are under thy protection; the good for themselves, the bad for others; both for thy glory; the one thou willeft to be happy, the other thou permitteft to be miferable: neither of them can avoid their neceflityof fate, and yet thou neither inclineft the one, nor enforceft the other, because unto both in their original thou gavest perfect freedom of evil, to chufe the good, to leave the bad; to inherit life, or pur

chafe death..

Bleffed God; we are all debtors in our firft parents, thou mayeft therefore moft juftly require that of, us, which was lent us in them; they were able to pay, but not willing; we, their woeful pofterity (as we are in nature) are neither able, nor willing;. but by thy grace, Lord, we are only willing and not able; and thou haft therefore fent thine only Son,. who was both freely willing, and fully able, to appeafe thy juftice, to reconcile thy mercy, to comfort us here, to crown us hereafter..

And now, Lord, having given us thy Son, how fhalt thou not, together with him also, give us all. things? and yet I often fee thee giving of good things to the bad, and bad to the good: there is nothing more frequent in this life, than the afflictions. of thy children, nothing more common than the prosperity of the wicked, they receive their good things in this life. I fhall enjoy mine in that to

come, when I fhall be comforted, and they tormented. Thou, O Lord, art righteous in all thy ways, and holy in all thy works; thou loadeft them with thine outward bleffings, for their outward obedience; thou denieft me thefe outward favors, for mine inward advantage; by the one they are left inexcufable, by the other I am made more conformable; my patience exercised, my faith tried, my love examined, my humility proved; all these are fpecial tokens of thy mercy towards me, for as grace increaseth here, so fhall glory hereafter.

Lord, what can he fear that is affured of thy favor, that knoweth affuredly, that all thefe outward things fhall work together for the best to his advantage: If Joseph be thrown into the pit, it is to fend him into Egypt; if into prifon, to prefer him to Pharoah, that fo corn may be fent into Canaan; if fatan be sent to tempt Job with afflictions, it is becaufe Fob fhall overcome fatan by patience; if holy David become a fad fpectacle of human frailty by finning, it is to make him a pattern of true piety in repenting;, if the bodies of the faints be grievously martyred in this life, it is to array them with glorious robes in that to come.

Lord, let this teach me joyfully to entertain the faddeft of events, which either thy wisdom, man's unrighteousness, or fatan's cruelty can bring upon me; to be patient under them, and thankful for

them; to ranfack my foul, and fearch diligently there, for what fin thou fendeft this forrow, to bewail it, abhor it, forfake it, and earnestly implore thy pardon for it: when I am thus happily refolved, I fhall then have that undaunted boldnefs, to say with holy Job, although thou killeft me, yet will I trust in thee with holy David, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, yet will I fear none evil, for thou Lord art with me; and with the bleffed apoftle, that I know affuredly, that the sufferings of this life fhall work for me a far greater and more exceeding weight of glory in that to come.

TO thee, therefore, O thou blessed guardian of my finful soul, and wretched body, do I address myself for fafety and protection.

I confefs, O Lord, there is no one minute of my whole life can be fafe without thy gracious provi, dence, and yet fo wretched have I been, that few or none of them have been devoted to thy fervice..

Lord, I am not worthy of the leaft of all, thy mercies, and of all thy truth thou haft afforded me; even the very best of all my actions hath justly merited the very worst of all thy punishments, and yet thou daily loadeft me with thy bleffings, al-. though I hourly fin against thee, by my great tranfgreffions,

Forgive me my unmindfulness of these thy mercies, my great unthankfulness for all thy favors, and fix my finful foul more willingly, more joyfully,: more fervently, more conftantly, in thy fervices.

Teach me to keep a catalogue of thy mercies, to let none pass without a thankful and devout acknowledgment; to fet fome days apart from the fome hours from each day to praise thee for

year,

them.

Forgive the pride of my pofterity, my carele ffnefs of thee, my coldness unto thine, my craffness unta. others, my cruelty to myself..

Lord, pardon my repinings in adversity,, my dif tafte of thy power, my diftruft of thy providence, my denial of thy wisdom, my refufal of thy love, my contempt of thy favor, my neglect of thy grace,. my despair of thy goodness..

O give me fuch a bleffed frame of heart, that I may chearfully and joyfully content myfelf, to walk in whatsoever paths thy bleffed providence fhall lead me to: O hold thou up my going in thofe paths, that my feet flip not; teach me to make a gracious and a sweet improvement of these outward. croffes, a bleffed and a wife advantage of thine in ward graces: Lord lead me by thy counfel here, and. afterwards receive me to thy glory. AMEN.

CHAP. XVI.

UPON SINFUL ANGER, AND THE GREAT DIS. TURBANCE THEREOF.

LORD

WHEN I confider of thy patience, and long-fuffering towards me, a miferable finner, of the lowlinefs of thy faints, and of the great humility and meekness of my Saviour in his fufferings, I much deplore the woeful weakness of mine own infirmities, and more admire the richness of thy goodness, in admitting me to speak unto thee.

What pleasure, Lord, canft thou take in that service which is all fin? how canft thou delight in that which thou abhorreft? thou art a God of pure eyes, and canft not behold iniquity; if all my righteousness be in thy fight as filthy rags and menftruous clothes, how full of ugliness and deformity, will my fins then appear before thee?

Ah Lord, thou haft often feen how eafily, how fuddenly, how wretchedly I have been fwallowed up of finful paffion; how I have violated that invaluable peace which thou haft given me, by revengeful thoughts, by defpiteful words, by disturbing actions, I know nothing in my corrupt nature,