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    Graciously own accept, & confirm, what has bin done this day, both as to thy pps call & thy servants

    acceptance therof oh doe thou the God of ye spirits of all flesh set a man over ye congregation, what is

    our setting apart or laying on of hands If thou be not pleased to lay on ye hand of thy Spirit upon thy

    servants heart to strengthen it, incorrage & assist him, As thou art laying a great load of duty & a solemn

    charg upon thy servant, soe doe thou undertake for him, for without thee we can doe nothing

    much less soe great things as thou hast charged us, in most solemn wise to attend, both as to ye salva

    =tion of our own soules, & ye soules of them that hear us : oh strengthen thy servant in thy self, &

    put underneath thine Everlasting armes: Thou sendest ye treasure in Earthen vessells that ye Excellen

    cy of the power might be of thee, both as to assistance as well as to success

    oh lord Jesus thou yt sendest thy servants & this thy servant to soe great a work thou hast promised yt

    we shall not be alone but shall have thy sweet company, thou wilt be with us to ye end of the

    world, let this thy servant as we desire for our own soules, have his portion in that promise to

    the End of his life : oh be with us as thou hast bin with our fathers, & doe not leave us nor for

    =sake us, nor leave us to forsake thee

    when thou didst call a Saul to a great Imploy he had another spirit given to him & will not

    thou not much more fill thy servants who desire to fear thy name, & ys thy servant (whom as a

    chosen vessell thou art sending to bear thy name unto thy pp) with thy holy spirit

    give we pray thee an abundant supply of gifts & graces to thy servant wherby he may be inabled to

    fulfill ye ministry yt he has received of ye lord Jesus

    Thou seest what thornes in ye flesh we have, & what a body of death we are weighed down with, soe

    that we cannot serve thee with yt delight, unweariededness, humility fervency as we ought, oh doe thou

    purifye the sons of Levi that we may be inabled to offer a pure offering : As thou sendest us with thy

    truth, so hear our great intercessor for us, who hath prayed for us, that we may be sanctified by yt

    truth, doe thou say to us as thou didst concerning Josuah, take away his filthy garments, & put chang

    of Rayment upon him[134]

    And though yt didst help thy Levites of old to bear ye ark, & did fit Bezaliel & Aholiab for the service of

    thy sanctuary,[135] doe thou poure down an abundant portion of thy spirit & grace according to ye admea

    =surement of ye gospell, yt soe we may be all ministers of ye New Testament not of ye letter only but of

    the spirit : Help thy servants & ys thy servant soe to discherg our cherg & betrustment from

    thee, yt we may be clear from ye blood of all men

    Our work is of Eternal consequence, or time very short ye reward great & glorious, oh let us be up

    and be doing & let thy presence be with us, & let that give us rest

    Inable thy servant & servants justly to take care to save our selves least whilst we preach to others we

    our selves should be cast awayse, let us not consent our selves to dress glad food for others, but give us

    power to eat ye roul our selves

    And as for thy pp inable to trevall in birth till Xst be formed in ym & theirs : or lord Jesus thought

    not his blood too dear for his pp & shall we think any poor prayers or labours of ours too much for

    thy peoples good, If by any means we might be instruments to save soules & be helpers of thy pps fayth

    ___

    oh help us to put on bowels of compassion to poor soules, shall nature teach us to pitty a body without a

    soul & shall not grace much more teach us to pitty soules without Xst, let our Wyse & ears affect our hearts

    whilst we se & hear of soules going on still in yr trespasses & cannot be awakened out of yr sleep of sin & secu

    rity

    oh our blessed God let Sathan be brought down & his kingdome by ye power of thy word ye scepter of thy

    kingdome, oh yt we may not still se yt sad sight, even Sathan driving a great part of our poor flocks

    down hill into ye gulf of eternal perdition, as he did yt haerd of swine into ye sea & we like

    those keepers look on with amazement but cannot help, low long shall Sathan work such sad work

    in thy harvest to carry away the shokes[136] & sheaves & we get but a pore gleaning :

    Lord pitty us, we have ordinations & labourers sent to us, but what is done how little is thy kingdome

    increased, we beseech thee pity us thy pore husbandmen, let us not be sent to plow & sow all day upon

    the rocks, to harden & blind thy people, or to be a savour of death unto death to any If it were thy holy

    will : That was not ye end of thy sons ascention to give gifts to men, for thy pps greater ruin, oh

    leav not us by or sins to procure soe sad an event to our selves.

    Let we beseech thee the principle of all our labours be fayth, working by love to thee, & to thy pps soules

    for thou hast sayd it & again & again sayd it, If thou lovest me feed my sheep, feed my lambs, oh

    let it have great designe with Abrahams steward to provide a wife for our Masters son, yt we may

    not woe for our selves but for him. give us such an understanding to know how yt is true, & such

    help from him yt we may be enabled soe to woe pore sinners as to prevail wth ym & to present thy pp as

    a chaste virgin unto christ

    And seeing thou hast called ys thy young servant to soe great a stewardwhip, grant such mercy to thy

    servant that be found faythfull to ye soules of thy people, yeah we bless thee yt thou hast accounted

    him faythfull putting him into this ministry . oh inable him & us to lift up our voyces like a trumpet

    to declare to Israel yr sin, yt we may distinguish between ye clean & unclean, ye precious & ye vile yt we

    may never daub with any untempered mortar nor sew pillows under sinners arms: make thy servant

    a Boanerges as to ye impenitent & a Barnabas to ye bowed down & penitent[137]

    oh let him & us have the benifitt of thy peoples prayers as we have been called on ys day to be much

       In

     

    [134] Zech. 3:4.

    [135] Ex. 36:1.

    [136] I.e., “shocks,” as in “shocks of wheat.”

    [137] Mark 3:17; Barnabas was a missionary companion of Paul, as recounted in the book of Acts.