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and laments the mifery of our Condition, and of his own free Mercy is pleased to give us case, and to set us free; we cannot expect he should deliver us for any defert in our selves, but for his own Honour we hope he. may. Secondly, and that his Glory may not be in the leaft impaired by any pretences that we deserved fuch deliverance, we are taught to confess, that we most righteoully have defer bed all these Evils which we pray against for we are Sinners in a high Degree, and if we should fuffer in as high a measure, we had but our due deserts: we must confefs if he punish, we cannot murmure nor accufe his Juftice, therefore if he fpare, certainly we shall proclaim his Mercy to poor Proftrate and confeffing Sinners, the Deliverance we have not deserved, the Punishments we have, both those prefent and those to come; and if we fincerely acknowledg this, nothing can more tend to his Glory in delivering us, nor more effectually move him to grant us our Requests.

5. And grant that in all our Troubles, we may put our whole truf and confidence in thy Percy.]

Let the Troubles be never fo great, which God lays upon us, there are two things, which will effe&tually bring us out of them: His Pity and our Patience, the former we have begged before, the later we now defire: For if we cannot obtain to have the Load immediately taken off, the next thing that is defirable is, that we may have more ftrength to bear it: When St. Peter was to be tryed: Our Lord Jefus did not pray, that he might efcape the Affault wholly; Only, That his Faith might not fail, Luke xxii. 32. From whence we

Part. I. have learned here to the fame fenfe to pray, that in all our troubles, we may put our whole traff, &c. For no Grace is more neceffary, yet none more af faulted in affliction then Faith; it is theChriftian's fhield, but all the fiery Darts of the Devil are shot againft it; we are in great danger to lofe it, and yet utterly undone, if it be loft, fo that we have all poffible reason to pray, that we may never doubt of God's Mercy, efpecially in time of trouble: When our Heavenly Father: feems angry, and our prayers are not heard, when our Enemies prevail,and our afflictions Encrease, our hope is wavering, our Faith is difcouraged, and we begin to let go our truft and confidence in God's Mercy, and then grief and horrour, amazement and defpair break in upon us, then Sathan triumphs, and efteems himself victorious, as well knowing that an afflicted Perfon,who dare not trust and confide in the Divine Mercy,is the miferableft Creature in the world, for he hath loft all that fhould fupport him, and his burden becomes intollerable (e): But fo long as we can chearfully hope and truft in God, we may remain unfhaken as a Rock, while all the furious furges dafh against us, We may be troubled on every fide, yet not distreẞed, perplexed but not in defpair, perfecuted but not forfaken, caft down, but not destroyed. 2 Cor.iv. 8,9. We can bear our troubles patiently, and enjoy our felves, and our God in the midst of them, and discover a happy Event unto them all,fo long as our heart ftandeth faft, and believeth in the Lord: And if we well confider, we have no reason to doubt his Mercy, or to diftruft Goodness: He is fo true to his promises,and fo apt to do good,fo pleafed with this generous adhering to him,and fo kind to all that caft themfelves upon him,

(e) Exais pórov Taïs Jusugtos puppanov.Greg. Nazianz.Orat.pro Pauper:

that

that he never yet did fail any, that trufted in him,but he delivered them at the laft.One thing more we muft here note, that we pray, we may put our whole trust and confidence in his Mercy in the time of our Diftrefs; for some there are, who do place but one half of their Confidence in God, and do rely as much, if not more, on fome created Beings: Some truft in Men, who often will deceive them, and fometimes cannot help them; others trust in themselves, in their Policy or their Strength, their Eloquence or their Learning: Many truft in evil and unlawful means, when loffes or croffes do befall them, in Witches and Fortune-tellers, in Charms and Amulets: And most men are apt to lean too much upon lawful means, and with Afab to make their Phyficians their God; but we pray, that we may put our whole Craft in the Divine Mercy, and never ufe any means to deliver us from our preffures,but what we may hope God will blefs unto us, and when we use fuch means, that we may rely not on them, but on the firft caufe, who Acts by them for our relief: Again,we

do

not,as the Romanists, make one Prayer to God in our troubles,and three to fome inferior Saint: We have no S.Sebaftian for the Plagne, no S.Felicitas for labouring Women, no S.Nicholas for Mariners, to be sharers in our hopes together with the Majefty of Heaven, We do not fly to their aid (f) much less proteft our whole bope is in them, as the Koman Church most impiously doth (g): But we wish no other hope or confidence in our troubles, but only that we may truft firmly in his Mercy, for he can furely hear us, he can speedily help us,and will be more engaged to deliver us, when we do not rob him of his

R

orationes, opem, auxi(f)ad corum liumque confugere. Concil. Trident. Self.25, c. I.

(g) Ex quo noftra Spes est tota, In te, Martyr, no

remota

Orat, ad S. Sebaft.
Sitpeftis mortifera,

honour

Part. I. honour, which he cannot endure fhould be imparted to a Creature, nor will he suffer any Rival in our Faith and Hope; he only can help us,and therefore juftly may he expect, that we should put our whole truft and confidence in his Mercy.

6. And evermoze lerve thee in holiness and purenels of Living to thy Honour and Glozy, through our only Mediatos and Advocate Jesus Chzif our Lo20. ́ Amen.

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There is nothing more comfortable in an afflicted ftate then to truft in the Divine Mercy, but if this Faith be not well grounded, nothing doth more dangerously deceive us at the laft; wherefore we do here add to the former Petition this Requeft, that we may live holily,as well as truft firmly, or else our Faith is prefumption, and our confidence nothing elfe, but a groundless expectation; for they only have juft Caufe to truft and confide in the Divine Mercy,who do endeavour to obferve his Laws, and do his Will, and they only shall have their hopes accomplished; but they who dishonour God's name, and disobey his Commands, who take part with his Enemies, and do not cease to Sin, no not in the time of their troubles,thefe do as foolishly,as unjustly pretend to rely on his Mercy, for they have no right to his promifes, nor reafon to expect any deliverance from him, whom they have abused : Let us therefore pray, that our Holiness may be as firm as our Faith in the time of our Affliction: And there is need enough for us to defire, that our Piety may not fail in the Evil day, for that is affaulted as well as our Faith, as we may fee in the Cafe of Job, who was continually tempted to let go his integrity, as well as his Faith, but he cryes out in the midft of his Miferics,till I dye Iwill not remove my integrity from me, my Righteoufnefs will I

hold

bold faft, I will not let it go, Job xxvii 5,6. It is an easie matter to serve God in Profperity, but Affliction is that furnace, that tries whether our Piety be right or no ; the Hypocrite,that pretends to Holiness for fecular Ends, fals off, as foon as the temporal rewards fail: But he that ebezmoze ferves God, as well in an afflicted, as a profperous Eftate; this Man declares, that he loves God for his own fake, and not for his outward allowances of Earthly things; this manifefts that he lives holily and purely out of Choice, and because he really-delights in fuch a courfe of Life; and wherefoever there is fucha Piety, it is not affliction, nor a frown from the face of God, that can difcourage it: Such a Man will adhere to God, even when he doth correct him, and fay as the Cynick roughly phrased it to his excellent, but angry Master, ftriking him ; Smite on, for you shall not find any. Cudgel fo bard, as to drive me from your Service (h); Thus alfo the people of God profefs, Our heart is not turned back, nor our steps gone out of thy way, no not when thou hast Smitten us into the place of Dragons, and covered us with the hadow of Death,Pfal. xliv.19,20. The Hebrews call Whales by the name of Dragons (i): So that the place of Dragons is the bottom of the Sea, and that (figuratively) here fignifies, that they had not forfaken God, no not when he caft them into the depth of Mifery and Diftrefs: Nor doth the Heathen World want Inftances of fuch a Piety; for Greece can tell of him; who was told of his Son's death, juft as he was facrificing to the God's,and yet only pulled off his Garland,but went on in his Du

(b) Παῖε, επεν, gas dienoms & T oxanov únov μedweęs Diog. Laert. vit. Diogen.

1.6.

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(i) Δράκοντας τὰ κήτη λέγει δε Chryfoft. in Pfal. 148. vide Pfal. cxlviii.7.& lxxiv.

14.

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