What Praife, what Love, what foy, what Service, is great enough to render to thee, O Lord, who art so high, and whofe Kindness is fo great, far exceeding all our Conceptions! I make thee, O my God, a Prefent of all that I bave, with the most ardent and hearty Affection: Defiring but to be so happy as to have a perpetual Senfe of thee poffeffing my Soul with delightful Thoughts of thee, and engaging my Heart to the moft paffionate Love of thee, and preserving me in perfect Quietness and Peace, by an entire Truft in thee.

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I will Truft in thee, O Lord, at all Times I will love thee with all my Heart, and with all my Soul, and with all my Strength. The Meditation of thee shall be always fweet unto me. will rely on thy precious Promifes, that thou wilt never leave me nor forsake me: And still be giving Thanks unto thee in every Thing, according to thy Will declared in Chrift Fefus.

Thanks be unto thee, that thou haft made me fuch an excellent Creature; and endued me with a Mind fo great and large, and to all the Riches of Nature, added thofe great Treasures of thy Grace in Chrift Jefus, which are unfearchable and inestimable. I thank thee for all the blessed Fruits of his Paffion, Refurrection, and Exaltation: For the Power of the Holy Ghost; for the Service of better Creatures than thefe which thou hast pust in Subjection under our Feet, even the Ministry of the Celeftial Hoft, and all the Kindness I have received by their means:

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Wouchfafe, I beseech thee, to replenish my Mind more and more, with Abundance of Chriftian Wif dom. Fill me with Holy Thoughts. Make them familiar and natural to me, that they may be ready at Hand, on all Occafions, to prefent themfelves, and to quell all thofe unquiet Thoughts or Defires, that are apt at any time to rife in my Heart. Settle my Faith and Hope in thee; and make them more frong and vigorous. Raife that Love, which I acknowledge is due unto thee, to a greater Height; that I may feel the Power of it compofing my Spirit, and making me well pleafed in what pleafeth thee, and fatisfying me fully with a conftant Belief of thy Love and Kindness towards me. Raife me, O God, to that noble Pitch of Faith in thee, that I may be able to embrace my prefent Condition, whatfoever it be, as best for me: And accept of all Crosses from thee with an equal and thankful Mind; and wait on thee with a patient and refigned Will, for what thou feeft Good for me; and not be too hafty, in my Defires of Deliverance from the greatest Burthens that may lie upon me.

Preferve that Divine Reafon which thou haft infpired me withal, by thy Holy Gospel, in fuch Clearnefs, Force, and Activity, that it may perfectly fubdue and govern all my Paffions, and be ever at Hand to affift me against all Temptations to difcontented Thoughts and Fretfulness of Spirit. Poffefs my Heart, O my God, So entirely therewith, that I may be of good Comfort, yea Rejoice, in every Eftate, and fill fay, Thanks be to God, thanks be to God: Until I am fet free

from

from all the Troubles of this Life, and from the Straitnefs and Burthen of this Body too i that I may give thee Thanks, with more enlarged Thoughts and Affections in the happy Company of the Bleffed. Unto which I hope thou wilt conduct me by all that befalls me, according to thy wife Love manifefted in Chrift Fefus; by whom all Honour, Glory, and Praife, all hearty Love and chearful Obedience be rendred to thee Eternally.

Amen.

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SERM.

SERMON XIII.

HEB. XIII. 5.

Be content with fuch Things as

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ye

have:

Have finished the great and principal Rules for the leading a contented Life, which are contained in Faith, Hope, and Charity. Some

thing to trouble and moleft us, as hath been often faid, we inuft always expect, and not imagine that we can find ἕνα βίον αλυ Tov, fome one Sort of Life, void of all Grievances and Vexations. We do but lofe our Time and Labour, if we go in the fearch of any fuch State; whether we fancy it to be in the Country private Life, or in the Unmarried, or even in that of great Princes and Kings: For as Plutarch (whofe Words thefe are) hath obferved out of Menander, ojevés 77 Xúm

기

Bí, there is a certain Kindred between Life and

and Trouble. You cannot divide it from the delicate Life; the Honourable hath its Company; and it grows old with Men of meaner Condition.

But God hath not left us without a Remedy: That's our Comfort. And it chiefly lies in divine Faith; and a heavenly Hope which fprings from thence; and in a great Love and Gratitude to God, and an hearty Affection for all Mankind.

But befides thofe general Rules which have been mentioned, there are certain particular Advices, that are not unworthy the Confideration of those who would live quietly in this World; and will tend very much to make their Paffage thorough it more eafy, lefs offenfive to others, and confequently lefs troublefome to themselves. I will briefly propound them to you at this time; and conclude them, as I did the former, with a Direction or two which are of the largest Ufe.

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The firft is, To have fomething fill to do. For though Idlenefs feem eafy, and to have nothing to trouble it; it lays upon us a great Burthen of unquiet Thoughts, and breeds a Number of vexatious Defires. If our Condition therefore leads us neither to publick nor private Business, let us employ our time in honeft Studies. That is Seneca's Rule, I remember, to a Man who affects not publick Employment, or A a 3

cannot