me and bringing my transgressions into remembrance before thee with loud clamours for justice against me O Lord I acknowledge and confess my self guilty and that I have deserved the utmost of thy wrath and indignation But O Lord I appeal from thy seat of judgment to thy throne of Grace and Mercy humbly beseeching thee to rebuke and repel the malitious accuser of thy servants and hearken to the intercession of our advocate in thine own bosome for his sake have mercy upon me and pardon my offences and blot out the hand-Writing that is against me and put away all mine iniquities and drown them in the depth of the Sea Wash me throughly from all my pollutions in that Fountain which thou hast opened for Judah and Jerusalem to purifie in and then cloth me with that white robe of thy Son's righteousness the Wedding-garment requisite at this feast and admit me to thy Table which thou hast prepared for thy Children And grant O Lord that when I have tasted of these thy Heavenly dainties I may no more return like the Dog to his vomit or the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire but I may keep my self unspotted from the World and walk before thee in all puritie and holiness And now O Lord thou invitest and exhortest me to come to thy holy Table O my God I know mine own unworthiness yet in the multitude of thy mercies I will humbly approach to thine Altar beseeching thee to behold me not with a severe but a gracious eye Thou knowest the earnest desire of my Soul be thou pleased to pass by the weakness of the flesh and accept the willingness of the Spirit and grant that I may now receive this holy Sacrament to the honour and glory of thy Name and the good and comfort and Salvation of my own Soul The Good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God 2 Chron. 30.18 19. the Lord God of his Fathers though he be not purified according to the purification of the Sanctuary Amen After the Sacrament LOrd what is man that thou art mindful of him Psal 144.3 or the son of man that thou visitest him What is thy servant 2 Sam. 9.8 that thou shouldest look upon such a dead Dog as I The Dogs eat of the crums that fall from their Masters Table Mat. 15.27 but thou hast fed me with the bread of thy Children and given me to drink of thine own cup. Thou hast fed me in a green Pasture Psal 23.2 and leadest me forth beside the waters of comfort O taste and see how gracious the Lord is Psal 34.8 blessed is the man that trusteth in him What reward shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me Psal 116.12 Lord I offer up unto thee my self my soul and body Psal 84.4 and all that I am and have beseeching thee graciously to receive me for thy servant to dwell in thy House and praise thy Name for evermore Thou art worthy O Lord to receive Glory Revel 4.11 and Honour and Power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created Thou art worthy to take the Book and to open the seals thereof Revel 5.9 for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to our God out of every Kindred and Tongue and People and Nation and hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the Throne Rev. 7.10 12. and to the Lamb. Amen Blessing and Glory and Wisdom and Thanksgiving and Honour and Power and Might be unto God for ever and ever Amen An Admonition after Receiving ANd now you have thus solemnly devoted and consecrated your self to God and his Service beware that you do not fall back and return to your former course of sin 2 Pet. 2.22 like the dog to his own vomit or as the Serpent which casts up his Poyson when he goes to drink and when he hath quenched his thirst returns and sucks it up again And thus some are content to leave their sins at the Church-door but with an intent to take them up again when they come out But God will not be so mocked And know this that if you have well and worthily performed this Duty to day yet if you do not persevere in Piety as you have promised and begun not onely your former sins but even the Piety of this day shall one day rise up in Judgment against you But a diligent watching and wariness over your ways after this will be the best preparation against the next time A Prayer for one that is troubled in mind O Lord the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort I acknowledge and adore thy eternal Power and Wisdom and Goodness I render thee my most hearty thanks for all the benefits thou hast bestowed on me from my first coming into the world until this time Many O Lord my God are the wonderful works which thou hast done and thy thoughts which are to us-ward they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee if I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbered Above all I bless thee for that great demonstration of thy Love and Good-will to Mankind by Christ Jesus whom thou hast sent into the world to save sinners and for bringing me to the clear knowledge of him and unfeigned affection to thy holy Will declared to us in his blessed Gospel O God thou hast taught me from my youth up and hitherto been marvellously gracious to me Hide not I beseech thee thy face now from me and put not thy Servant away in displeasure Thou hast been my help leave me not neither forsake me O God of my Salvation But for Jesus Christ his sake I humbly intreat thee to pardon and pass by all my neglects of thee and unthankfulness to thee and offences against thee And as I here sincerely devote and dedicate my whole self soul and body to thy service so help me O my God and further me in the performance of my duty by the grace of thy holy Spirit To thee all hearts are open and from thee no secrets are hid deal with me according to the earnest desire and full purpose of my soul to conform my self in all things to thy holy Will Settle in me an immoveable faith in thy infinite Mercies a constant love and chearful affection to my duty and a readiness of heart to obey thee and to submit to thy wise appointments in every condition The whole Earth is full of thy Mercies That I may rejoyce and be glad all my days compose my broken and disturbed thoughts quiet my troubled and disordered spirit and appease all the ragings and tumults there by a sweet sense of thy most tender mercies which have been ever of old and endure continually Banish from me all causeless fears and jealousies deliver me from all unprofitable sadness and
expedient to secure the obedience of Subjects And I confess I know not how that man can be a true Subject to his earthly Prince who stands not to offend the God of Heaven I know some who have pretended to much Holiness have been the greatest villains but this proves not that the rule of Holiness gives a Supersedeas or allowance to any to disobey Authority Art thou a Parent the rule of Holiness to which holy men conform will instruct thee to be gentle and tender to thy Children and not to provoke them to wrath which is the onely thing that lessens their affection Art thou a Childe it will teach thee to reverence and honour thy parents in doing of which thou entitlest thy self to the promise annexed to the fifth Commandment In a word it is profitable to make all manner of Relations live in quietness and peace and to bestow mutual offices of love upon each other It instructs men to be faithful in every calling and employment and certainly the good man is to be trusted far rather than the wicked for Religion lays an awe and restraint upon the one but the other pretends no such motive to engage him to fidelity especially if he may deceive and not be noticed To this purpose Plutarch hath a notable saying Pietate saith he Nat. Deor. lib. 1. sublata fides etiam Societas humanae generis una excellentissima virtus justitia tollitur There are several things useful for some men but altogether unprofitable for others but Holiness is equally profitable for all there are none exempt from tasting its utility but those who exclude themselves by a vitious conversation Secondly Holiness is attended with all outward blessings and wants not a claim to a temporal felicity Matth. 6.33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you The promise of inheriting the Earth by which all temporal felicity is meant is made to the meek Matth. 5.8 Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth And indeed we finde this blessing even promised to the posterity of those that fear the Lord Psal 25.13 And to put this beyond all doubt we finde the Psalmist repeating this five times in one Psalm Psal 37.9 11 22 29 34. And the great Apostle tells us that it is Godliness that hath the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come 1 Tim. 4.8 The God of Heaven hath also assured us that he will withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly Upon this account well might Wisdom say Prov. 8.18 Riches and honour are with me a plain instance of which we have in Solomon who because of his asking Wisdom to govern his Subjects when he might as freely have ask'd Riches and Honour he receives this answer from God I have also given thee both riches and honour 1 King 3.13 But however this discriminating providence doth not so discernedly appear here yet there is no man but can attest Vice hath impoverished thousands there being several sins that have a natural tendency to poverty By means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread Prov. 6.26 The like we may truely enough say of several other sins I have seen saith the Psalmist the wicked great in power and spreading himself like a green bay-tree yet he passed away and lo he was not yea I sought him but he could not be found Psal 37.35 36. I confess good men may be reduced to great wants may be destitute of necessary provisions nay how frequently is this the lot of the most excellent and gallant Souls yet this may be safely said That a little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked But then those things that best deserve the name of riches because of their enriching the Soul which being more excellent than the Body must upon that account be of greater value than these things that onely respect the Body these are onely peculiar to holy men and such are the graces of the Holy Spirit the combination of Christian vertues the price of which is above that of Rubies These are riches which are of a more lasting nature than those which the ignoble of the world call riches they are not subject to the casualties which Gold and Silver and precious Stones are which upon that account cannot be called a mans own as Pagan Moralists have largely and excellently confirmed And if we will not dispute with God and contest his determination we shall finde one single vertue receiving a more ample commendation than ever riches did 1 Pet. 3.4 The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is in the sight of God of great price Although the holy and devout Soul may be reduced to our Savours straits not to have where to lay his head yet how can he be said to be poor since he possesses him who is All The most adverse chances that befal such a Soul cannot denominate it poor there is a Crown and Princely Inheritance which belongs to it Nay besides that glorious reversion we have express promises that such Souls shall not be altogether destitute of necessaries to sustain and support them in this their pilgrimage I have already shewed that Honour and Pleasures are the attendants of Holiness What in the world is more glorious than for a man to conquer those lusts and inordinate appetites that seek the mastery over him what pleasure is able to contest with those ravishing joys which result from a holy conversation There is nothing imaginable that so exhilarates and revives men as a calm and quiet Conscience But I pass this In the next place I come to shew that the enjoyment of all other blessings can never profit that man that wants Holiness This is plainly attested by our Saviour saying What hath a man profited if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul To have an affluence of temporal mercies cannot so much as contribute to a present felicity where the forementioned qualification is lacking Outward favours not attended and chained with real Holiness contribute onely to enhance the misery of their possessor they being proper fewel to increase the flame of inquietude and restlesness but unfit to allay it The greatest plenty of riches cannot satisfie the covetous minde which like the Grave cries Give give The whole world could not satisfie Alexander's insatiable ambition but as the Poet speaks Aestuat infoelix angusto limite mundi 'T is indeed impossible for a man to enjoy that earthly felicity he designs if he want Holiness For suppose he be possessed of it yet the secret acknowledgement of a superiour power impairs the delights that do arise from such a state and makes him in the height of his fancied felicity startle and quake Conscience upon the apprehension of guilt and the vengeance due to it recoils upon the sinner and disturbs his quiet enjoyment of the
evermore the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort How precious are thy promises to us-wards how great is the sum of them Thou renewest thy favours continually and art still pouring upon us innumerable benefits of which this is not the least that thou givest us leave to come into thy Presence to call thee Father and to make known our requests to thee by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving We accept O Lord with all thankfulness this thy great Grace and Loving kindness to us and are here again prostrate before thee this Evening to acknowledge thy goodness in making us such excellent Creatures capable to know thee and acknowledge thee and love thee and by being made like thee to be Eternally happy with thee Blessed be thy Name that we are now alive and that we have lived so long in health and strength and peace and plenty of all good things whereas our Eyes might have been consumed with grief our Bones sore vexed and we might have mingled our Drink with continual weeping We are bound unto thee for the free use of our understandings for the good inclinations we find in our will for any devout affections which are stirring in our Hearts for all the advantages we have had by our educations good company and holy Examples and more especially for the Illuminations of the Holy Ghost by thy blessed Gospel the breathings of it frequently into our Spirits the importunities thou hast used to draw us to thee and the great and precious promises whereby thy love in Christ Jesus constrains us to resign our selves entirely to the Obedience of thy Precepts We ought likwise to admire and praise thee for thy Goodness to all thy Creatures who live daily upon thy bountious allowance The eyes of all wait on thee and thou givest them their Food in due season thou diffusest thy blessings in several Streams to every one of them according to their needs That thou givest them they gather thou openest thy hand they are filled with good We give thee the Glory of thy plentiful provision thou hast made for them and more particularly admire thy great liberality to the Children of men under whose Feet thou hast put in subjection all Sheep and Oxen yea and the Beasts of the field the Fowl of the Air and the Fish of the Sea and whatsoever passeth through the Paths of the Waters O Lord we praise thee for thy Goodness to those who praise thee not themselves Be thou adored and acknowledged in thy bounty which bestows so many blessings unasked and unsought and continues them notwithstanding abundance of provocations and most high Offences that they have given to thy merciful kindness And let thy Goodness to thy Church be never forgotten by us which thou hast in all Ages Protected and defended in a marvelous manner propagating the Gospel of our Saviour confounding its opposers and spreading it by the power of the Holy Ghost over the face of the Earth We thank thee for thy singular favor to these Countries wherein we live to whom these glad tydings of Salvation have reached and who have long enjoyed a more glorious light than many other places and been delivered from the Darkness of Popish superstition and from sundry attempts that have been made to bereave us of this Happiness and are again setled after many Confusions in a peaceable enjoyment of thy true Religion which thou hast also continued to us though we have not brought forth Fruit worthy of the Gospel of thy Grace O that all thy undeserved Goodness may have this effect upon us to make us heartily love thee and devoutly worship thee and zealously obey thee and stedfastly trust and hope in thee for ever That by a careful improvement of the knowledge of thee our God and our Lord Jesus Christ by whom thou hast given us all things that pertain unto life and goodness we may still enjoy this inestimable treasure and all thy love to us may at last be finished in those eternal Joys which he hath promised to the Faithful And as we have been taught exhorted and encouraged this day out of thy holy word and have likewise publickly acknowledged our obligations to thee and made profession of Love and Gratitude and Durifulness to thy Divine Majesty So help us all the Week following openly to testifie the Truth and Honesty of our Hearts in all this by a blameless conversation in all Humility Meekness Temperance Righteousness Charity and Peace with all them that call on the Lord out of a pure Heart Bless our Soveraign the defender of the Faith we profess and all imploy'd under him in their several Offices that they may be Instruments of continuing to us these Holy opportunities with all other good things that may make these Kingdoms happy O that all our friends may be thine and if we have any Enemies Father forgive them comfort and support the Sick the Needy and all other distressed persons with an immoveable belief of thy wise and good Providence to which give them Grace patiently and obediently to resign themselves And when all our senses this Night shall be bound up with sleep be thou O Lord our keeper and after the refreshment of that repose and this Holy rest from our Labours raise us in the Morning to return unto them with cheerful minds and ready wills Praising still and Magnifying thy multiplied Mercies to us in Christ Jesus by whom we present our selves and petitions to thee saying farther as he hath taught us Our Father c. A Prayer for a Family on any Morning O Most holy most glorious and eternal Lord God we thy poor and unworthy Servants in all humility of Soul and Body and unfeigned acknowledgements of our duty prostrate our selves before the throne of thy Mercy praising magnifying thy Fatherly goodness for the abundance of thy blessings and for the multitude of thy Mercies heaped upon us beseeching thee for Christ his sake to be merciful to all our sins committed against thy Divine Majestie upon the consideration of which we confess we are not worthy to appear in thy presence much less to ask a blessing at thy hands for by reason of our corrupt Nature in us derived from our first Parents our inclinations have been prone to commit all manner of sin and wickedness against thy Goodness Thy Laws and Precepts we have broken both in thought word and deed out of our hearts proceed evil and wicked imaginations which defile the soul and body Yet O Lord thou art our Creator thou hast sent thy dear Son Jesus Christ to die for us and thy Holy Spirit to sanctifie us and many are the benefits and blessings which thou hast bestowed upon us and which by thy goodness we enjoy both of soul and body and therefore by the Testimony of our own Consciences we stand convicted and the thoughts of our great sins and transgressions do much astonish us What shall we say therefore or wherein shall we open
may further my Salvation Keep me O Lord in my old age forsake me not when I am gray-headed And whensoever it shall please thee to cast me upon my sick bed grant that I may take my sickness patiently and at the last gasp let not either sin or Satan take such hold upon me that I depart this life with cryings and screechings and words of despair but that believing thy word and yielding to thine ordinance my last hour may be my best hour and I may say with the Psalmist Lord into thy hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord God of Truth Pardon O Lord my misspending the time my unprofitableness my unthankfulness for thy goodness Supply what is wanting in me through the fire of compunction make me at all hours to seem a living sacrifice in thy sight Continue towards me thy love and make me to love thee again Without thee alas I die but when I think on thee I revive again To thee therefore be ascribed all honour and glory world without end Our Father c. A Prayer before the receiving of the Sacrament O Most gracious and merciful Lord God thou hast called all those that are weary and heavy laden with their sins to come unto thee and hast promised to ease and refresh them thou hast invited all those that hunger and thirst after thy Kingdom and the righteousness thereof to come to thy Table to tast of thy supper and hast promised that thou wilt satisfy them in assurance therefore of these promises I come to thee blessed Lord Jesus beseeching thee to ease me to refresh me to satisfy me with thy mercy for my Soul hungers and thirsts after thee and thy Salvation I confess and acknowledge that my daily sins have made me unworthy of my daily Bread much more of this Manna this Bread of Life that came down from Heaven I confess O Lord I am not prepared according to the preparation of thy sanctuary yet for as much as this day I have set my Heart to seek to thee thou O God be merciful unto me and though I cannot bring with me a clean Heart for who can say his Heart is clean yet behold O Lord I bring with me a contrite Heart and a broken Spirit despise not O God this Sacrifice As for the sins that I have committed against thee binde them up in one bundle and cast them into the bottomless Sea of thy mercy bury them in thy Wounds and wash them away in the blood of that immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus and for the time to come sprinkle my conscience with the same blood that being cleansed from dead works I may serve thee the Living God in righteousness and true holiness all the days of my life That so this blessed Sacrament may be a means to quiet my conscience to increase my Faith to inflame my Charity to amend my life to save my Soul and to assure me that I am of the number of those blessed ones who shall eat at thy Table and be called to the Marriage-supper of the Lamb. Grant this O Lord for Jesus Christ his sake in whose Name and words I conclude these my imperfect prayers saying as he himself hath taught me Our Father c. A Prayer after the receiving of the Sacrament O Most gracious God from whose bountie every good and perfect gist is derived I and all that is within me praise and magnify thy holy Name for all thy mercies and favours which from time to time thou hast bestowed upon me But especially I thank thee for Jesus Christ thy Son the fountain and foundation of all blessings and benefits that thou hast sent him into the World to take our nature upon him and to die for us and that thou hast fed me who am unworthy of the least of thy favours with the precious merits of his death and passion Blessed Lord God thou hast been pleased this day to set thy Seal to the Pardon and forgiveness of all my sins Oh let me not lose it again by unthankfulness or relapsing into my old sins from which thou hast purged me lest my last end be worse than my beginning But if hereafter I shall be tempted by the Devil allured by the World or provoked by my own flesh then set before mine eyes by the remembrance of thy Spirit how dear the expiation of my sins cost my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ even the effusion of his most precious and holy blood that in the contemplation of his death and application of his most bitter passion I may die daily unto sin and so may shew forth the Lords death till he come and bring his reward with him I may receive the Crown of Righteousness which he hath purchased and prepared for all those that love and expect the day of his appearing with the precious price of his incorruptible blood And whereas I have this day renewed my covenant with thee my God in vows and purposes of better obedience assist me by thy grace and strengthen me by thy power that I may pay the Vows which I have made unto thee and that by vertue of thy heavenly nourishment I may grow up in grace and godliness till at last I come to be a perfect man in Christ Jesus Preserve and maintain always this thine Ordinance that it may be a note and a badge of my publick profession and give unto all of us that have been partakers of thy body and blood one heart and one mind in the unity of Spirit for the worthy and reverend receiving of the same whensoever we shall come to thy holy Table again And for this thy mercy towards me do I yield unto thee all praise and glory and power and might and majesty through Jesus Christ our Lord in whose most blessed Name and words I further pray Our Father c. Another Prayer before the Sacrament DEpart from me Luk. 5.8 for I am a sinful man O Lord. I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof For the house of my Soul which thou hast made a fit Temple for thy holy Spirit to inhabit in I have defaced and defiled with all manner of pollutions and abominations It is become a den of ravenous Beasts and a cage of unclean Birds and every corner so crowded with filthiness that thou wilt not find where to lay thy head Luk. 9.58 But thou O Lord which despisest not a penitent sinner but hast promised to dwell with the humble and contrite Spirit I beseech thee cast me not away from thy presence but cast out all profaneness and uncleanness out of my Heart and remove every thing that may offend the pure Eyes of thy glory and the holiness of thy presence and then O Lord vouchsafe to come and enter in and dwell there and abide with me for ever Behold O Lord I am before thee in my sins Zach. 3.1 clothed with filthy garments and Satan standing at my right hand accusing
hand And because I know that it is good for me to be thus disciplined by thee I humble my self under thy mightie hand and kiss this thy rod which I trust through thy grace shall make my Soul appear fair and beautiful in thine Eyes Comfort O Lord my fainting Spirit and strengthen my feeble knees and support my weak hands and revive my deaded heart and so powerfully assist me with the Spirit of strength that I may with confidence call upon thee with patience endure this trial with hope expect thy good pleasure with wisdom make use of this thy visitation and with thankfulness ever praise thy goodness and mercy for my safe recovery if it may be with thy sacred will whereunto I submit and wholy resign now and for ever through Jesus Christ my blessed Lord and Saviour in whose most holy words I further pray Our Father c. A Prayer to be said by them that visit the sick O Eternal God who in thy holy word by the Apostle hast promised that the Prayer of faith shall save the sick and thou wilt raise him up and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him We come unto thee in the behalf of our diseased and distressed friend visited under thine hand Speak comfortably O Lord unto his Soul seal in his heart by thy holy Spirit the forgiveness of all his sins Have mercie upon him and according to the multitude of thy mercies do away all his offences blot all his sins out of thy remembrance Grant him thy grace to bear willingly this Cross the Cross of sickness to drink heartily of this Cup the Cup of affliction to endure patiently this Yoak the Yoak of tribulation and to suffer meekly this Rod the Rod of correction He hath received good things of thee make him willing to receive evil also as heretofore he rejoyced in his health so teach him now to rejoyce in his sickness and as he was not ashamed to live so let him not be afraid to die because his life is hid with Christ in Heaven Let the sweet feeling and tast of a lively faith distast all the filthy corruptions that are in him and after the example of the good Samaritan after the sharp wine of grievous tribulation instill also the suppling Oil of comfort whereby he may be able to endure those troubles which otherwise would be intolerable unto him Strengthen his memory whereby to call upon thy glorious Name Settle his Spirits that they may not wander and fly out into any unruly motions Lay thy finger upon his lips that they may not fall into cursing or blaspheming thy Deitie or into any vain language Take from his Eyes all delight of this frail world and let his Soul make ready onely for a voiage to Heaven Set thy saving mark upon his Soul and give order to the destroyer that he hurt it not But having fought a good fight let him now triumphantly exult and say O Death where is thy sting O Hell where is thy victory I thank thee O Lord who hast given me victory by Jesus Christ Be merciful unto us here present who as feeling members of one body adore thy holy Name and implore thy Divine help for this thy servant grant him assistance of thy Spirit to the last gasp and us assurance to be heard of thee for him and all others upon the like occasion We could wish that thou shouldst speak to this our friend as thou didst unto thy servant when thou saidst Arise take up thy bed and walk but yet alas we know not whether we ask aright or not thy will be fulfilled we know that he shall but change this life transitory for Eternitie cast off mortalitie and be clothed with immortalitie and this light affliction which is but for a moment shall cause unto him a far more excellent and eternal weight of glory Wherefore make us all wise to salvation and teach us so to number our days aright that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom Give both this thy servant and all of us grace willingly to forsake this present evil world and so to live in thy fear that we may die in thy favour and so reign with thee for ever hereafter Grant this for Jesus Christ his sake our onely Lord and Saviour Amen A Thanksgiving after Sickness O Most merciful Lord God I thy late sick and sorrowful servant do with bended knees and a thankful heart prostrate my self before thee at this time acknowledging that thou hast been a loving Father unto me not onely before I was yet born but ever since I hung upon my Mothers breast Manifest experience have I had of thy manifold mercies many times but never more than in my late and last visitation I offer now unto thee a sacrifice of praise Because I employed not the faculties of my Soul and members of my Body as I should have done thou didst bereave me of the strength and vigor and use of them for a season but now because thy compassions fail not thou hast returned them to me again wherefore I consecrate and devote them perpetually to thy service and as I am in the state of my Body so by the power of thy renewing grace I will become in the estate of my soul a new man My broken heart which thou hast healed shall now entirely love thee my feeble knees and weak bones which thou hast setled shall night and day bow to thee my weak hands which thou hast strengthned shall continually be lifted up unto thee I confess unto thee O Lord that in my health I often read and heard that worldly delights and comforts were vain and much like Flags and Bulrushes which men in danger of drowning catch to bear them up but they sink down under water with them yet did I not learn till I suffered till thy rod had imprinted it even in my flesh Now O Lord I beseech thee to knit my heart unto thee that I may fear thy Name create in me a new heart and renew a right Spirit within me I asked life of thee and thou gavest it me I now desire and crave thy salvation O my God with-hold it not make me to repent of my sins the cause of my sickness and to depend upon thee the giver of all good things and make me in the time of prosperitie to think of adversity in health to think of sickness in sickness to think of death and at all times so to think of judgment that whether I wake or sleep eat or drink or whatsoever I do else I may ever have this sounding in mine ears Arise ye dead and come to judgment Give me grace O Lord to make this use of mine affliction past and to cleave and stick fast unto thee in all holiness for the time to come through my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in whose Name and words I further pray Our Father c. Of DEATH ANd now I cannot think any conclusion more fit and proper