mies O Lord, faith he; Defend us D Chrift, fay we, directing our Addrefs to the bleffed Jefus, who came on purpose to fave us from our Enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; He is our King to whom is committed all Power in Heaven and in Earth, Mat.xxviii. 18. And who is conftituted the Judg of all men, to whom we owe this honour (y) to fubmit all our injuries to his decifi

(y) Quem autem

mino Deo noftro, fi no bis arbitrium defenfin onis arrogaverimus?. Tertul.de Patient.c.

10.

honorem litabimus Doon, and to rely on his Might for defence from our Enemies, on his Juftice for the righting all our wrongs, he hath forbid us to render our Enemies evil for evil, Mat.5.39. Rom.xii. 17. And though this he fometimes an Encouragement to their affaults, yet it is also an affurance of our fafety: And when we do not refift them in obedience to his precepts, we may chearfully expect he will protect us from their malice and if mischievous perfons be more apt to fet upon us, they are lefs able to hurt us, when we leave our Caufe to him: The Heroick Gallantry indeed of this Age will account it an Argument of a poor Spirit, to fly to Prayer, as a means of defence from our Enemies, tince Oaths and Menaces, fury and revenge are the irreligious Teftimonies of moft Mens Courage: But Numa is judged a very wife Prince, who being told, as he was about to offer to the Gods, that his Enemies were approaching, anfwered, Let them come, I will go on with my Sacrifice efteeming the obliging of Heaven to his Party to be none of his leaft Preparations againft his Foes. And if we take right Mcafures of the Power and Wisdom, the Compaffions and Fidelity of Jefus, we fhall furely rcckon it amongst our beft Policies to fly to his protection: He can deftroy our Enemies, but that we do not with; only we defire we may be preferved from them

and

and not hurt by them, which doubtless he will not deny,and if he please to grant it,to affault and vex us they may, but to ruine or deftroy us they fhall never be able, they cannot touch one hair of our head without his permiffion, Mat.x.30. And if they should be licensed to take away our temporal life, a Chriftian might more truly than Socrates fay (z): My Enemies may kill me, but they cannot burt me, for at the worft their malice would but send them a lit-on/vai usu Sutle fooner to an Eternity of joy: Let others therefore rely on other arts of fecurity against their Enemies: We (though we will neglect no innocent means of safety) will make it our conftant care to pray, from our Enemies,&c.

vartai Gráfar N *• Plato in Apolog.

Secondly, Our next Petition is, that he will act outly look on our Afflictions: Alluding to Exod.ii.2 5. Where God is faid, gratiously to look down look down upon the miSeries of the poor Ifraelites under their cruel bondage; with refpect to which phrafe is that Prayer made, Look down from Heaven, and behold from the Habitation of thy holiness, &c.Ifai.lxiii. 15, as well as this of our Litany The Mercies of Jefus are fo great, that if he please but to look upon us, he cannot but pity us in our Miseries nor can we have a more reviving Cordial in our Distress than to fee that the Eyes of our merciful Redeemer are over us: When poor Agar had left her Mafter's house, and all her comforts together, and was as deftitute of hope as of all provifions, in a dismal and hungry Wilderness, the was much tranfported at the appearance of an Angel, because fhe faw God looked after her in her lowest fortune, Gen.xvi:13. And if our condition be ever parallel, our joy will be as great, to perceive the gracious Eye of Jefus looking on us, for he will fo ob

ferve

ferve and pity our fears and forrows, fo remark the cruelty and injustice of our Enemies, and fo difcover the beft means and the fitteft time for our deliverance that a gracious look is the Prologue to a Rescue, and an excellent teftimony of his love, and a fupport of our Faith in the mean time.

8. Pitifully behold the Cozzows of our Hearts: Mercifully forgive the Sins of the People.] Pfal.

XXV.17.

Sorrow is the natural and ncceffary Companion of affliction, and when there is trouble without, there. will be grief within, unless we have a Stoical stupidity upon us; wherefore as before we begged of God gracioufly to regard our External miferies,fo now we beseech him pitifully to behold our internal fo220ws: The outward affliction that we feel is commonly occafioned by our Enemies, but the inward dolours of our hearts do many times proceed from our Sins, as therefore we prayed there for defence from our Enemies, and fupport in our afflictions, fo now we entreat for Pity in our Sorrows, and Pardon of our Sins: The Words are not much varied from thofe of Pfal.xxv. Where the Royal Prophet having complained that the forrows of his heart were enlarged,ver. 16. adds v.17. Look upon my adverfity and mifery, and forgive me all my Sin; only he refers to his own particular, what is here applyed to the whole Church. 1. We defire that Jefus, who was himself a man of forrems, and acquainted with grief, Ifa.liii.3. Who also hath born our griefs, and carried our forrows,v.4. And is a merciful High-Prieft, him we entreat to behold the forrows of our hearts with much compaflion, for none but a Divine Eye can pierce fo deep: Men may see our tears, and hear our fighs and our fad Complaints, but they cannot diftinguish between the feigned forrows of a Hypocrite, and those of

the

the most fincere mourners, but Jefus can, and if he fees our forrow proceeds from a contrite heart,no doubt he will pity us, for he knows what a troubled Spirit is; only we must remember he is not to be mocked

muft we presume to make this Request with a heart wholly infenfiblc of it's own guilt and danger; he that defires Jefus to behold the fozzows of his Heart, and hath no forrow there at all, doth affront and provoke him on whom he calls in vain. It may be it will be pretended we have no cause of inward grief: but I anfwer no man in the World, can prudently or truly fay fo; for while we live in this Vally of tears, either our own afflictions, or the Miseries of cur friends,the Calamities of our Nation, or the troubles of the Church, or however our continual Sins give us too good ground of forrow always, especially when we come before God on purpose to commemorate our own Miferies and Sins, and those of all Mankind in this bleffed Litany, now furely if we have any Sense or any Charity, we may truly fay we have forrow in our hearts, and therefore feriously defire Jefus to pity us in it. 2. We pray, that He will merrifully forgive the Sins of his People,for the forementioned Sorrows of our Hearts are not fo much the effects of our afflictions as of our Sins, and therefore the first wish that our troubled Soul breaths out is;that our Sins might be forgiven, and then our forrows and afflictions alfo would ceafe:It was Sin,that caufed all our outward troubles,and it is Sin, that occafions out hearts to be fo full of forrow, fo that if Jefus would pleafe,but to forgive these,and remove the Caufe, the effects would ceafe immediately: And of whom can we more properly defire this, than of our most bleffed Redeemer? we are his People whom he hath purchafed with his most precious blood, he is our Saviour, and hath the best right to difpenfe Pardon, because he hath

procured

procured it'; let us therefore moft fervently beg Remiffion of him, and then whofoever be our Foe, God will be our friend, we shall eafily bear all affaults from without, when we have peace with God and a ferene Confcience; if our Sins be forgiven, and our Redeemer do but pity us in our Sorrows; Calamities and Enemies cannot make us miferable, if they should for a while continue to opprefs us, though it be most likely the Sin and the Suffering will be removed together.

9. Favourably with mercy hear our Prayers.] Job xxxiii.26. D Sen of David have mercy upon us. Mat.ix.27.

As Pardon of Sin is the first means to comfort a pious but afflicted Soul: So hearing of Prayers is the fecond, and God hath promifed concerning a good Man, Job. xxxiii.26. That he shall pray, and God will be favoura ble unto him: Which promife we here do embrace,and found this Request upon it, That Jefus will please to hear our Prayers favourably and with Mercy: Our Perfons are guilty of fo much Iniquity, and cur Prayers accompanied with fo many infirmities, that he might justly reject our Perfons in Anger, and despise our Prayers as unworthy; wherefore we do entreat him to exprefs favour to our Perfons, and in mercy to hide the failings of our Devotions. Jefus is the great High-Priest, who is to prefent our Prayers to God, and how can he recommend them effectually, unless he favourably accept and mercifully hear them: There is but one Mediator, no Saint or Angel can or will, or dare prefume to take this Office; fo that fince no Prayers can come to the Father, but by the Son, Oh what reafon and-neceffity is there, that we fhould ufe all poffible arts of entreaty to gain a favourable Audience of him! if he favour our Petition, the Father will not deny it, if he pi

ty