always think on thee with reverence and godly fear.

Enlighten my eyes that they may see thee, and not exalt themselves; but gaze with humble wonder on the things that are too high to be thoroughly perceived: and fix my sight and desires on the blessings of thy right, and not on those of thy left hand. Attract my heart with that goodness thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, that I may love thee with everlasting love; and not wander after vain objects, and, blinded with their deceitful appearance, put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter; darkness for light, and light for darkness; but that by thy gracious guidance and mighty protection, I may be safely led, and escape those manifold snares, which the subtle nature of our common enemy, lays every where in our way to catch unwary souls: of which he who wisely had considered our danger, hath given us this fair warning, All that is in the world, is the lust of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Since then every place is so thick set with snares, and every step we take so full of hazard, who shall be able to promise himself safety? Surely none but he whom thou securest from the desire of the eyes, by taking from him a proud look; none but he, whom thou defendest against the lust of the flesh, by turning from him vain concupiscence; none but he whom thou hast made proof against the pride of life, by delivering him from a haughty and insolent and profane mind. Happy the man who is thus armed, thus protected; his enemies shall not be able to do him violence, the son of wickedness shall not hurt him.

I beg thee, therefore, O my Redeemer, for thy

own mercies' sake, let me not fall into the snares laid for me, nor give the adversary occasion to triumph in my ruin. Let my God arise, and let his enemies be scattered, yea, let them which hate him flee before him. Like as the smoke vanisheth, so do thou drive them away; and like as the wax melteth at the fire, so let the ungodly perish at the presence of God. Thou, Lord, art the Father of the fatherless, hear the cry of thy desolate and helpless children. Sleep not, nor slumber, O thou keeper of Israel, for the watchful enemy that labours Israel's destruction, doth neither slumber nor sleep.

O Light, before which all other light is darkness, which no night can damp, no obstruction intercept, no blindness shut out; thou that enlightenest every thing in every part, at once and always; receive me in thy brightness, that I may see thee in thyself, and myself in thee, and all things else under thee. If thou withdraw thy shining, the clouds of my ignorance gather, and I am overwhelmed with sin and error. All is black, all evil without thee: for what can possibly be good, which is destitute of thee, the true, the chief, the only good?

I know, O Lord, and acknowledge, that besides thee alone not only all without, but all within me, is misery and want. And otherwise than wretched I cannot be, when distracted by the vast variety of worldly objects, and drawn off from thee, the one supreme good. I pursue first one, and then another, but cannot meet with satisfaction from any: I starve in the midst of plenty, and am but mocked with the empty pomp of a feast, when my soul feeds on any thing but thee; for thou alone canst satisfy my hunger, assuage my pains, and fill my large de

sires.

How wretched, doubly wretched, is that soul, which forsakes thee, with whom is fulness and joy, to follow the world, where it is sure to suffer poverty and pain! The world cries out, "I cannot satisfy thee." Thou sayest, "eat and let thy soul be satisfied." And yet (such is the perverseness of my appetite) I follow after that which cannot, and forsake that which can and would content me. Correct, O spiritual physician, this disorderly eagerness for trash, and help me to relish the wholesome food of souls, and to labour for that meat which endureth to everlasting life.

The great things thou hast done for me already, encourage me to ask and hope for more. I was not, and thou gavest me being; I was lost and thou hast restored me; dead and thou hast raised me; thou enduredst death to purchase my life; and though the King of heaven, deliveredst up thy person to ransom the least and most unworthy of thy subjects, thy blood was not thought a price too dear for my redemption, and I may truly say, that in some sense, thou lovedst me better than thyself, since thou wert content to die for my sake. By so gracious a covenant, by so precious a ransom, am I redeemed from slavery and exile, from punishment and death. And that the remembrance of such astonishing mercies might be for ever fresh and present with me, thou hast called me by thy name, marked me for thy own with thy blood, anointed me with that oil of the Holy Spirit, with which thyself wast anointed, and distinguished me with the most honourable of all titles, that of Christian. Thus have thy grace and mercy all along prevented me. And infinite are the dangers from which thou hast delivered me. Thou hast been my guide

and teacher, when I strayed through ignorance; my reprover and corrector when I offended through carelessness or presumption; my comfort in trouble, my support in despair; when I fell, thou tookest me up; when I stood, it was because thou upheldest me; when I advanced, thou conductedst me; when I approached, thou receivedst me; when I slept, thou didst guard me; when I cried, thou didst hear and answer me.

MEDITATION XLVII.

God's Omniscience.

ALL my innumerable mercies I thankfully ascribe to thee, my God, and recollect with such a sensible delight, that I could dwell upon them for ever, and wish to speak and think of thee alone; to love thee with all my heart, and mind, and strength, and with every faculty and part of my soul and body be constantly employed in praising thee. O how blessed are those pious men who can rejoice in thee! But thou, my God, seest all my imperfections, and how far distant I am from this happiness. Thy eyes are a thousand times more piercing than the sun, penetrating the deepest and darkest recesses, and watching continually in every place to behold the evil and the good.

For thou, who fillest and governest all things, hast a constant regard to the work of thy own hands hadst thou not loved thy creatures thou hadst not made them; and the same love which made, will always continue to guide, and preserve, and watch over them. Thus thou art ever present with me, always marking well my goings, and numbering all my steps; thou standest over me as a watchful sentinel, and observest me as nicely as if all care of every thing besides had been dismissed and I remained the only object of thy concern; for so entire, so unalterable is the perfection of thy sight and knowledge, that it is neither more exact being confined to one object, nor at all perplexed or confused by taking into view the most distant