'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
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
stop us in our Career of Sin Promises from Mount Gerizzim to allure us into the paths of life The Examples of Holy Men to guide us that we may follow the Foot-steps of the Flock and thy Holy Spirit attending upon these and many other Assistances in our Course to Heaven but we hate to be reform'd and make all our Returns in Ingratitude Altho thou hast made out unto us thy Wisdom Holiness Greatness and Goodness Mercy and Long Suffering Power and Justice And altho thou hast proclaimed Free Grace unto all those that are a willing People in the day of thy Power but Tribulation and Wrath unto the Disobedient And notwithstanding the Divine Authority that unlimited Supremacy that thou hast over us and notwithstanding the Righteousness of thy Scepter yet we have so degenerated from Reason and apostatized from all Ingenuity that we have not kept the way of the Lord but wickedly departed from our God We are like to the Wild Ass that snuffeth up the VVind at her pleasure in her occasion who can turn her away In the height of our Prosperity we say with Pharaoh Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice but in her Month they 'll find her So Extremities and Death-Bed Pangs will seize us the time is coming that we must fall into the hands of the Living God Thou hast given us space to repent but we have not found the place of Repentance We have had line upon line precept upon precept Thou hast hearken'd and heard no man speak aright saying What have I done Every one turn'd to his course as the Horse rusheth into the Battle carelesly fearlesly and desperately the Stork of the Heavens knoweth her appointed time the Turtle the Swallow and the Crane know the time of their coming but we have not known the Judgments of the Lord. Those Irrational Creatures know by instinct of Nature to avoid such intemperate Weather as would be destructive to them yet we notwithstanding many Warnings have not flown from the wrath to come We have wrestled with thy patience and urged thee to swear in thy wrath that we shall never enter into thy rest Well may we be compared to Children sitting in the Market-place calling one unto another and saying We have piped unto ye but ye have not danced we have mourn'd unto ye but ye have not wept We have been inflexible to Promises and Threatnings Neither th'acute Demonstrations of Terror not the Ponderous Inductions of Interest have prevailed with us Thou hast many times beat up for Voluntiers amongst us and hast proclaimed the Priviledges Prerogatives Graces and Comforts that belong to thy Followers but we have turned our backs And thou hast warn'd us to flee from the wrath to come yet we have come in the very face of that wrath which thou hast warn'd us to flee The Trumpets have sounded and the Lions have roared upon us and yet we have hardened our hearts We have made thee to serve with our sins as tho thou wert bound to indure our abominations We have offered Violence to thy Law and have made such large Breaches in our Duty as tho thou wert forc'd to abide our Contempt We have been Professors of Piety but Practisers of Iniquity How little have we advanced in Religion The Faith of Christians have been in our Mouths but the works of Infidels in our Hearts We have been meer Promisers of Obedience We have betray'd our Lord Jesus with a Kiss Our Actions Religious have been meerly Theatrical and done in Subornation to some other Interest Our Goodness is but like the Morning Dew VVe have delighted more in the Theatre than in the Closet VVe have often bound our selves unto thee but we have forfeited our Indentures That which we have verbally detested we have actually embraced We have look'd Heaven-ward in our Profession but Hell-ward in our Conversation VVe have covenanted against Sin yet we have sin'd against Covenant We have been rather Superficial than Fundamental Christians The Heathen give real honour to counterfeit gods but we give a counterfeit honour to the true God Our Devotion to God our Love to our Brethren 't is a Measuring Cast hard to determine which is the Colder but both ready to faint and fall down dead We have put on the Sheep's Coat upon the Wolfs Back the Velvet Plaister of Profession upon the Stinking Ulcer of Corruption Our Righteousness is so imperfect that it can claim no Blessing and our Wickedness so great that it deserves nothing but Cursing We have the Spots and Tokens of the Plague of Plagues we sin and see it not therefore neither care nor fear nor repent nor amend Our Spot is not the Spot of thy People We have hired thy Plagues as Israel did the King of Assur Our Sins are envenomed with many hainous and hellish Circumstances We despise thy Authority we break righteous Laws we contemn precious Promises we give more credence to Satanical suggestions than we do to the Infallible Word of God We weave the VVeb of our own Woe and spin the Cords of our own Thraldom and every Sin breaketh the Sacred Covenant between Christ and our souls Thou mayst justly pronounce Lo-ruhamah against us We have been Traitors to our own Peace We have daily multipli'd our own Calamities Our own Inventions have intwined us and bewray'd us into many troubles and inclosed us in a Den of Thraldoms We day by day alarm Divine Justice We have cause to fear there are many in Hell cursing our Examples We know not how many we have infected with the plague that is upon us If thou should'st lay Judgement to the Line and Righteousness to the Plumb-line thou mayst righteously make thy Wrath to smoke against us We have provoked thee to feed us with Wormwood and to give us Gall to drink Our Sins have laid us most naked to thy Wrath. We have ripen'd our selves for Vengeance It s unspeakable forbearance that thy fury is not kindl'd and broke out into a Flame against us That the Water-flood hath not over-flown us that the Deep hath not swallow'd us up that the Pit hath not shut her mouth upon us GRATVLATION LEt our never ceasing Praises wait upon thee our God because thy wrath is not kindl'd and broke out into a Flame against us We are the Living Monuments of thy Mercy Thy Patience suspendeth Judgment If thou shouldst with-draw thy Patience and Long-suffering we should drop into Hell It s unspeakable Mercy that we are not invelopp'd in the revenging Flames of Hell Altho thou hast not look'd upon our Sins approvingly yet patiently If thou hadst but the Patience of Men and Angels we should spend it one day thou couldst not hold thy tongue and hands one hour The life of our Souls is wrapp'd up in the life of Grace All Sacrifice is too little for a sweet savour all Fatness is too little for a Burn'd Offering How low should we fall in adoration of thy Grace and how high should
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
Earth Vice braves it with a bolden'd Face Sin is in its Power Corruption is upon its Throne Take away the Covering that covereth the face of all People For the CHVRCH WE have had a long Summer but small Harvest Increase the precious Sons of Sion Call thy Sons from far and thy Daughters from the ends of the Earth that they may be called by thy Name Let all the Nations of the Heathen become the Kingdom of the Lord Christ Take in the Heathen for thine Inheritance and the Utmost Parts of the Earth forthy Possession Let all the People praise thee O God yea let all the People praise thee Cause all the Kindred of the Nations to worship before thee and lead them in the Paths of Righteousness for thy Names sake Cast thy Net into the Seas and gather of all Kinds That the Sun of the Gospel may rise to such an Altitude that it may inlighten every Dark Corner of the Earth That the World that is geneâ—ally ruled by the Malicious Prince of Darkness may now receive and obey thy Holy Laws in the Beauty and Harmony of Holiness Search thy Sheep and seek them out as a Shepard seeketh out his Flock in the Day that he is among his Sheep and deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark Day Feed them upon Lebanon by the Rivers that they may lie them down in peace Seek that which is Lost Bring again that which is Driven away Bind up that which is Broken and strengthen that which is Sick Cause thy saving health to be known among all Nations Pull down the Strong Holds of Satan build up the Walls of Jerusalem and gather together the Out-casts of Israel Lamentable are the breaches and ruins of thy Church scarce one stone left upon another Thou art the Owner thereof and able enough therefore repair it Thy Vineyard looks very wild and instead of Grapes it bringeth forth Wild Grapes Oh prune it and fence it cleanse away the Impurity Sinfulness and Defilements of it Suffer no Root of Schism Slip of Error or Fruit of Disobedience to grow in thy Garden Cause the North Wind to arise and the South Wind to blow that the Spices may flow out Adorn the Profession of Religion with an Accession of a Blessing That the Sun of Righteousness may inliven the Church to a higher pregnancy That the Innate Power of the Gospel may prove so Victorious that Paganism Mahumatism Judaism Atheism and Papism may melt under the powerful Influences of it Oh feed thy Flock and fold them Thou who commandest the Clouds from above and openest the Windows of Heaven remember and refresh thine Inheritance with Showers of Divine Favour least it prove like a Heath in the Desart Open the Coelestial Casements and showre down Gospel Blessings If our Root be not Rottenness Heavenly Waterings and Influences will make it sprout forth into Fruits of Obedience Send down the spirit of Obedience and Fidelity that the adored Commands of our aimiable Redeemer may be obeyed Reform those parts of thy Church that are dark'ned and defiled Cast down that Tyranny Heresie and Schism which keepeth out Truth Holiness and Peace that Truth may triumph over Errour That the Streams of Truth in the Banks of Unity may make glad the City of God That Right may be restored Worth prized Vertue honoured Vice degraded and Honesty and Godliness encouraged Set Bounds to our Passions by Reason to our Errors by Truth to our Seditions by Laws to our Schisms by Charity that the Church may be as a City at Unity in it self Cause the Fire of Divine Love to burn up and consume all Roughness Hatred and Cruelty that a Willing and Peaceful Obedience may be-calm the World That Ephraim may not envy Judah nor Judah vex Ephraim Shew thy Compassions unto them who are upon the Mountains of Gilboa where there are no Dews and in Egypt where there are no Showres thou art sufficient for them Shew Pity and Favour unto them who are tossed to and fro upon the Main of Ignorance with every Wind of Doctrine Bring them under a powerful Spiritual Teaching from the Heart to the Heart from the Conscience to the Conscience from Experience to Experience Especially favour this Part of thy Church in this Kingdom that it may be a Paradise of Pleasure the Garden of God that the Valleys may be like Eden the Hills like Lebanon the Springs like Pisgah and the Rivers like Jordan and the Defence thereof the Lord Jehovah Cause thy Spirit as a mighty East Wind to disperse the Locusts That our Nation may be as a Field which the Lord hath blessed For the KING IN a most Eminent Manner give Demonstrations of thy Favour unto our Most Dread Soveraign Lord CHARLES by thy Grace of England Scotland France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith and in all Causes and over all Persons as well Ecclesiastical as Civil in these His Majesties Realms and Dominions Supream Head and Governour Let him be precious in thy Sight Watch over him for Good Cause all Designs that are against him to prove abortive Make his Enemies to be as Dagon was before the Ark fallen down and broken in pieces having neither Heads to plot nor Hands to fight against Him As thou hast placed him on high above us make thy Blessings suitable to his Exaltation and Dignity Let not the Sun of his Prosperity decline but when his Course is finished here below he may ascend into the Unchangeable Glory and be cloathed upon and be a Star of the First Magnitude ever shining in the Heaven of Heavens For the Ministers of the GOSPEL PLace in every one of us an Over-flowing Fountain that we may not onely be constant but abundant in the Work of the Lord. That we may be a Means to mollifie their hard Hearts and bespeak their Love to God Let us be more and more under the Influences and rich Pourings of thy Spirit Make ut Masters of great Judgment and Experience in Soul Affairs That we may weild the Weapons of our Warfare which are not Carnal to the beating down of every high and towring Imagination that shall exalt themselves against the Kingdom of our Lord Christ That with sweet Insinuations and a holy Importunity we may compel them to come in that thy House may be filled and thy Feast furnished with Guests Inspire us with Zeal and Industry That we may partake of the Fountain of Wisdom and drink of the River of Knowledg that in us may be the Vein of Understanding Impregnate us with Divine Notions in such abundance that we may have teeming Wombs to inrich the World Adorn and Beautifie us with such a Brightness of Wisdom and Understanding that we may sparkle with ravishing heat of Love and Piety That the Divine Image may fairly be reflected on us that it may shine brightly in the Faces of Others Fill us with Prudence and Advice Mould many and Wise Resolutions
Mature Determinations deep Notions holy and pious Counsels for the Teaching and Carrying on of thy Flock That we may be as precious Jewels to inrich the World Communicate unto us the Sublime Mysteries of Divine Revelation That our Lips may drop the Words of Life And that our Tongues may be as a Tree of Life whose leaves are Medicinable Give unto us the Light of Divine Knowledge in the Purity of Divine Truth Inrich us in all Knowledg in all Utterance and in all Workman ship Inlighten our Eyes that we may see quite through the Depths of Divinity Reveal unto us by thy Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things yea the deep things of God Give us leave to plow with thy Heifer and we shall find out the Riddls Great is the Mystrey of Godliness Who is sufficient for these things Attract our Minds by thy Spirit that our Flight may be high and we shall sing more sweetly Suffer not the Sun to go down over the Prophets let it not be dark over their Heads Fill us with the Spirit of God in Wisdom in Understanding in Knowledg and in Workmanship that we may undeceive many Make us Pastors according to thy own Heart that we may feed thy People with Wisdom and Understanding Furnish us with all the Requisites that should belong to Gospel Ministers So qualifie us with Ability and Integrity that Envy her self may be forced to confess that we are Workmen that need not be ashamed Suffer us not to be as Clouds without Rain like empty Clouds that deceive thirsty Souls Bless our Labours to great Meassures To whom hath the Arm of the Lord been revealed Who hath believed our Report Shall the Trumpet beblown and the People not affraid Shall the Lyons roar and the Beasts of the Forrest not tremble Cloath us with a great deal of Mind that we may distil many wholsom Notions and rectified Apprehensions into the Minds of Men. That we may bring Truth which is so far absent home into Mens Bosomes That we may use both the Harp and the Arrows that our Speech be sweet and piercing That we may feast the hungry Ears with Delicious Dainties Give unto us the Tongue of the Learned that we may speak a Word in due season The Grace of God and the mighty Spirit of Jesus work in us that we may be inabled to instruct the Weak to confute the Obstinate to reclaim the Erroneous to confirm the Faithful and to comfort the Dejected and Disconsolate Make us happy Instruments of much Glory unto thy Name and of much good unto thy People Suffer not the Fruits of our Understanding to fail Give a Blessing to our Endeavours Paul may plant and Apollo may water but thou onely givest the Increase Except the Lord build the House they labour but in vain that build it except the Lord keep the City the Watchman watcheth but in vain Cause our Words which we speak from thee to be as Goads and Nails fasten'd by the Masters of the Assembly Suffer not our Knowledg to be without Zeal nor our Zeal with out Knowledg Make us not onely Voices crying but Lights shining That we may not onely be Trees of Knowledg but Trees of Life in the Paradise of our God Give unto us to know the Misteries of of the Kingdom of God Teach us to find much of the Treasure hid in the Field Make us useful and successful That we may gather many under the Triumphing Wings of Jesus Inable us to unmask and unvail Heavenly Truths that each eye may see their Beauty That we may set such a lustrre upon the Pearl of Price and so present Divinity in her graceful Jewels that every one may be inamour'd with her That we may lead Affection by the hand and with a sweet facility slide some Divine Truths into the Hearts of our Hearers Grant that in all things we may approve our selves as Ministers of God That our Lights may so shine before Men that they may see our Good Works and glorifie thee our Father which art in Heaven Suffer us not to be Strangers to that Holiness We press upon others Make us feed by Doctrine and feed by Example Suffer not the Salt to lose its Savour Suffer not the Curse to come upon us like Priest like People Suffer us not to pull down with one hand what we build with another lest the Sons of Levi cause the Offering of the Lord to be had in abomination Dead Files causeth the Ointment of the Apothecary to send forth a stinking Savour so doth a little Folly he that is in reputation for Wisdom and Honour therefore stay our steps in thy Paths that our feet slide not That the Purity of Divine Truths may be unfolded in our hearts and lives We have our Treasure in Earthen Vessels purifie and cleanse them lest thy Word have a tincture of our Uncleanness That we may not sound the Lords Trumpet with a Stinking Breath Cloath us with Righteousness the Garments of Praise and the Saints shall shout for joy Grant that we may Credit the Gospel with Examplary Conversation That our Lives as well as Doctrine may continually teach Lessons of Faith Knowledg Temperance Patience Brotherly Kindness and Charity That there may be seen whatsoever things are true lovely pure vertuous or praise worthy That every one of us may be as a Torch on a Hill to inlighten all about us Make us as Wise as Serpents but as Innocent as Doves They who are call'd to the Work give them Grace to work in their Callings that we may be true Servants and Friends of God That we may lay up and lay out O Lord help us that we may live above the Dependance and Gratuities of this vain World That our Aim may be higher than the Eating of a Piece of Bread That we may be free from the Blood of all Men give us Grace to warn all Men and to teach every Man in all Wisdom that we may present our Flocks acceptable before Christ Whilst our Tongues run at the service of the Altar God forbid that our Eyes should squint at the Fat of the Sacrifice Grant that we may not seek our selves but thee Let our Endeavours be rather for the profit than the pleasure of the People Strengthen us to live above Discouragements yea above Incouragements That we may chiefly mind our Duty and depend upon thee as our onely but our sure Reward Give us a strong and clear sense of what we speak Let nothing come out of our Mouths but what is to good purpose Suffer not the Stars of the Church to shed black and malignant Influences Suffer not our Trumpets to give an uncertain Sound then who shall prepare themselves for the Battle Make us all of one right mind that we may speak the same thing that there may be no Divisions among us that we may be perfectly joyn'd together in the same Mind and Judgment That we may all always be in Conjunction with Truth That we may
Tree of Life Sin hath over-laid their hopes O raise them from the dead Let down a beam of Comfort to temper their Despair Contend not for ever be not always wroth then the spirits will fail and the souls which thou hast made Teach them to feed on the Promises as Sampson did of the Honey-comb Out of the Eater came forth Meat and out of the strong came forth Sweetness That they may be justified by Faith and have peace with God thro our Lord Jesus Christ Hang forth the White Flagg of Mercy and lift up their Heads that they may see their redemption drawing near Display the Ensign of thy Compassions then shall they run to thy Standard Help them that are under the pains and pangs of the New Birth guid them in the way that leadeth to Everlasting Life Open unto them the Gates of Righteousness that they may go in and praise thy Name Let the Lords Compassions reach to all that are wrastling with and tossed in the Sea of their Corruption and are violently carried on with temptations and over-power'd by their licentious Affections in the Straits of Repentance that have much ado to keep off from the Rocks of Despair and afraid to be swallow'd up in the Gulph of Perdition When they pass thro the Waters be thou with them When they go thro the Rivers suffer them not to over-flow them When they walk thro the Fire suffer them not to be burned nor the flame to kindle upon them Consider their trouble for thou knowest their souls are in adversity Turn the Bruised Reed into a Golden Pillar and the Smoaking Flax into a Triumphing Flame Be thou their Arm every morning and their salvation in a time of trouble Bring them from the depths of Death Glorifie thy self in their Deliverances Redeem Israel from all his iniquities Swallow up Death in Victory Wipe away tears from their Faces and take away their Rebuke Let the times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord. Execute not the fierceness of thy Wrath for thou art God and not Man Cast them not away from thy presence but uphold them with thy free spirit Bind up the breach of thy servants and heal the stroke of their wound For thy Names sake defer thine anger and for thy Praise refrain Guid them with thy Counsel in order to their Reception into Glory And comfort just Lot that is vex'd with the unrighteous Conversation of the Sodomites from day to day How the second Man the Lord from Heaven the New Man is plagued with the Hittites the Hivites and the Jebusites The small beginnings of Grace are preserved by the powers from Heaven The Sojourner is opposed and despised because of the contrariety between them Damn'd Satan the World and the Flesh combine to extinguish that which thou hast kindled The Flesh Iusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh these two are contrary the one to another Relieve thy Servants who are ingaged in the Holy War When they walk thro the midst of trouble do thou revive them stretch forth thy hand against the wrath of thine enemies that thy right hand may save them Support them with the Spirit of Power and the power of the Spirit Perfect that which concerneth them thy mercy O Lord endureth for ever forsake not the Work of thine own hands It is the Lord that bringeth forth his People from their Enemies and lifteth them up on high above them Corruption is always strong enough to keep Grace low Grant 〈◊〉 Grace may prove strong enough to keep Corruption low Suffer not their Corruptions to worry and devour the Fruits of the Spirit Take the Foxes that spoil the Vines for the Vines have tender Grapes Fill every one that hunger and thirst after Righteousness Deny not those ardent desires of the blissful fruition of thy Self which the lively sense of thy own Goodness hath enkindled those breathings and gaspings for an eternal participation of thee The Soul is depressed with an unpassable thicket of hinderances the frailties of the Body the current of the World and the spiritual Enemies that continually war against Goodness they are ever checking the production of those good motions she is pregnant with Oh send a spring of auxilliary Grace to actuate the dull habits of inherent Grace Thou knowest their wo because they dwell in Mesech and are constrained to dwell in the Tents of Kedar Lead forth thy people whom thou hast redeemed and guid them with thy strength to thy holy Habitation Open the Rivers in high places and Fountains in the midst of the Valleys Make the Wilderness a Pool of Water and the dry Land Springs of Water The whole World cannot satisfie their Spiritual Longings give them Soul-suitable Returns The Good that they would do that do they not the Evil that they would not do that do they because of the Law of the Members that war against the Law of the Mind They would gladly be with thee but they cannot get near because of the Croud Their Souls thirst upon the Cross but Gall and Vinegar is their Drink Shall not the good Angel minister unto them Help them who are troubled with vexing Scruples and reduced to dark Perplexities When they go forward thou art not there and when they go backward they cannot perceive thee Oh manifest thy self unto them Cause thy Grace to guid their slippery steps And unto them who thou hast in some measure given Victory to make the Habitation of their Righteousness prosperous Cause the Righteous to hold on his Way and he that hath clean Hands to be stronger and stronger That they may grow in Grace and from one degree of Grace unto another Cause the Light of the Righteous to shine more and more unto perfect Day Suffer not Pharaoh and his Host to over-take them Suffer them not to look back to Egypt nor to long after the Garlick and the Onions That they may rather think of the burden and bondage and the woful circumstances and consequents of Sin than the vain pleasures of it Suffer them not to be plagued with Satans return or any fresh invasions or revolutions of their old Sins Thou who settest them up and makest them holy keep them up and make them steady Keep them from lapses and prevarications Let them not want the Pillar of a Cloud by Day nor the Pillar of Fire by Night Let the Blessed Spirit which was the Pre-operator be the Co-operator lest they return to the borders of Egypt Fight their battles and supply their wants Give them a clear sight of the Crown of Immortality that the joys of that which is set before the eyes of their Faith may still refresh them that they may endure unto the End Give them a Sample of what they are pressing toward and sometimes a Taste of the Fruits of Canaan that they may resolve to fight with the Sons of Anack Fraught them so with hope that they may venture into any storm That they may