all Blessings without whose Gracious Influence the best of all our Performances will neither bring glory to thee nor Profit to our selves Look down we pray thee in Mercy upon us and let this Work be so attended with thy Blessing that it may be Efficacious through thy Grace to take off our Hearts and Affections from the love of those things of which thou hast justly depriv'd us for our Sins that so we may now with more earnestness and intenseness of Soul seek after those things that cannot be taken from us to which end we pray thee shew us the emptiness of all present things whether they be Honours Riches or Pleasures and that Thou only art that chief Good which alone can satisfie our Souls Hear us O Lord and help us for Iesus Christ his sake And let these Words of our Mouths and Meditations of our Hearts be acceptable in thy sight O LORD our GOD and our Redeemer Meditation I. Of the Vanity and Vncertainty of Honour THERE is certainly nothing so convincing as our own Experience and if we truly consider it it is no small Advantage that we reap even by our Losses if thereby we come to be convinc'd of the Vanity of that which we have lost For such is the Deceitfulness of our Hearts and the Corruption of our Natures that while we are in the Possession of any outward Good we are loth to let it go and tho' we find no real Good in it we are yet so much pleas'd with it as to Endeavour with all our Might to retain it And let us hear from the Ministers of GOD's Word never so long and learned Harrangues of the Vanity and Uncertainty of them we are unwilling to believe them But when the Storm of GOD's Anger is come upon us and the Tempest of his Wrath has cover'd us and taken from us our King our Queen our Princes and Nobles all our pleasant and delectable things we by our own Experience come to see that Honour is but an Empty Puff of Air that it is only Vox preterea nihil a Voice and nothing else and that all is Vanity and Vexation of Spirit BUT to come a little more particularly to shew the Vanity of Honour What Certainty is there in that which consists in Popular Applause and depends on the breath of the Vulgar Well may it be compar'd to Wind for with every Wind it changes Did not the common People change their Notes like the Wind even to our Saviour himself How did they cry Hosamna one Day and the next Crucifie him Now the Blessed Jesus is esteem'd a Prophet by 'em and anon reputed a Samaritan that hath a Devil Nor had his Followers less Experience of the Inconstancy of the People When St. Paul escap'd Shipwrack and was cast upon the Island call'd Melita a Viper fasten'd on his hand which made the People take him for a Murderer but when they saw him shake it off without doing him any harm they chang'd their Minds and said he was a God And the same St. Paul accompanied with St. Barnabas were at another time first honoured with Paganish Devotion as tho' they had been Iupiter and Mercury and soon after stoned as tho they were Malefactors Again St. Paul and Silas were one time imprison'd in the lowest Dungeon at Philippos and afterwards Honour'd and Ador'd of the same Goaler that was their Executioner Even as our Blessed Lord was honour'd of the same Iudas that was his Betrayer and of the same Pilate that was his Condemner How lamentable was the Case of Zedikiah who of King of Iudah was made a Captive to the King of Babylon and put in Chains he had indeed for a short time his Eyes spared but it was only that he might behold the Dreadful Slaughter of his Children and then the Light of his Eyes was obscur'd in utter Darkness O lamentable Vicissitude of Worldly Honours When Crowns and Scepters are tumbled under Foot And Royal Blood is shed like Water on the Ground that cann't be gather'd up again How soon was Pharoah tumbled from his Triumphal Chariot when he pursu'd the Israelites and was made Food for Fishes and all his Pomp lay buried in the Sea The like unhappy but just Fate befel Adonibezeck who from a great and a Puissant King was disgracefully mangled in his Hands and Toes and forc'd to Eat such Crumbs as fell under the Table like a Dog And Agag likewise another Royalet was hewn in Pieces like an Ox even when he thought the bitterness of Death was past And Iezabel who well deserv'd her fate tho' a great Queen her self and a Kings Daughter was Eaten up and gnaw'd by Dogs like Carrion Nay the great Nebuchadnezzar that Universal Monarch of Chaldea whilst he was hugging of himself in his own Happiness and Contemplating the Glory of his Kingdom and the honour of his Majesty was turn'd out of his Pallace and forc'd to graze like a brute Beast in his own Park See here the Instability of Worldly Honour And what prodigious changes a moment can produce When from the highest Pinacle of Glory a Mighty King whom all the World obey'd is turn'd a grazing with the very Beasts NOR do we find that prophane Histories are wanting in producing Numerous Examples of the Uncertainty of Worldly Greatness and how Airy a Nothing the Breath of Honour is Of which one fatal Instance is that of the great Bajazet the Emperour of the Turks who like a Wolf or some wild Beast of Prey was carried up and down by Conquering Tamberlain in an Iron Cage and expos'd to that Contempt which he thought worse than Death and therefore to release himself he knock'd out his Brains against the Bars of the Cage in which they kept him Valerian the Emperour was another Instance likewise who as a Slave and Vassal to Sapores King of Persia was forc'd to hold his Stirrop whilst he got up on Horseback as tho' he had been Pope And even amongst Christians Frederick the Third one of the best of Emperours was Trod upon by Alexander the Sixth one of the worst of Popes in St. Mark 's Church in Venice as if he had been an Asp or a Basilisk the Pope most Blasphemously using these Words Thou shalt tread upon the Lyon and the Adder the Young Lyon and the Dragon shalt thou trample under feet Nor is it without a just Compassion to be remembred that the Emperour Mauritius had his Empress and his Children slain before his Eyes by that Bloody Phocas his Servant who after he had slain his Master and usurp'd his Empire was Countenanc'd in all his Villany by the Pope because he stil'd him Universal Bishop This sudden change of Fortune likewise befel the Aged Priam King of Troy and Palaeologas the Emperour of Constantinople when those two Famous Cities were destroy'd the one by the Greeks the other by the Turks These and many more Great Ones in the World have been suddenly thrown down from the Top of
thou hadst most occasion for 'em then they left thee and fled away to strangers Is it not therefore far better to trust in the Living God than in uncertain Riches For Riches profit not in the Day of Wrath but Righteousness delivereth from Death And if thou mak'st it thy chief Business to seek first the Kingdom of GOD and the Righteousness thereof there is nothing necessary for thee but GOD has promis'd it shall be added to thee And wilt thou grieve because thou art depriv'd of Unnecessary Things Learn O my Soul to make the Will of God the measure of thy Desires And when thou desirest nothing but what God wills thou may'st desire what thou wilt and obtain it Thou mayst assure thy self that God wills what is best for thee and when thou hast conform'd thy Will to his thou needest not fear a blessed Issue And if what God has done appears not at the present best to thee it is not because it really is not best but because by reason of thy present Darkness thou canst not see it so God sees the End of all his Works from the beginning and perfectly knows the Events of all his Dispensations but thou O my Soul are short-sighted can'st not see far before thee and since thou canst not see what God intends by his present Providences 't is now thy time to live in the Exercise of Patience and glorifie him by believing A PRAYER O Most Merciful and gracious God who art the Well-spring of Life and an inexhaustible Fountain of Goodness be pleased to look in Mercy upon me poor and miserable Sinner who had been immers'd in the things of this Life and drown'd in the Love of the World hadst not thou in mercy taken them away from me O help me to acknowledge thy righteous hand herein and kiss that Rod wherewith thou hast so mercifully chastiz'd me And O most gracious God wilt thou please for the time to come to take off my Heart from the inordinate Love of Riches and all other things of this World and to place my Affections upon thy blessed Majesty who art my Souls supreme and ultimate Happiness and it s exceeding great Reward Convince me more and more of the Wickedness as well as Folly of my former Life in forsaking Thee the Fountain of Living Waters and hewing out to my self Cisterns broken Cisterns that could hold no Water Suffer me O Lord no longis to follow after Lying Vanities and so to forsake my own Mercy And let thy Love O thou God of my Life purge my Soul from the love of all other things whatsoever Thou hast said in thy Word That those that love Thee shall inherit Substance whilst I like a wretched Prodigal have been feeding on Husks and grasping at Shadows O let me not henceforth trust in uncertain Riches but in Thee the Living God and buy of Thee Gold Try'd in the Fire that so I may be truly rich and white Rayment that I may be cloathed Grant this O Lord and whatsoever else Thou seest necessary for me for Iesus Christ his sake Amen Our Father c. Meditation III. Of the Vanity of Worldly Pleasures PLEASURE is that which all pursue and covet tho' most mistake the Object of it It is that for which Men value their lives and without which they think it wou'd scarce be worth the Living But if they mean the Pleasures of this World abstracted from the Love of God and those unspeakable Delights that are in him there 's nothing in which men are more mistaken So far is Worldly Pleasure from making of Men happy that it puts 'em in a state of Death This St. Paul assures us 1 Tim. V. 6. She that liveth in Pleasure is dead while she liveth And large Experience confirms this Truth for those that have most affected it have always found it fatal LET us give a few Instances For we are apter to be led by Examples than Precepts The Philistines had taken Sampson thro' the Treachery of Dalilah Sampson wou'd needs enjoy his Pleasure with Dalilah but she refus'd to let him unless he told her where his strength lay which when she knew she straight betray'd him to his Enemies And this was the effect of Sampson's Pleasure When the Philistines had obtain'd this Prize it made 'em mighty merry and they must needs go take their pleasure too And Sampson whom they barbarously had blinded must be sent for that he might make them Sport But it was fatal Sport to the Philistines for Sampson having with some assistance grop'd out the two Supporters or chief Pillars of the House praying to God to strengthen him that he might be aveng'd for his two Eyes was heard and answer'd and Sampson pulls the House about their Ears whereby they all were slain which put a bloody Period to their Pleasure THE Persians were a People given up to Pleasure above other Nations which made 'em so effeminate as render'd 'em an easie Conquest to their Enemies Belshazzar was a Prince given to Pleasure and liv'd in great Voluptuousness and that not only in a time of Peace but when he was surrounded by his Enemies and Darius lay with a Vast Army on the other side the River Euphrates This notwithstanding Belshazzar was resolv'd to take his Pleasure and makes a great Feast to a Thousand of his Lords and drinks Wine before 'em even out of the sacred Vessels taken out of the Temple of the House of God which was at Ierusalem But while Belshazzar was taking of his Pleasure and Carrousing with his Lords there appears suddenly a Hand Writing upon the Wall which tho' the King understood not yet his Countenance was chang'd and his Thoughts so troubled him that the Ioynts of his Loyns were loosed and his knees smote one against another This quickly put an End to all their Pleasure and fill'd 'em with Confusion and Astonishment And the sad Epilogue to this Jovial Feast was That God had number'd his Kingdom and finished it and that he was weigh'd in the Balances and found wanting and his Kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians And that Night Belshazzar himself was slain which put a final End to all his Pleasure So that it is very evident that what is affirmed of Wordly Sorrow is much more true of Worldly Pleasure That it worketh Death And Solomon who of all Men was best able to Extract the quintessence of Pleasure and taste what was in it gives us this poor yet true Account of it after he had made the Experiment Behold this also is Vanity Eccles. II. 1 2. Not only Vain but Vanity it self in the Abstract and as if this was not enough he lays a greater Imputation on it in the next Verse where he tells us I said of Laughter It is mad and of Mirth What doth it And this he further Exemplifies by telling us It is better to go to the House of Mourning than to go to the House of Feasting Eccles. VII 2.
Cities of Refuge for Sins To see thy Passion made the Nurse of Presumption and thy Mercy the Milk of all Abominations When Indignation kindles in thy poor Servants Soul at so great Indignities how is it that Wrath flames not out in Thine How is it Even so it is because thou art Jesus Lovest to save and art loth to destroy Waitest our Repentance and Wavest thy Vengeance I am Ravish'd with that good Spirit of thine O Christ Thou hadst it on the Cross and keepest it on the Throne Where it appears it doth Ravish me In thy Lips Thou Prayest their Pardons that are shedding thy Blood And thirstest for their Salvation that are Butchering thy Body In thy Arms Stretch'd out to Embrace all on Earth and therefore strike not tho' in all the Power of Heaven In thy Eyes As Thou wast with one of my Mothers I am with one of Thine Thy Fury frights me O Lord Thy Favour is that One The Eye with which thou didst look at the poor Thief and give him both thy Pardon and thy Paradise The Eye by which thou didst look at thy dear Mother and amidst all thy Wounds chuse her a Guardian and have her in thy Cares The Eye with which thou did'st look at the dear Disciple and Adopt him of thy Servant thy Mothers Son The Eye by which thou didst look at poor Sinners to be saved a Church to be bought and World to be Ransom'd But in thy Heart O Lord O what an Apparition see I there Through the bloody Door of thy Wounded Breast a House full of Nothing but Goodness Pity Patience Mercy O what a Perspective is there by the way of the Spear To see the Prospect of a poor Sinners sole delight a Heart full of Grace and Favour in the Brest of a Jesus A Saviours Heart From that Heart with that Eye O Christ behold the Afflicted Mother thy Church and thy dear Disciple her Child Breathe Comfort to her for whom thou gavest Blood And to him who is the Son of her Comfort Make Peace between Mother and Children where there should be Love Let them live by one Spirit that are bought with one Blood And no longer be one anothers Cross but bear one anothers Burdens Dart Lord from that blessed Eye of Pity these Favours on the Face of that bleeding Body and with thy Arms Nail'd once to a Cross now extended on a Throne Embrace her and uphold her in Life Advance her Throne for whom thou did'st endure thy Cross O Thou who didst with thy Fingers work Heaven and Earth and upholdest all things by the Word of thy Power those whom the World treads under foot take thou into thy Arms In thy blessed Arms O thou Omnipotent and All Merciful Maker and Saviour of the World in thy blessed Arms I leave the Wounded Mother and at thy Feet I lay the bleeding Child JESUS nourish these holy Passions in me which my Heart hath conceived and my Tongue now brought forth before Thee Let thy holy Passion ever breed them in me and thy Spirit Nurse them for thee even by the Merits of thy bloody Passion I beseech Thee Amen! Amen A Prayer before Coming to the holy Communion Acknowledging and Deprecating our Vnworthiness O Lord I am every where in thy Presence and under thy Eye and therefore shou'd be prophane no where but thy special Presence and Face is in thy Temple There therefore I should be more holy and thy Chair and Seat is at thy Table and therefore there I should be yet more so Even the Angels are not pure enough for such a Heavenly Presence how then shall a poor mortal Man appear at so high and holy a Service How shall I dare to Communicate with Thee that deserve not to come before Thee Lord since I cannot come as I should pure I will endeavour by thy Grace to come as I may Penitent I will be more humble because less holy and more Wash'd because so Filthy And O Lord give me Grace so to come Let me look over my Life in the Glass of thy Law and make me wash with my Tears what is polluted in my Ways and Cleanse in Christ's Blood what I wash with my Tears O Lord in a Bath of this Water warm'd in that Blood flowing from a Sinners bleeding heart and Saviour's bloody side shall I not be clean if I wash Pierce my heart O Lord that I may repent open my heart that I may believe that so I may wash and be clean Tho' I did not live let me believe aright and let me love whom I do believe even thee O God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who didst send thy Son to shed his Blood and Redeem me and Thee O Son of God who didst come and shed thy Blood to make a Bath and heal me and also Thee O holy Spirit of God by whose Grace and Work upon my heart I come to have the Benefits of that Blood And whom I love let me not grieve Lord let me no more offend thee Let my heart be set to serve thee resolved to please thee And do thou accept me Father Son and holy Ghost Amen A Prayer before the holy Communion to be Pardon'd and Prepar'd for it DEAR Saviour that hast given thy Flesh and Blood to be my Meat and Drink and now invitest me to those Heavenly Dainties Who am I woful and wicked Wretch that I am that I should dare with my unworthy hands to receive those high and holy Mysteries Originally Vnclean Actually Defiled and even since my last Coming and Communicating for all my Vows and Protestations before thee again and again polluted In these straits and stresses of Spirit how shall my Soul be satisfied If I come not at thy call I rebel against thy Mercy If I come I trespass upon thy Purity O my God I will not stand out a Rebel but rather fall down an humble Suppliant before thee I am guilty Lord Pardon me I am polluted Lord purge me Tho' guilty tho' polluted I am thy Ransomed Soul Dear Redeemer save me Let the Merits of thy precious Blood cleanse me from the guilts upon me Let the Graces of thy holy Spirit Sanctifie me from the stains within me Let the Sighs and Tears which come from my bleeding Heart wash off those Blots by Vertue of that Pretious Blood Let the Cries and Prayers which now come from my Believing Soul obtain those Graces from thy holy Spirit True Repentance and Humility a lively Faith and Charity with all those holy and heavenly Thoughts and Affections which may dispose and prepare me for Thee By these fit my Soul for thy Self and my Body with my Soul to be an holy House and Habitation for thee Let thy holy Spirit and Body enter into me Come dear Redemer come to the price of thy Blood seiz thine own and save me Possess my Soul Feed me and Preserve me Hereafter let me have more Grace than to grieve thee Give me care to keep my
Body thy Temple more pure from Sin and holy to Thee and my Heart thy Bed more clean from Lust and undefiled before Thee In the strength of Thee the Living Bread let me grow more able to serve thee And by Vertue of so near an Vnion and Communion with thee let not mine but thy holy Spirit from henceforth Lighten Lead and Enliven me that I may shun Sin which thou hatest and daily do those Duties of Devotion and Charity which please Thee So let this holy Sacrament at once Seal to me thy Mercy and my Glory where I shall for ever Communicate with Thee in Perfect Purity and Felicity To that happy Communion by thy Grace dear Saviour ever Prepare me and Now for a holy Communion with Thee Amen Amen Say Amen Lord Jesus A Prayer At our Receiving the Holy Communion DIDST Thou not Invite me to thy holy Table O Lord I durst not come Now thou callest me I dare not keep away And yet when I do consider Who and What is here I fear and tremble to come Thou O Lord art a holy and dreadful Majesty and so thy Mysteries be Holy Bread and holy Wine A most holy Body and Blood No Taint in his Blood who is GOD as well as Man The Lamb of God Immaculate Undefiled without Spot All-Pure most High and Holy But alas I am Unclean Unclean Unclean Originally Actually Every-way in Heart Hand and Lips throughout Childhood Youth and Manhood most Unworthy to approach a Presence so Pure who am so Unholy TRUE Lord But I Lament my Uncleanness I Renounce my own Unworthiness I come not because Worthy but Needy I come to be made Clean and Worthy That Body and Blood can make me Clean it is my Saviours and his Merits can make me Worthy They are thy Sons O Lord And here is a Conveyance of that blessed Body and Blood It is thy Sacrament LORD Think me Worthy for his sake and make me Worthy for thy Mercies sake by my Coming Give my Sins thy Pardon my Soul thy Grace my Self thy Acceptance in thy Beloved And what thou doest Convey Seal to me by what I now Receive from Thee the Blessed Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer and Thanksgiving After the Receiving of the holy Communion PARDON O Father the Errors and Infirmities of thy poor Child which have pass'd in thy holy Service whether Before or In or Since the Sacrament And in and for the Precious Blood of thy holy Child Jesus of which I have had the holy Communion Seal me my Pardon And behold and accept thy Servant from a Heart full of thy Love pouring out Praises to Thee for the Inestimable Benefits Received in those high and holy Mysteries What am I O Lord or what is in me that thou shouldest do this great Honour and Favour to me I am unworthy to touch the Tresholds of thy House and Thou hast taken me to thy Table I am not worthy to stand amongst thy Saints and thou hast made me Sit with my Saviour I am not worthy to come before thee and fall down before thy Footstool and Thou hast been pleased to come into me and make my Heart thy Throne I am not worthy to Eat the Bread of Men and thou hast given me the Bread of Angels Yea Lord the Angels hunger but have not this Bread What they admire I have Received whom they Adore I have Entertained The Body and Blood of Jesus their Mirror is my Meat Christ and they are two but I and my Saviour are One Flesh of his Flesh and Bone of his Bone One Blood one Body O unspeakable Mystery O incomparable Mercy LORD I beseech Thee since of my self I cannot enough Praise Thee make me some way worthy of Thee Let my Hands which have Received thy Blessed Body and Blood be henceforth Sacred and do no Deeds that may offend Thee Let my Lips which have touched those holy Mysteries be hallowed from all Words that may displease thee And let my Heart the Habitation of my Lord and Saviour be hereafter holy and no Vain Thoughts lodge within me As I am one with him in Body and Blood let me be one in Spirit the Spirit of Wisdom Love and Holiness Truly to know Thee serve Thee and cleave unto thee By the blessed Sacrament of his Body and Blood convey it to me Confirm it in me Let it be to my Soul the Signet of thy Love and Seal of thy Glory And Even for the precious Merits of that Blood and Body receive me to it I beseech Thee that I may be one in Everlasting Union and Communion with Thee for Jesus his sake Amen Amen A Thanksgiving for a Devout Soul After Receiving the Communion O Thou that hast given the Bread of Heaven to feed me give me the Tongue of Angels to praise Thee Lord the very Angels are not blessed with such Bread O what an high Mystery and Mercy is this that my Saviour is my Sustenance and their Maker my Meat The Body and Blood of Christ the Eternal Son of God to be in an holy Communion Eaten and Drunken by the Mouth of a Mortal Man O the Infinite Condescending Goodness of a gracious God! To make my humble Heart the Habitation of his Holiness To come to me Enter in me and become one not by Reconciliation only but Heavenly Vnion and Communion with me O miraculous Vnion O mysterious Incorporation O happy Soul that art so near to thy Saviour O blessed Saviour that art so near my Soul O wretched Soul if thou esteem'st any thing too dear for such a Saviour Wilt thou not give thy Body and Blood for his Truth Wilt thou not offer thy Life as a Sacrifice to his Glory O Lord Let my Soul which by thy Sacrament is made so happy by my Sin never be made wretched And since I have received thy Body and Blood let thy Spirit take Possession of my Heart and Guide me Lead me Command me and Rule me Be thou the Spirit of my Soul and Soul of my Body Let not the Flesh World or Devil have any Power in me Live O Live Thou in me O Christ Live in my Earthly Tabernacle and let me live for Ever with Thee in thy heavenly Habitation Even by the Merits and Vertues of thy pretious Body and Blood O sweet Iesus I beseech Thee Amen I AM now come through the Divine Assistance to the last thing I Promised which is Some General Rules and Directions for our Daily Practice In which I shall be very short a few things well digested being better than many which oftentimes prove burdensome to the Memory and hinder instead of help I HAVE already set down a Form of Prayer to be us'd Morning and Evening in Times of Affliction besides which I will add Rules of Devotion for the Morning IN the Morning when you first awake lift up your Eyes to God and say I lift up mine Eyes to the Hills from whence cometh my help THEN lift
unhappy in it And especially since they profess that Happiness consists in being Lesser and not Greater In a word whatever Happiness Honour and Ambiton promiseth it is nothing else but suffering of much Evil to get more Men think by daily climbing higher to make themselves happy and yet the height whereunto they so painfully aspire is the height of Misery it self BUT having thus consider'd both the Uncertainty and Vanity of Worldly Honour it is necessary to see what use is to be made of it before we proceed any further The Soul's Expostulation AND now O my Soul why shou'dst thou Disquiet thy self for the loss of that which is not worth the keeping If the Possession of it cou'd add nothing to thy Happiness what hast thou to complain of now 't is lost Is it not better to enquire what just Title thou hadst to it than to repine at the loss of it If thy Honour was the Reward of Vertue it is still thy own for whilst the Cause continues which is Vertue the Effect cann't cease and then thou hast no reason to complain But if thy Honour came from any other Cause thou truly never hadst any real Honour it only was an empty Name and nothing else For it is Vertue is the Life and Soul of Honour Thou oughtest therefore O my Soul to look well before thou leap'st into the Chair of Honour or else the higher thou climbest the lower thou fallest If Vertue prefer thee then Vertue will preserve thee But if Gold or Favour do advance thee thy Honour is but pinn'd upon the Wheel of Fortune and when that Wheel shall turn thy Honour falls and thou remain'st an everlasting monument of thy own Ambitious Folly If therefore thou desire O my Soul to purchase Honour with thy Wealth consider first how that became thine If thy Labour got it let thy Wisdom keep it if Oppression found it let Repentance restore it and if thy Parents left it let thy Vertues deserve it For if thou art a Palace Honour like the Sun-beams will make thee more Glorious but if thou art a Dunghil the Sun may shine upon thee but it cannot sweeten thee Thy Prince may give thee honour but not make thee honourable The best way therefore O my Soul is to despise that empty Nothing which the World calls Honour and seek after that Honour which none can Rob thee of or take away and that is in a word to seek the Honour which GOD gives For they that honour Him He has promis'd to honour whereas they that despise Him shall be lightly esteemed A PRAYER O Almighty and most gracious Lord God who alone rulest in the Kingdoms of Men and sufferest one to be plucked down and another to be set up as best seemeth good in thy sight Thou givest and thou takest away blessed be thy holy Name for ever O Lord be pleased in Mercy to look down upon an unworthy Sinner now before thee and graciously Support me under the present Dispensation of thy Providence and quiet my Soul under thy Wise and Soveraign Disposal of 〈◊〉 Affairs and make me willing to suffer whatever it shall please thee to inflict upon me O Lord make me sensible that thou hast dealt favourably with me and hast punish'd me less than mine Iniquities deserved I do confess I have been too much puffed up with that Honour which comes from Man which therefore I am justly deprived of and O that now thou wouldst help me to take shame to my self and henceforth to see after that Honour which comes from God only That so unfainedly turning to thee by true Contrition and Amendment of Life Thou also mayst graciously return unto me with Mercy and with Loving-kindness Hear O Lord and help and Answer for the sake of Iesus Christ thy blessed Son and my alone Saviour To whom with thee O Father and the holy Spirit be ascribed all Honour and Glory and Power henceforth and for ever more Amen Our Father c. Meditation II. On the Vncertainty of Riches THERE is nothing in the World more certain than the Uncertainty of Riches therefore it is that the Apostle St. Paul calls 'em Vncertain Riches bidding us not to trust in Vncertain Riches but in the Living GOD. And tho' there be many in the World that make Wings for Riches I mean that Study and Contrive how to spend it as thinkthey shall never be poor yet they need not be so much concern'd about that and might well save themselves that Labour for whether they make them Wings or no Solomon tells us that Riches will make themselves Wings and fly away yes says he they will fly so far as never to return any more for they will fly as an Eagle towards Heaven Riches are such Volatile things as he compares them to Non-Entities Wilt thou says he set thy Heart on that which is not Riches are like Quicksilver so Volatile there 's no fixing of 'em for they fly away when their Possessors think themselves as sure of 'em having them close Prisoners in Bags and Bolts under Lock and Key as the Romans thought themselves of the Goddess Victoria when they clipt her Wings and Wall'd her within their City And tho' in this respect also our own Experience is more convincing than a Thousand Witnesses yet will it not be amiss to recite some Examples of the Uncertainty and Emptiness of Worldly Riches and the rather that we may see there is nothing has befallen us in the late Revolution but what has befallen others in former times who have been better than we Now that we are Try'd in the Furnace of Affliction we may have good hopes of coming forth like Gold refined and made better but if we faint in this Day of our Adversity it will argue our Strength is but small AND first The Example of Iob is Illustrious who was not more Eminent for his Riches than his Piety which was so very remarkable that he was the Nonsuch of his Age the very boast of Heaven Hast thou considered my Servant Job says the Almighty that there is none like him a Perfect and an Vpright Man one that Feareth God and Escheweth Evil What Man cou'd have a fairer Character especially considering who it was that gave it And yet this holy Iob this Favourite of Heaven was deprived in one Day Nay in one Hour of such an Estate besides his Children which were more dear to him than all the rest in Oxen Camels Sheep and Moveables as the greatest Man in the East did not possess the like And yet Iob never murmur'd at his Loss but only made this Inference from it Naked we came into the World and Naked shall we go out again The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away and blessed be the Name of the Lord. There is at this Day an Illustrious Instance in the World that has well near Equaliz'd Iob in his Afflictions God grant that he may do it in his Patience and his Piety and then we
may all hope for the like Issue BUT to Enumerate more Examples of the Mutability of Riches is to hold a Candle to the Sun for who can walk the streets without meeting Variety of Instances How many Men who formerly liv'd plentifully and were in good Esteem for Wealth and Riches are now reduc'd from a Spring-Tide of Plenty to the lowest Ebb of Poverty Neither has this befallen one sort of Men alone but Men of all Ranks and Qualities Gentlemen Merchants Mariners Tradesmen Mechanicks Citizens and Country-men Yeomen and Farmers Those who were formerly as Rich as Croesus are now as poor as Conon and from a Dives turn'd into a Lazarus And if you shou'd Enquire by what means all this comes to pass some wou'd inform you 't was by Shipwrack at Sea others by Suretiship on Land some by bad Debtors and Politique Bankrupts those Pests of Trade and Shopwracks of the Citizens others by Sickness Physick and Physicians and some by grinding Vsury others by paying Forfeitures and double Taxes have been brought to an irrecoverable Consumption Some have been undone by Careless Thievish and Fugitive Servants And even Loyalty and a sense of our Duty to God and the King has through the Cunning Craftiness of some Men been made the occasion of Ruining many But besides all these there want not many that have been their own Ruine Some by Good or rather Bad Fellowship others by great House-keeping their Minds being too big for their Means some by Hawks Hounds Horses and Whores these are destroy'd by their own Lusts and Eaten by the Wolf bred in their own Flesh or as 't is Fabled of Actaeon are devour'd by their own Dogs And surely those may well be call'd Uncertain Riches that have so many Wings to fly away I had forgot to mention Fire which where it gets the Mastery proves very fatal and in a few hours time makes Beggars of the richest Merchants of which that dreadful one in London in the Year 1666. Serves for a thousand Instances Which shews sufficiently the mutability of Worldly Riches and what small cause we have of Trusting in ' em BUT tho' perhaps some Men may prove more fortunate and that their Riches shou'd stay with 'em as tho' they had been wedded to 'em not to depart for term of Life yet there must be a Separation when they come to dye For as the Word of Truth besides our own Experience infallibly assures us The Rich Man when he dyes shall carry nothing away with him his Pomp shall not descend to the Grave And therefore as the Excellent St. Augustine has it Vide Viventem cogita morientem quid hic habet quid secum tollit c. Eye the rich Man poise and ponder his Estate living dying to consider what he hath here and what he takes with him from hence Damascene hath a Notable Fiction of Three Friends which all professed Love to a Man and the Trial of it was this One Friend would stay with him all the time of his Health and Prosperity that Friend was Pleasure Voluptuousness and Mirth The Second Friend wou'd stay with him in his Sickness yea to the hour of Death that Friend was Riches but having brought him to the Grave there it left him The Third Friend goes with him beyond the Grave even to God's Tribunal and pleads for him there and this Friend is God's Fear and God's Favour This Friend is more worth than all the rest For as for the second Friend Riches that leaves us you see at the Grave These Friends saith Bernard either have their End before we dye or see our End when we dye either they forsake us or are forsaken of us We have already heard what holy Iob said Naked came we into the World and Naked shall we go out again And the great Saladine the Conquerour of Asia a second Tamberlain well apply'd it to himself for dying in his Army instead of all other Obsequies he ordered only a Linnen Cloth a Winding-sheet to be carried before him on the Top of a Spear throughout the Camp with this Proclamation Saladini quod Reliqnum Here 's all that 's left of great Saladine Ensigns Trophies Victories Triumphs are all included in this Linnen Rag the cover for my Dead Corps and except this all the rest must remain behind Our Houses Lands Wife Children we must shake hands with 'em all and bid a long Farewel to 'em when we come to dye Gulielmus Parisienses compares those that load themselves here with thick Clay to a Parcel of Boys that have robb'd an Orchard who after they have Eaten what they can stuff their Pockets Sleeves and Coats full to carry out with them but at the door there stands one that searcheth them takes all they have and sends them away with no more than they brought in The World says he is the Orchard the Cormorants of the World are those greedy Boys the Fruit stolen are Riches ingross'd and the Porter is Death who makes 'em leave it all behind ' em It is also compared to a poor Man invited to a rich Mans Table he has the use of his Plate to drink in and of his Silver Spoons to Eat his Broth with while he is there at the Feast but if he presumes to pocket up any Plate or to carry away the least Spoon there is search made by the Porter for what is missing and it is taken from him with disgrace We are in the World as in an Inn saith Tully and we may use it as our Hosts House and our Bed too that proper place to which God hath called us for the time we lodge but we must carry away no Cloaths no Coverings except we borrow a Winding-sheet useful only as the Secondine to the Child to wrap us in for Excepting this Death as a Common Pyrate or a Thief strips us of all the rest NOW what Contentment or Satisfaction can we propose to our selves in the Enjoyment of such Uncertain fluctuating Things Which either ere long will leave us or of necessity we must leave them It is surely a great argument of our Minds being plac'd upon Wrong Objects when we can mourn for the loss of such Flying and Lying Vanities The Soul's Expostulation DISQUIET not thy self O my Soul about the Things of this World nor set thine heart on that which is not If thou hadst not lost the World perhaps thou mightst have lost thy self in setting thy heart too much upon it And since God's Word has told thee That if any Man love the World the love of the Father is not in him thou hast cause to rejoyce that thou hast lost that which might hadst thou kept it have caus'd thee to lose the Favour of GOD And yet what hast thou lost in losing it Or what didst thou gain by it when thou hadst it except Trouble and Care Thou hadst then no more than Food and Rayment and that thou hast still tho' thou hast lost thy Riches When
fear that great and dreadful Name The LORD our GOD And this prophane Swearing is also forbidden in the New-Testament our Blessed Saviour strictly enjoyning us not to Swear at all Mat. v. 34. And this St. Iames presses further saying Above all things my Brethren Swear not Jam. v. 12. Not that hereby we are forbidden to testifie the Truth of a matter upon Oath before a Magistrate as some dream for in this case St. Paul tells us That an Oath for Confirmation is an end of all strife Heb. vi 16. The intent therefore is That we abstain from all prophane Swearing which is a Taking of God's Name in vain and a procuring Cause of his Judgments upon a People and Nation of which there wants not plenty of Examples both Sacred and Prophane were it needful to insert ' em BUT that which more concerns us is To Enquire whether we are not grievously guilty hereof our selves and so are justly made an Example to others And in this case I must say Our guilt is too evident to be deny'd for we declare our Sin as Sodom and hide it not Our Tongues being oftner us'd in imprecating Divine Vengeance even Damnation it self upon our Souls than in imploring the Pardon of our Sins How many are there that pretend Love and Loyalty to our King yet will shew it no other way but by Drinking his health till they have lost their own and by their horrid execrable Oaths defying of the Majesty of Heaven Alas What can be expected from those Men that are every hour bidding Defiance to the Almighty and Daring God to damn them With what face can they pretend to love their King that thus affront their Maker Whoever thus harden'd himself against God and prosper'd It was these Fighters against Heaven that brought the Royal Martyr to the Block and were more guilty of his Death than the Regicides that condemn'd him or the Villanous Executioner that sever'd his Royal Head from his Sacred Body And it is such as these that have turn'd our Royal Master out of his Throne and forc'd him to Abdicate as some will have it his Crown and Kingdoms For when GOD was thus Engag'd against him by the reiterated Blasphemous Imprecations of his pretended Followers how cou'd he hope to stand For shame therefore Gentlemen let us either lay aside our pretences of Loyalty to the King or cease to offend GOD as we do every Day by Belching forth such Vollies of loud Oaths and Blasphemies against him For had we but as frequently Employ'd our Tongues in praying for him as we have done in cursing of our selves and in Blaspheming God we might have long since hop'd a better Issue If therefore we wou'd shew our selves good Subjects to the King let us approve our hearts to God as good Christians which we cannot do but by walking in his Ways and keeping of his Laws We have seen the fatal effects of Cursing and Swearing let us now steer a contrary Course and betake our selves to Prayers and Tears the Churches only Weapons in suffering Times Of which I shall say more at the Conclusion But 2. Whoredom and Adultery is another crying Sin that brings down God's Judgments upon a Nation This Sin is directly against the Seventh Commandment which forbids us to commit Adultery and however the Fools of this Age I mean such as make a Mock at Sin have stil'd it but a Trick of Youth and that the Roman Church calls it but a Vanial Sin yet we have a more sure Word of Prophecy even the holy Scriptures which tells us That for these things the Wrath of God comes upon the Children of Disobedience And well it may since the Author to the Hebrews assures That how slight so ever others make of it yet Whore-mongers and Adulterers God will judge And that this Sin brings down Judgments on a Nation the Prophet Ieremiah informs us Ier. v. 7 8 9. When I had fed them to the full then they committed Adultery and assembled themselves by Troops in the Harlots Houses They were as fed Horses in the Morning every one Neighed after his Neighbours Wife This was their sin And what the effect of it was the next Verse shews us Shall I not Visit for these things saith the Lord And shall not my Soul be avenged on such a Nation as this This sufficiently expresses God's Anger against it especially when it is grown common IT now concerns us therefore to Examine our selves and see whether this also be not registred in that black Catalogue of Sins which we are guilty of And I am much afraid that there is but few of us that can say in this respect my heart is clean For the foot steps of this Sin are but too plainly to be trac'd among us And therefore all of us have reason to humble our Souls before God and to say O Lord to us belongs confusion of Face to our Kings to our Princes and to our Nobles as well as to the Commons because we have sinned against thee For my part I know not what unaccountable Liberty some Men give themselves in this matter as if those in high places had a Toleration or a License to Sin But I am sure God's Word allows none no not to the greatest of Men The Law of God is Thou shalt not commit Adultery and I know of no Exception Of this sin When King David himself was found guilty though he had an Illustrious Pardon sent him from Heaven Thou shalt not dye yet it did not Exempt him from Temporal Judgments for the Prophet Nathan told him plainly The Sword shou'd never depart from his House because he had despised God in taking the Wife of Vriah Therefore let all that are concerned herein how great soever they be humble their Souls under the mighty hand of God and turn from the Evil of their doings that God may be thereby reconciled unto us and have Mercy upon us For this is a sin that if not repented of will keep good things from us and make a Separation between us and our God And such have the more reason to do this because their Example may have corrupted many For Regis ad Exemplum totus Componitur Orbis And indeed this Sin has spread so exceedingly upon that account that I am perswaded it has been none of the least causes of God's heavy displeasure against us Yet will not this in the least justifye them of a lower degree who shall follow so ill an Example for by them God's holy Law is violated and Himself provoked by their Filthiness and themselves thereby made the cause of bringing down the Judgments of God both upon King and People such have therefore great reason forthwith to break off their Sins by Righteousness and turn from the Evil of their Ways that the Lord may pardon their Sins and heal our Land 3. Cruelty and Bloodshed is a great and crying Sin which defiles the Land and brings down Judgments from Heaven upon it Nay it
causes the Divine Majesty to shut out our very Prayers so that he will not hear us The Prophet Isaiah gives us a full account of this in the first Chapter of his Prophecy in the 7th Verse he gives an account of God's Judgments on the Israelites not altogether unlike what has befallen us for says he Your Country is desolate your Cities are burnt with fire your Land strangers devour it in your presence and it is desolate as overthrown by strangers And in the 15th Verse GOD tells them When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine Eyes from you and when you make many Prayers I will not hear Would you know now what it is that has provok'd the Almighty against them He assigns this as the reason of all in the latter End of the 15th Verse Your hands are full of Blood This is also farther Evident from the Example of King Saul who was a Bloody Man not only in commanding the Priests of the Lord even Fourscore and five Persons that wore a linnen Ephod to be slain but also because he sought to slay the Gibeonites under a pretence of Zeal to the Children of Israel and Iudah 2 Sam. xxi 2. But these things brought down publick Judgments upon the Land several years after for when in the Reign of David there was a famine in the Land for three Years and David Enquired of the Lord to know the cause thereof he was answered It is for Saul and for his Bloody House and nothing cou'd appease God's Anger till seven of Sauls Sons were hang'd on that account So loud is the cry of Innocent Blood against the shedders thereof LET us now Enquire how far we are concern'd in the guilt of this Sin also And shou'd we go about to clear our selves herein the very Gates of the great City of the Kingdom wou'd cry out against us And all the West of England would testifie the contrary to us I am well assured that our Royal Master is not a Prince that does delight in Blood and I wish with all my heart that I cou'd say as much for all his Servants But alas How many are there that under a pretence of Zeal for the King's Service have executed their own Private Revenge and thereby exceedingly disserv'd the King on whom the Odium always lay We all know there was a Rebellion in the West of England and there is no question but Justice requir'd some Examples shou'd be made But had the Kings Ministers to whom he intirely left it made as much use of Mercy as they did of Justice I am sure they wou'd have done the King more Service and I have reason to be of this Opinion since Solomon tells us who had also a Rebellion broke forth at the beginning of his Reign against him That the Kings Throne is Establish'd by Mercy But I will say no more of that because those who were the chief Instruments therein have long since given an Account of their Actions before a higher Tribunal where they have receiv'd the just Recompence of their Reward And if there be any of us yet alive that have been concern'd in shedding of Innocent Blood or that have pursu'd our own Revenge under a shew either of Loyalty or Justice they have great reason to acknowledge their Sin and to humble their Souls before God and take shame to themselves as having to the utmost of their Power therein brought down the Judgments of God both upon our King and on his People As to my self I can appeal to the Searcher of Hearts that I was grieved to see that Effusion of Christian Blood and wou'd have prevented it had it lain in my Power and as I had an Opportunity I shew'd Mercy and where I cou'd not I have not been wanting to pray that the guilt of that Blood might not fall upon the King nor on his Royal Issue For even then my fore-boding Soul had great apprehensions that it wou'd cry loud for Vengeance BUT in the Fourth Place Opression and Injustice is another crying Sin that brings down Judgments on a Nation To this the Word of GOD abundantly bears Witness Hence it is that God so often complains That they Iudge not the Fatherless neither doth the Cause of the Widow come unto them but every one loveth Gifts and followeth after Rewards and that he looked for Iudgment but behold Oppression for Righteousness but behold a Cry And therefore the Prophet Isaiah exhorts them if they expect Mercy to seek Iudgment relieve the Oppressed judge the Fatherless and plead the Cause of the Widow threatning that if they refus'd they shou'd be devour'd with the Sword for the Mouth of the Lord had Spoken it And in another Place the Prophet complains That Iudgment is turned away backward and Iustice standeth afar off for Truth is fallen in the street and Equity cannot enter And for this God threatens that the whole Land shall be desolate and that the Earth shall mourn and the Heavens above shall be black These things sufficiently declare the dreadful consequences and effects of Injustice and Oppression And that it brings down National Judgments LET us now Enquire how far we are concern'd in the Guilt of this Sin And I am afraid that neither in this shall we be able to acquit our selves for tho' I wou'd not be thought to charge my Royal Master in this matter yet I am very sure that those through whose hands the Administration of Affairs then passed made so many false steps that they can by no means be acquitted of Injustice as well as great Imprudence And this I am the bolder to say because it was for Their Mis-management that the King now suffers And that this may the better appear I will descend to a few Particulars TO say nothing of Turning the West into a Slaughter-house and making such a shambles of the Roads and High-ways there exercising this Cruelty upon many that the whole Country knew were altogether innocent of that for which they suffer'd which was the ready way to bring an Odium upon the King by making the People believe that he was as Inexorable as his Ministers I say To pass by this having before said something of it It was undoubtedly a great Piece of Injustice to set up a New Court for the Management of Ecclesiastical Affairs contrary to the Express Laws of the Land whereby the Church and Clergy of England were Subjected to the Wills of some Men that were Enemies to both who made the Kings Authority a staulking-horse to their own private Malice and Revenge and thereby put many fears into the Hearts of those that were the King 's best Friends who cou'd not but fore-see the fatal Tendency of such Proceedings IT was likewise a great Piece of Injustice to suspend the Right Reverend the Bishop of London from the Exercise of his Pastoral charge for that which in it self was no offence the said Bishop having acted at least in that Affair with all
our selves more Our Strength is to sit still and to wait for the Salvation of God For when he works there 's none can let it and till he does arise and work all we can do will be in vain And this many have found to their cost Let us learn to be wise by other mens harms There are many Devices in the heart of Man but the Counsel of the Lord that shall stand And whoever goes about to resist it will find him self sadly deceiv'd I will always maintain my Loyalty to the King and quietly submit to the Power that Protects me That so I may keep a Conscience void of offence both towards God and towards Man And it is the grief of my heart to see any otherwise minded For if we must not Speak wickedly for God nor Talk deceitfully for him much less must we Act wickedly for him And yet I would be found doing too I mean I would be found in the daily Exercise of Faith and Repentance and endeavour to get a broken and a contrite Heart for my past Sins because God has assur'd me that with such Sacrifices he is well pleased The Soul's Expostulation AND now O my Soul consider with thy self If Sin be the procuring Cause of all thy Troubles hast thou not greater Reason to be troubled for thy Sins than for thy Sufferings Afflictions may make thee better but Sin always makes thee worse It may be necessary sometimes to chuse Sorrow but it never can be so to chuse Sin 'T is God alone is that Wise Alchymist that can Extract Good from Evil and make even the Sins of his People turn to his Glory Thus through the working of God's Grace thy Pride may tend to humble thee and a due sence of thy Passion may produce Patience But this is alone the Effect of God's Grace for the Nature of Sin is only Evil. What reason then O my Soul hast thou to bless God who has made thy Outward Losses prove thy Inward Gain by taking thee off from the Pursuit of Sin and Training thee up in the School of Affliction Sure O my Soul it concerns thee to see what good Lessons thou hast learn'd there for if thou art not the better for 't thou wilt certainly be the worse Affliction is a Furnace and if thou comest not forth purified like Gold thy dross will appear the more But if thou canst say with David It has been good for me that I have been afflicted thou hast great cause to bless God for it If these Trials have done thee good what hast thou to complain of And if by the light of Affliction thou hast seen the greatness of thy Sin and that sight of Sin has humbled thee and brought thee to Repentance thou art hereby become a greater Gainer than all the outward Prosperity in the World could make thee For there is no Comparison between Temporal Losses and Spiritual Gains For all the things that are seen are but Temporal but the things that are not seen are Eternal How blessed a thing is it O my Soul to be afflicted Seeing these light Afflictions that are but for a moment work out for thee a far more Exceeding and Eternal Weight of Glory T his O my Soul is enough not only to make them rejoyce but even glory in Tribulations since they have so blessed an effect See then O my Soul that thy Tribulation worketh Patience and Patience Experience and Experience Hope even that Hope which maketh not ashamed and so shalt thou have rejoycing in thy self and not in another A PRAYER O Almighty and merciful Lord God who madest all things for thy own Glory and canst Over-rule all Events so as to bring glory to thy Name and good to thy People out of the darkest of thy Dispensations towards them Grant I beseech Thee that these Afflictions with which thou hast been pleased to Exercise me may by thy gracious Ordination bring forth the Peaceable fruits of Righteousness unto me that I may be Enabled to say It is good for me that I have been Afflicted And suffer me not O Lord neither to despise thy chastening by going on in those Ways of Sin and Rebellion against thee which have brought thy Iudgments down upon this Nation nor to defer my Repentance for those Iniquities which I have been guilty of And since thou hast declared in thy Word That he which hideth his Sins shall not prosper but that those who confess 'em and forsake 'em shall find Mercy Help me I humbly beseech thee with all thy People to make our Confession unto thee and to acknowledge that we have sinned and have committed Iniquity and have rebelled by departing from thy Precepts and thy Iudgments neither have we hearken'd to thy Servants the Ministers which spoke in thy Name to our Kings our Princes and our Fathers and to all the People of the Land And therefore O Lord Righteousness belongs unto thee but unto us Confusion of face as at this day to our King our Princes and our Iudges because we have sinned against thee And have added this Evil unto all the rest that yet we have not made our Prayer before the Lord our God that we might turn from our Iniquities and understand thy Truth O Lord our God we pray thee hear encline thine Ear and open thine Eyes and behold our low Estate For we do not present these our Supplications before thee for our Righteousness sake but for thy great Mercies through Iesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour Our Father c. Meditation V. Of the Benefit and Advantage of Afflictions WE have in the former Meditation Enquir'd into the Nature of Afflictions they are Evils in themselves not joyous but grievous and into the Causes of them which generally is Sin and what some of those Sins are we have also examin'd and found our selves to be concern'd in them which calls for our hearty Sorrow and Repentance But as a wife Physician will so temper Poyson as not only to allay its Venom but turn it into an Antidote so does the great Physician of our Souls do with Afflictions making them work together for our Good and bring forth for us the Peaceable Fruits of Righteousness And here I will a little Meditate upon the reasons why it pleases God to Afflict his Children and what the Benefits are that we reap thereby 1. Because we might shew our Conformity to our Blessed Redeemer who first Suffered and then Entered into his Glory In like manner we are told that if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him And the greater Tryals we endure here the brighter will our Crown of Glory shine hereafter The Author to the Hebrews having given a large account of the sufferings of the People of God in former Ages and of their not accepting Deliverance gives this as the reason that they expected a better Resurrection Agreeable to which our Lord tells us That those that are persecuted here for Righteousness sake
are blessed because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven And seeing the Captain of our Salvation was made Perfect through Sufferings why should it not also be the same with his Followers 2. Another Reason why it pleases God to Exercise us here with Afflictions is That our hearts might be drawn off from the love of the World which is an Enemy to God The inordinate love of the World makes the Soul uncapable of the love of God for St. Iohn tells us expresly That if any Man love the World the love of the Father is not in him How much better is it then to have the hatred of the World and to have God our Friend than to have the World our Friend and God our Enemy And sure we have no reason to complain of Afflictions since St. Paul tells us We are chastened of the Lord that we might not be condemned with the World God is pleased to imbitter the World to us by Afflictions as a Tender Mother does her Teat when she wou'd wean her Child from the Brest she rubs her Nipple with Aloes or Wormwood which the Child tasting will take the Brest no more So when the World wou'd intice us to the love thereof by its Delights and Pleasures our merciful Father sends us Tribulations and Afflictions to take our hearts from the love of present things which could we have quietly Enjoy'd we should have been for building Tabernacles here Could the Prodigal Son have fill'd his Belly with Husks he would never have thought of Returning to his Father but Want and Affliction brought him from the Swine with whom he would have staid could he have got his Belly full 3. Another Benefit we receive by Affliction is That we are thereby Cured of our Soul-Disease and that too of such as are otherwise almost incurable Honours Riches and a Prosperous Condition in the World causes us too often to contract those sinful Habits which we never come to reflect upon much less to repent of until Affliction makes us Therefore it is that Solomon tells us The Rod and Reproof give Wisdom The Story of Ioseph's Brethren is remarkable they had sold their Brother to the Ishmaelitish Merchants and made their Father believe he was torn in pieces of Wild Beasts and then thought all was well and were not at all troubled that they had sold their Brother and deceiv'd their Father But afterwards when they went down to Egypt were there put in Ward and charged as being Spies this Affliction brings to their remembrance their former Usage of their Brother Ioseph and now they cry out We are verily guilty concerning our Brother We saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore is this distress come upon us Had it not been for that affliction in all probability they had never repented of their Cruelty to Ioseph One likeneth Afflictions to the Rod of Moses for as the striking that upon the Rock brought forth Water so the Rod of Affliction often mollifieth stony-hearted Sinners and makes the Waters of Repentance to gush out Another compares it to a File for as that cleanses the Iron from its Rust and make it bright So Affliction files off that Rust of Sin which worldly Prosperity has contracted and makes our Graces shine more bright and glorious The Scripture likewise compares it to a Furnace wherein Gold is tried and purged from all its filth and dross and brought to the greatest degree of Perfection It may also well be compared to a Purging Potion for as that driveth the corrupt and ill humours out of a diseased Body so Afflictions drive out evil Passions and corrupt Desires and Affections out of the Soul such as Pride Vain-glory Sloth Niceness Lust Gluttony Drunkenness and many more And Elihu speaking to Iob of the Afflictions with which God uses to exercise his People tells him It is that he may with-draw Man from his Purpose and hide Pride from him he does indeed says Elihu chasten him with Pains upon his Bed and the multitude of his Bones with strong Pain so that his Life abhorreth Bread and his Soul dainty Meat yea his Soul draweth near to the Grave and his Life to the destroyers Lo these things says he worketh God often-times with Man But wou'd you know to what End 'T is to bring back his Soul from the Pit to be Enlightened with the light of the Living 4. Another Benefit of Affliction is That it is a Preservative from Evil and keeps us from many Sins which we should otherwise run into This is what God intends by the Prophet Hosea when he tells the Children of Iudah that were bent upon Idolatry and resolved to go after their Lovers that God wou'd prevent 'em and put a stop in their Way I 'll hedge up thy way with Thorns says God That is I will bring such afflictions upon you as shall be as so many Thorns in your sides which shall put a stop to your Careir in Wickedness And this was the Experience of holy David long before For he tells us Psal. cxix 71. It is good for me that I have been Afflicted If you ask why it was good for him or what Benefit he found by it He readily tells you Vers. 67. Before I was afflicted I went astray but now have I kept thy Word And therefore instead of murmuring against God for Afflictions he justifies God I know O Lord says he that thy Iudgments are just and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me 5. ANOTHER Advantage we reap by Afflictions is That hereby God puts us upon the Tryal of our Graces There are many that will swim with the Tide that won't venture when the stream is against ' em What the Devil falsly said of Iob is but too true of many Men they won't serve God for nought When God blesses them with the good things of this Life and they have all that their Hearts can wish then they will be for God and for the Profession of Religion but if he puts forth his hand and takes away what they have they will be like those that the Prophet Isaiah speaks of who when they are hungry and hardly bestead shall fret themselves and curse their King and their God And therefore Iob's Constancy under those great Afflictions made his Piety and Patience so much the more Illustrious 'T is Affliction that shews us which are Hypocrites and which are sincere Christians a sincere Christian varies not with the Times but is semper idem always the same whereas a Hypocrite is a Time-server and will turn with the Times rather than be turn'd out If Tribulation comes he is for avoiding of it let it come from what Quarter it will How many can we remember that made the greatest Pretences of Loyalty to the King that cou'd be and had there been no occasion to try their Loyalty would have been Loyal still but when Times of Affliction and Trial came on and the King was
forc'd to with-draw himself they likewise with-drew their Loyalty This shews that times of Affliction are times of Trial by which God proves the Truth of our Love to him and our Zeal for him And by which we also may come to know the Deceitfulness of our own Hearts which is also the Design of God in our Afflictions as the holy Ghost testifies 2 Chron. xxxii 31. where speaking of Hezekiah we have these words Howbeit in the business of the Ambassadors of the Princes of Babylon who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the Land God left him to try him that he i. e. Hezekiah might know all that was in his Heart 6 Another Benefit that we receive by Afflictions is That they make us run to God Fulness and Prosperity oft makes us forget God and run away from him but Afflictions generally drive us to him and indeed is the only way to reclaim us This the Prophet Hosea tells us where God speaking of his People that had gone away from him and follow'd Idols threatens to bring Afflictions upon 'em I will be as a Lyon and as a Young Lyon to the House of Judah I will tear and go away I will take away and none shall rescue Would you know God's design herein I will go says he and return to my Place till they acknowledge their offences and seek my Face But when will that be O says God In their Affliction they will seek me Early When we are walking abroad in the Fields and the Weather is good we are not solicitous about a Place of shelter but if a Storm arises and a Shower comes then we look out for a Shelter and make haste unto it God is call'd in the Scripture A Covert from the Storm and from the Rain Isa. iv 6. And therefore when the Tempest of God's Wrath arises and the Storm of his Anger is pour'd upon the World whither shall we run for safety but to Him who is a Covert from the storm and from the rain At such times especially we run to God as to our great Assylum and Refuge knowing that under the shadow of his Wings we shall be safe Thus it was in the Wilderness with the Israelites a stiff-necked generation continually provoking God by their unbelief and this they did to that degree that God often sent his Judgments amongst them by which many of them were destroyed and these Afflictions made them seek after and run to God for so the Psalmist tells Psal. lxxviii 34. When he slew them then they sought him and they returned and enquired early after God And tho' the Psalmist tells us that they did but flatter him with their Mouth and lied unto him with their Tongue and that their heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant yet this running of theirs to him in the time of their affliction did so far prevail with God that he being full of Compassion destroyed them not but turned his Anger away and did not stir up all his Wrath. And David himself frequently professes that God was his Refuge in time of Trouble whereto he did continually resort So that this is certainly a great Advantage that we gain by Afflictions that they drive us to God to whom we fly for Refuge and where we find Security 7. There is also this Advantage in Afflictions That by means of them we come to live in the daily exercise of all Vertues which without Afflictions we could not do This St. Paul affirms Rom. v. 3. We glory in Tribulations also knowing that Tribulation worketh Patience and Patience Experience and Experience Hope and Hope maketh not ashamed This is the natural Consequence of Afflictions for then we live in the Exercise of Faith by believing Gods Promise that all things shall work together for our Good and relying upon him for our Deliverance We live in the Exercise of Hope by an assured Expectation of the Reward promised to them that suffer And in the Exercise of Charity by having our hearts inflam'd with the love of Christ who gave himself for us whereby we are made willing to offer up our selves a Free-will-Offering to him both in Life and Death Our Patience is Exercis'd in suffering the Will of God with Quietness and Resignation of Soul and our Humility by abasing our selves in the sight of God and being willing to suffer shame for his sake 8. ANOTHER Advantage that we reap by Afflictions which is the last I shall mention because I affect brevity is That when they have brought forth in us the Peaceable Fruits of Righteousness our Mouths and our Hearts too shall be filled with Songs of Deliverance Thus David rejoyc'd in God Psal. LIX 16. I will sing of thy Power yea I will sing aloud of thy Mercy in the Morning for thou hast been my Defence and Refuge in the Day of my Trouble The Children of Israel had been kept a long time in the House of Bondage in the Land of Egypt where they were made to serve with Rigor But with what Songs of Praise were their Mouths filled upon their Deliverance How did they exult in the Lord and glory in the God of their Salvation There had been no occasion for those Songs of Deliverance had they not been kept in Bondage Nor had they seen the Power of God so wonderfully display'd on their behalf which made them cry out Who is like unto thee O Lord among the gods Who is like unto thee Glorious in Holiness Fearful in Praises doing Wonders Had King David come to the Crown without meeting with those Troubles that preceded it he had not been so sensibly affected with God's Mercy in Delivering him as he was nor in all probability have writ that excellent Song of Praise recited both in 2 Sam. xxii and in Psal. xviii Intituled A Psalm of David the Servant of the LORD who spake unto the LORD the words of this Song in the Day that the LORD Deliver'd him from the hand of all his Enemies and from the hand of Saul In which he first gives an Account of his great Distresses for says he The Sorrows of Death compassed me and the floods of ungodly Men made me afraid nay he goes further than this and tells us The sorrows of Hell compassed him about and the snares of Death prevented him And then exults in GOD for his great Deliverance The Lord was my stay By Thee have I run through a Troop by my GOD have I leaped over a Wall As for GOD his way is perfect The Word of the LORD is tried He is a Buckler to all those that trust in Him For who is GOD save the LORD Or who is a Rock save our GOD The LORD liveth and blessed be my Rock and let the GOD of my Salvation be exalted It is GOD that avengeth me and subdueth the People under me He delivereth me from mine Enemies Yea Thou liftest me up above those that rise up
against me Thou hast delivered me from the Violent Man Therefore will I give thanks unto thee O LORD among the Heathen and sing Praises unto thy Name Great Deliverance giveth He to his King and sheweth mercy to his Anointed to David and to his Seed for evermore Thus David's being delivered out of his Troubles fill'd his mouth with Songs of Deliverance to his great Deliverer GOD is the same GOD still and has the same Power to save and the same Bowels of Compassion to shew Mercy Let us therefore lift up our Eyes and our Hearts to Him We have been long looking to Men but they have prov'd but as broken Reeds that have rather pierc'd our hands than holpen us We have experienc'd the Truth of what David long ago affirmed That Men of low degree are Vanity and Men of high degree are a Lye And therefore let us all say as he does Psal. LXII 5. My Soul wait thou only upon God for my expectation is from him But to proceed It is as I have said before none of the least Benefit of Afflictions That it makes deliverance more sweet to us For as after a great drouth a shower of Rain is more refreshing to the Earth or when we are extream thirsty a draught of Drink is sweeter to us and a Calm is rendred more pleasant and acceptable to Passengers after a troublesome Tempest so will our deliverance be more grateful to us after we have been exercis'd with great and sore Afflictions Thus in the LXVIII Psalm and the 13th vers Tho' ye have lien among the Pots like Sons of Clay esteem'd as the filth of the World and the off-scouring of all things yet when your Deliverance shall come ye shall be as the Wings of a Dove covered with Silver and her Feathers with yellow Gold i. e. Ye shall be so much the more bright and glorious and for every Sorrow you underwent in the time of your Affliction you shall receive redoubled Consolations after your Deliverance And this Deliverance will come in due time if with Faith and Patience we be found waiting for it For tho' Heaviness may endure for a Night yet Ioy will come in the Morning especially if we let Patience have its perfect work But if through impatience we seek to hasten it we shall but retard it for he that believeth maketh not haste And that we may the more quietly submit to the good Pleasure of GOD and rest satisfied in his Wise Disposal of things our next Meditation shall be of our Resignation to the Will of GOD. The Soul's Expostulation LET us now O my Soul a little Contemplate on the adorable Wisdom of GOD who is wonderful in Counsel and excellent in working whose way is in the Sea and his Path in the great Waters and his footsteps are not known Since then O my Soul his Judgments are such a great deep that all the Lines of a created Understanding can never fathom them Is it not much better to accept of his Fatherly Chastisements than to quarrel with his Proceedings Present Afflictions may be far better than a Prosperous Condition if thou hast Wisdom to improve 'em to the end for which GOD designs ' em Will it be a Mercy to be made conformable to thy blessed Redeemer who first suffered and then entered into his glory And will it not be thy happiness to have the same mind in thee as was in Christ Jesus And if Afflictions do this surely thou oughtest to Thank God for Afflictions and rejoyce that thou art counted worthy to be a Partaker of Christ's sufferings Again If by Afflictions thy heart be weaned from the World and thy Affections set upon the things above where there are better and more durable Treasures thou art certainly an infinite Gainer by the Bargain And if outward ease and Prosperity has caused thee to contract sinful habits and evil Diseases which are purged away by Afflictions what reason hast thou to complain Or if God by his afflicting hand hedge up thy way with Thorns that thou canst not do all the Evil that is in thy heart is not this the greatest Mercy that can happen to thee And if by outward sufferings thou approvest the sincerity of thy heart to God oughtest thou not to rejoyce therein Thou canst not but know O my Soul how apt thou art to start aside from GOD like a deceitful Bow and if to Cure thee of that Evil the Floods of Affliction like those of great Waters do arise and force thee to run to God as thy strong hold for safety and Refuge is there not a hand of Mercy to be eyed therein which thou oughtest thankfully and humbly to adore And likewise if Afflictions cause thee to live in the Exercise of Faith Hope Charity Patience Humility and other Divine Graces thou hast exceeding reason to be thankful to God and to say with David It is good for me I have been Afflicted Lastly O my Soul consider how pleasant it will be to look back upon the various Issues of Divine Providence when God shall have wrought Deliverance for thee How wilt thou then O my Soul exalt and magnify the Lord and rejoyce in God thy Saviour Thou art now apt to blame the Conduct of Divine Providence and to say with good old Iacob All these things are against me But then thou wilt be of another mind and conclude that he hath done all things well so that it could not be done better and break forth into that Pathetical Exclamation of the holy Apostle O the depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his Iudgments and his ways past finding out And thence conclude with him That of him and through him and to him are all things To whom be glory for ever Amen A PRAYER GRACIOVS and Merciful Father help me thy poor unworthy Creature to adore thee for that Goodness and Mercy which thou hast been pleased to Vouchsafe to me by all the various Methods of thy Providence towards me and more particularly for those Afflictions which it has pleased thee to Visit me withal O Lord be thou pleased to make them effectual for those gracious Ends and Purposes designed by Thee That by them I may be made more conformable to my Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ who was a Man of Sorrow and acquainted with Grief and who learned Obedience by the things that he suffered and having suffered entered into his glory and that by them also I may find my Heart and Affections drawn off from the love of the World because the Friendship of the World is Enmity to God but grant O Lord that my Affections may be raised and set upon things above even where my blessed Redeemer sits at thy right hand that so when he shall appear I also may appear with him in glory Grant also O Lord That tho' no Affliction at the present is Ioyous but Grievous my Afflictions may be so tempered with the Oyl
of Mercy by the great Physician of my Soul that they may purge out all those sinful Distempers and Evil Habits that Prosperity and Ease has caus'd me to contract that so being purged from my Sins and refined in the Furnace of Affliction I may come forth like Gold And seeing my Foolish and Deceitful Heart is so ready to run after Lying Vanities let thy Chastisements be as so many Thorns to hedge up my Way that so being stopt from running into the Paths of the Destroyer my Soul may be like a Garden inclosed a Spring shut up and a Fountain sealed And blessed Lord grant also that by my Patient continuance in well doing under thy Afflicting hand I may Evidence the sincerity of my Love to-towards thee which the Waters of Affliction can never quench nor all the Floods of Tribulation drown And tho' former Prosperity has caus'd me to forget thee yet let this storm that it has pleased thee in thy Righteous Iudgment to bring upon me cause me to fly unto thee for shelter who art a Covert from the Storm and from the Rain and my only Refuge and Rock of Defence where I can be safe against the fear of Evil. And as the depressing of a Palm-tree makes it grow the Straighter and the treading of Cammomile makes it smell the Sweeter so let my present Afflictions cause the Graces of thy holy Spirit in me to send forth the greater Fragrancy and to appear more Eminently And further be pleased to grant O Lord through thy Wise and all-Disposing Providence these light Afflictions that are but for a moment may work out for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory And that when thou shalt graciously please to accomplish all the purposes of thy Grace towards me by thy Afflicting hand and caused thine Anger towards me to cease that my Mouth may be filled with Songs of Diliverance That I may say with thy Servant of Old Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his Benefits who forgiveth all thine Iniquities who healeth all thy Diseases who redeemeth thy Life from Destruction and Crowneth thee with loving Kindness and tender Mercies Grant this O Lord for the sake of Iesus Christ thy blessed and only Son who for the Ioy that was set before him endured the Cross and despised the Shame and is set down at the right hand of the Majesty on high To whom with thee O Father and the Eternal Spirit be ascribed all Honour Glory Power and Praise World without End Amen Meditation VI. Of our Resignation to the Will of God OUR Blessed Saviour in that most Excellent Form of Prayer he has taught us has made this one Principal Petition in it Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven And tho' I hope we all make use of this Prayer yet how few of us are there that understand what we ask Tho' there is nothing more pleasing to God nor nothing that tends more to the Establishment of our own quiet than this Resignation of our Wills to the Will of God which we therein pray for For could we in times of greatest Trouble and at the lowest Ebb of Affliction consider that it is the Will of God without whom nothing comes to pass and whose alone Will is the Rule of all Righteousness that consideration would soon allay all those storms of Passion and Discontent which are so ready to arise in our Souls under such Dispensations of Providence and make all calm and quiet there And this was that which silenc'd all the Complaints of Gods People in the Days of Old when they were even cover'd with the Cloud of his Anger Of which tho' many Instances might be given I shall confine my self to a few AND the first shall be that of old Eli the Priest who was a good Man but too indulgent a Father his wicked Children who thereby took Encouragement to sin by which God was so provok'd that he sent Samuel to Eli with such a Message as was enough to make his Ears to tingle importing no less than the destruction of him and his house and that the Iniquity of his house should not be purged with Sacrifice nor Offering for Ever because his Sons had made themselves Vile and he restrained them not And yet even under so heavy a Message as this was the good old Man resigns himself up to the Will of God saying It is the LORD let him do what seemeth him good A Second Instance shall be that of King David when he was forced to fly from the Rebellion which Absalom his own Son had rais'd against him Absalom having aspir'd to the Kingdom and wheedled the People out of their Loyalty and Allegiance upon a Pretence of the Mismanagement of his Father telling those that came to the King for Judgment in any Cause That there was no Man deputed of the King to hear them and then wishing he was made Iudge in the Land that he might do them Iustice By which sly Insinuations he had stolen away the hearts of the Isralites from his Father And when by these ill Practices things were ripe for an Open Rebellion Religion too must be brought in for a Part and a Vow to the Lord is pretended to be paid at Hebron on which pretence Absalom having obtain'd leave to depart from the King blows the Trumpet of Rebellion throughout all Israel and makes himself King in Hebron This News being brought to David he finds himself in Danger from his Rebellious Son and thereupon resolves to Abdicate the Royal City of Ierusalem to which Absalom was hastening as fast as he could In this flight of the King he had several of his Loyal Subjects to attend him and among them were Zadok and Abiathar the Priests and the honest Levites with the Ark of God But the good King who was more concern'd for the Ark of God than for himself knowing that God had chosen the Gates of Zion before all the Dwellings of Iacob would by no means suffer the Ark to be carried after him but sends it back again into the City not knowing how God might deal with him with this Noble Resignation of himself to the Will of God Carry back says he to Zadock the Ark of God into the City if I shall find Favour with the Lord he will bring me again and shew me both it and his habitation But if he thus say I have no delight in thee behold here am I let him do to me as seemeth good unto him This is a truly Royal Example and well worthy Imitation A Third Instance of this Resignation of our Wills to the Will of God shall be that of King Hezekiah who after his Recovery from Sickness having Received the Congratulatory Ambassadors of Merodach Baladan the King of Babylon was so pleas'd with the Honour which he thought was thereby done him that he shewed the Ambassadors the
House of his Precious Things the Silver and the Gold and the Spices and the Precious Ointment and all the House of his Armour and all that was found in his Treasure But this thing was displeasing to the Lord who saw Hezekiah had his heart lifted up thereby and therefore he sends the Prophet Isaiah to him with this heavy Message Behold the days come that all that is in thine House and that which thy Fathers have laid up in store until this day shall be carried to Babylon nothing shall be left saith the Lord And of thy Sons that shall Issue from thee which thou shalt beget shall they take away and they shall be Eunuchs in the Palace of the King of Babylon Wou'd we know now how Hezekiah took this doleful Message Why instead of fretting against God or going about to excuse himself he resigns himself up to the good pleasure of God saying to the Prophet Isaiah Good is the Word of the Lord which thou hast spoken For there shall be Peace and Truth in my Days THE Fourth and last Instance I shall mention shall be that Illustrious One of our Blessed Saviour Who being under a sense of Divine Wrath in that bitter Agony and Bloody Sweat which he underwent for our Sins in the Garden and which none but himself could have born for it would have crush'd all Mankind into Nothing and all the Angels too to have lain under it he prayed to his Father saying If it be possible let this Cup Pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as Thou wilt Matth. xxvi 39. And in the 42d vers he went away again praying the second time and said O my Father if this Cup may not pass away except I drink it Thy Will be done And in vers 44. He prayed again the third time saying the same words THIS is indeed the greatest Instance of Resignation to the Divine Will that can be given And after such an Instance sure none can deny that it is a Christians Duty Nor is it more our Duty than it is our Priviledge For when our Wills are thus resigned to the Will of God there is no cross Accident that can surprize us nor no Affliction trouble us because we have given our selves up to his Disposal who best knows how to order all things for us and are secur'd in so doing that all things shall work together for our good THIS Resignation of Soul to the Will of God consists principally in an absolute Acquiescence to the Divine Pleasure in every State and Condition of Life whereby we are willing that God should chuse that Condition which he sees best for us whether it be Sickness or Health Life or Death Poverty or Riches Honour or Disgrace And this without Murmuring or Repining or Thinking we are not well dealt with or that we cou'd have provided better for our selves but on the contrary we ought to think our present Condition the best for us be it what it will because it is the Result of Divine Providence and this requires or supposes in us a stedfast belief of God's Governing the World and ordering all Affairs in it according to the Counsel of his own Will And he that by a stedfast Faith in God believing him to be the most Wise most Powerful most Just most Merciful and Beneficent Being has resign'd himself up to his Disposal is prepar'd for all Events and tho' he may lose Crowns Kingdoms Riches Honours Friends Relations and all things else which are look'd upon as outward Blessings yet he can never lose that inward Peace of Conscience and Satisfaction of Mind which the World can neither give nor take away The Soul's Expostulation CONSIDER O my Soul if thy Resignation to the Divine Will be so absolute a Duty what progress thou hast made therein and whether thou hast so given up thy self to the Will of God to be absolutely at his Disposal That thou art so is indeed unquestionable and so are the Devils too for notwithstanding all their Rage and all their Malice they cannot break those Chains of Darkness wherein they are bound to the Judgment of the great Day But they have not resign'd their Wills unto his but on the contrary do whatever they can to oppose it tho in Vain But O my Soul is thy being at the Disposal of Divine Providence the effect of thy Choice as well as of God's Power If it be so 't is what it ought to be But then what means this bleating of the Sheep and lowing of the Oxen as Samuel said to Saul in another case What means all this murmuring and repining at thy present Condition What means that hankering after those Honours Riches and Pleasures that thou Enjoyedst heretofore And thy present Uneasiness under the want of them Do'st thou believe that thy present Circumstances are the Result of the Divine Providence and what God thinks best for thee Then let thy Mouth be stopt for ever For nothing can be more unreasonable than to complain How preposterous is it O my Soul to pray to God Thy Will be done and yet when it is done to murmur This seems strongly to insinuate that thou art no further willing God's Will should be done than as it suits with thine which is the Reverse of what thou hast pray'd for Therefore O my Soul either leave off Praying Thy Will be done or cease to let thy Practice thus contradict thy Prayers Remember O my Soul that it is the foolishness of Man that perverteth his way and makes his heart to fret against the Lord. And take heed lest thy repining makes thee appear to be such a one Is it not far better to give up thy self to his Conduct by an intire Resignation of thy Will to his who better knows how to order thy Affairs than thou thy self do'st So may the bitter Draught of Affliction be made a wholesome Potion to thee whereby thou may'st Experience the Truth of Sampson's Riddle Out of the Eater comes forth Meat and out of the Strong comes forth Sweetness A PRAYER O Almighty and Eternal God who workest all things according to the Counsel of thy own blessed Will and whose Will is the Rule of all Righteousness Look down in Mercy upon a poor and worthless Sinner before thee whose heart was lifted up and forgot God in the time of my Prosperity and therefore thou hast justly depriv'd me of those Mercies which I did not Improve to thy Praise And since I would not serve thee in the fulness of all things it is but just I shou'd serve thee in the want of them And yet such is the Vainty and Deceitfulness of my heart that I am now apt to repine against thy Providence and fret against thee for what thou hast done instead of Kissing thy Rod and Submitting to thy Fatherly Chastisements O therefore be thou pleased to subdue this Rebellious heart of mine and by an intire Resignation of my Soul to thy Soveraign Disposal cause me to rest