after he was coÌ„stituted also anointed King by Samuel by the malice of Saul who sought his death and continued many yéeres in continual troubles wherin being exercised he betooke himselfe to prayer to God liuing in hope that the time would come wherein hee should be fréed from Sauls tyranny and as hée was anointed so should he bée at length eustalled King hauing in many yéeres little or no breathing time or freedome from afflictions yet was his faith strong and his confidence in God firme as appeareth by the first second and third verses of this 27. Psalme wherein hée declareth the fauour of God towards him that he was his light and his saluation and his strength so that he feared not Saul nor whatsoeuer wicked enemies being assured that if they came vpon him to take away his life God would make them to stumble and fall as by his owne hands and Gods prouidence Goliah fell and after Saul his enemy by his owne sword so that in the first Uerse hée tooke courage through faith in God and sang In the time of trouble God shall hide me in his Tabernacle in the secret place of his Pauilion shall he hide me and set me vpon a Rocke And in this verse Now shall hee lift vp mine head aboue mine enemies round about me When Saul was dead his mighty enemy he tooke the Gouernment of his Kingdome but was not yet frée from enemies whereby wée may see that the death of one enemy is the life of another and to teach vs not to be secure at any time but when one danger is past to looke for another yet not without Hope though cast downe in the end to be lifted vp and raised againe For as the Moone wareth full and decreaseth and the Sea ebbeth and floweth and as the sky cleareth and cloudeth so doe the estates of men high and low rise and fall and fall and rise What a fall had Ioseph being the darling of his Father to be sold as a slaue to be falsely accused and to be strictly imprisoned and yet in the end to bée so highly aduanced Now saith Dauid shall he lift vp my head as if hée could limit God the time to raise him No doubt it was not his meaning to tie God to a certaine time but when Saul his Predecessor was dead the Crowne open sor him he might well say Now that is now hath God appointed the time to bring that to passe which long before he had promised Indéed when he was made King he might well say that God had lifted vp his head aboue his enemies round about him for he had many as before is shewed and net a few euen of Sauls followers after who when they saw Dauid exalted might enuy his aduancement being lifted vp so farre aboue them and had then power to recompence their wickednesse against him But he had no reuengefull spirit if he had had hée would haue reuenged himselfe vpon Shemey that railed on him and cursed him and vpon Doeg that discouered his abode to Saul Neither of these did he touch but as touching Shemey though he swore vnto him that hée would not slay him yet hée commanded Salomon that he should cause his hoare head to goe to the graue with bloud which it séemeth hée spake by the spirit of prophesie fore-séeing that he should die by the sword Thus Dauid deliuered from his enemies and lifted vp aboue them sheweth the wonderfull power of God in preseruing him and his prouidence and loue in aduancing him yet continued hée not long without his troubles and enemies to exercise him though he were now established in his Kingdome for he hauing peace security a while we find into what sinnes he fell though he were aduanced aboue his corporall enemies his spirituall foes grew stronger than he therefore it is good that the children of God though neuer so great in the world haue afflictions and troubles lest they forget God as this godly King for a time did yet vpon repentance God raised him againe Which example of sinning we must auoid and imitate his repentance By his assured confidence in God he still withstood and preuailed against all that rose vp against him none could make him afraid but rested still assured that God would now namely whensoeuer he was beset with danger lift vp his head aboue all his enemies round about him His enemies in their policies became fooles in their strength weake and all their deuices brought to nought So that Dauid might well sing this ioyfull Song The Lord hath lifted vp my head aboue all mine enemies round about me Nothing preuaileth without or against God None can be lifted vp to sit safely without God therefore the man that is wise being aduanced will-imitate Dauid in faith and a holy resolution then shall he mount that rocke that shall neuer bee moued God shall maintaine his lot so that troubles shall not dismay him enemies shall not hurt him neither shall any thing make him afraid None must yet stand in conceit that Dauids infirmities and falls should bée a priuilege for them to commit sinne but rather let his fall be a-motiue to them to bée watchfull ouer their waies for the preuenting of like danger and to beware of security For easie it is for a man to fall of himselfe as Dauid did but without God not to rise againe and repent as Dauid did Though he fell and was lifted vp Saul fell and neuer rose Peter fell and rose againe but Iudas fell and that finally Dauid had an eie vnto his waies and respect vnto his walkings to preuent a second fall so as his enemies could not preuaile yet hée confessed that it was the Lord that supported him and made him to abide in safety It was not his owne power or wit or policy but the mercy of God that preserued him and that lifted vp his head aboue his enemies He was constant and waited the Lords leisure he made not haste as hée might haue done hauing Saul twice within his power though he were anointed King yet would he lay no violent hands vpon him that was pre-anointed and inuested but waited his time as Ioseph did whose head was lifted vp aboue his enuious brethrer Mordochay and the Jewes likewise with patience waited the time and were lifted vp aboue Hâ—man but otherwise higher by the gallowes than they Many are lifted vp aboue their enemies in conceit and yet themselues lifted vp as enemies against themselues for the more man insulteth in pride ouer other men the more the mighty triumph ouer the weake the rich ouer the poore the glorious ouer the base and the more that they in authority abuse and tyrannize ouer them they gouerne so much the further off are they from the true lifting vp how high soeuer they cary their heads and so much the more enemies they are vnto themselues There is no true lifting vp without loue for God is loue he lifteth vp the heart and soule
set thy glory aboue the heauens where he sitteth and séeth the troubles and afflictions of his and is néere them when they call vpon him he turneth his face and louing countenance towards them to cheare them and comfort them as for the wicked he beholdeth them a farre off I haue set the Lord saith Dauid alwaies before me for he is at my right hand therefore I shall not slide As if he had said I sée the face of God continually and hée it is that preserueth me from danger so that mine heart is glad and my tongue reioyceth my flesh also doth rest in hope The tongue of men or Angels cannot sufficiently expresse what God is onely the heauens doe shew vnto vs his glory the Sunne the Moone and Starres fixed in the Firmament the Earth the Sea and all that are therein all being the works of his hands This God did Dauid séeke to this God did Dauid pray and hée turned his face vnto him and deliuered him out of all his feare To him I will pray A Praier that God will neuer hide his face from vs. THY fauour O Lord which thou shewest vnto vs weake and vnworthy creatures is as an vnfathomable Sea of loue who becommest as it were a suter vnto vs to come to seeke and to see thy face Thou the most beloued seemest to make loue vnto vs Thou the most mighty creator callest vs vnto thee thy weake creatures And shall we hatefull deformed and vile wretches stand therefore in conceit that wee are louely and beautifull because thou great Iehouah absolute in all perfection doest thus intreat vs Thou saiest Seeke my face And what is it but as if thou saidst Come and see me come and receiue me come and dwell with me It seemeth to be rather the voice of a familiar friend than of the Creator of heauen and earth But when I consider thy greatnesse thy Maiesty and glory thy power and omnipotency I cannot but feare considering what I am and rather desire to hide me from thee as Adam did than to intrude my selfe into thy presence in my deformities and to couer my nakednesse of all goodnesse with the fig leaues of shamefull absence than to come into thy presence being naked of all spirituall vertues Should I come into thy presence O most powerfull and holy Lord God in the bespotted garments of mine owne corruptions Then maist thou well stand with the burning sword of thy fury to keepe me from the sweet Paradice of thy louing and amiable presence amiable in deed to them whom thou makest worthy but most fearefull vnto such as haue not on the wedding garment of the righteousnesse of IESVS CHRIST If thou obserue the selfe-deseruings of the best men and deale with them accordingly who can see thy face and liue Who dare to seeke thy face as of himselfe worthy But sith it pleaseth thee to call me though vnworthy and to accept me as worthy how can I but giue all diligence to attend thy call Should I stand consulting with flesh and bloud whether I should seeke thy face and liue or remaine out of thy fauour and perish eternally Thou saist Seeke my face O that my heart could truly answer and faithfully performe the seeking of thy face for I cannot say of my owne power I will seeke thy face Though my spirituall part bee willing my carnall part is weake I desire yet to seeke and to finde thee for with thee is the well of life Thine eies are vpon them that feare thee and thine eares open vnto their cry Shew me therefore the light of thy countenance and turne thy face towards me that I may see it in thy fauour and louing kindnesse Thy face is no way so liuely to be seene as in the Image of thy Sonne who although he were here in the earth in the forme of a seruant he had the inuisible forme of thine owne Essence and is now ascended and glorified in the heauens endowed with that absolute glory which hee had from the beginning with thee whose visible forme cannot bee seene with mortall eyes whose face yet shineth more gloriously than it did vpon the holy Mount which Peter Iames and Iohn to their vnspeakable comfort beheld with their eies that visible glory of his cannot bee here seene it is hid from vs vntill the time but he vouchsafeth vnto vs his Word wherein we see him through faith O seeke his face euermore my soule seeke his Word beleeue his promises obserue his Will Grant Lord that I may flie sinne and embrace righteousnesse that I may pray continually loue all men beare with the weake bee patient in troubles and thankfull vnto thee for all thy mercies and grant Lord that I may seeke thee while it is to day let mee omit no time in seeking thy face thou saist Seeke my face let me cast off all impediments and clogs of worldly occasions and cast my care vpon thee for thou hast promised to care for mee what thou hast said is true what thou hast promised is Yea and Amen as sure as if I were possessed of what I aske I am in danger I will seeke thy face as Dauid did who found it in the Wildernesse pursued by Saul I haue enemies I will seeke thy face as Eliah did being threatned by Iezabel If I bee in prison I will seeke thy face as Ioseph did who was deliuered and aduanced what misery or danger trouble or affliction soeuer it shall please thee to inflict vpon mee I will seeke thy face so shall I not bee confounded in the perilous time and in whatsoeuer calamity I am be thou neere vnto me and saue me VERSE 9. Hide not thy face from mee nor cast thy seruant away in displeasure thou hast beene my succour leaue me not neither forsake me O God of my saluation BY this prayer of Dauid it may appeare that God sometimes hideth his face from his dearest children and séemeth as if hée had cast them away in his anger which yet though it be fearefull it is not small for he continueth not long in his displeasure though the weaknesse of men bée they neuer so sanctified will many times shew it selfe and produce such corrupt fruits as may incense God to displeasure and inforce him to absent himselfe from them for a time in so much as he may seeme to haue left them quite to their owne corrupt wills as it séemeth holy Dauid felt some alteration as it were of Gods dealing towards him that he cried out hide not thy face from me wherby it séemeth Dauid had not that comfort of Gods presence as in times past he had especially when hée was afraid that God had cast him away in displeasure It may be the weaknesse of Dauids faith which is not at all times alike strong could not so well apprehend Gods mercies as before or that he felt his owne infirmities to grow stronger and his spirituall powers weaker so that in the combat betwéene the flesh and
desires to die he destroyed them in the Wildernes in his heauy displeasure The frailty of a faithlesse man is great he can beare no troubles hee can endure no afflictions with any kinde of patience because hée hath no true and sound vnderstanding of God and his prouidence He thinkes if he prosper and by his naturall policy and meanes can preuent dangers and troubles or hauing them can vse sinister meanes to ease them hée ascribes it to his owne carnall wisdome but when that preuaileth not but that hée is pinched and déeply plunged in distresses and miseries which he cannot ease then hee begins to faint and to murmur and cry Who shall giue mee flesh to eat How shall I get mony to supply my wants Would God I had died when I was young would God I were dead and the like The troubles and afflictions of the wicked and the godly differ not in the outward shew the wicked may bee poore so may the most godly they may haue like outward crosses and afflictions but their bearing of them is vnequall the wicked as before is said faint and fume and murmur and grudge at euery small crosse or affliction and although they heare the promises of God who is ready to helpe yet they beléeue them not They can bee assured of nothing that hangs vpon Gods promises they would think and speake and obiect against God as that Prince in Samaria did when Elisha foretold from the mouth of God plenty to that distressed and besieged City Though the Lord said hee would make windowes in the Heauen could this come to passe So incredulous are men without sound faith that once downe they thinke they shall neuer rise once in trouble they shall neuer haue ease and this is the cause that men séeming faithfull faint vnder their crosses and despaire in their afflictions but it is otherwise with the truly faithfull indéed who know by the foretelling of the Spirit of God in his Word that troubles attend the godly as the shadow the body and therefore prepare themselues before hand for them and reioyce in them in as much as they are partakers here of Christs sufferings So they are likewise assured that when his glory shall appeare they also shall appeare with him in glory yet the most faithfull may haue a kinde of fearefulnesse and fainting for a time but not such as shall preuaile but they will soone ouercome all such faithlesse qualmes by a liuely apprehension of Gods ready helpe through faith and then they may indéed say as Dauid did I should haue fainted except I had beleeued to see the goodnesse of the Lord in the land of the liuing There is none of himselfe so strong but when troubles and afflictions come will faint if faith in God faile them A Prayer that God will not forsake vs in our troubles and that our faith faile not HAd I not taken hold O God of thy louing promises and beleeued thy Word I should haue fainted and yet should faint vnder my troubles if I did not beleeue that thou O Lord knowest my troubles and that mine afflictions are not hid from thee thou hast promised to be a refuge for the poore a refuge in due time euen in affliction keepe me O Lord as the apple of thine eye according to thy promise hide me vnder the shadow of thy wings from the wicked that oppresse me I haue called vpon thee in my troubles O Lord and cried vnto thee my God and thou hast heard me and holpen mee yea when I haue beene ready vtterly to haue fainted I haue cried vnto thee and thou hast redeemed mee and deliuered me Those mercies of thine O Lord remember still renue them euermore towards mee for I stand in continuall need of thy continuall presence Thy goodnesse is great O Lord which thou hast laid vp for them that feare thee and done to them that trust in thee euen before the sonnes of men I haue felt thy fauour and formerly tasted of thy loue How could I but haue fainted but that I still beleeued to bee partaker of thy goodnesse and mercy in my troubles Thou O Lord art my secret place thou preseruest me in trouble and compassest me about with ioyfull deliuerance therefore will I not faint knowing that thine eies are vpon mee and thine eare open vnto my prayers I trust in thee I will not bee afraid what man can doe vnto me Thou Lord hast said concerning the faithfull hee shall call vpon mee and I will heare him so that both my prayers and thy hearing are both thine owne gifts Nay thou addest further Lord I will bee with him in trouble I will deliuer him and glorifie him O why should I feare then or faint seeing thou art pleased to be with me in my troubles as to take part as it were with me of mine afflictioÌ„s wonderfull and vnspeakable O Lord is the extent of thy power and wonderfull the limits of thy loue impossible it is to finde out the depth of thy compassions towards thy children thou hearest vs before we call thou giuest before wee aske thou helpest vs before wee cry thou giuest vs power to call thou teachest vs what to aske and thou euen meetest vs when we are but euen comming vnto thee Thus gracious hast thou euer beene O Lord thus gracious thou art and thus gracious wi lt thou shew thy selfe vnto them that beleeue to see and taste of thy goodnesse euen vnto the end of the world and as thou art gracious so art thou absolute in wisdome thou knowest how to releeue the distressed and how to comfort the afflicted yea when they are ready to faint and to giue ouer any more to call for helpe being as it were hoarse with crying as Dauid was thou giuest them of thy water of life and it reuiueth the fainting soules and strengthneth the weake spirits that gâ—oane vnder the burthen of any calamity or trouble Strengthen mee therefore with thy grace O Lord I shall not then faint nor feare for my sure defence is in thee who wilt in time bring the malice of mine enemies to an end and as I beleeue so shall I see thy goodnesse in the land of the liuing for thou that hast promised it art iust of thy promises and powerfull to performe what thou hast said Therefore euen here I doe meerely beleeue to receiue at thy hands free release and pardon of all that hath beene the ground of my troubles and cause of my miseries Grant mee Lord freedome from mine enemies and restitution of what I haue beene depriued of by any of them then shall they finde that I haue not onely not fainted but beleeued to see and haue seene thy goodnesse O Lord euen here in the Land of the liuing where euen mine enemies and my soes shall witnesse that I haue not beleeued in thee my God in vaine VERSE 14. Hope in the Lord be strong and he shall comfort thine heart and trust in the Lord. THis
my sinnes past shalt bee so fully reconciled vnto me againe though not by my best renued workes which are and will be for euer here imperfect but through the merits and mediation of thine owne and onely Sonne whose death is my life and thy mercies in him my saluation This is my hope O Lord though I bee yet in the estate of corruption and enforced to vndergoe infinite infirmities of body and minde by nature Thou who art the God of Abraham and of all our godly fore-fathers dead to the world art no lesse the same God vnto those that are thine yet liuing in the world And as they already dissolued are now in glory with thee in the Heauens so confirme my faith in thee and order my waies that I being likewise dissolued through Christ my Redeemer may be also glorified with them and with them giue glory to thee Make me therefore gracious Father to abound here as they here abounded in all spirituall graces and heauenly vertues that I may finde thee a like louing father vnto me as thou wert a father vnto Abraham and a helping God as thou wert vnto Iaacob and then shall I offer euen here the sacrifice of vnfained praise vnto thy name and make mine humble prayers vnto thee in his name whose death and mediation thou acceptest aboue all other whatsoeuer sacrifices O accept that his sacrifice made once for all for all beleeuers it is sufficient Lord to purge me from all my sins that formerly haue offended thee and to keepe mee from future wilfully displeasing thee My sinnes O Lord I doe confesse haue worthily moued thee to correct me I feele thy rod but the rod of a louing father not to confound me but to confirme me not to destroy me but to saue me O let me not faint vnder thy correcting hand which thou hast promised shall be no more heauily laid vpon mee than I shall be able to beare Let not therefore Lord my faith faile me but let perfect patience haue it effectuall working in me then whatsoeuer it shall please thee to appoint mee to beare I shall beare it for my heart through thy grace is prepared to obey thee Thou hast beene euer my helper since I was borne thou hast vpholden me sustained and relieued mee O forsake me not now when all carnall helpe faileth me There is no certaine hope in the helpe of man though he promise he may be vnable or vnwilling to performe if he yeeld me helpe it is of thee and among thy promised meanes of helpe and nothing hindreth the performance of thy promise of helping mee but the weaknesse of my faith in not stedfastly beleeuing mine impatience in not willingly bearing and my want of liuely hope in not contentedly waiting thine owne good time in effecting what thou hast promised Yet I haue hope louing Father that comming thy helpe will come and that in a time most cōuenient in thine owne wisdome although through mine infirmity I thinke it long but when it commeth it shall be as a Well not only of releeuing but of liuing water springing vp not onely to my corporall comfort but to my spirituall eternall glory In the meane time O Lord let mee euermore taste of thy goodnesse that I faint not vnder the burthen of my troubles but as thou hast worthily corrected me so vouchsafe mercifully to relieue me In hope and assurance of this thy mercy O Lord I commend and commit my selfe my soule and body vnto thy fatherly disposing for thou hast promised to take care of me therefore cast I my care vpon thee not as carelesse of mine owne duty but in a liuely faith going forward waiting thy leisure and thy good pleasure when thou wilt come and how thou wilt deliuer me O Lord make no long tarrying Amen An effectuall Prayer for forgiuenesse of sinnes O Lord when I doe consider the account that I am to make for the time which I haue so sinfully spent in this life and how I haue walked here as in a Wildernesse of all impieties I feele my conscience burthened with so heauy a weight of feare and trembling that I am cast downe as into a gulph of ineuitable danger and know not which way to turne mee with any hope of comfort if I turne me to the consideration of my best workes I finde them rather to aggrauate than to extenuate my feare if I appeale vnto thee as thou art a seuere Iudge I shall be condemned in thy iust iudgement I therfore as the prodigall son doe vpon the knees of mine vnfained heart fall downe before thee imploring mercy though I deserue it not but Lord I know that in thy seuerest iustice thou art accustomed to remember mercy and in thy hottest displeasure thou shewest compassion euen to greatest sinners euen vpon their vnfained desire to repent how much more vpon their actuall and sincere repentance especially of such as through a liuely faith take hold of Christ who hath taken vpon him to stand betweene thy iustice and a sinner O accept his death and merits for the forgiuenesse of my sinnes who by reason of them am become deepely indangered and indebted vnto thee And if thou shouldest exact the vttermost farthing at my hands I were neuer able to make the least satisfaction and the more hardly can I answer the committing of so many sinnes and the omitting of so many good duties by how much I haue receiued a great measure yea many talents of grace and a great portion of heauenly knowledge at thy hands which I should haue vsed not onely to the good of mine owne soule and comfort of mine owne conscience but to the increase of spirituall knowledge in others whom I should haue endeuoured to haue drawne to the obedience of thy will by the example of mine obedience Alas good Father such hath beene the neglect of my duty in this behalfe that I haue not onely laid these heauenly treasures vnder the earthly corruption of mine owne heart but haue laid out the wicked dregs of originall sin and haue therewith gained vnto my selfe infinite iniquities and innumerable actuall sinnes in so much as iniustice thou maist condemne me as a most vnprofitable disposer of thy manifold graces and the more good Father by how much I haue not onely sinned my selfe and that oftentimes as it were with a high hand but in alluring and stirring vp others to sinne by mine example nay Lord many times by mine owne instigation and thereby the more dangerously drawne downe thy displeasure vpon my selfe and them that haue sinned by the example of my sinne Lord what shall I say to excuse me What shall I bring vnto thee to appease thee If I say the corruption of mine owne nature prouoked mee and I did sinne thou hast commanded mee to mortifie the deeds of my corrupt flesh by thy Spirit If I pleade that the world allured mee and I did sinne thou hast forbidden mee to loue the world or the things in the
ouer me so let my heart within me through faith and faithfull obedience testifie mine vnfained thankfulnesse to thee The light of this day hath afforded vnto mee that benefit which the darknesse of the night could not though to thee the day and night are of equall light for with thee is no darknesse at all But to me as I am blinde by nature the day and night are of like darknesse and obscuritie though the light of the day discouer visible creatures yet as long as the darkenesse of the ignorance of heauenly things possesseth my inward parts I see not at all as I ought to see the light of the day doth administer vnto my corporall eies many outward obiects which often causeth me inwardly to erre and outwardly to goe astray as the sinnes which I haue this day committed by the miscarriage of mine eye may witnesse against me Forgiue it Lord vnto me and grant that the light which thou hast created good turne not through my corruption to thy dishonour and my shame but as the light of the day is a most especiall blessing to the good to doe good offices in this life so let me vse it to the doing of the works of diuine light not of darknesse Let it hence-forth serue vnto mee as a Motiue to the Contemplation of that celestiall-light that is neuer ouershadowed with darknesse and to the obseruation of thine immensurable greatnesse and power in creating and preseruing of thy Creatures visible numberlesse Giue me grace that I beholding the infinite works of thy hands may with diuine modesty consider thy wisdome in framing and disposing them thy deepe and vnfathomable prouidence in oftentimes turning those things to the comfort of those that are thine which their enemies suppose and hope will tend to their confusion This also is thy doing maruellous in the eies of such as either know thee not or that thinke all things to come to passe without thy direction and limitation Lord I haue this day found that thy wisdome hath directed me thy power hath preserued mee and thy prouidence guided me And in thy great mercy I haue finished this day in safetie and receiued many blessings at thy hands acknowledging yet my selfe vnworthy of the least of them by reason that I haue many waies offended thee Though I haue not noted in my thoughts all my sinnes yet thou knowest them And if the righteous man fall seuen times a day how often haue I that am all corrupt sinned this day None is so iust as sinneth not but he is blessed to whom thou O Lord imputest it not Sinners couet secrecy they hate to be seene but loue the sinne darknesse is their desire and the night is as a Closet to hide them in conceit when thou O God seest their actions in the darke as at noone day O preserue mee in thy light Lord and grant I neuer couet to doe that in secret whereof I should be ashamed to commit it openly and euen this night now come vpon mee vouchsafe Lord to ouerspread the bright beames of thine all shining light ouer me that sinne enter not into my heart in the darknesse of the same And let me make my night wakings as interims gained for Meditation and Praier And that I may spend the intermissions of my sleepe in preparing my selfe to my finall rest That through thy power and prouidence I may rest safely this night free from all danger of soule and body And that rising againe in the morning I may not bee forgetfull to giue thee the glory And as the night succeedeth the day and the day the night so let my faithfull praiers succeed holy Meditation and a holy endeuour to worke righteousnesse succeed my faithfull petitions Let thine eares be open vnto my praiers Let thine eies by way of blessing be vpon all mine actions Let thy prouidence preuent whatsoeuer mischiefe Satan or any mine enemies his complices shall plot practise or endeuour to execute against me In hope whereof I doe commit and commend my selfe my soule and body and whatsoeuer concerneth me into thy most powerfull protection this night in the name of Christ thine alone beloued To whom with thee and the holy Ghost be ascribed as most due all honour praise and glory for euer Amen Lord euermore increase my faith
or abuse vs to complaine to him and he will redresse it If we bée sicke he knoweth our diseases he is our Physician and knoweth whether life or death be fittest for vs. If we die he will restore vs to life eternall therefore may wée fréely cast our care vpon him for hee careth for vs. Fathers saith Salomon are the glory of their children How much more shall the God of all glory our heauenly Father be a glory to vs his children who hath prouided for vs an inheritance which no man can depriue vs of yea a Kingdome whose glory shall haue no end The remembrance of our futurâ— enioying it is as a most deepe Sea of comfort in this inferiour Kingdome of crosses It cannot bee fadomed with the line of mans capacity what hee hath promised hee will performe for his children therefore may we stand assured and boldly affirme that though the fathers and mothers of the faithfull doe forsake them that God will take charge of them A Prayer that God will shew himselfe our father in all our troubles and afflictions when all other helpe faileth O Gracious Lord God most mercifull and louing Father from whom proceedeth euery good and perfect gift and who of thine owne will hast begotten vs with the Word of truth shew thy selfe a father vnto mee who am depriued of father and mother from all helpe and comfort in this life beset on all sides with troubles dangers and many afflictions relying only vpon thy prouidence shew thy selfe vnto me a father a powerfull and protecting father as thou diddest vnto Ioseph who being depriued of father and mother hated of his brethren sold as a slaue falsly accused sharply imprisoned hauing none to helpe him or to comfort him forsaken of all his friends yet when all helpe failed thou tookest him into thy protection and directedst him in thy waies he became louing vnto thee as a sonne obedient vnto thee as a seruant he waited on thee as vpon a most faithfull father hee called vpon thee and thou heardest him and gauest him the honour of a sonne euen in this life holinesse and honour testifying vnto him that thou his father hadst a respect vnto his faith constancy and wrongs neuer leauing him nor forsaking him to teach vs O Lord faithfully to depend vpon thy mercy power and prouidence in whatsoeuer danger I was left vnto thee as soone as I was borne and thou like a most louing father tookest me vp hast hitherunto kept me O forsake mee not for if thou my father leaue me and forsake mee who will or can take charge of me I am many waies afflicted and full of sorrow not so much for my troubles as for that I haue sinned and offended thee so louing a God as thou Hast beene vnto me euer vnto this day but now louing Father I seeme destitute of thy fauour of thy releeuing hand I am he â—ily oppressed and what I endure is not hid from thee and thou onely knowest how to releeue me my father my mother and all my friends haue forsaken me Dauid being thus destitute he resorted vnto thee confessing that when his father and his mother forsooke him thou tookest him vp and is thyr fatherly affection dead and discontinued in Dauid No no louing art thou still powerfull art thou still and helpfull art thou still for thy faithfulnesse and thy truth and thy power and thy prouidence are for euer and happy yea most happy is he that hath thee his releeuing and helping father for nothing is wanting to him that is thus cast vpon thee He hath not only the promise but the assurance of thy presence and loue both in this life and the life to come Yet gracious Father among all men it goeth hardest with thine owne children often troubled much abused deeply distressed falsly accused scoffingly derided and many crosses cruell calamities and great afflictions follow them I am enforced to vndergoe the burthen of infinite trialls as if thou hadst not onely not taken mee vp but vtterly cast mee off And were it not that I truly know thee to bee my father in that thou so fatherly yet sharply correctest me I could not but faint but thy grace sustaineth mee and doth inwardly comfort mee else should I vtterly despaire O my father take mee into thy protection leaue me not forsake mee not for I am brought very low and there is none that careth for mee there is none willing to adde any comfort but sorrow vnto my soule there is neither father nor mother neither friend nor helper to commiserate mine estate but thou whom I only trust for thy promises tend to mine encouragement to cast my care vpon thee who hast willed all that are oppressed to come to thee and be eased But Lord what booteth it mee to seeke thee when I cannot finde thee to pray vnto thee when thou seemest to refuse to heare me Haue I so deepely offended thee that neither my repentance can pacifie thee the mediation of thy Sonne reconcile thee nor my faithfull prayers preuaile with thee Is thy mercy come to an end Hast thou no more blessings for thy children O wretch that I am Why doe I thus reason with thee am I able to ouer-rule thee with my words Shall I teach thee what thou shouldest doe No Lord I only bewray mine ignorance by my words which can no further preuaile with thee than thou in thy wisdome and mercy thinkest fit for mee Therefore will I close my lips I will keepe silence and wait both thy pleasure and leisure for thou hast a time to be angry and a time to hee pacified I will rest with patience and commit my selfe vnto thee in obedience and if thou lay a greater burthen vpon mee then yet I beare if thou suffer mee to sinke and to bee cleane ouerwhelmed with more bitter waters than yet I feele I will yet trust in thee though my body perish and all outward helpe faile mee preserue my soule O Lord for thou art the father of it and respectest it farre aboue my carnall parâ—â— yet both make but one body yet may the one prosper when the other may perish But I know that such is thy care of both that rather than thou wilt permit me vtterly to bee confounded thou wilt euen send from Heauen and saue me Be it vnto me euen as thou wilt O God my strength and my saluation VERSE 11. Teach mee thy way O Lord and lead me in a right path because of mine enemies IT is the property of an enemy to bée alwaies prying into the life of him hee hates and to obserue whatsoeuer faults hée doth commit though he himselfe bée quilty of more and to publish and proclaime them to the world to his vttermost disgrace And therefore it behooueth all men especially a man that hath enemies as Dauid had to looke vnto his waies lest by the errors of his life they take aduantage and so make his cause otherwise good séeme the worst
colour and therefore as long as none but wicked men scandalize vs and condemne vs we néed not be ashamed no though they raile reuile and curse vs wee néed not feare it for in stead of their curses God will blesse vs yet let vs pray Teach me O Lord thy way and leade me in thy path aright because of mine enemies None but enuious and wicked men are malicous enemies vnto such as feare God and they indéed cannot sléepe vntill they haue contriued some mischiefe against the innocent whom they would disgrace taking all occasions and aduantages to worke them any violence though they be already afflicted they will afflict them more if they bee already fallen they will euen tread vpon them to kéepe them downe that they may not rise It is their glory if they can adde more sorrow to the sorrowfull and more griefe to the grieued they are continually trauelling with wickednes conceiuing mischiefe but they commonly bring forth a lie for the mischiefe y t they intend to others fals in the end vpon their owne heads and their cruelty vpon their owne pates they are snared euen with the works of their owne hands for God hath euer he doth and euer will preserue his owne from these wicked men though he suffer them somtimes bodily to perish vnder their tyranny it is but to aggrauate the sins of their persecutors and the sooner to bring his vnto their finall glory Therefore behoueth the most godly to bée wary of their waies for how much the more godly religious and zealous they are in walking with God so much the more malicious is Satan to raise vp troubles slanders and reproaches against them by such as he can stir vp against vs who howsoeuer inwardly enuious they are yet haue they learned of their master to speake plausibly though deceitfully flattering with their lips hauing a venomous heart within whereby they oftentimes allure the innocent without suspicion to bewray vnto them their secret thoughts and intentions and in simplicity by their inchanted subtilties discouer that which these wicked serpentine wretches worke vpon and wrest to bring not only their names reputation and credit but their estates and liues in question By their wicked counsell they compasse our steps they set their enuious eyes vpon our waies If they finde wée walke vnblameable they wil plot to haue some blockes to be laid in our waies that if it be possible we might stumble though they could not make vs fall altogether If we erre on the other side neuer so little they will insult ouer vs they will blow the trumpet of our defamation and cry There there so would we haut it But these deuices of theirs God séeth and what they practise against such as feare him therfore let vs only say Teach vs O Lord thy way and leade vs in the right path because of our enemies As long as wee walke in the way of God truly and be lead that path that is right let vs not feare Heare what Dauid said vnto Salomon his sonne whom he exhorted to walke in the waies of the Lord to keepe his Statutes and his Commandementes his Iudgements and his Testimonies We must endeuour to haue Gods lawes euer before our eies and neuer depart from his precepts This is the way walke in it Though it bee a strict way and vnpleasant to a carnall minde it is a most swéet and comfortable way a way that leadeth here to happinesse and after to Heauen There is another way a common high way much beaten by diuers passengers all carnall men traffike this way a very pleasant way wherein yet many haue walked for a time but they haue found that as a man that eateth too much hony may surfet through the swéetnesse of it so they were euen glutted with the vanities that are strewed in the way It is a way full of carnall content indeed but it is but short men are at their waies end many times when they think themselues not halfe way there and are grieued their iourney is so soone done But when they come to the end of the race they suddenly finde a most fearefull gulph which they cannot auoid turne backe againe they cannot as ordinary trauellers often doe when they haue mistaken their way and take another but they that walke this high and pleasant way must bée enforced to stay and to take vp their hideous Inne not for a night as waifaring men doe but remaine there for euer with the Deuill and his Angels A Prayer that God will be pleased to direct vs in his waies and leade vs vprightly because of our enemies O Gracious Lord God most mercifull and louing father in Iesus Christ vouchsafe to looke in mercy vpon me teach mee thy way O Lord and lead me in a right path because of mine enemies Giue mee grace that I may walke aright and pray aright and beleeue aright and in all mine actiōs be guided by thee aright Reframe me from the way of the wicked and guide me in the paths of righteousnesse make thy way plaine before my face for of my selfe I am blinde I cannot see the right way direct and guide me that I stumble not to cause mine enemies to laugh and reioyce at my fall Send out thy light and thy truth let them leade me and bring mee to thine holy mountaine where I shall be safe from mine enemies order and direct my goings O Lord aright according to thy word reclaime me from euery euill way and direct my feet in the way of truth in that way that leadeth to life preuent mee of that forbidden way which is pleasant yet perillous seeming plaine and delectable but the end thereof is death Lord let my walkings bee vpright because of mine enemies who watch euen the course of my life they pry into all mine actions they obserue my conuersation and if they see mee but slide or slip neuer so little awry they sound the trumpets of my disgrace If they see mee to fall into any sinne through my frailty they cry out and say That there is no feare of thee before mine eies O my God consider this and in mercy remember I am but dust by nature subiect to great infirmities which I doe acknowledge O Lord reclaime mee from my euill inclination by thy grace set me in the way of truth and obedience and leade me therein for euer and learne mee to liue after thy Commandements and yeeld mee thy feare and thy direction that I may walk in them for mine owne waies are as my will is by nature euill euermore but thy waies are mercy and truth and such as truly feare thy name thou teachest the waies of perfect obedience and reducest euen sinners to walke aright reclaiming them by thy grace from their euill waies Guide me that I may know thee and thy waies and leade me aright in them let me neuer goe astray from them lest mine enemies take occasion by my transgressions to say that I haue