Page:The pastor in his closet.djvu/57

 science, stedfastness, that no persuasion of evil companions, nor the voice of any charmer, nor ridicule, nor false shame, nor any pleasure which sin promises, may draw them away towards the paths of hell. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way, even by ruling himself after Thy Word." Give them an affection for Thy Word that they may cleanse their way and rule themselves according to Thy Word.

Preserve also, good Lord, the middle-aged, that they be not choked with the cares of the world, for upon such do the cares of the world most thickly fall; warn them lest they become cold, worldly, drowned in worldly businesses, lovers of self, greedy of riches. Shew them for their souls' sake the vanity and deceitfulness of the world, its ill returns for hard service, uncertain payments for great labours, perishableness of its riches, changeableness of its praise, insincerity of its love, its forgetfulness of its own children, its utter unprofitableness, failing in time of trial, unstable as water, unsatisfying to an immortal soul. There are many whose callings are dangerous, subject to especial snares, like slippery places, wherein it is difficult to stand upright: these, Lord, either take from such callings, or enable them to walk unharmed.