but thou wilt see that Den and Cave of Uncleaness the deeps of Filth that is in thy own Heart which will cause Gods Mercy to be amazing and thee restless until thou be partaker of it by thy gaining of Achsach thou wilt see the things that are spiritually discern'd Take one Word of Advice how to go about this great Work and God speed thee well When thou readest that God is the Omnipotent Lord of all Glory and Majesty make way through thy Thoughts and Considerations to thy Vnderstanding and entertain the Notion there and let it be an Inhabitant with thee as Solomon saith concerning the Fear of God I say of the Knowledg of him Hold it fast and grow old therein This will make thee reverence Him his Name will be great in thy sight and when thou readest He 's the great Benefactor of Mankind c. Observe the former Method in bringing the Notion home this will exceedingly greaten thy Respect and increase thy Love to him And when thou readest That we have prophaned our Affections which are due onely to God by setting them upon unworthy things and that our Adulteries are between our Breasts Consider thou art the Man that hath promised to forsake the Devil the World and the Flesh and thy self only to thy great Lord to love him with all thy Heart and Mind and Soul and finding thy self guilty if thou have not an harden'd Whore's fore-head thou must blush and be confoundedly ashamed and acknowledg it Justice to be put away And when thou readest That we have continually lived in contempt of God and in the transgression of his Commands breaking his bands in sunder laying the Reins of our Loyalty upon the Neck of licentious liberty Consider then what it is for the so much obliged Creature to rebel against so great and good Creator Redeemer Sustainer and Preserver and reckon thy self in the throng of such Malefactors then thou canst not be keep'd from judging and abhorring thy self and thus apprehending of the Soul of the Letter taking Kirjath-sepher thou wilt find so much within the Word which is Divine that will rightly humble thee when thou comest to Gratulation so much sweetness in Mercy and so much Comfort in Grace that will take and hold thee that as Death is swallowed up in Victory that thy Miserable Wretchedness is swallowd up in Divine Bounty And when thou hast taken Kirjath-sepher and obtained Achsach thou wilt find that every good and perfect Gift cometh from the Father of Lights and that thou wantest nothing that he hath not for thee that he delighteth himself in shewing Mercy and doing Good this will incourage thee to lift up thy head upon the account of thy Redeemer and with boldness ask Relief And when thou hast taken Kirjath-sepher and injoy'd Achsach thou wilt see the State of the Church her Ruins and Wants and what is needful for her Also the Duty of Ministers what Blessing we want upon the Word Preached also the Deplorable State of Unregenerate Men and the Flashes of Hell Fire that irresistibly invade the Wounded Soul and see others in outward Troubles bleeding by the Arrows of Gods Fury and squeez'd in the Press of Adversity then thou wilt as Elihu feel thy self full of Matter the Spirit within thee will constrain thee When thou art seriously and divinely concern'd forget not thy Director NICO PEARSON ON THE AUTHOR AND HIS Elaborate Work WHil'st the dull clods of worse informed Earth Stifle the Spirit in its very birth See here the more refined mould aspire To Heaven which made it in the Flaming fire Of Ardent zeal to Praise and Pray to him That first endew'd the glorious Seraphim With Love like his he would not be alone But shews the way to others to that Throne Whose Monarch blesseth all but yet commands His Creatures Prayers to force it from his hands And shew'd the piercing Author to dispence Methods to take even Heaven by violence Which if by his Direction we attain He hath the trouble and we have the gain G. H. THE RAPTURES OF A Flaming Spirit ADORATION ETernally Blessed Incomprehensible most Mighty and most Glorious Lord our God The high and lofty One who inhabiteth Eternity whose Name is Holy who dwelleth in the high and holy Place The Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth and of all Things Visible and Invisible Heaven is thy Throne Earth is thy Foot-stool Thou art incircled with Millions of Angels cloathed with Glory and Honour deck'd with Majesty and Excellency and arrayed with Beauty and Splendor Before thee the glorious Angels cover their Faces not being able to behold so glorious a Majesty Thy Throne is Inestimable thy Glory Incomprehensible beforâ— thee the Host of Angels stand with trembling The First Cause of Things the Foundation of the Universe the Infinite Invisible and onely Wise God Thou hast no partner in thy Supream Soveraignty Thou even thou art Lord alone Who dwellest in the Splendors of that inaccessible Light unto which no mortal eye can approach Who with a powerful hand keepest an undisturb'd Order in all thy Affairs The Invisible Divinity that cannot be comprehended within the scanty compass of a Created Mind We thy poor Creatures with all Reverence desire to lift up our dim eyes to discover some of the light of thy Perfections to enkindle in our dull Souls some Devotion Nothing can be added unto thee to make thee more excellent Thou art eternal and infinite in Being and Perfection who consistest of thy self alone without participation from others being absolute endless and without all limitation of Perfection who derivest from thy own incomprehensible Infiniteness certain limited Natures and Perfections to Creatures which Natures and Perfections in Creatures are nothing else but little Particles and Participations of that Bottomless Sea of Infiniteness that is in thy Self whereunto they all are to be referr'd and reduced as the Beam to the Sun or as the Brook to the Spring Thou art Alpha and Omega and beside thee there is no God The Omnipotent Lord of all Glory and Majesty more high than all that can be imagined and conceived and all that can be understood and consider'd with any Created Understanding More high and precious than all that can be beloved enjoy'd or desired for the Infiniteness of thy Greatness doth far pass and exceed all this for thou art to all Creatures Incomprehensible no Understanding can reach unto thee nor Imagination nor Reason nor any other Vertue created can comprehend thee Thou hast thy Existence from thy Self and not from another such a Being as in comparison of thee nothing else hath a being Who hast no Succession always the same Thou our God art the Cause of Causes and the Being of Beings and in every Degree unspeakable and incomprehensible How can we express thy Noble Acts or speak out all thy Praise Thy Name alone is excellent Thou incomparably exceedest our best conceptions of thee Thou holdest back the Face of thy Throne and
shall not depart from thee the Covenant of thy Peace shall not fail It is better to trust in God than to have any confidence in Man It is better to trust in God than to have confidence in Princes Thy Faithfulness is well-known in the Congregation of Saints They that know thee put their trust in thee because thou forsakest not them that seek thee Thou art the Hope of Israel and the Saviour thereof in a time of trouble the Strength of their Heart and their Portion for ever Thou art known for a Refuge in the Palaces of thy City for thou art their mighty Protection and strong Ground a Succour from Stumbling and a Help from Falling Thou fulfillest the Desires of them that fear thee thou hearest their Cry and art a present Help in trouble Thou art the best Refuge in the midst of Storms and the best Support to all afflicted Spirits How excellent is thy loving-kindness O Lord therefore thy people put their trust under the shadow of thy Wings As the Heavens are above the Earth so great is thy Love unto them that fear thee Thou art their God for ever and ever Who is God save the Lord Who is a Rock save our God Good and plenteous in mercy to all them that call upon him Thou ridest upon the Heavens in thine Excellency for the help of thy people thou art their refuge and underneath them are his everlasting Arms. As the Mountains are about Jerusalem so the Lord is about his people even for ever and ever Thy way O God is in the Sanctuary who is so great a God as our God thou art a God that do'st Wonders thou hast declared thy Strength among tha people There is none like unto thee O Lord whose Name is great in Might Thy Name alone is excellent The Lord is above all Gods the only Potentate King of Kings and Lord of Lords the absolute Monarch who hath a boundless and infinite Supremacy Thou deservest to receive from every Understanding Nature Never-ceasing Praises and perpetually to be worshipp'd with the most humble Prostrations Who is like unto thee O Lord among the Gods Who is like unto thee among the Gods glorious in Holiness fearful in Praises doing Wonders Thou rulest by thy power for ever of old thou hast laid the Foundations of the Earth The Heavens are the Works of thy Hands they shall perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shall wax old like a Garment and as a Vesture shalt thou change them they shall be changed but thou art the same and thy years have no end Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom O Lord thou art worthy of all Honour Glory and Power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created The glorious Productions of thine Omnipotency they speak thee to be infinitely Excellent They are the Evidences and Demonstrations of thy Infinite Wisdom Power and Providence Thou hast garnished the excellent Works of thy Wisdom and art from everlasting to everlasting Thy Works praise thee and are honourable and glorious and are to be had in remembrance to all generations They are thy Witnesses that thou art God The Heavens declare thy Glory and the Firmament sheweth thy Handy-work The Operations of thy Hands are Testimonies of thy Glory Glasses of thy Beauty Preachers of thy Wisdom and Provokers of Love O Lord how manifold are thy Works in Wisdom hast thou made them Thou formedst the Earth by thy Power established the World by thy Wisdom and didst spread forth the Heavens by thy Understanding By thy Word thou didst hang the Earth upon the Waters Thou createst all things thou bringest out their Host by number by the greatness of thy Might Thou tellest the number of the Stars by thy Word they are established Thou hast appointed the Moon for Seasons and the Sun knoweth his going down Thou hast builded thy Stories in the Heavens and founded thy Troops upon Earth Thou dost greater things than these are for we have seen but a few of thy Works Thou do'st great things unsearchable marvellous things without number With thee is Wisdom and Strength Counsel and Understanding The Consideration of thy Works are Entertainments worthy of the best and most raised Minds Honour and Majesty are bfore thee Strength and Beauty are in thy Sanctuary Glory and Honour are in thy Presence Strength and Gladness are in thy Place In thy presence is fulness of Joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore Thou humblest thy Self when thou beholdest the things that are done in Heaven and in Earth Even as the Clay is in the hand of the Potter so all the Nations of the Earth are at thy disposal The Kingdom is the Lords thou art Governour among the Nations Thou art great in Wisdom and mighty in Power and beholdest all things continually Thou seest from everlasting to everlasting there is nothing that is wonderful unto thee The great Orderer and Disposer of all Things There is nothing so high that is above thy Providence there is nothing so low that is beneath thy Providence There is nothing so large but it is bounded by thy Providence there is nothing so confused but thou canst order it there is nothing so contrived but thou canst disappoint it Thou keepest every thing upon the right Wheel for the managing of thy most righteous Affairs both in Heaven and Earth Thou turnest the way of the Wicked upside down the Deceiver and the Deceived are thine The Lord bringeth the Counsel of the Wicked to naught he maketh the Devices of the People of none effect Thou disappointest the Devices of the Crafty so that they cannot perform their Enterprize Thou takest the Wise in their own Craftiness the Counsel of the Froward thou carry'st head-long Thou hast power of Life and Death thou leadest down to the gates of Hell and bringest up again Before thee the Nations are but as the Drop of a Bucket or as the Small Dust of the Ballance Thou guidest the Stars thou thunderest in the Clouds and turnest the hearts of Kings as Rivers of Water Thou treadest upon the Circle of the Earth and all the Inhabitants are but as Grashoppers Thou stretchest out the Heavens like a Curtain and foldest them up as a Tent to dwell in Thy Blessed Will the power of man is not able to with-stand the Eternal Decrees no conspiracy is able to impair Thou increasest the Nations and destroyest them thou enlargest the Nations and straitens them again When thou stretchest out thy Hand who can restrain it Thou weakenest the strength of the mighty thou powrest contempt upon Princes Thy Counsels stand sure thou dost all thy Pleasure The Lord hath his way in the Whirlwind the Storm and the Clouds are the Dust of his Feet Thou dost whatsoever thou pleasest both in Heaven and in Earth Thy Will cannot go beyond thy Power who can speak the World into nothing It
we rise in Thankful Praises It s great Condescension in thee to be content to be prais'd or beloved by such miserable Creatures of uncircumcised hearts and lips Eternity it self is little enough to praise thee Blessed be the Majesty of Heaven for our Creation and that we are Men and not Beasts Blessed be God for our Immortal Souls that are capable of Communion with thy own self for ever and ever Let our never-ceasing Praises wait upon thee for our Redemption the great Work which the Angels desire to look into Everlastingly praised be our God for the light of his Glory that shineth in the Face of Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of his Grace Our Praises wait upon thee for Free Grace that unlimited Treasury of the highest Love and Bounty Thy precious Love is from Eternity to Eternity That hath prevented the Lion from coming out of the Thicket and hath kept the Destroyer out of sight That hath stopp'd the Mouths of the Lyons of thy Judgments so as they have not torn in pieces when there was none to deliver us Our Praises wait upon our God for Free Grace that Blessed Root out of which springeth all the pleasant and precious Mysteries of the Gospel The most Beautiful Womb out of which Christ Jesus with all his Heavenly Treasures the unspeakable Priviledges Prerogatives Graces and Comforts that are to be had in him and by him do come forth The Blessed Cause that is sufficient to produce the Blessed Effects of the Salvation of our Souls thro Jesus Christ our Lord. The Blessed Fountain that continually sends forth Streams of Comfort to refresh the dejected disconsolate weary and heavy loaden ones The Bow thou hast set in the Clouds of Spiritual Sorrow to assure the Contrite Ones that thy Wrath shall not over-flow them Were it not for thy Grace what should we do when our Sins testifie against us but call for the Mountains to fall upon us and the Hills to cover us from the Presence of the Lord. Thy Grace hath kept many Thousands from following Judas into Despair When we know not what to do then we turn our Eyes towards thee and find there is yet hope for Israel It was Free Grace that our great Lord Christ lived and died to declare We adore the great Minister of Grace Jesus Christ our Lord the Ark that saveth us from perishing in the Floods of our Iniquities Who was given for us who was conceived and born for us who lived and died for us who rose again for us and who ever liveth and maketh Intercession for us Who trod the Wine-Press alone The Son of God became the Son of Man that the Sons of Men might become the Sons of God Who was made like unto all that all might be made like unto him Who sought us in sharp ways and bought us with a dear price Who came from Heaven to Earth that we may go from Earth to Heaven The Brightness of the Fathers Glory and the Express Image of Person paid the Price of our Redemption to discharge us Rebels who were in our Filthiness in our Blood Our Jesus leap'd into a Sea of Wrath to save us from perishing He waded thro a Sea of Sufferings to procure a Pardon for our Transgressions Who made himself Sin for us who knew no Sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him He suffer'd our Cross that we might wear his Crown He died our Death that we might live his Life Who endured our Hell that we might enjoy his Heaven He bore our Griefs and carry'd our Sorrows He was wounded for our Transgressions and bruised for our Iniquities The Chastisementâ— of our Peace was upon him and by his Stripes we may be healed We all like Sheep have gone astray but on him was laid the Iniquities of us all Adored be Christ Jesus who hath done what we ought to have done and suffered what we ought to have suffered This is the solid Basis of our Comfort The Lord of Life is the Way to escape Eternal Death Altho we have turn'd our Backs on Grace and with the Israelites loath'd the Manna and hath so little regarded what the Lord Christ hath done and suffer'd for us and that Blessed Treasure that he at so dear a rate bought for us and hath been daily offer'd unto us yet he pleadeth for us stoppeth Judgment and stayeth Divine Vengeance Altho the Earth was thought too good for him he thinketh not Heaven too good for us Our Praises wait upon the Majesty of Heaven for the continuance of the Gospel the Wisdom of God ordained before the World unto our Glory the Power of God unto Salvation unto every one that believe That mighty Efflux and Emanation of Life and Spirit freely issuing from an Omnipotent Source of Grace and Love That true God-like Vital Influence whereby Divinity derives it self into the Souls of Men inlivening and transforming them into its own likeness and strongly imprinting upon them a Copy of its own Beauty and Goodness Blessed be God that thy Precepts are yet our Heritage in the House of our Pilgrimage The Light without which the whole World would be but a dark Chaos Our Praises wait upon our God because we are within the sound of his Trumpets Because the Sun of the Gospel shineth upon the Lot of our Inheritance Our Praises wait upon thee because the Holy Spirit is still ready to bear witness to our Spirits the Truth of thy Holy Word which transcribeth thy Heart and Mind unto us Thy Judgments thou hast laid before us and the Way of Truth whereby we may be kept from the Paths of the Destroyer Our Praises wait upon thee our God for all the faithful Dispencers of thy Word and Sacraments It s great favour that thou hast not removed them into Corners and that their Tongues do not cleave to the roofs of their Mouths Jonah was sent from Samaria to Nineveh doubtless we have turn'd as deaf an Ear as ever did Samaria It s unspeakable Mercy that thou hast not commanded the Clouds that they rain no more rain upon us That thou hast not pronounced against us They that are filthy let them be filthy still and they that are unrighteous let them be unrighteous still Our Praises wait upon our God for all the great and precious Promises ratified by the Oath of God the Father sealed by the Blood of God the Son testified by God the Holy Ghost and deliver'd by the hand of Mercy Those Breathings of Divine Love The Breasts of the Gospel out of which we draw forth so much Consolation Those firm Foundations to build upon Great and precious Promises To the Chief of Sinners To them that have been prodigalizing all their days and spent all upon Lust To them that have all the day been standing idle in the Market-place even until the Eleventh hour Altho we have run so much upon the score that if thou shouldst arrest us all the Angels of Heaven could not
with the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit in the Inner Man then we shall be more than Conquerors One Deep calleth to another the depth of our Weakness to the depth of thy Strength the depth of our Folly to the depth of thy Wisdom the depth of our Poverty to the depth of thy Riches the depth of our Miseries to the depth of thy Mercies Suffer not thy Displeasure to kindle and break out into a Flame against us Turn from us that Wrath that as a just recompence of our Provocations are due unto us Spare us according to the multitude of thy Mercies Lord Jesus thou art the hope of Israel with the Lord there is mercy and with thee there is plenteous redemption Let thy Obedience recompence our Obstinacy thy Abstinence our Superfluity thy Meekness and Patience our Pride Irefulness and Enmity Let thy Charity recompence our Malice thy Devotion our Dulness Love our unkindness thy holy and precious Death our wretched sinful Lives But forasmuch as thou resistest the Proud but giveâ—â— Grace to the Humble thou fillest the Hungry with good things but the Rich thou sendest empty away Therefore empty us of our Laodicean Riches discover our Spiritual Poverty and set home to our Consciences the weight and danger of our Sins Suffer not our Consciences to let us be quiet until they have drawn us before thee in all Humility and Brokenness of Spirit in Bitterness as one is in Bitterness for the loss of their First-born and confessing our selves loathing the Persons as well as the Actions With Detestation and Self-abhorrency and with indeclinable Resolves of Amendment of Life In regard there must be a Resurrection of our Actions as well as of our Persons if our Sins rise not again in this World to bring us to shame and confusion of face and unfeigned and sincere Repentance they will rise again in the World to come and be as so many Ghosts and Devils and torment us for ever and ever We had better judge our selves than put God to judge us Therefore O God by thy powerful voice raise our Sins that are graved in oblivion and set them in order before us that we may break them down by repentance Thou canst teach us to gather Grapes of Thorns and Figgs of Thistles because all things are possible unto thee There is no Evil so great but thou canst bring good out of it We turn Gold into Dross but thou canst turn Dross into Gold again Therefore be intreated thou Almighty One that in regard we are such miserable Sinners that our Sins may make us humble for humility is in the sight of God of great price And in regard we are so evil that we may be more charitable in judging of others let our own unworthiness hang so in our light that we may not be too busie in medling with others And in regard we are such great Debtors to Divine Justice that we may be more charitable in forgiving others That we may take heed of taking our Brother by the Throat lest thou call us to an account and cast us into prison until we have paid the utmost farthing And in regard we are such notorious Criminals that we may adore the light of the glory of God that shineth in the face of Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of his grace And in regard we have spent so much time in rebellion and yet thou art ready to shew mercy that therefore we may look upon our selves in future as persons ingaged to walk before thee in righteousness and holiness all our days Spiritualize our Affections every day more and more Irradiate our Souls with high apprehensions and so elevate us unto thy self where true Riches are to be had We stand as poor Beggars without but in consideration how thou feedest thy people with delicacies in the perfection of righteousness peace and joy O God we have heard with our ears and our Fathers have declared unto us the noble works that thou dost in Heaven and Earth O Lord arise help and deliver us for thine honour Bring us out of the Land of Egypt and out of the house of Bondage that thou maist feed us with Manna from Heaven and that we may offer unto God acceptable Sacrifices Make out unto us that thou art our God and we thy peculiar people That we may live in absolute resignation subjection and love unto thee Discover unto us the things beyond the World that our Affections may be taken off from the World The wise man trusteth in his wisdom the strong man in his strength and the rich man in his riches The ship-wrack'd man catcheth hold on what is next him Adam ship-wrack'd us all and we are floating in a Deluge of Calamity Man is born unto trouble as the Sparks flie up ward and in this wretcheduess we naturally catch hold on something Self-preservation being a clear Dictate of Nature But our ignorance and misapprehension make us to catch at deceitful things that fill every one that trust in them with disappointment some on Honour some on Pleasure some on Riches And here they abide until God shew them a more excellent way What ever the Objects of our Souls are we shall not desert them until better Objects be discovered unto us Altho it be an unsatisfied satisfaction that we enjoy by any sublunary thing yet when we know of no better we hold fast by what we have Therefore we pray for some Discoveries of that glory that shall afterward be revealed of those never-dying comforts for our never-dying souls 'T is but an unquiet quiet and a restless rest that we enjoy from the Creature We pray for the Contentment above the World which is better than the World without that Contentment Ever since thou dravest out the Man we have been seeking rest but have found none As Noah's Dove could find no rest for the sole of her foot until she return'd into the Ark again neither is there any rest for us until we return and center in our God Now when we turn our faces towards thee for we know not what to do but our Eyes are towards thee take us into the Ark of the Covenant We are very much foil'd with walking after the sight of our own eyes and desires of our own hearts take us into thy protection that we may lay us down in peace for thou makest thy people to dwell in safety Embrace us in the arms of thy mercy Hide us under the Covert of thy Wings cover us with the Canopy of thy Love that we may feel thy Power supporting us and thy Goodness supplying us That we may rejoyce in thee as our Treasure and rest in thee as our Center In this far Countrey we thought to have met with great matters when we ran away from thee but we find nothing but Husks which Swine feed upon and gladly we would fill our Bellies with them but cannot Here is no soul-suitable nor soul-satisfying good
all prove such Predominant Lights that the People cannot but chuse us for Direction That we may be as Tutular Angels to our Flocks And that we may make all good to Heavens Eye that we shew to the World For a Blessing upon the WORD preached O Lord cause thy Word to run and be glorified Ingrave thy Counsels in our Hearts The fruitfulness of the Seed dependeth upon the Sun and the Rain Let us not onely have the presence of Ordinances but thy presence in the Ordinances Let us feel the inward Sweetness and Deliciousness that truly are in Divine Truths Confirm the Words of thy Servants and perform the Counsel of thy Messengers Shall our Lipps drop Honey and they taste no Sweetness Cause the Entrance of thy Word to give Light and Understanding to the Simple that thy Statutes may be our Songs in the House of our Pilgrimage That the efflux of Life and Power from God may beget in us a true and lively Faith The Law of the Lord being perfect cause it to convert the Soul the Testimonies of the Lord being sure that they may make Wise the Simple that the Testimonies of the Lord being right may rejoyce the Heart and the Commandments of the Lord being pure may inlighten the Eyes Imprint thy Word in Living Characters upon the Vital Powers of our Souls Cause the blind to see out of Obscurity and out of Darkness Our Sins are fast rooted in us the Branches are wide and large lay the Axe close to the Root of the Tree Let thy Call not onely reach our Ears but our Hearts That our Ears may not onely be tickl'd but our Hearts touch'd That thy VVord may not onely dwell with us but in us That we may not onely learn what to do but do what we learn That we may not onely talk like Christians but walk like Christians A good Profession and a good Conversation these two who God hath joyned together let no Man put assunder That we may be Companions of all them that fear thee and keep thy Commandments That we may not onely be Verbalists but Realists That our Heads may not onely be full of Notions but our Hearts full of Graces That Christ Jesus may not onely be the Subject of our Tongues but the Object of our Hearts That we may make it our Business yea our Meat and Drink to do the Will of our Lord. Cause the Word to prevail among us that we may meet with something that may meet with us That the Word of Christ may dwell in us in all Wisdom that his Testimonies may be our Delight and our Councellors that it may be unto us the Power of God unto Salvation Suffer not the Word to return void but that it may accomplish that which thou pleasest Quicken our Apprehensions strengthen our Memories let us not be like a Man beholding his Natural Face in a Glass and goeth away forgeting what manner of Man he was but grant that the Secret of the Lord may be with us that we may know his Covenant When the Watchmen sound the Lords Trumpet that we may take alarm with stout resolutions to follow the Lords Banner That the Words of thy Lips may keep us from the Paths of the Destroyer That the Gospel may not onely come unto us in Word but in Power in much Assurance and in the Holy Ghost Suffer not the Word to be intomb'd but inshrin'd in us That the Leaven may be hid within us until the whole be leavened that all the powers of our Souls may relish of it That we may be abundantly satisfied with the Fatness of thy House and that we may drink of the Rivers of thy Pleasure Cause thy Word to be an Engine to effect our Repentance Cause it to be as a Fire to consume our Lusts and as a Hammer to break our hard Hearts upon the Cushion of thy Mercy Bore our Ears that we may hear when thou speakest in Mercy otherwise thou wilt force us to hear when thou speakest in Wrath. That we may bow to thy Septer of Mercy lest thou break us in pieces with the Rod of thy Wrath. Grant that our Eyes may be inlightned by tasting of the Honey of the Gospel Open our Eyes that we may see the Worth and Excellency of the Pearls that are cast before us that we may gather them to inrich us that we may be known by the Bridegroom at his coming by the Gold that we have bought and the White Rayment we have put on Cause the Word of Reconcilation to make such a Conjunction betwixt Christ and our Souls that they may never be separated Grant that we may hear in thy House of Instruction lest thou bring us to thy House of Correction That we may hear thy Word lest we bear the Rod. That we may turn at thy Reproof that thou may'st pour thy Spirit upon us and make known thy Words unto us lest thou hedg up our Way with Thorns and make a Wall that we cannot find our Paths Thou art the Lord that must teach us to profit that must lead us the way that we should go for thy Commandments are a Lamp and thy Law a Light and Reprooss of Instruction are the Way of Life Grant that the same Spirit that wrote the Word may teach us to understand it That through thy Precepts we may get Understanding and by Understanding hate every false Way Open our Eyes that we may see the wondrous Things that are in thy Law That we may follow the Star until we find Jesus the Christ to worship him When the Scriptures are opened to our Understandings then open our Understandings to the Scriptures That we may discern what the Spirit saith unto the Churches Quicken us with thy Precepts that we may never forget them That they may make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus That the light in the Golden Candle-sticks may so illuminate us that we may walk in thy paths without stumbling Cause thy Word to take Root downward that it may bear Fruit upward that we may have respect unto all thy Commandments Make the VVord to be as a Remora to stay our Carnal Desires which are Voyaging in the Ocean of VVorldy and Sinful Pleasures Make us not onely constant but conscionable Hearers That thy VVord may be in us that Incorruptible Seed that liveth and abideth for ever When we meet for the better make us better for the Meeting They that serve the Lord let them be accepted with favour that their Prayers may reach unto the Clouds Let the Eye of the Lord be upon them that fear him and that hope in his mercy Let the heart of them rejoyce that seek the Lord. That they may be satisfied with the goodness of thy House even with the goodness of thy Holy Temple Dart in some Beams of Irresistible Light into our Minds That the Word may be a savour of Life unto Life and not of Death unto Death Cause that Word
afflicted them or the years wherein they have seen Evil. Thou hast watehed over them to break them down to root them out and to destroy them now watch over them to build and to plant In the interim help them to take up their Contentment in they Appointment That they may say Amen to Gods Amen If they cannot read Love in the Hands and Face of God by reason of Frowns and Strokes teach them to draw by the Vail and read Love in the Heart of God and cry out the Thoughts of God are Thoughts of Love and Peace That they may trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon their God They 'ave lost the Comforts which they could not keep give them to keep the Comforts which they cannot lose In regard their Cisterns are broken lead them to the Fountain Remember thy Footstool in the day of thine Anger Oh set bounds to those Seas Don't always Chide keep not thine Anger for ever Don't triumph in farther Executions Let thy Compassions say It is enough Plow not all the day to Sow Their strength is not as the strength of Stones Neither is their Flesh of Brass Thou knowest their Frame remember they are but Dust If thou should'st be extream in marking what is done amiss who is able to abide thy Wrath. Let it not be long before thou heal the Stroke of their Wound Regard their Affliction when thou hearest their Cry Doth the Wild Ass bray when he hath Grass or loweth the Oxe over his Fodder Deep calleth unto Deep at the noise of thy Water-spouts thy Waves and thy Billows are gone over them Wilt thou break a Leaf driven with the Wind Wilt thou pursue the dry Stubble Remember them in their low estate for thy mercies endure for ever Tho thou Chasten them sore give thm not over unto Death Tho thou take Vengeance of â—heir Inventions yet forgive them Psal 99. 8. Be their Defence and Refuge in â—he day of their Trouble that they may sing of thy Power Give Power unto the Faint and â—hem that have no Might Break the Yoke from their Neck burst their Bonds command Deâ—iverance for them Let not the Needy always be forgotten let not the Expectation of the Poor perish for ever Raise the Poor out of the Dust and the Needy out of the Dunghill Set them high from Affliction and make them Families like a Flock Bring back their Souls from the Pit and enlighten them with the Light of the Living The Conclusion GRant that all thy Dispensations to us may be a means to further us in that great Work in making our Calling and Election sure That in this our day we may improve our Talents get Oyl in our Lamps Grace in our Hearts that we may be own'd by the Bridegroom at his coming Make us live Spiritually before we die Naturally That the Temple of Grace may be raised before the Tabernacle of Nature be taken down That our Souls may be fit to be taken into Heaven before our Bodies be fit to be put into the Earth That the second Birth may have place in us least the second Death have power over us Let our Prayers be as Incense and the Lifting up our Hands as an acceptable Sacrifice Lord kindle our Sacrifice from Heaven That our Prayers may be as a Key to unlock the Bowels of Mercy Return Answers of Peaec into our own Bosoms That the Trade we drive in Prayer may increase our Stock of Grace We depend upon thee for we of our selves can do nothing Our Strength is never so un trusty as when 't is most trusted Thou know'st what we have to do and suffer before our course be finished All Futurities are treasured up in God Thou knowest Sin hath cut the Lock where our Strength lay We have lost the Rudder of Free Will Oh whither will the turbulenâ— Waves of our Corrupt Affections carry us if thou do not come to us and help us and stay the rageing of the Sea and command â— Calm If thy Presence go along with us we shall have Rest Let thy everlasting Arms be under us Put thy Left Hand under our Head and let thy Right Hand embrace us If thou do'st not provide us a Pillar of a Cloud by Day and a Pillar of Fire by Night If thou do'st not fight our Battles and make our Way plain before us we shall never reach Canaan Cover thou our Heads in a day of Battle and teach our Hands to War and our Fingers to Fight Our Souls have broke their Wings thou only canst restore us therefore inable us that we may mount up with Wings as Eagles that we may run and not be weary that we may walk and not faint If the Heavenly Bodies did not move there would be no Motion here below When thou didst not lead Israel on they took up their Standings Inlarge our Steps under us that our Feet do not slide Gird us with Strength for thou art our Rock our Fortress our Deliverer the Strength in whom we will trust our Buckler the Horn of our Salvation and high Tower If the Face of the Sun be intercepted the Moon loseth her Light when thou hidest thy Face we are in Darkness Because thou art our Strength we will wait upon thee for God is our Defence Unto thee our Strength will we sing for God is our Defence the God of our Mercy Stir up thy Strength and come and save us That the Place of our Defence may be Munition of Rocks that Bread may be given unto us that our Waters may be sure Advance and confirm all our Resolutions for doing Good give a Prevailing Issue to all our Endeavours and cause Blessed Success to attend all our good Enterprizes If there be any good Desires in us thou hast begun them perform them until the day of Jesus Christ Send Auxiliary Graces to actuate the dull Habits of Inherent Graces That the Buds of our Good Desires may blossom into Resolutions and that those Blossoms may come to such perfection as to produce the Fruit of good Actions That we may not only purpose to be religious but religious to purpose That we may not only desire but endeavour and give thou that blessing to our Endeavours that they may be successful that we may do that which is well pleasing unto thee When we press forward towards the high Price of our Calling suffer not any discouragment to fasten upon us Suffer us not to unbend our Resolutions for Heaven Suffer not the Earth to put out the Fire Let not the things of the World choke our Zeal nor stifle the Motions of the Spirit Tho all the Instruments sound suffer us not to fall down to the Image that Nebuchadnezzar hath set up Suffer not Secular Proviso's to blunt the edge of our Zeal nor the things of the World to eat out the Heart of Religion Suffer not the Worlds Silver Trumpet to sound a Retreat to call us off from the Pursuit of Heaven Let not the
's God that bringeth down the high and exalteth the low That drieth up the Green Tree and that causeth the Dry Tree to flourish God is Judg he setteth up one and pulleth down another Thou art the great Rewarder and Punisher of Good and Evil. Thou fillest Heaven and Earth with thy presence Thou art acquainted with all our ways and ponderest all our goings Thou sittest upon the Thrones in the Heavens and from thence beholdest the bottomless places There is not any Creature that is not manifest in thy sight All things are naked before thine Eyes with whom we have to do He that planted the Ear shall he not hear and he that formed the Eye shall he not see Thou discoverest Deep things out of Darkness and bringeth to Light the Shadow of Death Thou declarest the things that are past and for to come and revealeth the steps of hidden things No thought escapeth thee neither is any word hidden from thee The ways of good men and the goodness of their ways and the ways of evil men and the evil of their ways are not hidden from thee The Lord is in his Holy Temple the Lords Throne is in Heaven his Eyes behold his Eye lids try the Children of Men. Thou searchest the Heart thou triest the Reins that thou may'st give unto every Man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings Thou watchest over the Wicked to pluck them up and to destroy them but thou watchest over the Righteous to build them and to plant We own thy absolute Soveraignty over us and although thou art girded with Strength and who can say What doest thou Yet thou doest nothing but what is equal and right Thy ways are always full of righteousness tho not always full of clearness to mortals Thou art righteous in all thy Ways and just in all thy Judgments As thou art known to be King of Nations by thy works of Providence abroad in the World so thou art known to be the King of Saints because the Scepter of thy Kingdom is a Scepter of Righteousness Thou lovest Righteousness and Judgment and takest pleasure in Uprightness All the Works of the Lord are good he giveth every one in season and when need is so that a man need not say this is worse than that for in due time all thy doings will prove worthy of praise Our God one day will bring forth all the grounds of all his Dispensations towards Man and all the Proceedings with him in such a demonstrative and undeniable Consonancy even to the very Reason of Man that every Mouth shall be stopped It s far from thee to do wickedness it s far from the Almighty to commit iniquity Thy Counsels of old are Faithfulness and Truth Thou sittest upon the Throne of Holiness To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabbaoth Righteousness and Judgment are the Habitations of thy Throne Thou keepest the Paths of Judgment According to thy Name O Lord so are thy praises to the ends of the Earth thy right hand is full of Righteousness Thou exercisest Loving Kindness Righteousness and Judgment in the Earth for thou excellest therein They that honour thee thou wilt honour but they that despise thee shall be but lightly esteemed The righteousness of the Upright shall deliver them but the Wicked shall be caught in their own naughtiness The Lord loveth the righteous but the wicked and him that loveth violence his Soul hateth The Lord is known by the Judgment that he executeth the wicked is snar'd in the work of his own hands The foolish shall not stand in thy sight thou hatest all the workers of iniquity He that will not bow to thy Scepter of Mercy shall be crushed in pieces by the Rod of thy Wrath. With thee is terrible Majesty Thou canst shew thy strength at all times and who may with-stand the power of thine Arm. At thy wrath the Earth shall tremble the wicked shall not be able to abide thine Indignation Thou who build'st the World can'st easily destroy the wicked Thou art wise in heart and mighty in strength who hath harden'd himself against thee and prosper'd The Pillars of Heaven tremble and are astonish'd at thy reproof Thro the greatness of thy power shall thy enemies submit unto thee We adore thy righteousness O God when thou punishest the wicked because they trample upon thy most righteous Edicts When thou judgest 't is not out of Soveraignty but Justice Thou never did'st command Man to do any thing but what was conducible to his own happiness Thou madest the World for Man thou madest Man to obey thee and the reason thou commanded'st Man to serve thee was that thereby he might be eternally blessed If we had walk'd in thy Counsels they had before this time led us out from under the Curse we are now labouring under One day in thy Courts is better than a thousand elsewhere It 's better to be a Door-keeper in the House of God than to dwell in the Tents of Wickedness We taste and relish the joys of Heaven when we contemplate thy Attributes which are the Notifications of thy Nature so far as is knowable The Demonstrations that thou hast given of thy self in thy Attributes is sufficient if we did but rightly consider to make us both fear and love thee Thy Holiness Justice and Power well consider'd would put a Bridle in our Jaws to keep us from rushing into Sin as a Horse rusheth into the Battle And thy Mercy Truth Goodness and Sufficiency well learn'd is enough to make us love thee and to be a willing people in the day of thy Power Confession of Sin OUR Guilt flasheth in our Faces wo unto us for we have sinned We have not kept the way of the Lord but perfidiously departed from our God In the greatness of our Folly we have gone astray We have Prophan'd our Affections which are due onely to God by setting them upon base and contemptible Objects The Spirit of Fornication is in the midst of us According to the multitude of the Fruit we have increased the Altars according to the goodness of our Land we have made the Images We have gone a Whoring after our own Inventions Sin like a strong Byass hath drawn our hearts from God We have run after other Lovers our Adulteries are between our Breasts We have tempted Temptation to deceive us How hotly we have follow'd the Chase of our own Delusions We are guilty of the two Old Evils we have snatch'd at the Shadow but let go the Substance VVe have forsaken the Fountains of Living Water and have hewn unto our selves broken Cisterns that hold no VVater Instead of trusting in God that giveth good things we have trusted in the good things that God hath sent Instead of rejoycing in God that giveth us Blessings we rejoyce in the Blessings that God hath given We have gaz'd upon the brightness but consider'd not the britleness We have
look'd upon their glory but forgot the frailty Wordly Lusts hath abused our Sight and cozen'd our Understanding The Earth is thy Foot-stool we have made it our Throne Heaven is thy Throne we have made it our Foot-stool We have been for this World as tho it would never have an ending and for the VVorld to come as tho it would never have beginning Instead of laying up our Treasure in Heaven we have laid up our Heaven in our Treasure We have been gross Idolaters in paying Adorations to earthy things We have pawn'd Heaven for a few trifles and given infinite of years purchase for them We have taken our Egyptian Jewels those Temporal Blessings thou hast so plentifully cast amongst us and have made a Golden Calf of them adoring and trusting it and have fallen off from the Cause of Causes We have set up Idols in our Hearts that destroy our Happiness The VVise Man trusteth in his VVisdom the Strong Man in his Strength and the Rich Man in his Riches Thus we have brought our selves under the Curse by trusting in the arm of Flesh The Ballances of Deceit are in our hands We have wrought a deceitful Work We have walk'd in a Fool 's Paradise surveying the fading Flowers of Imaginary Felicities catching at the Apples of Sodom that vanish away in Smoke We have been serious about Trifles and trifl'd about Serious Things We have furied our selves in the pursuit of the fugitive Toys of this life which if they were put into the Ballance would prove altogether lighter than Vanity We have spent our Money for that which is not Bread and our Labour for that which satisfieth not We have wandr'd at random in the vast emptiness of the Creature What we find most perfect in this World is rather meerly Fictitious and Imaginative than Real and Substantial the best Condition of this Life being but a Variety of Vanity We have wildr'd our selves in our own Mazes and wearied our selves with meer Vanity We have sold our selves for naught With Esau we have despised our Birth-right With Cain we have gone out from the presence of the Lord. With the Prodigal we have gone into a far Countrey Every step we have set forward in Sin hath been a step backward from thee Our Habitation hath been in the midst of Deceit 't is thro Deceit that we refuse to know the Lord. We have drawn the Worlds two Brests Profit and Pleasure and fallen asleep at them but have neglected the Things that concern our Everlasting Peace We have neither delighted in the Law of God nor the God of the Law The Thefts and Wiles of Prosperity hath not only stoln us away from our selves but from God Our Desires and Affections have been journeying we know not where We have cause to be ashamed because of the Oaks that we desired and the Gardens that we have chosen We have trusted unanchor'd Hope in fleeting Streams We have pitch'd our thoughts and the restless desires of our Souls upon the Creature as tho there were nothing beyond the Creature We have stretched out our widen'd Arms beyond their Dimensions and our Hands have grasp'd beyond their Distance to incompass this inferiour Orb but we are forc'd to come off not only with Vanity of Vanities but with Vexation of Spirit We have sought the Living among the Dead Happiness where 't is not to be found We have sought Strength in Weakness Riches in Poverty Gloryin Shame and Life in Death and in this course we have forsaken our own Mercy We find by woful experience that all Wordly Enjoyments stand upon two lame Legs Insufficiency Uncertainty The end of all our Earthly Comforts eateth up the pleasure we had in them like Pharaoh's lean Kine We have sown the VVind to reap the VVhirl-wind The Magnetic Power of the VVorld hath drawn our Countenances downward which thou madest erect for the Contemplation of Thee and thy VVorks but now the Curse of the Serpent is upon us upon our Bellies do we creep and Dust do we eat all the days of our lives We are deeply sunk in the VVorlds Quicksands The Earth hath swallow'd us up alive Our Affections the Feet of our Souls have stuck fast in the mire and clay of the VVorld so that we have been hindred from running the race that hath been set before us We have wearied our selves in the way of VVickedness but the way of Truth we have not known The bewitching of VVordly trifles have obscured and hid from us the good things We have rather chosen to go astray than to walk in the sweet Rules of thy Commands Our Rest and our Lusts have shared our Time VVe are strangers to the life of Grace thro the Ignorance that is in us We have taken bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter What Poison or Gall so bitter as Sin Yet we have delighted our selves therein VVhat more sweet than thy Testimony More to be desired than gold yea than much fine gold sweeter also then the honey and the honey-comb yet we nauseated them Damn'd Satan with his Orphean Aires and dexterous VVarbles with Masques and Triumphs hath inticed us along in the paths of Death Sin hath betray'd us with a Kiss Pleasure merrieth our Senses for a while but Horror followeth after and vultereth our unconsuming Hearts Sin is sweet in the commission but bitter in the recollection in the Mouth 't is as sweet as honey but in the Belly as bitter as gall Sinful Pleasures have been the Thieves that have train'd us out of the way and robb'd us With Ahab we have sold our selves to work wickedness We have made hast in the paths of Death We have not onely woven the Spider's Web but we have hatch'd the Cockatrice Egg. Our Actions have not onely been vain and unprofitable but dangerous We have not onely not been for thee but against thee We have not onely not gathered but scattered We have desp'rately invaded the most equal Rules of the Gospel We have broken thy Bonds in sunder and cast away thy Cords from us We have laid the Reins of our Loyalty upon the Neck of Licentious Liberty We have proceeded from Evil to Evil not considering thy Purity and Justice We have drawn Iniquity with the Cords of Vanity Every thought and imagination of our hearts have been evil and that continually The frame of our hearts have not onely been evil continually but our hearts have framed that which hath been evil continually Altho thou hatest iniquity with a perfect hatred yet even as a Fountain casteth forth her water so have we cast out our iniquities before thee Heaven and Earth testifie against us that thou as an indulgent Father hast brought us up as dear Children but we have rebell'd against thee We have be-leaper'd our selves with Sin and like drunken men have stagger'd in our own vomit VVe have wrought abbomination before thee As a Mill-wheel is continually turn'd round and ever drench'd with a new stream so are we continually
be satisfied that all the miseries of this life is not worthy to be compared with that glory that shall afterward be revealed That all the thoughts of misery may be drowned in the precious deeps of Eternity For the Afflicted O Lord be Gracious to all them that are under the Wring of Sorrow and in the Press of Adversity That are Wounded with the Weapons of thy Indignation and cast down with the Evidences of thy Displeasure That are sunk into Inconsolable Afflictions captivated and fetter'd in the Darksom Prison of Discontentedness and hurried upon the Shelves and Rocks of Infelicity We humbly own thou mightest justly have made us Examples unto them our sins was in the Cry that brought down Vengeance We are not spared because we are more righteous but because to us thou art more gracious Thou dealest with us as with Princes Children others are beaten for our faults but 't is intended for our amendment Thou hast distributed sorrows in thine anger and hast broken them with breach upon breach Thou reapest that glory in their calamity that they robb'd thee of in their prosperity Thou hast builded against them and incompassed them with Gall and Travel Thou hast fill'd them with Bitterness and made them drunken with Wormwood Thou hast spoken against them in thy Wrath and vex'd them with thy sore displeasure Thy Wrath lieth hard upon them thou hast afflicted them with many waves Thou hast spread thy Net upon them and hast brought them down as the Fowls of Heaven Terrors are turned upon them they pursue their Souls like the Wind the days of affliction have taken hold upon them With thy strong hand thou opposest thy self against them Thou hast lifted them up to the Wind. Thou hast wrote bitter things against them and caused them possess the Sins of their Youth Thou hast seal'd up their transgressions in a Bagg Their Foundation is over-flown with a Flood Black Clouds have darken'd their day Gall and Wormwood hath bitter'd their Cup. Afflictions are Stinging Serpents We humbly own Sin is both the Mother and the Nurse of all Calamity There 's some of the Golden Calf in all our Suffering They have betray'd themselves into the Hands of Sorrow Afflictions spring not out of the dust nor trouble out of the ground They have largely contributed to their own ruin They have made Wings for thy Judgments which made them come so swiftly upon them Their Sins have been sure Pullies to draw on unexpected Wrath. Sin is the Venemous Root out of which springeth all Calamities Vengeance like a Blood-hound hunteth and findeth out the Guilty Their Life spendeth in Grief and their days in sighing their Strength faileth because of their Iniquity They have trodden the Paths of Death else they had not met with the Drawn Sword of thy Displeasure They have necessitated thee to chastise them Their Sin hath burned hot and hath set on fire the Train of Gods Wrath. They have strung Gods Bow with the Cords of Iniquity Their own Wickedness hath corrected them and their own Backslidings have cast them down as Trees and Garments are eaten up with Moths and Worms which they breed themselves The Vapors of Sin have ascended that have made such thundering in the Clouds Like Thunder-bolts and such fearful Meteors that fall upon the Earth from whence they had their original Their Iniquities are gone over their Heads like a heavy Burthen The Deluge of Impiety drowned the Old World The Fire of Lust fetch'd fire from Heaven upon Sodom The Stinking Coruption of Manners breed the Plague They have broken the Hedge therefore the Serpent hath bit them They have eaten the forbidden Fruit therefore the Curse is upon them Their Quails are sauced with thy Wrath. Sin hath been the Herauld that hath gone before therefore Afflictions are th' Attendants that follow after They have made paths in Sin therefore thou hast made paths in Judgment They are eating the Fruit of their own Ways and are intangled in their own Devices They have rewarded Evil unto themselves The Steps of their Strength are straitned their own Counsels have cast them down The Effects of their Transgressions are heavy upon them Is not their Condition heavier than their Complaint and their Stroke heavier than their Groanings O Lord our God their Sores are not so great but thou canst salve them The Lord upholdeth all them that fall and raiseth up them who are bowed down In regard that Sin hath been a means to bring them into Suffering grant that Suffering may be a means to bring them out of Sin Write their Sin legible in their Sorrows Cause their Chastisements to be remedies not ruins to them Cause the Arrows of Vengeance to wound the Old Man of Sin Let the Rod beat out the Moths Cause the rough File to take away the Rust Make the bitter Pills take away the peccant Humours Let their be no worse consequences of their Afflictions than the purging away their Iniquity and the taking away their Sin That the Waters of Affliction may so season their Earthen Vessels that they may be freed from all tincture of Sin and Corruption The more Correction the less Corruption we beseech thee If the Furnace be seven times hotter cause it to make them seven times better In regard thou do'st bring them thro the Fire refine them as Silver is refined and try them as Gold is tryed That they may learn Obedience by the things that they suffer Cause the pollishing of those Stones to make them fit for the Building of the Temple That their Chast'ning may yield unto them the peaceable Fruits of Righteousness Open their Ears to Discipline That all the Black Lines of Affliction may lead to the true Center of Happiness That thy Rods may become Sermons That they may hear the Rod and who hath appointed it Put Wisdom into their Inward Parts and Undestanding into their Hearts Add Instruction to Correction that they may be corrigible by the Rod lest thou send thy Axe That they may learn by Correction lest thou bring them to Destruction That they may be as Sea-marks unto them that they in future beware of the dangerous Rocks that lie hid under the smooth Waters of Sin Cause them to feel the weight of their Sin as well as the weight of their Punishment â—ake them to know their Transâ—â—â—â—â—â—on and their Sin that they 〈…〉 be truly humbled that thou â—â—â—vest put an end to all their Traâ—â—dies and turn away thine Anger and comfort them Deliver them that are big with Grief Tho they have lain among the Pots that they may be as the Wings of a Dove cover'd with Silver and his Feathers of Yellow Gold Cause the Night of Sorrow to vanish by the appearance of the Sun of Mercy like the Sun of Righteousness with Healing in his Wings That their Afflictions may be Preparatives for future Blessings and better Hearts to enjoy them That thou may'st make them glad according to the days wherein thou hast