Most merciful Father we humbly beseech thee to give every one of us grace to let these things sink deeply into our hearts. Bless we beseech thee our wills and affections with sanctified desires to entertain them, our memories with faithfulness to retain them, our minds with serious meditations to digest them, ⟨p. 123⟩our hearts with fervency and prayer for thy blessings upon them, our lives with practise and piety to profit by them. LORD we see clearly that all our pleasures shall die and perish, that our honours shall be laid in the dust, that our gold and silver shall canker, and the rust of of them shall be a witness against us at the last day, that outward performances of religious duties without inward sanctification, shall have their portion with Hypocrites in the lake ⟨p. 124⟩which burneth with fire and brimstone. Where then shall appear the liar, the swearer, the drunkard, the profaner of the Sabbath, the unclean person, the proud, the idle, the malicious, the careless in his calling, even without timely and sound repentance, in the bottomless pit of the lowest hell. O then we beseech thee, gracious Father, to vouchsafe us in time wise and understanding hearts, the spirit of judgement to discern between the short span of this miserable ⟨p. 125⟩life, and the length and breadth of eternity. Let us now at length make a through and deep search into the state of our souls and consciences, and if we find that we be not yet possest of that inward sincerity and true happiness; let us for ever hereafter, with greatest fervency, earnestness and contention of spirit hunger and thirst, labour and strive after saving grace, the power of religion and true godliness, that so for a few and evil days, we stand wisely ⟨p. 126⟩and resolutely for thy honour and truth, and with comfort and courage running the race of sanctification, may be provided and furnished with assurance of glory, clearness of conscience, strength of faith against the day of our visitation, that when we shall lie down upon our deaths-bed, and we know not how soon, we may be able to meet with the fearful temptations of our sinful flesh, the fiery darts of Satan, to encounter with the pangs of death, and ⟨p. 127⟩terrors of the grave, and so pass with joyfulness and triumph to those glorious mansions of light and blessed immortality with thee in the highest heavens.
MOst mercifull Father we humbly beseech thee to give every one of us grace to let these things sink deeply into our hearts. Blesse we beseech thee our wills and affections with sanctified desires to entertaine them, our memories with faithfullnesse to retaine them, our mindes with serious meditations to digest them, ⟨p. 123⟩our hearts with fervency and prayer for thy blessings upon them, our lives with practise and piety to profit by them. LORD we see clearely that all our pleasures shall die and perish, that our honours shall be laid in the dust, that our gold and silver shall canker, and the rust of of them shall be a witnesse against us at the last day, that outward performances of religious duties without inward sanctification, shall have their portion with Hypocrites in the lake ⟨p. 124⟩which burneth with fire and brimstrone. Where then shall appeare the lyar, the swearer, the drunkard, the profaner of the Sabbath, the uncleane person, the proud, the idle, the malicious, the carelesse in his calling, even without timely and sound repentance, in the bottomelesse pit of the lowest hell. O then we beseech thee, gracious Father, to vouchsafe us in time wise and understanding hearts, the spirit of judgement to discerne betweene the short span of this miserable ⟨p. 125⟩life, and the length and breadth of eternity. Let us now at length make a through and deepe search into the state of our soules and consciences, and if wee find that we be not yet possest of that inward sincerity and true happinesse; let us for ever hereafter, with greatest fervency, earnestnesse and contention of spirit hunger and thirst, labour and strive after saving grace, the power of religion and true godlinesse, that so for a few and evill daies, we stand wisely ⟨p. 126⟩and resolutely for thy honour and truth, and with comfort and courage running the race of sanctification, may bee provided and furnished with assurance of glory, clearenesse of conscience, strength of faith against the day of our visitation, that when we shall lie downe upon our deaths-bed, and wee know not how soone, we may be able to meete with the fearefull temptations of our sinnefull flesh, the fiery darts of Satan, to encounter with the pangs of death, and ⟨p. 127⟩terrours of the grave, and so passe with joyfullnesse and triumph to those glorious mansions of light and blessed immortality with thee in the highest heavens.
