for you that you piously purpose to live after this Manner, you may safely go to the Lord's Table, and the Blessing of God will go along with you.

Go no further till you have considered those Purposes again; for they are to be the Purposes of your whole Life, and of every Day of your Life.

And then address yourself to God, -that through his gracious Assistance, they may make the more lasting Impression upon your Mind.

THE PRAYER.

GRACIOUS God, who hast given us Precepts, and an Example to walk by, let the Remembrance of them be always seasonably present with me Give me Grace to practise them conscientiously, -to reverence my Betters, and all that are in Authority, and especially such as are ordained to pray for, and to bless us in thy Name. Let my Love for Thee and for my Neighbour, keep me from all Acts of Injustice, or Injury, to his Body or good Name; Let me never wilfully vex or trouble him; never covet what is his, or envy his Prosperity. -May I ever be ready to help and com

c6

fort

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fort all such as are in Distress! Give me Grace to be faithful in all Things committed to my Trust; that I may never pervert Truth and Justice;-never propagate Slander, or raise evil Reports, nor ever tempt others to Sin. Give me the Spirit of Temperance and Chastity, and grant that I may never provoke Thee by any Instance of Uncleanness to shut me out of Heaven, where no unclean Thing can enter. Give me Grace so to order my Conversation, that I may encourage others to live as becomes the Gospel of Jesus Christ; for whose Sake I beg to be heard. Amen.

SECT. VI.

The next Thing you are to enquire into is, Whether you have a LIVELY FAITH in GOD'S MERCY THROUGH CHRIST.

Now because so very much depends upon our having such a Faith the Holy Ghost has given us all the Ar

guments, all the Assurance,

that

our Hearts can desire. God so loved the World, that he spared not his own Son (saith

the Apostle) but gave him up for us all. Rom. viii. 32. Can there be a greater, a surer Pledge of the Love of God for his poor Creatures? He made him to be Son (that is, a Sin-offering): He delivered him to Death in our Stead: Can we after this doubt of or distrust, the Mercy of God?

Observe the Method St. Paul takes to confirm our Faith, by giving us the strongest Proofs of our Acceptance with God. God, saith he, commended his Love to us, in that while we were Enemies, we were reconciled to him by the Death of his Son Much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his Life Rom. v. 10. What may we not, after this, hope

for from God?

In short, Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the Curse of the Law. -Thro him we have Peace with God. Rom. v. 1.This is the only Foundation of our Faith, our Hope, and Confidence. He is our Sacrifice, our Mediator, our Advocate; the Knowledge of which ought to remove all Occasions of Despair and Fear, from the Displeasure of God.

Indeed if we should attempt to go to God, without an Interest in Christ, we

could hope for nothing but to be rejected;

but

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but when we go to him as redeemed by his
own Son-and represent to him, as we do
in this holy Sacrament, what he has done
and suffered for us, we approach him as
entirely reconciled to us.

But then you must remember, that he
gave himself for us, and hath redeemed us
from the Power of the Devil, for this End,
that he may purify unto himself a People
consecrated to his Service. - Consecrate,
therefore, yourself to Jesus Christ, and
with faithful Abraham, stagger not at the
Promises of God; but go to this Sacra-
ment with a full Assurance of Faith, that
God will pardon your Sins, and give you
all the Graces you shall stand in need of.
-Only remember, that this Faith itself,
is the Gift of God, and must be prayed
for, for Christ's Sake; which you may do
after this Manner.

THE PRAYER..

I BESEECH Thee, O God, by that Love which moved Thee to give thine own Son for lost Mankind, give me a Faith in thy Promises for his Sake, as firm as thy Word, on which my Faith is grounded: And let me never presume upon thy gracious Promises, without sincerely endeavouring

:

vouring to perform the Conditions on which they were made, and without being zealous of good Works, for which we were redeemed. May the Remembrance of our Saviour's Love, and of thy great Mercy, be ever seasonably present with me, to keep me from Despair! And may my Faith in thy Promises support me in the Hour of Death!-May my Redeemer be my Refuge, his Blood and Merits plead for me, that I may have my Lot and Portion with those whom he hath purchased with his most precious Blood! Amen.

SECT VII.

Whether you have a thankful Remembrance of Christ's Death: This is the next

Thing you are to enquire into.

Now this will always bear some Pro portion to the Sense you have of the Evil he has delivered you from, and the Blessing he has by his Death procured for you.

Consider therefore yourself as a poor, sinful, lost, undone Creature, without a Redeemer. Consider what that Redeemer has done for you: What he