صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

dow those blessed things that belong to my leaft they be for ever hid from mine eyes.

Lord, by thy rich mercy I can now plainly see the vanity and emptiness of all these earthly objects, the folly and misery of those that rest in them, the reft and quietness of those that least rely upon them; in this tranfitory beauty of the creature, I can now behold the ravishing perfections of the great Creator.

Lord, I now exceedingly defire to know thee, that I may for ever love thee, that I may be fick of love till I enjoy thee, that I may joyfully reft in thee, and be eternally united to thee.

Blessed Lord God,

FOR thou, art infinitely sweeter than the fweetness of thy creatures, they are all but emptiness and vanity, but in thy prefence is the fulness of joy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures for:

evermore.

O thou bleffed Fountain of eternal goodness, forgive me mine offences, cover my fins, and fix my foul pn the sweetness of thy heavenly joys, and give conftancy and steadiness of heart to cleave unto

and for thy mercy fake remove all vain defires - betray me from thee,

O thou bleffed Saviour of my finful foul, by whose perfect obedience, all my disobedience is forgiven me, who haft given thyfelf for me, and to me, give me alfo unfeigned repentance, that I may heartily bewail the finfulness of my life past, that I may make a gracious improvement of my life prefent, and faithfully perform the vows and promises which I make unto thee, for the short remainder of my life to come.

O bleffed and eternal comforter of all those finful fouls that put their trust in thee, give me a sweet and full afsurance of thy love in Chrift; withdraw my wretched heart from vanity, inflame it with an earnest and affectionate defire to thee; open mine eyes, that I may fee some glimpse of thy celeftial joys prepared for me; make me often to think of them, earnestly to long for them, and readily and cheerfully to part with all these earthly pleasures to enjoy them.

Lord make me able to encounter and withstand the strong affaults of fatan, and this evil world; give me thy faving grace, and take from me what thou wilt; without thy bleffed prefence, all these outward joys are wearinefs, and emptiness; without thee, even life itself is bitterness unto me; without. thy love I ask it not of thee, yea, I rather beg thee (Lord) to take it from me, that fo I may be joyfully released from the bondage of a finful body, that I

may love thee with a pure and fpotlefs foul, that all mine imperfections may be done away, that fo I may fecurely dwell with thee, in perfect holiness, and endless happiness.AMEN.

2

CHAP. XVIII.

UPON THE SIN OF UNCLEANNESS, WITH ENCOURAGEMENTS TO AVOID IT.

CONSIDER, O my foul, in what a blef

fed relation thou now standeft to thy God, thou haft lately grieved for thy fins, and God hath also graciously accepted of thy forrow, and thou art now at peace and union with him; his holy spirit is thy comforter, his holy providence thy guide, his holy angels thy guardians, his holy faints thine affiftants; the creatures without thee are at league and union with thee, and thy conscience within thee is a continual feast unto thee; while thus thou continuest, thy safety is inviolable, thy joy unutterable, thy peace unalterable.

Who can exprefs the blessedness of this condi tion? how ravishing is this reviving prefence of the gladding spirit, by which thou art sustained sweetly here, by which thou shalt be joyfully refreshed hereafter?

Wilt thou now lofe all this (O my foul) for this falfe, this foul, this momentary pleasure ? wilt thou lodge this beaftly fin, where thou now lodgeft thy Redeemer? Confider how vain it is, how bitter it

fad thoughts, how many

will be; think how many aching hearts, how many wounding fighs, this fall of thine will coft thee; what diftempers of body, what difturbances of foul, what unquietnefs of fleep, what checks of conscience, what inward fadness in thy greatest merriment, and (which is worst of all) what a fearful apprehenfion of God's wrath in this life, and woeful expectation of judgment, and suffering of extremity of pains in hell for ever.

Let not the vain hope of God's mercy flatter thee; for while he is merciful, he will be juft, yea, his mercy fhall provoke his justice; if his patience, and long-fuffering do not lead thee into timely repentance, his wrath and fury fhall furely lead thee out to greater condemnation.

If custom persuade thee, let custom also reclaim thee; if thy flefh murmur, thy spirit will rejoice: O how happy wilt thou find this oppofition! how glorious this victory! even but one bleffed thought of amendment, is of more value than an age of fin.

Holy St. Augustin, who was wont to nourish his Tafcivious flesh, and thought it then impoffible to live without the luftful kiffes of his Roman Dames, when once he had but relished the ravishing embraces of eternity, brake forth into the sweet and most divine expreffions; "how truly fweet is the loss of this earthly sweetness! those transitory joys

« السابقةمتابعة »