of Sores full of Weakness full of Errours full of Infirmities a prodigy of Frailty Here Lord here is work for thy strong Hand and for thy mighty Arm. In this Heart are Divels that must be expelled by thy Power Stretch forth thy Hand and save me Here is an object to exercise thy omnipotent hand upon My Cure requires Miracles It 's no ordinary Virtue that will set me to Rights again Thou Thou O Lord must come and strike thy Hand over the sore place and my Leprosie will be gone Thy Prophet cries by thy order Return unto the Lord your God for he is Gracious and Merciful slow to anger and repents him of the evil I believe Lord I believe My Heart is wounded within me I come I come Father I have sinn'd against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son make me as one of thy hired Servants But then I desire no other hire no other wages but thy Self Thou art my exceeding great reward Oh! How bitter a thing is it to forsake thee What have I got by offending thee What have I gained by sinning against thee Nothing but Shame and Horror and Trembling and Confusion Darkness hath covered me the shadow of Death hath fallen upon me What fruit had I then in those things whereof I am now asham'd My Soul hath been divested of her innocence her Joy her Peace her Comfort and her Satisfaction And Oh my Jesus didst not thou stand my friend now Great Mediator didst not thou stand in the gap now and plead for me O my Redeemer Didst not thou intercede for me I must be prostituted and exposed to Eternal laughter and derision Good Lord How pitiful how wretched how trivial how impertinent how inconsiderable was that pleasure that profit that thing for which I did did affront and dishonour thee When I look upon thy Creatures either above or below I wonder how they were able to contain themselves and not vindicate their Masters Honour which they saw abused by me I wonder they did not not fall upon me and crush me into perdition when they saw how bold how presumptuous this Caitiff was O my Lord For this my Soul shall mourn in secret even for this that I have not loved thee better that I have not sought thee more that I have not approach'd thee with greater veneration Hence forward Lord if all the Pleasures all the Riches all the Honours of this World were concentred in this sin that formerly I lived in it should be no temptation to me I would tear the Tyrant out of its seat It should usurp thy place no more I would pull it out of its Throne it should find no harbour in me Thy Love should constrain me to part with it I will Crucify thee no more I have trampled too long upon thy Mercy I will make light of it no more O my Jesus Remember thy Agonies remember thy Pain remember thy Sufferings remember thy Death and forget my Sins Thy Servant David cryed once I have sinned and thou didst presently take away his Sin My sighing is not hid from thee O do not hide thy Face from me Manasseh look'd up to thee and thou hadst respect unto his Prayer O give ear to my Prayer too that goes not out of feigned Lips The Ninivites humbled themselves and thou wast intreated Oh repent thy self of the evil thou hast said thou wouldst do unto me and do it not Peter wept and thou gavest him a Gracious Look I water my couch with my tears Oh smile upon me too and say I have redeem'd thee thou art mine I love thee O Lord and would have every Creature love thee I would have all things that have breath praise the Lord. I would have every creature shew forth thy Glory Thou hast loved me from all Eternity Was ever such Love heard of as thine was To come from the Mansions of the Blessed into a Valley of Tears to advance such a creature from Death to Life Eternal Thou hast made my Death a harmless nay a gainful thing Thy Cross hath sweetned all there was Death in the pot but thou threwest in Meal and didst sweeten all O blot out the very footsteps of my Sins and set me as a Seal upon thy Heart so will I give thee thanks in the great Congregation my Lips shall praise thee O my Life I would prefer thee above all thy Creatures I would look upon all these outward Comforts as a drop in the Bucket and on Thee as the Ocean On these as the small dust in the Ballance on Thee as the Rock of Ages I would love Thee with all my heart I would love Thee more then my Self O that my whole Mind were united to Thee O that I might know nothing save Jesus Christ and him Crucified O that all the powers of my Soul might embrace Thee O that I might seek thy Glory with stronger desires then Worldlings do their Wealth or the Covetous the increase of their In-comes Oh! that I could adhere unto Thee inseparably O withdraw my Heart from every evil way Incline my Heart to all Goodness Let not my Affections be henceforth corrupted with the love of the Creature Let me not be weary of loving Thee Let nothing overcome my Love Let nothing damp it Oh enable me to say Who shall separate me from the love of God! O draw my Soul with cords of Love with this Love wound and pierce my Heart and make it sick that it may insatiably long for Thee Oh! I would love Thee without ceasing love Thee without bounds love Thee without measure Oh let my Soul melt with this Fire and purge away that filth which doth so easily beset me Take away from me all that doth displease Thee Refine in me all that pleases Thee Be Thou ever present with me Live in me thou Fountain of Life and let me live in Thee and let that Charity live in me which suffers long and is kind which envies not which vaunteth not it self which is not puft up which doth not behave it self unseemly seeks not her own is not easily provoked thinks no evil rejoyces not in iniquity but rejoyces in the Truth bears all things believes all things hopeth all things endureth all things through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen A Prayer for Faith O Thou from whom every good and perfect Gift descends who givest to all Men liberally and upbraidest not Thou callest Seek ye my Face Thy Face Lord will I seek Thou hast said O Lord Thy Mouth hath spoken it if ye had but Faith as a grain of Mustard-seed ye should say unto this Mountain Be thou removed and cast into the Sea and it should obey you O my Lord I have Rocks to be displaced Mountains to be removed vast loads to be freed from Rocks of Unbelief Mountains of Sin loads of Iniquity Oh lend me thy helping Hand None can give relief none can succour none can do me any good but thy self How
Duties I have formerly neglected and imitate Holy Men and Women in their virtuous practises Es. 58. 6 7. Matth. 6. 17 18. 1 Cor. 7. 5. 1 Cor. 9. 27. Consc. Wherein doth the Conscientious use of the Holy Sacraments consist Christ. In entertaining right and sutable notions of the nature of these Sacraments and using them to those ends and purposes for which they are designed Matth. 6. 22. 1 Cor. 10. 31. Consc. What Notions must thou entertain about these Sacraments Christ. 1. That these Sacraments are in the nature of solemn Vows and Protestations that I will be faithful to God in Christ Jesus by the assistance of the Holy Ghost or in the nature of Covenants where God and Man do mutually engage themselves one to another or in the nature of outward visible signs whereby some Spiritual thing is represented Rom. 4. 12. Exod. 13. 9. 1 Pet. 3. 20. 21. 2. That these Sacraments are ordained and instituted by the Son of God my Saviour and that Baptism and the Supper of the Lord are all the Sacraments that are either given by Christ to the Church or need to be receiv'd by the Church of Christ Matth. 28. 19. 1 Cor. 11. 23. 3. That Baptism is a significant Ceremony whereby Children Men and Women are washed with Water which washing imports Gods pardon of our sins and our Duty to keep our selves pure from Sin for the future God promising the one and we the other 1 Pet. 3. 21. 1 Cor. 6. 11. 4. That though Children can make no such promises yet it 's fit they should be Baptiz'd because they are part of the Nations which Christ would have Baptiz'd and are Disciples and in the Covenant of Grace and it 's enough that other persons promise for them as their Guardians which promise they are bound to perform when they come to be of age Acts 2. 38 39. 5. That coming to the Lords Supper is the strongest engagement to a Holy Life because I do there personally freely and solemnly remember the death of Christ and that my sins caused his death and do protest to allow my self no longer in them but to imitate Christ Jesus in his Meekness Patience Humility Charity and Goodness 1 Cor. 11. 24 25. Consc. How must these Sacraments be used in order to thy present and everlasting Comfort Christ. 1. As to Baptism I must be baptized but once because that initiates and admits me into the fellowship of Christians and gives me a Right and Title to the use of the means of Grace and this need to be done but once All that is to be done after this is to keep a good Conscience towards God and towards Man in the use of those means according to the promise made for me when I was washed with water Eph. 4. 5. 2. As to the Supper of the Lord that requires my frequent coming because I stand in need of frequent renewing not only of my Repentance and love to God and Charity to my Neighbours but of the motives and enforcives to these Graces whereof the remembrance of the love of God in the death of Christ is the greatest and most remarkable 1 Cor. 11. 26. The FIRE of the ALTAR OR DIRECTIONS Concerning the worthy Receiving OF THE LORDS SUPPER Conscience IS it not fit O my Soul thou shouldest pause a little on thy Redeemers death before thou goest to remember it with the Congregation there are those charms in that Death which if rightly viewed will be invincible motives to thee to die to a sinful Life and to embrace the Holy Life of Jesus Shouldst not thou Think Shouldst not thou Cry O that I had wings like a Dove that I might fly away to Golgotha and behold the dreadful spectacle of God crucified for the sins of the children of men A mighty mystery this To the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness What all the Jewish Rabbins could not see what the greatest Heathen Sages could not find out that hath God revealed O God! thy Ways are not as our Ways nor are thy Thoughts as our Thoughts We entertain mean apprehensions of Thee such as our narrow understandings yield but thou lovest to do all things contrary to the measures we poor mortals take This hath been thy method ever since thou hast thought fit to plant a Church in the world Thou didst send Lot into Sodom and contrary to Mens imagination didst preserve him from the infection of that beastly crew In the midst of an idolatrous Countrey thou didst bid Elijah stand up and declare thy Name to the besotted Israelites a place where to own the true God was fatal and to make mention of thy worship Heresie where to profess thy Faith was counted madness and not to imitate the Luxury of the age a crime unpardonable among the wicked Men of Anat hoth thou didst separate Jeremiah for the Prophetick Office and in the land of Vz crouded with Pagans and Infidels gavest Job a heart to fear thy Providence Out of Vz the Metropolis of Chaldean Superstition thou didst call the Beloved Abraham and vouchsafedst to him the knowledge of thy Will in a crooked and perverse Generation Thou didst fill the bashful Moses with courage to talk to Kings and a timorous Aaron by thy Order can controul Atheists and Idolaters Thou lovest to create a World out of nothing and to call things that are out of those which do not appear Thou lovest to do things which to us seem impossibilities and when the Fig-tree doth not blossom lovest to produce most pleasant Fruit When calamities are become dangerous and past remedy thou lovest to shew thy healing hand and when no probabilities of help appear declarest thy Power and Glory Thou lovest to bring forth Grapes from Thorns and Figs from Thistles and out of a barren soil or cursed ground many times lettest the richest Spices grow When all mankind lay in darkness and was covered with the shadow of death When Divels plaid about them and the furies of the burning Lake laid hold of them When the fiery Dragon was ready to devour them and the old Serpent going to swallow up their Souls Behold thy Son appears from Heaven frights the powers of darkness and all immediately disappear Ah! My dearest Jesu Meekest of Kings and fairer then all the children of men I behold thee Reigning and hanging on the Cross Reigning for in despight of all the reproaches of of thine enemies thou wast still the everlasting King and Saints and Angels bowed to thee When thy Body was torn bruised and wounded on the Tree Their reproaches could not dethrone thee their virulent Tongues could not make thee less then thou wert These impotent wretches might bark at the Sun but could not ecclipse its Glory Thou couldst have destroyed their Tongues but wouldst not and it was a Royal act not to punish them when thou hadst the greatest provocations O my Lord I see thee blotting out the Hand-writing which was against me How red were
the Characters How bloody were the Lines yet thy Blood makes them as white as snow O my Lord I hear thy words sharper then any two edged Sword and piercing to the dividing asunder of the Bones and Marrow I hear thy complaints I mean which broke the Rocks and shook the Earth and shall not my heart be moved at them For Thee the Son of God to cry out My Soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death Who can hear this Who can think of it and not stand confounded For Omnipotence to sink thus For infinite Perfection to faint thus For him that sate on the circle of the Earth and before whom all Nations were as Grashoppers for him thus to Swound thus to Weep thus to Mourn What could be the reason Oh thou Prince of Peace For the iniquity of thy People thou vast struck for the sins of the World thou didst suffer banishment and wast used as if thou hadst not been anointed with Oyl or been guilty of the crimes thy foes accused thee of The snares of death did encompass thee thy friends forsook thee and thy heritage like a Lion out of the Wood did roar against thee O my Bowels be ye troubled at this remembrance O my flinty Heart canst thou see thy Lord as it were crucified before thine eyes and not break out into floods of Tears O Jesu Thou cryest to thy Father and he hears thee not He seems to be cruel to his Son and deaf to thy lamentations The windows of Heaven seem to be shut and a vail to be drawn over all the Joys and Comforts and Consolations that formerly water'd and enrich'd thy Soul See how dry and barren and burnt up this precious Soil appears No showers from above come down no Sun shines upon it the Stars of Heaven with-hold their influence and scarce an Angel will stir to thy assistance O Thou who art all Glorious within and art thy self the Glory of the Universe Were my Sins laid in a ballance they would weigh heavier then the Sand on the Sea-shore and then what need I wonder that thou cryest so loud under the heavy load for the arrows of the Lord stick in thee and his hand presses thee sore O Blessed Nazarite whiter then Snow brighter then the Sky purer then the Sun How is thy Face disfigured with Grief How do thine Eyes languish How dismal dost thou appear Is this the Face that was the perfection of Beauty Is this the Face that was once the desire of all Nations Is this the Face which so many Prophets and Righteous Men have desired to see Is this the Face that Abraham long'd to behold and the Patriarchs were ambitious to have a view of Is this the Face admired by Angels and dreaded by Divels What is thy Beloved more then another Beloved O thou fairest among Women Is this the mighty Bridegroom of the Church who was once transfigured on the Holy Mount and his Face did shine as the Sun and his raiment became white as the light Is this he whom God anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows whose garments smell of Myrrhe Aloes and Cassia and cast such a scent that the Daughter of Tyre came with a Gift and the rich among the People entreated his favour How is he alter'd How is his Countenance chang'd How is the Gold become dim and the fine Gold changed Yet still thou art lovely to a Soul that sees farther then the outside Still thou art a Cordial to fainting Spirits Still thou art a fountain of living waters Still thou art the Joy of the whole Earth the Light of Heaven and the Song of Sion My thoughts O Lord shall follow thee to the Cross. Methinks I see how thou art going to die thou lookest back on thine Enemies and notwithstanding all their Affronts offerest them Mercy O incomprehensible Goodness Even then when thou art lifted up to the infamous Tree Thou drawest and invitest all Men to thee Thou Preachest on the Cross and thy very wounds are Sermons to the Children of Men and thy Blood trickling down is an exhortation to Repentance Surely it is good for me to adhere unto thee and to count it death to be separated from thee O whether shall I go but to thee who hast words of Eternal Life Thou art my Sun by Thee I shall be enlighten'd by Thee my Soul shall be warm'd O how comfortable are thy beams What a progress must that Soul make on which thou shinest and dartest thy Glorious Rays Thou art that lofty Cedar whose boughs over-spread the Believing World Under the shadow of that Tree will I rest It is for the healing of the Nations I will be glad in the Lord and rejoyce in my bleeding Jesus While the World despises thee I will honour thee While Great Men pass by and regard thee not I that am poor and needy will wait to be refreshed by thee Go ye fools be enamoured with your Trifles admire your Butterflies doat on your sensual Pleasures Here is one that looks charming in his Tears lovely in his Blood amiable in his Wounds and is more beautiful in the midst of all his distresses then the brightest Virgins Face adorned with all the glittering Treasures of the East O my Strength by Thee I desire to be comforted and supported O anoint my Eyes with thy Sovereign Eye-salve and I shall see and live O that the Clouds which dwell on my Understanding were dispersed that I might look upon thee sredfastly Oh! then thou wouldst appear more lovely to me on the Cross then Croesus in his Throne or Solomon in all his Glory God forbid that I should glory in any thing save in the Cross of Christ. In this lie hid vast treasures of Sweetness O my Jesus make me conformable to thy death and give me leave to carry thy marks in my Body Let me be crucified with thee and let Christ for ever live in me Canst thou live in a Soul that hath abused thy Mercy slighted thy Patience and so often baffled the stratagems of thy Compassion I believe Lord O help mine unbelief Thou camest to call not the Righteous but Sinners to repentance Oh! then my Husband will love me my Redeemer will come and live with me for my repentings are kindled I hate the sins that have defiled my Soul Away ye Swine Here are no Divels to enter in I am to receive my Bridegroom into my Heart Come Lord Jesu Come quickly Thou art the welcomest Guest I know How happy shall I be if thou wilt lodge in this earthly Tabernacle Happier then if all the Angels of Heaven took up their Habitation here O ye besotted Jews what makes you run so fast to kill the Lord of Life ye cannot live without him and what evil spirit doth possess you to kill and murther him Can you think of his miracles and do so Can you reflect upon his Doctrine and attempt such villanies Can you remember how he taught you in the Temple even
Thanksgivings and paying my humble Vows to thy Divine Majesty and calling upon thee in the day of trouble O my God! my Soul fainteth for thee when shall I come to appear before thee My Soul is cast down within me When wilt thou comfort me I long for thy Salvation I hunger and thirst after Righteousness I see Beauty and splendor and excellency in it and would fain be cloathed with that Ornament Thou deservest my strongest desires my most vigorous Breathings my most lively Pantings after thee not to long after thee is to be a stranger to real Bliss not to follow hard after thee is to be ignorant of thy Riches and the plenty of thy House But what do I talk of desires of a single Heart would to God that all Mankind might offer unto thee their reasonable service thou deservest it and deservest all the love of Angels too But thou desirest nothing so much as the Hearts of the Children of Men The Angels are happy already only Mankind lies ingulfed in misery and so great is thy Charity that having taken their Nature upon thee thou wouldst willingly make them equal with Angels Great Darling of the Holy Trinity What haste dost thou make to dye How dost thou run to redeem the Sons of Men Nothing can hold thee nothing can restrain thee not thine own Greatness not thy Majesty not thy being the Son of God not love to thine own preservation Thou didst love me better then thy self How didst thou fly to my deliverance How dost thou leap in to prevent my hurt No Divels can fright thee no danger terrify thee no pain discourage thee no anguish make thee afraid Thou longest till the great Work be done The other Malefactors that are crucified with thee What honour had these wretches and yet were not sensible of it One at last opens his Eyes and sees it and stands amazed these held out longer on the Gibbet but thou bidst Death come away and seize thy Life It 's a pleasure to thee to die Oh surprizing Mercy Other Men seek to escape Death as long as they can they run away from the sight of the Monster if they do but see the shadow of it they tremble and to them Death is truly a King of Terrors Thou goest out to meet it as that which must put an end to thy sufferings and my misery It 's death to thee not to die Thou chidest it for staying Tâ—â—â— hast a Baptism to be Baptized with and Oh what wouldst thou that it were accomplish'd Ah! My Lord I see thy dying Lips from which dropt Speeches sweeter then Honey and the Honey-comb Death is going to close them up yet O vouchsafe me a look that may refresh my Soul And now the Glory is departed from Israel The Saviour of the World gives up the Ghost O let me die with thee O draw me after thee and I shall live I wonder not that the Graves open at thy death and the Rocks rend and the Sun hides his Face but I wonder the whole Earth did not dissolve and nature it self did not run into its primitive chaos and confusion O my crucified Master How ill art thou rewarded for thy kindness Thou wert Eyes to the blind and Feet to the lame Thou wert a Father to the Poor and a Staff to the Aged Thou didst cause the Widows Heart to sing for joy Thou didst deliver the Poor that cryed the Fatherless and him that had no helper Unto thee Men gave ear and waited and kept silence at thy Counsel after thy words they spake not again and thy Speech dropt upon them the naked deck'd themselves with the Wooll of thy Sheep and thy Door was open to the weary Traveller But now they that are younger then thou have thee in derision and they that were Children of Fools Children of base Men Men viler then the Earth gape upon thee Thou art their Song and art become their By-word They abhorr thee and flee far from thee and spare not to spit in thy Face They marr thy Path they set forward thy Calamity Terrours are turned upon thee they pursue thy Soul as the Wind and thy welfare passes away as a Cloud O infinite Patience Yet these Sinners are offered Salvation by him whom they abused thus Salvation What do I hear O then there is hopes for me for I have been one of thy enemies I have mock'd thee by by my Sins I have derided thy sufferings by my contempt of thy Laws I have scorned thee by preferring mine own Will before thine I have spit upon thee by my filthy communications I have abused thee by sheltring my Sins under thy Cross I have dishonoured thee by my Life disgraced thee by my carelesness buffeted thee by my impatience affronted thee by my pride made light of thy Power and Goodness by my mistrust of thy Providence undervalued thy Love by my affection to vanity and yet thou stretchest forth thine arm to lay hold on me art loath to see me perish unwilling to see me undone and proclaimest mercy to a forlorn wretch Blessed news O King of Kings thou cryest It is fulfilled The work is done the vast work of redemption Now thy Fathers anger is broke now the Floodgates of indignation are shut Now Heaven stands open Now thy Fathers bosom is held out to all that thirst after thee Hear this all ye prisoners listen to this message ye guilty Souls Come all that are laden with a sense of sin Open the door Throw off your Chains Run to this Rock Make haste to this Fountain Kiss this Sun Make much of this Light Embrace this Mercy Do ye dispute the thing Do ye question whether ye shall do it or no Is it possible you can stand out Is it possible you can demur upon it Is it possible your Hearts do not turn within you Can you refuse your Cordial neglect the Medicine that must recover you slight the Remedy that must fetch you to life again O Jesu Thou hast done all things well Thou hast made the Blind to see and the Dumb to speak and the Deaf to hear O open thou my Lips and my Mouth shall shew forth thy Praise Open thou mine Ears and let me hear thy loving kindness betimes in the Morning O open thou mine Eyes and I shall see how Sweet and Gracious thou art O my Life thou diest and dying fulfillest thy Fathers Will for indeed it was fit that one Man should die for the People and that the whole Nation perish not Ah! What would Mankind have done if thou hadst not paid the Ransom Whether must they have fled for refuge if thou hadst not given thy self a Sacrifice They must have wandred about in Caves and Dens destitute tormented afflicted disconsolate lived in perpetual fear of death and the dreadful consequences of it Death must have been for ever a King of terrours to them if they had but look'd upon that Hell that death would have open'd into How could they
dark how dull how doubtful is my Faith sometimes it blazes then it disappears again sometimes it 's vigorous then slacks and grows remiss again I believe thee in Sun-shine and faint in a Storm sometimes I get a sight of thy Glory then I lose it again Oh how uneven is my Faith When thy Candle shines over my Head and I wash my Feet in Butter I believe but where is my Faith in the dark when the Fig-tree doth not blossom when there is no Fruit in the Vine when the labour of the Olive doth fail Oh how it sinks at such times how weak it grows Lord I believe help mine unbelief O thou Sun of Righteousness thou bright Morning-Star Thou mighty Star of Jacob shine upon me shine upon this dark Soul of mine press in by thy piercing beams scatter the Clouds of my unbelief Dispel those mists as chaff is driven away by the Wind so drive them away O thou Holy One of Israel I Believe but my Faith doth not rouze me from my Spiritual slumber I believe but my Faith doth not overcome difficulties I believe but my Faith doth not put me upon Self-denial I believe but my Faith doth not engage me to that cautiousness of offending thee which is necessary to Salvation I believe but my Faith doth not make me laborious doth not make me strive and fight and work and enter in at the strait Gate I do not believe as if I saw My Faith is not the substance of things unseen I do not represent that future Glory to my mind in such lively Characters as if it were present to my sight I seem to rejoyce in thy Promises but when I am to apply them what doubts what scruples what perplexities arise in my mind I believe thou hast overcome Death yet how do I tremble at its approaches I believe thou art present with me in affliction yet how often do I lose thy Image I believe my dearest Lord that thou camest from Heaven to reveal to me thy Fathers Will yet I do not so readily obey it as I would I believe but am too often overcome by a Passion too often by a Temptation too often by the World O my Lord Give me an active Faith a working Faith a vigorous Faith a lively Faith an effectual Faith A Faith which may oblige me to shake off all dulness all drousiness all laziness and which may make me awake to Righteousness Give me a Faith that may surmount all hardships may be afraid of nothing of no Bear no Lion in the way Give me a Faith which may make me bold as a Lion couragious in Danger resolute in the greatest Trials and magnanimous under the greatest burthens A Faith I want which may make all that is within me stoop to the yoak of Jesus which may cross my Flesh and Blood cruicfy my vain Desires and dash mine inordinate Affections O give me a Faith which may make me tender of thy Glory loth to do any thing that may be offensive to thee unwilling to displease thee the Author of my Being Give me a Faith which may oblige me to labour in thy Vineyard and work out my salvation with fear and trembling A Faith that may look into Eternity Survey the Glorious Mansions prepared by the Son of God live there and converse there and draw Comforts and Consolations from that perfection of Glory A Faith which may live upon thy Promises lay hold on them in despite of opposition and claim them as my Heritage for ever A Faith which may look Death in the Face defy its Power support it self with Christs victory and sing with Triumph over it Oh Death Where is thy sting A Faith which may make Affliction easy my Burthen Light and sweeten all my Troubles A Faith which may purify my Heart constrain me to Obedience and compel me to a cheerful running at thy Command and Order A Faith which may controul all my Lusts check my inordinate Desires bear down all before it set up the Lord Jesus Sovereign in my Soul and make every imagination subject to him who must Reign till he hath put all enemies under his Feet O Blessed Light which enlightnest every Man that comes into the World Direct my steps illuminate my Understanding shew me the way I must walk in that no Errour may mislead me no false Doctrine corrupt me no Heresy deceive me no false Fire beguile me stretch forth thy Hand and hold thou up my Goings in thy path that I may get safe to my Journeys end I am a Traveller and Pilgrim here goe thou before me and I 'll follow thee lead me through this barren Wilderness and leave me not till I enter into Canaan It is not Lord of him that Runs nor of him that Wills but of thee who shewest Mercy As Flesh and Blood could not have revealed these things unto me so thou alone must enable my Faith to quench all the fiery Darts of the Divel Arise O God and let thine enemies be scattered O how am I beholding to thee What Thanks what Praises do I owe thee that thou hast call'd me to the light of thy Gospel That thou hast discover'd to me those Errours which Persons of other Religions in the world lie involv'd in That I have liberty to read thy Word to peruse it and to know the things belonging to my Peace Thou hast not dealt so with other Persons and as for thy judgments they have not known them But what will this knowledge profit me if my practice be not sutable or my Belief strong and firm and vigorous I tremble to think how many thousands are like to perish for want of this Faith Ah! How few do believe in good earnest How few believe with any lively Affections How few act and live as if they did believe O most patient God pity pity that vast multitude of Christian Unbelievers See how Hell hath open'd her Mouth to swallow them up O thou that hast redeemed them with thy Blood Why should the enemy run away with thy purchase See how these poor creatures wander like Sheep without a Shepherd O Gather them O seek them that thou mayst find them Undeceive them let them see how far they are from the Kingdom of God! O my Lord I believe that thou art and wilt be a rewarder to them that diligently seek thee I believe if any man will do thy Will he shall know of thy Doctrine whether it be of God or no! I believe that not the least tittle of thy Word shall fail O encrease my Belief Let not my Faith rest upon thy Doctrine only but let it have regard to all thy Laws O let me so believe an approaching Eternity as to be concerned at the Thoughts of of it O let me not only talk of it but let my Belief rouze my Affections from their slumber O my Jesus I believe thou wast crucified for my sins How then should I live in sin Assure me that if I do I do