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Therefore I apply myself immediately to thee,

and renounce all the error and all the confidence that may arise from heaven or earth besides.

Not from the dust my joys or sorrows spring:

Let all the baleful planets shed

Their mingled curses round my head;

Their mingled curses I despise,

Let but the great, th' eternal King,

Look through the clouds, and bless me with his eyes.

Let him bless me, and I shall be blessed; blessed without reserve or limitation: blessed in my going out and coming in; in my sitting down and rising up; blessed in time, and blessed to all eternity. That blessing from thy lips will influence the whole creation, and attend me wherever I am; it shall go before me as a leading light, and follow me as my protecting angel. When I ly down, it will cover me; I shall rest beneath the shadow of the most High, and dwell safely in the secrets of his tabernacle.

Thy kingdom ruleth over all, O Lord, and thou "dost according to thy will in the armies of hea66 ven, and among the inhabitants of the earth :" I confess and acknowledge thy providence. The ways of man are not at his own disposal, but all his goings are ordered by thee; all events are in thy hands, and thou only canst succeed or disappoint his hopes. If thou blow on his designs, they are for ever blasted; if thou bless them, neither earth

nor hell can hinder their success; therefore I apply myself immediately to thee; for not all created power can assist me without thee.

Hence from my heart, ye idols, fice
Ye sounding names of vanity!
No more my tongue shall sacrifice

To chance and nature, tales and lies;

Creatures without a God can yield me no supplies.

Not all the power of men on earth, nor angel nor saint in heaven, can help or relieve me in the least exigence, if my God hide himself, and stand afar off from me. Second causes are all at thy direction, and cannot aid me till commissioned by thee.

Lord, when my thoughtful soul surveys
Fire, air, and earth, and stars, and seas,
I call them all my slaves:

Commission'd by my Father's will,
Poisons shall cure, or balm shall kill;
Vernal suns, or zephyrs breath

May burn or blast the plants to death

That sharp December saves. What can winds or planets boast,

But a precarious power? The sun is all in darkness lost,

Frost shall be fire, and fire be frost,

When he appoints the hour.

At thy command nature and necessity are no more; all things are alike easy to God; speak but thou the word, and my desires are granted:

Thou canst look me in peace, when the tumult of thoughts raise a storm within. Bid my soul be still, and all its tempests shall obey thee.

I depend only on thee; do thou smile, and all the world may frown; do thou succeed my affairs, and I shall fear no obstacle that earth or hell can put in my way. Thou only art the object of my fear, and all my desires are directed to thee.

Human things have lost their being and their names, and vanish into nothing before thee; they are but shades and disguises to veil the active divinity. Oh! let me break through all these separations, and see and confess the great, the governing Cause. Let no appearance of created things, however specious, hide thee from my view; let me look through all to thee, nor cast a glance of love or hope below thee. With a holy contempt, let me survey the ample round of thy creation, as lying in the hollow of thy hand, and every being in heaven and on earth as unmoveable by the most potent cause in nature, till commissioned by thee to do me good or hurt. Oh! let thy hand be with me to keep me from evil, and let me abide under the shadow of the Almighty; I shall be secure in thy provision. To thee I fly for shelter from all the ills of mortality.

V. God a present help, and ever near.

THOU wast found of me, O my God, when I sought

thee not and wilt thou fly me when I seek thee? Am I giving my breath to the wind, and scattering my petitions in the air? Is it a vain thing to call upon God? and is there no profit in crying to the Almighty?" Art thou a God afar off, and not "near at hand?" Is there any place exempt from thy presence? any distance whence my cries cannot reach thee? can any darkness hide me from thy eyes? or is there a corner of the creation unvisited by thee; dost thou not fill heaven and earth; and am I not surrounded by thy immen sity?

Are my desires unknown to thee? or is there a thought in my heart concealed from thee? dost not thou that hast formed the ear, hear? canst thou forget the work of thy own hands? or, retired far in the heavens, full of thine own happiness, canst thou leave thy creation to misery and disorder, helpless and hopeless? are the ways of man at his own disposal, and his paths undirected by thee? is calling on the living God no more than worshipping a dumb idol? canst thou, like them, disappoint and mock thy adorers?

Art thou unacquainted with the extent of thy own power, that thou shouldst promise, beyond thy ability to perform? or art thou "as a man that thou "shouldst lie, or the son of man that shouldst re"pent?" Is thy faithfulness uncertain, and thy

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nary for which men adore thee, and thy gracious names insignificant titles? Do the "children of "men" in vain “put their trust under the shadow "of thy wings?" Art not thou "a present help " in the time of trouble?" and is there no security in the secret places of the Most High? Whither then shall I look in my distress? to whom shall I direct my prayer? from whom shall I expect relief, if there is no help in God for me?

But, oh! what unrighteousness have my fathers ever found in thee? what injustice can I charge thee with? what breach of truth or want of pity? Have the records of thy actions ever been stained with the breach of faithfulness? Art thou not my only hope, and my long experienced support? Have I ever found help from the creatures when thou hast failed me? Have I, or can I have a greater certainty than thy word to depend on? Can any other power defend or deliver like thee? Thou art "a rock, and thy work is perfect; for "all thy ways are judgment; a God of truth, and " without iniquity, just and right art thou." With last breath I will witness to thy truth and faithfulness, and declare thy goodness to the children

my

of men.

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