but have lived in perpetual horror There could have been no hope of Mercy no probability of Bliss their Souls would have been in Eternal confusion always doubting always afraid always upon the Rack O my Jesus Thou through death hast deliver'd them who through fear of Death were all their life-time subject unto bondage Thou hast knock'd off their shackles loosed their Bands freed their Souls set their Spirits at libery I feel the power of thy death My Heart takes courage O let me rise with thee to Eternal life O let me not lie in the mire but set my Feet upon a Rock and establish my goings I have gone astray like a lost Sheep O seek thy servant that I may not forget thy Commandements Thou art the Bread which came down from Heaven and with the Bread in thy Sacred Supper thou offerest me all the benefits of thy death and passion such a Feast hast thou prepared for me such a Table hast thou spread for me my Soul is invited to Sup with the Lamb that was slain What an honour is this What a condescention is it In this Sacrament thou erectest a Banner for me bidst me sit under thy Vine and strenghthen my self with the Fruit that drops from it Were all the Fishes of the Sea and all the Fowls of the Air and all the Beasts of the Field drest for my entertainment it would not be so much as this plain but Heavenly Diet is Tell not me of Belshazzer's Banquet nor of Ahashuerus's Feast nor of the rich mans curious Dishes they are all scraps and Offals to this Entertainment Here my Blessed Redeemer courts my Soul Here he makes love to a miserable Sinner Here he presents me with the Riches of his Merits No African Gold no Eastern Pearls no Indian Stones are to be compared with these Here the Lord of Glory offers to marry me to unite me to him to make an everlasting Covenant with me to be flesh of his flesh and bones of his bones promises to endow me with all his Goods puts a Ring on my Finger and bids me lie in his bosom This is Honour this is Glory this is Preferment which no Royal Courts can give no Solomon can afford no Emperour Grant no Monarch Conferr no King bestow This is the mighty Wedding-Feast at which the blessed Angels wait how should not they be there when their Master is President and Director of the Banquet This puts me in mind of all the admirable things thou hast done for me in this Bread are contracted all the Dainties and Delicacies imaginable O wonderful Love that wast not content to be known to me but art willing to give thy self for Food to me What pains dost thou take to melt my stubborn Heart Thou art willing to live in me Thou art willing to be one with me that I may not warp from thee Thou art willing to be my Meat and Drink not only my King to protect me not only my Father to tender me not only my Master to take care of me not only my Saviour to snatch me out of the burning Lake not only my Mediator to secure me against Heavens vengeance but my Diet too Thou seest my Soul wants Meat proper for her nature Alas the World cannot be that Meat That 's a Heterogeneous thing as well may Angels feed on Hay or Grass as my Soul on things that profit not That which my Soul must feed on must be something Spiritual Thou O Jesu art that Great Spiritual Object my Soul must fix on nothing else will content it and when my Thoughts contemplate thee when my Soul Meditates of thy Charity when my Affections love thee when my Desires long for thee When my Will submits to thy easie yoak When all my Faculties delight in thee when thou appearest lovely and charming and amiable to my mind Then then my Soul hath its proper food then it 's like to live then it 's in a way to thrive then it prospers then it grows then it gets a cheerful look then the Angels visit it the World perfectly soures it Sensual pleasures ruine it carnal satisfactions make it meager Thou O Lord thou alone canst make it flourish like the Palm-tree and satisfy it with the Rivers of thy Pleasures O my Lord how sweet is it to suck Honey out of this Rock Thy Bread strengthens to a miracle and thy Blood makes Souls Drunk It is as the Dew of Hermon and as the Dew that descends on the Mountains of Zion for there the Lord commanded the Blessing even Life for evermore O my God I care not for Abana and Pharpar now nor for the Rivers of Damascus I will stand under thy Cross and open my Mouth O do thou fill it while others go to rejoyce in their Corn and Wine and Oyl I will go to the Supper of the Lamb. Here Lord here is my Heart ready to receive that Heavenly Food thou offerest me Awake thou Eternal Spirit awake blow upon my Garden that the Spices may flow out O let this Maenna satisfy my taste that I may forget the Fleshpots of Egypt Behold Lord here I make a vow that if thou wilt give me this Bread to eat which endures to everlasting life Thou shalt be my God I will serve no other Gods but thee Thou shalt command my Heart my Desires and my Affections and without thee no passion shall lift up its Hand or Foot in all the land of Goshen I will set thee over all that I have and all shall be at thy dispose Christ. I feel my Heart warmed with this consideration I will now turn aside and see this great sight who it is that hangs upon the Cross and bleeds for my Sins Oh! it is the Son of God he that was in the form of God and thought it no robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a Servant and became obedient to the death of the Cross that I might be made the Righteousness of God through him Consc. But is there nothing else to be done by way of preparation for this Blessed Sacrament Christ O Yes For I must First Retire sometimes and celebrate and admire the love of God to me in Christ Jesus in some such reflections as these Be astonish'd ye Heavens stand amazed ye Quires of Angels at the condescension of my God I have betray'd him to the Philistines yet he loves the miserable Wretch and so loves him that he gives his Son to redeem him O God what dost thou see in me Nothing but misery nothing but rags nothing but poverty and yet thou lovest me I am but Dust and Ashes and will God vouchsafe a Gracious look to so mean an object O Sovereign Being Didst thou ever behold a viler creature then I am and wilt thou goe out of the common road of Love and spread thy Garments over me and offer me thy friendship O Love which Cherubim admire and Seraphim adore It
〈◊〉 this Child is set for the fall and rising â—â—ain of many in Israel and for a signe â—hich shal be spoken against Luc. 2. 34. The Fire of the Altar Or Certain DIRECTIONS How to raise the SOUL into Holy Flames Before At and After the Receiving the Blessed Sacrament Of the LORDS SUPPER With suitable Prayers and Devotions To which is prefix'd A DIALOGUE Betwixt A Christian and his own Conscience Concerning the True Nature of the CHRISTIAN RELIGION Intended chiefly for the Inhabitants of St. Mary le Strand and the Precinct of the Savoy By Anthony Horneck D. D Printed by T. N. for Samuel Lowndes 〈◊〉 against Exeter Exchange in the Strand 1683. To my Beloved Parishioners the Inhabitants of St. Mary le Strand and the Precinct of the SAVOY THough I intend you a larger Treatise upon the Sacrament of the Lords Supper by the Name and Title of THE CRUCIFIED JESUS Yet I was willing to let these Directions come forth to prepare your Hearts for those larger Meditations not but that there are Books enough already Writ upon this Subject and by abler Pens too but you having for some years past known my Conversation my Temper my Exhortations and my manner of Speaking and Writing I thought something of this nature might be more useful to you then other more elaborate Lucubrations There is nothing I am more afraid of then that the generality of you both young and old either have not or will not have right apprehensions of that Christian Religion you profess some being apt to place it in a careless customary Belief of the Doctrine some in leaving a few notorious Sins Others in saying their Prayers Others in doing no body wrong Others again in having good desires and pious inlinations all which Opinions are notorious mistakes of the nature and temper of Christianity which imports a change of Nature Disposition and Acting contrary to the Humours Passions Manners Customs and Deportment of the World and this is it I must see and perceive in you before I can conclude that my pains and labours among you have not been in vain Brethren My Hearts Desire and Prayer to God for you is That you may be Saved I will assure you this is no Compliment no form of Speech no Words in course but the ardent wish of my Soul and my fervent Prayers day and night This is the desire of my soul in private and in publick for this I fill my Mouth with Arguments to that God who heareth Prayers even then when you do not think of me For this I study and take pains and am willing to spend my self and to be spent and your Salvation is the great object of my care for this end I venture your Anger and caress yonr Love For this end I walk blameless among you and am tender of your welfare For this end I reprove and exhort and intreat you and run and spend my breath and all that you may be saved I am not ignorant of the Divels devices I am sensible of the nature of sin how apt it is to deceive you and though I am not with you in all places I see by the effects how the enemy of your Souls deals with you and what will be the issue of a careless Life I consider the shrieks of the damn'd in Hell and would fain keep you from that dangerous gulph I see you stand upon the brink of destruction and cannot forbear calling to you O do your selves no harm The greatest kindness you can do me the greatest gratitude you can express the greatest civility and respect you can shew me is to do according to the wholsome Counsels I do give you whatever constructions some of you may put upon these adjurations The searcher of all hearts knows this to be true that I would rejoyce in nothing so much as in your obedience to the Gospel I would fain rejoyce with you in the great day of the Lord Jesus I would fain see you Glorious Saints in the Everlasting Mansions I would fain see you shine as Stars in the Firmament of Heaven I would see you triumph with Angels sing with Cherubim and joyn the Celestial Quire in Eternal Praises Think what a dismal sight it will be in that day to see some of your friends in the burning Lake that might have feasted with the Son of God in his Fathers Kingdom We that meet together in the Church-Militant here What a happy What a Glorious fight would it be to meet all in the Church-triumphant when these Bodies do drop from us It is no small grief to me to see some of you who have lived for some years under my Ministry given to the same sins and inordinate desires as Drunkenness Swearing Lying Cheating Dissembling Malice Wrath Hatred Passion Carelesness and neglect of the Lords Supper Quarrelling foolish Jesting filthy Talk Frothiness Pride Vncleanness c. they were formerly enamoured with certainly this must be an argument against you in that day when God shall judge the secrets of Men by the Everlasting Gospel O let 's not be forced to complain of you that we would have healed you and you would not be healed To this end I beseech you 1. To make the Rules in the following Treatise familiar to you There is nothing in it but what you 'l find exactly agreeable to that Word on which you build your Faith By making them familiar to you I do not only mean getting them by Heart but applying your selves to the serious practice of them till you get a habit of those Virtues A single act now and then when you are in a Religious humour will do no good but you must labour at them so long till they come to be incorporated with your Spirits and mingle with your Complexion and Constitution To oblige your Children and Servants to learn these Rules without Book and to admonish them to try and see whether they observe them in their Behaviour and Conversation to ask them often Whether their Actions are agreeable to these Rules and whether they are not afraid of losing Gods favour by neglecting so great a Salvation But then you must shew them a good example for all your Exhortations will be but Wind while you do not express the possibility of living up to these Rules in your own Lives Your example will make these Christian Virtues amiable and your practice must shew that you believe them necessary And oh how comfortable will it be upon your Death-beds and what joy will this testimony of your Conscience Cause that in Godly Simplicity and Sincerity not according to fleshly Wisdom but according to the Grace of God you have had your Conversation in the World God will love you even he whose loving kindness is better then life it self His Love will close your Eyes His Love will whisper the glad tidings of Happiness in your Ears His Love will be your guide through the shadow and valley of Death and this Love will see you
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
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
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