Grant, O Lord, that this thy inexpreffible love may not be loft upon me: but that, being fenfible of my fad condition by nature, and my worfe condition by my own wilful fins, I may be thoroughly convinced of the neceffity and bleffing of a Redeemer, and that I may, with a heart full of gratitude, join with thy faithful church in giving our devouteft thanks to thee, and in keeping up the remembrance of what thy bleffed Son has done and fuffered for us.

Grant, O my God, that I may always. receive that pledge of thy love, and the offers of pardon and grace, tendered to me in this holy ordinance, with a truly thankful heart, and in remembrance of thee, my great and beft benefactor; in remembrance of my Saviour's holy example Of his bitter death and paffionOf his glorious refurrection and afcenfion into heaven, and of his coming again to judge the world.

Give me, O my God, a fteadfast faith in thy word and promifes, and a firm truft in thy almighty power: and let the fear of thy juftice and omnifcience keep me from prefumptuous fins, and a fenfe of thy goodness and mercy preferve me from despair. Defend me from all thofe fnares, which deftroy my love for thee;

1

from

from worldly cares; from all fenfual and finful pleasures; from evil company; from foolish diverfions; and from every thing that may make me forget that thou alone art worthy to be feared and loved; grant me thefe mercies for thy Son Jefus Chrift his fake, whofe love and death I am now about commemorating. For,

O my God, I thall [on Sunday next] prefume to come to thy holy table, not trufting in my own righteoufnefs, but in thy manifold and great mercies. I am fenfible that I am not worth fo much as to gather up the crumbs which fall from' thy table. But thou art the fame Lord, whose property is always to have merey; grant me, therefore, gracious Lord, fo to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jefus Christ, and to drink his blood, that my finful body may be made clean by his body, and my foul be washed through his moft precious blood, and that I may evermore dwell in him, and he in me.

Thefe, and whatever other mercies thou feelt neceffary for me, I entreat thou wilt grant for the fake of the fame thy dearly beloved Son, Jefus Chrift my Lord and Saviour. Amen.

See the concluding prayer and blessing on pages 38 and 39.

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The

The Meditation: Wednesday Morning*.

On the resurrection, as a means to excite a due vene ration for the holy sacrament.

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Cor.

v. 8.

I.

O

Come now, my foul, and let us fing to our Lord a pfalm of joy ; fing praises to the God of our falvation; fing with a loud and cheerful voice; fing with a glad and thankful heart; fay to the weak of spirit, be strong; fay to the forrowful, be of good comfort; tell all the world this foul-reviving truth, and may their hearts within them leap with joy to hear it. For,

2. The Lord of life is rifen again, and hath clothed himself with immortal glory. He made the angels meffengers of his victory, and vouchfafed even himself to bring us the joyful news. O my foul, adorn thyfelf with the garment of gladness, prepare thy moft triumphant hymns to go forth to meet this great returning Conqueror.

3. His warfare is now accomplished, and he hath paffed through the fcorn and cruelty of men; the malice and rage of devils; the juft, but fevere anger of God;

yea

Here you may observe the directions given on page 3.

yea the fhadow of death, and the regions. of eternal horror; and after all this, thy furety is fet at liberty; for he hath paid thy debts, and cancelled all thofe difmal bonds by which thou wert forfeited to eternal ruin. Bleffed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

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4. We receive thee, dearest Saviour, as born to us a fecond time, and this fhall be thy birth-day alfo, the nativity of thy empire, thy restoration to a ftate of immortality. Thy former birth did how thee to be the Son of man, but this declares thee to be the Son of God; and now we know that thou our Redeemer liveft, for thou haft told us, I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore.

5. The ways of thy mercy are unfearchable, O thou wife contriver of all our happinefs! and thy wifdom is infinite, who didft invent them to convince thy followers into this bleft belief, and fettle in their hearts a firm ground of hope; for, thou didst not only appear to the holy women in their return from the fepulchre, and openedit their eyes to know and adore thee; but thou didft purpofely overtake, in, their journey, two of thy difciples, that were difcourfing of thee, and madeft their hearts, burn within them to hear thee. Thou didft condefcend to

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eat

eat before them, and invite them to touch thy facred body. How didft thou sweetly invite the incredulous Thomas to thrust his hand into thy fide, and haft thence taken occafion, from his hardness to believe, to facilitate the faith of thy church in these after-ages.

6. Therefore, O my foul, being thus pre-inftructed in this great mystery of our faith, by the revelation of Jefus Chrift, make it the principal fubject of thy ftudies, and the daily entertainment of thy moft ferious thoughts. Draw me, O deareft Lord, from the world and myself, that I be not entangled with any earthly defires. Draw me after thee, with a fure hope of eternal blifs, that I may run with delight in the way of thy commands, and efpecially to thy holy table. Draw me up finally to thee and thy throne of glory, that I may fee thy face, and rejoice with thee for ever in thy kingdom. Amen.

A confession of sins on Wednesday Morning, preparatory to receiving the holy sacrament.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John i. 8, 9.

I, a

O Moft mighty God! how fhall

poor miferable finner, who am all over fin and pollution, dare to fpeak unto

thee?