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quire, and you know what you fay; your defires are
made humane, religious, exprefs, material, (for
thefe are the advantages of prayers and liturgies
well understood) be pleafed alfo to remember,
that now if you be not alfo paffionate and
devout for the things you mention, you will
want the fpirit of prayer, and be more inex-
cufable than before. In many of your prayers
before (efpecially the public) you heard a
voice, but faw and perceived nothing of the
fenfe, and what you understood of it was like
the man in the gofpel that was half blind, he
faw men walking like trees, and fo you poffibly
might perceive the meaning of it in general.
You knew when they came to the epiftle, when
to the gofpel, when the introit, when the pax, when
any other of the more general periods were; but
could have nothing of the fpirit of prayer,
you
that is, nothing of the devotion and the holy
affections to the particular excellencies, which
could or ought there to have been reprefented:
but now you are taught how you may be really
devout, it is made facile and eafy, and there can
want nothing but your confent and obfervation.

2. Whereas now you are taken off from all human confidences, from relying wholly and almoft ultimately upon the prieft's power and external act, from reckoning prayers by numbers, from forms and outfides; you are not to think that the prieft's power is lefs, that the facraments are not effective, that your prayers may not be repeated frequently: but you are to remember that all outward things and ceremonies, all facraments and inftitutions work their effect in the vertue of Chrift by fome moral inftrument.. The priests in the church of England can abfolve you as much as the Roman priests could fairly pretend, but then we teach that you must first

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be a penitent and a returning person, and our abfolution does but manifeft the work of God, and comfort and inftruct your confcience, direct and manage it. You fhall be abfolved here, but not unless you live an holy life; fo that in this you will find no change but to the advantage of a strict life; we will not flatter you and cozen your dear foul by pretended ministeries, but we fo order our difcourfes and directions, that all our miniftrations may be really effective. And when you receive the holy facrament of the eucharift, or the Lord's fupper, it does more good here then they do there; because if they confecrate rightly, yet they do not communicate you fully; and if they offer the whole reprefentative facrifice, yet they do not give you the whole facrament; only we enjoin that you come with fo much holiness, that the grace of God in your heart may be the principle, and the facrament in our hands may be the miniftring and affifting part. We do not promise great effects to easy triffling difpofitions, because we would not deceive but really procure to you great effects; and therefore you are now to come to our offices with the fame expectations as before, of pardon of grace, of fanctification; but you must do fomething more of the work yourself, that we may not do less in effect than you have in your expectation; we will not, to advance the reputation of our power, deceive you into a lefs bleffing.

3. Be careful that you do not flatter yourself, that in our communion you may have more ease and liberty of life: for though I know your pious foul defires paffionately to please God and to live religiously, yet I ought to be careful to prevent a temptation, leaft it at any time should difcompofe

pose your severity: therefore as to confeffion to a priest (which how it is ufually practised among the Roman party, yourself can very well account, and you have complained fadly, that it is made an ordinary act, eafy and tranfient, fometime matter of temptation, oftentimes impertinent, but) fuppofe it free from fuch fcandal to which fome men's folly did betray it, yet the fame feverity you'll find among us, for though we will not tell a lye to help a finner, and say that is neceffary which is only appointed to make men do themselves good, yet we advife and commend it, and do all the work of fouls to all thofe people that will be faved by all means, to devout perfons, that make religion the business of their lives; and they that do not fo in the churches of the Roman communion, as they find but little advantage, by periodical confeffions, fo they feel but little awfulness and severity by the injunction. You must confefs to God all your fecret actions, you must advise with a holy man in all the affairs of your foul, you will be but an ill friend to yourfelf if you conceal from him the ftate of your fpiritual affairs. We defire not to hear the circumstance of every fin, but when matter of juftice is concerned, or the nature of the fin is changed, that is, when it ought to be made a queftion; and you will find that though the church of England gives you much liberty from the bondage of innumerable ceremonies and human devices, yet in the matter of holiness you will be tyed to very great fervice, but fuch a fervice as is perfect freedom, that is, the service of God and the love of the holy Jefus, and a very ftrict religious life: for we do not promise heaven, but upon the fame terms it is promifed us, that is, repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jefus Chrift: and as in faith we make no more

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to be neceffary than what is made fo in holyfcripture, fo in the matter of repentance we give you no eafy devices, and fuffer no leffening definitions of it, but oblige you to that ftrictnefs which is the condition of being faved, and fo expreffed to be by the infallible word of God; but fuch as in the church of Rome they do not fo much ftand upon.

Madam, I am weary of my journey, and although I did propofe to have spoken many things more, yet I defire that my not doing it may be laid upon the account of my weariness all that

I fhall add to the main bufiness is this.

4. Read the fcripture diligently, and with an humble spirit, and in it observe what is plain, and believe and live accordingly. Trouble not yourself with what is difficult, for in that your duis not described.

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5. Pray frequently and effectually; I had rather your prayers fhould be often than long. It was well faid of Petrarch, Magno verborum fræno uti decet cum fuperiore colloquentem. When you speak to your fuperior, you ought to have a bridle upon your tongue, much more when you fpeak to God. I fpeak of what is decent in refpect of ourselves and our infinite distances from God: but if love makes you speak, speak on, fo fhall your prayers be full of charity and devotion, Nullus eft amore fuperior, ille te coget ad veniam, qui me ad multiloquium; love makes God to be our friend, and our approaches more united and acceptable; and therefore you may fay to God, the fame love which made me fpeak, will also move thee to hear and pardon: love and devotion may enlarge your litanies, but nothing else can, unless authority does interpofe.

6. Be curious not to communicate but with the true fons of the church of England, left if you

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follow them that were amongst us, but are gone out from us (because they were not of us) you be offended and tempted to impute their follies to the church of England.

7. Trouble yourself with no controverfies willingly, but how you may best please God by a ftrict and severe converfation.

8. If any proteftant live loosely, remember that he dishonours an excellent religion, and that it may be no more laid upon the charge of our church, than the ill lives of most chriftians may upon the whole religion.

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9. Let no man or woman affright you with declamations and fcaring words of heretic, and damnation, and changeable; for these words may be spoken against them that return to light, as well as to thofe that go to darkness; and that which men of all fides can fay, it can be of effect to no fide upon its own ftrength or pretenfion.

A DISCOURSE