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of my Enemy, who has now lift Hand against me: His Strength is mighty, and his Malice great; and 1, alas! weak and unable to withstand his Affaults: But, O thou, who art greater than all Things, fend down thy Help from above, and rescue me out of the Jaws of the devouring Lion; fave me, and deliver me from the Temptations I am now under. In thee, O Lord, have I put my Truft, O let me never be put to Confufion; and however thou mayeft think fit to make Trial of my Love and Obedience, yet fuffer me not, I beseech thee, to be tempted above what I am able to bear; but make me a Way to escape, that I may not fin against thee.

Lord, I have no Strength of my own, but all my Hope, and all my Dependence, is in thy Almighty Power and Goodness; thou art the Rock of Ages, and the Help of all that put their Trust in thee: I know thy Grace is fufficient for me: O deny it not then to thy Servant, who now needs it, and most earnestly defires it; and though I am not worthy of the leaft of all thy Mercies, yet, O merciful Father, have Compa fion on me, and help me that I may not be vanquished

vanquished in this Time of Trial and Temptation.

To this End, O Lord, make me feriously to confider the great Folly and Danger of Sin; that all its Pleasures are short and momentary, but its Punishment endless and intolerable; that no Satisfactions can compare with the Joys of a good Confcience, nor any Trouble like that of a wounded Spirit: Convince me powerfully, O my God, how terrible a Thing it is to fall under thy Difpleasure; that what I am now tempted to is hateful in thy Sight, a direct Contradiction to thy Will, a Breach of my Baptifmal Engage ments; and how pleafant foever it may now appear, yet that there will come a Time, when this and all other the Allurements of this World will appear vain and contemptible; a Time when all Workers of Iniquity fhall perish; when they fhall call upon the Mountains and Rocks to fall on them, and to hide them from the Face of him that fitteth on the Throne, and from the Wrath of the Lamb; and when a Crown of Righteoufnefs fhall be given to them who have fought the good Fight, and kept the Faith.

O let me be fo fully perfuaded of the T

Truth

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Truth of thefe Things, that I may turn away my Ears from the deceitful Tempter, and refolve to have no Fellowship with the unfruitful Works of Darkness: let me rerefift the first Motions of Sin in my Mind, and fly from the Company and Converfation of thofe that would feduce me to Evil, and betake myself to thofe Means which Reafon and Religion, and the Dictates of thy Holy Spirit, fhall instruct me are proper to fubdue the Temptations I am now under: And, Oh! let the mighty Power of thy Grace animate my Courage, and strengthen my Faith, that nothing may ftop me in my Chriftian Warfare; but that fighting manfully under Chrift's Banner, against the World, the Flesh and the Devil, may at laft triumph with him in his heavenly Kingdom, where there fhall be no Conflict with Sin, but I shall love and praise thee throughout all Ages.

I

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Amen.

A Prayer for a Perfon under Doubts of the Lawfulness of any Action.

O LORD God, thou art Light, and in thee is no Darkness at all; thou art the Inftructor of the Ignorant, the Light of those that are in Darkness and Error, and

the

the Fountain of all Wisdom, and Know ledge, and Truth! I defire above all Things to please thee, and to do thy Will; and it is a Trouble and Grief to me to confider that I have fo often acted contrary to it; O that I may never do so again, that I may never more turn afide to the dark Paths of Sin and Folly ! O give me a wife and understanding Spirit, that I may know my Duty, and a Heart fully bent and determined to practise it.

More particularly, O Lord, I addrefs myself to thee at this Time to enlighten my Understanding, and inform my unfettled Judgment, how to determine fafely in the Matter, which at prefent I know not how to act in. Show thou me the Way that I fhould walk in, and leave me not to the Weakness of my own Reasoning, which ` without thy enlightening Grace will lead me into the Ways of Error and Confufion.

Give me, O Lord, I befeech thee, fuch an honeft and upright Heart, that nothing in the World may be ever able to feduce me from my Integrity. Let not the Example of a Multitude perfuade me to do Evil, nor the most powerful Allurements of Riches, Honour, or any other worldly Advantage, turn me afide from thy Command

ments; but convince me more and more, how little it will profit me to gain the whole World, and lofe my own Soul; that being poffeffed with an awful Fear of thy Difpleasure, I may never dare to do any Thing but what thou approvest, and of which I may be able to give a comfortable Account at the great Day of the Lord Jefus.

Direct me, O my God, to thofe Means which will inform my Understanding, and fatisfy my Doubts; and if it fhould be my Misfortune, after all my Enquiries, to fall into any unwilling Error and Mistake, O Lord, lay it not to my Charge, nor let it ever provoke thy Anger against me.

But, O Lord, if it is thy good Pleasure, that I fhould ftill remain under Doubts, give me Grace, I beseech thee, to fubmit to thy Will, and to wait with Patience, till thou feeft fit to inftruct me better: and whatever Advantages as to this World, I may lofe by it, yet let me ftill retain my Innocence, and have the Comfort and Support of a good Confcience. Suffer me not to be fo regardless of my eternal Interest, as for the Sake of any temporal Advantage, to forfeit thy Favour, which is better than all the Enjoyments of this World.

O Lord, I leave myself in thy Hands ;

and