fo to encourage her with Promifes, that it may not be in the Power of the Devil, nor in the Power of her Lufts, to gain-fay, or contradict, or dath the Refolution the hath taken ; where the Soul doth with strong Defires pour out thefe her Requests before God, appeals to his Goodness, and folicites his Clemency, the good Father opens the Gates of Heaven, lets in the Messenger, makes him welcome, fmiles upon him, and fends him back laden with Mercy, and puts Words into his Mouth, and bids him tell the Soul boldly from that God who heareth Prayer, I have heard thee in an acceptable time, in the day of falvation have I fuccoured thee, I'll pour out my Spirit upon thee, I will open Rivers in high places and Fountains in the midst of Valleys; I will make thy Wilderness a pool of Water, and thy dry land fprings of Water: I will plant in the Wilderness the Cedar, and the Myrtle, and the Oil-tree will I Set in the Defart, that thou mayft fee, and know, and confider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Ifrael bath created it, 2 Cor, 6. 2. Ifa. 41. II, 12, 20.

Up then, Chriftian, who art refolved not to let the Concerns of thy Soul lie at fix and fevens, who art afraid to hazard Eternity with the careless befotted World: Like another Lazarus, beg Alms of the King of Heaven, Cry aloud, and spare not; fhew him thy Wounds, thy Ulcers, thy Poverty, thy Want, thy Neceffity; let a greater Fervency attend thy Prayer for Spiritual Bleffings, than others ufe in beg

ging for Temporal Mercies. Prayer is the way to be enriched with all the Treasures of Heaven; feek God's Affiftance with Tears in thine Eyes; remember thy Soul is infinitely more precious than thy Body: And if a Beggar in the Street is fo earneft with thofe that pafs by, to give him fomething for the Relief of his Corporal Wants, oughteft not thou to be all on fire, to procure thofe Bleffings which will enrich thy Soul for ever? Behold, how others have fped: Behold, how Theodofius the Emperor prays, and the Winds fight for him: Behold, how Annianus prays, and the Army of Attilas is defeated upon't. Behold, how the Chriftian Soldiers under Aurelius pray, and on a fudden the Heavens drop down Rain to refresh the fainting Warriors! Behold, how Arcadius prays, and the Earthquake ceaseth! Behold, how Paul the Novatian Bishop prays, and the Fire, which invaded the Church, is stopped! Jofeph's Brethren were pinched with Famine, because they knew not that their Brother Reigned in Egypt: Why shouldst thou starve, Chriftian, when thy Elder Brother Reigns in Heaven, who knows what thou wantest, and is a faithful High-Prieft, and is touched with the feeling of thy Infirmities, and was in all Points tempted, even as thou art? Come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that thou mayft obtain Mercy, and find Help in the Time of Need. If God hath done Good to others for his Servants Sake, who have pleased him; What will not God do for thee, for his Son's Sake, in whom alone he is well pleased? If God doth fo highly esteem the

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Piety of Men that he profeffes, for my Servant Jacob's Sake, for my Servant David's Sake, I will be kind to fuch a one; will he derogate, doft thou think, from the Merits and Love of his own Son? Will he harden his Heart, or ftop his Ears, or turn away his Eyes, when thou calleft upon him for Chrift's fake to fend down upon thee the day-fpring from on high? Chrift is the very Object of God's Delight, nothing is fweet, nothing is pleafing to him, but through and in Chrift; Whatever is amiable, and acceptable in us, it is for Chrift's fake, that God doth think it fo. Without Light, all Colours are invifible, there is no Beauty in them, the Light fhining upon them makes them look lovely and amiable; without Chrift, nothing would appear pure, or lovely, or great, or delightful. O fefu! How ought our Souls to rejoyce in thy Name! How dear, how precious ought thy Death to be in our Eyes, feeing by that we live, and thy Crofs is our Exaltation, thy Contempt makes us honourable, and thy Tears give us a Title to Joys which laft for ever. He that looks thro' a green Glafs, fancies all things he looks upon to be green; God looking upon our Holy Endeavours in Chrift Jefus, they all appear to him lovely and good, because all that Christ did was good, and infinitely pleafing to him. The World had perished ten thousand times, if God had not looked upon it through his Son, and fo fupported it; he that looks through a Glafs upon a ftinking Carcass afar off, doth not smell the ill fcent of it; fo God, through Christ, looks upon our

Imperfections, and he fmells not the ill favour of our Performances. Take Courage then, and lay hold on the Horns of this Altar; and ! if thou knoweft not what to fay, when thou haft taken a ferious View of thy Ways, make ufe of this, or fome other Form.

Of all Flesh, the Father of Lights, with

H thou, who art the Father of the Spirit

of whom there is no variableness, nor fhadow of turning; here lies a poor miferable finful wretch before thee, not worthy to lift up his Eyes and Hands to Heaven; I know not where to look for fhame and confufion of Face, fo long have I gone aftray from thee, fo often have I provoked thee, fo often have I flighted thee, fo often have I turned thy Grace into wantonness, fo long have I traded in Sin, and been bufie with Iniquity, fo long have I play'd with Mercy, and made a laughing-stock of Punishment, that thou mayft justly abfent thy felf from me for ever; fo difingenuously have I dealt with thee, fo of ten have I endeavoured to blind thy All-feeing Eye, and to cheat my felf, that thou mighteft justly cause me to fall a Prey to Satan, look ftern upon me, and charge me, never any more to fee thy Face. O wretched Creature that I am! Who shall deliver from the Body of this Death? Oh my Lord, how often haft thou darted Rays of Light into my Soul, and the impure fire of my Lufts hath prevailed against them? How often haft thou fuggefted to my Soul, the danger it hath been in, and yet I have not trembled? How often haft thou flung my Heart, pricked

pricked it, and goaded it into ferious reflections? And how foon hath this vain World taken me off again, and dull'd and dafb'd thefe Confiderations? How often haft thou fent marks

Grace into my Soul, while I have done what I could to fmother that Holy Fire? How juftly mightest thou Jay, My Spirit fhall no longer ftrive with thee? O my God, there is no plague, no punishment, that's threatned in thy Law, but I have deferved it; I only ftand amazed at thy patience, that I have escaped fo long, without being con fumed and ruined. Wilt thou receive fuch a Prodigal into thy Favour? Wilt thou be reconciled to fo great a Rebel? Wilt thou pass by unkindness of fo deep a Dye? Are the Gates of Mercy open yet for fo vile a Wretch? Do not I come too late, O my Lord, to the Throne of Grace? Will God yet be intreated for fuch a poor forlorn Creature? Is there yet compassion left for fuch a poor Sinner? O my God, I queftion not thy Power but thy Will, to pity juch a Traytor, as I have been: I know thy Mercy is infinite, it would be a disparagement to thy Glory and Perfection, to deny the exceeding riches of thy Grace; thou coulaft not be God, if my Sins exceed thy Power to forgive; but when I reflect on thy threatnings, how justly thou denounceft Wrath and Indignation against all those that obftinately prefer their foolish defires before all the DiEtates and Oracles of the Holy Spirit: O have not I reafon to fear that thou wilt fay to me, Thou haft forfaken me, and served other Gods, wherefore I will deliver thee no more. And

yet