torrent of wickedness, put thy fear into all our hearts, that we may return to Thee; that we may repent, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance; and that iniquity may not be our ruin.

May the dread of thy now threatened judgments deter us from evil;-may thy goodness and patience lead us to repentance; -weaken the power of Satan ;-take from among us the spirit of slumber, of ignorance, and inconsideration.

Let every one of us see and feel the plague of his own heart, and say, what have I done to bring these evils upon us? So that bringing forth fruits answerable to amendment of life, we may escape thy judgment now hanging over us; and above all, thy judgment against sinners in the world to come. And this I beg for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.

JUDGMENT DAY.

Grant, O Lord, that I may be of the number of those that shall find mercy at that day.

ZACCHEUS.

The good Lord grant that I may give a proof of the sincerity of my conversion by a change of life.

WEDNESDAY MEDITATIONS.

COVETOUSNESS. FASTINGS.

SELF-DENIAL.

DIFFICULTIES,

Matt. iv. 9, 10. All these things will I give thee. -Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

GREAT and glorious God, who alone art worthy of our love and service, cure me of, and preserve me from, the sin and vanity of admiring this world.

Give me grace to renounce all covetous desires, all love of riches and pleasures ;-to desire only what is necessary, and to be content with what Thou, O Lord, thinkest so.

Not to be troubled at the loss or want of any thing besides thy favour:

That no business, no pleasures, may divert me from the thoughts of the world to come :

That I may cheerfully part with all these things, when thou requirest it of me.

And that I may be ever prepared to do so, dispose me to a temperance in all things, and to lay up my treasure in heaven for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

Luke vi. 24. Woe unto you that are rich, for ye have received your consolation.

A man must have but little faith, who can read these words, and yet love riches, and the pleasures they afford.

Lord, grant that I may resist every temptation to the love of creatures; lest they steal my heart from Thee, my God, whom I desire to love with all my soul.

I know that I must in a great measure renounce all other objects of my affection, in order to love Thee with all my heart. Lord, give me grace and strength to put this in practice.

1 John ii. 15. Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world: if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Grant, O God, that I may never hope to reconcile two things so inconsistent as the love of Thee and the world.

Matt. v. 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

To be poor in spirit--is to be disengaged from wealth, to look upon it as a burthen or a trust.

1 Tim. vi. 8. Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content.

And yet even the Christian world is not content without superfluities and excess. These disorders are not less criminal, because so common.

Give me, O God, the eyes of faith, that I may see the world just as it is ;-the vanity of its promises, the folly of its pleasures, the unprofitableness of its rewards, the multitude of its snares, and the dangers of its temptations.

FASTING.

Jesus Christ pared not his innocent flesh, but fasted; the sinner cherisheth his continually, refusing it nothing.

Fasting is in some sense a punishment and expiation for past sins, a remedy for present temptations, and a preservative against future.

Psal. cii. 4. My heart is smitten and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.

The humble and afflicted soul is not much concerned to please the appetite.

Luke vi. 25. Woe unto you that are full, for ye shall hunger; that is, Ye whose daily meals are feasts, who make profession of a life of sensuality, who know not what it is to fast; woe to such Christians!

If we judge ourselves with severity, we shall be judged with mercy.

IN TIME OF TROUBLE.

Psal. xxxix. 11. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth.

O merciful God, who in thy wise providence dost so order even natural events, that they serve both for the good of the universe, and for the conviction of particular sinners, so that men shall have reason to acknowledge thy glorious attributes ;-I do with great sorrow of heart, but with all submission to thy good pleasure, confess thy mercy as well as justice to me in the judgments, afflictions, sorrows of this day.

I acknowledge thy voice, O merciful God; 1 acknowledge my own transgressions, which have provoked Thee to speak to me after this manner, and at this very time.

O Lord, give me true repentance for all the errors

F

of my life, and particularly for that which was, in all probability, the occasion of this affliction.

Blessed be God, that my punishment was not as great as my crime.

Blessed be God, that he has given me time to repent of the sin that provoked him to deal with me after this manner.

Blessed be God, that when he spake to me once, yea twice, that I regarded it at last.

Good God of mercy, give me grace that I may not provoke Thee any more to repeat this word to me, but that I may faithfully perform those vows which are upon me. This I cannot do without thy gracious assistance, which I most humbly beseech Thee to vouchsafe me, for Jesus Christ's sake, who by his merits has purchased this grace for all that faithfully ask it of Thee; for his sake, O merciful God, grant me this grace. Amen.

I do in all humility accept of the punishment of mine iniquities.

I will hold my peace, and not open my mouth, because it is thy doing and my deservings.

I know, O Lord, that it is good for me to be in trouble, or Thou wouldst not suffer it to be so.

Let thy merciful kindness be my comfort according to thy promise to all that love and serve Thee.

DIFFICULTIES.

We are to pray for the particular direction of God's Holy Spirit upon all great occasions; we are humbly to depend upon, and cheerfully to expect it.