O Almighty God, Father and Lord of all the creatures, who hast disposed all things and all chances so as may best magnify Thy mercy, bringing good out of evil; I most humbly beseech Thee to give me wisdom from above, that I may adore Thee and admire Thy ways and footsteps, which are in the great deep and not to be searched out; teach me to submit to Thy Providence in all things, to be content in all changes of person and condition, to be temperate in prosperity, and to read my duty in the lines of Thy mercy; and in adversity to be meek, patient, and resigned; and to look through the cloud, that I may wait for the consolation of the Lord; in the meantime doing my duty with an unwearied diligence, and an undisturbed resolution, being strengthened with the spirit of the inner man; through Jesus Christ our Lord—Amen.

Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667).