Page 82
CONTEMPLATIONS and COLLECTS ON THE Fifteenth PSALM of DEGREES, BEING The CXXXIV. PSALM.
O Thou that acceptest not the Persons of Princes, nor regar∣dest the Rich more than the Poor, since they are all alike the Works of thy Hands! grant that we may not be such Fools as to forget thee in any time of our quiet, fulness, or repose, lest thou come at an Hour when thou art not look'd for by us, and find us unfit for thy Appearance, who canst trouble whole Nations even at Midnight (at a time when we least think of Disturbance or Remove), as we have great Examples in the People of Israel, Egypt, and Assyria; for there is not any Darkness (no not the shadows of Death) where the workers of Iniquity can hide themselves from thine Eyes, though all the Mountains of the World should cover them; thou beholdest all our Goings, though thy Foot-steps are too little regarded by us.
Therefore let us not think to do mischief or wrong like the Evil one, who sowed Tares while other Men slept; nor to commit Vio∣lence or Robbery; * 1.1 nor to Defraud or Deceive, like the Harlot at Mid∣night; but even at that Season be Chast, and Pious, and Charitable, like Boaz, denying our selves, and mastering our Concupiscences, and (like Sampson in Gaza) disappoint the malice of that implacable Adversary, who hunts after our Souls, and ceases not, like a Dog, to go about seeking whom he may devour.
Lord! deliver thou my Darling from his Power, as thou didst St. Paul, even at such a dismal time when I may seem in his very Jaws; then let my Soul escape and get away, and find a way to serve thee, (as that chosen Vessel did) who could Pray and sing Praises unto thee even at Midnight; so let us endeavour to worship the Lord with holy Worship, with clean Hands, and a pure Heart, that we may stand on his holy Hill, and remember in all the Formalities of outward Cleanness to keep our Spirits pure; and in all our Approaches to thee, to keep our selves unspotted of the World; to this end give us inward Holiness, and the Sanctifications both of Heart and Life, that in the darkest hour of Temptation, in the deadest time of Distress, in the cloudiest night of Trouble, or of Agonies, we may lift up our Praises and Adorations unto thee, who canst send thine Angel (as thou didst once thy Son, at such a time) to comfort and recover our vile Natures, and to command Deliverances unto thy People, even from thy most holy Place.