ing: and you will accuftom yourself to apply every scripture to your own cafe.

But be fure you take this confideration along with you; and I beseech you to remember it as long as you live; That you are not going to make your addrefs to God for yourself only, but for every Chriftian in the whole world. For, as we are all members of that body of which Jefus Chrift is the head, we are every one of us bound (as we hope to meet in heaven) to pray for, and to do good to every member of that body: think seriously of this, and it will quicken your charity, and mightily ftir up your devotion, when you confider, that you are going to pray for millions of millions of Chriftians, and that millions of Chriftians are praying for you; and that, as you fincerely pray for others, God will most furely hear their prayers for you. And then, with what fatisfaction and comfort will you leave the church, when you confider that you have been a real benefactor to an infinite number of miferable Chriftians;-by praying for all that are in error, or want the neceffary means of inftruction; for all that labour under trials and afflictions; for all that are in pain of body or anguish of mind; for all that are in flavery, under perfecution, in poverty, or in prifon; for all that are under temptations, or in danger of falling into despair; and lastly, for all fick and dying perfons.

Befides this, you have had an opportunity of fhewing your gratitude, by praying, and

praifing

T

praifing God for all your benefactors; as alfo of fhewing your charity, by praying for your enemies; and laftly, of begging graces and bleffings for all your friends and relations, and for all that have defired your prayers.

If any confiderations will make a Chriftian ferious and devout at his prayers, surely these will:-That he is doing a work the most pleafing to God; that he is going to do himfelf, and all his fellow Chriftians, the greatest good that can be thought of.

Well then, with thefe difpofitions and with thefe views, you begin your prayers in an HUMBLE CONFESSION of your own fins, and the fins of all others; without which none of our prayers will be accepted; (for a finner can make no prayer that will be heard, but for the grace of converfion only.)

When the congregation are making this confeffion to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon their knees; if there be any fo ill taught, or fo ignorant of their duty, as wilfully to refufe to put themselves into this humble posture, one may, without any breach of charity, conclude-that man does not know ́ himself to be a miferable finner; or he does not confider, that his prayers will be rejected; or he does not believe, that hell-fire will one day be the portion of unpardoned finners: if he did, he would think no pofture too painful by which he might obtain God's pardon and bleffing.

Το

To proceed:-After this confeffion, follows THE ABSOLUTION; not to be repeated by you, but by the minifter of God only; and in the name, and by the authority, of God.

Ignorant people may fuggeft, that we take upon us to pardon fins, which we acknowledge. NONE BUT GOD CAN DO. But furely God can fend his pardon, as well as a king can fend his, by what hands he thinks fit. And if he has committed this miniftry of reconciliation to his own minifters, (as St. Paul affures us he has done) who will be fo perverse as to refuse so great a mercy, though it comes through the hands of a man like themselves?

Pray remember the behaviour of no less a man than king David; who thought himself happy that he could receive abfolution by the mouth of his fubject Nathan; who, upon his confeffion, declared, God hath put away thy fin, thou shalt not die.f

God bestows his bleffings of pardon and peace according to his own appointment. He has appointed his minifters to baptize you for the remiffion of fins: and in order to affure to you the pardon of your fins, they are ordained to administer to you the other holy facrament.

Jefus Chrift impowered his minifters not only to pray for, but to give with effect, the bleffings of peace and happiness, which none but God can give, to every fon of peace, that is, to every person qualified to receive fuch a 2 Cor. v. 18. f 2 Sam. xii. 13.

bleffing.

bleffing. Even fo every Chriftian, duly qualified by true repentance and faith unfeigned, may have the comfort of hearing his pardon pronounced by God's own ambassador, purfuant to Chrift's own power and authority.

But that God may render this pardon, by the mouth of his minifter, more effectual, every true penitent would do well to receive and apply it to himself in fome such secret prayer as this following:-May this pardon, O Lord, fall upon my foul, and feal the forgiveness of all

my fins! This one would recommend again and again to every devout Christian, as what would be attended with the greatest comfort and affurance of his pardon being sealed in heaven.

The next thing which we are directed to do, is to addrefs our Heavenly Father in a prayer appointed by the Son of God himself. This confideration fhould oblige us always to fay this prayer with the greatest attention, deliberation, devotion, and zeal; that God may hear us according to the full importance of this most comprehensive prayer.

- And now we are qualified to praise God, and to give him thanks for all his mercies which we are to do in the following pfalms and hymns. And pray take notice, that the pfalms are appointed to be read over no less than twelve times in every year, for this great and good reafon; that we may learn (by hearing and repeating them fo often) to pray to,

and praise God, in the very words or expreffions of the Holy Ghoft, which, to be fure, will always be most acceptable to the Divine Majesty.

Then follows a leffon out of the OLD TESTAMENT. The Old Teftament was written in order to establish the great article of a divine providence; and to give men right notions of God's glorious perfections, of his almighty power, his infinite wisdom, his justice, goodnefs, and truth.

When the minifter faith, Here beginneth the leffon; fay in your heart, God is going to speak to me; fhall I not vouchsafe to hear him with attention? God grant that I may hear, and understand, and bring forth fruit an hundred fold!

It is in these books, that we have an account of what has happened from the creation to the coming of Chrift, and particularly of the two states of man, his innocency and his fall. That God having made man, he promised to make him happy for ever, if he would be obedient to his commands: but man failing in this, forfeited all his right to eternal happiness, and became fubject to fin and to death. That to convince us of his infinite goodness, love, and mercy, from the moment man fell, God promised a Redeemer, for whose fake his repentance fhould be accepted, on condition he would live according to that light and reason which God had given him.

After