bow in the cloud, and our faithful God remembered his promife, allaying their punishment with a milder fentence, and only fcattered them from the place of their confpiracy; which yet his providence turned into a bleffing, by making it an occafion of peopling the world.Still their rebellious nature difobeyed again, and neither feared his judgments, nor valued his mercies; but with a gracelefs emulation propagated fin, as far as his goodnefs propagated mankind. Then he felected a private family, and increafed and governed them with a particular tenderness, giving them a law by the hands of angels, and engaged their obedience by a thoufand favours; but they likewife neglected their God and heaven, and fell in love with the ways of death.

5. When thou hadft thus, O merciful Lord, ufed many remedies, and our difeafe was beyond their power to cure; when the light of nature proved too weak a guide, and the general flood too mild a correction; when the miracles of Mofes could not foften their hearts, nor the law of angels bring any to perfection; when the whole was reduced to this defperate ftate, and no imaginable hope left to recover us; behold! thy eternal wisdom finds an amazing expedient, the laft and the higheft inftance of

almighty

almighty love; he refolves to clothe himfelf with our flesh, and come down. amongst us, and die to redeem us, and has left us the bleffed facrament of his body and blood for a perpetual remembrance of the fame.

6. Wonder, O my foul, at the mercies of the Lord! how infinitely do they tranfcend even our utmoft wifhes; wonder at the admirable providence of his counfels, that are exactly fitted to their great defign! had our Saviour been lefs than God, we could never have believed the fublime myfteries of his heavenly doctrine: had he been other than man, we muft needs have wanted the powerful motive of his holy example. Had he been only God, he could never have fuffered the left of thofe afflictions he fo glorioufly overcame; had he been merely man, he could never have overcome thofe infinite afflictions he fo patiently endured. In thee, O bleffed Saviour, the two natures of God and man were fo myfteriously united, without eitherchange or confufion, that they made in thee but one perfon, one mediator, one Lord.

The

The prayer on Tuesday Morning, for God's mercy and grace in our preparation for the sacrament.

O hide not thou thy face from me; nor cast thy servant away in displeasure. Thou hast been my succour; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. Psalm xxvii. 10, 11.

Moft glorious, moft great, and eternal God! thou art the fovereign Lord of heaven and earth, the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, in whom I live, and move, and have my being, and from whom I derive all the comforts and conveniences of this life, and all my hopes and expectations of a better. O Lord! I acknowledge that I am not worthy to come into thy prefence, nor to lift up mine eyes towards the thorne of thy mercy-feat. My fins and tranfgreffions are many, and divers of them have been often repeated; the corruption of my heart, and the finfulness of my thoughts, are perfectly known to thee; and the punishment I deferve is greater than I am able to bear. O give me not over to mine oppreffors, but fave and deliver me for thy mercy's fake, through Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O Lord! if thou fhouldft deal with me as I have deferved, how jufly mayft thou deprive me of all thofe means of grace, and opportunities of working out

my

my falvation, which thou haft hitherto Vouchfafed unto me: but, O merciful Father thou haft declared thy felf to be a God merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity, tranfgreffion, and fin. My only hope, therefore, is in thy tender mercies, which have been ever of old; and in that pity and compaffion which thou haft fhown to mankind, in the redemption of the world, by the death of thy dear Son' Jefus Chrift, my Lord and Saviour.

For thy name's fake, then, O Lord, and for thy beloved Son's fake, pardon, I moft humbly befeech thee, all my paft fins, and let not iniquity be my ruin. Forgive the deadnefs of my devotion; the coldness of my affections; the wanderings of my prayers; and whatever elfe thou haft feen amifs in me. O pity my weaknesses, and forgive my infirmities, and lay not to my charge the imperfections of my religious duties. But

Enable me, by the affiftance of thy good fpirit, to amend whatever has been amifs, and to endeavour more and more after the attainment of all thofe graces and good difpofitions, which on this folemn occafion are neceffary to render our prayers and praifes acceptable in thy fight. O let me never fall into a careless and unconcerned ftate of mind; into a coldnefs and indifferency toward the du

ties of religion; but animate and enliven my fluggish heart, and cleanfe it from all its defilements.

Grant me fuch a conviction of my own weaknefs and infufficiency, as may procure thy gracious aid and affiftance; fuch longing defires of being made conformable to thy holy will and pleasure, as may transform me into thy divine image, and fix me to continue thy faithful fervant all the remaining days of my life; fo that I may finally inherit thy heavenly kingdom with him that has commanded me to call thee Father, and has taught me when I pray to fay, Our Father which art in heaven, &c.

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 3. Section VII. and VIII.

The Meditation for Tuefday Evening.

On the nature and necessity of our preparation before receiving the holy sacrament.

He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 1 Cor. xi. 29.

I.

Onfider now, O my foul, what that great mystery is to which

thou