as thy fleep, which for ought thou knoweft may be fo indeed, and therefore thou Shouldeft no more venture to fleep irreconciled to God, than thou wouldeft dare to die fo. In the next place confider, what Special and extraordinary mercies thou haft that day received, as if thou hadst any great deliverance, either in thy inward man, from fome dangerous tempta tions, or in thy outward, from any great and apparent danger, and offer to God thy hearty and and devout praise for the fame; or if nothing extraordinary hath fo happened, and thou hast been kept even from the approach of danger; thou haft not the lefs, but the greater caufe to magnify God, who hath by his protection fo guarded thee, that not so much as the fear of evil bath affaulted thee. And therefore omit not to pay him the tribute of humble thankfulness, as well for his ufual and daily prefervations, as his more extraordinary deliverance. And above all, endeavour ftill by the confideration of his mercies, to have thy heart the more closely knit to him; remembring that every favour received from him is a new engagement upon thee to love and obey him.

A Prayer before the beginning of our

Devotions.

Holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity,

three perfons and one God, have mercy upon me a miserable finner.

Lord, I know not what to pray for as I ought, O let thy fpirit help my infirmities, and enable me to offer up a spiritual facrifice, acceptable unto thee by Jesus Chrift.

A Confeffion for the Evening.

Moft holy Lord God, who art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, how shall I, abominable wretch, dare to appear before thee, who am nothing but pollution? I am defiled in my very nature, having a backwardness to all good, and a readiness to all evil; but I have defiled myself yet much worse by my own actual fins and wicked cuftoms. I have tranfgreffed my duty to thee, my neighbours, and myself, and that both in thought, in word, and in deed, by doing those things which thou haft exprelly forbidden, and by neglecting to do those things which thou haft com

manded

manded me. And this not only through ignorance and frailty, but knowingly and wilfully, against the motions of thy fpirit, and the checks of my own conscience to the contrary. And, to make all these out of meafure finful, I have gone on in a daily course of repeating these provocations against thee, notwithstanding all thy calls to, and my own purposes and vows of amendment; yea, this very day I have not ceafed to add new fins to all my former guilts. And now, O Lord, what shall I fay, or how shall I open my mouth, feeing I have done these things? I know that the wages of these fins is death; but O thou, who willeft not the death of a finner, have mercy upon me. Work in me, I befeech thee, a fincere contrition, and a perfect hatred of my fins; and let me not daily confefs, and yet as daily renew them; but grant, O Lord, that from this inftant I may give a bill of divorce to all my most beloved lufts, and then be thou pleased to marry me to thyself in righteousness and holinefs. And for all my paft fins, O Lord, receive a reconciliation; accept of that ranfome thy bleffed Son hath paid for Bbb 3

me, and

for

for his fake whom thou haft fet forth as a propitiation, pardon all my offences, and receive me to thy favour. And when thou haft thus fpoken peace to my foul, Lord keep me, that I may not turn to any folly, but fo establish me with thy grace, that no temptation of the world, the devil, or my own flesh, may ever draw mę to offend thee: That being made free from fin, and becoming a fervant unto God, I may have my fruit unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life, through Jefus Christ our Lord.

A Prayer for the Evening.

Lord, the Creator of the world, and the Redeemer of mankind; who knoweft all things, and canft do what thou pleaseft, and wilt do that which is best for thy children. I fall down before thee in the lowlieft manner, to express my fear and reverence of thy almighty pow er; my admiration of, and fubmiffion to, thy unfearchable wisdom; my hearty love and thankful acknowledgment of thy wondrous goodness; my trust and confidence in thy faithful promises; with

my

my readiness, and sincere purposes to perform all obedience to thy holy commands.

Poffefs me, I befeech thee, with such a deep and strong sense of thy fupreme authority over all, of the obligations I have to thee, and the great kindness thou haft done me in ingaging me to be thy fervant; that religion may be the very business of my life, and my greatest pleasure may be to please thee in every thing, and my highest design to attain that blessed immortality, which Chrift Jefus hath promised.

O lift up my affections more and more to those things above, where he is: That heaven may have my heart, while this world hath my body; and I may have perfect contentinent in well doing, and patient fuffering; and the good hope I have of being eternally beloved of thee, the Lord of heaven and earth, may make me rejoice evermore. Free me from all inordinate cares for the things of this life; from all diftruft of thy good providence; from all repining at any thing that befals me: and inable me in every thing to give thanks; believing that all things are ordered by the greatest reafon, and fhall work together for good to thofe that love thee. B bb, 4

I