David's harp strung and tuned, or, An easie analysis of the whole book of Psalms cast into such a method, that the summe of every Psalm may quickly be collected and remembred : with a devout meditation or prayer at the end of each psalm, framed for the most part out of the words of the psalm, and fitted for several occasions / by the Reverend Father in God, William ... Lord Bishop of Gloucester.

A Prayer collected out of the 22. Psalm, to be used by a discon∣solate soul in a spiritual Desertion.

O Heavenly Father, and most Merciful God, thou séest that at this time I am a man of sorrows, and beset with heaviness, thy comforts I now most néed, and yet thou séemest to turn thy face from me. My God, [Vers. 1] whom I have alwayes served, my God, whom I have alwayes trusted, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so farre from my help? why is it, that thou doest not hear the words of my complaint? O my God, [Vers. 2] I cry day and night to thée, to take away this bitter cup from me, but thou who art wont to hear those who call upon thee, yet doest not regard the voice of my roar∣ing.

As water that is poured out upon the ground, and hath no consistence: [Vers. 14] as wax that melts at the heat of the fire, and loseth its continuity: so is the heart in the midst of my body, it flows every way, and is melted by the furnace of thy fierce wrath, I have not whereon to stay, I have not whereon to consist, I pine with grief, I dissolve with pain, I pine and languish, and faint, and dye. My bones are fill'd with torture, [Vers. 15] all the strength of my limbs is wast∣ed, my vital spirits fail, my moysture is dryed up, my tongue cleaveth to my gums, and I am brought even to the very dust of death.

I looked about to sée if any would pity me, [Vers. 17] but I found them all miserable comforters, they shew no pity, no compassion at all. [Vers. 6] For as if I were a worm and no man, they stare and look upon me, delighting themselves in my misery. [unspec 7] They scoff and scorn me, so that I am become the reproach of men, and the de∣spised of the people. Their words are bitter, their gestures worse. [Vers. 12] They laugh me to scorn, they shoot out their lips, they shake their heads. [unspec 13] They thus insult over me, nay blaspheme thée. He trusted in God, [unspec 16] that he would deliver him, let him deliver him now, if he hath any delight in him. [unspec 18] They compass me as wild Bulls, they enclose me as mad doggs, they gape upon me as roaring Ly∣ons. They pierce my soul. They part my goods among them, and cast lots upon mine inheritance.

But O thou God of Israel, thou continuest propitious and benevolous, [Vers. 3] why then doest thou stop thine ears at my prayers? Thou hast perform'd thine Oath to out fore-fathers, they trusted in thée in the depth of their calamities, [unspec 4] and thou didst comfort or deliver them. They cryed in their afflictions, [unspec 5] and thou sentest them help; they hoped in thée, and were not ashamed, or frustra∣ted of their hope. But me, who have alwayes call'd upon thée, [unspec 6] who have alwayes hoped in thée, thou hast deserted and forsaken, exposed as the vilest and most contemptible worm to be trampled upon by every foot, and insulted o∣ver by my cruel enemy.

Yet, O Lord, I am thy creature, [unspec 9] and thy hands have fashioned me in my mothers womb, and being fashioned, thou art he, that brought'st me into this light, upon thée have I fastned all my hope even from my infancy, [unspec 10] even from that time to this very hour, [unspec 11] thou hast shew'd thy self a merciful God in nourishing, governing, and preserving me from all evil. Do not thou there∣fore, who hitherto hast béen present with me, whom I have acknowledged, whom I have honour'd, in whom I have hoped, Do not, O do not thou depart, be not farre from me, for most grievous trouble is near, and there is none be∣sides to help me: [unspec 19] none to mitigate the pressnre of my calamities with any comfort. But O thou Father of Mercies, deferre no longer, but haste thee to help me; O Lord my strength, deliver my soul from the Sword, my soul, [unspec 20] I say, which is only dear to me, from the power of the Dogg. Save me from the Lyons mouth, from my Adversary the Devil, [unspec 21] that goes about like a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour, and hear me, and frée me from the hands of Tyrants.

This if thou shalt do for me, [Vers. 22] as I certainly believe thou wilt, then I will ap∣pear before thee in the great Congregation, then I will declare thy Name, thy Power, thy Goodness, to all my brethren, to those who are bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh, to all those who are partakers of the same Covenant, and of the same spirit with me, [unspec 25] I will fréely and openly profess and praise thée, Before thée, and of thée shall I make my boast in the most frequent Assemblies of thy Servants. Thy praise shall ever be in my mouth, and those sacrifi∣ces of thanksgiving, which I have vowed, these I will pay in the presence of all thy people.

And I will call to my brethren to ioyn with me, [unspec 23] saying, O ye of the seed of Jacob, that fear the Lord; and, O all ye of the seed of Israel, that imitate his faith and piety, praise the Lord, glorifie my and your God; fall low before him, adore and worship him, [unspec 24] for he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of me a poor afflicted, despised wretch, neither hath he hid his face from me, but when I cryed unto him, he heard me.

O Lord, thou heardst thy Son when he pray'd for himself, hear him, we beséech thée, [Vers. 16] when he prayes for us. And look nor upon us as we are in our selves wretched, [unspec 14] polluted creatures, but look upon the face of thine anointed, behold his hands and his féet digg'd through with nayls for our sake, behold his blood poured out like water, and all his sinews stretched upon the Cross, and his bones put out of joint, consider his bitter Agony, in which, as if he had béen near some furnace, he fell into a sweat, and melted into drops of blood, when thou hidd'st thy face, affordest him no comfort, when in bitter∣ness of soul being forsaken by thee, he complain'd and cryed, My God, my God: Remember how for us he became the reproach of men, [Vers. 1] and the out-cast of the people, [Vers. 7] how they laugh'd him to scorn, and shak'd their heads at him, forget not those Bulls, [unspec 12] those Lyons, those Doggs, that came about him to devour him, and when they had brought him to the dust of death, [unspec 13] [unspec 15] they parted his garments a∣mong them, [unspec 18] and cast lots upon his vesture. O let not this blood be spilt in vain, but for these sufferings unknown to us, but felt by him, have pity upon us, and save us.

Since he hath given his soul a Sacrifice for sin, divide him a portion with the great, and let him divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul to death, and was numbred with the transgressours, and bare the sins of ma∣ny, let him see his seed, let him prolong his dayes, and let the pleasure of the Lord prosper in his hand: Since he hath borne our iniquities, and made inter∣cession for the transgressours, let him see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied, and let this thy righteous Servant justifie many.

Let all the ends of the world remember themselves, [Vers. 27] mourn and deplore their former estate, lament for their impiety, and forsaking their lewd con∣versation, be turned unto the Lord, and let all the kindreds of the Nations, in∣stead of the creature, worship the Creatour. For thine, O Christ, is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory, and thou by the meritorious Death and Passion, [Vers. 28] hast merited to be the governour among the Nations. A seed even of the Gentiles shall serve thee, they shall be counted to the Lord for a generati∣on. [Vers. 26] These are the méek upon earth, these are the poor in spirit, these are the contrite and broken-hearted. To these thou hast sent the glad tidings of the Gospel, for these thou hast prepared a banquet of thine own flesh and blood. Oh give us grace so to eat thy flesh, and drink thy blood, that we may eat and be sa∣tisfied, and being fill'd, with joy of heart, we may praise thée, that we séek to thée, and please thée, and our consciences being quieted, and secured by this re∣past, we may acquiesce and live in the perswasion of thy peace and reconciliati∣on for ever.

O let the fat on earth, [unspec 29] the greatest, the richest, the mightyest Princes and Potentates on earth, long after this food, and in testimony of their faith and Religion, eat, adore, and worship. These, even these must go down to

the dust, for no man can keep alive his own soul. Let these then, together with all other Mortals, bow their knées at the Name of Iesus, and come and eat this spiritual meat, that they may live for ever.

Thou, O Iehovah, art our righteousness, [unspec 31] this will we declare to a people that shall be born, our childrens children shall know, that thou alone hast done this for us, that thou hast redéemed us, that thou alone art the Authour and Finisher of our justice and salvation, that thou doest justifie, thou doest sancti∣fie thy people, and wilt save them by the meritorious Death and Passion of our Lord Iesus Christ. And therefore for this we will declare thy Name unto our brethren, we will praise thee, we will glorifie thee, we will fear, adore, and worship thee. Our praise shall be of thee in the great Congregation, and we will pay our vows before them that fear thee for ever and ever. Amen.

Notes

• Isa. 53.