fpirit and the severity of a Chriftian. Let me in all accidents and circumftances be fevere in my duty towards Thee, affectionate and dear to my Wife, [or Husband,] a guide and good example to my family, and in all quietnefs, fobriety, prudence and peace, a follower of thofe holy pairs who have ferved Thee with godlinefs and a good teftimony. And the blef fings of the eternal God, bleffings of the right hand and of the left, be upon the body and foul of thy fer vant my Wife, [or Husband,] and abide upon her [or him] till the end of a holy and happy life; and grant that both of us may live together for ever in the embraces of the holy and eternal Jefus, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

A Prayer for the Grace of Humility.

Holy and moft gracious Mafter and Saviour Jefus, who by thy example and by thy precept, by the practice of a whole life and frequent difcourfes, didft command us to be meek and humble, in imitation of thy incomparable fweetnefs and great humility; be pleafed to give me the grace as thou haft given me the commandment: enable me to do whatsoever thou commandeft, and command whatsoever thou pleaseft. O mortifie in me all proud thoughts and vain opinions of my felf: let me return to Thee the acknow ledgment and the fruits of all thofe. good things thou haft given me, that by confeffing I am wholly in debt to Thee for them, I may not boast my self for what I have received, and for what I am highly accountable: and for what is my own, teach me to be afhamed and humbled, it being nothing but fin and mifery, weaknefs and uncleanness. Let me go before my brethren in nothing but in ftriving to do them honour and Thee glory, never to feek my own praife, never to delight in it when it is offered; that, defpifing my felf, I may be accepted by Thee in the honours with which thou fhalt crown thy humble and defpifed fervants, for Jefus his fake, in the kingdom of eternal glory. Amen.

Alts

Acts of Humility and Modefty, by way of
Prayers and Meditation.

I.

Lord, I know that my fpirit is light and frothy, my body is brutifh and expofed to sickness; I am conftant to folly, and inconftant to holy purpofes. My labours are vain and fruitlefs; my fortune full of change and trouble, feldom pleafing, never perfect; my wifdom is folly: being ignorant even of the parts and paffions of my own body: And what am I, O Lord, before thee, but a miferable perfon hugely in debt, not able to pay?

II.2

Lord, I am nothing, and I have nothing of my felf: I am lefs than the leaft of thy mercies..

III.

What was I before my birth? First, nothing, and then uncleanness. What during my childhood? weaknefs and folly. What in my youth? folly ftill and paffion, luft and wildness. What in my whole life? a great finner, a deceived and an abufed perfon. Lord, pity me, for it is thy goodness that I am kept from confufion and amazement, when I confider the mifery and thame of my perfon, and the defilements of my nature.

IV.

Lord, what am I? and, Lord, what art thou? What is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou fo regardeft him?

V.

How can man be juftified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? Behold even to the Moon, and it shineth not, yea, the Stars are not pure in his fight: How much lefs man that is a worm, and the fon of man which is a worm? Job 25. 4, &c.

A Prayer for a contented Spirit, and the Grace of
Moderation and Patience.

Almighty God, Father and Lord of all the creatures, who haft difpofed all things and all chances fo as may best glorifie thy Wisdom, and ferve the ends of thy Juftice, and magnifie thy Mercy, thy fecret and undifcernable ways bringing good out of evil; I most humbly befeech thee to give me wisdom from above, that I may adore thee and admire thy ways and footsteps, which are in the great Deep, and not to be fearched out: teach me to submit to thy providence in all things, to be content in all changes of perfon and condition, to be temperate in profperity, and to read my duty in the lines of thy mercy, and in adversity to be meek, patient and refigned, and to look through the cloud, that I may wait for the confolation of the Lord, and the day of Redemption; in the mean time doing my duty with an unwearied diligence, and an undisturbed refolution, having no fondness for the vanities and poffeffions of this world, but laying up my hopes in Heaven and the rewards of holy living, and being ftrengthened with the fpirit of the inner Man, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

J

CHA P. III.

Of Christian Justice.

Uftice is by the Christian Religion enjoined in all its parts by these two propofitions in Scripture: [What foever you would that men should do to you, even fo do to them.] This is the measure of Commutative Juftice, or of that Juftice which supposes exchange of things profitable for things profitable: that as I fupply your need, you may supply mine: as I do a benefit to you, I may receive one by you: and becaufe every man may be injured by another, therefore his fecurity fhall depend upon mine: if he will not let me be safe, he shall not be safe himself: (only the manner of his being punished is upon great reafon both by God and all the World taken from particulars, and committed to a publick difinterested perfon, who will do Juftice without paffion both to him and to me) if he refufes to do me advantage, he fhall receive none when his needs require it. And thus God gave neceffities to men, that all men might need; and feveral abilities to feveral perfons, that each man might help to fupply the publick needs, and by joining to fill up all wants, they may be knit together by Juftice, as the parts of the World are by Nature: and he hath made all obnoxious to injuries, and made every little thing ftrong enough to do us hurt by fome inftrument or other; and hath given us all a fufficient ftock of felf-love, and defire of felf prefervation, to be as the chain to tie together all the parts of fociety, and to reftrain us from doing violence, left we be violently dealt withall our felves.

The other part of Juftice is commonly called DiftriRom. 137. butive, and is commanded in this Rule, [Render to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another.]

This Juftice is diftinguished from the first, because the obligation depends not upon contractor express bargain, but paffes upon us by virtue of fome command of God, or of our Superiour, by nature or by grace, by Piety or Religion, by truft or by office, according to that commandment, [As every man bath received the 1 Pet. 4. 10! gift, fo let him minifter the fame one to another, as good Stewards of the manifold grace of God.] And as the first confiders an equality of perfons in refpect of the con. tract or particular neceffity: this fuppofes a difference of perfons, and no particular bargains, but fuch ne ceflary intercourfes as by the Laws of God or man are introduced. But I fhall reduce all the particulars of both kinds to thefe four heads; 1. Obedience. 2. Provifion. 3. Negotiation. 4. Reftitution.

SECT. I.

Of Obedience to our Superiours.

UR Superiours are fet over us in affairs of the World, or the affairs of the Soul and things pertaining to Religion, and are called accordingly, Fcclefiaftical or Civil. Towards whom our duty is thus generally defcribed in the New Teftament. For Tem poral or Civil Governours the Commands are thefe: [Render to Cæfar the things that are Cafar's] and [Let Rom. 13: T every foul be fubject to the higher Powers: For there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God. Whofocver therefore refifteth the power refifteth the ordinance of God, and they that refift fhall receive to themfelves damnation] and [Put them in mind to be Tit. 1. Subject to principalities and powers, and to obey magiAtrates] and [Submit your felves to every ordinance of 1 Pet. 2. 13. man, for the Lord's fake; whether it be to the King, as Supreme, or unto Governours, as unto them that are fent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and the praife of them that do well.]

I

For Spiritual or Ecclefiaftical Governouts thus we are commanded: [Obey them that have the rule over you, Heb. 13. 17. and fubmit your felves, for they watch for your fouls, as they that must give an account] and [Hold fuch in reputa Phil. 2, 29.

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