cloud, and our faith embered his

God

promise, allaying their punishment with a milder fentence, and only scattered them from the place of their confpiracy; which yet his providence turned into a bleffing, by making it an occasion of peopling the world. Still their rebellious nature difobeyed again, and neither feared his judgments, nor valued his mercies; but with a graceless emulation propagated fin, as far as his goodness propaga ted mankind. Then he felected a private family, and increased and governed them with a particular tendernefs, giving them a law by the hands of angels, and engaged their obedience by a thousand favours; but they likewife neglected their God and heaven, and fell in love with the ways of death.

5. When thou hadft thus, Omerciful Lord, ufed many remedies, and our difeafe was beyond their power to cure, when the light of nature proved too weak a guide, and the general flood too mild a correction; when the miracles of Mofes could not foften their hearts, nor the law of angels bring any to perfection; when the whole was reduced to this defperate state, and no imaginable hope left to recover us; behold! thy eternal wisdom finds an a

3

mazing

to redeem

mazing expedient, the laft and the higheft inftance of almighty love; he refolves to clothe himself with our fleth and come down amongst us, and die us, and has left us the blessed facrament of his body and blood for a perpetual remembrance of the fame. eing. Wonder, O my foul, at the mercies of the Lord! how infinitely do they transcend even our utmoft wifhes? wonder at the admirable providence of his counfels, that are exactly fitted to their great defign! had our Saviour been lefs than God, we could never have believed the fublime myfteries of his heavenly doctrine: had he been other than man, we muft needs have wanted the powerful motive of his holy example. Had he been only God, he could never have fuffered the leaft of thofe afflictions, he fo glorioufly overcame: had he been merely man, he could never have overcome thofe infinite afflictions he fo patiently endured. In thee, O bleffed Saviour, the two natures of God and man were fo myfterioufly united, without either change or confufion, that they made in thee but one perfon, one mediator, one Lord..

The Prayer on Tuesday morning, for God's mercy A and grace in our preparation for the facraments O

O hide not thou thy face from me, nor caft thy fervant away in difpleasure. Thou haft been my fuccour; leave me not, neither forfake me, O God of my falvation. Pfalm xxvii, 10, 11. Moft glorious, moft great, and eternal God! thou art the fovereign Lord of heaven and earth, the father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, in whom I live, and move, and have my being, and from whom I derive all the comforts and conveniences of this life, and all my hopes and expectations of a better. O Lord! I acknowledge that I am not worthy to come into thy presence, nor to lift up mine eyes towards the throne of thy mercy-feat. My fins and tranfgreffions are many, and divers of them have been often repeated; the corruption of my heart, and the finfulness of my thoughts are perfectly known to thee; and the punishment I deferve is greater than I am able to bear. O give me not over to mine oppreffors, but fave and deliver me for thy mercy's fake, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen,

O Lord! if thou fhouldeft deal with me as I have deserved, how justly mayft thou deprive me of all thofe means of grace, and opportunities of working out my falvation, which 10

thou

thou haft hitherto vouchfafed unto me: but O merciful father thou haft declared thy felf to be a God merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity, tranfgreffion, and fin. My only hope, therefore, is in thy tender mercies, which have been ever of old; and in that pity and compaffion which thou haft fhewn to mankind, in the redemption of the world, by the death of thy dear fon Jefus Chrift, my Lord and Saviour.

For thy name's fake then, O Lord, and for thy beloved fon's fake, pardon, I most humbly beseech thee, all my paft fins, and let not iniquity be my ruin. Forgive the deadnefs of my devotion; the coldness of my affections; the wanderings of my prayers, and whatever elfe thou haft feen amifs in me. O pity my weakneffes, and forgive my infirmities, and lay not to my charge the imperfections of my religious duties. But,ryads bra * Enableme, by the affiftance of thy good fpirit, to amend whatever has been amiss, and to endeavour more and more a more and more after the attain

ment of all thofe graces and good difpofitions, which on this folemn occafion are neceffary to render our prayers and praifes acceptable in thy fight. O let me never fall into a carelefs and unconcerned state of mind; into a cold

€ 4

nefs

nefs and indifferency towards the duties of religion, but animate and enliven my fluggish heart, and cleanse it from all its defilements. Grant me fuch a conviction of my own ant me to weakness and infufficiency, as may procure thy gracious aid and affiftance; fuch longing defires of being made conformable to thy holy will and pleafure, as may transform me into thy divine image, and fix me to continue thy faithful fervant all the remaining days of my life; fo that I may finally inherit thy heavenly kingdom with him that has commanded me to call thee father, and has taught me when I pray tofay, Our father which art in beaven, &c.

Here of ferve the directions given on page 8, and more particularby endeavour to improve your foul by reading a leffon out of the mem WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 3. Sections VII. and VIII.

The Meditation for Tuesday Evening On the nature and neceffity of our preparation before the receiving the holy facrament.

He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not difcerning the Lord's body. Cor. xi. 29. 100 368 10 0001:2011 25

Onfider, now, O my foul, what that great mystery is to which thou art invited in the holy facrament: let us confider the

nature