if I do Thine O Lord is the Sword of Vengeance and thine is the sharpest Sword O let me not dare to take it out of thy hand Lest while I strike others I fall justly by thy Sword Tho' Flesh and Blood provoke me to it let thy holy Spirit withhold me from it And cast and keep out of me that Evil Spirit by thy Power O good God and Saviour for thy infinite Mercies sake Amen A Collect or Prayer against Malice O Thou Divine Goodness that wouldst not have me be of a Revengeful Spirit neither wouldst thou have me be of a Malicious Spirit and therefore O Lord be pleased to keep me from Malice which is the very Soul of Satan and Sin of the Devil Thou O God art Love but he is Hatred And if Malice be in me I shall be as he is even one whom unless thou hatest thy self thou canst not love Thou hast commanded that I should love my Enemies and wouldst not have me be malicious against them nor bear them ill will for what they have done to me but rather to pray for them yea tho' they use me despitefully thou wouldst not have me be despiteful towards them And therefore from such a hateful and damning Disposition O Lord Deliver me Let not Satan's Brand be on my Brest and his Soul in my Body lest being marked for him he seiz me as his own But O Lord do thou stamp me as thy own and set the Seal of thy Love on my heart that I may be owned by thee and have thy Badge continually upon me which is That we love one another O let me not wear the Devils Badge in a visible or secret Malice to any Make me O Lord a Child of thy Family a Dove of thy Flock without any Gaul or Rancor a Lamb of thy Fold harmless to all and not doing Mischief to any but delighting like thy Blessed Self to do good unto all Even for his sake who is holy harmless and undefiled who did good to all and Evil to none even Iesus Christ our Lord Amen A Collect for Grace O Thou that hast promised thy holy Spirit to them that ask it give me thy Grace O God that being strengthened thereby I may with Courage and Constancy Engage all my Spiritual Enemies and subdue them That I may pass my Pilgrimage here in thy fear and at last receive my Triumphs in thy Glory Through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Collect for Peace O God of Peace which art incomprehensible give me Thy Peace which passeth all understanding Let me so live according to thy Rule that I may have Peace with my Conscience and let me be so ruled by thy Will and Word that my Conscience may have Peace with Thee Lord make an Everlasting Peace with me and let me never do that which has any Tendency to break that League Dear Jesus Let it be Ratified and Confirmed in thy Blood and maintain it in me by thy holy Spirit Amen Amen A Collect for Health IT is the wonder of thy Providence O Lord that a Body subject to thousands of Frailties and Casualties every Day should Enjoy Health or Life an Hour yet through thy Mercy I have both at this instant Lord continue to me what I have and let me so improve it to thy Honour that thou mayst continue it and suffer me not by any Sin to provoke thee to take it away from me and to Smite me with Sickness Hear me I beseech thee for Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Collect for Friends O Lord it is Ioyful for Friends to love and live together on Earth but the Ioy of all Ioys to live with thee in Heaven I beseech thee let this happiness be the Portion of all whom thou hast made more Nearly and Dearly to be Mine Let us so live in thy Service that we may die in thy Salvation In the mean while what we want of any Earthly Good necessary for us Give us What is amiss and offensive to thy Heavenly Majesty in any of us Forgive us What is requisite to make us so to serve thee now that thou mayst save us then in thy Bounty bestom upon us Even Truth and Grace aright to See and Seek thy Face in Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer for the Kingdom O Lord Our Distractions threaten Desolations to us Preserve us Our sins cry aloud for thy Vengeance upon us Pardon us Thy Mercies have been great to this Nation O Lord remember them Thy Deliverances of us have been many O Lord Renew them That Iniquity be not our utter Ruine give us Repentance The Guilt and Blood upon us Forgive Our Breaches Repair The Order which may bring Peace Establish The Government thou hast Establish'd maintain What is Iust and Right in thine Eyes set up What thou seest Evil cast down What makes the Nation miserable Remove What may make it happy Restore Lord for thy Mercies sake say We have been miserable enough and make us more happy Let the Light of thy Countenance shine again upon us and grant us thy Peace The Power and Authority which may procure it Preserve and those to whom thou hast given that Power Bless them to us and us in them and all in thee For Iesus Christ his sake Amen A Collect for the Church Catholick BEhold O God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ I a Christian and Child of his True Catholick Church Pray thy Mercies on my Good and great Mother and all my Brethren and her Children in thee and thy Son For Errors amongst them send them Truth For Schism Vnity For Superstition Warrantable Worship For Confusion Order For Prophaness Piety For Variance Concord for War Peace That all may as one Body with one Mind and Heart and Mouth and Knee Believe Love Confess Adore and so serve Thee and Him whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ the Great Lord and Common Saviour of us all as thou mayst save us all in the World to come O Thou Head of the Church Save thy Body By thy Blood Cleanse it by thy Spirit Sanctifie it by thy Power Preserve it and every Limb of it dear Iesus Amen A Collect for the Church O Christ Head of thy Body the Church let not this poor Member of it amongst us Perish What it is Thou seest Lord with Pity behold us What it was thou knowest O Lord in Mercy Restore us Thy Primitive Order in Christian Truth and Worship for the saving of Souls which is cast down set up The Present Confusions Distractions Innovations Errors which are got up cast down Set up thy Glory O Lord amongst us And what is set apart to support it do Thou maintain and continue to us and our Posterities after us for Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Collect for Safety FORGIVE O Lord the Forfeitures I have made of thy Protection by the Wanderings of my Life And tho I have not been as I should a Dutiful Child yet be Thou O Lord as
are blessed because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven And seeing the Captain of our Salvation was made Perfect through Sufferings why should it not also be the same with his Followers 2. Another Reason why it pleases God to Exercise us here with Afflictions is That our hearts might be drawn off from the love of the World which is an Enemy to God The inordinate love of the World makes the Soul uncapable of the love of God for St. Iohn tells us expresly That if any Man love the World the love of the Father is not in him How much better is it then to have the hatred of the World and to have God our Friend than to have the World our Friend and God our Enemy And sure we have no reason to complain of Afflictions since St. Paul tells us We are chastened of the Lord that we might not be condemned with the World God is pleased to imbitter the World to us by Afflictions as a Tender Mother does her Teat when she wou'd wean her Child from the Brest she rubs her Nipple with Aloes or Wormwood which the Child tasting will take the Brest no more So when the World wou'd intice us to the love thereof by its Delights and Pleasures our merciful Father sends us Tribulations and Afflictions to take our hearts from the love of present things which could we have quietly Enjoy'd we should have been for building Tabernacles here Could the Prodigal Son have fill'd his Belly with Husks he would never have thought of Returning to his Father but Want and Affliction brought him from the Swine with whom he would have staid could he have got his Belly full 3. Another Benefit we receive by Affliction is That we are thereby Cured of our Soul-Disease and that too of such as are otherwise almost incurable Honours Riches and a Prosperous Condition in the World causes us too often to contract those sinful Habits which we never come to reflect upon much less to repent of until Affliction makes us Therefore it is that Solomon tells us The Rod and Reproof give Wisdom The Story of Ioseph's Brethren is remarkable they had sold their Brother to the Ishmaelitish Merchants and made their Father believe he was torn in pieces of Wild Beasts and then thought all was well and were not at all troubled that they had sold their Brother and deceiv'd their Father But afterwards when they went down to Egypt were there put in Ward and charged as being Spies this Affliction brings to their remembrance their former Usage of their Brother Ioseph and now they cry out We are verily guilty concerning our Brother We saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore is this distress come upon us Had it not been for that affliction in all probability they had never repented of their Cruelty to Ioseph One likeneth Afflictions to the Rod of Moses for as the striking that upon the Rock brought forth Water so the Rod of Affliction often mollifieth stony-hearted Sinners and makes the Waters of Repentance to gush out Another compares it to a File for as that cleanses the Iron from its Rust and make it bright So Affliction files off that Rust of Sin which worldly Prosperity has contracted and makes our Graces shine more bright and glorious The Scripture likewise compares it to a Furnace wherein Gold is tried and purged from all its filth and dross and brought to the greatest degree of Perfection It may also well be compared to a Purging Potion for as that driveth the corrupt and ill humours out of a diseased Body so Afflictions drive out evil Passions and corrupt Desires and Affections out of the Soul such as Pride Vain-glory Sloth Niceness Lust Gluttony Drunkenness and many more And Elihu speaking to Iob of the Afflictions with which God uses to exercise his People tells him It is that he may with-draw Man from his Purpose and hide Pride from him he does indeed says Elihu chasten him with Pains upon his Bed and the multitude of his Bones with strong Pain so that his Life abhorreth Bread and his Soul dainty Meat yea his Soul draweth near to the Grave and his Life to the destroyers Lo these things says he worketh God often-times with Man But wou'd you know to what End 'T is to bring back his Soul from the Pit to be Enlightened with the light of the Living 4. Another Benefit of Affliction is That it is a Preservative from Evil and keeps us from many Sins which we should otherwise run into This is what God intends by the Prophet Hosea when he tells the Children of Iudah that were bent upon Idolatry and resolved to go after their Lovers that God wou'd prevent 'em and put a stop in their Way I 'll hedge up thy way with Thorns says God That is I will bring such afflictions upon you as shall be as so many Thorns in your sides which shall put a stop to your Careir in Wickedness And this was the Experience of holy David long before For he tells us Psal. cxix 71. It is good for me that I have been Afflicted If you ask why it was good for him or what Benefit he found by it He readily tells you Vers. 67. Before I was afflicted I went astray but now have I kept thy Word And therefore instead of murmuring against God for Afflictions he justifies God I know O Lord says he that thy Iudgments are just and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me 5. ANOTHER Advantage we reap by Afflictions is That hereby God puts us upon the Tryal of our Graces There are many that will swim with the Tide that won't venture when the stream is against ' em What the Devil falsly said of Iob is but too true of many Men they won't serve God for nought When God blesses them with the good things of this Life and they have all that their Hearts can wish then they will be for God and for the Profession of Religion but if he puts forth his hand and takes away what they have they will be like those that the Prophet Isaiah speaks of who when they are hungry and hardly bestead shall fret themselves and curse their King and their God And therefore Iob's Constancy under those great Afflictions made his Piety and Patience so much the more Illustrious 'T is Affliction that shews us which are Hypocrites and which are sincere Christians a sincere Christian varies not with the Times but is semper idem always the same whereas a Hypocrite is a Time-server and will turn with the Times rather than be turn'd out If Tribulation comes he is for avoiding of it let it come from what Quarter it will How many can we remember that made the greatest Pretences of Loyalty to the King that cou'd be and had there been no occasion to try their Loyalty would have been Loyal still but when Times of Affliction and Trial came on and the King was
forc'd to with-draw himself they likewise with-drew their Loyalty This shews that times of Affliction are times of Trial by which God proves the Truth of our Love to him and our Zeal for him And by which we also may come to know the Deceitfulness of our own Hearts which is also the Design of God in our Afflictions as the holy Ghost testifies 2 Chron. xxxii 31. where speaking of Hezekiah we have these words Howbeit in the business of the Ambassadors of the Princes of Babylon who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the Land God left him to try him that he i. e. Hezekiah might know all that was in his Heart 6 Another Benefit that we receive by Afflictions is That they make us run to God Fulness and Prosperity oft makes us forget God and run away from him but Afflictions generally drive us to him and indeed is the only way to reclaim us This the Prophet Hosea tells us where God speaking of his People that had gone away from him and follow'd Idols threatens to bring Afflictions upon 'em I will be as a Lyon and as a Young Lyon to the House of Judah I will tear and go away I will take away and none shall rescue Would you know God's design herein I will go says he and return to my Place till they acknowledge their offences and seek my Face But when will that be O says God In their Affliction they will seek me Early When we are walking abroad in the Fields and the Weather is good we are not solicitous about a Place of shelter but if a Storm arises and a Shower comes then we look out for a Shelter and make haste unto it God is call'd in the Scripture A Covert from the Storm and from the Rain Isa. iv 6. And therefore when the Tempest of God's Wrath arises and the Storm of his Anger is pour'd upon the World whither shall we run for safety but to Him who is a Covert from the storm and from the rain At such times especially we run to God as to our great Assylum and Refuge knowing that under the shadow of his Wings we shall be safe Thus it was in the Wilderness with the Israelites a stiff-necked generation continually provoking God by their unbelief and this they did to that degree that God often sent his Judgments amongst them by which many of them were destroyed and these Afflictions made them seek after and run to God for so the Psalmist tells Psal. lxxviii 34. When he slew them then they sought him and they returned and enquired early after God And tho' the Psalmist tells us that they did but flatter him with their Mouth and lied unto him with their Tongue and that their heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant yet this running of theirs to him in the time of their affliction did so far prevail with God that he being full of Compassion destroyed them not but turned his Anger away and did not stir up all his Wrath. And David himself frequently professes that God was his Refuge in time of Trouble whereto he did continually resort So that this is certainly a great Advantage that we gain by Afflictions that they drive us to God to whom we fly for Refuge and where we find Security 7. There is also this Advantage in Afflictions That by means of them we come to live in the daily exercise of all Vertues which without Afflictions we could not do This St. Paul affirms Rom. v. 3. We glory in Tribulations also knowing that Tribulation worketh Patience and Patience Experience and Experience Hope and Hope maketh not ashamed This is the natural Consequence of Afflictions for then we live in the Exercise of Faith by believing Gods Promise that all things shall work together for our Good and relying upon him for our Deliverance We live in the Exercise of Hope by an assured Expectation of the Reward promised to them that suffer And in the Exercise of Charity by having our hearts inflam'd with the love of Christ who gave himself for us whereby we are made willing to offer up our selves a Free-will-Offering to him both in Life and Death Our Patience is Exercis'd in suffering the Will of God with Quietness and Resignation of Soul and our Humility by abasing our selves in the sight of God and being willing to suffer shame for his sake 8. ANOTHER Advantage that we reap by Afflictions which is the last I shall mention because I affect brevity is That when they have brought forth in us the Peaceable Fruits of Righteousness our Mouths and our Hearts too shall be filled with Songs of Deliverance Thus David rejoyc'd in God Psal. LIX 16. I will sing of thy Power yea I will sing aloud of thy Mercy in the Morning for thou hast been my Defence and Refuge in the Day of my Trouble The Children of Israel had been kept a long time in the House of Bondage in the Land of Egypt where they were made to serve with Rigor But with what Songs of Praise were their Mouths filled upon their Deliverance How did they exult in the Lord and glory in the God of their Salvation There had been no occasion for those Songs of Deliverance had they not been kept in Bondage Nor had they seen the Power of God so wonderfully display'd on their behalf which made them cry out Who is like unto thee O Lord among the gods Who is like unto thee Glorious in Holiness Fearful in Praises doing Wonders Had King David come to the Crown without meeting with those Troubles that preceded it he had not been so sensibly affected with God's Mercy in Delivering him as he was nor in all probability have writ that excellent Song of Praise recited both in 2 Sam. xxii and in Psal. xviii Intituled A Psalm of David the Servant of the LORD who spake unto the LORD the words of this Song in the Day that the LORD Deliver'd him from the hand of all his Enemies and from the hand of Saul In which he first gives an Account of his great Distresses for says he The Sorrows of Death compassed me and the floods of ungodly Men made me afraid nay he goes further than this and tells us The sorrows of Hell compassed him about and the snares of Death prevented him And then exults in GOD for his great Deliverance The Lord was my stay By Thee have I run through a Troop by my GOD have I leaped over a Wall As for GOD his way is perfect The Word of the LORD is tried He is a Buckler to all those that trust in Him For who is GOD save the LORD Or who is a Rock save our GOD The LORD liveth and blessed be my Rock and let the GOD of my Salvation be exalted It is GOD that avengeth me and subdueth the People under me He delivereth me from mine Enemies Yea Thou liftest me up above those that rise up