after the things of this world; too great a fondness for the profits and pleasures of it. And tho' I am fully perfuaded, that it is my happiness and privilege, as well as my duty to love and ferve thee; yet I am very apt to forget thee, and to grow carelefs and remifs in that great and important work which thou haft given me to do. My devotion to thee is many times cold and languid; my prayers are full of wanderings, deadnefs, and diftractions, and the very best of my religious duties are accompanied with fo many failings and imperfections, that I have great caufe to humble myself before thee.

O Lord, I have no hope but in thy mercy, and the infinite merits and paffions of my dear redeemer: and if thou rejecteft me, I am loft and undone for ever. Therefore remember that I am but duft, and turn not thy face from me, nor caft thy fervant away in difpleafure; let the interceffions of thy beloved fon prevail in my behalf: and for the fake of his meritorious death and paffion, for all that he has done, and all that he has fuffered for me, have mercy upon me.

O Lord, pardon and forgive, I most earneftly and unfeignedly befeech thee, all the fins and follies of my life paft; especially, O

my God, lay not to my charge thofe fins {Here may be named particulars] by which I have offended thee, my good and gracious Lord God. O cleanfe me from all my fecret and unknown tranfgreffions, and vouchfafe, O merciful father, to be reconciled unto me, who am forry for my fins, and grieved that I have offended thee, my moft gracious Lord and Mafter; for which, and all other thy repeated mer cies to me, I owe all the returns of love and duty that can poffibly be paid by a creature to thee his creator.

O Lord! open thou mine eyes, that I may fee the vilenefs and deformity, as well as danger of fin; that I may fly from all appearance of evil, and with an unwearied diligence follow after, and pursue the things that make for my everlafting peace. Grant, that for the time to come, I may live only unto thee, in an awful fear of thy great name, and a conftant regard to thy bleffed will, keeping always a confcience void of offence, both towards thee, my God, and towards all men; that when thou fhalt think fit to take me out of this state of trial and temptation here, I may be received into that bleffed kingdom, where all tears fhall be wip'd from mine eyes, and fin and death fhall be no more. Grant

this, O merciful father, thro' the merits, and for the fake, of the fame thy dear fon, and my bleffed faviour, Jefus Chrift. Amen... .

Here abferve the directions given on page 8, and more particuarly endeavour to improve your foul by reading a leflon out of the cm WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 4. Section I.

The Meditation for Friday Evening. Upon the fufferings of Jefus Chrift commemorated in the facrament of the Lord's fupper.

For even hereunto were ye called: because christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye fhould follow his fteps: who his ownfelf bare our fins in his own body on the tree; that we being dead to fin fhould live unto righteousness: by whofe ftripes ye were healed. 1 Peter ii. 21, 24.

NOW, my foul, thy dearest Lord is taken down from the cross; let us by the eye of faith and reafon look nearer upon him: O what a man of forrows, what a doleful spectacle do we behold! how pale, how wan, and extenuated, how mournful and doleful is his face! his eyes are funk, his temples are furrowed with the thorns. O the gafhes and deep wounds of his shoulders and back, opened all with ftripes! O the wide rendings of his hands and feet! his empty veins, his ftretched-out finews, his rankled flesh, how flaggy with ftripes, how begored with blood! his hair clotted, and his whole

body

body out of order, and all this for finners, for his enemies, for loft ungrateful man, even for us, O my foul!

2. Come, O my foul, and compare thy love for Jefus with that hels fhewn for thee, and all mankind. O! conis thy remiffhefs and thy fin. Say; O bleffed fefu! I adore thy love, and acknowledge my tranfgreffions: for love brought thee down from heaven to us ; but how few of us doth it carry up thither unto thee? love made thee die the moft fhameful death; but it doth not make us live the moft glorious life. Love made thee endure the foreft pains; but, alas! it doth not make mankind take the pleasure of following thy fteps to the greateft happiness. Love made thee think perpetually on fuch poor wretches as we are; but we feldom think upon thee. Love perfuaded thee to come to us when there was nothing to call thee, except only our great miferies; but it doth not bring us all to thee; tho' we are moved by the merits, and precious promises of fo immenfe a love.

3. Let not our devotion reft in bare acknowledgments, do not only praife his goodness, but dread his majesty; and let us fhew our love by our deeds; to him let us reverent

ly

ly go, and offer our devout hearts at his footftool; let us remember every paffage of his love with unfeigned thanks. For, the lord is fold, that the flave may be free: the innocent is condemned, that the guilty may be faved; the phyfician is fick, that the patient may be cured; and God himfelf becomes man to die, that man may live.

4. Tell me, my foul, when firft thou haft well confidered and looked about among all we know; tell me who ever wifhed us fo much good? who ever loved us with so much tenderness? our nearest friends, what have they done for us; or even our parents, in comparison of this charity? no less than the fon of God came down to redeem us; no less than his own dear life was the price he paid for us: what can the favour of the whole world promife us, compared to this miraculous bounty? no less than the joys of angels are become our hope, no lefs than the kingdom of heaven is made our inheritance.

5. This is the compaffion of my God! thus far his charity prevailed; who thought it was not enough to become man for us, but expofed himself to all our miseries! was it not enough, O fefu! to labour all thy life, but thou

must