CHAPTER XXII.

ON THE RECOLLECTION OF THE MANY MERCIES

OF GOD.

NFOLD, O Lord, Thy law in my heart, and teach me to walk in Thy statutes.1 Grant me to understand Thy will, and with great reverence and with careful thought to recall Thy mercies, both general and individual, that thus I may be able worthily to render Thee thanks.2

I know indeed, and I confess that I cannot render due thanks and adoration for Thy smallest blessing. I am less than all the blessings showered upon me, and when I contemplate Thy majesty my spirit fails from the very magnitude thereof.3

2. All things that we have in the soul and in the body, everything external, everything internal, what we possess by nature, or beyond nature, all are Thy blessings, and these proclaim Thee beneficent, righteous, merciful, Thee from Whom we have received every blessing.

And though one man has received much and another

1 2 Maccabees i. 4. "And open your hearts in His law and commandments, and send your peace." Ezek. xx. 19.

66

2 Ephes. v. 20. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

3 Gen. xxxii. 10. "For with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands."

little, yet every blessing is from Thee, and not the very least can be obtained without Thee.

He who has received much must not boast in his own merit, nor be extolled above others, nor insult the less favoured; for that man is the greater and the better who ascribes less to himself, and in his gratitude is more humble and more devout.1 And he who thinks himself viler than all, and judges himself more undeserving than others, is the man who is most prepared to apprehend greater blessings.

3. On the other hand, he who has received but little ought not to sorrow, nor to bear it with impatience, nor to envy him who has received more, but rather to wait upon Thee and extol Thy bounty, that Thou bestowest Thy favours without respect of persons, so profusely, so freely, so willingly.2

All things are from Thee; Thou art therefore to be praised in all things. Thou knowest what is good for every man to receive; and why this man has less and that man more, is not ours to know, this it is Thine to appoint, for Thou hast weighed every man.

4. Wherefore, O Lord God, I esteem it a great blessing not to possess many qualities by which the praise and glory of men are secured; for the man who thinks of his poverty and the meanness of his person should not therefore be sad, or sorrowful, or dejected, but rather should he derive consolation and great joy, for Thou, O Lord, hast

11 Cor. iv. 7. "For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory?"

2 Rom. ii. 11.

"For there is no respect of persons with God."

chosen the poor and humble, and those despised by this world to be Thy friends and acquaintance.' Thine apostles themselves, whom Thou didst "make princes in all the earth,' 992 are witnesses. Yet they lived in the world so humble, so mean, but without complaint, without any craft and deceit, that they even rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name," embracing with great joy what the world abhors.4

5. Nothing ought therefore so much to delight one who loves Thee, and is mindful of Thy blessings, as Thy will being perfected in him, and Thy pleasure concerning his eternal welfare, with which he ought to be so contented and so consoled, that he may as cheerfully wish to be the least as some other man may desire to be the greatest, and as peaceful and content in the lowest place as in the highest, as cheerfully despised and rejected, and of no name or reputation, as others are honoured and great in the world.5 For Thy will and love of Thine honour ought to exceed all things, and provide more consolation and more pleasure than all the blessings which have been received, or can be.

1 James ii. 5. "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?"

2 Ps. xlv. 16.

3 Acts v. 41.

4 1 Peter ii. 1. "Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings."

5 S. Luke xiv. 10. "But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room."

CHAPTER XXIII.

ON FOUR THINGS WHICH PRODUCE GREAT PEACE. 1

M

Y son, I will now teach thee the way
and of true liberty."

2. "Do, O Lord, as Thou sayest, for it will be pleasant to me to hear this."

3. "Study, My son, to do the will of another rather than thine own. Always seek to have less rather than more. Always choose a lower place and to be under all. Always desire and pray that God's will may be completely carried out with respect to thee. Behold! the man that so doeth enters the confines of peace and quiet."

4. "O Lord, that short remark of Thine contains much perfection. Short in the saying, it is yet full of meaning and abundant in fruit. For if I could faithfully observe it, trouble would not so easily be aroused within me. For as often as I feel myself troubled and wearied, I find I have wandered from this principle.

"But do Thou, O Lord, Who canst do all things, and always takest pleasure in the progress of a soul, give me

"Howe iiii thynges brynge pease to man."-Atkinson. “Of the things, in number four, which procure quietness."-Rogers. The original is, "De quatuor magnam importantibus pacem."

2 S. Matth. vi. 10. "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."

greater grace, that I may be enabled to carry out Thy word and accomplish my salvation."1

PRAYER AGAINST EVIL THOUGHTS.

5. "O God, be not far from me! O my God, make haste for my help,' for various thoughts and great fears have arisen within me, afflicting my soul. How shall I pass through them unhurt? how shall I break through them?"

6. "I will go before thee,' saith the Lord,' and make the crooked places straight: '3 I will humble the exalted upon earth. I will open the gates of the prison, and will reveal to thee things hidden and secret."

7. "Do, O Lord, as Thou sayest; and before the light of Thy countenance may all improper thoughts flee away. This is my hope, and this mine only consolation, to fly to Thee in every trouble, to trust in Thee, to call upon Thee from my heart, and patiently to wait for Thy consolation.

PRAYER FOR ENLIGHTENMENT OF MIND.

8. "Illumine me, O merciful Jesus, with the splendour of Thy presence, and cast out all darkness from the inmost recesses of my heart."

Job xlii. 2. "I know that Thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from Thee."

? Ps. lxxi. 12. “O my God, make haste for my help.” xxvii. 12. "Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies."

3 Isaiah xlv. 2.

* Rogers heads the chapter thus, "A praier unto Almighty God, to have the eies of our understanding opened." Dibdin quotes the first paragraph of Atkinson's translation, which is both beautiful and literal. "O thou good ihesu, clarify me with the clerete of euerlastinge lyghte; and chase from myn herte all maner (of) darkenes."