DEVOTIONS FOR PENITENTS.

FATHER, I have sinned against Thee, and am no more worthy to be called Thy Son.

God be merciful to me a sinner.

0 MOST mighty God! Thou art a consuming fire to all rebellious and impenitent sinners; a dreadful avenger of such as are obstinately wicked, but a most compassionate Father to all those that truly repent and turn unto Thee; O how shall I dare to speak unto Thee who am all over sin and pollution, a creature vile and loathsome in my own eyes by reason of my sin, but much more so in Thine, who art a God of infinite purity and holiness, and hatest iniquity with a perfect hatred! O Lord, when I look back upon my past life, I am astonished at Thy patience and long-suffering towards me; and must acknowledge that hadst Thou dealt with me as I have deserved, I had long before this been con

demned to everlasting wrath. For ever adored be that goodness which has dealt so graciously with me; for ever praised be that mercy which has snatched me out of the jaws of the devouring lion, and saved me from the pit of destruction, which I was running headlong into; for ever magnified be that grace which has at last touched my heart with a sense of my sins, and given me this opportunity of humbling myself before Thee. O Lord, I do now most sorrowfully bewail and lament before Thee the sins and iniquities of my past life, which are so exceeding many and great, that as I am confounded at the guilt of them, so I know not where to begin when I would confess them before Thee. Ever from my youth up, have I been a rebellious and disobedient sinner, a contemner of Thy laws, and one of those wretched fools that have made a mock at sin and would not hearken to wise counsel and reproof; I have grieved and despised the Spirit of grace, and followed the dictates of my own foolish and perverse will; my mind has been overspread with blindness and ignorance, folly and false reasonings, and almost every power and faculty of my soul is corrupted and defaced; that time, which should have been employed to holy and excellent purposes, I have

either consumed upon my lusts, or trifled away in vain and unprofitable pursuits. O my God! I have sinned against Thee with a high hand, and have led a life directly contrary to Thy blessed will. More particularly, O Lord, I do most sorrowfully confess and lament before Thee, to whom all things are naked and open, that I have most grievously offended Thee by

[Here name particular sins.

And what shall I now say unto Thee, O God, whose goodness I have thus abused, whose mercies I have slighted, whose judgments I have despised? What hope can I entertain of the merits of a Saviour whose blood I have, as it were, trampled under foot! or what comfort can I expect from the kind influences of the everblessed Spirit, whose motions I have so often rejected, whose calls and invitations I have so long been deaf to, and whom I have so often grieved by my wicked and sinful ways !

O blessed Saviour of the world! Thou alone art my refuge; in Thee is all my hope, all my support; and if Thou rejectest me I am lost and undone for ever: Oh! turn not away Thy face from me, nor cast Thy servant away in displeasure; be Thou mine Advocate with the Father, and let Thy blood be the propitiation for my sins.

And O most merciful Father, Thou infinite and compassionate lover of souls, who delightest not in the death of the wicked, nor despisest the tears of a returning sinner, for the sake of Thy dear Son, I most earnestly beseech Thee to hear the groans of me, a miserable sinner, who am ready to sink under the heavy weight and burden of sin. Give me, O Lord, such an unfeigned repentance of all my past sins, such hatred and abhorrence of my former evil ways, that I may never return unto them. Give me that humble and contrite spirit, whose groans Thou dost never refuse, that faith which overcometh the world, and which will enable me to conquer my own inveterate habits, and that love which will make me afraid to offend Thee, and which will inspire me with resolutions active and vigorous, honest and sincere; such as by the assistance of Thy Holy Spirit, may carry me through all difficulties and be proof against all the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. O Lord, hear me and have mercy upon me, and save my soul for Thy truth and mercy's sake in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our Father, &c.

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A Litany for Pardon of Sins.

GOD the Father of mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon Thy servant, and hear the prayers of me a miserable sinner.

O blessed Jesus, the Fountain of peace and pardon, our wisdom and our righteousness, our sanctification and redemption, have mercy upon Thy servant, refuse not to hear the prayers of me, a miserable, sorrowful, and returning sinner.

O holy and divinest Spirit of the Father, help my infirmities for of myself I know not what to ask, nor how to pray; but do Thou assist and be present in the desires of me a miserable sinner.

Remember not, Lord, the follies of my childhood, nor the lusts of my youth, the wildness of my head nor the wanderings of my heart, the infinite sins of my tongue and the inexcusable errors of the days of vanity.

Lord, have mercy upon me a poor miserable sinner.

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Remember not, O Lord, the growing iniquities my elder age, the pride of my spirit, the abuse of my members, the greediness of my appetite,