Fefus Chrift. Suggest to me, I beseech thee, frequent Thoughts of my Mortality,that fe, while I have Time and Opportunity, I may be preparing for my Departure hence,and making provifion for a dying hour. In order whereunto affist me, O Lord, I beseech thee, ftrictly to examine and review my past finful Courfes, that fo if there be any remains of Guilt abiding upon my Confcience, I may purge them away by proper Acts of Repentance,before I go bence and be no more seen. And grant that as I have formerly abounded in Sin, fo I may now redeem that precious Time I have loft,by abounding in the contrary Vertues, that fo, as far as in me lies, I may revoke and undo the multitude of my paft Sins, by doing all the Good I am able for the future. And that I may hold out and perfevere to the end, preferve and continue me in the Communion of thy Church,and fuffer me not to be led away by the errors of the wicked, and to fall from my own stedfastneß. And finally, Ibefeech thee to grant that in the use of thefe bleffed Means, I may fo far prevail over the Infirmities and Corruptions of my Nature, as that at laft I may have a clear and certain Feeling of my own Integrity and Up-. rightneß towards thee; that fo being from thence affured of thy Love, and of my Title to eternal Happines, I may run the ways of thy Commandments more chearfully, and at last finish myCour fe with unspeakable joy. And now, O Lord, I refign my felf to thee,take me, I beseech thee, into thy Care and Protection this Day, preferve me from all Evil,but especially from Sin,and quicken me by thy Spirit unto every good work, that fo I may ferve thee with a free and chearful Mind, and make it my meat and drink to do thy bleffed will. All which Ihumbly beg for Jefus Chrift his fake,in whose Name and Mediation I farther pray, QurFather,&c,

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In the Evening, when you enter into your Closet, confider what is the prefent Frame and Temper of your Mine; and upon Enquiry you will perceive, either that through the prefent Prevalenсу of your corrupt Nature, you are averfe to divine Offices,or that through bodily infirmity, you are indifpofed to them, or that through Worldlymindedne and Vanity of Spirit you are cold and apt to be distracted in them, or laftly, that your Heart is very much enlarged,and your Mind and Affections vigorously difpofed towards divine and heavenly things.

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If upon Enquiry you find that through the prefent Prevalency of your corrupt Nature you are aver fe to divine Offices, indeavour to affect your felf with Shame and Sorrow for it, by representing to your Mind the great Impiety and Bafenefs, the monftrous Folly and Ingratitude of this your prefent Temper, and then offer up this following Prayer.

My most gracious God, and most kind and merciful Father, thou art the best Friend I have in all the World, and haft fhewn a thousand times more Love to me than ever I fhewed to my self; but after all the vast and most indearing Obligations thou haft laid upon me, this vile and ungrateful Heart of mine ftill retains fome Dregs of its antient Enmity against thee. Had I but the common Sense and Ingenuity of a Man in me, how could I think of thee without Raptures of Love; how could I draw near unto thee without Transports of Delight and Complacency! But, vile and ungrateful that I am, I can think of all thy Good

Goodneß with cold and frozen Affections, and can come into thy Prefence not only with Indifference but Reluctancy. Good God, what am I made of! what an infenfible Soul do I carry about me! O I am afhamed of my felf, I am confounded with the fenfe of my own Bafeneß; and yet, woe is me, I cannot help it. Iftrive to shake off this Clog of my corrupt Nature, but still it hangs upon me, and finks and weighs down my Soul as oft as 'tis afpiring towards thee. O my God, have pity upon me, deliver me from this Body of Sin, cafe my weary and heavy laden Soul of this grievous Burthen under which it labours and greans,and fuffer not this fpark of divine Life which thou haft kindled in me to be oppreft and extinguisht by it; but fo cherish it, I beseech thee, with the continual Influences of thy Grace, as that at length it may break through all this Rubbish that fuppreffes it, and finally rife into a glorious Flame. Then fhall I always approach thee with Foy, and breath up my Soul to thee in every Prayer; then shall my heart be firmly united to thee in a devout and chearful Affection, and my Prayers fhall come up as Incense before thee, and breath a fweet-fmelling favour into thy Noftrils.Hear me therefore, O my God, I beseech thee,and ftrengthen me with all might in the inward man, that for the future I may contend more vigorously and fucceßfully against thefe vile Inclinations of my Nature which do fo miferably hamper and depreß my Soul, that fo at laft I may be a conquerer and more than a conquerour through Jefus Christ our Lord, Amen.

If through any bodily Infirmity, fuch as Melancholy, Wearineß, Droufineß, or Sickneß you find your felf indifpofed to divine Offices, indeavour to Ff 4 quicken

quicken your fluggish Mind with the Confideration of fome one of the moft moving Argument of your Religion, fuch as the Love of God and of your Saviour, the Majesty of Gods Prefence in which you are, or the bleffed Immortality you hope for; and then addrefs your felf to God in this following Prayer.

Bleffed God, thou art a most pure and active ·Spirit, who doft always move with an uncontroulable Freedom, and art never hindred or wearied in thy Operations; have pity upon me, I beseech thee, thy poor infirm Creature, who am cumbred with this Body of death,and fo depreft by its manifold Frailties, that I cannot lift up my Heart unto thee.Thou knoweft, O Lord,my spirit is willing though my flesh is weak; my labouring Soul afpires towards thee, it stretches forth the Wings of its Defires toward thee, and would fain mount up above all earthly things, and unite it self with thee in eternal Love; but alas! its Fervours are dampt, and its Endeavours tired by this clog of Flesh that hangs upon it, and perpetually finks and weighs it down again.O my God, draw near unto me, and touch my Mind with fuch a powerful sense of thee, as in depight of thefe my bodily Indifpofitions may attract and draw up my Soul unto thee. And if it be thy blessed will, releafe me from these fleshly Incumbrances, and fit my Body to my Mind, that I may ferve thee, as I defire to do with a fervent and a chearful Spirit. But if it fall feem good in thine Eyes to leave me struggling under thefe bodily Oppreffions, Lord give me Patience and Submiffion to thy heavenly Will; that so when I cannot approach thee with that Pleasure and Satiffaction I defire,I may be heartily content to ferve thee

upon

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upon any Terms, and that what I want of Vigour and Chearfulneß in my Religion, I may make up in Truth and in Reality. And O let the Senfe of these my prefent Indifpofitions cause me more vehemently to long after that free and bleffed State, wherein with fixt and fteady Thoughts, with flagrant Love and an entire Devotion of Soul, I shall for ever worship, praise, and glorifie thy Name, Amen.

If through present Worldly-mindedneß, or Vanity of Spirit, you find your felf cold and apt to be distracted in your Religious Offices, indeavour to ftir up your Affections by representing to your felf the Greatness and Urgency of your fpiritual Wants, the Vanity of all outward things, and the Reality and Fulness of heavenly Enjoyments. And do what you can to recollect your wandring Thoughts, by fetting your felf in the Prefence of the Great God, to whofe All-seeing Eye every Thought and Motion of your Soul is open and naked. And when by thus doing, you have compofed your Mind into a more ferious Frame, prefent this following Prayer.

Thou ever bleffed Majefty, who filleft Heaven and Earth with thy Prefence, and art always listening to the Supplications of a world of Creatures that hang upon thee,open, I beseech thee, thine Ears of Mercy to me, who am unfit and unworthy to approach thee; why by fetting my Affections upon things below, and plunging my felf into the Cares and Pleafures of this Life,have estranged and alienated my mind from thee,and loft that delightful Relish of thee, with which I was wont to draw near unto thee. And now that I

am