the trouble and danger to overwhelm and ruin me. In my distress I cried unto thee, and thou hast enlarged me. O blessed be my God, who hast not cast out my prayer, nor taken his mercy from me. But dearest Lord! I cannot without amazement look back upon the perilous state that I was in, and the brink of ruin to which I was brought. And that I should escape as I have done : O how marvellous is it in my eyes! What cause have I for thy praise, that I am here alive to praise thee! O my God, it is thy good hand that hath wrought so wonderfully for me, and thy Fatherly kindness that has shown such extraordinary favour to me. O! if I had been snatched away unprepared, how dreadful a change should I have found! But in mercy and love to my soul (I give thee glory) thou hast made a way for my escape: and I am preserved a living monument of thy unspeakable goodness.

O what shall I say unto thee, whose name is exalted far above all blessing and praise! and what shall I render unto thee, to whom my goodness will not extend! I can never answer the obligations which thy love, dear Lord, has laid upon me: but let me admire and love, and bless and praise thee, with all the faculties and powers which thou hast given me. And O that thou wouldst imprint so deeply on my heart a sense of thy mercy, that I may never forget, never slight, never abuse the great goodness that thou hast shown me, and the signal deliverance which thou hast wrought for me; but may ever give thee thanks with all my heart; and walk as becomes me, all the days of my life not secure and careless, because I have so escaped; but the more watchful and diligent, in proportion to the mercies vouchsafed unto me: approving my

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thankfulness in such a manner, as that thou mayest graciously accept me through my blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

A THANKSGIVING AFTER A SAFE DELIVERY.

BLESSED for ever be thy name, O Lord, our gracious God, who rememberest us in our low estate, and dost not abhor the affliction of the afflicted: but hearest thy servants crying to thee in their distress; and sendest relief and help in time of need: O that we may praise thee, Lord, as we ought, for such thy goodness and wonderful works to the children of men! Thou bringest down and raisest up; thou givest trouble and sendest help from trouble; thou afflictest us with fears and griefs, and again revivest us with hopes and joys. Thou, O God, art good in all, and worthy to be admired and praised, in every dispensation of thy providence. But chiefly we are effected with thy seasonable aids in time of trial; when thou givest us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Thou hast now (for ever blessed be thy name!) refreshed thine afflicted handmaid, and rejoiced the souls of thy servants. We desire therefore to offer unto thee, O gracious Lord, our devoutest acknowledgements, and to present unto thee the sacrifice of our unfeigned thanks and praise. O that thine handmaid, and all of us, may be duly sensible of this favour, which has been to us as life from the dead. May thy great goodness lead us to repentance: and may this fresh instance of thy love constrain us to love thee with all our hearts, and to render to thee the

services of our lives, and to give thee all possible glory, both now and evermore.

Amen.

THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER AFTER RECOVERY OUT OF A DANGEROUS SICKNESS.

O God of my life, in whose hand my breath is, and by whom all men do live, and have their days prolonged or shortened; I was brought low, and ready to think that thou wouldest now cut me off, and make an end of my days upon earth: I counted myself so nigh unto death, that I expected every day, when that last enemy which lay in wait for me would come and seize upon me.

But thou, Lord, hast graciously disappointed my fears, and rescued me from his hands, and raised me up to walk again before thee in the land of the living. Though thou broughtest me even to the mouth of the grave, yet hast thou brought me back; that the pit of corruption should not swallow me up. And thou that givest me life at first, has now given it to me afresh. To thee, therefore, O my God, I desire with all my soul to give the praise. O blessed be my great Preserver, the dear and only Saviour of my body as well as soul, the God of my health, my heavenly Physician, my life, and the length of my days! O that I may live to declare the works of the Lord, and set forth the honour of his name! Let me never look upon my extended life, as an occasion to the flesh, to enjoy my liberty and pleasure upon earth; but as an engagement on my heart, to abound in gratitude, and love, and praise, and all faithful duty, and cheerful obedience to my gracious God.

In mercy to my soul, O Lord, thou hast prolonged my life, and given me space to repent; that by correcting what was amiss, and filling up what was wanting, in my spiritual estate, I might be more ready for the arrival of the bridegroom, more ready to give up my account to thee. O that, my life being now renewed, I may henceforth live as one restored from the dead; and retain such an abiding sense of eternity upon my mind, as may keep me unwearied in my preparations for it.

It is only a reprieve, that is now granted to me : my death is a debt of nature, which I must pay; I cannot avoid it: death will yet certainly take hold of me; and I know not how soon: the grave is my house, where, after all, I must make my habitation, and go to rottenness and dust: yea, when I least think of it, how suddenly may I be cut off!

O then let me not live as if I should never see death; nor put it far from me, as if it should never arrive; nor reckon upon any sure standing or long abiding, in such a changeable transitory world, that is but the house of our pilgrimage, and not the place of our rest. But, since dust I am, and to dust I must return, O help me, Lord, so to remember and consider my death, that I may be the better for it in all the course and conduct of my life! Enable me to walk with such wise and holy circumspection, and so to order all my conversation in the world, that when I must close my eyes upon this present scene of things, I may depart hence full of peace, and hope, and joy. And for my recovery,

and such health as I enjoy at present, O let me pay my vows to the Lord: and from the ground of the heart, ascribe to thee the God of my salvation, all glory, thanks and love, and service throughout

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the whole remainder of my life and for evermore. Amen.

A PRAYER AND PRAISE FOR A CONVERTED SINNER.

I WILL praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify thy name for evermore. So great is thy mercy towards me, that thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. My lips therefore shall greatly rejoice, when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed, shall make her boast in the Lord. For I was in darkness, but now am light in the Lord; I was dead, and am alive again; I was lost, and am found. When no eye pitied me, and when I had not a heart to pity myself, then didst thou, O most merciful and ever-blessed God, look upon me in my blood, and bid me live. O sinful wretch ! that I should be taken, and others left! I stand amazed at thy kindness, O God my Saviour! The great things, which thou hast done for my soul, are incomparably more in my estimation than if thou hadst set me up with the princes of the earth, and blessed me with all the fulness and glory of the world. For, how soon do all these things pass away and perish! but the word of God, by which I am born again, lives and abides for ever. The grace of God which brings salvation to my soul, is in me a well of water springing up to everlasting

life.

O God of all grace, who hadst such thoughts of mercy towards me, even when I was in enmity against thee, and did nothing but forget and provoke thee; thou wilt not despise the day of small things: thou wilt not be extreme to mark what is