me.

O why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Great God! I humbly submit to thy hand, and will bear the effects of thy displeasure, which I have brought down upon myself. O my Lord, give me patience, and strength, and grace, proportionable to this great trial; and enable me so to demean myself under it, that, after the affliction, I may find cause to say, it was good for me to be afflicted. Thou that hast torn and smitten, thou alone art able to heal the breaches thou hast made. Do thou remember me in my low estate, for the sake of that mercy of thine which endureth for ever: and help me to find out the cursed things that have provoked thee so to stretch out thy hand upon me. O that I may search and try my ways, and turn to the Lord, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. And for his sake who was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, Lord, forgive and heal my soul that has sinned against thee: and, in thy good time, restore my body too, if it seem good in thy sight: and make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

If thou wilt, Lord, thou canst make me whole. O may it be thy good pleasure now to glorify thy power and mercy in my recovery; or, however thou shalt dispose of this vile body, grant me, O my God, a humble resignation to thy will, and satisfaction with thy dealings: and make this afflictive dispensation, which is so grievous at the present, to have a favourable and happy issue. O make it the messenger of thy love to my soul, and the means of sanctifying and preparing it for the Lord, and of fitting it to receive all the saving mercies of my God, in Jesus Christ. Amen.

A PRAYER UNDER CONFINEMENT AND LOSS OF

LIBERTY.

O LORD my God, infinitely kind and good! I have, through thy gracious indulgence, long enjoyed my freedom in the world; and been permitted to go in and out, whither I would, at my pleasure. But now that I am under restraint, and confined to this place, O how much sorer affliction ought I with patience to endure, for turning my liberty into licentiousness, and for wandering (as I have done) from thee, and wearying myself in the ways of wickedness! This confinement I acknowledge to be but a light correction indeed, to one who deserves to be shut up in the eternal prison, from whence there is no redemption. But for thy dear Son, my blessed Saviour's sake, I beg, Lord, that this restraint may be, not in judgement, but in mercy to me: that it may bring me to timely consideration, and to a deep repentance for all those sinful liberties which I have taken, in living after my own foolish and hurtful lusts: let it remove me out of the way of temptations, and engage me more closely and dutifully to attend upon thee; that in thy service I may find a better freedom, than that which I have lost let me obtain by means of it a freer access into thy presence, and power to tread down the enemies of my soul, whensoever they rise up against me.

O that now I am sequestered from the world, I may also be crucified unto it; and may leave it in affection, as I am shut out from its conversation. Let me in heart and mind ascend and dwell above, and have my conversation in heaven, and enjoy such fellowship with thee, my God and Saviour, as

shall be infinitely preferable to all the society and enjoyments of the world. If the Son of God shall make me free, I shall be free indeed. O pity me, tied as I am, and bound with the chain of my sins. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks unto thy name. Set my feet in a large room, that I may be at liberty to run the way of thy commandments. Then, however confined as to my body, even though I were to lie in a gaol or a dungeon, I should be a prisoner of hope; looking for that blessed hope, to be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. I ask this for the sake of him, who was apprehended and confined, and put to death for us, and now liveth and reigneth with thy eternal self, and holy Spirit, over all, God blessed for evermore. Amen.

A PRAYER UPON THE NEWS OF OTHERS' DEATH.

O THOU ever-living and all-disposing God; in whose hands our breath is, and whose summons we must all obey! What are we; what is man, even at his best estate, but altogether vanity! What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? The great and the mean, the wise and the foolish, the evil and the good, all yield up the ghost, and go down to the grave. Thou art pleased, O my God, to spare me, whilst many of my neighbours and acquaintance are taken to their long home. Thou leavest me yet a living monument of thy goodness, long-suffering, and forbearance. O what am I better than others, that I should have further opportunities of working out my salvation, when others have the things

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which belong to their peace for ever hid from their eyes? Why have I not long since experienced the common lot of all men? Why have I not been called to give up unto thee an account of my stewardship? O let me not be as the brutes that have no understanding, without mindfulness of my mortality, or consideration of my latter end: but in the death of others, let me see, as in a glass, my own frail and uncertain state. Let me see that there is but a step between me and death; and that, however my days may be prolonged on earth, I must at last go to the place appointed for all men living. O let me begin to answer the great end of life; and so live, as one that surely expects to die. And when my own turn shall come, may I depart in peace, and sleep in Jesus; having my soul safe in thy hands, and my body resting in hope of gloriously rising at the last day; through him who is the resurrection and the life, our blessed Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Amen.

A PRAYER UPON THE DEATH OF OUR DEAR FRIENDS.

GREAT God, the Lord of all; thou doest whatsoever thou pleasest in heaven and in earth; thou givest, and thou takest away: thou raisest up and thou castest down: nor can any stay thy hand, or say unto thee, What doest thou? But in all that thou doest, thou art wise, and righteous, and good. Thou art just in depriving us of those enjoyments which we have unworthily idolized, or ungratefully abused. Blessed be thy name, therefore, as well when thou takest away, as when thou givest. Yet, O Lord, in mercy turn these losses to the advantage of my

the ways of wickedness (as with thorns and briers) before me; that I may loathe, as much as ever I have loved, my hateful ways, and never return again to such baseness and folly. And let the remembrance of all my former offences not only lead me to repentance, but stimulate me to more circumspection and watchfulness in future: that I may not live so far from thee, as I have done, nor trespass against thee any more; but may pass the time of my sojourning here in fear: O grant it for the sake of him whom I have so impiously trodden under foot, and to whose Spirit I have done so great despite, even thy Son Jesus Christ, my only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

THE CONVINCED SINNER'S PRAYER.

HEARKEN to the voice of my cry, my King, and my God! for unto thee will I pray. But wherewithal shall I appear before the Lord, and bow myself before the most high God, whose holy laws I have broken, and whose just displeasure I have incurred! I acknowledge my transgression, O Lord, and my sin is ever before me. My iniquities are gone over my head, as a sore burthen; they are too heavy for me to bear. When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for his iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth. My sin now has found me out; and that which once I thought too little to be repented of, seems now too great to be pardoned. I flatter myself in my own eyes, till my iniquity is found to be hateful. I thought I was rich, and increased with goods, and had need of nothing: but now I