fins both of omiffion and of commiffion cry aloud against me, and are a burden too heavy for me to bear what therefore can I do, what can I say unto thee! let me flee unto thee, thou preferver of men, and confefs that I am fo vile, that I cannot exprefs it; fo loathfome and deteftable, that I even abhor myself for my iniquities. 2. O my foul! make no longer tarrying, for we can't expect that his purer eyes fhould condefcend to look upon me, or that he should extend his favour to fo polluted a wretch as I find myfelf to be. And should he leave me to myself, I were utterly undone, beyond all hope, or fo much as poffibility of recovery. But, very 3. Bleffed, for ever bleffed, be thy name, O God! who haft opened a fountain for sin, and for uncleannefs, and haft encouraged the worst of men to hope for mercy upon their fincere converfion and amendment; and haft fent thy dearly beloved Son to take upon him our nature, and to call not the righteous but finners to repentance; and haft bid all thofe come unto thee, that are weary. and heavy laden. In a fense therefore of my own unworthinefs and guilt, I come trembling unto thee. For, I loath, I deteft, I abominate my fins, and myself, because of them. 4. 4. Wherefore, moft merciful Lord, defpife me not, but behold my mifery, as the greater occafion of thy mercy. And let thy pardoning of fo great, fo vile, fo wretched a finner, fhew the greatness of thy clemency and compaffion. Thou alone are the healer of our wounds, the lifter up of our heads, and I cannot diftruft thee fince thy goodness is infinite. Tho' my fins are great, thy mercies are greater; therefore with them cover all my guilt, 1 most humbly befeech thee. 5. I am not worthy to look up to heaven, but do thou look down from thence, and raise a miferable finner from the dunghill, and out of all the mire of my finful pollutions. Thus I caft all my care on thee, who didft ordain that Chrift fhould die for all, that they who live, should not henceforth live unto themfelves, but unto him who died for them and rofe again: and therefore my ftrong hope is in thee: if I had not that confidence that Jefus would heal all my diseases, I must defpair under their number and weight. Thus, I dare accept of the invitation of my Saviour to eat and drink at his table. O! thou God of all mercy and truth, receive me gracioufly thro' the mediation of my blessed Saviour, and let not mine iniquities work my everla ing ruin. E 3 A Prayer on Saturday evening, for a worthy receiving of the holy facrament. I will wash my hands in innocency, O Lord, and fo will I go to thine altar. Pfalm xxvi. 6. Crucified Jefu! who at thy laft fupper didft ordain the holy eucharift, the facrament and bond of chriftian love, for the continual remembrance of the facrifice of thy death; and haft commanded us to do this in remembrance of thee; let that propitiatory facrifice of thy death, which thou didst offer upon the cross for the fins of the whole world, and particularly for my fins, be ever fresh in my remembrance. O bleffed Saviour, let that mighty falvation thy love hath wrought for us, never flip out of my mind, but efpecially let my remembrance of thee in the holy facrament be always most lively and affecting. So that if I love thee truly, I fhall be fure to frequent thy altar, that I may often remember all the wonderful loves of my crucified Redeemer. Yet, forafmuch as I know, O my God, that a bare remembrance of thee is not enough; fix in me fuch a remem brance of thee, as is fuitable to the infinite love I am to remember work in me all those holy and heavenly affections, which become the remembrance of a crucified Saviour; and do thou thou fo difpofe my heart to be thy guest at thy holy table, that I may feel all the fweet influences of love crucified, the ftrengthening and refreshing of my foul by thy body and blood, as my body is by the bread and wine. O merciful fefu! let that immortál food, which in the holy eucharift thou vouchsafest me, pour into my weak and languishing foul new fupplies of grace, new life, new love, new vigour, and new refolutions, that I may never more faint or droop, or faulter in my duty. Amen, Lord Jefus, Amen. See the concluding Prayer and Bleffing on page 36 and 37. *The Meditation for Sunday Morning. On the love of God to mankind, particularly manifefted in this facrament. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down. his life for us. 1 John iii. 16. I. Ehold, Lord, thus encouraged, thus Binvited, I come; yet I do not prefume to do fo, trufting in my own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. I feel, alas! my weakneffes and wants, and betake myself to thee for relief; fick and diseased, I fly to the E 4 Here you may obferve the directions given on page 3. phy phyfician of fouls; hungry and thirfty, to this fountain of living water, and bread of life; poor and needy, to the bountiful king of hea ven; a fervant to his kind mafter! a creature to his compaffionate creator, who hateth nothing that he hath made; and a forlorn difconfolate wretch, to thee, the holy, the eternal, the only comforter. But, 2. Whence is this to me, that my God fhould vouchfafe to come unto me? or, who am I that thou shouldst communicate to me thy own felf? how fhall a wicked finner dare to appear before thee? or how canft thou, who art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, endure to make fuch condefcending approaches to a foul polluted with fin and with uncleannefs? thou feeft my very inward parts, and knowest I have nothing in me that is good; nothing to invite fuch mercy; nothing fit for the reception of fo pure, fo glorious a majesty. 3: I will therefore most humbly confefs my. own vileness and thy unfpeakable goodness; I will moft thankfully admire, and praife, and adore thy marvellous love, and exceeding abundant grace. For this is purely thine own act. Nothing on my part could deserve, nothing could move thee to it. The more un worthy |