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embrace the meanes wch Thy mercy hath provided for my SUPPLErecovery.

Grant, I humbly beseech Thee, that I may never grieve Thy H. Spirit by wch I have been sanctify'd;-That, thro' His Assistance, I may resist all the sinful Appetites of my corrupt Nature;-And yt I may escape y Corrupt" yt is in ye world thro' Lust-The Lust of y Flesh, ye Lust of ye Eye, and Pride of Life.

Grant, that I may hunger and thirst after Righteousness; -That Christ may dwell in my heart by Faith ;-That I may be rooted and grounded in Love:-And finally; That I may be restored to Thy image;-That the image of Satan may be destroyed in me;-That the end of all my actions may be Thy glory;-That my Heart may be entirely Thine, and that I may continue Thine for ever.-All wch I beg for J. Xt. his sake, the Son of Thy Love. Amen.

O that it may appear by my life yt Christ is Formd in me, as it appeares by the Branch of the Vine, that it has its life and nourishment from ye tree in wch it is grafted.

u1 Tim. ii. 1. I exhort....That Supplications, Prayers, Intercessions, and giving of Thanks be made for all men &c. O God, ye Creator and Redeem of all men, have mercy upon all whom Thou hast made and redeemed.

Ejaculations.

Let the Blood of J. Xt. O God, move Thee to have mercy upon a miserable Sinner.

Christian Perfection. May Thy Almighty and Powerful Grace make me as Perfect as Thou hast commanded me to be.

"[This and the following entries occur at wide intervals in MS. No. 10; the rest is a blank. A few entries have

been omitted in the other MSS., as
more convenient for insertion in the
Memoir of the Bishop's Life.]

MENT No. XV.

END OF "SACRA PRIVATA."

[From MS. 5. p. 1.]

[p. 2°.]

MAXIMS OF PIETY AND MORALITY.

1. In Deo Quies.

2. Nervi et Artus sapientiæ, non temere crederea.
3. All is equal to a Soul truly resigned.

4. Serious Piety y best security agst wicked error.

5. He yt has a good Conscience has most skill in true Divinity.

6. The only way to peace is to give ye Heart entirely to God.

7. Common Practice ye worst Rule in Religion.

8. He has ye best Testimony of His sincerity who shews his Faith by its fruits.

9. It is not great, but useful Knowledg, yt makes a Wise Man.

10. Perfect Resignation ye surest way to Heaven.

11. We receive Grace in ye same Degree we desire it". 12. Good purposes cost nothing and are worth nothing, wthout they are put in execution.

13. We can always do what is proper to our condition, and that is wt is most pleasing to God.

14. The only way to perfection, is, to Live in ye Presence of God.

15. He yt recounts his own good works, does but reckon up ye Gifts of God.

16. Have no other View but to please God.

17. Receive every thing yt happens as GoD's appointment. 18. Those y1 commend our Faults, design to make a jest of us.

19. All knowledge is vain yt tends not to ye Practice of some duty.

[Epicharmus, ap. Cic. ad Att. i. 19. Ναφε καὶ μέμνασ ̓ ἀπιστεῖν· ἄρθρα ταῦτα τῶν φρένων. Bp. Wilson took it from

the tract called "Q. Cic. de Petitione Consulatus," § 10.]

b

[This recurs in the same MS., p. 2.]

20. He yt fancys he is perfect, may lose yt by Pride wch he attained by grace.

21. Nothing that pleases or displeases God is to be accounted little.

22. He lives to no purposes, who glorifyes not God. 23. Our greatest Hopes shd lie beyond ye Grave.

24. No Man must go to Heav" who has not sent his heart thither before.

25. Be not ashamd of being a X".

26. St. Aug. had ye sense of ye following verses writ in His Dining Room :

"The Man in Railing bold, in Censure Free,

Shall never be a welcom guest to me."

27. The Change of a Sinner's Heart is as great a Miracle as any J. Xt wrought on earth.

28. He yt is His own Pupil has a Fool for His Tutor.

29. A Man sacrifices to His own Netd wn He has taken nothing but dirt and Filth.

e

30. Concerning Maxims, such as sha not only be Believed but ever present upon ye mind:

That Sin is the greatest evil.

That no pleasure shd tempt one to commit ye least
Sin.

That there will be a Future Judgmt, as sure, &c.

That a good Conscience is an inestimable Treasure. 31. Virtus est Vitium fugere.

32. & Christian Constancy.

For having learn'd their [his] due Contempt to throw
Upon those Interests and Baits which make

The Biass'd Hearts of men unmanly grow,
And Cowardly Sin's Sneaking By Paths take,
In spite of all ye world wch dares say No,

He in the King of Heav'n's High way will go.

[Possidius, Vita Aug. c. 22. "Contra pestilentiam humanæ consuetudinis in mensa scriptum ita habebat:Quisquis amat dictis absentum rodere vitam,

Hanc mensam indignam noverit esse sibi."]

e

[See Habak. i. 16.]

[MS. 5, p. 3. otherwise blank, as

is the whole of p. 4*.]

f In MS. 5*, a page otherwise blank, as is the whole of p. 6*.]

[Ibid., p. 7*. This and p. 8* have apparently been inserted from another MS., or another portion of this MS.] [Beaumont's Psyche, canto xxiii. stanza 26.]

[MS. 5. p. 8*.]

33. The King's Throne establish'd in Righteousness.
Since to thine own Commands just duty Thou

Expectest from thy Subjects; let thy Neck
Not scorn to thine own Maker's Yoke to Bow;

The precedent may dangerous prove, and wrack
Thy Throne and Kingdom, If Thy People Read
Highest Rebellion's lesson in their Head'.
34. Wicked Thanks.

Thrusting loud Thanks on God, as if their bold
Sedition had been Patronized by Him.

35. Anarchy.

What Commonwealth

Can Justify its name, where Subjects may
Command, and Princes dare not but obey?
36. The Shepherds visiting X'. &c.

Heaven sent us hither, and we need not fear
But Heaven is able to supply our care'.
37. Fleres, si scires unum tua tempora mensem,
Rides, cum non sit forsitan una Dies.
38. Quicquid agunt alii sis memor Ipse Tui.
39. Cum duplicantur Lateres tunc venit Moses m.
40. Seven Precepts of ye Sons of Noah:-

1. To Renounce Idols and Idolatrous Worship.
2. To Worship ye True God.-The Sabbath.
3. Not to commit Murther.

4. Not to commit Fornication [or] Uncleaness.
5. Not to Steal.

6. To administer Justice, and Punish Malefacts.

7. Not to eat Flesh with ye blood, or a member taken fr. a Beast alive.

41. Fear of Man. He that complains of ye Secular Power, is Ignorant of the Power of God.

42. In Time of Persecution for Righteousnes's sake, i. e. For doing one's duty. 2 Chron. xvi. 9, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro thro' ye whole earth, to shew Himself strong in behalf of them whose [heart is perfect towards Him."]

i [Beaumont's Psyche, canto iii.
stanza 157.]

[Ibid., canto v. stanza 188.]
1 [Ibid., canto vii. stanza 206.]

m [A Jewish proverb, answering to the English, "Man's necessity, God's opportunity." See Trench on Proverbs, p. 42. Cf. Exod. v. 9—19.]

43. "Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, Reason without Grace. The vanity of all these will appear when men come to make use of them.

To a man, for instance, in affliction, in disgrace, &c., say all the fine things that Marcus Antoninus, Seneca, &c., ever said, and see if his mind will rest satisfied with them.

It is the grace of God wh makes the difference betwixt the Scriptures and the sayings of philosophers; the one is a twoedged sword; the other, wanting the Spirit, is a dead letter.

Hear the fair confession of one who was accounted a master of reason, &c.

Dr. Radcliffe, in a letter to the Earl of Denbigh, Oct. 15, 1714, has these words: "Your Lordship is too well acquainted with my temper, to imagine that I could bear the reproaches of my friends, and the threats of my enemies, without laying them deeply to heart, especially when there are no grounds for the one, nor foundation for the other. • Give me credit w" I say, these considerations alone have shortened my days. . . The menacing letter inclosed will shew you fr. wt quart' my Death comes. I find these insupportable. And have experienced that tho' there [are] Repellent Medicines for diseases of ye Body, those of the Mind are too strong and impetuous for the feeble Resistance of the most powerful Artist," &c. A very fair Confession, one wd. think, fr. one who found ye truth of this, by experience, -for He dyed immediately P.

"[Some portion of this, being lost in the MS., is supplied from the 4to. Ed., Works, ii. 354.]

[MS. 5. p. 7. The pages numbered by Dr. Wilson are apparently torn out until we come to this, which is itself a little mutilated. It may seem that the pages now marked with were considered by him as fly leaves, and passed over.]

P[See "Dr. Radcliffe's Life and Letters," 4th Ed. Lond. 1736. "Basil Fielding, 4th Earl of Denbigh, died March 18, 17, having been Master of the Horse to Prince George of Denmark, and Teller of the Exchequer under George I."-Jacob's Peerage, ii. 511.

The letter, here reprinted at length, tells its own sad story better than it could be told any other way:

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"Cashalton, Oct. 15, 1714. "My very good Lord,

"This being the last time that, in all probability, I shall ever put pen to paper, I thought it my duty to employ it in writing to you, since I am now going to a place from whence I can administer no advice to you, and whither you, and all the rest who survive me, are obliged to come sooner or later.

"Your Lordship is too well acquainted with my temper to imagine, that I could bear the reproaches of my friends and threats of my enemies without laying them deeply at heart; especially since there are no grounds for the one, nor foundation for the other; and you will give me credit when I say these considerations alone have shortened my days.

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