all Meekness unto all Men Tit. 3.2 16. AND the means to obtain this Vertue are these First To make a deep Impression in our Minds of the Loveliness and Benefits of Meekness together with the Deformity and Mischief of Anger Secondly To set before our selves the Example of our Blessed Lord and Saviour who indured all Reproaches and Torments with a perfect Patience that was Led as a Sheep to the Slaughter Isa. 53.7 That when he was reviled reviled not again when he suffered threatned not 1 Pet. 2.23 Thirdly To be very vigilant in preventing the beginnings of Anger and to that end we must mortifie all inward Peevishness and Frowardness of Mind which is a Sin in it self if it proceed no further but if cherish'd will break out into open Effects of Danger Therefore when ever thou find'st the least Motion of it within thee make as much haste to check it as thou wouldest to quench a Fire in thy House And be sure to keep a strick watch over thy Tongue that it break not out into any angry Expressions for that Breath will fan the Fire not only in thine Antagonist but thy self too Therefore though thy Heart be ardent within suffocate the Flame that it break not out and the greater the Temptation is the more earnestly call upon God to assist thee to conquer it Fourthly Often call to mind the great Punishments thy sins have deserved and then whether thy Afflictions be from God or Man thou wilt acknowledge them to be far short of what thou deservest and wilt be ready to blush at thy great Impatience A Prayer for Meekness and Humility O Most Blessed Lord God the Perfect Pattern of Humility and Meekness infuse into me I humbly beseech thee those Excellent Graces whereby I may be fully convinced of my own Wretchedness and Evidently behold that I am sinful Dust and Ashes Lord work in me such a lowliness of Mind that I may in the sincerity of my Heart confess and acknowledge that I am less than the least of all thy Mercies and justly deserve the greatest of thy Judgments Give me O Lord a Contrite Spirit a Meek and an Humble Heart and chase from me all Pride and Vanity of Mind whereby I may become lowly yea base and vile in my own Eyes 2. ROOT out O Lord from me all perverseness of Spirit and wholly dispossess it of its residence that I may be fit to entertain that good Spirit of thine and thou mayst take delight to dwell and remain with me Grant that I may every day be more humbled with the sight of my own Unworthiness and Spiritual Wants and to esteem my self as nothing without thee but always acknowledge my own frailty and weakness O let me wholly depend and rely upon thee and ascribe the Praise and Glory of whatsoever good is wrought in me or by me unto thee alone who art the God of my Strength the Author and Giver both of Grace and Glory and the Beginner and Finisher of every Good Thing which is wrought in any of thy Servants to whom be all Honour and Glory now and for ever Amen SECT II. In time of Sickness 1. WHAT should we do in this Vale of Tears but condole each others Miseries Every Man hath his weight and happy is he whose Burthen is so easie that he may assist his Neighbours Many have waded through a Sea of Sorrows and the Angel of the Lord that hath Redeemed their Souls from Evil and led them within few Paces of the Shore offers to lend thee his Hand to guide thee in this dangerous World wherein every Error is Death Let us follow him therefore with a humble Confidence and be safe in the View and Pity of the woful Miscarriages of others and take warning by their sad Misfortunes 2. THOU art on thy Bed of Sickness and with holy David Roaring all the day long Psal. 32.3 for the Extremity of thy pain measuring the slow Hours not by Minutes but by Groans Thy Soul is weary of thy Life Job 10.1 through the Intolerable Anguish of thy Spirit Job 7.11 Of all temporal Afflictions this is the sorest And Job 1.21 after the loss of his Goods and Children could yet support himself and Bless the God that gives and takes But when his Body was tormented and made one Boyle then his Patience is extended so far as to curse not his God but his Nativity Job 3.3 Let the day perish wherein I was born and the night in which it was said there is a Man Child conceived And King Artaxerxes questioning with his Cup bearer Nehemiah could say Why is thy Countenance sad seeing thou art not Sick Nehem. 2.2 implyed that the Sick of all others hath just cause to be dejected Humane Crosses are at a distance but Sickness is in our Bosoms Those touch Externaly these Internally our Selves Here the whole Man suffers What could the Body feel without the Soul that animates it How can the Soul which makes the Body sensible chuse but be most affected with that Pain wherewith the Body is afflicted Both Partners are perplex'd to encounter so fierce an Enemy and the sharpest requires the most powerful Resistance Therefore let us recollect our selves and summon all the Powers of our Souls to engage with so violent and potent an Enemy 3. THY Body is by a sore Disease confin'd to thy Bed I should be sorry to say thy self wert so Thy Soul which is thy self I hope is at a distance from thee but however it is content to take a share in thy Sufferings soars above to the Heaven of Heavens and is prostrate before the Throne of Grace imploring for Mercy and Forgiveness beholding the Face of thy Glorious Mediator interceding for thee Unhappy were we if our Souls were lockt up in our Bosoms that they could use no Motions but what our lumpish Bodies could contribute But blessed be God he hath animated us with active Spirits that can move themselves while our Bodies lie still that can be so agil in their Motions as they can pass from Earth to Heaven ere we can turn our wearied and sick Bodies to find ease 4. AND how much shall we be wanting to our selves if we do not make use of this Spiritual Agility sending up these Spirits of ours from this brittle Clay of our Bodies to those Regions of Blessedness that they may from thence Extract Comforts to alleviate the Sorrows of their heavy Partners Thus if thou imployest thy better part no Pains of the Body can make thee miserable that Spiritual Part of thine shall ere long be in Bliss whil'st this piece of Earth lies putrified in the Grave Why dost thou not then even now before thy Dissolution improve all the Powers of it to thy present Advantage Let thy internal Eye still behold the Face of thy God in Glory whil'st thy Corporal Eyes observe those Friends at thy Bed-side which may pity but cannot help thee 5.
and then if it stand with thy good Pleasure heal my Body and raise it that I may glorifie thy Holy Name in the Congregation of the Righteous 2. BUT if in thy Omniscency thou hast otherwise determined that this Visitation shall put a period to my frail Mortality I humbly beseech thee to fit and prepare me for that last and great change Wean me from all the fading pleasures and vain allurements of this sinful World that I may become a meet partaker of thy Heavenly Kingdom Send down O LOrd thy Light and thy Truth into my inward parts that I may understand thy Wisdom secreetly Support the weakness of my Faith that I may with a strong Assurance lay hold upon the Blood of Jesus by whose Merits I expect Salvation and to Reign with thee in thy Heavenly Kingdom Amen SECT III. Affliction of Conscience 1. THY Sin is ponderous upon thy Soul Bless the Omnipotence thou art sensible of it Many hath more weight and boasteth of Ease There 's Musick in this Complaint the Almighty delights to hear it next to the Melody of Saints and Angels Pursue and continue these sorrowful Notes if ever thou expectest Comfort It is this Godly Sorrow that worketh Repentance to Salvation not to be repented of 2 Cor. 7.10 Weep still and be not too much hastly to exhaust thy Tears for they are precious and rendred fit to be reserv'd in the Bottle of the Almighty Psal. 56.8 Over-speedy Remedies may prove injurious to the Patient And as in the Body so in the Soul Diseases and Tumours must have their due Maturation ' ere there can be a Cure The Inwards of the Sacrifice must be three times rinsed with Water Lev. 1.9 One Ablution will not serve turn But when thou hast Evacuated thine Eyes of Tears and unloaded thy Breast of leisurely Sighs I shall then by full Commission from him that hath the Power of Remission say to thee Son be of good Comfort thy Sins are forgiven thee Mat. 9.2 2. THINK not this Word meerly formal and forceless He that hath the Keys of Hell and of Death Rev. 1.18 hath not said in vain Whose Sins ye remit they are remitted John 20.23 The Words of his Vicegerents on Earth are ratified in Heav'n only the Priest under the Law hath power to pronounce the Leper clean Lev. 13.3 Had any other Israelite done it it had been as unprofitable as presumptuous It was a good Expression that fell from Elihu When a Man's Soul draweth nigh unto the Grave and his Life to the Destroyer if there be a Messenger of God with him an Interpreter one among a thousand to shew unto that Man his Uprightness then He i. e. God is Gracious unto him and saith Deliver him from going down into the Pit I have found a Ransom Job 33.22 23 24. Behold this is thy State thy Souls Life is in danger of the Destroyer through his powerful Temptations I am howsoever unworthy a Messenger sent to thee from Heaven and in the Name of the Almighty that sent me do here upon thy serious Repentance before Angels and Men proclaim thy Soul fix'd in the Court of Heaven The Invaluable Ranson of thy dear Saviour is accepted for thee so thou art deliver'd from descending into the Pit of Perdition 3. OH happy Message thou replyest were it receiv'd with Comfort But Alas my heart is possest with deep Grounds of Fear and Diffidence not easily to be remov'd That convicts me whil'st you offer to acquit me and positively acquaints me I am a worse Criminal than a Spectator can imagine My Sins are beyond measure hainous such as my Thoughts tremble at and Tongue dare not express to God that knows 'em against whom only they are committed If there is Horror in their very Remembrance what will their be then in their Retribution 4. THEY are bitter things thou urgest against thy self no Adversary could plead worse But I admit thy vileness be thou as wicked as Satan can make thee It is not his Malice or thy Wickedness that can exclude thee from Mercy Be thou as sordid as Sin can expose thee yet There is a Fountain opened to the House of David Zach. 13.1 a bloody Fountain in the Side of thy Saviour for Sin and for Uncleanness Be thou as Leprous as that Syrian was of old 2 King 5.18 if thou canst but Wash seven times in the Waters of this Jordan thou wilt be clean Thy Flesh shall come again to thee like to the Flesh of a little Child Thou shalt be at once sound and innocent Be thou stung with the Fiery Serpents of this Wilderness yet if thou cast thine Eyes to that Brazen Serpent erected for thy Malady thou wilt find Cure Wherefore came Christ into the World but to save Sinners Add if thou wilt Whereof I am Chief 1 Tim. 1.15 Thou canst alledge no worse by thy self than the best did before thee who in the Right of a Sinner claimeth the Benefit of a Saviour 5. WERE it not for Sin what use were there of a Redeemer Were not Sin hainous how should it require such an Expiation as the Blood of Christ The magnitude of thy Sins merits but to magnifie the Mercy of the Forgiver To remit the Debt of Farthings were insignificant but to forgive thousands of Talents is the height of Bounty Thus God deals with thee He permits thee to run on to so deep a Sum that when thy Conscious heart hath proclaim'd thee a Bankrupt he may infinitely oblige thee and glorifie his own Mercy in crossing the Reckoning and acquitting thy Soul All Sums are equally dischargable to the Munificence of our Great Creditor in Heav'n As it is the Act of his Justice to expect the least so it is of his Mercy to forgive the Greatest Had we to do with a Finite Power we might sink under the Burthen of our Sins But having an Infinite Power to attend us let thy Care be to lay hold on that Infinite Bounty and as thou art an Object of Mercy sinful and miserable enough so conclude thy self as thou art a Subject proper to receive it as a Penitent Believer Open and enlarge thy Bosom and assume this Free Grace and close wth thy Blessed Saviour and in him possess thy self of Remission Peace and Salvation 6. COMFORTABLE Expressions thou confessest to those that are capable of them But what is this to me that am neither Penitent nor Believer Alas That which is Honey to others is Gall and Wormwood to me who want the Grace to Repent and Believe as I ought Why art thou so imprudent and unjust as to conspire with Satan against thy own Soul Why wilt thou be so unthankfully injurious to the God of Mercies as to deny those Graces which his good Spirit hath bestowed upon thee If thou wert not penitent why are these Tears What means these Sighs and Passionate Expressions of Sorrow which thou utterest It is no Temporal Loss that afflicts thee nor Corporal Distemper that thus
me as if Denials invited 'em as tho' they meant to tire me with their Solicitations as if I must yield and be overpow'rd though not with their Force yet with their Frequence 4. KNOW thou hast to do with Spiritual Wickedness Ephes. 6.12 whose Nature is as unweariable as their Malice unsatisfiable Thou hast a Spirit of thine own and God hath inspir'd thee with his So as he expects thou should'st through the Pow'r of his Gracious Assistance match the Importunity of that Evil Spirit with an indesatigable Resistance Be strong therefore in the Lord and in the Power of his Might and put on the whole Armour of God that thou may'st be able to stand in the Evil Day and having done all to stand Ephes 6.10 11 13. Look upon a stronger Champion than thy self the blessed Apostle thou shalt find him in thy own Condition See the Messenger of Satan sent to buffet him 2. Cor. 12.7 and he did it to purpose With what extream Rigour was he buffeted on both sides and how often Thrice he besought the Lord that it might depart from him Verse 8. but the Temptation holds only a Comfort countervails it My Grace is sufficient for thee for my Grace is made perfect in VVeakness Verse 9. 5. IT is not to be consider'd how hard thou art aim'd at as how strongly thou art upheld How many with the Blessed Martyr Theodorus have upon Racks and Gibbets found their Courage stronger than their Pains Whilâ—st therefore the Goodness of God supplies thee with abundance of Spiritual Vigour and Refreshment answerable to the worst of Assaults what dost thou complain of suffering The Advice is Sublime which St. James gives his Compatiots My Brethren count it all Joy when ye fall into divers Temptations Let Temptations be rather Trials by Afflictions than Suggestions of Sin yet even those overcome yield no small cause of Triumph For by them is our Faith tried and the trying of our Faith worketh Patience and the perfect work of Patience is a blessed Entireness The number of Enemies adds to the Praise of Victory To overcome a single Temptation is commendable but to subdue Multitudes is glorious 6. ALAS thou repliest I am opprest not with Multiplicity but with Pow'r In Duelling respect is had to the Equality both of the Combatants and Weapons But alas how am I overmatch'd I am a weak Wretch and We wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities and Powers against the Rulers of the Darkness of this World against Spiritual Wickedness in Heavenly Places Ephes. 6.12 Behold the Amorite whose height is like the height of Cedars and their Strength as the Strength of Oaks Amos 2.9 We are but poor Pismirs in the Valley to these Men of Measures Who can stand before these Sons of Anak I did not advise thee to be strong in thy self we are all Compounds of weakness One of those Pow'rs of Darkness were able to subdue all Mortality But to be Strong in the Lord whose inferiour Angel is able to vanquish a Hell of Devils And in the Pow'r of his Might commandeth the most furious of those Infernal Spirits to their Chains What a Condition should we be in if left to our selves there were no way for us but Circumvention and Death But Our Help is in the Name of the Lord who hath made Heaven and Earth Psal. 124.8 The Lord is our Strength and our Shield Psal. 28.7 He is our Rock and our Salvation He is our Defence so as we shall not be moved Psal. 62.2 6. It is he that hath girded us with Strength unto Battle and that subdueth those that rise up against us Psal. 18.39 7. ASSUME Courage therefore to thy self there can't be so much difference betwixt thee and those Hellish Pow'rs as there is betwixt them and the Almighty There Force is finite and limited by Omnipotence How glad do'st thou think Jannes and Jambres the great Magicians of Egypt would have made but an Insect in affront to Moses but could not How earnest was that Legion of Devils fain to beg leave to prevail over a few Gaderene-Swine How strong soever they seem to thee yet to him they are so weak that they cannot move without him Who fears a Bear or a Lion when chain'd to a Stake Children then can be Spectators when they are so Restrained Look not on thy self therefore nor them but look up to the Almighty who ordinates all Motions to his own holy Purposes and even out of their Malice raises Glory to himself and Advantage to his Servants 8. IT is a sad Advantage thou say'st I have made of Temptations For Alas I have been soil'd by 'em what by their Subtilty and Violence have been seduced into a grievous Sin against God and lie down in a just Confusion of Face to have been so miserably vanquished Had'st thou wanted Tears for thine Offences I should willingly have lent thee some But it is indeed a deplorable Case that thou hast given thy deadly Enemy this occasion to Triumph over thee and hast thus provoked God Nevertheless be thou throughly humbled under the Guilt of thy Sin and be not too hasty in snatching a Pardon out of the hand thou hast offended Be humbled and after a serious Repentance be not dis-heartned with thy Failings Neither do I dread to tell thee of an Advantage to be made not of thy Temptations only but of thy Sin 9. ART not thou a Gainer if after this thy Assault thou dost in a Holy Indignation rise up and fight the more valiantly A Wound received whets the Edge of Fortitude Many a one had not been Victorious if he had not bled first Look where thou wilt upon all the Saints of God observe if thou canst see any of them without his Scars Many fearful Gashes we have beheld of the Noblest of God's Champions whose Courage had not been raised to so high a Pitch had it not been out of the sense of some former Discomfortures As some well-spirited Wrestler be not troubled with thy Fall as zealous to repay it with a successful Encounter We know saith the blessed Apostle that all things worketh together for good to them that love God Rom. 8.28 Yea even their very Sins The Corinthians offended in their silent Connivance at the Incestuous Person The Apostles Reproof produced their Sorrow What was the Issue For behold this self-same thing that ye sorrowed after a Godly sort what Carefulness is wrought in you Yea what clearing of your selves yea what Indignation yea what Fear yea what vehement Desire yea what Zeal yea what Revenge 2 Cor. 7.11 What a marvellous Advantage is here made of one Offence And what hath Satan gain'd by this Encounter One poor Corinthian is misled to an incestuous Copulation The Evil Spirit rejoiceth at such a Prey but how long shall he enjoy it Soon after the offending Soul upon the Apostles Censure is reclaim'd he is deliver'd to Satan that he should never possess him 10. THE Corinthians
are raised to a greater height of Godly Zeal than ever Corinth had never been so rich in Grace if not defiled with so foul a Crime Confess now if this be not in effect thy Case Shouldest thou ever have detested thy Sin if thou had'st not been drawn in to commit it Shouldst thou have had so fervent a Love to God had it not been out of a sense of his great Mercy in remitting it Wouldst thou have been so weary in thy Stops as thou art if thou hadst not slip'd Give Glory to God but shame to thy self and Bless him for the benefit that he hath been pleased to make of thine Offending him 11. BUT Alas thou sayst my Case is far worse than it is conceiv'd I have been more than once miscarried into the same Sin For after I have made profession of my Repentance I have been transported into my former Wickedness Having washt off my Sin as I thought with many Tears yet I have suffer'd my Soul to be defiled again I must not flatter thee this Condition is Dangerous Those Diseases which upon their first Seisure have receiv'd Cure after a Relapse have threatned Death Look upon the Saints of God thou shalt find they have kept a distance from that Fire wherewith they have been formerly Burn'd Thou shalt not find Noah again Uncovered through Drunkenness Nor Judah climbing to Tamer's Bed Thou shalt not take Peter again in the High-Priest's Hall denying his Master or after St. Paul's Reproof Halting in his Dissimulation Gall. 2.11 12 13. 12. BUT tell me notwithstanding Art thou truly serious with thy God Hast thou doubled thy Humiliation for the Reduplication of thine Offence and sought God more instantly with an unfeigned Contrition Hast thou found thy Soul hath a greater detestation of Sin than thine acquaintance with it hath indulg'd thee Hast thou taken this occasion to lay hold on thy Saviour and to reinforce the Vows of strict Obedience If so this unpurpos'd Reiteration of thy Sin shall be no Prejudice to thy Salvation It is one thing for a Man to walk on willingly in a beaten Path of Sin another thing for him to be led out of the way of Righteousness by the violence of a Temptation which he soon recovers by a sincere Repentance 13. THE Best cannot but he overtaken with Sin But He that is Born of God doth not commit Sin 1 Joh. 3.9 He may be transported but makes not a Custom of doing ill His Heart is against that his Hand is drawn to And if in this inward Strife he is over-power'd he lyes not down with a willing Mind but struggles and with a reassumed Courage tramples on that which formerly supplanted him Didst thou give thy self to a resolved course of Sinning and betwixt whiles smite thy Breast with a formal God forgive me I should have no Comfort for thee but rather send thee to an afflictious Remedy of the Almighty for Correction if possibly those Stripes may prevent thine Everlasting Torments 14. BUT now since What thou hatest that thou dost and thou dost that which thou wouldst not and it is no more thou that dost it but Sin that dwels in thee Rom. 7.19 20. Exclaim as much as thou wilt on the sinfulness of thy Sin bewail thy Weakness with a better Man than thy self O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death Rom. 7.24 But know that thou hast found Mercy with God Thy repeated Sin may grieve but cannot prejudice thy Soul Had we to do with a Finite Compassion it might be abated by wasting it self on a frequent Remission as a great River may be drawn dry by many small Out-lets But now that we deal with a God whose Mercy is Infinite it is not the greatness or number of our Offences that makes a difference in his free Remission That God who hath charged our weak Charity Not to be overcome of Evil but to overcome Evil with Good Rom. 12.21 justly scorneth that we should imagine his Infinite and Incomprehensible Goodness can be check't with our Evil. 15. IT was not without a singular Providence that St. Peter came to our Saviour with that Question in his Mouth Lord How often shall my Brother sin against me and I forgive him till seven times That it might produce this Gracious Answer for our perpetual Comfort I say not unto thee until seven times but until seventy times seven Matth. 18.21 22. Lord if thou wilt have us sinful Creatures indulgent to one another in our Mutual Offences what Limits can be set to thy Mercies in our Sins against Thee Be we Penitent for thou art Gracious A Prayer against Temptations O Lord thou art the God of my Strength and to thee alone I fly for refuge the Tempter is now busie and labours to undermine me and more especially when I least suspect him But O let me be always ready to meet him in the Gate before he advances too far upon me Let not a Supine carelessness seize upon my Spirits but excite me to Vigilancy that I may stand upon my Guard ever prepared to resist him even in the beginning of his first Assaults Lord grant I may be fortified with Faith Courage and Resolution so that with the Assistance of thy Grace I may gain the Conquest 2. FURNISH me with thy compleat Armour the Helmet of Salvation the Sword of the Spirit and the Shield of Faith whereby Satan may be vanquished do thou Arm and so Strengthen me with thy Grace that through the Power of thy Might I may prevail against him and put him to flight when he is intending the greatest mischief and most advantage against me so shall I sing Praises unto thy Name both now and ever and teach others to resort unto thee in their greatest dangers and hardst Conflicts even then when the powers of darkness shall most obstruct them Amen SECT V. Imbecillity of Grace 1. THOU complainest of the Imbecillity of Grace Some little motions thou art sensible of God's Spirit but so insignificant that thou canst not find any solid Comfort Thou seest others thou say'st whose Breasts are full of Milk and their Bones moistned with Marrow Job 21.24 whil'st thou languishest under a Spiritual Leanness and Imbecillity Thou wantest that vigorous Heat of holy Affections and that Alacrity in the Performance of Holy Duties which thou observest in other Christians I like this Complaint and tell thee That without this thou could'st not be in the way to happiness 2. THINK'ST thou that those whom thou esteem'st eminent in Grace make not the same moan that thou do'st Certainly they never had any if they did not complain of too little Every Man is sensible of his own wants and ready to pass secret Censures upon himself for being applauded by others Even the Man after God's own heart can say But I am Poor and Sorrowful Psal. 69.29 He was a great King when he said so it was not Meaness in Estate that troubled him but
Mercies are everlasting and Remedies certain Be we but Penitent we cannot be Miserable 19. WE soon forgot this Visitation loss of Friends and God's Judgments and thought with foolish Agag that Surely the Bitterness of Death is past 1 Sam. 15.32 and provok'd him still to Wrath against us we must have after our Contagion a Purgation by Fire which the best Naturalists say is a proper Remedy against Infection the Almighty seeing it necessary to use this Prescription prepar'd it into a Medicine That great Conflagration which consum'd most part of our City to Ashes It was dreadful to behold and made most tremble yet what signs of Remorse do we shew What Vanity I fear I may ask what Vice have we substracted upon the Sense of God's Anger What nicety in Cloaths or Diet have we cut off in sympathy with the Nakedness and Hunger of our afflicted Brethren Nay do not the unreasonable Jollities among us look as if we triumpht in their Miseries found Musick in the Discordant Sound of their Groans and our own Laughter and emulated that infamous Barbarity of Nero who play'd while Rome burn'd 'T is mention'd by the Prophet as a most prepost'rous thing a kind of impious Solecism to revel under the Menace of Judgments Amos 4.11 I have over-thrown some of you as God over-threw Sodom and Gomorrah and ye were as a Fire-brand pluckt out of the Burning yet have ye not return'd to me saith the Lord. 20. FIRE is the Eagle in Nature nothing in the Elementary World mounts so high to its Place and stoops so low to its Prey The two Properties God himself ascribes to that Bird Job 39.27 30. And if we still refuse obstinately to be gather'd like Chickins under our Lord's Wings he can again let loose this Bird of Prey this Eagle of Heaven upon us and from the East where it began before flie it home like Lightning even to the utmost West to seize and to devour where-ever there is the least Quarry remaining 21. NEXT Gebal and Ammon and Amalek and the rest that Hell and Rome and their Partizans our Enemies on all hands both Foreign and Domestick have been so long Confederate against us saying Come and let us root them out that they be no more a People that the Name of that Reformed Church of England may be no more in remembrance They have often attempted to bring about their malicious Designs and yet have not been able to seize us To what can we justly ascribe all this but to the gracious Protection of the Almighty to whom we must fly for Defence and Aid 22. AND now when restless and unquiet Men the true Spawn of him whose Tail drew the third part of the Stars of Heaven and cast them to the Earth would fain by their Hellish Plots and Contrivances bring us down again from thence even down to the Ground and lay our Honor in the Dust When by their secret Machinations they are at work on all sides to hurry us back into the old Confusions in hope that out of that disorder'd Mass they may at length rear up a new World of their own but what a World A World made up of a new Heaven of Superstitions and Idolatries A new Earth too of Anarchy first and pretended Liberty but of Tyranny insufferable at the next Remove 23. IN such a dangerous State of Affairs as this whether should we nay whether else can we seek for Help and Deliverance but under his Protections the stretching out of whose Arms of Providence fills the Breadth of thy Land O England He can make these Cockatrice Eggs on which this Generation of Vipers that eat out the the Bowels of their Mother have sat so long abrood windy and addle So that out of the Serpents Root shall never proceed an Adder to bite us or a fiery flying Serpent to Devour us He can confound these Babel Builders with their City Tower and Temple their Foreign Policy and strange Worship their Novel Modes and Models of Governmnet in Church and State and scatter them abroad from hence upon the Face of the Earth like as a Dream when one awaketh So shall he despise their Images and their Imaginations too and make their whole Contrivance consume away like a Snail and Become like the untimely Fruit of a Woman which shall never see the Sun 24. AND And now let us cry mightily unto God and say Remember not Lord our Offences nor the Offences of our Fore-Fathers neither take thou Vengeance of our Sins Spare us good Lord spare thy People whom thou hast Redeemed with thy most Precious Blood and be not angry with us for ever And good Lord deliver us from Lightning and Tempest from Plague Pestilence Fâ—mine and Fire from Battle and Murder and from sudden Death From all Sedition and Faction Privy Conspiracy and Rebellion from all false Doctrin Heresie and Schism from hardness of Heart and Contempt of the World and Commandment Libera nos Domine A Prayer in time of Publick Calamity O THOU God of Justice I humbly beseech thee in this thy Wrath to remember Mercy We confess O Lord our Guilt flasheth in our Faces and Woe unto us for we have Sinned We have not kept the way of the Lord but perfidiously departed from thee our God the Wise hath trusted in his Wisdom the Strong in his Strength and the Rich in his Riches Thus have we brought our selves under the Curse by trusting in the Arm of Flesh and the Ballances of Deceit are in our Hands and throughout the whole course of our Lives we have wrought a deceitful Work 2. BUT O God bow down thy Ear unto our Prayers attend unto the voice of our Supplications create in us new Hearts O God and renew right Spirits within us We have all been Examples of Sin O make us all Examples of Reformation that old things may pass away and all things may become new Deliver us O Lord from these Publick Calamities which we so Righteously have deserved and let not thy Displeasure arise any more against us and grant that we may serve thee for the future in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of our Lives Amen SECT VIII Loss of Friends 1. THOU hast lost thy Friend Thy Sorrow is just the Earth hath nothing more precious than what thou hast parted with For what is a Friend but a Man's self A Soul divided in two Bodies and animated by the same Spirit It is somewhat worse with thee than a Palsied Man whose half is stricken with Numbness he hath lost but the use of one side of his Body thou the half of thy Soul Or may I not with assurance say that a true Friend hath two Souls in one Body his Own and his Friend 's It was so with Jonathan and David The Soul of Jonathan was knit with the Soul of David and Jonathan lov'd him as his own Soul 1 Sam. 18.1 2. STILL the more Goodness the stronger Union Nature can never so fast