:

of the land of the living, by signal and desolating judgements! Our flesh trembles for fear of thee, and we are afraid of thy judgements; lest thou shouldest pierce us with the arrows of the Almighty, and sweep us away with the besom of destruction. But, O thou hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, regard not our ill deserts; but remember thy own tender mercies, and gracious promises and have pity on us; and turn away this plague from us. Put a stop to the raging infection, and say to the destroying angel, it is enough; that we may no longer be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flieth by day, or of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, or of the destruction that wasteth at noon-day; but may, with ease in our minds and gladness in our hearts, serve thee the only true God, and devote to thee the life and health which thou hast spared. O hear us in this hour of our necessity, and let our cry come unto thee, through the merits and intercession of thy dear Son, our most compassionate and prevailing Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.

FOR RAIN.

WE confess, O Lord, that we have so greatly abused the comforts of thy 'good creatures, that thou mightest justly withdraw them from us, and make the heavens over us as brass, and the land itself to mourn, and all that grows upon it to wither. But, O thou Father of mercies, who in judgement rememberest mercy, consult not now our merits, but thy own mercies. Thou that hast the bottles and treasures of heaven at thy command, be pleased now

to open the windows of heaven, and cause the rain to come down in its season; making grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs and fruits for the service of men. And however thou art pleased to deal with us, O suppress all our repinings at any of thy dispensations; and let them all be sanctified unto us; that we may be prepared to receive the mercies which we want, or to wait thy time for them with meekness and resignation. We ask it for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

FOR FAIR WEATHER.

LORD, if thou shouldst turn our fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, thou wouldst be righteous; and just would be thy judgements. We could not open our mouths to reply against thee, but must bear the indignation of the Lord which our sins have so much deserved. But, O Father of mercies, spare us and forgive us, for thy own mercy's sake, and put a stop to the calamity that threatens destruction to the work of thy hands. Let not the rain, which is thy blessing, be turned into a curse. Put a stop to the overflowing showers, which injure the fruits of the earth, and endanger the loss of our blessings. And as thou hast given us plenty, and caused our land to yield its increase, so give us (we pray thee) a seasonable time to gather in the fruits which thy bounty has provided for us; that in the use of them, we may joyfully serve thee, and live to thy glory, as we do upon thy bounty. And when thy judgements are in the land, O that we who inhabit it, may learn righteousness! Nor let our concern be

so great for our bodies, as for our souls: that however we fare here, it may go well with us for ever. O let us not labour for the meat that perisheth, so much as for that which endures to everlasting life, which thou hast promised to give, and which above all we beg at thy hands, O Lord God our Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our only Saviour. Amen.

upon us.

IN TIME OF FAMINE.

O LORD most high, the Creator of every comfort! thou hast long dealt out thy blessings to us with a plentiful hand; and we have freely enjoyed all the abundance of good things which thou hast heaped But when thou hast fed us to the full, how have we kicked against our blessed owner, and most bountiful benefactor! how have we abused the provisions for our bodies in pampering the lusts that war against our souls! Most righteous therefore, we confess, would be thy judgements, O Lord, if thou shouldest stretch out upon us the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness; and break the staff of our bread; and curse us in all our store, and in all the endeavours of our hands to help ourselves.

But, O thou blessed Father of mercies! in mercy avert from us the hunger, and thirst, and nakedness and want of all things, which is the due desert of our sins. Let not the husbandman be ashamed, sowing much and gathering little let not the land mourn, and all the inhabitants with the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven: but humble us, O Lord, for all our abuse of thy past mercies; and deliver us from those sins which have turned our

thy glory; and enable us to walk before thee in such a humble, godly, circumspect manner, that thy name may be glorified in us, and that we may be glorified in and with thee for evermore. Amen.

IN TIME OF ANY SORE AND GRIEVOUS CALAMITY.

O MOST high and glorious Lord God, thou supreme Governor of the universe, how unsearchable are thy judgements, and thy ways past finding out! Thy path is in the great deep, and thy footsteps are not known. Clouds and darkness are round about thee, yet righteousness and judgement are at all times the basis of thy throne. Thou canst never do injury to any; but art righteous in all thy ways, and holy in all thy works. Who would not stand in awe of thy glorious majesty, O Lord? Thou canst consume us by thine own immediate stroke, or arm any of thy creatures in heaven or earth against us. Thou canst make the vilest of them the executioners of thy just indignation; or turn the very things wherein we have offended, into the instruments of our punishment. Thou canst plague us even in our comforts; making the choicest blessings of our lives to become the heaviest of our crosses, and the keenest of our torments. Thou canst in a moment take away life from us, or make it less desirable to us than death itself.

We fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker in humble submission to thy correction, acknowledging the heavy desert of our sins, and the perfect justice of thy judgements. Humble us, O good Lord, under thy hand and forgive the iniquities that have provoked thee so to stretch it out

against us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us and turn us from our sins; and deliver us from evil, and take away thy plagues from us, O let thy boundless compassion cover the multitude of our transgressions: remember thy poor unworthy creatures in mercy: relieve and help us in our need and distress: and save and free us from our fears and dangers, and from our griefs and pressures that we may comfortably spend our few remaining days, and glorify thy name for evermore. Amen.

A PRAYER FOR OUR BENEFACTORS.

I DESIRE with all thankfulness to acknowledge thy loving-kindness, O Lord, my God; that thou hast given me so many comforts, and raised me up so many friends and helps in the world. It is thou, Lord (who hast the hearts of all in thy hands), that turnest the hearts of any to show me favour, and to do me good. They are but the instruments and means of conveyance; but thou art the blessed author and source of all the kindness. To thee, therefore, where alone it is due, I give the glory, and offer the sacrifice of praise. But for them, whom thou hast enabled, and inclined to benefit me, I am bound in duty to offer up the sacrifice of my prayers. O be thou kind to them, Lord, as they have been kind to me refresh their bowels, as they have refreshed mine; and requite their love, and all their endearing offices of friendship, sevenfold into their bosoms. Make me studious ever to approve myself grateful; and ready to make all suitable returns in my power. And be thou pleased, O blessed