thou hast created after thy Likeness, and which is an Image of thy Divinity, remain in this Body, that I may be able to ferve thee on Earth, or whether thou doft call for it, and take it up into Heaven, that it may glorify thee in the Company of thy Saints, and of the bleffed and glorious Angels. Amen.

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A Prayer and Meditation upon the Manner of our Death.

God the Creator of all Fleh, and the Father of the immortal Spirits, I know that every kind of Death of thy Children is precious in thy Sight; and that bowfoever that shall happen, thou wilt take Care of my Soul. When I confider all things, I find that it matters not whether my Spirit iffues out of my Lips, or out of a Wound, fo that it enter into thy Glory to enjoy thine eternal Happiness. What Matter is it if my Lamp goes out of its own Accord, or if it be blown out by fome envious Blaft, fo that it be lighted again by the immortal Beams of the Sun of Righteoufnefs, and continue for ever glorious in the highest Heavens? I shall be fufficiently happy, if I die in thee Lord, and enter into thine eternal Reft, from all my Labours, in what manner foever Death affaults me. From all Eternity, O Lord, thou knoweft all thy Works, and with a Glance of thine Eye, thou difcovereft the Depths, and feeft into an endless Eternity. As thou haft marked out and appointed the Moment of my Death, thou haft alfo ordained the Manner of it. I must, O Almighty God, repofe myself up on this wonderful and wife Providence, and be contented with thy uncontroulable Decrees. But, O my God, and beavenly Father, if thou wilt give me the Liberty, who am but Duft and Afbes, to speak to thee, and to fend up the Thoughts of my Heart; I beseech thee to be fo gracious, as to let me know my End, that I may not be furprized or a fudden by an unexpected Death, as Job's Children;

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and fo merciful as to give me timely Notice of my Departure, as thou didst to thy Servant Hezekiah. I defire not the Notice of many Years, but of a few Days, or at least of a few Hours immediately before, that my Soul may not be disturbed with evil Thoughts, or frighted with, falfe Conceits, and malicious Suggestions of the Devil; but that I may end my Days with all Tranquility and Satisfaction of Mind, that I may always have a perfect Ufe of my Senfes, of my Reafon and Understanding, and the Affiftance of thy Grace, that I may glorify thy Name, and edify my Neighbours, until the last Moment of my Departure. Suffer not therefore my Soul to be fnatched away by Force on a fudden, but grant me time to commit it into thy merciful Hands. Amen.

A Prayer and Meditation for one that dies in a ftrange Country, in the midft of Infidels.

My God and heavenly Father, how grievous is this Trial? Who can express the Troubles of my Mind? At the Moment of my most urgent Neceffity, and of the Oppreffion of my Soul, at the Time of my Agony, I fee myfelf destitue of all human Affistance. Here I am at a Distance not only from my Country, and pleafant Company of my Friends, and deprived of all Spiritual Comforts of which I have at prefent greatest Need in this Extremity; but also, to my unspeakable Grief, here I am in a ftrange Place, in the Power of my cruel. Enemies. I have no Body to strecgthen me in the Faith of my Saviour Christ. All things that appear before me, increafe and add to my Trouble; I am here among lhe Adverfaries of thy Truth, who labour to destroy my Interest in Christ, and cause me to perish, now that I am entering into the Haven of Eternity. I must encounter with Death, with Hell itself, and with the fubtil Infinuations of the Infernal Spirits. O Almighty and Mer

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ciful

ciful Lord, fuffer me not to lose my Courage, and to yield to the prefent Temptation. By thy wonderful Providence, and out of thine abundant Mercy, fupply all my Wants and Infirmities, and grant that I may, with the Shield of Faith, quench all the fiery Darts of Satan. I am befet with many visible and invisible Enemies; but they that are for me, are more in Number than they that are against me. It is true, I am far from Heaven, whereof the Earth is the Centre. I am at a Distance from all my earthly Friends, but nothing can put me at a Distance from thee, O good God, who loveft me with an unchangeable Affection. I am in the Embraces of mine heavenly Father, and of my God, I have not the Affiftance of a Minifter to help me in my Grief and Pain; but I know that thou wilt fend me thine holy Angels, as once to thy beloved Son in his bitter Agony. Thefe Angels fhall protect me against all the Powers of the Prince of Darkness; thou wilt administer to me thyself, the fweet Comforts of thy Salvation, thy Rod and thy Staff will affift me in this Valley and Shadow of Death. O Lord, thou dost things that are not to be fearched out, and fo many Wonders, that it is not possible to number them; thy Grace is fufficient for me, and thy Power is made manifeft in mine Infirmities. Thy Holy Spirit, who is the true Comforter, and the great Power of the Almighty, fball refresh me in these my Afflictions, and in all things fhall make me more than a Conqueror. Thou art stronger than all other Beings, fo that I am perfuaded, nothing can ravish me out of thine Hands. 1 am certain that neither Death, nor Life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor Things prefent, nor Things to come, nor Height, nor Depth, nor any other Creature, can feparate us from the Love that thou haft declared to me in Jefus Chrift my Lord; this precious Faith, with which thou hast strengthened my Soul, fhall vanquish the World, triumph over Hell, and destroy Death in its own Empire. Amen.

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A Prayer and Meditation upon the Death of a beloved Perfon.

My God, I acknowledge that there is nothing certain nor unchangeable on Earth but thy precious and holy Promifes; therefore it becomes us to enjoy the things of the World, as if we enjoyed them not. Thou haft Snatched out of my Embraces, and pulled from my Bofom my greatest Darling, and most intimate Friend. Thou haft open'd my Heart, and torn my Bowels, and thou haft Separated me from myself, fo that my Life is but a Burden and Pain to me. I did often look upon this pleafant Object of my Love as a Gift from above, and a Mark of thy Favour and Liberality; it was my greatest Joy, and my fweetest Comfort. The Day that took it away, overwhelmed me in a Sea of Grief. That which doth most disturb me, is, that I am afraid that this is a Stroke and an Effect of thy Anger and Justice. Lord my God, I must needs acknowledge that I have grievously offended thee, feeing thou doft thus chastise me with fo much Severity,and makeft me feel fo fharp an Affliction. I am unworthy of all thy Favours, feeing thou doft take from me fuch a precious Jewel, which was fhewed to me as Lightning. Iam afraid I have been wanting in my Duty, and that this Death that kills me, is the Effect of my Stupidity and Blindness. Methinks I could have hindered this doleful Accident; for if I had behaved myself otherwife than I bave done, my Life and Soul fhould not be in its Grave. O God of all Comfort, pardon my exceffive Grief, pacify my Sighs, ftop the Current of my Tears, remove all thefe vain Difpleafures that confume me, deliver my Soul from this unmerciful Grief and Torment that it fuffers, and from thefe Troubles that are more than human, instead of looking to thofe inferior Caufes, and to the Circumstances of the Death of this beloved Perfon; give me Grace to remember, that the least things as well as the greatest, are. governed and ruled by thy wife Providence, and that the Good and the Evil proceed from thy divine Appointment. • Give

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Give me Grace to confider, that thou dost bold in thine Almighty Hand, the Keys of Life and Death, and thou alone doft caft us into the Grave, and lifts us up from thence again. O Sovereign Monarch of the Univerfal World, who doft not only let Death loose, but also appointeft all the Circumstances; make me truly fubmissive unto thy facred Pleafure, and to put my Finger upon my Lips, because it is thy doing. If I open them, let it be to adore thy Justice, and fing forth thy Praifes. The Perfon for whom Ilament fo much, was nearly related to me, like another myfelf, and was alfo thy Creature, thy Child, and a Member of our Saviour's Myftical Body. We, for our parts, believe we have the Right of difpofing of cur Workmanship, and of that which we have bought with our Money; and bast not thou, O God, the Liberty to dispose of that which thou hast created after thy Likeness? Bought, not with corruptible things, as with Gold and Silver, but with the precious Blood of the Lamb without Spot or Blemish? Thou hast a Son who is the Brightness of thy Glory, and the exprefs Image of thy Perfon, whom thou haft not fpared for me; and shall I, Lord, refufe thee my Heart and my Bowels? Thy only begotten Son came down upon Earth to fuffer the most cruel and ignominious Death of the Cross; but thou hast taken up into Heaven the Perfon whom my Soul loved, to crown him with a glorious and ever happy Immortality. Shall his (or her) Felicity be the Caufe of my Afflictions? And shall kis (or her) Rest occafion my Difpleasure? 'Tis the Property of true Love to prefer the Happiness of the beloved Perfon to our Satiffaction; therefore our Saviour told his Apostles, if you did love me, you would rejoyce, because I go to my Father; for my Father is greater than I. Between thee, O great and living God, and us miferable Worms of the Earth, there is as vast a Difference, as there is between the innocent and barmless Delights of this World, and the unspeakable Pleafures of thy Prefence. For these are but as Drops of Water that are dried up with the least Wind; whereas the Satisfactions of Heaven are like a bottomlefs Sea of Delights, in which we shall fwim for ever. fwim for ever. Do I there

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