Jefus, that thou didst fuffer upon the cross, to fave me and all the world from the guilt and punishment of our fins. O give me that grace that I may die to fin, and rife again unto righteousness. Accept of my imperfect forrow, repentance, faith, and imperfect refolutions; and let the precious merits of my crucified Saviour fupply all my wants and imperfections. Thou haft faid, come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will refresh you. O bleffed Jefus, I come unto thee in all humility, and deeply fenfible of my great unworthinefs; O do thou bear this burthen of fin for me, and refresh me with comfortable hopes of thy mercy and forgiveness, and the truth of thy falvation.

I adore thee, my God, and make an entire refignation of myself, and of all that I am and have, into thy hands; defiring now, and to all eternity, to depend on thee, my God, and my inheritance.

To thee I owe all thofe comforts of life, health, peace and plenty I enjoy, and a freedom from all those pains and miferies and evils, I am fubject to, and have deferved at thy hands. I defire, above all things, to give most humble. and hearty thanks to thee, O God the father, for the redemption of the world by thy fon JeF 4

fus

fus Christ our Lord, and for the means of grace which thou haft ordained by thy word and facraments, and the hopes of glory.

I beseech thee, in and thro' our Lord Jefus Chrift, who was pleafed to fuffer death upon the crofs, for our redemption, to pardon all the fins I have at any time committed; and grant I may find the power of his death, in my dying to fin and rifing unto righteoufnefs; that henceforth being freed from fin, all things belonging to the fpirit may live and grow in me, now and for evermore.

I beseech thee continue to my foul that grace I received in the holy facrament, that I may order all my words and actions, and all my converfation with fuch care and prudence, as to give no offence or occafion of failing to any; but that I may be a good example to others, and adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

O let thy holy fpirit always direct and rule my heart, and of thy great goodness bring me to life eternal, and give me grace to do my duty in that ftate of life whereunto thou haft been pleased to call me ; and make me therewith content. Continue to me, I beseech thee, the bleffings I enjoy, fupply me with those I want, and turn from me all those evils which

I most righteously have deserved, or which either the malice of the devil, or the wickednefs or misfortunes of the world may bring upon me.

Let all things that befall me in this world work together for my good in the other; and grant me always thofe things, whether profperous or adverfe, that may best conduce to, and be most profitable for my eternal falvation: wherefore I refign, O Lord, and give myself up to thy providence: I fubmit myself to all the events which it fhall please thee to bring upon me: do with me what thou feeft good; and let thy holy will be done in me, and by me, for the fake of Jefus Christ our Lord, who has taught us when we pray, to fay, Our Father, &c.

The Meditation for Friday Morning. On a thankful remembrance of the death of Chrift. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift, 2 Cor. ix. 15. OW, my foul! to faith we must join a

I.

thankful remembrance of the death of Chrift, and of thofe benefits which we receive thereby. Herein is love, not that we lov ed God, but that he loved us, and fent his fon to be the propitiation for our fins. This is a F. 59 mercy!

mercy far above all other mercies; nay, it is even this which fweetens all other mercies to us.

2. Had there been no redemption, our creation had only made us capable of endless torments, and it had been better for us never to have been born, than to have been born to inevitable ruin; which must have been our lot and portion, had not the fon of God, by his one oblation of himself, once offered upon the cross, made a full, perfect, and fufficient facrifice and fatisfaction to God for the fins of the whole world.

3. We must declare and publish to all the world what God had done to fave mankind from that damnation which they had deserv❜d, and to restore us again to that happiness and glory, which we could never expect or hope to enjoy, had not Chrift died for us. With what joy and thankfulness then must we commemorate this exceeding love of God, in the falvation of finners by Jesus Christ.

4. This was the proper end and defign of this inftitution, to perpetuate this wonderful love of Chrift in laying down his life for us. And as our Saviour, a little before his crucifixion, faid, Do this in remembrance of me: which being a folemn command of our master

and

and only Saviour thus dying for us, we cannot refufe obedience thereunto, without being guilty of the most horrible ingratitude and contempt of his divine authority, who of his great love to us laid down his life for all men, and for our falvation,

5. How then, my foul! can they who profefs themselves chriftians, and hope for falvation by Jefus Chrift, and do not pay obedience to this his command, clear themfelves of a downright affront to his facred majefty? may he not justly upbraid fuch chriftians, as he did once the Jews, why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I fay? Oh! how unworthy are we of that falvation, which he has wrought for us, if we deny him so small a favour, fuch a reasonable requeft, as to commemorate his death and bitter paffion once a month, or at leaft thrice a year, who did humble himself even to the death of the crofs for us miferable finners, who lay in darkness, and in the fhadow of death, that he might make us the children of God, and exalt us to everlafting life.

6. In this facrament of the Lord's fupper we have the pardon and remiffion of all our fins; the grace and affiftance of God's holy fpirit, and the hopes of eternal life and hapF 6

pinefs