fad and fure effects of want, of charity, the begin-ning finful, the progrefs dangerous, the end def perate.

Lord, if those heavenly fpirits, whofe very names import their ardency of love to thy glory, are yet found cold enough in thy fight, with what horror and confufion of face, will those wretched fouls appear before thee, who have not been fo much as luke-warm in thy fervice..

By thy grace, (Lord) I will therefore henceforth make a godly improvement of all future opportu nities of doing good; whatsoever thine allowance is unto me, of these outward bleffings, I will dedicate fome due proportion of it unto works of mercy; and cheerfully, and thankfully truft thee: my God with the fuftentation of my body, upon whose bleffed protection, I fafely rely for the eternal preservation of my foul..

My heart, my hand, my tongue, mine actions, fhall be always ready to relieve the neceffities, to promote the good of thy children; and as this happy refolution hath had its beginning from thy grace, fó fhall its aim be wholly at thy glory.

Blessed Lord,

SUCH is thy gracious goodness unto thine, that thou even preventest them with thy bleffings; while they call upon thee thou art ready to answer, and before they speak unto thee thou art willing to hear.

Lord I am thy child, and am therefore bold to crave a bleffing of thee, and what is now more fuitable to my neceffities, than the sweet infufion of thy holy fpirit? for I now find (to my grief of heart) that the foreign heart of the pleasures and profits of this life have extracted from me the inward heat of my defires and longings for thy bleffed prefence; the adventitious heat of the love of this world hath quite consumed in me the natural heat of my zeal to thy kingdom.

Lord, kindle in me thofe decaying sparks of thy grace, that they may now grow up into a bright flame of fervent affections to thy glory, and thy childrens good.

Teach me to know that Godliness is great gain, and that the trueft treasures are those which are laid up with thee in thy kingdom.

Lord, pardon my neglects of holy duties; forgive my deadness, and my dulnefs unto works of mercy; repair my finful breaches by thy prefent graces: O let the fervor of my future charity become a pleafing facrifice to expiate my former mi fery; to reconcile my foul (in Chrift) to endless milany. -AMENS & of my grateful Thee for

CHAP. XXXVII.

UPON THE DECEITFULNESS OF THE HEART IM THE PERFORMANCE OF HOLY DUTIES.

NOTHING is more common amongst christians, than to be deluded by the fhew of holy actions; the heart of man is deceitful above all things, who can know it? holy performances are usually accompanied with hellish temptation ; when the fhips of our fouls is under fail, and hath the frefheft way for heaven, we have then moft need to look to our steerage, to have an eye to the compass and land-marks.

Which of our holy duties (which are the ships we fail in to the ports of happiness) have not their rocks to split upon, or remora's to hinder them, or cross winds to divert them, or leaks to fink them, or feas to overwhelm them; when we arrive at any fmall measure of goodness, we many times reft in it, and grow secure upon it: if grace carry us on farther, we are too apt to believe, that we are far Better than our neighbours, that we are highly in God's favor, and cannot but deferve his fatherly protection, his liberal remuneration; and fo by this fecret infinuation of pride in our hearts, we have

folly in our hands, fin in our minds, and fhame in our actions.

That prayer is very rare, that is not fick of fome diftemper; that charity very pure, that can admit of no mistakes, and that performance very perfect, that is not foyled with fome filth of wickedness: how willing are our thoughts to wander in our prayers? how cold and carelefs are we in them ? and how remifs in the performance of them? where is that conftancy, that fervency, that holy importunity of spirit that is required of us in this holy exercife? which of us can truly fay, that (throughout the whole courfe of his whole life hitherto) he ever put up one prayer unto Almighty God, that was not cumbered with distracted thoughts, that needed not a prefent pardon? I tremble at mine own, and grieve at others failings. (O let my feve reft cenfures of my brothers fins, be affured fins of my best love) How far are we, even the very beft of us, from that purity and perfection of foul which becometh this holy duty; and yet how ready are we, even the very worst of us to believe our felves fufficiently holy, affuredly happy.

We content ourselves ufually with the very fhells and husks, aud outfides of religion; with fhews and fhadows of devotion; with cuftomary, cold prayers; intermitted, undigested readings;