O great and incomprehenfible GOD, thou who filleft all Things, be thou my Heaven in which my new Birth in CHRIST JESUS may dwell: Let my Spirit be the ftringed Inftrument, Harmony, Sound, and Joy of thy Holy Spirit. Strike the Strings in me, in thy Regenerate Image, and carry through my Harmony into thy Divine Kingdom of Joy, in the great Love of God, in the Wonders of thy Glory and Majefty, in the Communion of the Holy Angelical Harmony. Build up the Holy City Zion in me, in which as Chil dren of Chrift we all live together in one City, which is Chrift in us. Into thee I wholly plunge myself, do with me what thou pleafelt. Amen.

A PRAY E R.

To be ufed by a Soul in Tribulation under the Cross of Chrift, when it is affaulted by its outwad Enemies; who perfecute and hate it for being in the Spirit of Chrift, and flander and reproach it as an Evil-Doer.

OOR Man that I am; I walk full of Anguish and Trouble in my Return towards my Native Country, from whence I wandered

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wandered in Adam, and am going back again through the Thifiles and Thorns of this troublesome World. O GOD my Father, the Briars tear me on every Side, and I am afflicted and defpifed by my Enemies. They fcorn my Soul, and revile it as an Evil Doer, who hath broken Faith with them; they deride my walking towards thee, and account it foolish. They think I am Senfelefs, because I walk in this Strait and Thorny Path, and go not along with them in their Hypocritical Broad Way.

O LORD Jefus Chrift; I fly to thee under the Crofs; O dear Immanuel, receive me, and carry me into thyfelf, through the Path of thy Pilgrimage, in which thou didft walk in this World; namely through thy Incarnation,Poverty, Reproach and Scorn; alfo through thy Anguish, Paffion and Death. Make me conformable unto thy Example; fend thy good Angel along with me to fhew me the Way through the horrible Thorny Wilderness of this World. Affift me in my Mifery; comfort me with that Comfort wherewith the Angel comforted thee in the Garden, when thou didst pray to thy Father, and didst sweat great Drops of Blood. Support me in my Anguifh and Perfecution, under the Reproach of the Devils and all wicked Men, who know not thee, and refuse to walk in thy Paths. O great

Love of GoD, they know not thy Way, and do this in Blindness, through the Deceit of the Devil. Have Pity on them, and bring them out of their Darkness into thy Light, that they may learn to know themfelves, and how they lie Captive in the Filth and Mire of the Devil, in a dark Dungeon fast bound with three Chains. O great GOD, have Mercy upon Adam and his Children, redeem thein in Chrift the new Adam.

I fly to thee, O Chrift, GoD and Man, in this Pilgrimage and Journey which I must take through this dark Valley, defpifed and troubled on all Sides, and accounted an ungodly wicked Man. O LORD, it is thy Judgment upon me; that my Sins and inbred Corruption may be judged in this earthly Pilgrimage before thee, and I as a Curfe be made an open Spectacle, on which thy Anger may fatiate itself, and thereby may take the eternal Reproach away from me. It is the Token of thy Love; by which thou bringest me into the Reproach, Anguifh, Suffering and Death of my Saviour Jefus Chrift, that fo I may die from Vanity and spring up in His Spirit with a new Life, through His Reproach, Ignominy,

and Death.

I beseech thee, O Christ, thou patient Lamb of God, grant me Patience in this my Way E 3

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of the Cross, through all thy Anguish and Re. proach, thy Death and Paffion, thy Scorn and Contempt upon the Crofs, where thou waft defpised in my Stead; and bring me therein, as a patient Lamb to thee, into thy Victory. Let me live with thee in thee: and do thou convert my Perfecutors, who (unknown to themselves) by their Reproaching facrifice my Vanity and inbred Sins before thy Anger. They know not what they do; they think they do me Harm, but they do me Good! They do that for me which I fhould do myself before thee. For I fhould daily lay open and acknowledge my Shame and Vileness before thee, and thereby fink myfelf down into the Death of thy beloved Son, that my Shame might die in his Death. But I being too negligent weary, faint, and feeble, therefore thou useft thefe mine Enemies in thy Anger, to open and discover my Vileness before thee, which thy Wrath taketh hold of, and finketh it down into the Death of my Saviour.

O merciful God, my vain Flesh cannot know how well thou intendeft towards me, when thou fuffereft mine Enemies to take my Vilenefs from me, and facrifice it before thee. My Earthly Mind supposetli that thou afflictest me for my Sins, and I am extremely perplexed at it; but thy Spirit, in my inward New Man, telleth me, that it is of thy Love towards

me, and that thou intendest Good to me by it. When thou fuffereft my Enemies to perfecute me, it is best for me that they perform the Work in my Stead, and unfold my Sins before thee in thy Anger, that it may swallow up the Guilt of them, fo that they may not follow ine into my Native Country. For mine · Enemies are frong and mighty ftill in thy Anger,

and therefore can do it better than I that am feeble and fainting already in the Will of Vanity. This thou knoweft full well, O thou righteous Gov.

I beseech thee therefore, O righteous Gop, fince thou useft them as Friends to me, to do fo good an Office for me, though my Earthly Reafon knoweth it not, that thou wouldst make them alfo to understand and follow my Course, and fend them fuch Friends in turn. But first bring them to the Light, that they may know thee, and give thee Thanks.

O merciful God in Chrift Jefus, I beseech thee, out of thy deep Love towards us poor Men, which thou haft manifested in me, in the hidden Man, call us all in thee, to thee. O flir thyself in us yet once again in this last Trouble; thy Anger being kindled in us, do thou refift it, left it fwallow us up wholly both Soul and Body.

O thou