BREATHING S

OF

THE DEVOUT SOUL.

Inability to do good.

BLESSED Lord God, thou callest me to obedience; and fain would I follow thee: but what good can this wretched heart of mine be capable of, except thou put it there? Thou knowest I cannot so much as wish to think well, without thee. I have strong powers to offend thee: my sins are my own but whence should I have any inclination to good, but from thee; who art only, and always good? Lord, work in me what thou requirest, and then require what thou wilt.

God every where present.

LORD God, whither need I go to seek thee? Thou art so with me, as that I cannot move but in thee. I look up to heaven: there I know thy Majesty most manifests itself; but withal I know, that being here, thou art never out of heaven, for it is thy presence only that makes heaven. Oh give me to enjoy thee, in this lowest region of thy heavenly habitation; and as in respect of my natural being, I live and move in thee; so let me not live and move spiritually, but with thee and to thee.

The Supreme Good.

WHITHER, oh whither do ye rove, oh my thoughts? Can ye hope to find rest in any of these sublunary enjoyments? Alas, how can they yield any stay to you, that have no settlement in themselves? Is there not enough

in the Infinite Good to satisfy you; that ye will be wandering after earthly vanities? Oh my Lord, how justly mightest thou cast me off with scorn, for casting_any longing looks upon so base a rival! Truly, Lord, I am ashamed of this my hateful inconstancy: but it is thou only that must remedy it. Oh thou who art the Father of mercies, pity my wildness and weak distractions. Take thou my heart to thee: it is thine own keep it with thee tie it close to thee by the cords of love, that it may not so much as cast down an eye upon this wretched and perishing world.

Ingratitude Lamented.

LORD, I confess, to my shame, thou art a great loser by me; for besides my not improving of thy favours, I have not kept even-reckonings with thee, nor properly remembered thine inestimable benefits. For every evil that I am free from, is a new blessing from thee. That I am out of bondage, out of pain and misery, out of the dominion of sin, out of the tyranny of Satan, out of the agonies of an afflicted soul, out of the torments of hellLord, what unspeakable mercies are these! Yet when did I bless thee for any of them? Thy positive bounties I can feel, but with a benumbed and imperfect sense. Lord, do thou enlarge and soften my heart. Make me truly sensible of the good received, and of the evils from which I have been preserved; and take to thyself the glory of them both.

Inconstancy.

Ан, my Lord God, what heats and colds do I feel in my soul! Sometimes I find myself so vigorous in grace, that no thought of doubt dare show itself; and I can challenge my worst enemies. At another time I feel myself so dejected and heartless, as if I had no interest in the God of my salvation, nor ever had received any certain pledges of his favour. What shall I say to this various disposition? Whether, Lord, is it my wretchedness to suffer myself to be robbed of thee for the time, by temptation; or is this the course of thy proceedings, in

the dispensation of thy grace to the sons of men; that thou wilt have the breathings of thy Spirit where, how, and when thou pleasest? Surely, oh my God, if I did not know thee constant to thine everlasting mercies, I should be utterly disheartened with these sad intervals. Now, when my sense fails me, I make use of faith; and am no less sure of thee, even when I feel thee not, than when I find the clearest evidences of thy gracious presence. Lord, shine upon me with the light of thy countenance, if it may be, always; but whenever that is clouded, strengthen thou my faith; so shall I be safe, even when I am comfortless.

Motives to Thankfulness.

Он my God, I am justly ashamed to think what favours I have received from thee, and what poor returns I have made to thee. Truly, Lord, I must needs say, thou hast thought nothing either in earth or in heaven too good for me: and I, on the other hand, have withheld that weak and worthless obedience which thou hast required of me. Alas, what good could I have rendered to thee who art infinite, if I had sacrificed my whole self to thee as thou commandest? Thou art and wilt be thyself, though the world were not. It is I, I only, that could be a gainer by this happy union, which, to my own wrong, I have unthankfully neglected. I see it is not so much what we have, as how we employ it. Oh thou, who hast been so bountiful in heaping thy rich mercies upon me, vouchsafe to me yet one gift more: give me grace and power, to improve all thy gifts to the glory of the Giver. Otherwise, it had been better for me to have been poor than ungrateful.

God our Refuge.

Aн, Lord, what struggling have I with my weak fears. How do I anticipate evils by distrust! What shall I do when I am old. How shall I be able to endure pain. How shall I pass through the horrid gates of death. Oh my God, where is my faith, that I am thus surprised?

Had I not thee to uphold and strengthen my soul, well might I tremble and sink under these cares. But now that I have the assurance of so strong a helper, who commands all the powers of heaven, earth and hell, what a shame is it for me to give so much way to my wretched infidelity, as to punish myself with the expectation of future evils. Oh for the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith! Thou, oh God, art my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble: therefore will I not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Psal. xlvi. 1, 2.

Life Improved.

LORD, I made account that my days should have been but an inch, but thou hast made them a span long; and I have drawn out the length of a crazy life, beyond the period of my hopes. It is for something surely that thou hast thus long respited me from my grave, which looked for me many years ago. Here I am, oh my God, attending thy good pleasure. Thou knowest best what thou hast to do with me: dispose of me as thou wilt only make me faithful in all thy services, resolute to trust myself with thee in all events, careful to be approved of thee in all my ways; and crown my decayed age with such fruits as may be pleasing to thee, and available to the good of many. Let me live to thee, and die in thee.

Mystery of Providence.

How oft, Lord, have I wondered at thine administration of earthly affairs; and to see thy marvellous wisdom, power and goodness, deriving good out of evil. Alas, we are apt enough to fetch the worst of evils out of the greatest good, turning the grace of thee our God into wantonness: but how have I seen thee, of lifeless stones to raise up children to Abraham. Of sinners, to make saints; out of a desperate confusion, to fetch order; out of a bloody war, a happy peace; out of resolutions of revenge, love; out of the rock, waters; out of a perse

cutor, an apostle! How can I be discouraged with unlikelihoods, when I see thee work by contraries. It is not for me, oh my God, to examine or prejudge thy counsels: take what ways thou wilt, so thou bring me to thine own end. All paths shall be direct, that lead me to blessedness.

Ineffectual Resolutions.

How many good purposes, oh my God, have I taken up, and let fall to the ground again without effect! How teeming hath this barren womb of my heart been of false conceptions. But especially when thy hand hath been heavy upon me, how have I tasked myself with duties, and revived my resolutions of stricter obedience; which yet, upon the continuance of my better condition, I have slackened. Lord, it is from thee that I purposed well : it is from my own sinful weakness that I failed in my performances. If any good come from me, the will and the deed must both be thine. The very preparations of the heart are from thee; and if I have devised my way, it must be thou that directest my steps. Prov. xvi. 9. Oh God, do thou ripen and perfect all the desires that thou puttest into my soul, and make my health such as my sickness promised.

Lasting Memorials.

Yet,

EVERY man, Lord, is unwilling that his name should die. We are all naturally ambitious of being thought on when we are gone: those who have not living monuments to perpetuate them, affect to have dead ones. If Absalom have not a son he will erect a pillar. when we have done all, time eats us out at last. There is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is, in the days to come, shall all be forgotten. Eccles. ii. 16. Oh God, let it be my care and ambition, whatever become of my memory here below, that my name may be recorded in heaven.