in my behalf; and for the fake of his meritorious death and paffion, for all that he has done, and all that he has fuffered for me, have mercy upon me.

O Lord, pardon and forgive, I moft earneftly and unfeignedly befeech thee, all the fins and follies of my life past: efpecially, O my God, lay not to my charge thofe fins [Here may be named particulars by which I have offended thee, my good and gracious Lord God. O cleanfe me from all my fecret and unknown tranf greffions; and vouchfafe, O merciful Father, to be reconciled unto me, who am forry for my fins, and grieved that I have offended thee, my moft gracious Lord and Mafter; for which, and all other thy repeated mercies to me, I owe all the returns of love and duty that can poffibly be paid by a creature to thee his Creator.

O Lord! open thou mine eyes, that I may fee the vilenefs and deformity, as well as danger, of fin; that I may flee from all appearance of evil, and with an unwearied diligence follow after, and purfue the things that make for my everlasting peace. Grant that for the time to come, I may T live only unto thee, in awful fear of thy great name, and a conftant regard to thy bleffed will, keeping always a confcience void of offence, both towards thee,

my God, and towards all men: that when thou fhalt think fit to take me out of this state of trial and temptation here, I may be received into that bleffed kingdom, where all tears fhall be wiped from mine eyes, and fin and death fhall be no more. Grant this, Q merciful Father, thro' the merits, and for the fake of the same, thy dear Son and my bleffed Saviour, Jefus Chrift. Amen.

Here observe the directions given on page 8, and more particularly endeavour to improve your soul by reading a lesson out of the NEW WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 4, Section I.

The Meditation for Friday Evening. Upon the sufferings of Jesus Christ, commemorated in the sacrament of the Lord's supper.

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps: who his ownself bare our sins in his own body on the tree; that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. 1 Peter ii. 21. 24.

I.

NOW

OW, my foul, thy deareft Lord is taken down from the crofs, let us by the eye of faith and reason look nearer upon him: O what a man of forrows, what a doleful spectacle do we behold! how pale, how wan, and extenuated! how mournful and doleful is his face! his eyes are funk, his temples are furrowed with the thorns! O the gashes and deep wounds

of

of his fhoulders and back, opened all with ftripes! O the wide rendings of his hands and feet! his empty veins, his ftretchedout finews, his rankled flesh, how flaggy with ftripes, how begored with blood! his hair clotted, and his whole body out of order! and all this for finners, for his enemies, for loft ungrateful man; even for us, O my foul!

2. Come, O my foul, and compare thy love for Jefus with that he has shown for thee, and all mankind. O! confefs they remiffness and thy fin. Say, O bleffed Jefu! I adore thy love, and acknowledge my tranfgreffions: for love brought thee down from heaven to us: but how few of us doth it carry up thither unto thee! love made thee die the moft fhameful death; but it doth not make us live the moft glorious life. Love made thee endure the foreft pains; but, alas! it doth not make mankind take the pleasure of following thy fteps to the greatest happiness.

Love made thee think perpetually on fuch poor wretches as we are; but we feldom think upon thee. Love perfuaded thee to come to us when there was nothing to call thee, except only our great miferies; but it doth not bring us all to thee, though we are moved by the merits and precious. promises of fo immenfe a love.

3. Let not our devotion reft in bare acknowledgements; do not only praise his goodnefs, but dread his majefty, and let. us fhow our love by our deeds; to him let us reverently go, and offer our devout hearts at his footftool; let us remember every paffage of his love with unfeigned thanks. For, the Lord is fold, that the flave may be free; the innocent is condemned, that the guilty may be faved; the phyfician is fick, that the patient may be cured; and God himself becomes man to die, that man may live.

4. Tell me, my foul, when first thou haft well confidered and looked about among all we know, tell me who ever wifhed us fo much good? who ever loved us with fo much tendernefs? our neareft friends, what have they done for us; or even our parents, in comparison of this charity? no less than the Son of God came down to redem us; no lefs than his own dear life was the price he paid for us! What can the favour of the whole world promise us, compared to this miraculous bounty? no less than the joys of angels are become our hope; no less than the kingdom of heaven is made our inherit

ance.

5. This is the compaffion of my God! thus far his charity prevailed; who thought it was not enough to become man

for

for us, but expofed himself to all our miferies! was it not enough, O Jefu! to labour all thy life, but thou muft fuffer for us even the pains of death? no, gracious Lord, thy mercy ftill obferveth many wants in our nature as yet unfupplied; thou faweft our too much fondness of life needed thy parting with it, to reconcile us to death; thou faweft our fear of fufferings could no way be abated but by freely undergoing them in thine own per fon: thou faweft our fouls fo deeply ftained with guilt, that without fhedding thy blood we could have no remiffion.

6. Can we thus remember the labours of our Redeemer for us, and not be convinced of our duty to him? can my cold heart recount his fufferings, and not be inflamed with the love of him that fuffered for me? can I believe my falvation coft him fo dear, and live as if to be faved were not worth my pains? ungrateful man, how doth he flight the goodness of our God! how carelessly comply with his gracious defigns! for all his gifts he requires no other return, than that we hope ftill more, and defire ftill greater bleffings, and improve them all to our own happinefs: for all his favours he feeks no other praife, than our following his steps till we mount up to his glory.

7. O my