I am vile and polluted, O how fhall I be cleanfed: But that is a comfortable promise, "The blood of Jefus Chrift his Son, cleanfeth us from all fin." And fo is that, "Though ye have lien among the pots, ye fhall be as doves, whofe wings are covered with filver, and their feathers with yellow gold."

I refolve to obey, to fubmit to the Lord's will, to die like Mofes and Aaron, the one at the mount Hor, the other at mount Abarim. They went up and died there at the command of the Lord.

O that when my ftrength and flesh fail, God may be the ftrength of my heart, and my portion for ever. When now the keepers of the houfe do tremble, O that God may be the keeper: when the grinders cease, because they are few, O that God would feed 'my foul with manna, that will need none of these implements; when the daughters of mufic are brought low, O to be fitted for the heavenly mufic above: When the lookers out at the windows are darkened, O that my foul may be enlightened to fee Jefus my Redeemer.

Lord, help the unbelief and infidelity of my heart, and help to more of the faith of a rifen Jesus, an afcended Redeemer. O let me believe and feel the sweetnefs of that word of Chrift, "I afcend to my Father, and to your Father, and to your God and my God."

O how fhall fuch an unholy creature as I prefume to enter into fuch a pure and holy place! But the apostle has taught us, we may have boldness to enter into the holieft of all by the blood of Jefus.

O that when the time of my laft combat comes with my last enemy death, I may be helped above all to take the fhield of faith, whereby I may be relieved from the fting of death, and may quench the fiery darts of the wicked one.

O that. I may be helped to adore the fovereignty of God, kifs his rod, and humbly fubmit to it. Save me from both extremities; let me never despise the chaftening of the Lord, nor faint when I am rebuked of him.

Now the prince of darkness will study to raise tempefts of temptations to fhipwreck the poor weatherbeaten veffel of my foul, when it would enter into the

harbour

harbour of reft above; may Christ come to be pilot, fteer the helm, and it shall be safe.

O for more faith! may my faith ripen to a full affurance, that I may go off the ftage rejoicing, and that abundant entrance may be ministered to me into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Ŏ for more faith! that I may die like Simeon, when he had Christ in his arms, faying, "Now let thy fervant depart in peace, mine eyes have seen thy falvation."

Lord, one fmile of thy countenance would banish away all my doubts and fears, and make me fing in pain.

Is my Redeemer gone to prepare a place for us; why should I be fo flothful to follow his footsteps, when he is faying, "Come up hither;" come up, dwell here; come up, reign here; come up, fing here.

O Lord, deliver my foul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. O fave me from the horrible pit, draw me out of the miry clay, fet my feet upon a rock, and establish my goings, and put a new fong in my mouth.

Ŏ give grace to ftrive by faith and prayer, to enter in at the ftrait gate. Lord, thou haft bid me knock, and it shall be opened, afk, and ye fhall find. Lord, I knock, open unto me; I would be in, I must be in; let me but in over the threshold; let me in within fight of my Redeemer's face, within fight of the fmiles of his countenance, let me within hearing of the fongs of the redeemed; let me get to the out fide of that praifing company; I will be well enough if I get in.

Lord, in I must be, out I cannot stay: O fhut me not out with fwearers, fabbath-breakers, and profane perfons: Lord, I never chufed their company while in this world; Lord, do not gather my foul with finners hereafter.

The redeemed are gathering, and the wicked are gathering; Lord, gather me with thy flock:-They are faft a-gathering; the church's head is gone; he has left the earth, and entered into his glory; my brethren and friends, many of them have arrived where he is; I am yet behind. O how great is the difference betwixt my ftate and theirs. I am groaning out my complaint,

they

they are finging God's praise: I am in darkness, and
cannot fee thy face, but they behold thee face to face.
O fhould I be fatisfied to ftay behind, when
ftay behind, when my friends
are gone? Shall I wander here in a hungry defart,
when they are triumphing above and dividing the
fpoil? O help me to look after them with a ftedfast
eye, and cry, O Lord, how long?

Ở heavenly Father, draw me after Jefus, for none
can come to him without thy aid. O Father, draw me
up
there where he is, and I will mount up as on eagle's
wings. O draw me, and when thou feemeft to fly from
me, Lord enable me to fellow hard after thee.

Lord give me the staff of promife in my hand, that I may go over Jordan with it; O give me fuch a promife as that, "When thou paffeft through the waters. I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they fhall not overflow thee. When thou walkeft through the fire thou shalt not be burnt, neither fhall the flame kindle upon thee."

Lord, my experiences are fmall, my manifeftations are few: these I will not lean to: yet I will remember thee from the land of Jordan, from the Hermonites, and from the hill Mizar. Why art thou caft down, O my foul, and why difquieted within me! Hope thou in God, for I fhall yet praife him, who is the health of my countenance and my God.

O thou who rememberedft the dying thief when on the way to thy kingdom, O remember me when now feated in thy kingdom, and fay to my foul, when I am dying, “This day fhalt thou be with me in paradise.'

Lord, I am called to the work I never did, Ö give me the strength I never had. O ftrengthen me like Samfon for this once when at death, to pull down the strong holds of fin in me. Lord, wash away my fins in the blood of Chrift, and then my foul fhall not fink in the ocean of thy wrath.

O what is my life but a vapour! a fand-glass of fixty or feventy years! O how faft does it run down! How foon 'runs it out! Vain, vain is the love of life! O give me grace to overcome the love of life, and the fear of death. O for more patience and lefs fretting.

If the damned had hope of being faved from hell after a thousand years of my pain, how willingly would they endure it. Bleffed be God, my pains are not hell, their ftate is not mine.

Lord, draw near to me, and fave me; my body is full of trouble, and my life draws near to the grave. But, Lord, thy loving kindness is better than life. O make thy loving kindness sure to me, and I will willingly part with this dying life.

O that I could make all the world fee the beauty of my precious and adorable Saviour!

Nothing but an intereft in Chrift can give peace in life, or comfort in death. He is the chief among ten thousand, altogether lovely. My body is in part dead, but I know I cannot die eternally while Jefus lives. I muft go down to the grave; but what is the grave? ?It is but a refining pot, fince my Saviour lay in it, it is but a bed of rofes. He is the Rofe of Sharon, and the Lilly of the valley.

It was his free grace that drew me, and made me willing in the day of his power; no defire, no merit in me; it was all free and undeserved.

of

O let the chaftisement of my body be the medicine my foul, to cure me of fin, and bring me to fincere repentance for it; for Chrift was wounded for our tranfgreffions, he was bruifed for our iniquities; the chaftifement of our peace was upon him.

Lord, remember the chaftifement of Chrift for fin, and let my pains be the chastisement of a father, and not the wounds of an enemy; let Chrift's sufferings mitigate mine.

I rejoice in the prospect of that glorious inheritance referved fafe. I would not comfortably enter eternity any other way but in and through this God man-mediator; if he was not God as well as man, I could not be fupported :-but he is God.

O this precious Saviour, he is my all in all, he is my all-fufficient good, my portion and my choice; in him my vaft defires are fulfilled, and all my powers rejoice, I am travelling through a wilderness to a city of habitation, whofe builder and maker is God.

O delightful

O delightful thought! that I, who was going on in fin, fhould be plucked as a brand out of the burning. O how will they lie on a death-bed, that have nothing but their works to fly to; with only this to depend on, I should be the moft miferable of all creatures; but the long white robe of my Redeemer's righteousness is all my defire. They are truly bleffed, they alone are happy, who are enabled to exult in the garment of celeftial glory, which never waxeth old, in the illuftrious robes of a Saviour's confummate righteousness, which are incorruptible and immortal. This is a ròbe which hides every fin, of thought, word, or deed, that I have committed. O how unfpeakably happy are they who are juftified by this all-perfect righteoufnefs of the Lord Jefus Chrift, and who therein can conftantly triumph and glory.

Lord, I live upon Chrift, I live upon his righteoufness, I live upon his blood and merits; yea, I die alfo, leaning wholly upon this bottom. It is not paft expe. riences or manifeftations I depend upon; it is Christ, a prefent all-fufficient Saviour, and perfect righteoufnefs in him I look to. All my attainments are but lofs and dung befides him.

When I find myfelf polluted, I go to this fountain for cleansing. Lord give me delight in approaching to thee;-delight to be at a throne of grace. O that I could make my bed there, lie and die there.

The kingdom of heaven fuffers violence, and the violent take it by force. O for ftrength to offer a holy violence by faith and prayer.

THE