appear as nothing to me. Protect me against mine enemies, and in all dangers appear in my defence: Make haste to help me, O Lord, and say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. Remember thou art my Redeemer, and have compassion on my poor distressed soul; clothe it with all virtue, and feed it with thy grace, for it belongs to thee to take care of those whom thou hast redeemed. In thee I live, sweet Jesus, for thy sake I desire to die; both living and dying, I will ever profess that thou art good, and that thy mercy endures for ever. 3. O THAT I Could now give thee, O Lord, all that praise, glory, and honour, with which the angels and blessed spirits glorify thee in heaven! But because I am unable to do this, accept at least my desire and good will. Deliver me, O God, from every thing that is contrary to thy will, and be pleased so to dispose of my soul as may be for thy glory and honour. I surrender myself into thy hands, and entirely resolve to submit to that state of life thou shalt please to appoint me; and if it be more for thy honour that I suffer, I cheerfully accept it ; not my will, but thine be done. Let nothing be now my comfort but thou, Lord Jesus, and nothing afflict me but my sins, and whatever else is displeasing to thy Divine Majesty. O blessed Jesus, life eternal, by whom I live, and without whom I die, grant that I may now be united to thee, and that in the embraces of thy holy love and divine will, I may rest for ever. When shall I see thee, O sweet Saviour, when shall I appear before thy face; when shall I see thee in the land of the living! Till then, I sigh and bewail my banishment, desiring to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. If these Ejaculations are not sufficient until the PostCommunion begins, you may enlarge them, by reading more or less of the following places in Scripture, viz. For grace to love God's law, Psalms xix. cxix. For salvation and eternal joy, Psalms xvi. xxiv. For assurance of God's care and protection, Psalm xxxvii. For devotion in religion, Psalm xxvii. Thanksgiving for God's mercies, Ps. ciii. cxxxvi. cxxxviii. An Act of Thankfulness and Resolution before the PostCommunion begins. "PRAISE the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name;" for now I find the mercy, the peace, the comfort, and the grace, which flow from this fountain of spiritual communion with Christ: Let all the world know what he hath done for my soul: he hath rescued me, and many of these my poor brethren, from the nethermost hell wherefore I will love thee, O holy Jesu! more than I can express, and live and die in that most holy religion which thou hast revealed to me. 0 let me never pollute that body, or defile that soul, which the Saviour of the world delights to dwell in. O let no oaths or lyings, back-bitings or slanderings, profane those lips, no obscenity or intemperance pollute that mouth, through which these holy symbols have so lately passed; for which fresh instance of thy mercy and goodness, I will praise thy holy name, beseeching thee to keep me in this temper and resolution of mind, until death is swallowed up in victory: for thy Son Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. A Prayer against evil and perplexing Thoughts. "Go not far from me, O Lord, my God; make haste to help me," for corrupt imaginations are perpetually rising in my breast, and innumerable fears and sorrows close me in on every side. Be pleased, O gracious Lord, in this perplexity, to refresh my soul with some speedy comfort; scatter and disperse all these dark and sinful thoughts which haunt my soul, by shedding abroad the light of thy grace, into my heart; for in the extremity of my grief, this is my only hope and comfort, that I can take sanctuary in thy goodness, repose my confidence, and cast all my care and burthen on thee, who never failest them that call upon thee. Give me patience under these adversities, and a happy issue out of all these afflictions, both of body and mind. "Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me, for I am desolate and in misery: The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of all my troubles: Look upon my adversity and misery, and forgive me all my sins. O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be confounded, for I have put my trust in thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen. See Psalms vi. cii. xxxiv. xlii. xliii. Upon Christmas-Day, and Seven Days after, you may add these to your other Devotions. I DESIRE, O Lord, to bless and praise thine infinite goodness, who didst take compassion upon mankind in their greatest misery, and hast provided so admirable a remedy, by sending thy only begotten Son to recover our corrupt and degenerate nature, and by the purity of his doctrine, the example of his life, and the sacrifice of his death, to purchase eternal happiness for us. Grant, O Lord, that, through the assistance of thy grace and heavenly benediction, I may daily comply with those great things which thou hast done and designed for my salvation. Possess my soul with purity and piety, and all other Christian graces and virtues; that living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, I may hereafter dwell with thee, O Father of mercies, and God of all comforts, in those mansions of bliss and glory which thou hast prepared for them that love thee. Amen. See Psalms xix. xiiv. lxxxix. Easter-Day, and Seven Days after. BLESSED JESUS, who hast triumphed over the powers of darkness, and conquered hell and the grave, and who, by thy glorious resurrection, hast made known the power of thy Divinity, and proved thyself the true Messias, keep me stedfast in this faith, and grant, that all the actions of my life may testify the reality and sincerity of my belief, by a suitable conversation; that I may rise from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness; that as I am buried with thee by baptism, I may henceforth mortify all my corrupt lusts and affections, and daily proceed in all virtue and godliness of living, that departing this life in thy faith and fear, I may have my perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting kingdom, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. will praise thy holy name, beseeching thee to keep me in this temper and resolution of mind, until death is swallowed up in victory: for thy Son Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. A Prayer against evil and perplexing Thoughts. "Go not far from me, O Lord, my God; make haste to help me," for corrupt imaginations are perpetually rising in my breast, and innumerable fears and sorrows close me in on every side. Be pleased, O gracious Lord, in this perplexity, to refresh my soul with some speedy comfort; scatter and disperse all these dark and sinful thoughts which haunt my soul, by shedding abroad the light of thy grace, into my heart; for in the extremity of my grief, this is my only hope and comfort, that I can take sanctuary in thy goodness, repose my confidence, and cast all my care and burthen on thee, who never failest them that call upon thee. Give me patience under these adversities, and a happy issue out of all these afflictions, both of body and mind. "Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me, for I am desolate and in misery: The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of all my troubles: Look upon my adversity and misery, and forgive me all my sins. O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be confounded, for I have put my trust in thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen. See Psalms vi. cii. xxxiv. xlii. xliii. Upon Christmas-Day, and Seven Days after, you may add these to your other Devotions. I DESIRE, O Lord, to bless and praise thine infinite goodness, who didst take compassion upon mankind in their greatest misery, and hast provided so admirable a |