〈◊〉 or not By thee the very Priests and Levits are redeemed who themselvs were taken from among the Children of Israel instead of all the first-born which had been 〈◊〉 to the Lord. I beseech thee by 〈◊〉 of the Price thou hast paid for my Soul enrol me among the general Assembly and Church of the First-born which are written in Heven who having received the Spirit of Adoption are not only the Children but Heirs of God and joint-Heirs with Christ. And that thine infinit Merit which sufficeth to make evry one of thy Brethren a compleat Possessor of thine Eternal Inheritance may qualify us all to receiv a Kingdom which cannot be moved let us hav Grace wherby we may serv God acceptably with Reverence and godly Fear as becoms persons redeemed from their Iniquities §. 4. When the Parents brought in the Child JESUS to do for him after the Custom of the Law Simeon a man just and devout to whom it was revealed by the Holy Ghost that he should not see Death before he had seen the Lord's Christ came by the Spirit into the Templ where he took him up in his Arms and blessed God for the Consolation of Israel which he had long waited for and now happily found I prais and magnify thy Name O my Dear Jesus as wel for the singular Graces conferr'd on this reverend person as for the publick Testimony he gave of Thee to them that were present Pardon I beseech thee my Neglect of Waiting for Thee wherby I have justly forfeited the peculiar Manifestations of thy 〈◊〉 and Favor and now that I am not only ready but earnestly desirous to receiv Thee in mine Arms yea to lodg Thee in my Heart vouchsafe to purify and enlighten me with the H. Ghost that I taking Delight in thy Sanctuary and carefully attending Thee there with a Soul ful of Joy and a Mouth ful of Praises may also bless Thee my God and speak of thine Honor in thy holy Templ §. 5. Thus did pious Simeon whose Eys were no sooner blest with that desirabl Interview but his Tong exprest the Contentment of his Heart in this Swan-like Song Lord now 〈◊〉 thou 〈◊〉 Servant depart in peace according to thy Word For mine Eys hav seen thy Salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all 〈◊〉 I prais Thee O Christ For being both A Light to lighten the Gentils and the Glory of thy peepl Israel No wonder that Ioseph and thy Mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Thee especialy hearing him that blessed them say 〈◊〉 Mary Behold this Child is set for the Fall and Rising up of many in Israel and for a Sign that shal be spoken against in so much that a Sword should pierce throu her own Soul also Lord endu my Soul with a like sens of this inestimabl Benefit that I may rehears this Song with equal Pleasure and Concernment since mine Eys also see the Longings and Expectations of former Ages turned in to Joys and Praises for all 〈◊〉 Generations it being highly reasonabl for our Satisfaction to be as strong in Delight as their Expectation was great in Desire For the principal Design of thy Coming into the World was to remedy not occasion the Fall of any either in or out of Israel that such as fall throu their own Default might rise agen by Faith in Thee and those who hav spoken most bitterly against Thee may upon Repentance be forgiven when the Thoughts of all Hearts shal be revealed §. 6. This notabl Testimony of old Simeon was seconded by Anna a Prophetess of the Tribe of Aser who was of a great Age being a Widow of about fourscore and four Years which departed not from the Templ but served God with Fastings and Prayers night and day for she coming in at that Instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spake of him to all them that looked for Redemtion in Ierusalem I prais and magnify thy Name O Redeemer of Israel for rewarding that godly Matron's Devotion with so happy a Change of her Fastings into Jubilees and her Prayers into Praises Lord since those to whom thou revealest thy Self must be qualified for that blessed Priviledg by so much Diligence and unwearied Devotion enable me by thy Grace to apply my utmost Endevors therunto Night and Day as well in Fastings and Prayers to deprecat my own and my Nations Sins as by Feastings and Praises to congratulat thy Manifestation to the World and the saving Consequences thereof uniting in my Devotions all the pious Longings and earnest Wishes of the Old World with the transporting Joys and inexpressible Satisfactions of the New Cap. VI. Of His Flight into Egypt §. 1. WHen they had thus performed all things according to the Law of the Lord they returned into Galilee to their own City Nazareth but were not allowed any long Continuance there for soon after the 〈◊〉 of the Lord appeared to Ioseph in a Dream saying Arise and take the yong Child and his Mother and 〈◊〉 into Egypt for 〈◊〉 wil seek the yong Child to destroy him he took them by night and departed 〈◊〉 I celebrat thy Name O Son of the Highest for exposing thy Self to so many Hazards and Inconveniences for my sake and for the constant Vigilance of thy Father's Ey to serv and secure Thee by the Ministry of Angels Thy Lov alone moved thee to descend from the Region of Bliss and Glory to this Vale of Misery and Troubl and nothing but thy gracious Design to free us thence inclined thee rather to retire into the Hous of Bondage than yield thy 〈◊〉 to the Tyrants Cruelty lest Our hope should hav been unseasonably cut off Watch over me I humbly beseech thee in all the Dangers wherwith I am beset in this World of Iniquity and either instruct me to escape them or strengthen me to sustain them Let no Devices of the Wicked prosper against my Soul but reflecting on this thine own Peril be thou ever ready to deliver me from the malicious Designs of unreasonabl and cruel Men. §. 2. O my blest Redeemer who in thy tender Years for the avoiding of Herod's Rage didst endure a tedious Banishment to let us know there is no less ground of Contentment in a voluntary Exile when thy Providence makes it necessary for us than in the Enjoyment of our nativ Soil I bless thy H. Name For being equaly near us in all places of thy Dominion for the whol Earth is thine Lord whatsoever thy Wisdom and Authority thinks fit to enjoin me let thy Grace incline me cheerfuly to obey how much soever it seem to thwart my worldly Interest or Eas and in all my Endevors to execute thy Will conduct and defend me with thy good Providence Obeying Thee I may be safe in Egypt the Hous of Bondage while encompassed with Perils and throu Disobedience to thy Commands may perish in Bethlehem the Hous of Bread tho surrounded with
particular Eas and Satisfaction preferring thy Church before all our privat Concernments or domestick Interests whatsoever §. 5. O B. Jesus tho Iohn 〈◊〉 thee saying I hav need to be baptized of Thee and comest Thou to me yet didst thou persist in thy Resolution of submitting to his Disciplin and Baptism who owned himself 〈◊〉 to carry thy Shoos requiring him to suffer it to be so now I magnify thy Gracious Name For thus expressing how well it becometh us to fulfil all Righteousness O giv me and all that call themselves after Thy Name the Christian Humility of conforming to all the Rules of Godly Disciplin which shall be found requisit for thy Church's Peace and of submitting to any Service how much soever abased that may tend to the Benefit of the smallest in thy Flock or end in the Advancement of thy Glory §. 6. Most H. Jesus who when all the Peepl were baptized didst descend into the River to be baptized among them that thy Father's Declaration being made from Heven in the Audience of a Multitude might be the more publickly known and undeniably confirmed I glorify thy Name Because thy Delights are among the Children of Men. Be present I beseech thee in all the devout Assemblies of thy Saints and Servants and so bless thine Ordinances unto them that the Wil of God revealed from Heven 〈◊〉 be effectualy divulged and obey'd among all Nations And now thou hast thus sanctified the Element of Water to becom Sacramental for the Remission of Sins having in a Symbol purified human Nature of that Guilt and Pollution which thou hadst undertaken to expiat and remov so making good the Baptist's further Testimony of Thee when he saw thee O Iesus coming unto him and said Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the World Lord Pardon those many heinous 〈◊〉 which hav miserably defiled my Life and Conscience since I received Baptismal Grace and so renew thy Covenant of Mercy unto my Soul that I may never so ungratefuly violat the Conditions or forfeit the Advantages of it any more §. 7. O thou Anointed of the Lord who receivedst not the Spirit by measure for being baptized and praying the Heven was 〈◊〉 And the H. Ghost descended in a bodily Shape like a Dov upon Thee And 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 from Heven saying This is my Beloved Son in whom I am wel pleased What could be a more glorious Attendant on thy Publication than so express a Discovery of the B. Trinity Thy Relation to God the Father the Being and Office of the H. Ghost and the Good Wil of the whol God-head to Mankind being jointly display'd therin I prais and magnify thy Name For exhibiting so many Sacred Mysteries as in a littl but accurat Picture which in other Ages were not made known unto the Sons of men Lord let me be ravished and instructed with this marvellous Vision as Thy Forerunner was who openly professed I knew him not but that He should be made manifest to Israel therfore am I com baptizing with Water for he that sent me said unto me Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him the same is He which baptizeth with the 〈◊〉 Ghost And I saw and bare Record that This is the Son of God Enlighten the Ey of my Soul to behold this inconceivabl yet evident Manifestation of the Ever-blessed Trinity and exalt mine Understanding to such a right Apprehension of that Sacred Mystery that all my Acts of Adoration may be duly directed and graciously accepted May the Hevens which were open at thy Baptism never be shut against my Prayers or Praises and since thou hast opened the Kingdom of Heven to all Believers grant the same Spirit that descended upon Thee may abide with Me and thy whol Church for ever that we who are in Baptism adopted Sons of God according to the good pleasure of his Wil may be charm'd and honor'd with the Eccho of that 〈◊〉 from Heven which proclaimed Thee Beloved And since thou my merciful Savior hast made choice of such proper Emblems to shadow forth thy Glory make them suitably impressiv on my Memory and Affections for wheras the Promulgation of the Law was attended with terribl Thunders and thick Darkness to express the Dreadfulness of God's Presence unto the sinful Transgressors of it Thy Preaching of the Gospel of Peace is usher'd in by the H. Ghost in the likeness of a Dov to bring the Oliv-branch of Reconciliation to Mankind and shew what Meekness of Spirit is the proper Badg or Cognisance of thy tru Discipls The End of the First Book THE Soul's Communion WITH HER SAVIOR The Second Book Containing what occurs in the First Year of his Publick Ministry Cap. I. Of His Retirement Fasting and Temtation §. 1. O Blessed Iesus who being ful of the Holy Ghost immediatly after thy return from Iordan wast led by the Spirit into the Wilderness I prais and magnify thy Name For thus chalking out the Way to divine and spiritual Atchievments O thou the only Comfort of all my Solitudes giv me Grace to set apart fit times for Prayer and Contemplation after thine Exampl before I enter upon any great Emploiment that what I undertake with du and devout Consideration may be so blest and accepted by thy Goodness as may render it succesful to thine Honor And whensoever it shal pleas Thee to inspire me with holy Thoughts and Resolutions incline my Heart cheerfuly to follow the Motions of thy B. Spirit that I may never incur the Guilt of Resisting the H. Ghost §. 2. O thou high and holy One of Israel who hast abased thy self to co-habit with the wild Beasts of the Desert for my sake whose nativ fierceness was so much awed by thy Sacred Presence as left them neither Power nor Inclination to hurt Thee I glorify thy Great Name For submitting to the disconsolat Inconveniences of that inhospitabl Place and Company Lord disdain not to visit the uncultivated Wilderness of my Soul too and subdu therin all those brutish Appetits those untamed Passions that would utterly destroy me til thou bring all the Imaginations of my Heart into Subjection to thy H. Will. §. 3. O my most Gracious Redeemer who didst fast 〈◊〉 Days and forty Nights and 〈◊〉 afterward an hungred I prais thy H. Name For teaching me both the Duty and Benefit of Fasting Lord let me not at any time eat or drink without such a Temper and Moderation as may better enabl me for thy Service but on all the Seasons and Occasions of Fasting prescribed either by Thee or thy Church make me impartialy strict and severe to my self in Communion with thy Saints in Sorrow for my Sins and in Memory of Thy Sufferings denying my self not only pleasant Bread and palatabl Drink but all manner of Sustenance for a time proportionabl to my frailty in Conformity to thine Exampl who in those
the hidden Manna of my Soul its Food and Refreshment in all Conditions in Afflictions my Support in Poverty my Treasure in Reproaches my Glory in Darkness my Light in Sickness my Health in Troubl my Repose in Prosperity my Defence in Life and Health my Joy and Consolation that Christ being thus formed in me I may through Him who giveth us the Victory overcom the Vanities of the World the Lusts of the Flesh and the Temtations of the Devil til He becom my Life in Death and my Happiness in Heven Amen THE Soul's Communion WITH HER SAVIOR The First Book Containing so much of the Gospel-History as relates to the Infancy of the H. Jesus and that time of his Privat Life which passed before He entred on his Publick Ministry Cap. I. Of His Incarnation §. 1. O Holy and Ever-blessed Jesu Eternal Son of the eternal God who didst descend from thy Father's Bosom from the highest Hevens thy Royal Throne to this Vale of Misery that by taking My Nature upon Thee Thou mightest not only suffer and satisfy for Me but also impart Thy Nature unto Me. I prais and magnify thy Name For this thine unspeakabl Lov. I adore thee for thine infinit Wisdom and Goodness I am astonished at thy stupendious Humility and Condescension to lost and undeserving Man Bow the Hevens O Lord once more and com down touch my Heart with thine Almighty Power and having cast out whatsoever may be offensiv to thy Sacred Majesty fill it with thy blessed Presence for ever §. 2. O Blessed Jesu whose Incarnation was so sublime a Mystery that to usher in a matter of such extraordinary Concernment to the World the Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a City of Galilee named Nazareth to a Uirgin espoused to a man whose Name was Ioseph of the Hous of David and the Uirgin's Name was Mary I magnify thy Glorious Name For making thy Spirits Ministers unto them who shal be Heirs of Salvation As the Angels and Arch-Angels prais Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim adore Thee and all the hevenly Host bow down unto Thee not only fitting upon thy Throne but even at the lowest Degree of thy Foot-stool wherunto thou hast voluntarily humbled thy self in thine Incarnation So let me I beseech thee in concurrence with the Celestial Choir celebrat this Mystery of thy Lov on Earth worship the Majesty of thy Glory in Heven til my Life becom Angelical by rejoicing in Thee and in Thy Salvation §. 3. When the Angel came in unto her and said 〈◊〉 thou that art highly favored the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among Women she cast in her mind what manner of Salutation this should be I prais thy Holy Name O Blessed Jesu for the greatness of thine Eternal Lov to this Holy Virgin and to all Mankind in her O make me sensibl how highly I my self am favor'd in this great Transaction since She was thus blessed among Women that all the Families of the Earth might be blessed in her Seed A Salutation of such infinit Importance doth worthily deserv to be frequently revolved in our minds which being particularly brought to a privat Family in Jewry hath prov'd of universal Concernment to the whol World O let me also tast and see how gracious the Lord hath been to my Soul No matter for the Favor of Men so we find Grace with God §. 4. While she was troubled at his saying the Angel said unto her Fear not Mary for thou hast found favor with God And behold thou shalt 〈◊〉 in thy womb and bring forth a Son and thou shalt call his Name Iuses He shal be great and shal be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shal giv unto him the Chrone of his Father David And he shal reign over the house of Iacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shal be no end I prais and magnify thy Name O Jesus for thy great Glory and endless Soveraignty for as much as thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endureth throu-out all Generations O thou Root and Off-spring of David vouchsafe to extend thy Scepter over all Nations and be for Salvation to the Ends of the Earth that under thy Government all Peopl being saved from their Sins may liv and prosper in Peace and Holiness Sit upon the Throne of my heart by the Power and Presence of thy Holy Spirit reign over all the faculties of my Soul subdu them to thy Will and be thou my God and King forever §. 5. Then said Mary to the Angel How shal this be seeing I know not a Man Wherunto the Angel answered The Holy Ghost shal com upon thee and the Power of the Highest shal overshadow thee therfore also that Holy Thing which shal be born of thee shall be called The Son of GOD. I prais and magnify the Name O thou Son of God for thine in finit Condescension to becom the Son of Man It is not less Blessed and Mysterious to conceiv Thee in the Heart by Faith than to carry Thee in the Womb of Flesh Send therefore I befeech thee the same Spirit and Power to rest upon mine Affections til Christ be formed in me that thy Humility and Holiness thy Life and Lov may be brought forth in my Conversation and so adapt me to be called the Son of God §. 6. Holy Jesu who for the more rational Engagement of the Virgins Faith didst further acquaint her by the same Angel Behold thy Cousin Elizabeth who was called barren she also hath conceived a Son in her old Age. I magnify thy H. Name Becaus with God nothing shal be unpossibl This Maxim may suffice to silence all the Cavilling Inquiries of human Reason How this should be For the same Power that makes the barren Womb fruitful can with the same facility dispens with those Laws of Nature that render it unlikely there should be a Virgin-Mother And that Spirit which by breathing on them was abl to make dry Bones liv may be very rationaly believed of sufficient Power to impregnat a Virgin 's Womb. And therefore in Considering this transcendent Mystery of my Savior's Incarnation I will rather admire and recount his Goodness and Truth than question his Power or pry into the manner of its Accomplishment and in all his Trials of my Faith or Pati nce my Soul shal say as the 〈◊〉 of the Lord did Be it unto me according unto thy 〈◊〉 §. 7. Upon this Information the Blessed Virgin Mary arose and went iuto the Hill-Country to the Hous of 〈◊〉 to visit her Cousin Elizabeth who no sooner heard her Salutation but the Babe leaped in her Womb and she was filled with the 〈◊〉 Ghost so that she said with a 〈◊〉 voice Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb whence is it that the Mother of my Lord should com to me I prais thy Name For this marvelous Effect of thy
Copartnership with the Holy Trinity wherunto the inordinat Devotion of some Superstitious Christians hath erroneously exalted and inshrined thy Virgin-Mother in these later and more corrupt Ages of thy Church Lord I beseech thee inlighten my Soul with such a discreet and tru Distinction between the Honor or Respect I may justly bear to thy Earthly Mother or any other of thy Saints enrolled in Heven among the Spirits of Just Men made perfect and that Homage and Adoration which I am bound to pay unto Thy Self in the Unity of thy Hevenly Father and the Eternal Spirit that while I commemorat the Grace Thou hast conferred on Her whom thy H. Angel hath authorized us to call Blessed among Women I presume not to rob God of his peculiar Honor who declares expresly I wil not giv my Glory unto another And herein I shal best comply with that Advice which She her Self gave to the Servants that attended on this Nuptial Solemnity Whatsoever he saith unto you do it for thence we may rationaly infer That our resolved and activ Obedience to Thy Divine Commands is much more likely to gratify her holy Soul in Heven than any irregular Expression of Religious Worship unwarrantably tender'd to her Self on Earth Cap. IV. Of His Acts at the first Passover §. 1. AFter this he went down to Capernaum with his Mother his Brethren and Discipls but they continued there not many days for the Jews Passover was at hand and therefore Jesus went up to Jerusalem where finding those that sold Oxen and 〈◊〉 and Dovs and the Changers of mony sitting in the Templ he made a Scourge of small Cords and drove them all out thence 〈◊〉 out the Changers Mony and overthrew their 〈◊〉 saying unto them Take these things hence I prais and magnify thy Name O Lord of Hosts thou Mighty God of Sabaoth who for the more publick and notabl Declaration of thy Power didst signalize the very Commencement of thy Ministerial Function by purging thy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an 〈◊〉 Authority from 〈◊〉 gross Prophanation of those 〈◊〉 made it an Hous of 〈◊〉 which was an Act so extraordinary as gave thy 〈◊〉 occasion to 〈◊〉 that it was written The zeal of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hous hath eaten me up May all Places religiously set apart for thy Worship be ever 〈◊〉 in a venerabl manner I beseech thee and in thy Sanctuary let evry man speak of his Honor that dwels there that when we 〈◊〉 upon Thee O God in the midst of thy Templ our Hearts being 〈◊〉 from all Sacrilegious Thoughts of Secular Negotiations which like a Cage of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are apt as wel to 〈◊〉 as keep a place in thy holy Habitation the Templ of thy more especial Presence may be as it ought a Hous of Prayer not a Den of Thievs §. 2. Most H. Jesus When the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou 〈◊〉 these things questioned 〈◊〉 Authority saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou unto us Thou 〈◊〉 briefly make Answer unto them 〈◊〉 this Templ and in three days 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rais it up I celebrat thy Sacred Name For the hidden Mystery and yet most undoubted Truth couched in this thy prudent Reply which became easily intelligibl when thou wast risen from the Dead after that both Jew and Gentil had employ'd their utmost Power and Malice to destroy thee for then thy Discipls not only remembred that Thou hadst said this unto them but they 〈◊〉 understood that to be spoken of the Templ of thy Body which the 〈◊〉 misapplied to their material Templ in the building wherof forty and six years were elapsed I humbly beseech thee O Lord That the actual Accomplishment of all thy mysterious yet most infallibl Predictions may so enlighten the Understanding of thy Discipls in this later Age of thy Church as to engage Our Faith with no less efficacy than it did that of thy primitiv Followers who hereupon believed the Scripture and the Word which Jesus had said §. 3. O B. Jesus tho many 〈◊〉 in thy Name when they saw the Miracls which thou didst in Jerusalem at the 〈◊〉 in the Feast-day yet didst not thou commit thy Self unto them becaus thou knewest all Men I glorify thy great Name For this eminent Expression of the Divinity of the Son of Man who was so far abov the necessity of depending or relying on the faithless or feebl Generation of Adam that He 〈◊〉 not that any should testify of them for He knew what was in Man even while he vouchsafed to be conversant with them upon Earth in the likeness of Men. I humbly beseech Thee O Christ let the same Spirit which rested upon Thee be my Comfort and Support that from 〈◊〉 I lean not on any Child of Man for there is no Hope no Help in them but fully settl my whol Trust in God and commit the Keeping of my Soul to Him in Wel-doing as unto a faithful Creator And further teach me by this thine instructiv Exampl so much discreet Caution both in my Dealings with Men as may prevent the betraying of my Self to their deceitful Practices and in my Deportment towards God as may ever express me duly sensibl of 〈◊〉 Omniscience Cap. V. Of His Conference with Nicodemus §. I. WHen a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus came to Thee O Jesus by night with a privat Acknowledgment of thy Sacred Mission and unparallel'd Miracls which he wanted the Corage to avow in publick Thou wast gracioufly pleased without upbraiding either his Infirmity or Ignorance to discours the Mysteries of Regeneration to him in such a new and unheard-of manner as far exceeded the Knowledg of any Master of Israel I prais thy H. Name For all the profound and singular Excellencies of thy hevenly Doctrin wherby we know Thou art a Teacher com from God and for that convincing Method Thou hast made Use of to confirm it which was of force enough to make a Ruler of the Jews confess No man can do these Miracls that thou dost except God be with him Tho the Laws of Nature do not allow a Man to be born when he is old or enter the second time into his Mother's Womb yet by the Power of thy Grace let me I beseech thee 〈◊〉 born agen not of Water only but of the Spirit too that as I am naturally Flesh born of the Flesh so I may becom really Spirit born of the Spirit and be therby qualified both to 〈◊〉 and to enter into the Kingdom of God §. 2. O most holy and hevenly Doctor who didst represent to Nicodemus the unaccountabl yet apparent Motions of the H. Ghost in the mysterious Regeneration of evry one that is born of the Spirit by this apt Similitude The wind 〈◊〉 where it listeth and thou hearest the Sound therof canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth which drew him that was learned in the Matters of the Law to own his Ignorance in the Method of the Gospel by putting this Question 〈◊〉 can these things
Corruptions to renounce no new Nature to put on and yet didst permit thy Fore-skin to be circumcised that we might learn therby to put away all 〈◊〉 and superfluity of 〈◊〉 tiness I prais thy H. Name For this Visibl Sign of that 〈◊〉 Grace we stand in need of Let this thine Infant-Wound O J su circumcise our Hearts purify our Hands and 〈◊〉 our whol Man blameless and undefiled And since there is a Fountain open'd to the Hous of David for Sin and for Uncleanness let the Blood of Christ who throu the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 offer'd himself without Spot to God 〈◊〉 our Conscience from dead Works to 〈◊〉 the living God that being 〈◊〉 from all 〈◊〉 of Flesh and Spirit 〈◊〉 may perfect Holiness in thy Fear To this end I beseech thee mortify the Deeds of my Body cut off the Occasions of Sin and disappoint the Temtations most apt to betray me 〈◊〉 for He is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is 〈◊〉 in the Flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the Heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose Prais is not of Men but of God §. 6. O my Soul Who could imagin so small privat an Action in a Country so remote and an Age so long past should be of such marvellous Concernment to thee and evry Family in the Earth besides I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ for that 〈◊〉 Wisdom and Goodness wherwith thou hast enlarged my Joys in making all thine Actions conduciv to the Benefit and Instruction of the whol World Grant me Grace I beseech thee so to use those Faculties wherwith thou hast enabled me to reflect on and consider Objects so far distant in Time and Place that duly weighing the great Confequence and wide Concernment of evry Thought Word and Deed enrolled in the Volum of Eternity I may becom the more cautious of ordering my Conversation aright til Divine Lov Entire Obedience and Uniform Devotion compleat my Life in this World and prepare a delightful Spectacl for God Angels and Just Men made perfect in the next Cap. IV. Of His Epiphany §. 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of verse 1 〈◊〉 in the days of Herod the King 〈◊〉 there came Wise men from the East to Jerusalem saying Where is he that is born King of the 〈◊〉 for we 〈◊〉 seén his Star in the East and are com to worship him I prais and magnify thy Name O thou Wisdom of the Father for the gracious and 〈◊〉 Influence of the Eastern 〈◊〉 whose Appearance and Motion being wholy 〈◊〉 did attract the Eys engage the Faith and guide the Feet of these Learned Sages in Quest of Thee In deed they are the only Wise men who use their Learning to find out Heven Lord as thou didst illuminat their Souls by a diviner Light to discern the Benefit and Design of that created Star so be thou graciously pleased to accompany the hevenly Oracls of thy Word with such a convincing Power and Demonstration of thy Spirit as shal be effectual to bring in the Fulness of the Gentils to whom thou hast extended the Scepter of thy Mercy as well as to the Jews having made both one and broken down the middl Wall of Partition between us §. 2. O Blessed Jesu who didst withdraw the Conduct of that Star as soon as the Wise men were com to Jerusalem leaving them to be informed by the ordinary Ministry of the chief Priests and Scribes of the Peépl whom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gathered together demanding of them where Christ should be born they said unto him In Bethlehem of Iudea for thus it is written of 〈◊〉 Prophet And thou Bethlehem in the land of Iuda art not the least among the Princes of Iuda for out of 〈◊〉 shal com a a Governor that shal rule my Peépl Israel I prais thy H. Name For the seasonabl Use of Miracls and the transcendent Excellency of the Means of Grace It is unreasonabl to look for Manna when we are once enter'd into the Land of Promise Reclaim therfore I beseech thee all pervers and ignorant Schismaticks from that gross presumtion of temting Thee for new Lights and needless Revelations now thy Will is so expresly revealed in thy Word and let the Priests Lips to whom thou hast committed the ordinary Dispensation of thine Oracls always preserv sufficient knowledg to direct thy peepl in the way of Salvation by that more sure Word of Prophecy which was of old written for our Instruction and is to this day a standing Record taken from the mouths of those holy men of God who spake as they were moved by the H. Ghost And as thou didst lead these honorabl Pilgrims by the Conduct of a Star to the Means of Grace and by the ordinary Preaching and Explanation of thy Word unto thy Self making both those Methods useful in their respectiv places so let thine ancient Miracls confirm and quicken us in the Use of such ordinary Means as are adapted to these later Times for the Light of thy glorious Gospel is as much more instructiv than the obscurer Language of a Star as the shining Splendor of the Day outvies the gloomy Shades of Night this being no less powerful to draw Men from all Quarters of the Earth to thy Worship than that was to invite these few from the East §. 3. The 〈◊〉 men having received so full and plain an Answer from the Priests in the 〈◊〉 of a Truth which neither their fear of Herod nor their own Enmity was abl to suppress continu their Progress toward Bethlehem nothing discoraged either with the disappearing of their Oriental Guide or by the Troubl which the bold and open Declaration of their Embassy had given Herod and all Ierusalem with him I magnify thy Sacred Name O Christ For this their Exemplary Corage and Resolution Be thou the delightful Object and Answer of all mine Enquiries the sole End and Recompence of all my Travel and let my Soul depend on Thee in the greatest destitution of all Outward Helps and Encoragements that those Obstacls which the World is apt to cast in my way being furmounted by a firm purpos of Mind to follow Thee I may throu a du Use of thine Ordinances be brought out of the Maze of Error and Ignorance 〈◊〉 the Knowledg of thy Truth and walk in the right way to thy saving Presence §. 4. O H. Jesu who to reward the Faith and Zeal of these devout Pilgrims didst not only signify to them the Birth of the Messiah in general but conduct them also to Jerusalem and at last when they departed thence attend them even to Bethlehem by the Star which they saw in the East that went before them til it came and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the yong Child was to their great joy I bless and prais thy Name For being found of them that seek Thee according to thy faithful Promise I