S Who am I, that I should make exceptions against the MONDAY. will of God, infinitely great, and wise, and good? I know not the things that are for my own' good. My most earnest desires, "if granted, may prove my ruin. the greatest mercy. The disappointments I meet with may be absolutely necessary for my eternal welfare. I do therefore protest against the sin and madness of desiring to have my will done, and not the will of God. a b Grant, gracious Father, that I may never dispute the reasonableness of Thy will, but ever close with it, as the best that can happen. Prepare me always for what Thy providence shall bring forth. Let me never murmur, be dejected, or impatient, under any of the troubles of this life; but ever find rest and comfort in this; this is the will of my Father, and of my God: 'grant this for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. To the glory of God and justification of His infinite goodness, I do here acknowledge, that in all the dispensations of Providence which have befallen me, to this day, however uneasy to flesh and blood, I have notwithstanding experienced the kindness of a father fork his child; and am convinced that it would have been much worse for me 1had I had my own choices. mO God, grant that for the time to come I may yield a [1st ed. cheerful obedience to all Thy appointments. Amen. 268; iii. 130.] MONDAY. [1st ed. 268.] [1st ed. 269.] "Philip. iv. 6. Be careful for nothing, but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Corrupt nature cannot comprehend that afflictions are the effects of the Divine love. It must be Thy grace, °O lover of souls, which must work in me this conviction, which I beseech Thee to vouchsafe me. Never set a greater value upon this world than it deserves. If a man is not eager or positive in his desires, he will more readily embrace the appointments of providence. If we place our hopes, or our dependence, upon the power, the wisdom, the counsel, or the interest we have in man, and not in God only, we shall surely be disappointed. Job xiii. 15. Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. O my crucified King and Saviour, let my submission to whatever afflictións shall befall me, for Thy sake, or by Thy appointment, be to me a pledge and an assurance of my fidelity to Thee, and conformity to Thy sufferings. It is a favour to be punished and to suffer in this life, when a man makes a good use of his sufferings. But to suffer by constraint, is to suffer without comfort and without benefit. Our union and conformity with the will of God ought to be instead of all consolation. Grant, O God, that I may always accept of the punishment of my sins with resignation to Thy good pleasure. Remember me, O Lord, in the day of trouble; keep me from all excess of fear, concern, and sadness. Grant me an humble and a resigned heart, that with perfect content I may ever acquiesce in all the methods of Thy grace, that I may never frustrate the designs of Thy mercy, by unreasonable fears, by sloth, or self-love. Amen. Think often of God, and of His attributes, His mercy, compassion, fidelity, fatherly care, goodness, protection. Dwell on these thoughts till they produce such a wellgrounded confidence as will support us under all difficulties, and assure us that He cannot possibly forsake those that depend on Him. When God deprives us of any thing that is most dear to n 1st ed. om. iii. "O God, that must do it: which I beseech Thee to vouchsafe." us,-health, ease, conveniences of life, friends, wife, children, MONDAY. &c., we should immediately say, This is God's will; I am by Him commanded to part with so much; let me not therefore murmur or be dejected, for then it would appear that I did love that thing more than God's will. When God thus visits us, let us immediately look inwards, and, lest our sins should be the occasion, let us take care that we seriously repent, and endeavour to make our peace with God, and then He will either deliver or support us, and will convince us that we suffer in justice for our faults; or for our trial, and to humble us; or for God's glory, and to sanctify us. 1 Peter v. 5. Be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Give me grace, O God, to study, to love, to adore, and to imitate that humility which Thy blessed Son hath taught us both by His word and by His most holy example. Ephes. v. 17. Understanding what the will of the Lord is. To engage in any business of importance without knowing this, and taking counsel of God, may cost us dear. Isaiah xxx. 1. Woe to them that take counsel, but not of Me, saith the Lord. But then, let a man take heed that when he goes to enquire of the Lord, he does not set up idols in his own heart, lest God answer him according to his idols. We are to pray for the direction of God's Spirit upon all great occasions; especially, we are humbly to depend on His direction, and cheerfully to expect it, which He will manifest, either by some plain event of His providence, or by suggesting such reasons as ought to determine the will to a wise choice. But to follow the inclinations of the will without reason, only because we find ourselves strongly inclined to this or that, is a very dangerous way, and may engage us in very dangerous practices. Master, Servant. Death, in a very little time, may make the master and the servant equal. Let us anticipate this equality, by treating our servants with compassion; having respect to Christ in the person of our servant,-to Christ, who took upon Him the form of a servant for our sakes. [i. 76; ii. 35; iii. 96.] TUESDAY. TUESDAY. [i. 76; ii. 35; iii.97.] Q. Are you ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine, contrary to God's word; and both privately and openly to call upon and encourage others to do the same? A.-I am ready, the Lord being my helper. BLESSED be the good providence of God, who, in great compassion to this Church and nation, has hitherto preserved us from heresies and schisms. O Lord, continue to us this great mercy, and grant that we, who are appointed to watch over Thy flock, may employ our learning and our time in promoting of true piety; that we may never grow secure and careless, but that we may cendeavour to secure the power, as well as the form of godliness. Have pity upon all Christian Churches that are distracted. by contending parties, and reduce all that wander out of the way. [ii. iii.] Have mercy upon all Jews, Turks, and Infidels; fetch them home, and make them one fold under one Shepherd. Enable us to preserve this Churche in peace and unity, by all means becoming the spirit of the gospel. Keep us steadfast in the faith, that we may never be tossed about with any wind of doctrine, or the craft of men. [ii. iii. insert], And make me a lively example of all the graces and virtues which we [ii. I] recommend to others. Let the zeal and industry of those that are in error provoke us to be zealously affected in a righteous cause; in a ii. iii. "to the circumstances of." ii. iii. "preserve the power." d ii. iii. "me." e ii. iii. add, "committed to my care." ii. iii. add, "to this end." ii. iii. "me...I." hii. iii. "me." labouring to make men good, and in converting sinners from TUESDAY. the error of their ways; which God grant for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Can. lxvi. Eccles. Angl. "Sed et ipsum Episcopum (quan- [i. 76: ii. 37; iii. 96.] tum per arduas occupationes licuerit) summo studio contendere, ut docendo, persuadendo, modisque blandis et benignis omnibus, tum dictos recusantes, tum omnes infra suam diæcesin sic affectos, a suis erroribus deducat." Tertull. ad Scap. "Sed nec religionis est cogere." [§ 2.] 2 Timothy iv. 3. The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. N.B. We are now in these sad times, and it behoves all faithful pastors to know it.-It is not the doctrine of the gospel, if it favours men's lusts.-They that will not receive, or [who] reject, the truth, are often judicially punished with a greediness to receive errors, falsehoods, and fables -(see v. 4.) v. 5. Watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, make full proof of (or fulfil) thy ministry. He that is wanting in any essential part is wanting to his own salvation. Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. xxii. [c. 5] tells us, that [i. 77.] Julian's contrivance for destroying Christianity was, "Ut quisque, nullo vetante, religioni suæ serviret intrepidus:" "To give every one leave to follow his own fancy, and serve the interests of his own party in religion." "Every bishop in his own diocese may condemn an heresy, and forbid communion with such as he judges to be heretics, and this his flock ought to submit to: this being matter of discipline. But the faith he cannot alter." Mr. Lesley's letter amongst Dr. Hickes' Letters, p. 321. [Leslie's exact words are: "Every bishop as supreme in his own church, and a council of bishops assembled, may condemn such an heresie, and forbid communion with such and such, or not, as they shall find it expedient for the saving of their own flocks, and the general good of the Catholic Church. For this is matter of discipline. And in this they have authority, to which their flocks ought to submit: and this they may alter, retain, or relax, according to the variation of times |