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How amiable are thy tabernacles, thou Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will still be praising thee. Psal. lxxxiv. 1, 2, 4.

O blessed Jesu, thou art worthy of all adoration, and all honour, and all love: thou art the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace; of thy government and peace there shall be no end: thou art the brightness of thy Father's glory, the express image of his person, the appointed heir of all things. Thou upholdest all things by the word of thy power; thou didst by thyself purge our sins: thou art set on the right hand of the Majesty on high: thou art made better than the angels; thou hast by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Thou, O dearest Jesus, art the head of the church, the beginning and the first-born from the dead in all things thou hast the pre-eminence, and it pleased the Father, that in thee should all fulness dwell. Kingdoms are in love with thee; kings lay their crowns and sceptres at thy feet, and queens are thy handmaids, and wash the feet of thy

servants.

A Prayer to be said in any affliction, as death of children, of husband or wife, in great poverty, in imprisonment, in a sad and disconsolate spirit, and in temptations to despair.

O eternal God, Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, with much mercy look upon the sadnesses and sorrows of thy servant. My sins lie heavy upon me, and press me sore, and there is no health in my bones by reason of thy displeasure and my sin. The waters are gone over me, and I stick fast in the deep mire, and my miseries are without comfort, because they are punishments of my sin and I am so evil and unworthy a person, that though I have great desires, yet I have no dispositions or worthiness toward receiving comfort. My sins have caused my sorrow, and my sorrow does not cure my sins; and unless for thy own sake, and merely because thou art good, thou shalt pity me and relieve me, I am as much without remedy, as now I am without comfort. Lord, pity me; Lord, let thy grace refresh my spirit. Let thy comforts support me, thy mercy pardon me, and never let my portion be amongst hopeless and accursed spirits for thou art good and gracious; and I throw myself upon thy mercy. Let me never let my hold go, and do thou with me what seems good in thy own eyes. I cannot suffer more than I have deserved and yet I can need no relief so great as thy mercy is; for thou art infinitely more merciful than I can be miserable; and thy mercy, which is above all thy own works, must needs be far above all my sin and all my misery. Dearest Jesus, let

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me trust in thee for ever, and let me never be confounded. Amen.

Ejaculations and short Meditations to be used in time of Sickness and Sorrow: or danger of Death.

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee." Hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble, incline thine ear unto me when I call: O hear me, and that right soon. For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burnt up, as it were with a firebrand. My heart is smitten down and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread; and that because of thine indignation and wrath; for thou hast taken me up and cast me down; thine arrows stick fast in me, and thine hand presseth me sore.° There is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure; neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sin. My wickednesses are gone over my head, and are a sore burden too heavy for me to bear. But I will confess my wickedness, and be sorry for my sin. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine indignation, neither chasten me in thy displeasure.P Lord, be merciful unto me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.

Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness, according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences. O remember not the sins and offences of my youth; but according to thy mercy think thou upon me, O Lord, for thy goodness.s Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sin. Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.t Cast me not away from thy presence, from thy allhallowing and life-giving presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit, thy sanctifying, thy guiding, thy comforting, thy supporting, and confirming Spirit from me.

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O God, thou art my God for ever and ever; thou shalt be my guide unto death." Lord, comfort me, now that I lie sick upon my bed; make thou my bed in all my sickness. O deliver my soul from the place of hell; and do thou receive me. My heart is disquieted within me, and the fear of death is fallen upon me.. Behold, thou hast made my days as it were a span long, and my age is even as nothing in respect of thee; and verily every man living is altogether vanity. When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for sin, thou makest his beauty to consume away, like a moth fretting a garment: every man therefore is but vanity. And now, Lord, what is my hope? truly my hope is even in thee. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and with thine ears consider my calling: hold not thy peace at my tears. Take this plague away from me: I am consumed by the means of thy heavy hand. I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength, before I go hence and be no more seen. My soul cleaveth

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I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, though my reins be consumed within me. Job xix. 25, &c.

God shall come, and shall not keep silence: there shall go before him a consuming fire, and a mighty tempest shall be stirred up round about him; he shall call the heaven from above, and the earth, that he may judge his people.b O blessed Jesu, thou art my judge and thou art my advocate: have mercy upon me in the hour of my death, and in the day of judgment. See John v. 28. and I Thess. iv. 15.

Short Prayers to be said by Sick Persons.

O holy Jesus, thou art a merciful high priest, and touched with the sense of our infirmities; thou knowest the sharpness of my sickness and the weakness of my person. The clouds are gathered about me, and thou hast covered me with thy storm: my understanding hath not such apprehensions of things as formerly. Lord, let thy mercy support me, thy Spirit guide me, and lead me through the valley of this death safely; that I may pass it patiently, holily, with perfect resignation; and let me rejoice in the Lord, in the hopes of pardon, in the expectation of glory, in the sense of thy mercies, in the refreshments of thy spirit, in a victory over all temptations.

Thou hast promised to be with us in tribulation. Lord, my soul is troubled, and my body is weak, and my hope is in thee, and my enemies are busy and mighty; now make good thy holy promise. Now, O holy Jesus, now let thy hand of grace be upon me restrain my ghostly enemies, and give me all sorts of spiritual assistances. Lord, remember thy servant in the day when thou bindest up thy jewels.

O take from me all tediousness of spirit, all impatiency and unquietness: let me possess my soul in patience, and resign my soul and body into thy hands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator, and a blessed Redeemer.

O holy Jesu, thou didst die for us; by thy sad, pungent, and intolerable pains, which thou enduredst for me, have pity on me, and ease my pain, or increase my patience. Lay on me no more than thou shalt enable me to bear. I have deserved it all, and more, and infinitely more. Lord, I am weak and ignorant, timorous and inconstant, and I fear lest something should happen that may discompose the state of my soul, that may displease thee: do what thou wilt with me, so thou dost but preserve me in thy fear and favour. Thou knowest that it z Psal. cxix. 25.

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is my great fear, but let thy Spirit secure, that nothing may be able to separate me from the love of God in Jesus Christ: then smite me here, that thou mayest spare me for ever: and yet, O Lord, smite me friendly; for thou knowest my infirmities. Into thy hands I commend my spirit; for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth. Come, Holy Spirit, help me in this conflict. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

[Let the sick man often meditate upon these following promises and gracious words of God.] My help cometh of the Lord, who preserveth them that are true of heart. Psal. vii. 11.

And all they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast never failed them that seek thee. Psal. ix. 10.

O how plentiful is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, and that thou hast prepared for them that put their trust in thee, even before the sons of men! Psal. xxxi. 21.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, and upon them that put their trust in his mercy, to deliver their souls from death. Psal. xxxiii. 17.

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart; and will save such as are of an humble spirit. Psal. xxxiv. 18..

Thou, Lord, shalt save both man and beast: how excellent is thy mercy, O God! and the children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. Psal. xxxvi. 7.

They shall be satisfied with the plenteousness of thy house; and thou shalt give them to drink of thy pleasures, as out of the rivers. Ver. 8.

For with thee is the well of life; and in thy light we shall see light. Ver. 9.

Commit thy way unto the Lord, and put thy trust in him, and he shall bring it to pass. Psal. xxxvii. 5.

But the salvation of the righteous cometh of the Lord; who is also their strength in the time of trouble. Ver. 40.

So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: doubtless there is a God that judgeth the earth. Psal. lviii. 10.

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and receivest unto thee: he shall dwell in thy court, and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Psal. lxv. 4.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Psal. cxxvi. 6.

It is written, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Heb. xiii. 5.

The prayer of faith shall save the sick; and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Jam. v. 15.

Come and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. Hos. vi. 1.

If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins. 1 John ii. 1, 2.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous a Psal. cxvi. 3. b Psal. 1. 3, 4.

to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John i. 9..

He that forgives shall be forgiven, Luke vi. 37. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. 1 John v. 14.

served from the surprise of evil spirits, and from the horrors and amazements of new and strange regions, and be laid up in the bosom of our Lord, till, at the day of thy second coming, it shall be reunited to the body, which is now to be laid down in weakness and dishonour, but we humbly beg, may then And ye know, that he was manifested to take be raised up with glory and power, for ever to live, away our sins. 1 John iii. 5.

If ye, being evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Matt. vii. 11.

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. 1 Tim. i. 15.

He that hath given us his Son, how should he not, with him, give us all things else? Rom.

viii. 32.

Acts of Hope, to be used by Sick Persons after a pious Life.

I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. viii. 38, 39.

I have fought a good fight: I have finished my course: I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comforts, who comforts us in all our tribulation. 2 Cor. i. 3, 4.

A Prayer to be said in behalf of a Sick or Dying Person.

O Lord God, there is no number of thy days nor of thy mercies, and the sins and sorrows of thy servant also are multiplied. Lord, look upon him with much mercy and pity, forgive him all his sins, comfort his sorrows, ease his pain, satisfy his doubts, relieve his fears, instruct his ignorances, strengthen his understanding, take from him all disorders of spirit, weakness, and abuse of fancy. strain the malice and power of the spirits of darkness and suffer him to be injured neither by his ghostly enemies, nor his own infirmities; and let a holy and a just peace, the peace of God, be within his conscience.

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and to behold the face of God in the glories of the Lord Jesus, who is our hope, our resurrection, and our life, the light of our eyes and the joy of our souls, our blessed and ever-glorious Redeemer. Amen.

[Hither the sick persons may draw in and use the acts of several virtues respersed in the several parts of this book, the several litanies, viz. of repentance, of the passion, and the single prayers, according to his present needs.]

A Prayer to be said in a Storm at Sea.

O my God, thou didst create the earth and the sea for thy glory and the use of man, and dost daily show wonders in the deep: look upon the danger and fear of thy servant. My sins have taken hold upon me, and without the supporting arm of thy mercy, I cannot look up; but my trust is in thee. Do thou, O Lord, rebuke the sea, and make it calm; for to thee the winds and the sea obey: let not the waters swallow me up, but let thy Spirit, the spirit of gentleness and mercy, move upon the waters. Be thou reconciled unto thy servants, and then the face of the waters will be smooth. I fear that my sins make me, like Jonas, the cause of the tempest. Cast out all my sins, and throw not thy servants away from thy presence, and from the land of the living, into the depths, where all things are forgotten. But if it be thy will, that we shall go down into the waters, Lord, receive my soul into thy holy hands, and preserve it in mercy and safety till the day of restitution of all things: and be pleased to unite my death to the death of thy Son, and to accept of it so united as a punishment for all my sins, that thou mayest forget all thine anger, and blot my sins out of thy book, and write my soul there, for Jesus Christ's sake, our dearest Lord and most mighty Redeemer. Amen.

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Danger.

Lord, preserve his senses till the last of his time, A form of a Vow to be made in this or the like strengthen his faith, confirm his hope, and give him a never-ceasing charity to thee our God, and to all the world stir up in him a great and proportionable contrition for all the evils he hath done, and give him a just measure of patience for all he suffers: give him prudence, memory, and consideration, rightly to state the accounts of his soul; and do thou remind him of all his duty; that when it shall please thee, that his soul goes out from the prison of his body, it may be received by angels, and pre

If the Lord will be gracious and hear the prayer of his servant, and bring me safe to shore, then I will praise him secretly and publicly, and pay unto the uses of charity [or religion] [then name the sum you design for holy uses]. O my God, my goods are nothing unto thee: I will also be thy servant all the days of my life, and remember this mercy and my present purposes, and live more to God's glory, and with a stricter duty. And do thou please

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to accept this vow as an instance of my importunity, and the greatness of my needs: and be thou graciously moved to pity and deliver me. Amen.

[This form also may be used in praying for a blessing on an enterprise, and may be instanced in actions of devotion as well as of charity.]

A Prayer before a Journey.

to my superiors, churlish and ungentle in my behaviour, unchristian and unmanly.-But for thy name's sake, &c.

O just and dear God, how can I expect pity or pardon, who am so angry and peevish, with and without cause, envious at good, rejoicing in the evil of my neighbours, negligent of my charge, idle and useless, timorous and base, jealous and impudent, ambitious and hard-hearted, soft, unmortified, and effeminate in my life, undevout in my prayers, without fancy or affection, without attendance to them or perseverance in them; but passionate and curious in pleasing my appetite of meat and drink and pleasures, making matter both for sin and sickness: and I have reaped the cursed fruits of such impro

O Almighty God, who fillest all things with thy presence, and art a God afar off as well as near at hand; thou didst send thy angel to bless Jacob in his journey, and didst lead the children of Israel through the Red sea, making it a wall on the right hand and on the left: be pleased to let thy angel go out before me and guide me in my journey, pre-vidence, entertaining indecent and impure thoughts; serving me from dangers of robbers, from violence of enemies, and sudden and sad accidents, from falls and errors. And prosper my journey to thy glory, and to all my innocent purposes: and preserve me from all sin, that I may return in peace and holiness, with thy favour and thy blessing, and may serve thee in thankfulness and obedience all the days of my pilgrimage: and at last bring me to thy country, to the celestial Jerusalem, there to dwell in thy house, and to sing praises to thee for ever. Amen.

and I have brought them forth in indecent and impure actions, and the spirit of uncleanness hath entered in, and unhallowed the temple, which thou didst consecrate for the habitation of thy Spirit of love and holiness.-But for thy name's sake, O Lord, be merciful unto my sin, for it is great.

Thou hast given me a whole life to serve thee in, and to advance my hopes of heaven: and this precious time I have thrown away upon my sins and vanities, being improvident of my time and of my talent, and of thy grace and my own advantages, resisting thy Spirit and quenching him. I have

Ad Sect. 4.] A Prayer to be said before the hearing been a great lover of myself, and yet used many ways

or reading the Word of God.

O holy and eternal Jesus, who hast begotten us by thy word, renewed us by thy Spirit, fed us by thy sacraments, and by the daily ministry of thy word, still go on to build us up to life eternal. Let thy most Holy Spirit be present with me and rest upon me in the reading, or hearing, thy sacred word; that I may do it humbly, reverently, without prejudice, with a mind ready and desirous to learn and to obey; that I may be readily furnished and instructed to every good work, and may practise all thy holy laws and commandments, to the glory of thy holy name, O holy and eternal Jesus. Amen. Ad Sect. 5, 9, 10.] A Form of Confession of Sins and Repentance, to be used upon Fasting Days, or Days of Humiliation; especially in Lent, and before the Holy Sacrament.

"Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences. For I will confess my wickedness and be sorry for my sin." O my dearest Lord, I am not worthy to be accounted amongst the meanest of thy servants; not worthy to be sustained by the least fragments of thy mercy, but to be shut out of thy presence for ever and with dogs and unbelievers.-But for thy name's sake, O Lord, be merciful unto my sin, for it is great.

I am the vilest of sinners, and the worst of men: proud and vain-glorious, impatient of scorn or of just reproof; not enduring to be slighted, and yet extremely deserving it: I have been cozened by the colours of humility, and when I have truly called myself vicious, I could not endure any man else should say so or think so. I have been disobedient

to destroy myself. I have pursued my temporal ends with greediness and indirect means. I am revengeful and unthankful, forgetting benefits, but not so soon forgetting injuries, curious and murmuring, a great breaker of promises. I have not loved my neighbour's good, nor advanced it in all things where I could. I have been unlike thee in all things. I am unmerciful and unjust; a sottish admirer of things below, and careless of heaven and the ways that lead thither.

But for thy name's sake, O Lord, be merciful unto my sin, for it is great.

All my senses have been windows to let sin in, and death by sin. Mine eyes have been adulterous and covetous; mine ears open to slander and detraction; my tongue and palate loose and wanton, intemperate and of foul language, talkative and lying, rash and malicious, false and flattering, irreligious and irreverent, detracting and censorious; my hands have been injurious and unclean, my passions violent and rebellious, my desires impatient and unreasonable; all my members and all my faculties have been servants of sin and my very best actions have more matter of pity than of confidence, being imperfect in my best, and intolerable in most.-But for thy name's sake, O Lord, &c.

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Unto this and a far bigger heap of sin I have added also the faults of others to my own score, by neglecting to hinder them to sin in all, that I could, and ought; but I also have encouraged them in sin, have taken off their fears, and hardened their consciences, and tempted them directly, and prevailed in it to my own ruin and theirs, unless thy glorious and unspeakable mercy hath prevented so intolerable a calamity.

Lord, I have abused thy mercy, despised thy judgments, turned thy grace into wantonness. I have been unthankful for thy infinite loving-kindness. I have sinned and repented, and then sinned again, and resolved against it, and presently broke it; and then I tied myself up with vows, and then was tempted, and then I yielded by little and little, till I was willingly lost again, and my vows fell off like cords of vanity.

Miserable man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of sin?

And yet, O Lord, I have another heap of sins to be unloaded. My secret sins, O Lord, are innumerable; sins I noted not; sins that I willingly neglected; sins that I acted upon wilful ignorance and voluntary mispersuasion; sins that I have forgot; and sins which a diligent and a watchful spirit might have prevented, but I would not. Lord, I am confounded with the multitude of them, and the horror of their remembrance, though I consider them nakedly in their direct appearance, without the deformity of their unhandsome and aggravating circumstances; but so dressed they are a sight too ugly, an instance of amazement, infinite in degrees, and insufferable in their load.

And yet thou hast spared me all this while, and hast not thrown me into hell, where I have deserved to have been long since, and even now to have been shut up to an eternity of torments with insupportable amazement, fearing the revelation of thy day.

Miserable man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of sin?

after you have performed that duty, say the Song of St. Ambrose, (commonly called the Te Deum,) or, We praise thee, &c.; then add the prayers for particular graces, which are at the end of the former chapter, such and as many of them as shall fit your present needs and affections; ending with the Lord's Prayer. This form of devotion may, for variety, be indifferently used at other times.

A form of thanksgiving, with a recital of public and private blessings; to be used upon Easter-day, Whitsunday, Ascension-day, and all Sundays of the year; but the middle part of it may be reserved for the more solemn festivals, and the other used upon the ordinary; as every man's affections or leisure shall determine.

[1.] Ex Liturgia S. Basilii magna ex parte.

O eternal Essence, Lord God, Father Almighty, Maker of all things in heaven and earth; it is a good thing to give thanks to thee, O Lord, and to pay to thee all reverence, worship, and devotion, from a clean and prepared heart; and with an humble spirit to present a living and reasonable sacrifice to thy holiness and majesty for thou hast given unto us the knowledge of thy truth; and who is able to declare thy greatness, and to recount all thy marvellous works, which thou hast done in all the generations of the world?

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O great Lord and Governor of all things, Lord and Creator of all things visible and invisible, who Thou shalt answer for me, O Lord my God. Thou sittest upon the throne of thy glory, and beholdest that prayest for me, shalt be my judge.

The Prayer.

Thou hast prepared for me a more healthful sorrow: O deny not thy servant, when he begs sorrow of thee. Give me a deep contrition for my sins, a hearty detestation and loathing of them, hating them worse than death with torments. Give me grace entirely, presently, and for ever to forsake them; to walk with care and prudence, with fear and watchfulness, all my days; to do all my duty with diligence and charity, with zeal and a never-fainting spirit; to redeem the time, to trust upon thy mercies, to make use of all the instruments of grace, to work out my salvation with fear and trembling: that thou mayest have the glory of pardoning all my sins, and I may reap the fruit of all thy mercies and all thy graces, of thy patience and long-suffering, even to live a holy life here, and to reign with thee for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Ad Sect. 6.] Special devotions to be used upon the Lord's day, and the great festivals of christians.

In the morning, recite the following form of thanksgiving; upon the special festivals, adding the commemoration of the special blessings according to the following prayers: adding such prayers as you shall choose out of the foregoing devotions. 2. Besides the ordinary and public duties of the day, if you retire into your closet to read and meditate,

the secrets of the lowest abyss and darkness; thou art without beginning, uncircumscribed, incomprehensible, unalterable, and seated for ever unmovable in thy own essential happiness and tranquillity; thou art the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is

Our dearest and most gracious Saviour, our hope, the Wisdom of the Father, the image of thy goodness, the Word eternal, and the brightness of thy person, the power of God from eternal ages, the true light, that lighteneth every man that cometh into the world, the redemption of man, and the sanctification of our spirits.

By whom the Holy Ghost descended upon the church; the Holy Spirit of truth, the seal of adoption; the earnest of the inheritance of the saints; the first-fruits of everlasting felicity; the life-giving power; the fountain of sanctification; the comfort of the church, the ease of the afflicted, the support of the weak, the wealth of the poor, the teacher of the doubtful, scrupulous, and ignorant; the anchor of the fearful, the infinite reward of all faithful souls; by whom all reasonable and understanding creatures serve thee, and send up a never-ceasing and a never-rejected sacrifice of prayer, and praises, and adoration.

All angels and archangels, all thrones and dominions, all principalities and powers, the cherubim with many eyes, and the seraphim covered with wings from the terror and amazement of thy brightest glory: these, and all the powers of heaven, do perpetually sing praises, and never-ceasing hymns, and

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