A Help Unto Devotion, Prayer 9
9. A Prayer for the afflicted in what kind ſoeuer.
O Gratious God, how happy am I, who hauehave ſuch a ſtrōg tower as thy great name to run vntounto, eſpecially now in this ſad & heauy day of tribulation? I ſée (O Lord) by continuall experience, that the help of man is vaine, and that all earthly cōtentments, notwithſtanding the flattering ſhewe they make, yet are but as a ſtaffe of réede, vponupon which if a man leane, it will runne into his hand and pearce it. If I turne mee to my auncient louers and friendes, it may bee they will ſtand aſide from my plague, & mine olde acquaintance wil hide themſelues, and I ſhal be euen as a ſtranger in the ſight of my familiars: If I ſéeke to my neighbours. alas, what refreſhing ſhall I finde? Trueth it is (O God) & thou haſt ſo ordayned, that he which is in miſery ſhould be cōforted by his neighbor: but men hauehave forſaken ye feare of ye Almightie; ſo that hee, which is ready to fall, is as a deſpiſed lampe, and few are apt to wéepe with him that is in trouble: Beſides, the greateſt part are ſo ouercome with groſſe ignorāce, yt they are miſerable cōforters & phyſiciās of no value, not able to miniſter a worde in time to him yt is weary. Whither then, or to whom ſhall I goe but vntounto thee (O moſt gratious & tender Father)? Thou art a pitifull God, thy compaſſions are great, thou art the Father of mercies, & the God of all comfort, thou makeſt the wound, and bindeſt it vp, thou ſmiteſt, & thy hands doe make whole, thou haſt commaunded to call vpō thee in the day of trouble, and thou art a helpe ready to be found. To thee, therefore do I lift vp my ſoule: Encline thine eare (O Lord) and heare, open thine eyes (O Lord) and ſée, look mercifully vponupon thine afflicted ſeruant: the dayes of ſorow are come vponupon me, euen changes & armies of miſeries are againſt me. If my griefe were waighed, it would bee heauier then the ſand of the ſea; I am broken with one breaking vponupon another. Make me (I pray thee) to conſider ſeriouſly, yt it is euē thou which haſt done all this, that theſe things come not by chaunce, but by thy prouidence and certaine appointment, that ſo I may be dumme and not open my mouth to murmure or repine. Open mine eyes that I may ſée mine owne deſeruings, and what cauſe I hauehave giuen thee euen to cruſh me to pieces with thy heauy iudgements, yea to cauſe the pit of thy eternall vengeance to ſhut her mouth vponupon me. What cauſe hauehave I left vntounto mee to complaine, when I am leſſe then thy ſmalleſt mercy, and my ſins greater then the greateſt ſorrow thou haſt layd vpō me? It is thy louelove (O Lorde) from whence this proceedeth. In this courſe, thou doeſt offer thy ſelf vntounto me as to a ſonne: thou knoweſt my corruptiōs, the rebellion of my heart, the crookedneſſe & vnreformednes of my nature, thou ſéeſt before ſome great euill that I am like to fall into, if I bee left vntounto mine owne courſe, thou findeſt me to be forgetfull of my duety to thee, cold in Prayer, backward and lumpiſh in holy ſeruices, well-néere lulled aſléepe in the common ſecurity of the times: It is thy wiſedome to rouſe me vp, & to put thy hooke of affliction into my noſtrils, to bring mee backe into that good way from which I am falling. I knowe thou doeſt therfore chaſten me, that I may not be condemned with the world. O teach me (I pray thee) to learne to iudge my ſelfe, to ſearch & to try my wayes, to pry into my courſe by-paſt, that I may finde out thoſe euils which beare in mée the greateſt ſway, and may in ſome meaſure vnderſtande, what it is which thou aymeſt at in afflicting mee.
And enable mee withall to reforme mine errors, to recouer my wandring, & to get a happie victorie ouer my rebellious fleſh: that I may be able to ſay hereafter, It is good for mee that I was in trouble, bleſſed be the time that the Lorde afflicted me; and how ſweet is the quiet fruite of righteouſneſſe which ſpringeth foorth from the bitter roote of tribulation? In the meane ſpace (O Lord) vntill it ſhall pleaſe thée to put an ende to my preſent grieuaunces, teach me, not to make haſte, or to ſéeke by vile and vnwarrantable courſes to wind my ſelf out of thy hands, but graunt that I may tarry thy leaſure with patience, not daring to preſcribe vntounto thee what to doe. And when this ſtorme is ouer, and the ſorrowe paſt O kéepe me from ſecuritie, make me to remember the vowes and promiſes of obedience which I now make vntounto …hee prepare mee to a freſh triall, that my care may be to bée prouided for whatſoeuer thy pleaſure ſhall bee to lay vponupon me. Heare mee in this, and in all other my ſuites, for his ſake in whom thou art beſt pleaſed, euen Ieſus Chriſt the righteous. Amen.