what can I defire more of thee, than what I enjoy from thee? I have thy mercy without me, and thy mercy within me, thy mercy in life, and thy mercy in death, thy mercy from the beginning, thy mercy to the end, and thy mercy without end, I am even crowned and encompaffed with mercy; O let me now fay wi h holy David, I will always give thanks unto the Lord, and his praise fhall be ever in my mouth, Pfal. 34. 1. Let me not only praife thee myself but (with him also) invite others to praife thee, O praise the Lord with me (all ye his faints) and let us magnify his name together, Pfal. 34. 3. O tafte and fee how gracious the Lord is, blessed is that man which putteth his trust in him. Be glad, O ye righteous, and rejoice in the Lord, and be joyful all ye that are true of heart, Pfal.

32. 12.

And now, Lord, having had a tafte of the fweetnefs of thy faints happiness on earth, I willingly forfake all to follow them; I have too long been ftraying in the ftrange paftures of impiety, and am now joyfully defirous to be led home to thy fold, that I may feed in the green and fresh paftures of thy facred precepts, and drink freely of those waters of comfort in thy blefied promifes, that I may fo drink that I may never thirft, but be fully fatisfied with thy grace in this life, with thy glory in that to come; O let this evil world neither allure

me to its vanities, nor betray me from thy mercies but as thou haft overcome the world for me, so (by thy grace affifting) it may be also overcome by me: thou haft indeed told me, that I shall mourn in it, but my mourning fhall be turned into joy, and that my joy fhall no man take from me; Lord I believe, help my unbelief; I embrace thy cross, I defpife the fhame, for that glory which is fet before me, of which I have a safe assurance by the blessed earneft of thy holy spirit in me: to thee, O Father, Son, and holy Spirit, one eternal, infinite, incomprehenfible, and ever blessed Goodness, be all pos fible praife, honor and glory, now and for ever. AMEN.

O thou great God, who hast tender bowels of compaffion, and multitudes of mercies for us miferable finners, who are not easy to be provoked, but ever ready to forgive, who fuffereft not thy whole displeasure to rife against us, but even in thy very judgments remembereft mercy, and art then moved with the fight of our misery, have mercy upon me a great and grievous finner.

Lord, I have finned, I have tranfgreffed, I have done foolishly, in departing from thy judgments. But righteousness belongeth unto thee, (O Lord). and unto me shame and confufion of face; O let

towards you, to the end we may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God even our Father, at the coming of the Lord Jefus Chrift with all his faints.

The pofture he would have them to be in at the coming of Chrift, is the posture of unblameable holiness, which indeed is the best and readieft pofture. The fame things he prays for, in order to the fame end, in 1 Theff. 5. 33. And the very God of peace fanctify you wholly; and I pray God that your whole spirit, foul and body be preserved blamelefs unto the coming of onr Lord Jefus Chrift. This is that alfo which that other apoftle enjoys in order hereunto, 2 Pet. 3. 14. Be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace without spot, and blameless. The more spotlefs and blameless we are in our fpirits and ways, the more ready we are for death and judgment. Oh, prefs after an eminency in holiness, admitting of none, no not the least taint or tincture of fin or finful defilement upon any terms whatsoever!

Unholy fouls are unready fouls they are unready for death, unready for judgmen unready for the future life and for men to talk of being ready for these, and yet be unholy, is the greateft folly in the world: therefore labour for much purity and holiness.

Firft, Labour for much purity and holiness in your lives and walkings: this is what God indif penfibly calls for, 1 Pet. 1. 15, 16. As he that has called you is holy, fo be ye holy in all manner of conversation: because it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy.

We fhould prefs after univerfal holiness: there fhould be a vein and a tincture of holiness run through all we do, even our civil as well as our religious actions; we fhould as near as poffible, be dedicated and devoted to God, and our lives fhould be lives of walking with him. They and they only, who walk with God while they live, are those who will be found ready to live with God when they come to die. As for all careless licentious ones, let them never talk of being ready for death and future life; for they are at an utter distance from any fuch thing: indeed ready they are, but for what? Ready for hell, ready for the wrath of God, ready for deftruction: but they are not at all ready for a blessed eternity.

The apoftle weeps over fuch as being indeed thus ready, Phil. 3. 18, 19. Many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies to the cross of Chrift; whole end is deftruction, whofe God is their belly,

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towards you, to the end we may establish your hearts unblameable in holinefs before God even our Father, at the coming of the Lord Jefus Chrift with all his faints.

The pofure he would have them to be in at the coming of Chrift, is the posture of unblameable boline's, which indeed is the best and readiest posture. The fame things he prays for, in order to the fame end, in 1 Theff. 5. 33. And the very God of peace fanctify you wholly; and I pray God that your whole fpirit, foul and body be preferved blamelefs unto the coming of onr Lord Jefus Chrift. This is that alfo which that other apostle enjoys in order hereunto, 2 Pet. 3. 14. Be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace without fpot, and blamelefs. The more fpotlefs and blameless we are in our fpirits and ways, the more ready we are for death and judgment. Oh, prefs after an eminency in holiness, admitting of none, no not the leaft taint or tincture of fin or finful defilement upon any terms whatsoever!