E were as Sheep going astray ; but are now returned into the Shepherd and Bishop of your Souls. 1 Pet. ii. 25..

O thou good Shepherd, who deliveredft up thy felf to Wolves, for the Salvation of chy Sheep, feek me, carry me, save me by thy Grace, O Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul, who hast sacrificed thy self for me, shed abroad in me thy divine Unction, feed me with thy Word, thy Example, thy Truth, thy Body, thy Blood, and with thy whole Self; present my Prayers, Desires, and all my A&ions to thy Father, inlighten, guide, and sup. port my Steps : render me attentive, and obedient to thy Voice, and grant that I may be kept with Fidelity, Submission, and Perseverance under thy Eyes, and thy Hand; and that I may follow Thee in walking exactly, humbly, and courageously in thy Ways, till thou haft conducted me into the eternal Pastures.

Return, ye wand'ring Soals recard,

And seek his tender Breast ;
Call back the Memory of the Days,

When there you found your Resto

Behold, O Lord, we fly to Thee,

Tho' Blafhes veil our Face, Conftraind our last Retreat to seek "In thy much-injur'd Grace,

V HO is he that will harm you, if ye be Followers of that W which is good, i Pet. iii. 13.

Nothing can hurt us but Sin --- Innocence, Uprightness, and a good Conscience are a sovereign Preservative againft: all the Evils of this Life. He who is well with God has nothing to fear from Men.

Behold the great eternal God,
Spreads everlasting Arms abroad,

And calls our Souls to shelter there:
Wonders of mingled Pow'r and Grace, in
To all his Children he displays,

Guarded from Danger and from Fear.
Thither my feeble Soul shall Ay,
When Terrors press, and Death is nigh,

And there will I delight to dwell;
On that high Tow'r I rear my Head
Serene, nor knows my Heart to dread,

Amidit furrounding Hoits of Hell.

TF ye suffer for Righteousness fake, happy are ye: and be not

afraid of their Terror, neither be troubled, 1 Pet. iii. 14.
How little is the Happiness of Suffering known in the World,
since it speaks of it in a Manner lo different from this Apostle!
If it is an Happiness to suffer for Righteousness sake ; far from being
afraid thereof, let us acknowledge the Honour that God does us.
Nothing but thy Love, O Lord, can suppress in our Hearts the
Fear of Men, and establish therein the Peace of God. --- The -
more uncommon this Grace is, the more earnestly ought we to
alk it of him.
Sach Honour all thy Saints poffefs, When call'd to testify thy Grace,
All Sufferers for Righteousness, O set as Adamant my Face,
Sach Honour I have here;

My stedfast Heart prepare :
But Q! thy Righteousness I want, Rejected and abhorr'd of Men,
I want to endure till thou appear, Omight I all thy Burthen bear,
And never, never faint.

And Glory in thy Pain,

January 30.

K. Charles's Mart. THEY (the Wicked) think it strange that you run not with I them to the fame Excess of Riot, speaking Evil of you, 1 Pet. iv. 4.

Let us leave the World to be provoked at our Change, to tax us with Singularity, to make us the Subject of their Laughter: our Advantage is to have it for our Enemy, and our Glory to be exposed to its Insults after the Example of Jesus Christ. How strong should we be, if we had no longer any War to wage with our Paslions, but only with the World.

Let me but hear my Saviour fay, Sweet Pleasures mingle with the Pains. Strength shall be equal to the Day, While his left Hand my Head sustains. Then I rejoice in deep Distress,

Not all that Men on Earth can do, Leaning on all-fufficient Grace.

Nor Pow’rs on high, nor Pow'rs below, I can do all Things, or can bear Shall cause his Mercy to remove, All Sufförings, if my Lord be shere; Or wean our Hearts fromChriftour Love I ET them that suffer according to the Will of God, commit

the keeping of their Souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator, i Pet. iv. 19.

How happy is a Man, when he can say he suffers according to the Will of God, and with an entire Resignation to him! Let us be faithful under his Trials and Visitations: and he will be so in giving us Consolation and Assistance, and in crowning in us his own Graces and Mercies.

Deliver from the Wrath to come,
And scourge me, Saviour, to the Tomb ;
I to thy righteous Will submit,
And weep unanswer'd at thy Feet ;
And when my dying Head I bow,
Assure me then, Thou heard'ft me now.