own Sins, and your conftant deploring of their Guilt, will give your Prayers Entrance into your Heart, and put you upon Meafures how to amend your Life.

IF you confefs your self only to be a Sinners, you only confefs your felf to be a Man, but when you defcribe and confefs your own particular Guilt, then you find Caufe for your own particular Sorrow, then you give your Prayers all the Power they can have, to affect and wound your Hearts In like manner, when you pray for God'. Grace, don't be fatisfy'd with a general Petition, but make your Prayers fuitable to your Defects; and continue to ask for fuch Gifts and Graces of the Holy Spirit, as you find your felf moft Defective in, for this will not only give Life to your Petitions, and make your Heart go along with them, but will also be the fureft Means to fit and prepare you for fuch Graces, as you pray for.

LASTLY, This Particularity in our Prayers, is the greatest Trial of the Truth of our Hearts.

A MAN perhaps thinks he prays for Humility, becaufe he has the Word, Humility, in his Prayers. But if he was to branch out Humility into all its particular Parts, he would perhaps find himself not difpos'd to pray for them. If he was to

repre

represent to himself the several Particulars, which make a Man poor in Spirit, he would find his Heart not defirous of them. So that the only way to know the Truth of our Hearts, and whether we really pray for any Virtue, is to have all its Parts in our Prayers, and make our Petitions ask for it in all its Inftances. If the proud Man was to pray daily, and frequently for Humility in all its Kinds, and to beg of God to remove him from all Occafions of fuch Pride, as is common to his particular State, and to disappoint him in all his Attempts, that were contrary to Humility, he would find, that fuch Prayers, would either conquer his Pride, or his Pride would put an End to his Prayers. For it would be impoffible to live long in any Inftances of Pride, if his daily and frequent Prayers, were Petitions against those particular Inftances. Now every one may make his private Devotions thus ufeful to him, if he has but Piety enough to intend it. For every one may know his own State if he will; we indeed commonly fay, that People are blind to themselves, and know the least of their true State. We pafs this Judgment upon People, because we fee them pretending to fo many Virtues, which do not belong to them, and declaiming against Vices, to which they are the moft fubject. There

fore

fore we say, that Men don't know themfelves, but this is falfe Reasoning.

WE fee People often pretending to be Rich, now this is not, because they don't know their State, but because they would not have you to know it, and they prefume it poffible to impofe upon you. Now the Cafe is juft the fame in all other Pretences. The false, the proud, the worldy Man that pretends to Fidelity, Humility, and heavenly Affection, knows that he is neither Faithful, nor Humble, nor Heavenly-minded; he no more thinks he has these Virtues, than a Man thinks he has a great Eftate, when he endeavours to be thought rich; he knows that he only affects the Reputation of these Virtues, and is only blind in this, that he imagines he impofes upon you, and paffes for the Man he is not.

EVERY Man therefore has Knowledge enough of himself, to know how to make his Prayers particularly fitted to the Corruption and Disorders of his Heart, and when he is fo defirous of Salvation, as to enter into such a Method of Prayer, he will find, that he has taken the best Means, to make his Prayers effectual Remedies against all his Sins. Let me now only add this one Word more, that he who has learn'd to pray, has learn'd the greatest Secret of a holy and happy Life. Which

way

way

foever else we let loose our Hearts, they will return unto us again empty and weary. Time will convince the vaineft and blindeft Minds, that Happiness is no more to be found in the Things of this World, than it is to be dug out of the Earth. But when the Motions of our Hearts, are Motions of Piety, tending to God in conftant Acts of Devotion, Love and Defire, then have we found Rest unto our Souls, then is it, that we have conquer'd the Mifery of our Nature, and neither Love nor Defire in vain, then is it, that we have found out a Good fuited to our Natures, that is equal to all our Wants, that is, a conftant Source of Comfort and Refreshment, that will fill us with Peace and joyful Expectations here, and eternal Happiness hereafter. For he that lives in the Spirit and Temper of Devotion, whose Heart is always full of God, lives at the Top of humane Happiness, and is the fartheft removed from all the Vanities and Vexations, which disturb and weary the Minds of Men, that are devouted to the World.

CHAP. XIII.

All Chriftians are required to imitate the Life and Example of Jefus Christ.

UR Religion teaches us, that as we have born the Image of the Earthly, fo we shall bear the Image of the Heavenly, that after our Death we fhall rife to a State of Life and Happiness, like to that Life and Happinefs, which our Bleffed Saviour enjoys at the Right Hand of God. Since therefore it is the great End of our Religion to make us Fellow-Heirs with Christ, and Partakers of the fame Happiness, it is not to be wonder'd at, that our Religion fhould require us to be like Chrift in this Life, to imitate his Example, that we may enter into that State of Happiness, which he enjoys in the Kingdom of Heaven.

FOR how can we think that we are going to the Bleffed Jefus, that we are to be hereafter as he is, unless we conform

to