tified and ftrengthened with grace, wif dom, courage, and all other fpiritual gifts, to keep us through faith unto falvation.

3. Both the comfort and benefit of it are great: the comfort of it, because it does not only reprefent to us the exceed ing love of our Saviour, in giving his body to be broken, and his blood to be fhed for us; but it likewife feals to us all those bleffings and benefits which are purchafed and procured for us by his death and paffion, viz. the pardon of fin, and power against it. The benefit of frequent communion is alfo of as great advantage; because hereby we are confirmed in all grace and goodness, and our refolution to live in obedience and conformity to God's laws are ftrengthened; and the grace of God's Holy Spirit, to do his will, hereby conveyed to us: it is the fovereign remedy against all temp tations, by mortifying our paffions, and by fpiritualizing our affections; in a word, it is the likelieft method to make the body the temple of the Holy Ghoft, and to prepare the foul for the enjoyment of God to all eternity. And therefore,

4. Although if at any time through ignorance, furprife, or the violence of any other temptation, we fhould fall into thofe very fins which we have repented

of

of and vowed againft, when we were at the laft facrament, yet thefe relapfes fhould not make us afraid of coming again, fince we have always the benefit of repentance allowed us if after a relapse we repènt and renew our refolutions with a hearty grief and contrition of fpirit, we are made whole as before.

5. It is not the commiffion of this or that great fin that will utterly exclude us from God's mercy and forgiveness; for then, indeed, no perfon could escape damnation, because there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and finneth not. But it is our living and dying without repentance and amendment, that brings God's wrath and vengeance upon us. And as his mercies are not limited, he will not only pardon us once or twice, but always upon our repentance and return to him. For he excepts against no time, no age, or feafon, but whenever the wicked. man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doth that which is lawful and right, he shall fave his foul alive. Neither is there any fin fo vile and heinous in its own nature, but fhall be remitted and forgiven, unless it be that against the Holy Ghoft. Therefore,

6. I am refolved, that my frequent failings fhall not difcourage me from attempting

Part II.

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tempting again and again, till I have gained my point. I am fully convinced that there is nothing else to do, and that it is abfolutely neceffary I fhould refolve again and again, until my refolutions. have taken effect, that I may reap good fruit unto falvation.

The Hymn on Thursday Morning.

The penitent's refolution to amend his future life.

LORD, grant thy ftatutes ev'ry hour
May dwell upon my mind;

Thence I derive a quick'ning power,
And daily peace I find.

To meditate thy precepts, Lord,
Shall be my fweet employ;
My foul fhall ne'er forget thy word,
Thy word is all my joy.

How would I run in thy commands,
If thou my heart difcharge
From fin and Satan's hateful chains,
And fet my feet at large!

My lips with courage shall declare
Thy ftatutes and thy name ;

I'll speak thy word, tho' kings should hear,
Nor yield to finful fhame.

Let bands of perfecutors rife,

To rob me of my right;

Let pride and malice forge their lies,

Thy law is my delight.

Depart

Depart from me ye wicked race,

Whofe hands and hearts are ill ; I love my God, I love his ways, And must obey his will.

O

The Prayer on Thursday Morning. For God's bleffing on the amendment of our lives. Lord, who haft made, and doft govern and preferve all things, I proftrate myself before thee in a humble adoration of thy incomprehenfible majefty, and acknowledge that I depend entirely on thee, and render unto thee my moft hearty thanks for all the favours and benefits which thou haft fo freely and undefervedly conferred upon me.

All thy works praise thee, O Lord, and we, the children of men, who have received fingular marks and tokens of thy favour, ought more particularly to praise and glorify thy holy name, being made after thy own image, and endued with reafonable and immortal fpirits, that we may reflect on thee, the author of our being, and imitate thy wifdom, holiness, goodnefs, and truth. But above all,

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I defire to remember that great demonftration of thy love, in giving thy dear Son to live among us, to die for us, and thereby to give us, upon the condition

of faith and fincere obedience, an affured hope of immortal life, which I fo lately commemorated in the facrament of the Lord's fupper; in which I fealed my love to thee, and renewed the oblation which I have often made of my foul and body to thee.

I wait upon thee ftill for what thou feeft good for them both; which I hope in thy everlafting mercy to obtain; humbly befeeching thee to pardon all my forgetfulness of, and ungratefulness to thee; and I moft earnestly implore the grace of thy Holy Spirit, to preferve in my mind and body a powerful fenfe of thee, an ardent love to thee, a holy care to pleafe and obey thee in all things; and to this end I befeech thee give me the fame mind and fpirit which was in Chrift Jefus our Lord; the fpirit of wisdom and understanding, and the fear of thee, the fpirit of meeknefs, humility, purity, and charity. And,

Grant that I may do thy will with the like cheerfulness, zeal, conftancy, patience, and perfeverance as he did; that fo I may for ever blefs thy name, O Lord! for all the helps and affiftances of thy good fpirit, which thou haft already bleffed me with.

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