The Christian PHYSICIAN.  
By Henry Atherton. M. D.  Solus homo Sapientia instructus est ut Religionem solus intelligat, & haec est hominis atque mutorum vel praecipua vel sola distantia. — Lact. de Ira Dei. 
LONDON, Printed by T. James for William Leach at the Crown in Cornhill. 1683.   

TO THE Right Honourable Lord JOHN Earl of Radnor, Viscount Bodmin, Baron of Truro, and Lord Precedent of his Majesty's most honourable Privy Counsel.  
My LORD,  
WHen I at first drew out a Scheme of the ensuing Discourse, I had the Honour of your Lordship's Approbation and Encouragement to proceed upon those Topics, which caused me to sequester the vacant hours I could steal from my other occasions, that I might employ them on these Meditations; which having brought to some perfection (and received the concurrent consent of a great Prelate of this Realm, who gave himself the trouble to peruse them, and me the honour to recommend them as worthy of public view) I could not in the least dispute to whom I should dedicate them; for not only your Lordship's condescension at first in advising, but indeed those many other Obligations which your Honour hath been pleased to lay upon me, most justly challenge them, and even the greatest of my Services: Neither am I so fond to imagine that the offering of these to your Lordship's Feet doth cancel any former debt, but rather I cannot but be sensible that if your Lordship design to patronise and shelter them from the storms of the World, it will be infinitely increased; I shall have the deeper score to pay, and the greater pardon to beg for this presumption.  
But I doubt not but that your Lordship's good nature runs parallel with your other Virtues (of which the World is a copious Index) and therefore shall hope to obtain it, together with your Honour's Acceptance of this small Acknowledgement. That your Lordship may enjoy a long uninterrupted state of Health, whereby you may be able to assist His Majesty in his great and momentous Counsels, and (as your Honour hath begun) may continue to be a prop and support to this our tottering Church, and at length go late into Heaven, are the hearty Wishes and constant Prayers of  
From Newcastle upon Tine, Nou. 2. 1682. Your Lordship's most humbly Devoted Servant Henry Atherton.   

THE PREFACE.  
THis our latter Age hath so much degenerated from the Piety and Simplicity of the Primitive Christians (which were the only marks by which they were heretofore distinguished from the Heathen Nations) as not only not to own and live up to those Principles of their Profession as Christians, but instead thereof openly and avowedly to defend Irreligion and Hobbianism in their Arguments, Atheism and Profaneness in their Lives, even worse than Heathens. To be Sober and Religious, is now adays to be morose and ingentile, if not hypocritical: To be lose and debauched, is the only modish thing. To be able by Sophisms to baffle the Arguments of a well m●aning Christian, is taken for the characteristic Note of Ingenuity, and a pregnant Wit. And on the contrary, to use any persuasives to Religion and Piety, savours of nothing but stupidity and folly. Which things considered, I cannot but foresee what bad Entertainment this small Tract is like to meet withal abroad in the World, especially among those who pretend to the most ripe Reason, and keenest Wit, whose custom (indeed) it is to make this ill use of it, as to turn all sober things into Ridicule or Raillery, or else to dispute themselves out of their Duty; which they will easily do, when they suffer their understandings to be so frequently bribed by their vicious Inclinations. There are (I must confess) many native defects in this Essay, and to these I fear will be added the severe Censure of its being altogether impertinent; at least I cannot nationally expect that it should be accepted by all, or (like the Manna) fit every Palate; however let it try its fate, it will fall into the hands of some serious and pious persons, who may probably approve the deraign, if not like the work; and I hope with such (whom I chief desire to gratify (it may meet with a candid and favourable reception.  
The Reader may find here (I must acknowledge) many Excerpta, and if I have not done right to every Author, I desire him to charge it wholly upon the defect of Memory, or want of inserting the Name in my common Place Book.  
In my Second Section I have followed Cartesius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as judging his method very Argumentative.  
How it comes to pass that the scandal of Atheism (if it be now such) even to a Proverb 
Ubi tres Medici duo Athei.  hath been cast upon those of our Faculty, or whether there have been any just grounds for it, I know not; but this I am sure of, that the knowledge of Second Causes, and our frequent Converse with them, ought rather to give us the clearer apprehensions of the First, and by how much the Subject on which we continually employ our Minds and Studies, is more noble and sublime, so much the more divine aught to be our Speculations; this good effect it had upon the Royal Prophet, Psal. 139.14. Who when his Meditations drew him to consider that he was fearfully and wonderfully made, he presently breaks forth into Praises unto Almighty God, and Acknowledgements of his marvellous Works. Neither want we instances (to take off that general Infamy) of many Men truly pious in this Profession. Even Hypocrates who flourished Four hundred ninety two years before Christ, obtained the Title of Divine, and that Character in his life, that he was Vir Sanctis Moribus: And to speak nothing of Galen, Averro, Avicen, and other Foreigners in this Art, in whom Piety and Morality hath eminently shined, we have lately had a more modern Hypocrates both of this Age and Nation, who amongst other sweet Odours to perfume his Memory, hath this, that he was In toto Vitae statu Christianus. But what need I mention any more, when St. Luke himself was both Physician and Evangelist at the same time.  
If I may by this small Treatise either silence the obloquys of some, convince others, or so far prevail with, or encourage any, as to lay aside their unreasonable Opinions, and betake themselves to more religious and circumspect Lives; I have my aim, and shall think myself sufficiently recompensed for my weak labours: If they fail of this, I shall at least have that satisfaction in my own Breast, that I designed them well.   

ON THE Christian Physician Written by his Honoured AND Very much Esteemed Friend. Dr. HENRY ATHERTON, OF NEW CASTLE.  

LEt now no more in Nature's widest Round  
Be such a Prodigy as Atheist found,  
Much less let on our Learned Physicians be  
Hereafter cast that blackest Obloquy.  
Our good Physician having conquered  
Diseases which to death our Bodies led,  
Aspireth higher yet, and doth oppose  
Diseases more incurable than those.  
If Precepts crowned with good Example be  
Most cogent Arguments, than well may he  
Such useful Counsels here for others frame,  
Who hath himself so strictly lived the same.  
Here learn the Art of Alchemy Divine,  
Whereby we may our Earthly Minds Sublime.  
On Muses Helicon let us not stay,  
Whilst to Mount Olivet he shows the way;  
There to the sweets of Contemplation pure  
Let us always our highborn Souls enure:  
Thence let us freely draw some small foretaste  
Of th' unmixed Joys that shall for ever last:  
Which differing quite from all things here below;  
Nor end, nor yet satiety shall know.   
John Drake Bachelor of Physic.   

THE CONTENTS.  

THe Introduction, Page. 1.   

SECT. I.  
Concerning God, and what he is, Page. 6.   

SECT. II.  
That the Existence of a God and a Providence in the World, is as clearly demonstrable as any truth whatsoever, Page. 9  
God's Existence proved from the impression made on our very Natures, Page. 10.  
From the consent of all Ages, Page. 11.  
(A Digression concerning the degeneracy of ours) Page. 12.  
From the sense of Gild, and secret Conviction of men's Consciences, Page. 13.  
From the uncertainty of Reasoning without the Concession, Page. 16.  
From the impossibility of any thing to Exist from itself, Page. 17.  
From the Perfection of the Creation, and from the necessity of an intelligent Spirit, for such accurate Productions as we find in the World, Page. 18.  
From the exact Order and Disposition of all Things to their designed and adequate ends, Page. 20.   

SECT. III.  
That the Existence of a Providence in the World being granted, all things must be conserved and governed by it, and there is not the least inconsiderable thing that may be said to be obnoxious to the senseless guidance of chance and fortune, Page. 32.  
God's Providence and Gubernation not to be severed, Page. 33.  
The Opinion of the Stoics and Epicureans condemned, Page. 35.  
The Stars and Planetary Bodies have no coactive influence upon Terrestrial Bodies, Page. 36.  
Neither were things made by the fortuitous concourse of Atoms, Page. 40.  
God that made the World, still continues to take care of it, and even the smallest things are adverted to by him, Page. 44.   

SECT. iv  
That all Minerals, Vegetables, and Animals, with what ever else, having in it a Medicinal Virtue, had it first impressed on them by that Supreme Being, which was the first Author and Maker of them, Page. 47.  
God's wonderful Providence in providing suitabl● Remedies for the Diseases of frail Mankind, Page. 48.  
The ways of discovering their Virtues to us, Page. 50.  
We ought to praise God for them, and to make use of them, Page. 54.   

SECT. V  
That although God did at first give such a particular Virtue to each particular Plant, Mineral and Animal, yet for certain providential Causes, they may not always exert their natural Operations, and prove successful to their desired end, Page. 55.  
God hath an absolute Sovereignty over all things, and is not tied up to any particular method, but may dispose of every thing as he pleases, Ibid.  
God's usual way of working, is by Natural Means, yet for several Reasons, he may sometimes anticipate them, Page. 57   

SECT. VI  
That Gods usual way of working is by fit and appropriate means, and therefore the Empirick or he that understands nothing of the true cause of the Disease, and nature of the Medicine, is not to be trusted, Page. 60.  
All Medicines naturally produce their genuine Effects, especially given by a skilful hand, Page. 61.  
Natural means used by our Saviour, and the Prophets, Page. 62.  
Two sorts of persons condemned, the Empirick, who ignorantly ventures upon what he understands not, and the Stoic who thinks an indispensable necessity of Events, Page. 63, 68  
The danger of confiding in the former, and the unreasonableness of the latter, Page. 70.  
●n case of necessity, we ought to apply ourselves to second means, Page. 72.   

SECT. VII.  
That a holy and virtuous Life is a necessary qualification for a Physician, in order to the imbettering of his Judgement, and his good success in Practice, Page. 73.  
Knowledge and Wisdom is acquired by Piety, and destroyed by Vice, Page. 74.  
God secretly guides and directs the good Man, whose Prayers cooperate with his Endeavours, Page. 77.  
The Conclusion by way of Advice to the rest of my own Faculty, Page. 79.  
The knowledge of ourselves the way to acquire other, Ibid.  
We must own God's Mercies, and not arrogate that praise to ourselves which is due only to God, Page. 82.  
This is the best course in point of Prudence, Ibid.  
Rules for Physicians. Page. 83.  
1. To begin with Prayer. 2. To proceed with reason and judgement, and not try Experiments, except in extreme Cases, where a known and tried Medicine proves unsucessful. 3. That they do not promise Cure in uncertain and dangerous Diseases, and so flatter the Patient, whereby the putting his House in order, and his preparation for death is deferred, if not wholly frustrated, Page. 83, 84, 85.  
The Common Objections against it answered, Page. 86.  
It is best whether the Patient be a good, or a wicked Man. Page. 87.  
The Physician's Prayer, and Ejaculations, Page. 90, 92.   

The Second Part.  
DIrections how to spend every day in the fear o● God, Page. 1●.  
Of a private Fast, and Directions for it, Page. 19  
Rules for a Religious Fast, Page. 27.  
A Prayer for Grace, Page. 53.  
A Prayer of Intercession, Page. 55.  
The Thanksgiving and Conclusion of the Work, Page. 64.  
Reasons why we ought to keep a Narrative or Catalogue of our Sins, and the benefit of it, Page. 71.  
The manner of keeping your Narrative, and a● Exemplification of it in some sins, Page. 77.  
Directions for Saturday, Page. 86.  
Directions for the Lords day, Page. 89.  
Of the Holy Sacrament, Page. 103.  
Remote preparations for Death, Page. 107.  
Of the Proximate Preparations for Sickness an● Death, Page. 113.  
Remedies against some particular Temptations of the Devil in the time of Sickness, Page. 120.  
Of Meditation, Page. 126.  
The Thanksgiving after Meditation, Page. 134. 

Divine Meditations.  
Concerning Gods Omnipresence, Page. 136.  
Of the Mercy of God, Page. 142.  
Of the certainty of Death and Judgement, Page. 151.  
Of Heaven and Hell, the Joys of one, the Torments of the other, Page. 164.  
Reflections upon Hell, and the Torments of it, Page. 173.  
Reflections upon Heaven, and the joys thereof, Page. 183.  
Job. 16.24 When a few years are come, then shall I go the way whence I shall not return, Page. 186.  
Meditations before (or at) Dinner or Supper, Page. 203.   

Occasional Meditations.  
1. On the sight of a dying Friend, Page. 205.  
2. Upon the sight of two Apple Trees growing one by the other. The one tall and spreading, but having only leaves, no fruit; the other low, but full loaden, Page. 208.  
3. Upon the sight of a Wasp without a Sting, Page. 210.  
4. Upon the sight of two Doves billing each other, Page. 211.  
5. Upon the sight of a Lady's Fingers bedecked with many rich Diamonds of great value, Page. 212.  
6. Upon the sight of many millipeds killed for a Medicine for my Patient, Page. 214.  
7. Upon the sight of a Brass piece of Money curiously gilded over, Page. 215.  
8. Upon the finding an Adder's skin left behind in a straight passage, Page. 216.  
9 Upon a Glow-worm, Page. 217.  
10. Upon a rotten Dunghill, Page. 218.  
11. Upon seeing a Shepherd's Dog bringing in stray Sheep, Page. 219.  
12. Upon the sight of a Ship cast away within a little of the Port, Page. 220  
13. Upon an Epileptic Person falling into the fire, and being thereby cured of his Disease, Page. 222   

Ejaculations for several Occasions.  
For Pardon of Sin, Page. 224  
For Grace, Page. 225  
For the Light of God's Countenance, Page. 226.  
Thanksgiving, Page. 227.  
In the time of outward or inward Trouble, Page. 228.  
Comfort in Troubles, Page. 229.  
Thanksgiving for deliverance from Troubles, Page. 230.  
Going to the Church or House of God, Page. 231.  
In Church, if thou happen to be there before Service gins, Page. 232.  
Returning from the Church, Page. 233.  
In the time of Sickness or approach of Death, Page. 235.  
A Prayer for the Morning in private, Page. 241.  
A Prayer for the Morning in public with thy Family, which with little variation may be used also in private, Page. 246.  
A Prayer at Noon, Page. 253, 254.  
A Prayer for the Evening in private, Page. 255.  
A Prayer in public with the Family for the Evening, Page. 259.  
A Prayer for Sunday Morning in the Family; which with very little variation, may be used by any single person in his Closet, Page. 269, 270.  
A Prayer for Sunday. Evening in the Family, Page. 278.  
A Preparatory for Death, to be often used in the time of Health, Page. 283.  
A Prayer for Sincerity out of The whole Duty of Mar, Page. 216  
For Contrition, out of The same Author, Page. 287.  
A Prayer to be used by any Pious Christian in these difficult times, Page. 289.    
The Close, Page. 293.    

THE INTRODUCTION.  
IT is not because there have been none, or so few, who have busied their Brains and Pens about this Subject of God's Existence, or that they had managed their Arguments so faintly, and unwieldily, as that they stood in need of my weak support, which made me first enter the Lists with the Atheist, and launch my small Boat into this vast and deep Ocean: But indeed the true reason of it, was, that having Meditated the ensuing Discourse, I found myself necessitated to lay such a Foundation for it, as might prop and sustain the Superstructure, to wit, The Existence of a Deity; which unless proved, or believed, the whole Fabric must of necessity fall, and be buried in its own Ruins.  
It is well enough known how many whole Books (not to say Volumes) are dispersed up and down the World against Atheism; besides as if these were not enough, and the Controversy should still remain undecided, almost every Sermon speaks the Minister afraid of it: And indeed in my judgement, it were well, if much of what hath heretofore been written of this nature, or spoken from the Pulpit, had proved Abortive or been stifled in the same Womb that first produced it. For in the Primitive times of Christianity, 
Antiqua Sapientia nihil aliud quam facienda, & vitanda praetepit: & tunc melioreserant viri. Postquam docti prodierunt, boni desunt. Simplex enim illa & aperta virtus in obscuram & solertem sciontiam versa est, docemurque disputare, non viavere. Senec. ad Lucilium.  when the Precepts extended only to what was to be done, and what to be avoided, Men were more purely and simply Religious, and every where better Christians; but after that learning and subtle enquiring into critical things, had gotten the upper hand of simple and bare-faced Virtue, we became indeed more cunning Disputants, but less pious Men. The Writings of Moses are by all acknowledged to be the most Ancient in the World, and though the very design of them were to prescribe Doctrines and Rules for Religion, yet there is nothing found in them by way of proof or persuasion, concerning the Existence of God; but it is a thing taken for granted, as being universally acknowledged and believed; yea even in the most blind and superstitious Age of Greece, when A theism was first heard of in the World, (being introduced by the Obscene Poets, who debauched the minds of the People, to believe such monstrous things of their Gods) the Authors of it became a derision to all intelligent Men, and were stigmatised with the blackest marks of Infamy; nay they banished one of their Philosophers (Diagoras) because he began a Book with such words as these, As touching the Gods, whether there be any I know not, etc. But alas! we live now in such a curious and inquisitive Age, when nothing but what is gross enough to be discovered by our Senses, and what looks as certain as Mathematical Demonstrations, will be received, and believed by us. We are grown as great Sceptics in Divinity, as we are in Philosophy, and I am verily persuaded that the great reason of it is owing to those many nice Controversies and Disputes, which have been raised about it. And I cannot be induced to believe otherwise, but that those very Arguments which have been made use of to confute one Atheist, have made twenty; for the less curious and examining (which certainly are far the greater number) seeing learned persons start so many difficulties, and spend so much time and labour in the Argumentative part to convince, do from thence conclude that the thing is at least dubious; and then being willing to have it so, that they may go on uncontrolled in their Luxuries and Sensualities, without any further Scrutiny will easily incline to believe that it is as they wish. 
* Quis volumus, facile credimus.  But hath God left himself without Witness? Doth not the whole Frame and Compages of the World, it's Creation, and Conservation, sufficiently evidence his Existence? And may I not say of this as Abraham of the Request of the Rich Man? They have Moses and the Prophets, they have clear and ample Discoveries, both from within and without, and if they believe not them, neither will they believe though Men Writ and Preach never so much of this Nature. I esteem it therefore much better to wave many of those needless Disquisitions and Discourses, which in ordinary Capacitres raise oftentimes more Doubts and Scruples, than they can resolve and satisfy. Examples are commonly more prevalent and persuasive than Disputes or Precepts; and it were to be wished that we should rather refute the damnable opinion of an Atheist by a Holy and Godlike life, than by bandying so many nice and obscure Questions, which create new Difficulties, and raise new Jealousies concerning that Holy Faith, which the pious simplicity of the Primitive Christians received only to practice. But lest the Arrow should revert upon my own Head, and some should too justly accuse me for that which I condemn in others, I shall not entertain my Reader with many Arguments on this Subject (which hath already by better Heads been so largely and learnedly discussed) nor yet pretend to the invention of many new, but only cull out a few which seem to me most cogent and convincing, and which have given me the greatest confirmation of my own Faithin the Existence of a Deity.   

SECTION I. Concerning God, and what he is.  
IT was not without great Reason advised by the Wisest of Kings, that when we had a mind to speak any thing before God, we should not be hasty to utter it; and Aristotle teaches us, 
Nunquam nos-verecundiores esse debere, quam cum de diis agitur.  That we never ought to be more modest, than when we have to do about God: and there is no doubt but that when we speak not only before God, but of him, we ought most seriously to weigh our thoughts and words, and with much caution produce them, lest we should any way derogate from the Purity and Excellencies of so transcendent Majesty. But when we have weighed and considered all that we can of him, our Apprehensions are very narrow and scant, and our Notions of him come infinitely short of his Divine Perfections: For as he is Invisible to the Eye, so he is Incomprehensible to the Mind. Whatsoever we conceive it is but in part: there is much more we cannot perceive nor comprehend. He is represented to us a Spiritual and Incorporal Essence, and till we come to be unbodied ourselves, we cannot perfectly conceive what he is: so that we may conclude with Aristotle: 
Hoc tantum scio me nihil scire.  This only we know, that we know nothing; or with a Diviner Authori Elihu. 
Job. 37.23.  Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out.  
There is no question but those that duly Worship and Honour God, duly agnise, and are acquainted with him: But if the Atheist (to whom the greatest part of this Discourse is directed) should interrogate, Where is your God? 
Jovis omnia plena.  And bid us Worship what we know; we answer, God fills every place, 
John 4.22.  and we know what we Worship, and that is the true God, whose Nature and Infinity though we (who are but finite Creatures cannot sufficiently comprehend; yet he is more cognoscible to us by his Perfections and Attributes, than any other thing whatsoever.  
Under the Notion therefore of a God, I understand a Being that is Eternal, Omniscient, Omnipotent, the Fountain of all Goodness, Mercy, and Truth, the Creator of all things; and finally that hath in himself the Compliment of all Perfections. This is a Glimpse, a general Notion that we now have of that most glorious God we Revere and Adore. 
Job. 26.14.  We now hear of him but a little portion, saith Job. We know but in part, 
1 Cor. 13.12.  and see him but darkly (as through a Perspective Glass) in the Works of his Creation; but hereafter, when this earthy Tabernacle of ours shall be dismantled, We shall know him, as we are known, and see him face to face.  
Our Eyes are now too weak to behold this dazzling Sun, but then they shall be strenghened and enlightened, all mists dispelled, and we shall with Cherubims and Seraphims admire its lustre and bear our part to him in that Divine Anthem: 
Revel. 4.11.  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive Glory and Honour, and Power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created. Let us learn then hence this Corollary, That though God be invisible to the Eye, and incomprehensible to the Mind, and (as Job says) We cannot find him out in his perfection. 
Job. 11.7.  Let us lay by our Sense and Reason, and apprehend him now by Faith, that so we may know him to our Salvation for ever.   

SECT. II. That the Existence of a God, and a Providence in the World, is as clearly demonstrable as any Truth whatsoever.  
IT hath been often disputed, if there ever were, and whether it is possible there ever should be such a Prodigy in Nature as a Speculative Atheist, and it hath been generally carried in the Negative; and for my part I can hardly believe that there is such a Monster in the World; for amongst the immense number of Deities that remoter Nations have had, and their disagreings what Gods they ought to have, yet none were so wild and barbarous as totally to renounce all.  
Nulla gens est neque tam immansueta, neque tam fera, quae non etiamsi ignoret qualem habere deum deceat, tamen habe●dum sciat. Cicero de Legib. lib. 1. And again,  
Nulla gens tam fera, nemo omnium tam sitim manis, cujus mentem non imbuerit deorum opinio. Tusc. Qu. lib. 1. So Seneca,  
Nulla gens usquam estadeo extra leges moresque projecta, ut non aliquos deos credat. Epist. 118. In omnium animis deorum notionem impressit ipsa natura.  
Nature itself hath herein given Laws to the minds of Men. This is one of those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 common Notions, The Law written in our hearts: and were there an Absolute impossibility to have this Notion ab Extra, yet it is too deeply impressed there by the God of Nature, ever to be errased or obliterated. Otherwise what can we think of those who have been born both Deaf and Dumb, and understood nothing of any Character to be instructed by, yet will give manifest Discoveries of their Apprehension of a God, by paying him (in their unintelligible way) Homage and Adoration, and often prostrating themselves on the Earth, with their Eyes and Hands lifted up towards Heaven, with the greatest seriousness and reverence imaginable. This is a part of Piety St. Basil says, we never learned, but brought with us into the World, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  as an impression made in us by the hand of Nature itself.  
Men were heretofore so superstitious in the belief of a Deity, that they those rather to err on the right hand, than the left, and would have too many, rather than none at all. They would have a Deity for every thing, their Corn, and their Wine, and their , and so that the Romans by that method had multiplied their Gods to above Thirty thousand, and other Nations came not much behind them: But alas! our Age pretends to more light, and indeed I think only too much hath dazzled our Eyes, that we cannot see as far as the Wisest Heathens. 
Non praestat fides quod praestat infidelitas.  Even Fabricius, Cato, and Regulus, will upbraid and shame many of us, who call ourselves Christians. Heretofore only a few poor Indians, Inhabitants of Soldania in Africa, and Cannibals of Ammerica; or single persons, as Diagoras, Milesius, Protagoras, Abderites, Lucian, and no number, much less Societies of Men, ever denied a Deity; but now we need not go so far as those dark and barbarous Corners of the World, to search for such Monsters as these (who differ but little from the very Brutes) we may find them much nearer home in Europe, as well as America, in England as well as Soldania; yea in the clearest times of Light and greatest Knowledge; when Reason seems to be exalted to its 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, highest pitch, yet like the Moon at full, by a strange kind of interposition of our sensual and brutish Appetites, suffers the greatest Eclipse; and all the use it seems to serve us for, is to make us only more ignorant, and less pious. For how do Men now a days, strain their Reason (shall I call it) or Curiosity rather, to so high a peg, endeavouring to find out hidden and abstruse Mysteries, such as God hath not revealed, and he thought fit we should be ignorant of. How curious and inquisitive are they to find out how the World was made according to the Rules of Philosophy, and how it is still upheld by the same natural Causes? And they proceed so far, till at length they lose both their Hypothesis and Reason too; and because they cannot find how these things should Physically be, will thence conclude they are not at all. The Fool hath laid aside all his Modesty that he had in the days of the Royal Prophet; then he dared not to make his Tongue the Index of his Mind, and prate of his Folly, but only tacitly in his heart said there is no God; but now alas he out-braves the Sun at Noon day! and not only his heart, but his lips (which should show forth God's praise) are become the Trumpets of his wicked Thoughts: he dares boldly proclaim the No-being of Him, who gave to him and all things else a Being, and thinks it a certain badge of Gentility, and the mark of a pregnant, polite wit, so to do: But whether these brave Gallants think as they say, will be no hard matter to determine; for certainly though they may be so bold as to utter it with their lips, yet they cannot (with all their skill) disband their own fears, lest it should be otherwise, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  no more than they can run away from their guilty Consciences, nor yet quiet or satisfy their guilty Souls: Otherwise what mean these secret Stings and Racks of Conscience? That horror of Mind, and paleness of Countenance? Those distracted, and (many times) desponding thoughts, when seized with a fit of some sharp Disease, and the apprehensions of their approaching death?  
— Quos diri consciafacti  
Mens habet attonitos, & sur do verbere caedit.  
Occultum quatiente animo, tortore flagellum. Juvenal. 13. satire.  
Epicurus himself, though he seemed to disown a Deity, yet confesses he feared nothing more than Death and the Gods. One clap of Thunder shall force Caligula to run under his Bed, and even the rough and stubborn Mariners in a Storm, will cry every one unto his God. The Satirist of old observed it of such.  
Hi sunt qui trepidant, & ad omnia fulgura pallent.  
God hath imprinted a fear of punishment in the very hearts of Men, which upon the Commission of any great Sin, dog's them with secret pangs and horrors; and though like the Wounded Deer they run every where to disentangle themselves, 
Haeretlateri Laethalis arundo.  yet still the Arrow sticks fast. Though they love not God, yet they have a flavish fear of him, and are forced with Juvenal to confess,  
Esse aliquos manes, & subterranea Regna.  
That there are some tormenting Spirits and a Kingdom of darkness. The Prophet Isaiah excellently describes them, Isaiah 48.22. The wicked is like the troubled Sea when it cannot r●st, whose Waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace saith my God to the Wicked. So that the Psalmist's Axiom is undeniable, Psalm. 58.11. Doubtless there is a God that judgeth in the Earth.  
But lest these stout Hectors should still maugre all the impressions of Nature, and convictions of Conscience (which they endeavour (as much as in them lies) to stifle and silence) continue to persist in those most Irrational and Atheistical Tenets, let them (laying aside all prejudicated thoughts) consider with me the subsequent Reasons, endeavouring to evince, That the Existence of a God, and a Providence in the World, is as clearly demonstrable as any Truth whatsoever.  
The greatest Physical certainty that it is possible for any Man to have, is from Mathematical Demonstrations, as, That every whole is greater than its part: that of a Triangle its three Angles are equal to two right Angles: that if you add equal to equals, the result will be equal, etc. These Axioms, I say, are as undeniable, and as certain as any we can speak of; now that the Being of God is as certain as any, or all of these, will appear hence. As first of all, without this Concession of a Deity, all things that are the Objects of Sense, may quite delude, and impose upon our understandings, 
Cartes. Princ. lib. 1.  yea we cannot be assured of Mathematical Demonstrations themselves, or any thing else that seems clearest and truest to our judgements and apprehensions, and we may be still in a Dream, and not discover whether these things seemingly so demonstrable, are really true, or barely Phantasms, Chimaeras, and the results of our giddy Fancies; for I must be first ascertained of the infallibillity of my Senses, before I conclude that things represented to me by them are true, and this it is impossible for me to be assured of, before I have the knowledge of a Divine Existence. But when I seriously consider, and am assured that there is a God, and that his chiefest Attribute is Truth, (which hath a direct Repugnancy to Deception and Error) and that He will not, cannot therefore impose upon, and delude my Senses: Hence is it, that I infer the reality of them, and thence conclude, that all things that are truly represented to my Senses, are indeed so as they are represented; because God never obtrudes Falsities upon us, under the pretext of Truth: Neither doth it at all invalidate this Argument, to assert that we are often deceived, because that the Deception proceeds not from the Understanding, but from our Will, when we too rashly consent to things not clearly and distinctly understood. Therefore all Mathematical Truths are not to be suspected, and the Existence of the Divinity, no more, (nay less) to be doubted of than them.  
Next of all, it is plain and obvious, even to the lowest Capacity, yea known by the dim light of Nature, that what at first had a beginning, did not derive its being from itself, but that there must be some super-intended Cause, on which (in respect of their Substance) all other things do depend, and which must have in it the Compliment of all Perfections; and that can be no less than a Ray of Divinity, or rather God himself.  
How perfect is every part of the Creation? (Who can tell where any thing is superfluous, or any thing deficient?) And the more perfect cannot be produced from that which is less perfect, as by its efficient and total Cause. Therefore seeing such Beauties and Perfections as we discover in the World, and have Ideas of, we cannot find to be in ourselves; we may from thence rightly, and on good grounds, conclude to be in some thing distinct from us, and that is more perfect than ourselves, namely, in God.  
All the Pulchritude and Perfection of an Effect, aught to be contained in the Cause, (for the Cause cannot give that to the Effect, which itself enjoyeth not) wherefore all the Perfection of living Creatures ought to be comprehended in that Cause.  
If any thing could pretend to be the Author of its own Original, it must certainly be Man; Man which is the Epitome and Perfection of all Sublunary Being's; but He, alas! owes even his own being to another; and for his first Production, stands in need of such a preparation of Matter, and concourse of Causes, that it is many times a greater Wonder that He is, than that He is not; and being born, stands in need of so many Second Causes, Helps and Furtherances, that he may live, and at length dies and expires with so much facility, that he has very little cause to boast of his own Perfections. A man may sooner believe that there is no such Man as himself, than that there is no Author of his being, no God, for himself can cease to be, and once was not, and shall again be changed from what he is, and in very many Periods of his Life, knows not that he is, (and so it is every Night with him when he sleeps) but none of these can happen unto God, who is the same Yesterday, too Day, and for ever. When we see a Clock or some curious Piece of Art, we presently inquire after the Artificer, concluding it not to be its own Production: And although we Finite Creatures cannot well comprehend what those Infinite Perfections of God are, yet we can more plainly and clearly understand them, than any Corporeal things; because they are better adapted to, and more fill our Cogitations, and are more simple, not obscured by any limitations at all.  
The Existence of a Deity, being ●evinced from those Principles that are Interwoven in the very make of our Natures, from the Universal Consent of all Ages and Nations, from the Uncertainness of our Reasoning without the Concession, and the Necessity of an Intelligent Spirit, or Incorporeal Being, for such Accurate Productions as we find in the World: It may in the next place be further Illustrated from the exact Symmetry, Order, and Disposition of all things in the World, with respect to their several Ends.  
Esse praestantem aliquam naturam, & eam suspiciendam adorandamque hominum generi, pulchritudo mundi, ordoque rerum coelestium cogit confiteri. Cicero de Divin. lib. 2.  
So great was the Foreknowledge and Providence of God, and so boundless his Mercy and Goodness, that as the one plainly (upon the first Intuition) discovered him the end; so the other most readily designed the means, and laying aside obstinate perverse Man, there is nothing in the whole Frame of the Universe that doth not answer the end of its Creation.  
If we consider the greatest Luminary of Heaven, the Sun, whose Lustre is such, as that it transcends all visible things, yet it is not made for itself, nor can it apprehend, or reflect upon its own beauty, but is made for the good and benefit of others; and how doth it answer its assigned End, in that it conveys Light not only to the whole World, (communicating to every Nation sometime or other an equal share of its bounteous Influence) but also to the Inferior Orbs, as the Moon, Planets, etc. and in that it warms and enlightens the Air, which of its self is cold and dark; and in that it exhales Fumes from the Earth, and Vapours from the Water, which again distil in gentle Dews, Rain, or Snow, to refresh the dry and thirsty Earth: Whence proceed the Maturation of Fruits, Grass, Herbs, and Trees, for the use of Man.  
Consider also the Winds, how they serve their designed End, by ventilating and fanning the Air, and keeping it from Putrefaction, which would otherwise produce Plagues and noisome Diseases; by carrying the Clouds, and distributing them to several Countries and Regions, and without them the Mediterranean Places, and such as are remote from the Sea, would be ever destitute of Clouds and Showers; and scorched with heat: These also serve the great end of Navigation, by which we entertain Commerce and Traffic with all the habitable Places of the World; and to show the Extensive Munificence of the Donor, they are not always consigned to one and the same Point, but are by turns liberal to all, and sometimes one, sometimes another enjoys the Benefit of them, as their Occasions require, or God sees it fit.  
In like manner how doth the vast Body of the Earth answer the wonderful ends of its Creation? If we consider the upper Superficies of it, how is it made a fit Receptacle for Men and Beasts, Birds, and feathered Fowls, Worms, Flies, Infects, and living Creatures innumerable to dwell therein? and how doth its bountiful hand supply out of its rich Storehouse, what is convenient for the maintenance and support of all its Offspring? sending forth Corn, and Wine, and Oil, Plenty and Superfluity; Herbs for Food and Medicine for Man, Grass for Fodder and Use of  and Beasts: Flowers for Variety, Colour, and Smell; Trees for Shade, Timber, and Fruit, and Seeds to perpetuate and preserve every Species; together with a multitude of other things, which conspire together, for the preservation of its numerous Issue: and yet there is such an exact Order and Harmony between all these, that neither of them interferes with the other, but every Individual combines for the benefit of the Whole.  
On this Spot of Earth are high Hills, which serve to curb the violence of the Winds, to bound Kingdoms and Places; to furnish Stones for Buildings: to be a Refuge for the wild Beasts; and to stand as so many Bulwarks to defend us from our Enemies. On that Spot of Earth are the low Valleys, which not only afford us Pleasure and Delight to the Eye, but abundant Profit to the Hand, and no less Joy to the Heart. These are thickly laden with variety of Corn, and every Ear is so proud of its Burden, that it seems to laugh and sing. Here are places for Pasture and Fodder, green Herbs, and more fragrant Flowers; Things pleasant, profitable, and useful. Here are Woods for Shelter, Firing, and Timber, there are Crystal streams to water the Furrows and pleasant Meadows, and to give Drink unto the .  
Every Field hath (as it were) a Monopoly of its own, and claims Privilege and Prescription, for one Plant or other. In this grows the Cowstip, and Herba Paris; In the next, the Poppey and the Violet; In the third, the Pearly Ros Solis, and Royal Osmund; every Soil hath its peculiar Faecundity.  
Hic segetes, illic veniunt foelicius uvae:  
Arborei foetus alibi, atque injussa virescunt  
Gramina: Nun vides croceos ut Tmolus odores,  
India mittit Ebur, molles sua thura Sabaei?  
It is admirable to consider, that God hath not disposed all these in their sundry places, without Discrimination, or particular Reasons for it, but where the greatest needs of the Inhabitants, or Climate require it. Thus we see Remedies planted there, where the Diseases are most popular, and every Country is best provided against its own Evils. The Rhubarb is found where the Sun most parches the Blood, and where Choler doth most abound. The Rhenish Grape grows plentifully on the Banks of the Rhine, where the Inhabitants are most obnoxious to the Stone; and the Scurvey-grass is most luxuriant in the Maritine Places, where the Scurvy is most predominant, etc.  
If from the outer Surface of the Earth, we descend into its Bowels; we may find that also to be not an useless Mass, but a safe Repository for the most rich and precious Things: Here lie not only the Coal, the Stone, and the Marble, the Jet, and the Adamant, but the rich Diamond, the glittering Saphire, the shining Chrysolite, the purple Hyacinth, and the noblest Gold; all which have their particular uses and ends, either in Medicine, Merchandise, or Conveniencies for Man, and therefore made by some Supreme and most Intelligent Spirit, who first conceived in him all those Ends, and considered aforehand all those Means suitable to those Ends. Not to mention other living Creatures, or the very Make and Frame of their Bodies, with respect to their several ends; the Strength and Sinews of one, the Swiftness of another; the Tameness of one, and the Teachableness of another: God's Providence in providing for them Natural Armour and Weapons, Subtlety, Shelter, or Innocence, to defend themselves against those that assault them, and preparing their Clothing; which because they are not able to procure new, they receive that at first from a Divine and Benign Providence, which needs no repairing.  
Let us now convert our Eyes from the great to the little World, Man, and there view, and consider the Excellent, (I had almost said, Divine) Structure of his Body; the exact Symmetry of each Part, with reference to its End: And here I am at a loss where to begin; Every, yea even the most Minute Part, if we consider its Make and Ends, calls for nothing but Wonder and Admiration, and well may we with holy David cry out, Psalm. 139.14. I am fearfully and wonderfully made: The Consideration of which hath made some affirm, that it was an impossible thing for an Anatomist, or one that pried into the many secret Recesses of the Body, ever to become an Atheist. Demetrius when he had taken Rhodes, though he exposed the City to Fire and Sword, yet preserved the Image of Protogenes, as some Sacred Things, and placed it amongst his greatest Rarities, that he had rescued from the Flames, for no other end, then that he might have always by him the greatest and best Compendium of the Works of God, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Lineament of the Body of a Man. It's Frame, as it is worthy of its Artificer, so it plainly shows, that nothing but what is Divine, could produce so beautiful, so useful a Subject, whose Exactness is such, that if the Wisdom of all men living were Concentred in one, it could not find out any one part which needs correcting or amendment.  
Not to mention the outer Carcanet, which is obvious to every Man's Eye, and only a Covert to hid the more precious Pearls contained within: To pass by the Excellent Proportions and Dimensions of ●is Body, made exactly to Quadrate with each other, and adapted to those Uses to which they are Employed: To say nothing of the Incomparable, nay Divine Features of his Face, and the Exquisiteness of all his Senses; how admirable is it to consider that among the (almost) innumerable Vessels and Parts of the Body within, there is not one but hath its particular Use; neither doth that interfere with any other, or intermeddle with his Province, (except it be sometimes to do his Neighbour a friendly Office, when it is not able to help its self.) Thus is the Stomach made for Concoction of Meats; the Intestines for the Expulsion of their useless and unprofitable parts: The Lacteals for the reception of the Chyle, or more Pure and refined Ones: The Chyliferous Vessels for conveying it into the mass of Blood: The Blood for Sanguification and Assimilation of them: The Lungs for Respiration, and Perpetuating the Motion of the Blood: The Heart for transmitting it to the Brain, and other parts of the Body; and the Brain again in requital, sends back Spirits to continue its motion: The Liver is made for the secretion of Bile, or Choler: The Spleen for separation of the more earthy and melancholy faeculencies of the Blood: The Kidneys for percolation of ●he Serous parts of it for Urine: The Arteries for carrying the Blood out from the Heart, to invigorate, warm, and nourish every part of the Body: The Veins for reducing it again to its Source and Fountain, for a new Recruit of Heat and Spirits: The Lymphducts for keeping a thin Humour to dilute and moderate the Inordinancies of the Blood: The Nerves for conveying nutritive Juice and Spirits to all parts; and the Muscles for all motions of the Body: And I dare challenge the most exact Anatomist, to show me amongst that Vast and Infinite number of Vessels that are in the Body of a Man, where there is any one superfluous, or any defective. If any should reply, that some Creatures have lived without some of their principal parts, (as a Dog will without a Spleen:) I answer, that this doth not enervate the Assertion, because though they may make a hard shift 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vivere, to live, yet they want the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bene vivendi, they cannot live so comfortably as they might have done, had they not been deprived of those parts; for all conspire together for the benefit and preservation of the whole: Like sundry Artificers upon a fair Building, every one about his particular Office and Employ, and yet all are Coadjutors towards the erecting, or securing of that goodly Pile. The Sensitive Faculties are sublimed to a much higher pitch, and may elevate our Minds to a higher Degree of Admiration. Who cannot but wonder at the Swiftness of the sensible Species, posting to the Sense, and the quickness and readiness of the Sense to receive it? Here you may see a vast Mountain contracted into a small Model, and dwelling in the Angle and Corner of the Eye: who cannot but admire the faithfulness of the Sensitive Organs, in transmitting their respective Species, to the common Sensorium, as into some Common-Council-house, where the busy Imagination joins and compounds them together and reads a Lecture to the Appetite, to prove its assent, or descent; and no soone● is the Appetite awakened, but the Loco-motive Faculty (a most obedient Servant) puts the Decree in Execution, and is ready to prosecute that Good. or fly that Evil, as the Affection shall dispose unto.  
Therefore seeing that all Things proceed so Regularly to some certain and adequate End, and that the Thing themselves compounded only of blin● and unguided Matter, cannot foresee and perceive their Ends by which they might attain them; nothing is more manifest, than that they are directed by some Superior Hand or Power, which could see and consider those Ends aforehand, to which each particular Thing was designed; like a Clock, whose End it is to distinguish the Hours of the Day, which because it knows not the End to which it was designed, cannot dispose itself to that End; therefore it ought necessarily to be directed by some understanding Mind, which knoweth these Things, and can make Distinction of Hours. So that we may well conclude, that, Opus Naturae est opus Intelligentiae, that those most Excellent Perfections of Nature could be produced by no other than some Supreme Being, which is God Himself. Materiam supernavit Opus.   

SECT. III. That the Existence of a Providence in the World, being granted, all Things must be Conserved and Governed by it, and there is not the least inconsiderable Thing, that may be said to be Obnoxious to the senseless guidance of Chance and Fortune.  
FRom the Concession of the former Proposition, this seems as immediately and naturally to result, as Light from the Sun, Fluidity from Water, and the Streams from their Source and Fountain: See mut uo ponunt & tollunt. So that owning the one, the other will necessarily follow; like Hypocrates' Twins, they live and die together: The taking away either of these undermines Christianity, and saps the very Foundation of Religion. To assert that you saw an Invisible Colour, heard Music without a Sound, or felt a Body without the Organs of Touch, were a Soloecism no less pardonable in Nature, than the Separation of God's Providence and Conservation, from himself, is in Divinity. All the Works of the Creation were the Product of God Almighty's Power, but that of his Conservation pertains chief to his Providence; by that he Commands and Governs all Things under the vast Canopy of Heaven, and makes them presently subscribe to the Dictates of his Will and Pleasure: By this he disposes all, even the most minute Things in this great Fabric of the Universe, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, according to his good Pleasure and Wisdom; neither is there any thing can pretend Exemption from his Guidance and Direction.  
Non vacat exiguis rebus adesse Jovi.  
Was true only of the Pagan Jupiter, not of the Great God Jehovah, whose Care and Providence runs parallel with his Power and Omnisciency; and who can as well, and as easily take Cognizance of the smallest, as of the greater Transactions here below: And though Man be the Masterpiece of the whole Creation, and constituted Lord of all Created Being's beneath him, yet the most inconsiderable Animal or Infect, was made by the same Fiat, or Word of his Power, and is no less the Object of his Care, than the mightiest Monarch in the World. It is true, that Man bearing on his better part, the Soul, the Stamp and Effigies of his Maker, hath ever been so great a Favourite in Heaven's Court, as to have the greatest Blessings and Dignities conferred upon him; but certainly there is not the most abject Creature, nor lifeless Plant, nor despised Mineral, but challenge a share in his Care and Providence: Nay I may in some sense aver, that there may be more of Gods care manifested in the Conservation of the Species of a small Insect or Animal, than in those greater Works of Nature; for by how much the more weak and puny any thing is, so much the more Care and Industry is required to its preservation: 'Tis not the Magnitude of the Piece that commends the Artificer; there was more Art shown in the small Fly of Regio montanus, than in the Mould of his great bodied Eagle: There is more Skill, Chemistry and Mathematics, in one single Bee, than in the whole Republic of Elephants and Dromedaries. How soon would the whole System and Compages of the World be reduced to its primitive Chaos and Nothing, without a Moderator and Conservor? And not unlike our Body Politic in the late Times of Rebellion (without an Head) be quickly turned into Anarchy and Confusion. Idem est conservare ac creare; To continue a Thing in its first Perfections, requires as much Power and Skill as first to make it; to preserve it from rushing into Nothing, and to make it out of Nothing, are equally the Results of a Divine Power: Hence is it that the Schools tell us, that Creation and Conservation are but one continued Act.  
Our next Assertion is, That those Sublunary Things are not Disposed or Governed by any Thing else, but Providence, or (if you will) by the immediate Hand of God. There are two Opinions which seem to invalidate the Strength of this Position; The first is that of the Stoics, who endeavour to exclude this Providence of God; saying, That God doth Govern Heavenly Things by Himself, but all Sub-caelestial Bodies by the inevitable Influences of the Planets. The next is that of Epicurus and his Followers; Scil. That all things happen by the Fortuitous Concourse of Atoms, or by Chance.  
As to the former, That the Starry Influences do not inevitably and fatally determine things, is evident, since even they themselves are guided and governed by an overruling Hand, according to that of the Poet; Astra regunt Homines, sed Deus Astraregit.  
Quid potest esse tam apertum, tamque perspicuum, cum Caelum suspeximus, caelestiaque contemplati sumus, quam aliquod esse numen praestantissimae mentis, quo haec regantur. Cicero de Natur. Deorum, lib. 2.  
So that what is in the Power of another, cannot be said to be Sui Juris, and can only act Secondarily as a Delegate or Substitute to the Supreme; and what is done must be only by a Permissive, not Coactive Power. Thus indeed may those Heavenly Bodies dispose and incline, not in the least force and constrain: Sometimes, as in the Civil Government of a Nation, the Supreme Power, or King, acts by his inferior Deputies and Magistrates; and what is done by them, is said to be done by the King himself, because done by his Order or Command; so here the great Legislator, God Himself, may make use of those Planetary Bodies (as his Delegates) to exert some particular Operations upon Sublunary and Elementary Things: (For as St. Austin observes, Deus regit inferiora per superiora.) But yet they are still accountable to their first Lawgiver, and cannot transgress, or go beyond those Limits set unto them. It is confessed that Second Causes do concur, but it is only in subordination to God, who is the First: and those who look no higher than the Influence of the Sun, Configuration of the Stars, the Changes of the Moon, and the like, deserve nothing but disappointment. Besides, I think it will be no difficult matter to show that the Planets cannot have that Power and Influence as is pretended; for if you consider that wild Rapid Motion of the Heavens, which Ptolemy ascribes to them, which is many thousand times swifter than a Bullet shot out of a Gun; can we rationally suppose but that it must needs alter the Respects of the Planets, not only every moment, but (if it were possible to conceive) every hundredth part of a Thought next, it might be thus argued; If these had any such Influence upon Terrestrial Bodies, a thousand years since, now they have not, nor can have the same, according to our acception. The Consequence seems valid enough, if you consider that Aries, Taw us, Gemini, and the rest, by their periodical and private Motions (from West to East) have now changed their places by thirty Degrees, and cannot have the same Positions and Aspects as formerly; for Aries is gotten into the place of Taurus, and Taurus into the place of Gemini, and Gemini into the place of Cancer; and yet we still take our Calculations as before: and what we take for Aries, is indeed Pisces, and what we take for Pisces, is Aquarius, and so on. To these give me leave to add, that for the most part, those Observations made by the most exact Astrologers, are found to be very deceivable and false; and if at any time they do● hit right, (as who may not sometimes?) they are more beholding to their good Luck, than their Art for it. Thus we see many times that those that are bor● under Mars, are disposed as if born under Venus; and those born under Mercury, are disposed as those born under Saturn, and so Vice versa: And we se● that even Twins born vel eodem enixu, at one and the same Birth, descent oftentimes in the whole course of their Life and Actions. Proclus and Euristhenes, Twins, and Kings of Lacedemonia, were both in the end, and whole course of their life, most contrary. Amphion and Zethus, though they began with some agreement, (for they were both Expositi) yet in the whole course of their Lives, they were as dissenting, as a gentle Philosopher, and an harsh Clown. Horace observed the difference in his first Book of Epistles, Epist. 18. Gratia sic fratrum geminorum Amphionis atque Zethi dissiluit.— And so Propertius 3. Eleg. 15.6. 
Et durum Zethum, & lachrymis Amphiona mollem,  
Experta est stabulis mater abacta suis.   
To say no more, we have the Example of Jacob and Esau, who were as different in Disposition, Manners, Course of Life, and End, as if all Heaven had been altered in their Births: So then let not men be so presumptuously injurious to God's Providence, as to ascribe that to the Influence of those Heavenly Bodies, which is due only to God himself.  
The next Assertion is, That all things happen by the Fortuitous Concourse of Atoms, or by Chance, which is all one.  
Sunt qui in Fortunae jam casibus omnia ponunt,  
Et nullo credunt Mundum rectore moveri,  
Nrtura volvente vices, & lucis & anni.  
This Tenet was anciently of Epicurus, and one should think that in the Christian part of the World, and in a time of so much Light, and Pretensions to Reason, his Schools should be thin at such Lectures: But alas! it suits too well with the humours of lose and dissolute men to recede from it; they hug and cherish it, and as long as they retain their Vices, Epicurus cannot want Disciples to foster and foment it. But can any man be so insensible and devoid of that Reason, which alone differences him from a Brute, to imagine that this Stupendious Fabric of Heaven and Earth, was made only by a happy chance or hit, by the accidental Unition of some Particles of Matter? When all the Skill of Art is not able so much as to make the poorest and most contemptible Fly, to observe rare Effects, and no Cause; to see an Excellent Government, and no Governor; a Motion without a Movable; a Circle without a Centre; a Second without a First; a Thing that gins not from itself: And therefore to say, that there is nothing from whence it took its beginning, are things so repugnant to Philosophy and Natural Reason, that he must needs be more than a Beast in his Understanding, that does not assent unto them; for what doth he but in effect say, The Thing that is made, is, and the Thing which made it, is not. What can be more incongruous to Reason, or more unworthy of an Intelligent Being, than to suppose that the World which is made with a Principle of the greatest Reason, should have such a Principle induced by any Chance, or the casual Concourse of Atoms? Unless by some way or other, they had had such a Principle inherent in themselves before; (For nothing can transfer that to another, which it hath not in its self:) And if Epicurus his Atoms had been rational Atoms, they would never have done any thing by Chance, because they had a Superior Principle to do it by; as the worthily honoured Sir CHARLES WOLSELEY hath observed. Besides if the Fortuitous Concourse of these Atoms could produce the World, it might next be demanded, Who first made these Atoms? It would (no doubt) be a very rare Spectacle to behold the Materials for an House, as Stones, Lime, Beams, Rafters, and the like Perquisites for Building, blown from the Four Quarters of the Earth, and jump together into the Form of a stately Edifice: Or to see a Vessel built, rigged and trimmed for a Voyage at Sea, only by the casual Concourse of Plank, Masts, Sails, and the like.  
Thus and much more ridiculous and fantastical is it to imagine all Things in the World to be made by mere Chance, which if so, I would demand, How it comes to pass, that we do not daily see the Production of New, and (never before seen) Things? Why do we not observe every Year new Species of Plants and Vegetables? Why do we not see daily a new Generation of Animals, and Variation of their Parts? And why doth the Heart in all Creatures keep the same Position? Is it rational to conceive ame blind unguided Matter, should always start into the same Form? And if it does so, (as we see it does) this seems to me a sufficient Demonstration, that it acts necessarily; that is, that it cannot but follow the same Footsteps it before had trodden, and so is no longer subject to the uncertain guidance of Chance and Fortune. There are another sort of Persons, who though they Concede that God did indeed at first frame the World, yet he gave it then an Eternal Law, and did never intent to regard it more, it being beneath the Majesty of so great a God, to intermeddle in the small low Concerns of the World, and so he lets Things below go at Random, and as they list; saying, 

Curate magna Deus, fortunae parva relinquit,  
Non vacat exiguis rebus adesse Jovi.   

Or as Lucretius,  
Semota à nostris rebus se junctaque long.   The Divine Nature is wholly taken up in the Contemplation of its Self. These think it not fit to give God a Descent below the Circle of the Moon, and that his knowledge would become vile, if it were abused to take notice of trivial Objects and Occurrents; and are apt to say as Job, cap. 22.13. How doth God know? Can he judge through the dark Cloud? He walks through the Circuit of Heaven. And there is a vast Interposition betwixt that Place and Earth; but these are either Monsters in their Manners, or Frantic in their Understanding, or ever find themselves confuted by a Thunder, or a Plague, by Danger or Death. The Persian Gallants the Day before the Fight with the Athenians, being confident of the Victory over their Enemies, drinking Drunk, railed against their Religion, and all their Gods, saying, There were no such things; that all things came by Chance and Industry, nothing by the Providence of a Supreme Power: But the next day, being conquered by their Enemies, and pursued to a River, where they could not pass, than fell on their Knees, and begged God for Deliverance.  
It is certain, that God's Eyes run to and fro in the whole Earth, taking exact cognizance of every Action, and observes it (at one Intuition) with the very same Advertence, as if there were nothing else in the whole World for him to observe; Curate universa, ut singula; & singula ut universa. Neither is his knowledge so stinted, and only confined to Action, but as the Royal Prophet observes, There is not a word in our Tongues, but he knows it altogether: Yea it goes farther, for it extends even to Thoughts, secret Thoughts, and he knows them afar off. And indeed did we not believe this, we should rob God of one of his most principal Attributes, his Omnisciency, without which he could not be God; and certainly if God be privy to all our Actions, he does not suffer them to pass by without regard, but even the most abject of them all, is strictly adverted to by him, and we shall one day give a severe account of them: Neither is it beneath (but highly consistent with) his Majesty, to concern himself with the low Affairs of the World; Non vilitatem arguit sed perfectionem: This doth not disparage his Wisdom, but honour it. Archimedes propounded it as a matter of wondrous Reputation to himself, if he could have made a just Numeration of the Sand, which he foolishly attempted. The Glass is not vile, because it presents Deformities; nor the Sun defiled, because its Beams fall on Muddyplaces: If God could be infected with our Corruption, it might be some prejudice to him, but he can turn that to his Honour, which Man doth to his Dishonour: He humbleth himself to behold things done in Heaven, and in the Earth, the one is no more humbling to him than the other, and he can as well behold that at his Footstool, as that which surrounds his Throne.  
St. Paul tells us, 1 Cor. 9.9. That God takes care for Oxen; yea he takes care for Creatures less worthy, Ravens and Sparrows; yea he is concerned for those things that we put no Value on ourselves, even the Hairs of our Head, which are all numbered.  
Then how great reason have I to conclude, that nothing, even the most inconsiderable thing here below, is left running to the senseless Guidance of Chance and Fortune.   

SECT. iv That all Minerals, Vegetables, and Animals, with what ever else, having in it a Medicinal Virtue, had it first impressed on them by that Supreme Being, which was the first Author and Maker of them.  
THe good and alwise God in Commiseration of our frail weak Natures, who are liable to as many Infirmities and Diseases, as there are Vessels and Parts in our Bodies, did not only provide for us Food, but Medicine; not only a naked supply of Meat and Drink, by which we live, but also an ample store of Medicaments, by which we may live well, and either prevent or cure those Diseases that our frail Tabernacles render us obnoxious unto, and which would otherwise make our lives no better (or rather worse) than Death; and therefore he at first gave such Virtues to Minerals, Vegetables, and Animals, as he in his Infinite Wisdom, knew they were capable of receiving, and best able to communicate to his Creatures, for their Health and Benefit.  
Omnia fecit numero pondere & mensura. This great Physician hath so provided for his Patients, that there is not an Herb or Medicine wanting to relieve or cure any Malady; nay he seems to be prodigal, and exceed in this his care; and lest some should not be able always to be procured, he hath prepared many of the same Virtue and Efficacy.  
Suitable to the Disease he hath provided suitable Remedies. When I consider (besides the Variety, excellent Beauty, and Symmetry of Parts) the exact Temperature of the Elements and Qualities, the various Natures of Plants, growing in one and the same Field, nay in one and the same Area, or Bed of Earth: I am even ravished with Wonder and Admiration Every Plant hath a Voice in it, Quoe non hominem sonat, sed Deumcerte, which bespeaks God only the Author and Contriver of it, and gives us various Instances of the Divine Goodness, his Liberality, Wisdom, and Providence. The same may be said likewise of Minerals, the preparations of which are of most wonderful and excellent (I had almost said unsearchable) Efficacy. For, for one particular Virtue which we know, and have experienced in any of them (so scanty is our knowledge) how many occult are there, that we are altogether ignorant of, and which escape the discovery even of the most inquisitive and prying Physicians? Maxima pars eorum quae scimus, est minima pars eorum quae nescimus. However, there do not want daily Experiences and Discoveries of their Incomparable Qualities; and those Diseases that prove to be too Herculean for Plants, are with no great difficulty subjugated by these. Last of all in the Animal Kingdom, what great Rarities and Virtues, are couched within their Bowels, which are of singular use both for Food and Pharmacy, serving as well to nourish and restore the decays of Nature, as to repair the ruins introduced by Diseases. Now if we will not obstinately shut our Eyes against so clear a Light, and wilfully stop our Ears to such audible Voices as these, we must certainly conclude. That nothing less thanan Alwise and Omnipotent God, who by his foreknowledge saw the necessities of Mankind, and those Diseases we were obnoxious unto, could implant such Virtues on those Medicinal Things, as might exactly answer their end, and oppugn that Valetudinary State, we were like to meet withal here in this World: Neither doth his bare endowing these his Creatures, with such suitable Qualities, and his conferring them on us, for those particular ends, only show from whence they came, but also the wonderful manner of disclosing their effects and natures to us, doth sufficiently demonstrate, to what benign hand they own their being. Had God Almighty made these many Vegetables, Minerals and Animals, and had he endued them with those many Excellent Virtues that we discover in them, and reserved them only for his own contemplation, they might indeed have added to his glory, but would have brought little profit and advantage to us, besides the bare pleasure of beholding them; but such is his diffusive goodness, that he hath not only given us the things themselves, but hath also by several, even miraculous means, communicated their natures and uses to us. Some of which have been discovered by immediate Inspiration, as that of a Bunch of Figgs for Maturation, and curing Hezekiah's Sore, etc. and can we rationally suppose that Solomon, who knew the Virtues of all Vegetables, from the Hyssop (or Moss) to the Cedar, could in his short span of Life, attain to that immense degree of Knowledge, without the help of Divine Wisdom, or extraordinary Inspiration.  
The Natures of others have been discovered by their Signatures, or by those outward marks and figures, which either in colour, shape, taste, or some similitude, give an account of their inward dispositions, and represent those parts of the Body, to which they are appropriated, and those Diseases which they are proper to Eradicate. Thus Lungwort in its spots, rarity, and laxity of Substance, resembles the Lungs, and is found to be even a Specific in some ●ulmonick Affections. The Polypody of the Oak, which is in colour blackish and full of Scirrhous Tubercles, de-obstructs and dissolves the inward Scirrhosities of the Spleen. The Roots of Schrophulary (or Figgwoort) as also the Spongious Excrescences of the Bramble, represent those tumors, which we call Strumas, and Scrofula's, and are found to be most potent for the Cure of them. Sarsaperilla in its length, equality of magnitude and figure, as also in its outward Tunicles and inward Medullosity, resembles the Nerves, and therefore (it being hot and dry) is most fitly applied to all Distempers of the Nerves and Medula spinalis. I forbear to speak how all bitter and yellow things purge Choler, as Rhubarb, Myrobolans, Aloes, &c, how all White things Phlegm, as Agarick, Turbith, Hermodactils, etc. how all Black things Melancholy, as Black Hellebor, Aloes, Indian Ingrobalans, Cassia, and many others (although I shall not much contend for Elective Purgation.) I pass by that of Seeds, Berries, Roots, and Stones, resembling the Stone in Humane Bodies, which powerfully expel it. I should be too tedious, should I go about to enumerate all instances of this nature, and which would aptly enough fall under this head: Let it suffice to know, that all these things did not happen by a fortuitous hit or chance, but by the predeterminate Counsel and Wisdom of their great Creator. The Natures of other things have been found out by Experiments and Humane Industry; as by many Trials upon Dogs, and other Animals. The excellent Virtue of the Testaceous Powders, in correcting the Acidities of the Blood, and dulcorating it, discovered by mixing them with Acids, as Vinegar, or juice of Lemons, which it presently dulcifies. Lastly, The Operation of others have undoubtedly been manifested by mere Accident, as probably (if there be Faith to be given to Botanists) was the Panax Coloni, and yet not so much by Accident, but that that Accident was directed by a Superior Hand; for otherwise, the Clown being in a place where was such Variety of Plants, might as well have taken Arsmart, which might have mortified the Wound, as the Panax to have cured it; Ludit in huma●is divina potentia rebus. The true Virtue of all Plants are not found out unto this day; and if any ask me the Reason of it, I can only give him this, That God Almighty thought fit to conceal them, that he might invite Men to increase their labour and sedulity to search after them; or for some other reason best known to himself. We may well therefore affirm, that, Opusnaturae est opus intelligentiae, that all those Mirabilia Naturae, were nothing else but Emanations from the bounty of an All-knowing Creator.  
For a Conclusion of this Proposition, seeing that our good and gracious God hath made such an ample Provision for the Relief and Comfort of the frail infirm Bodies of his Creatures, by infusing excellent Virtues and Powers into Medicinal Things, and discovered their uses to us; let us in the first place thankfully acknowledge this his Inestimable Mercy, and in the next place, when our Necessities, either for prevention or cure, require it, apply ourselves to the use of those Means, which he hath not only allowed, but commanded and promised to succeed with his Blessing; and not be of the Morose Temper of some of the World; who separate the end from the means, and think that God made all these things barely for our Speculation, and to be gazed upon; saying, That if they shall live, they shall live without them, and if they shall die, they shall die with them.   

SECT. V That although God Almighty did at first give such a particular Virtue, to each particular Plant, Mineral, and Animal, yet for certain Providential Causes, they may not always exert their Natural Operations, and prove successful to their desired end.  
IT hath been sufficiently (I suppose) Evidenced in the last Chapter, that whatsoever Virtues are contained in the Three Kingdoms, of Vegetables, Animals, and Minerals, are Mutuatitious, and own their Origination to a Superior Hand of Providence: But yet that God should always tie himself up to means, and proceed only in one way and method, without any Deviation, is not Modest, nor indeed rational to imagine: God Almighty hath an Absolute Sovereignty, by right of Creation and Conservation over all his Creatures, and though he hath (according to his Infinite Wisdom) disposed them into several Classes and Orders, from which they may not recede without his Immediate Commission, yet he may and does, as often as he thinks fit, make Alterations and Changes, or else command them to be idle and useless; and what are we, that we should exact a reason of his proceed? God's power is infinite, nor can any thing in Heaven or Earth limit it, but his own will, which doth regulate and restrain it; If he cut off, or shut up, or gather together, saith Job, in his 11 Chap. and 10 v. who can hinder him? It hath set a Tabernacle for the Sun, and he bids it to run its race, and again commands it to stand still; he doth whatsoever pleaseth him in Heaven and Earth. Although God rule the World 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by this Law of Providence, as Naz●anzen calls it, though he disposes and ordereth all things and actions of Men, yet he lays not any Law of Necessity upon all things. Some Effects he hath fitted with necessary Causes, that they may infallibly fall out; (as saith Aquinas) and to other Effects, which in their own Nature are Contingent, he hath applied Contingent Causes; so that that shall fall out necessarily, which his Providence hath so disposed of, and that contingently, which he hath left in a contingency: and both these in the Nature of things necessary and contingent, are within the Verge and Rule of his Providence, and he altars them not, but Extra Ordinem, when he would do some extraordinary Work. God's usual way of working, is by regular and connatural Means (as shall more manifestly be shown in the next Section) but yet sometimes he works without Means, and even by Miracles; as our Saviour cured many of divers Diseases, barely by the word of his power; yea and sometimes works even contrary to Means, as when he laid on the Clay for a Cataplasm to the Blind Man's Eyes, and recovered his Sight, which had it not been for the virtue of the Hand that applied it, was more likely to have put them out.  
Both the Physician and the Medicine, saith the Son of Syrach; Eccles. 38.1, 4. are created of the Lord; and yet it follows, of the most High cometh healing, v. 2. he adds likewise in the 13. v. There is a time when in their hands there is good success: And 'tis easy to infer there is a time when in their hands there is not good success; when the use of the most regular Means, shall be altogether unprosperous and unsuccessful.  
The Alwise God, who is well acquainted with our Frame and Natures, knows well enough what Condition is best for us, and for certain particular ends and reasons, doth dispose and order the Means that tend thereto.— Sometimes in a state of an uninterrupted Health and Ease, he sees we are apt to grow proud and haughty, insolent and vainglorious; to slight his Mercies, and perhaps contemn his Judgements, and therefore sees it most fit to lay a restraint upon us, by visiting us with Pains and Sickness, and reasonably enough may suffer the Means to be ineffectual, until he hath accomplished his End, that so we may put a greater value and estimate upon that portion of health, which we afterwards enjoy: Juxta seposita magis elucescunt. A rich Diamond is most admired in the dark, and a serene Evening never more prized than after a Stormy Morning; for even Sickness and Afflictions have their Errand, and serve to make Men more humble, watchful, and considerate.— Sometimes again the bounds of a Man's Life (which he cannot pass) are at hand, his Stock of Radical Moisture is quite exhausted, his Flesh withers, his Spirits are dissipated, and the Strength of Art and Medicine cannot repair the loss; and so of necessity he returns again to his dust.  
(Pharmaca nil prosunt, praebetur potio frustra.  
Heu nullâ tristis mors est medicabilis arte!)  
Of necessity, I say, because I find some late Author seem to affirm, That if a Man be but luckily furnished with a skilful Physician, he may live to what Age he pleases, or choose whether he will ever die at all.  Si foret in terris rideret Democritus. 
This Opinion is rather to be laughed at, than confuted, and even by the Non-immortality of the most Learned and Able Physicians that ever were in the World, falls of itself to the ground.   

SECT. VI That God's usual way of Working is by fit and appropiate Means, and therefore the Empirick, or he that understands nothing of the true Cause of the Disease and Nature of the Medicine, is not to be trusted.  
HAving in the last Section shown you how (by a special providence of God, and for ends best known to himself) the Course and Order of Nature, may be sometimes inverted: It shall be my endeavour in this to make it appear, that it doth never (without a positive command from God) recede from those Laws anciently given her, but always proceeds in the same regular Method.  
When God at first created all the numerous Families of Vegetables, Minerals, and Animals, he infused into them their particul Virtues, which they should retain even unto their Ultimate Annihilation; neither may we think they can alter those Laws at first set them, or assume new Qualities, until he who is Unchangeable, cease to be so. The Rhubarb, and Sena will continually purge: The Emetic Preparations of Antimony, will always Vomit, and the flesh and parts of Animals well constituted (if they meet with a fit subject) will never cease to nourish and restore: And these hath God by his infinite Power and Wisdom, made and destined as the proper and adequate Instrument to those very Ends from all Eternity: Thus we ordinarily find that all Medicines well prepared, and exhibited by a Skilful hand, which understands not only the Nature of the Medicine but the Patient's Disease, never fail of their designed effect. It is recorded in Sacred Writ, that several Cures have been wrought by our Saviour, his Apostles, and Prophets, which though in one sense they have been miraculous (because the end hath very far exceeded the strength of the means) yet we rarely find any without Application to Natural Means. When the Israelites were bitten with fiery Serpents in the Wilderness, God commanded Moses to erect a Brazen Serpent for their Cure: Num. 21.8. But although the Divine Will had annexed a power of healing unto that Serpent instrumentally, yet the same Will appointed the actual application of that power to the looking upon that Serpent: Every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.  
God could have cured Hezekiah by a word, but he must apply a Lump of Figs to the Boil, before it shall be effected; Isa. 38.21. Naaman must (by command from the Prophet) wash (not in the Rivers of Damascus, but) in Jordan, before he can be healed of his Leprosy; 2 Kings 5.10. although he could have done it by the very Touch of his Hand: Nay our Saviour himself, makes Clay with his Spittle for the Blindman's eyes: john 9.6, 7. And he must afterwards wash in Siloam. He laid his hands also upon some and healed them. So that it is very manifest that God Almighty doth not separate the Means from the End, but makes the former a necessary preparative to the latter; otherwise he should always do Miracles (for Miracles are nothing else but the Works of God, without, and against the ordinary Means) but he worketh by succeeding all lawful Means with his Blessing. This may serve to condemn two sorts of persons.  
First, The Empirick, or him that pretends to Physic, understanding nothing of the true Nature and Causes of a Disease, and therefore cannot prescribe fit and appropriate Means, suitable to their desired End.  
Secondly, It reproveth those that think a fatal and indispensable necessity of Events, and so neglect the use of Means proper for their Health or Recovery.  
As to the first, When I consider seriously with myself how difficult and mysterious the Art of Physic is, and of what price the Bodies (shall I say) or rather the Souls of Men are (the welfare of which, for aught we know, may depend upon the protraction of their lives) what depth of Judgement, Learning and Experience, how great Skill in Natural Philosophy, Anatomy, Botanism, Chemistry, the Materia Medica, Pathological and Practical parts of Physic, are required to make a competent Physician. I am not a little startled to see the Confidence (I had almost said Impudence) of Quacks and Empirics, (and those too for the most part of the Dregs of the People) and many Ignorant Women, venture so boldly Decorio humano ludere, to sport away way the lives of those they promise to Cures: And be the Disease what it will, never so much complicated, and as abstruse as to puzzle a Collodge, yet they shall not want Confidence and Immodesty, to warrant a peremptory Cure, to the great damage, and often times destruction, of their (truly called) Patients.  
It is the first Aphorism of our Divine Hypocrates, Vita brevis, Ars longa, Occasio momentosa, Empirica periclitatio periculosa, Judicium difficile, etc. That our life is but short, that the Art of Physic (by reason of the difficulty and multitude of things that are to be known, and the Judgement and Experience that is required, which takes up so much time) is very long; that there are certain Golden Seasons or Opportunities to be laid hold of, which are of so great moment, that being once lapsed, are irrecoverable, and so the Disease does in deterius vergere, still grow worse, if not incurable: That Experience, and Empirical Remedies, are dangerously deceitful and deceitfully dangerous, producing for the most part (especially in Acute Distempers) nothing less than the utter destruction of the Souls Mansion place, and the Temple of the Holy Ghost; and that (by reason of the difference of Constitutions, Climates, Complications, Accidents, and the like) any certain judgement is very difficult to be made; yet how obvious is it to find every where unlearned and unexperienced Men, confuting Hypocrates, who having amassed a few Receipts, commence Doctors in a moment, and daringly venture on those things, which a modest knowing Physician would tremble at. The great Arabian Averro confesses of himself, that he never administered a Purgation, but his Heart trembled some days before; but these have quite laid aside all primitive Modesty, and boldly dare venture on any thing. Neither are they the less Criminal, if sometimes (perhaps) by the strength of Nature, or coming immediately upon the Rear of a Physician (on whom the Patient will no longer attend) who hath removed the Cause, their Application should prove fortunate and successful; for what do they, but like Slingers cast their Darts into the Air, not knowing where they will fall, or what Effects they are like to have; neither is it sufficient to say (as their phrase is) that they gave nothing but innocent and harmless things, which if they did no good would do no hurt; for here is no Medium in this, Et qui morbo non occurrit aegroto manus infert. He that lets the time lapse in which the Distemper might have been removed by a Skilful hand, or so confounds it that it is now become quite other than at first, and so renders it Incurable, does as much in effect as give him Sublimate, or Arsenic, and though it may not kill as sudden, it will as sure: Imperitia Medicorum dolo comparatur (say the Civilians.) Ignorance in a Physician is a kind of Cheat, and a Bloody cheat too; for what does the Ignorant Physician, but Negotiari animas hominum (as old Cato in Pliny saith) Trade and deceive Men out of their lives, when they repose most trust in them. But yet murder with them hath no voice, and be cause it is candidly interpreted by the Vulgar, and connived at by the Law, they hope at least to escape being found Homicides in Foro Divino too, at the last Great Audit: But certainly they will then hear a voice saying, Who hath required these things at your hands? you aught to have moved in that Sphere, in which you were placed, to abide in your own Callings, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to mind your own business, and not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, surreptitiously to take that dignity and charge upon you, which you were neither educated in, nor fit for the performance of: the best Excuse such can take up, is, that they did honesta menta peccare, that they did evil that good might come thereof, that they did sin, and offend God with a good intention, and honest mind, which gloss may be fitted to the greatest Sin, and is one of the most splendid Chariots the Devil hath to carry us to Hell. Christianity does (I am sure) though Ambition, Policy, or Gain may not, oblige every Man to his own province and business; yet there is a generation of Men, that extremely busy themselves in other men's matters, and sleep in their own; which fly to every mark that is set up, but that which their Calling and Religion directs them to aim at; that will thrust their Sickles into other men's Harvests, and let their own rot at home: These things are very sinful and indecorous: Let every Man fill his own place, and then he will have little leisure to thrust himself into another man's: Let the Laywer plead, and the Divine preach, the Physician practise, and the Tradesman follow his Trade, the Husbandman plough the Earth, and the Merchant the Sea: Let the Master of the House govern, and the Mistress mind only the concerns of the Family: Let all men make good their place, every one do his own business, and so all rejoice together in the public order and peace.  
There is a second sort of people who deserve reprehension, that think a fatal and indispensible necessity of events, and so wilfully neglect the means proper for their health and recovery.  
It is most certain that nothing comes to pass contrary to the divine will, or permission, and that the period of every man's life is fixed in respect of the divine prescience; yet for us to jmagine that therefore, when a Sickness invades us, we ought not to make use of means, saying with the Vulgar, If I shall die, I shall die with them, and if I shall recover, I shall recover without them; is very absurd and irrational: for first of all, Whether the life of a Man be determined by an absolute, and inconditionate Decree, is much controverted; and that many men's lives have been lengthened, and preserved by God's blessing on proper Remedies, applid by Skilful Physicians, is most evidently evinced by continual Experiences: And on the contrary, that many have been forcibly hurried to their untimely graves, by falling into the hands of unskilful Empirics, is too notorious: Instead of many I will give you one Instance in both. Not twice three years since, a Boat too much packed with Soldiers (all of them of an Athletic temper) was passing a River, and sunk with them a little off the shore, where most of them perished; but within a short time, by the diligence and help of some Spectators, several of their bodies were taken up, and laid upon the shore, which were equally Cadaverous; an Eminent Physician, passing by, and moved with compassion, bleeded some of them, and prescribed such Medicines as he thought proper to their condition; which it pleased God to succeed with his benediction: so that those, and those only recovered which were thus handled, the others suffering the common (though untimely) fate of all Mankind: So that hence it seems manifest that though God had prepared the means, yet had there not been an actual application of it, they must of necessity have shared in the same destiny.  
The other is this, which I myself have been more than once the sad beholder of, that persons labouring under a troublesome Cough or Catarrh, which hath disturbed their rest at nights, and being of a thin texture of Body, and weak Constitution, by the unseasonable, and unskilful administration of Opiatick Medicines, have taken their laethaean nap, and gone smoothly and quietly to the Land of forgetfulness. The like may be said of giving the same Medicine, in a Pthysis, Pleurisy, Empyema, and the like, which hath often produced the same effect. To say nothing of those many strong robust men, that merely through wantonness, or for prevention of some Epidemical and Popular Disease, that hath then threatened, have committed themselves to the hands of confident Empirics, who not regarding, or not knowing the temper of their Patient's Bodies, and the Nature and Dose of their Medicines, have been by a Hypercatharsis (or too violent Evacuations) sent head long to the other World; which may sufficiently evince, that many have shortened their days, by rashly exposing themselves to such dangers, or else wilfully neglecting those assistances they might have had for the preservation or prolongation of thei● lives.  
The common Objection of Asa's reprehension for seeking to the Physician, and not to the Lord, is a very weak one, to draw this Conclusion from, That therefore I ought not to apply myself to a Physician: for it is evident by the text 2 Chron. 16.12. that here is no Antithesis, or opposition, but a Protimesis, and is an Expression by way of choice and estimation: Asa is reproved because that in his Disease he sought not to the Lord, but rather to the Physicians, or them only: Had he implored the divine as well as humane assistance, he had not (without doubt) been reprehended for it. So in the 16 of St. Matthew the 19 and 20. verses, we are bid not to lay up treasures for ourselves upon Earth, but lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven; and in a Parallel place, we are forbade to labour after the Meat that perisheth, but to labour after that which endureth to everlasting Life; which are not to be understood as plain prohibitions to lay up Earthly treasures, or to labour for our daily food, but by way of choice or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, rather lay up treasures in Heaven, than treasures upon Earth: rather labour after that Meat which endureth to everlasting Life, than that which perisheth; which is no more than this, have a greater care of the one than the other: Our Saviour himself says, They that are whole need not the Physician, but (as it follows) they that are sick; which is a sufficient warrant for all in that Condition to apply themselves unto him: for he is, as Herophilus observes, Manus Dei, the hand by which God conveys health unto their diseased Bodies: And though he can (as I have before shown) cure them by a miracle, yet his usual and common way, is by fit and appropriate means; so that they who wilfully neglect them, do sihi manus infer, even cruelly prove their own Executioners: therefore as the Son of Syrach, Eccles. 38.4. observes, that seeing God hath created Medicines out of the earth, he that is wise will not abhor them.  
I could here swell this Section to a great bulk, if I designed, to depaint the dignity of Physic, and learned Physicians, but the Sun needs not the light of a Candle to make it seen, nor a perfect natural Complexion the disgraceful help of such Artificial Tinctures; besides being of the same Profession myself, I fear I should be condemned either of Pride or Vainglory, and therefore shall conclude this only with too Distiches of the famous Horstius.  
In ventum Medicina Dei est, Medicusque peritus  
Rectè mortalis dicitur esse Deus.  
Hoc Medico, hoc commune Deo, quod uterque miselliss  
Auxiliatrices detque feratque manus.   

SECT. VII. That a Holy and Virtuous Life, is a necessary Qualification for a Physician, in order to the imbettering his Judgement, and his good success in Practice.  
WHat is true in Theology, That the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy Ones is Understanding; Prov. 9.10. and that, The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; Psal. 25.14. is also most true in Physic and Philosophy; which Truth is acknowledged by the best and divinest Philosophers, and hence is it that they so frequently discourse of their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Purgative Virtues, such as they judged necessary to prepare the Soul, in order to its clearer Contemplation and Knowledge of the most useful and sublime Speculations: It is Aristotle's Observation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that Wickedness is destructive of Principles; and a greater than he, hath observed that Wisdom cannot enter into a Wicked Heart, nor dwell in the Body that is subject unto Sin. Wisdom 1.4. Immorality and a Vicious Life, unfits and indisposes the most Ingenious Minds for the Acquisition of the noblest Truths, whether Moral or Divine, and though sometimes they may hit upon some Curious and Philosophical Notions, and Secrets of Nature, yet even here they had done far better, and excelled themselves, had they been more purged from Vice and Wickedness, which casts such a mist before their Eyes, that they can not discern Truth from Error, dulls their Invention, and so clouds their Understanding, that they never arrive to the full discovery and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even of common Arts and Sciences: Thus you see that a Holy and Good Life, affords the greatest advantages to the imbettering the Judgement, not only in Divine but Philosophical Speculations: Next of all, such a life is necessary in order to their Directions of profitable Prescriptions for their Patients: Although (as I have before hinted) God is not always tied up to means, or to these in particular, yet he usually co-operates with those that are proper and adequate to the end. Those that do truly fear God (as the pious and worthy Judge Hales, of late blessed Memory hath observed) have a secret Guidance from a higher Wisdom, than what is barely Humane, namely from the Spirit of Truth and Wisdom, that doth really and truly, but secretly prevent and direct ●●em; and let no Man think that this ●s a piece of Fanaticism, for any Man that fears Almighty God, and relies upon him, calls upon him for his Guidance and Direction, hath it as really as the Son hath the Directions of his Father, and though the voice be not audible, nor the Direction always preceptible to Sense, yet it is equally as real as if a Man heard the voice, saying, This is the way, walk in it. And although this secret Direction of Almighty God is principally seen in matters relating to the good of the Soul, yet it may be also found in the more momentous concerns of this life, which a good and holy Man shall very often, if not always find. In all thy ways (saith Solomon) acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths, Proverbs 3.6. What Man is he that feareth the Lord, him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose; Psal. 25.12.  
Lastly, A Holy and Virtuous life, is a necessary qualification for a Physician, in order to his good success in Practice, and that whether you respect the success itself, or the prevalency of his Prayers, for the benefit of those he is concerned for.  
As to the first, the Royal Prophet had by his long Experience observed, and after his Observation declares (in his first Psalm and third verse) concerning the pious and good Man, that whatsoever he doth it shall prosper; that those ourward things, which are not of the Essence of true Felicity, but yet are as advantageous Accessions and Accomplishments thereof, shall in an eminent manner be preserved to the pious Man, he having the promise of the life that now is, and that which is to come; 1 Tim. 4.8. All his Productions of all sorts, his Thoughts, his Resolutions, his Studies, his Actions, and all wherein he is concerned, shall by God's special Blessing and Providence be exceedingly prosperous and successful to him: In a word, he shall be blessed in all that he setteth his hand unto. Then again it is necessary if you regard the prevailency of his Prayers for the benefit of those for whom he is concerned; St. James commands us in Chap. 5.16. That we should pray one for another, that we may be healed; and tells us that the Prayer of Faith shall save the Sick, and the Lord shall raise him up: It was Hezekiah's Prayer that procured the length'ning of his days for Fifteen Years; Isaiah 38.5. and we know not what efficacy the Prayers of holy and good Physicians may have for the procuring Gods Blessing on their Endeavours, if not for the protraction of the lives of their Patients: I shall not give much credit to the many extravagant Stories of the many admirable Cures wrought by the Prayers of the Religious Votaries of the Church of Rome; but yet this I may confidently believe, which St. James says, James the 5.16. The effectual fervent Prayer of a Righteous Man, availeth much; and that too without any limitation, not only for himself, but others also. The Son of Syrach says, Eccles. 38.14. That the Physicians shall pray also unto the Lord, that he would prosper that which they give for Ease and Remedy to prolong Life; and if our Prayers be Fer●●nt and our Persons Righteous, which are the conditions to make our Prayers acceptable and prevalent; St. John will tell us, We shall not fail of having our Requests granted; 1 John 3.22. But that whatsoever we ask of him, we shall obtain: and the Blind Man in the Gospel, understood well enough what he said, Now we know that God heareth not Sinners, but if any man be a Worshipper, and doth his will, him he heareth: Joh. 9.31.  
Thus we have seen that Sanctity of Life in a Physician is a necessary Qualification in order to make him successful in his Practice; and therefore it were to be wished that they that take upon them that honourable Title, would lead such holy and good lives, as might adorn their Profession, and not Vicious ones, to sully and slain it; that so their Patients might not be robbed of the benefit, and they themselves of their expectation.   

The Conclusion, by way of Advice to the rest of my own Faculty.  
IT is reported that this short, but very expressive Sentence, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was first spoken by an Oracle, in which (not as in others, delivered by that Reputed Deity) there is sound nothing of Amphibology, but it is at first blush, obvious and adapted to every Man's Understanding, and no less worthy of his Consideration and Practice; so that it may seem no Solecism to assert (with Juvenal) Ecoelo descendit. And surely this knowledge of ourselves is the readiest way to the Acquirement of all other; and Men never lose themselves so much, and discover their own weakness and folly, as when they swell themselves with high Opinions of their own Worth and Excellencies, and forget their own Natures, forget that they did exist not from themselves, but by the Creation of an Omnipotent Arm; that their lives are at his disposal, who first gave them their being, and that these (they being only Usufructuaries) shall shortly at his good pleasure who hath Jus Dominii, be again taken from them, and they themselves reduced to their primitive dust. But alas! how do we find by daily Experience, Men so devoid not only of Wisdom, but Common Reason, who will with no less folly than confidence, pretend not only their own lives, but others also, to be at their disposal; and if by God's Blessing on their Endeavours, their Patients return to Health and Soundness, they will think it a derogation from their honour, if you place God before them in the Eulogy, and the whole Country shall echo their Praises, whilst in the mean time, God who hath been the prime Actor, is not called in for the least share in the Dividend. Si quand● enim nobis aliquid prosperi praeter spen● & meritum nostrum, Deus tribuit, alive ascribit hoc fortunae alius eventui, alive consilio, etc. nullus Deo. Salu. de Gub lib. 7. Thus is the Majesty of Heaven affrouted by vainglorious and impious Physicians, who proudly arrogate all the praise and glory to themselves. But if it please God that if their Patients die or miscarry, then to be sure God shall be said to have a hand in their destruction; saying, God denied his Blessing: It was his will to have it so, and we could not oppose it. Thus they Worship God, as the Greeks did Hercules, by Railing, and Mercury by throwing Stones at him: But let all such consider that God is a jealous God, and his Glory he will not give to another. It is he alone who at first gave all things their being, and he expects not only that they should be all owned as the Workmanship of his own hands, but also to receive Glory by them: It was he that created the Physician (Eccles. 38.1.) and that (in compassion of our Infirmities) endowed the Earth with such excellent Medicinal Things for the Preservation and Restitution of Diseased Mankind; and that we finding the Sanative Qualities and Effects of them, might thereby be drawn to the deeper admiration of his Goodness, and return him by way of acknowledgement, the easy Tribute of our most due Praises. Every Plant hath a voice in it, Quae non hominem sonat, sed Deum certè which bespeaks God and not Man the Author of it: and therefore he alone deserves the Glory. And if we shall be so impudent to appropriate that to ourselves which belongs only to him, we may justly expect to far as the Man in the Gospel, Acts 12.23. who was eaten up of Worms, for not giving the Glory to the right Proprietor.  
It is of his pleasure and goodness that we ourselves enjoy our health and beings, and of his great mercy that we can be any way Instrumental to convey the one, or preserve the other, to any person; let us not be therefore so unreasonable and ungrateful to defaulk from God what is his due, and of right pertains to him; but as his is the Work, so let him have the glory. Moreover, neither doth this only correspond with Divinity, but common Prudence; for since it is in the power of God, to bless or frustrate our proceed, to prosper or blast the operation of our Medicines (For it is he that maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole: Job. 5.18.) we cannot rationally imagine but that he will do better when he sees them turn to so bad an account: And I do not doubt but this one sin is that which renders them so often unprosperous, and ineffectual. Now that they may better succeed for the future, and that the Physician may discharge his duty in his place, I should (with submission to more pious and learned persons) offer these following Rules and Directions.  
1. Having premised that a Physician ought to live a Holy and Virtuous Life, let him in the first place when any sick person desires his assistance, cast himself on his knees, or if the suddainness or multitude of business, or want of privacy, interrupts, he may supply it by silent Ejaculation, and most humbly implore the great Phpsician to instruct his Judgement, and bless his Undertake, for whatever the Second Cause be God is the First, and therefore the Divine presence and assistance is absolutely necessary, and first to be invoked in all weighty affairs, (and what greater than those which concern the Lives of Men) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: Plin. in Paneg. Bene & sapienter majores instituerunt ut rerum agendarum initium à praecationibus caperetur: and it was a high pitch of a Heathens mind, namely Epictetus, Enchirid. Cap. 78. In quovis incaepto haec optanda sunt, duc me o Jupiter, et tu factum. Guide me O God, and thou divine providence. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pla●o in Tymaeo. If Hypocrates thought it necessary for those, who had taken any Cure in hand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to ask Advice of all, even of Idiots, and those who knew but little in that Art, much rather than ought we 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, ask Counsel of God by Prayer, and then perhaps our Prayer may do as much as our Medicine; or if both prove successless (though we are assured to the contrary, James 5.15. That the Prayer of Faith shall save the Sick) yet we have this satisfaction in our Consciences, that we have done our duties.  
2. Neither must we rest here, but must join our Studies and Endeavours to our Prayers, and after we have fully informed ourselves of our Patient's condition, and throughly examined all Circumstances, carefully and advisedly prescribe them, abstaining from trying any new Experiments or extreme Remedies, except in extreme and desperate Diseases, or where they are very consentaneous to the Rules of Physic, and highly probable to answer those designs, which a known and tried Medicine would not effect, that to they make not themselves accessary to the destruction of their Patients, and ruin of their own Reputation.  
3. That we do not peremptorily promise a Cure in uncertain and dangerous Diseases.  
It is too well known how many Physicians there are, who are so Dogmatical in their Opinions, confident of their own Abilities and Success of their Medicines, that they will not stick even in the most difficult Cases, at first sight, to warrant a perfect Cure: by which, at last when they find themselves defeated in their hopes, and their prognostics deceive them, they expose their Judgements, and many times forfeit their Repute: And it were well, if this were all, but alas the consequence is far more dangerous! for by this means the Patient is careless of putting his House in order, and (which is worse) of trimming and preparing his Soul for Death.  
The best Christians, although they live in an habitual holiness and constant preparation for their end, and like the Wise Virgins have Oil in their Lamps, in expectation when the Bridegroom will come, yet they would willingly then yet once more dress their Wedding Garments, and trim their Lamps, by Repetition of Acts of Repentance, Faith, Hope, Devotion, Patience, Charity, and Resignation of themselves too God. And who is there, who when he is ready to breathe his last, thinks so well of his Condition, that he would not pray David's Prayer? O spare me a little, that I may recover my Strength, before I go hence, and be no more seen. Or cry out with Crisorius in Gregory, juducias vel usque ad mane, iuducias vel usque ad moan. Truce, respite, Lord until the Morning. But I fear the far greater number of those we are concerned for, are such as need not only trimming, but Oil in their Lamps too; not only the Ornaments, but the Garment itself; and then certainly when there is time for it, and God may in mercy accept of a Deathbed Repentance, how much have we to answer for, either for flattering them with the hopes of Recovery, or not acquainting them with their approaching danger.  
I know the common Objection to this, is, that by encouraging the Patient, his langushing Spirits are upheld, he more readily submits to the use of means, and bears his Sickness with a greater cheerfulness; and on the contrary, by telling him the truth, his Spirits are dejected, he becomes impatient, and rejects the Prescription. To these it is easily answered, that either the Patient is a Religious good Man, or a Vicious and Wicked Man. If the former he loves not to be flattered, but will certainly have the better esteem of his Physician, for dealing so plainly with him; and because he thinks the time of his deliverance from his present Pains and Sickness, and inauguration into a State of everlasting Joy and Blessedness, so near approaches, his Spirits instead of being dejected, are exalted; and because he knows that his time is in God's hand, that neither he nor the Physician can infallibly know the time of his departure, and that God hath commanded the use of means; he is content to submit to the Rules prescribed him, and leave the success to God.  
On the contrary, If he be a Vicious and Wicked Man, it is but fit that if more gentle and mild persuasions will not prevail, that he should be fright'ned into a sense of his desperate condition, and not suffered to go like an Ox to the slaughter, to his eternal perdition, without some Monition and Advice, which for aught we know, being given prudently and in season, may with the Operation of God's Spirit concurring, work so good an effect upon him, as to draw him to a true (though late) Repentance, and then he hath pulled him out of the Fire, as a Firebrand ready to be consumed, and saved a Soul from Death; as St. James saith, Chap. 5.20. and then let any one tell me if this be not a sufficient recompense for his pains, and amongst all sober and prudent persons, salve enough for his Reputation.  
It may be farther urged that Physicians are only to take care of the Body and the Divine of the Soul: It is true, for that purpose they were consulted, and it were to be wished the Divine might never be forgotten, but acquainted early with the Diseased's Case, and earnestly in treated to visit the Patient as well as the Physician; but yet I humbly conceive that the Physician hath many better opportunities than he can have, and which is much to be lamented, he is seldom so early or so often advised with as the Physician; and though the later be not so much obliged by his Profession as the former, yet certainly even he cannot be excused in point of Charity.  
The last Caution or Advice, is, That if it shall please God to make us successful in our Endeavours, we do not ascribe the praise of it (as is too common) unto ourselves, but unto God; to whom alone it is due.  
I have in the former part of this Section showed the reasonableness of it, and therefore all I shall add by way of Conclusion, shall be this; That this is the readiest way to find success in our Undertake: By this shall we be more famous than our Neighbours round about ●s. This will most advantage both Pa●ient and Physician, and cause God to continue such his Mercies toward us. Whilst on the contrary, by arrogating the ●ole praise to ourselves, we rob God of ●he honour due unto him, and ourselves of the reward of our good Action: Therefore let us all unanimously from our heart's ●ay, Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed ●omini too sit gloria: Not unto us, not ●nto us, but unto God be the praise, both ●ow and for evermore. Amen.   

The Physician's Prayer.  
O Thou great Creator both of Heaven and Earth, and of all things contained therein: Thou art the Fountain of all Goodness, Mercy and Benediction, who by my Education and other Effects of thy Providence, hath called me to this Profession of Physic; that by my industry therein, I may in my small proportion be instrumental for the bringing of some good and benefit both to myself and others; I humbly beg thy grace to guide me in my intention, and in the transaction of my Affairs; that I may be diligent, studious and faithful; and grant me thy Favour, that these my Endeavours may be accepted as a part of my necessary Duty; and grant me thy Blessing to assist and prosper me in all my Studies and Undertake: And seeing, O Lord, I am a Man, not God, to heal, be thou graciously pleased to let thy Wisdom go before me to direct my Judgement for thy good of thy Servant, who desires my Assistance: Let thy blessing accompany what I shall direct, giving unto all things a due and kindly Operation, that so a prosperous and happy success come after it: And I pray thee, O Lord, give me and all my Patients (who by thy blessing have received benefit by my hands) hearts truly thankful unto thee for thy Mercies, and Grace to ascribe (as is most due) all the Praise, Honour, and Glory, unto thy holy Name. And grant me, O Lord, a quiet and cheerful Submission unto thy alwise Providence, when ever it shall please thee to deny me the Blessing of Success: Let thy holy Spirit be ever present with me, to direct me in all my Undertake, that I may manage my Affairs, with Prudence, Honesty and most Christian Sincerity, that so my Profession may be sanctified by my Religion, and all my Actions by thy Blessing, that when I have done that portion of Work thou hast allotted ●ne, and improved that Talon thou hast entrusted unto me, and served the Commonwealth in my Capacity, I may receive the mighty price of my high Calling, which I most earnestly beg may be in the portion and inheritance of my ever blessed Saviour and Redeemer Jesus. Amen.  
Those who by reason of the multitude of Patients, may not find leisure for the using of the aforesaid, or any other set Form of Prayer at the time of their Address to them, may yet do it every Morning before they leave their Closet, and only use this, or the like short Ejaculation, at the time when they are to treat with their Patient, or to direct for him.  
O Lord, the Giver of Health and all good things, let thy Wisdom, I beseech thee, instruct my Judgement in order to the Health and Recovery of thy Sick Servant, who now next to thee commits him (or her) self to my care, and succeed my Directions with thy Benediction, for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.  
When you enter into the Sick Persons Chamber Ejaculate thus.  
Peace (O Lord) and Health be unto this Sick Person, through Jesus Christ.  
Raise him (or her) up again (O Lord that we may reward thee with Praises and Thanksgivings. Amen.  
Finis Partis Prioris.   

The Christian PHYSICIAN.  
The Second PART.  
By H. A. M. D.  
Non magna loquimur, sed vivimus.  
Quanto plus, & melius scis: tanto gravius inde judicaberis, nisi sanctius vixeris.  Gerson. De Imitatione Christi. 
LONDON, Printed by T. James for William Leach at the Crown in Cornhill. 1683.   

TO THE Right Honourable the Lady LAETITIA ISABEL Countess of RADNOR.  
MADAM,  
THis following small Treatise comes to beg your Honour's shelter and acceptance, which if it be ever safe, I am very certain it must be with your Ladyship, who (without flattery) are so generally known to be the Patroness and Protectrix of all that is Pious and Virtuous, that I can never in the least doubt of it till even Virtue itself comes to want a Patronage. I dare not, nay indeed I cannot tell the World how much you deserve that Title, it being a Task too difficult far for my undertake (for who can paint the Heavens) besides I am so well acquainted with your Ladyships Temper, that I know your Noble Mind loves the substance only, not the outward show; and delights more in being Virtuous, than in appearing or being known to be so, which makes me decline those praises which really and deservedly your Virtues call for.— I cannot in the least think that your Honour stands in need of any of those following Helps and Directions, your whole life being indeed nothing else but a Map or Transcript of Piety, and had I consulted your Ladyship, I know they would have been much more complete; however (at least I hope) it may contribute some assistance to them who have not better advice. And being to make this public, I know no person that I have so many Obligations to dedicate it to as your Ladyship; and having nothing better to present by way of an ackonwledgment, I hope your Ladyship will not refuse to accept this (though of a small value) from  
From Newcastle upon Tine, Nou. 2d. 1682. Your Honour's most Faithful and most Obedient Servant Henry Atherton.   

THE PREFACE.  
HAving in the former Treatise (I hope) satisfied all rational persons concerning the Existence of a Deity, it will (I judge) naturally follow, that this Deity is to be Worshipped; I say Naturally, because I never read of any of the Heathens who acknowledged gods, but they paid them homage and adoration: Qualescunque sunt (saith Cicero in his Book De Natura deorum, after he had reckoned up the variety of gods) hos does & venerari, & colere debemus. Whatsoever they are (if we own them gods) we ought to honour and worship them. Nay He, though a Heathen, goes farther, Cultus autem deorum est optimus, idemque castissimus atque sanctissimus, plenissmusque pietatis, ut eos semper pura, integra, incorrupta & ment, & voce veneremur. For indeed the worship of the gods is best of all, most pure, most holy, and most full of Piety: and he advises, that when we worship them, it should be always with a sincere honest Heart, and undefiled Tongue.  
There are many ways by which God may be worshipped, but that which I only intent to mention here, is by Prayer and Invocation, which I shall not curiously dissect neither into its various parts; but only tell you, that this being a part of God's Worship, those that own his Existence, and their dependence upon him, are indispensably obliged to pay him that so easy Tribute and Adoration.  
Prayer is the great duty, and greatest privilege of a Christian: By it we have intercourse with Heaven, and bear a part with Angels, and beautified Spirits. It is the Medium by which we discover all our wants and necessities unto God: the Key to unlock Heaven, and draw down all Blessings spiritual and temporal upon us. Is any Man Afflicted? let him Pray. Doth any Man lack Wisdom? 
James 1.5.  Let him ask of God, who giveth to all Men liberally, and it shall be given him. Therefore seeing it is so much our interest as well as our privilege and duty, let us not be wanting to ourselves in it.  
You will find in the following Sheets, a small Manual of Directions and Devotions, which (as by the homeliness of the dress, you may easily see) were composed only for my own private use and addresses, and never intended that they should as much as peep out of my Closet door. And now I shall not tell you (as many do) that they were pressed out, or extorted from me by importunity of Friends, or the like; but indeed (after a little pause and consideration with myself) they came out voluntarily; hoping at least they may have some good influence on some or other, either for Direction, or Encouragement to a Holy Life; and if not, they will only remain useless to others, as they did before in my Closet; and yet however I shall have this satisfaction in my own Conscience, that I intended them well, and I hope the purity of the Intention, will some way sanctify the Action, and procure Acceptance if not with Men, yet with God.  
I am very sensible of the most excellent and unparallelled composure of the Liturgy of our Church, for all public and most private concerns; and how the deficiency of this as to particular wants (if any such be) is supplied by the incomparable Authors of the Whole Duty of Man, Practise of Piety, Method of Private Devotions, Devout Christian, by Bishop Taylor, and many other worthy and pious Persons, whose Shoes I am not worthy to bear (out of some of which you will find several Collections in the following pages.) But yet give me leave to east in my Mite too, and take in good part my weak endeavours also, which probably in some things may be more particular than what you meet in them: Neither dare I (being a Laic) prescribe them as Forms for others, but only acquaint my Reader that they are such as I use myself, and may perhaps be beneficial to him upon the like occasions. These I know are very defective too, and as he grows more prolific in Grace, so he will be able to supply my defects by a new Additament of his own: And if these may give any such encouragement, or have any good effect upon any one, I have my aim, and shall think myself well recompensed for my Studies Hic Rhodus, Hic saitus.  
I know this little Tract will fall into the hands of many a Momus, who will either carp at, or deride it. The Learned will perhaps think it impertinent or at least not dainty enough for their curious Paluts; and the loser vulgar taunt and scoff at it: This is the best usage I can expect it shall meet withal in this profligate Age, but however I doubt not but amongst sober and pious Christians it will find better entertainment, which will make me  the Censures of the one, and the revile of the other; it being my design to gratify, ●ot the most but the best.   


Directions how to spend every day in the Fear of God.  
EVery Morning as soon as thou awakest out of Sleep, endeavour to get thy Soul Affected with the Majesty and Mercy of God: Consider his Power that he was able to raise thee again, and his Goodness, that he would not suffer thee to sleep in death: his Mercy, that he hath carefully defended thee (and thine) from the many sad Casualties and Accidents which might have justly fallen either upon thee or them, by reason of your Sins; and then lift up thy Soul to God in these or the like short Prayers or Ejaculations.  
O Almighty God, who hast in thy Mercy awakened my Body out of Sleep, so I beseech thee by thy grace, awaken my Soul from the sleep of Sin, and grant I may so walk before thee this day, and all the days of my life hereafter, that when the last Trumpet shall awaken my Body out of the Grave, I may rise to the Life Immortal through Jesus Christ.  
My Voice shalt thou hear in the Morning, O Lord, in the Morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee, and will look up.  
I will sing of thy Power, yea I will sing aloud of thy Mercy in the Morning, for thou hast been my Defence and my Refuge, in the time of my Trouble.  
My Soul desires to wait for thee, O Lord, more than they that wait for the Morning: O God therefore be thou merciful unto me, and bless me, and cause thy Face to shine upon me. O fill me with thy Mercy this Morning; so shall I rejoice and be glad, even all the days of my life. So teach me to number my days that I may apply my Heart unto Wisdom, when I awake up I am ever with thee.  
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now, etc.  
Then have an especial care that no vain, filthy, or impure thoughts, have any entertainment within thy Breast; but if any such endeavour to crowd themselves in, presently discard them with detestation and abhorrency; emembring that the First Fruits belong to God, and he ought to have the rhyme of all thy Thoughts; then cast thyself out of Bed, and whiles thou art dressing thyself, desire God to  thee with the Righteousness of his Son Christ Jesus, and use the following Ejaculations.  
O Lord grant that I may put on the whole Armour of God, that I may be able to stand against all the Fiery Darts of the Devil.  
Above all things, O Lord, give me the Shield of Faith, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Sword of the Spirit, the Girdle of Verity, the Helmet of Salvation; and let my Feet be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace.  
O grant that I may put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no Provision for the Flesh, to fulfil it in the Lusts thereof.  
Before thou art throughly dressed, kneel down by the Bedside, and say,  
In the Name of the Father, and of the the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, prevent me O Lord in all my do with thy most gracious Favour, and further me with thy continual Help, that in all my works begun, continued, and ended in thee, I may glorify thy holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain everlasting Life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  
Our Father which art in Heaven, etc.  
On Combing your Head or Plaiting the Hair, you may use such Ejaculaions as these.  
Grant O Lord, my Ornament may not be that of the Hair, but that of a lowly, meek, quiet and humble Spirit. Let it not be that of the outer, but of the inner and hidden Man of the Heart.  
Make me a clean Heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me.  
While you are Washing, you may Ejaculate thus:  
O Lord wash me throughly from mine Iniquities, and cleanse me from my Sin.  
O cleanse me from all Filthiness, both of Flesh and Spirit. Not only my Hands and my Face (O Lord) but my Heart also.  
Purge me with Hyssop, and so shall I be clean, O Lord wash me, and I shall be whiter than Snow.  
I am unclean, I am unclean, but O Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean; O touch me, and say, I will be thou clean.  
Being now completely dressed, withdraw to thy Closet or place of Retirement, and there lift up thy Soul to God in this, or the like manner.  
O Lord I beseech thee, let thy holy Spirit direct me how I may spend this day most of all to thy Glory, and my own and others benefit. And then ponder a while on the business of the day, and consider what sins either thy natural Temper, Business, or Company, may most subject thee to; to what dangers thou art most liable, and what opportunities thou art like to have either of doing God Service or thy Neighbour good: Against the former implore God's Aid and Assistance, in a particular Petition (which you may find a convenient place to insert in your Morning Devotions) and also Arm yourself beforehand with Resolutions and the best Means you can to prevent them; that so you may avoid the occasions of Sin. And for the latter, resolve to embrace all opportunities for the discharge of your Duty; and then use this Ejaculation:  
Thus, thus (O Lord) I purpose by thy Grace to spend this day; O be thou pleased to be present with me by the preventing and assisting of thy Grace and Holy Spirit, that so I may perform what I intent, to the Glory of thy Name, the discharge of my Duty, the benefit of others, the comfort of my own Soul here, and everlasting happiness hereafter in and through Jesus Christ.  
Let thy Grace be sufficient for me.  
Consider also seriously what Sins have passed from thee since thy Evening Devotions.  
Being thus prepared, take Gods Holy Book into thy hands, yet not without Reverence, and to put a distinction between this and other Books, it will be commendable if thou uncover thy head in the reading of it, or stand up (even the Hearhens pay it Reverence, the Jews hear the Law with Adoration, and the Turks kiss the Alcoran) thou mayst also use one of these or the like Ejaculation, or the Collect of the second Sunday in Advent.  
Assist me, I pray thee, O Lord with thy Holy Spirit, in the reabing of thy holy Word; enlighten the Eyes of my Understanding, that I may understand the same; give me a retentive Memory and Grace to reduce the same into Practice, in my Life and Conversation, through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour. Amen.  
Open thou mine Eyes, O Lord, that I may see the wondrous things of thy Law.  
Blessed art thou, O Lord, O teach me thy Statutes.  
O Lord sanctify unto me my present Reading and Meditations, for Jesus Christ his sake.  
Then read that portion of Scripture, that is either accommodated to the day, or most fitted for your own condition, and that with much seriousness, attention, and particular application of it to yourself: When you have ended, use the common Doxology, of Glory be to thee, O Lord.  
Then recollect what things observable you have met with in your reading, and spend some time in Meditation of them, and consider what use you may afterwards make of them, either to encourage to Virtue; or deter from Vice: without this Post Meditation, you will reap no more benefit by this salutary Word, than a Body by the reception of the most nutritious Aliment, which is not well digested in the Stomach: Nay, as this will be apt to turn into Crudities and Diseases to the Body, so will the other prove fatal to the Soul; and that which should have been the savour of Life unto Life, will be nothing else than the savour of Death unto Death. Meditation being ended, betake yourself decently and reverently to your knees, and with great fervency offer up your Morning Devotions uno● the Throne of Grace; which being done, follow your lawful Studies or Employments, still having an awful sense of God's Omnipresence. But if you be a Master of a Family, then call your Family together, and let they as well as you, serve the Lord. Read a Chapter unto them, and Pray again with them, before you dismiss them to their business: And if you live in a place where Public Prayers are Celebrated, and your manner of Life be such, that you can without considerable inconveniences dispense with it; think yourself not excused from the Prayers of the Church in the Congregation. At Noon, when you see the Table spread, you may meditate concerning Gods Mercy and Bounty towards thee and all mankind, and use those (or the like) Ejaculations hereafter, prescribed for that purpose; and then receive the good Creatures of God with an hearty desire of his Blessing, Moderation and Thankfulness; remembering that every Creature of God is good, and not to be refused, if it be received with Thanksgiving; and that it is sanctified by the Word of God, and by Prayer. [At any other time, besides at Set Meals, venture not to eat or drink without craving a Blessing and returning Praise, at least by Ejaculation.] After a little Diversion return to thy Closet, read a Psalm or two, meditate and follow David's Example, by offering up a Meridian Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving in the following, or like Method. Then betake thyself again ●o thy Employments or Studies, and be diligent in them.  
At Four in the Afternoon, if thy occasions permit (as there are but very few who can not spare so much time, if the ●eart be inclined; for thou mayst do this ●n the midst of thy business, and make ●hy Closet in the very Street) use some ●f the following Ejaculations, either as ●hy Devotion or particular necessities prompt thee to.  
If there be again any Public Prayers, if thou be not a Man of Employment and Business, omit them not. Use the same Meditations again at Supper, as before at Dinner; and after Supper, if the time of the Year or Season permits, walk into the Fields, and there contemplate and admire the wonderful Works of God, the strange Effects of his Wisdom, exhibited to us in the variety of Plants, their decorous Order, exact Symmetry of Parts, and the like. Praesentem narrat quaelibet herba Deum. Let thy Soul say, O how marvellous are thy Works, O Lord, in Wisdom hast thou made them all: The Earth is full of thy Riches: Who can express the noble Acts of the Lord? Or show forth all his praise, & c?  
And if you use any Recreation, have an especial care, first, that it be not unlawful, or with evil Company, next that it be not immoderate, and take up too much time; but that it may be such, as may either tend to the health of thy Body, or refreshment of thy Mind; that so thou may'st be the better disposed either for the Service of God, thy Neighbour, or thyself: And because we are too apt to be led by Sense, and to forget God in our Mirth, thou may'st often lift up thy Soul to God, to set a Watch before thy Mouth, and to keep the door ●f thy Lips; and take care that no lying, vainglorious Jesting, frothy or idle Discourse proceed from thence; consisering that thou must give an account ●f every idle word as well as sinful action: Keep always a Religious sense of God in thy Soul, and let no sensual pleasure or delight slain thy innocency.  
When the time for Rest draws nigh, retire to thy Closet, cast off as much as ●hou canst all worldly thoughts, and use ●hese or the like Ejaculations.  
Let the words of my Mouth, and the Meditations of my Heart be now and always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.  
O Lord I beseech thee, bring into my remembrance the Sins of the day past, whether of Omission or Commission, whether of Thoughts, Words, or Action's, that so I may humbly confess them ●efore thee, and find favour at thy Hands ●r the pardon of them in and through fesus Christ: And also I humbly pray ●hee, the mercies of the Day past, whether Spiritual, or Temporal, that so I ●ay in some measure offer unto thy Divine Majesty that praise which is due unto thy Great and Glorious Name for them. Then reflect and consider how you have spent the Day, in what Company you have been, how you have discharged your Duty in your Place, Relation, or Calling; and how you have in all things behaved yourself: And if any Sin beyond the common frailties of Nature hath passed from thee, keep a Diary of it, that thou mayest repent it over again, on thy Fast Days, or before the Sacrament.  
And that you may not think this Task and Discipline too severe (to speak nothing of the common practice of pious Christians) even Heathen Philosophers took this Course, Pythagras, Seneca, and Plutarch; yea the poor barbarous Indians, as Apuleius reports, used to call themselves to a daily account of the good and evil of the day: and how much greater obligation lies upon us Christians (besides the serenity and tranquillity of mind every Man feels by such short reckon with God Almighty) I leave to every Man piously inclined to consider: And that thou mayest do this the better, after a general survey of thy Company, Actions, and the like; in particular examine if thy thoughts have not been vain, peevish, uncharitable, or unchaste? Whether they have been so holy or at least so innocent as they ought to have been, & c? If thy words have not been vain and empty, rash and inconsiderate? Whether no foolish speaking, or jesting, lying, or frothy and corrupt Communication, hath proceeded out of ●hy Mouth? Whether thou hast not slandered or back-bitten thy Neighbour? Whether thy words have been mixed with that Grace, Discretion, tending ●o Reprehension and Edification, as they ought to have been?  
Whether thy Actions have not been unweighed and inconsiderate? Whether ●hou hast had purity of intention in ●hem? Whether thou hast been so temperate, so chaste, so careful of spending thy Time and Estate, as thou oughtest to have been? Whether thou hast discharged thy Duty in thy Calling, as ●hou shouldest, or whether thou hast omitted any Duty, which thou oughtest 〈◊〉 have performed, and hast had oppor●nity for? Where thou hast been faul●, confess it humbly to God, and annex this short Ejaculation, Lord be mer●ful to me a Sinner: And venture no more to sleep in thy sins unreconciled to God, than thou wouldst to die so; for, for aught thou knowst, thou mayst now sleep in Death, and never see the dawn of another day.  
Then seriously and thankfully consider also the Mercies of the day past, both spiritual and temporal, which may be commonly such as these; delivering thee from those many sad casualties and accidents, which might justly have fallen upon thee, by reason of thy Sins; refreshing thee plentifully with his good Creatures: blessing thee in thy Studies, Labours and Undertake; giving thee leave to lift up thy Soul to him by some (though weak and imperfect) Prayers and Praises; and also preserving thee (if it hath so happened) from any presumptuous sin, into which thou wouldst certainly have fallen, had not Gods restraining Grace prevented thee, etc. Then say, Not unto me, not unto me, but unto thy Name be the praise: Blessed be the Lord God, which daily loadeth me with his benefits, even the God of my Salvation, and blessed be the Name ●f his Majesty for ever.  
Then read a Chapter in the New Testament, meditate on it, and the● immediately before you Address your ielf to God by Prayer, to help your Devotion, consider that God is a most Holy God, that he will be sanctified of all them who draw near unto him; that nothing but what comes from the ground of the Heart is accepted by him, and that only the Fervent Prayer is effectual and prevails with him: how great need you have of those things you ask, and that for ought you know, this may be the last time you may have an opportunity of putting up any Petition unto him. Then draw near unto God in Faith, and in Humility, in a sense of his great Majesty and thy own Wretchedness and Misery. In the entrance to thy Prayer, earnestly desire the Assistance of God's Holy Spirit, and have a care to keep out all vain and wand'ring thoughts. In the close of thy Prayer, remember to give God thanks for that gracious opportunity vouchsafed thee, for that strength of Body and Assistance of his Holy Spirit, which he hath been pleased to afford thee in the performance of thy Duty; and desire him for the continuation of the same Mercies, to pardon the Frailties and Imperfections of thy Holy Duties, and to do more abundantly for thee, than thou art able to ask or think, etc.  
This being done, prepare thyself for thy Bed, unless thou art Major Domo, Master of a Family, and then call thy Family together, read unto them, or cause them to read a Chapter or two, and afterwards Pray with them; and be not unmindful to adapt thy Prayers as near as thou canst to their (as well as thy own) particular wants and necessities, which by having an eye over them, thou mayst without any great difficulty, observe and know.  
As thou art putting off thy , Meditate that it will not be long before thou put off thy Body also: Beg of God therefore (by Ejaculation) that when this Earthly Tabernacle of thy Body shall be dissolved, thou mayst have a building with God, not made with hands, but Eternal in the Heavens; and that when thy Body shall lie down in its Bed of Darkness, thy Soul may pass into the Regions of Light, and dwell with God for ever more, through Jesus Christ. Amen  
After thou art in Bed, use these or the like short Prayers or Ejaculations.  
I will remember thee in my Bed, I will think upon thee in the Night Season.  
At Midnight will I give thanks to ●hee, because of thy Righteous Judgements.  
O Lord deliver me from the place, works, and spirits of Darkness: O Let ●e not walk in the Night of Sin, lest I ●umble and fall: In the midst of Darkness, and the shadow of Death, O Lord ●e thou my Light.  
Give thy Holy Angels charge over ●e, to keep me in all thy ways, and be ●hou, O blessed Saviour unto me, both 〈◊〉 life and death advantage.  
I will lay me down in Peace, and ●ake my rest, for thou Lord only makest ●e dwell in safety.  
Consider and bear me, O Lord my ●od; Lighten mine Eyes, that I sleep ●ot in Death.  
Into thy hands I commend my Spirit, ●oul, and Body; for thou hast redeemed ●●em, O Lord, thou God of Truth.  
Glory be to the Father, and to the ●on, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was 〈◊〉 the beginning, is now and ever sha● 〈◊〉, etc.  
If any time remains before sleep seizeth on thee, you cannot do better than to spend it in Meditation of some portion of that Scripture, which you before read.  
If you awake in the Night, fill up the Chasms and Intervals, with short Prayers, Ejaculations, or Meditations, upon the four last things, Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell. So shalt thou sleep and awake with God, 
Prov. 3.24.  yea thy sleep shall be sweet, and no dangers of the Night, or Spirits of Darkness shall terrify thee: So shalt thou be in a continual epectation of the coming of thy dearest Lord, that if he call for thee at Morning; or at Evening, at Midnight, or at Midday; at the third or fourth Watch, thou wilt be found prepared for his coming; thou wilt lay thy head down in the dus● with joy, rest in hope, and at length rise to a glorious Immortality, which will make an ample Compensation for these thy pains and services.   

Of a Private Fast, and Directions for it.  
FAsting in its Definition, I take to be nothing else but an abstaining from our lawful Food, upon a Religious account; which although it be not where in Scripture enjoined simply for its own sake, yet if we consider the many advantages of it, in order to the benefit of our Souls, we shall not think the Commands of the Church and the Practice of the Primitive Christians too severe and inimitable.  
The Jews fasted twice every Week, sc. Tuesdays and Thursdays, concerning which is the boast of the Pharisee, Luke, 18.12. and the Christians have not come behind them, and the Sabbath being for good Reasons altered, they have observed Wednesdays and Fridays for a Religious Fast; which days are taken notice of by Tertullian, and called Dies Stationarii. But alas, we that now live in this profligate and degenerate Age, are so far from following the steps of pious Antiquity, or the Commands of our Holy Mother, the Church, that if we set apart a Day for this purpose, once in (a quarter shall I say before the Sacrament, or (a year rather, we think we have sufficiently denied ourselves; and discharged our Duty! But certainly did we seriously consider, and put a due estimate upon the great Emoluments and Advantages of this Holy exercise, we should not be so remiss and negligent in it; which I shall in the next place give you a taste of.  
1. And first of all, Fasting is very instrumental to all Acts of Devotion, for seeing there is so near an affinity between the Soul and the Body, the former using the Organs of the latter for its Operations, and for the most part follows the Temperament of it, it cannot be when the Body is stuffed even to Satiety, and clogged with a Load of indigested Humours, that the Soul should be so active and vigorous as at other times, and mount with those Wings of Devotion, with that Zeal and Affection towards Heaven, as when it is freed from that Burden, which still presses it down to the Earth: And if there were no other reason to be given for it, every good Christian's own Experience will sufficiently evince the Truth of the Assertion.  
2. Fasting is very instrumental in order to our humiliation for Sins past, and subduing of Lusts for the future.  
Such is the misery of Mankind, That whilst we are driven by an indispensable necessity to Eating and Drinking, that we may support our frail Being's, we also by the same Act cherish and foment our Vices. Our Flesh is apt to be too rebellious, and we find a Law in our Members constantly warring against the Law of our Minds, and leading us Captive at will: Now fasting is the Soul's Physic, and there is no better way to tame this Monstrous Panther, than by substracting that Pabulum which nourishes and feeds it. This course Holy David took, he wept and chastened himself with Fasting, and many of God's Children imitate his Example; and no doubt when it is performed with good ends and designs, as it is an act of Austerity and holy Revenge upon ourselves, so by God's Mercy it will procure that Mortification, that we aimed at by it, and we shall find either the Temptation removed, or God impowering us from on High with Grace sufficient to withstand it.  
3. It is very profitable and instrumental for the removing or prevention of Judgements, and that either particular upon thyself, Family, or Friends, or National. Ahab though a wicked King, yet because he fasted and humbled himself before God, though positive Judgements were denounced against him, he receives a Suspension of them in his days; 1 Kings 21.27, and 29. and though David found not that effect when he fasted for the Child, 2 Sam. 12.16. because his Sin was notorious and scandalous, and God would have the punishment as public to; yet it is manifest that David expected it, and thought that the readiest way to attain it.  
The Heathen Ninevites succeeded in their Fast for the removal of a general Judgement upon the whole City, Jonah 3.5. they proclaimed a Fast, and in the tenth verse you have the good success of it, God repent of the evil that he had said he would do unto them, and he did it not.  
Lastly, Fasting is very seasonable, when we have any extraordinary thing to beg of God.  
I do not give much Credit to the many Stories amongst the Romish Credentials, and what great things have been done by Prayer and Fasting, but we have a much surer Word of Prophecy: we know what the effect of Hester's Fast was, Esther. 4.16. how she obtained her request for the deliverance of the Jews.  
We know that when Paul and Barnabas were to be ordained Apostles, there was Fasting as well as Prayer premised, Acts 13.3. Therefore if we have any Internal Mercy or Grace to desire of God, or if we have any extraordinary External Blessing to implore at his Hands, let us unto our Prayer join Fasting also.  
One Emolument more I will (by way of surplusage) subjoin, which probably with some sort of persons may be more persuasive than all the rest, and that is the advantage of it upon the Score of Health.  
In most Constitutions, when the Stomach does (as it were) keep Holy day, and is not charged with a new load, or taken up with the concocting of new Food, it hath time to digest Crude and Superflous Humours, which oppress it, and so after Concoction either manifestly evacuates, or insensibly dissipates them; so that that which could not be before digested by a full Stomach, is now effectually performed by an empty one. All the ways and passages of the body are by this means rendered open and ready for Exclusion. Fasting powerfully opens Obstructions, makes Respiration more Free and Easie, and the Mind and all the Senses more cheerful, quick and vegate. Fasting is not only the Physic of the Soul, but the Body too: Many Diseases have been by this prevented, many cured. Hence that of Fernelius: Quos igitor morbos inedi● non sustulit, Medicatione curato. So that you see if we had nothing else in Prospect but our own Health, Fasting (or rather in this sense Abstinence) seems most fit and reasonable.  
It will be impossible for me to prescribe to every one, how often they ought to fast: Every Man's piety, and his necessary occasions must instruct him in the frequency of this Duty. From those who labour, and are bound in the Sweat of their Brows to procure a Competency for themselves and their poor Family, little of this Duty is expected. However seeing they ought to separate some time before the receiving of the Holy Sacrament, for Examination of themselves, Prayer and Preparation, they cannot do better than add Fasting also. But for those who are not under such indispensible necessities, and have any tolerable leisure, their Piety certainly may well prompt them to set apart one Day every Week for Fasting, Calling themselves to an Account of their Sins, Humiliation and Prayers unto God for Pardon, Preventing or Strengthening Grace.  
It is Observed even in the outward affairs of this World, that those who keep the closest Accounts, thrive best; and though there be a Day-Book (as they call it) in which they set down the Debentures of every Day, yet once in a Week (at least) these are all summed up, and put into a better Form in the great Shop-book, that they mey be found and reviewed upon all occasions: Thus ought the Spiritual Merchant do likewise; though he examines himself every day for the Sins thereof, yet he ought to have other particular days to look them over again; that so having a few of them altogether, it may make him more humble, more penitent.  
If thou therefore art a Man of leisure, and God hath wrought in thy Heart to set apart one Day in a Week, thus to humble thyself before him, to be reconciled to, and to be at peace with him, and thy own Conscience, thou hast thy liberty to choose which Day of the Week thou wilt for this purpose: only give me leave to inform thee, That it hath been the Practice of the Primitive Christians (and that not without some reason) and it is the Command of our Church too, to set a part Friday for that purpose, as being the Day of our Blessed Saviour's Crucifixion; which was thus long observed by the Christians after his Passion. Others choose rather Saturday for that Action, which was likewise kept as a Fast by the Christians who bewailed our Saviour's absence, he now lying in the Grave. And others observe the same day, because it may serve as a preparation to the Lords Day, which may be best sanctified, when some Preparatory Religious Acts have gone before, casting off the Cares and Thoughts of the World beforehand, that they may attend upon the Lord without distraction.  
Either of these I judge convenient enough, neither do I think it necessary to bind you to either of them; Prudence and your own occasions must prescribe to you in this: However this is my Custom, I always design Friday for my Fasting day, because if by any Interposition of Friends, or Company, or accidential Business, I am then hindered from my Design, I may have the benefit of another Day; i. e. Saturday, to perform my Devotions in.  
You may also perhaps see cause to set apart a particular day (or days) in a year to humble yourself for any great or capital Sin that day committed; or to praise God for any great mercy or deliverance that day received.  
And that you may perform this Exercise the better, I shall give you some particular Rules or Directions for it.   

Rules for a Religious Fast.  
THe Evening before you fast, insert some such Petitions as these (by way of preparation) into your private Prayers.  
O blessed God, to whom all hearts are open, and all desires known, and from whom no secret is hid: I could not think a good thought, unless thou hadst first infused it into my Soul, much less can I perform any good Action that might please thee: I most humbly beseech thee, that as by thy special Grace preventing me, thou dost put into my Mind good desires and intentions; so by thy continual help, I may bring the same to good Effect: To that end, I beseech thee, cleanse the thoughts of my Heart, by the Inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, and give me such a preparation of Soul, as may qualify me for the Duties of the ensuing day; and grant that I may perfectly love thee, delight in thy service, and worthily magnify thy holy Name, through Christ Jesus our Lord.  
The Morning being come, consider what necessary business you have to do that day, and dispose as prudently of it as you can, that it may not interfere with your Holy Exercises of Religion, when you begin upon it: And if any such be, you may do well to dispatch it in the Morning. In your private Morning Devotions, be not unmindful to continue your Requests unto God, for his assistance in the Duties of the day, in these or the like Expressions, which you may find place to insert among your other Petitions.  
O Most gracious God, thou hast been pleased to discover unto me my Duty, and hast given me an hearty desire to perform the same: But, O Lord, I know without thee, I can do nothing, but through thine assisting Grace, I shall be able to offer up such a Sacrifice this day as may be well pleasing and acceptable in thy sight: Let that Grace, O Lord, be sufficient for me, to quicken my Devotions, to kindle my Zeal, and to work in me a Godly Humiliation for all my past Sins, together with steadfast Resolutions of forsaking them for the time to come: And tho, O Lord, I know thou hearest not Sinners wilfully resolved to persevere in their Sins, yet thou wilt hear those that confess and abandon them. Hear me therefore, O Lord, in the multitude of thy Mercies, even in the Truth of thy Salvation, and remove my Sins from before thy sight, that they may not hinder good things from me this day, but set them full in mine, and let them ever be before me, that I may not only confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient Heart, but also actually forsake them; that so 〈◊〉 may obtain forgiveness of the same, by thy infinite goodness and mercy, in and through Jesus Christ. Amen.  
Another to this purpose, out of the Method of Private Devotions.  
O Lord, who seest the purposes of al● Hearts, and hast been privy to the Intentions of thy Servant, touching calling himself this day to an account of his ways, and humbling himself before thee for all his Transgressions (and rendering thee praise and thanks for all thy Mercies.) Be thou in Mercy present to m● by the preventing and assisting of thy Grace, that I may with a true Hear● and contrite Spirit perform what I intent. Grant that no worldly cares o● business may so take off my mind from thee, but that I may be able forthwith to return and without distraction, to employ my whole Soul in my designe● Devotions; to the Glory of thy Name my own amendment and comfort here and everlasting Blessedness hereafter, i● and through thy Son Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.  
1. First abstain from all Food and Sustenance (unless thovart of a weak and valetudinary temper) until the Solemnity be over: If thou art, if thou eat and drink sparingly, with a design only to strengthen thyself, the better for the carrying on of thy Duty; I think thou hast not broken thy Fast: The Fast itself being not enjoined so much for its own sake; but as it is a help and furtherance to other Duties.  
2. Have a care that you do not only fast from Meat, but from Sin also; for if you abstain from the former, and not from the latter, it is a great Argument of your Hypocrisy, and that your Righteousness doth not exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, who fasted to be seen of Men; Matth. 6.16. and are promised their Reward shall go no farther than that of Men too. This is not such a Fast as God hath chosen, or will accept.  
3. Abstain likewise this day from all gratification of your Senses, from all Pleasures and Recreations: This day you have designed for condemning yourself for your sins, for humiliation of yourself for them, and mourning over them, than how inconsistent will this be with Mirth and Jollity? Altogether as great a Soloecism as Music and Dancing at a Funeral: to have silence in the Kitchen, and the noise of Mirth in the Chamber, is a thing very indecent and incongruous.  
4. Lastly, let not Intemperance be either the Preface or Conclusion to your Fast, lest the Fast be so far from taking off your old sins, that it be an occasion to draw on new guilt.  
Thus I have led you through those previous Acts towards this Duty of Fasting: we now come more closely to the Exercises of it.  
Being retired to thy Closet about Noon (thy mind being as much as possible disburdened of Worldly Thoughts) cast thyself down upon thy knees, and humbly say,  
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Prevent me, O Lord, in all my do, with thy most gracious favour, and further me with thy continwal help, that in all my Works begun, continwed, and ended in thee, I may glorify thy holy Name, and finally by thy Mercy obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.   

Our Father which art in Heaven, etc.  
And then taking Gods Holy Book into thy hands, ●ay:  
Sanctify unto me, O Lord, my present Reading and Meditations, that it may in some measure prepare me for that great Work I am now about: Take off my mind from all Vain and Earthly Things, and inspire it with a holy Zeal, that I may with spiritual desires and affections perform this spiritual Duty, and grant that nothing may find admittance into my heart, but what shall rea●ilysubmit to thy Laws and Discipline. Grant this, O Lord, for Jesus Christ ●is sake. Amen.  
After you have spent half an hour in ●he reading of that portion of Scripture, which you have thought fit to select for his purpose, or that good practical ●ook which you have made choice of, ●pend another half hour in digesting it, ●r Meditating upon it, and make particular applications of it to yourself. This proximate preparation also you will find ●ery necessary in Order to the calling ●f your Mind from Vain and Worldly thought, which without it, would be too apt to Straggle, and be Distracted, and to fix and intent them on that Exercise which you are about. This being done, you begin again with Prayer, after this manner.  
O Lord, thou High and Holy one, whose glory is above the Heavens, and hast Thousands of Angel's Ministering unto thee, and yet are pleased to humble thyself to behold the things that are done by us poor wretched Mortals here on Earth: In confidence therefore of thy mercy, I here prostrate myself before thee, begging leave of thee that I may once more worship and adore thee, and be admitted into thy Service which is perfect Freedom: It is the unfeigned desire of my soul now wholly to attend upon thee, and to devote myself entirely to thy Service. I am come into thy presence to call myself to an Account for my Sins, with Sorrow to bewail them, most earnestly to deprecate thy displeasure for them, and to renew my Vows and Obligations to thee against them for the time to come; to acknowledge my dependence on thee, to praise thee for thy Mercies, and to make an absolute surrender of myself all the days of my Life unto thy Service; But alas! O Lord! what am I? and what can I do without thee? I do not attempt this great Work, trusting in any power or strength of my own, but in the gracious assistance of thy most holy and blessed Spirit. O Gracious God, who hast promised to give thy Holy Spirit unto them that ask it, send it now down into my Soul, and let him bring into my remembrance (and convince me of) every Sin, and every Evil way: What I see not teach thou me: Search me O God and know my heart, O try me and know my thoughts, and see what way of Wickedness there is in me, and lead me in the way everlasting: Make the 〈◊〉 remembrance of my former sins bitter unto my soul; Work in me a complete repentance for them, a loathing and abhorrence of them; steadfast purposes and resolutions of forsaking them for the time to come, and of making an entire resignation of myself to thy service, that so I may obtain the pardon of them in and through Jesus Christ. O let not O Lord any of my former great and crying Sins, the breach of former vows and promises, my impenitency or obduracy, or want of suitable Affections for this holy Exercise, or any other thing, interpose between me and thee this day, to stop the current of thy mercy, or cause thee to hid thy Face from me in displeasure: But gracious God scatter all my Sins, which may be as a cloud to hinder my prayers from coming up towards thee, and thy mercies from coming down upon me, that so in the end of this my Duty, I may have an assurance of thy favour, (which is better than life and all the comforts of it) I may have peace with thee, and peace in my own Conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost: and receiving Power and Strength from thee, may run with cheerfulness the ways of thy Commandments, and serve thee by 〈◊〉 sincere, impartial, uniform obedience, all the days of my Life, through Jesu● Christ. Amen.  
Those whose Piety may enlarge their Devotions, may here also fitly use th● two Prayers of the Author of the whol● Duty of Man for Sincerity and Contrition, which because all those perhaps into whose hands this Manual may fall may not have by them, I shall anon insert towards the end of it.  
Then betake yourself to a Serious and Impartial Examination of your se●● concerning your Sins, and if you be a person who use yourself to those periodical Returns every Week, your inquisition need go no farther than the preceding Week, (unless it be before every Sacrament, when it may be necessary to renew your Repentance for the Capital Sins of your whole Life) you may begin with reflecting upon the spending every day of the week, where you were, in what Company, and what your Business, or the like; which will be apt to afford you fresh remembrances of your Sins, and then (if you please) you may first consider and examine what your thoughts have been, wherein they have been exorbitant and sinful, what the bent and inclinations of your heart have been, and how you have endeavoured to suppress the evil, and to cherish the good; and when you have found them, humbly confess them, and lift up your Soul to God in this Ejaculation: Lord be merciful to me a Sinner.  
Consider next your Words, Whether they have been Vain, Idle, Corrupt, Lying, Detracting, Uncharitable, Passionate, or the like? Whether they have been mixed with that Grave Discretion, tending to Reprehension and Edification, & c? And then after Confession annex the former Ejaculation: God be merciful, etc. Last of all Examine thyself strictly also concerning all thy Actions, thy Violations of the First and Second Table, thy Sins of Omission and Commission towards God, thy Neighbour and thyself: Examine how thou hast spent thy time, resisted Temptations, or complied with them, and what the circumstances of aggravation have been; then humbly confess them: Endeavour to Work your heart to a true Sorrow and Contrition for them: Be angry with yourself that you should be so basely led away by the corruptions of your Nature and the pleasures of Sin (which are but for a Moment) by Evil company, or the like Temptations, then lift up thy Soul in this manner:  
Thus, thus O Lord have I sinned against thee; yea I know not O Lord how often I have offended; many a times more I am sure I have, which I have either forgot, or not adverted to. O cleanse, cleanse thou me from my secret faults. Here make serious Resolutions against every Sin, and especially those thou hast by Examination found thyself guilty of. After this fall down up on thy knees (or perhaps if the Sins be great, and thy humility so too, thou may'st think it more proper to prostrate thyself on the ground) and Petition the Throne of Grace in this, or the like Form following.  
O God the Father of Heaven, have Mercy upon me a miserable Sinner.  
O God the Son, Redeemer of the World, have Mercy, etc.  
O God the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, have Mercy, etc.  
O Holy, Blessed, and Glorious Trinity, Three Persons and one God, have Mercy, etc.   

The Prayer taken out of the Whole Duty of Man, magna ex parte.  
O Most holy, holy, holy Lord God, who art of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity; how shall I who am nothing but Iniquity, dare to appear before thee? Or take so Sacred a Name into my unhallowed lips; but yet, O Lord, whom shall I invoke but thee, whom I have offended? Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done these evils in thy sight: I know that thou alone canst forgive sin, and that we might not be discouraged to come unto thee, thou hast published thyself to be the Lord gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great goodness; a God forgiving Iniquity, Transgression, and Sin; yea thou hast promised, That if we confess our Sins, thou wilt be faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness: Relying therefore on this thy gracious promise, I am now emboldened to prostrate myself before thee, in all Humility of Soul and Body, desiring to be ashamed, and to blush when I lift up mine Eyes unto thee; for my Iniquities are increased over my head, and my Trespass is grown up even unto Heaven: All the thoughts and imaginations of my heart have been Evil, and only Evil, and that continually: I have wrought many and great provocations in thy sight (especially O Lord, etc. Here enumerate thy old capital Sins) and that in the mos● provoking manner: They have not been only single, but repeated acts of sin; for, O Lord, of this black Catalogue which I have now brought forth before thee, how few are there which I have not often times committed; nay which are not become even habitual and customary unto me? And to this frequency, I have added both agreediness and obstinacy in sinning; turning into my course as the Horse rusheth into the Battle, doing evil with both hands, earnestly; yea hating to be reform, and casting thy words behind me; quenching thy Spirit within me, which testified against me, to turn me from my evil ways, and frustrating all those outward means whether of Judgement or Mercy which thou hast used to draw me to thyself. Nay, O Lord, even my Repentances may be numbered amongst my greatest Sins; they have sometimes been feigned and hppocritical, always so slight and ineffectual, that they have brought forh no Fruit in amendment of Life, but I have still returned with the Dog to his vomit, and the Sow to the mire again; and have added the breach of many resolutions and vows (both at thy Table and in private) to all my former Guilts: Yea, O Lord, I desire to confess to my own shame and confusion, that since the last time that I humbled myself in thy sight, and so solemnly vowed and purposed to forsake every Sin, and not to regard any iniquity in my heart, I have returned unto the same (if not worse) Sins than I then came to confess before thee, and to beg pardon at thy hands for: for my thoughts O Lord have been vain, etc. (Hear enumerate the sins) My Words have been inconsiderate, etc. my Actions have been unweighed, etc.  
And besides all this, O Lord, I have still the same proneness to that which is evil, averseness and obstinacy towards what is good: I have still an impenitent hard heart, which is not (sufficiently) mollified with the sense of my Sins, or thy wrath due unto me for them. O God God be merciful to me a Sinner! yea I know not how often I have offended, O cleanse, cleanse thou me from my secret faults. Thus, thus O Lord, am I become out of measure sinful, and since I have thus chosen death, I am most worthy to take part in it, even in the second death, the lake of Fire and Brimstone, which burneth for evermore. This, this, O Lord, is in Justice to be the portion of my Cup; to me belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face, and that eternally. But to thee O Lord God belongeth mercy and forgiveness, though I have ●●belled against thee. O remember not my Sins and Offences, but according to thy mercy think thou upon me O Lord for thy goodness. Thou sentest thy Son to seek and to save that which was lost, be hold, O Lord, I have gone astray like a Sheep that is lost; O seek thy servant and bring me back again to the Shepherd and Bishop of my Soul: Let thy Spirit work in me a hearty sense and detestation of all my abominations, that true contrition of heart, which thou hast promised not to despise: And then be thou pleased to look upon me in mercy, to take away all my iniquity, and to receive me graciously into thy favour, and for his sake who hath done nothing amiss, be thou reconciled to me, who have done nothing well. Wash away the guilt of all my Sins in his Blood, bury them so deep in his grave, and hid them in his Wounds, that they may never rise up in Judgement against me, either here to shame me, or hereafter to condemn me; and subdue the power of them by his grace: and grant, O Lord, that I may from this hour bid a final adieu to all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts, that I may never once more cast a look toward Sodom, or long after the Flesh Pots of Egypt, but consecrate myself entirely to thee, to serve thee in righteousness and true holiness, all the days of my life; reckoning myself to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.  
After this go on with your Devotions and pray over the One and fiftieth Psalm.  
HAve mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness, according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences.  
Wash me throughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sins.  
For I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me.  
Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done these Evils in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified in thy saying, and clear when thou art judged.  
Behold I was shapen in Wickedness and in sin hath my Mother conceived me.  
But lo, thou requirest Truth in the inward parts, and shalt make me to understand Wisdom secretly.  
Thou shalt purge we with Hyssop, and I shall be clean, thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whither than Snow.  
Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  
Turn thy face from my sins, and put out all my misdeeds.  
Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  
Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me.  
(O take away this stony, this hard heart of mine, and give me a heart of flesh.)  
O give me the comfort of thy help again, and establish me with thy free Spirit.  
Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.  
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou that art the God of my health; and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness.  
Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall show thy praise.  
For thou desirest no Sacrifice, else would I give it thee; but thou delightest not in  Offering.  
The Sacrifice of God is a troubled Spirit; a broken and contrite Heart, O God, shalt thou not despise.  
O be savourable and gracious unto Zion; build thou the Walls of Jerusalem.  
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of Righteousness, with the  Offerings and Oblations; then shall they offer Young Bullocks upon thine Altar.  
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost:  
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, World without end. Amen.  
Conclude your Penitentials with the following Collects.  
ALmighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent; create and make in me a new and contrite heart, that I worthily lamenting my sins, and acknowledging my wretchedness, may obtain of thee the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  
O Lord I beseech thee mercifully hear my prayer, and spare me who now confess my sins unto thee, that I whose conscience by sin is accused, by thy merciful pardon may be absolved (from all my offences) through Christ our Lord. Amen.  
O most Mighty God, and Merciful Father, who hast compassion upon all Men, and hatest nothing that thou hast made; who wouldst not the Death of a Sinner, but that he should rather turn from his Sin and be saved; mercifully forgive me my Trespasses, receive and comfort me, who am grieved and wearied with the Burden of my Sins.  
Thy property is always to have mercy, to thee only it appertaineth to forgive Sins: Spare me therefore good Lord, spare me whom thou hast redeemed; Enter not into Judgement with thy Servant, who am vile Earth, and a miserable Sinner; but so turn thine anger from me who meekly acknowledge my vileness, and truly repent me of my faults; and so make haste to help me in this World, that I may ever live with thee in the World to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  
This being done, you are next to review your Sins again, and consider what were the occasions which drew you into each particular Sin; and then consider and think of those ways and mean, by which you may for the future avoid them; and arm yourself beforehand with reasons and holy resolutions against their assaults, whensoever they invade: which you may do well to commit to Writing. After this consider what Graces directly oppose your Vices, that you may in the next place petition for them; for it is not enough that you are pardoned, but you must also remember, that that will not stand you in stead, If you again return to your Old Vices.  
An Examplification of this you have in one or two Sins following: As,  
January— I fasted, and upon Examination, I found myself guilty of unclean and unchaste thoughts (and that with delight and approbation) which sometimes broke forth into corrupt, frothy Discourse, and immodest or unclean Actions. Upon reflecting into the Causes of this Sin, I found them to be, Eating and Drinking too highly, keeping light or idle Company; not keeping that Guard over myself as I ought, nor behaving myself in all places with that gravity and seriousness as I should: and giving way to the first motions of vain and impure thoughts. Upon which I resolved to use myself to a spare low Diet, to avoid Drinking much Wine or Strong Liquors, to avoid light Company, and not suffer mine ears to hear, or my tongue to utter any frothy or corrupt Communication, to carry myself always with a becoming gravity, in my behaviour: to deport myself as in the immediate presence of God, remembering that he is a God of infinite Purity and Holiness. I will be watchful over my own Heart that I do not permit any unclean thoughts or fancies to enter within me, much less give them Entertainment; and as soon as they offer themselves to my fancy, I will endeavour to divert them by holy and heavenly Meditations. And last of all, I will be frequent in my prayers to God for a clean heart and purity of spirit, and for the Graces of Temperance and Chastity.  
When I fasted, likewise I found myself guilty of muth deadness and dulness in my Devotions, vain and wand'ring thoughts in them, etc. Upon Examination of myself I found the great Causes of it, to be the want of keeping myself continually in a serious frame and temper of spirit: my not spending some some time in Meditation before I came to pray; my want of frequency in my Devotions, and want of the due sense of God's great and dreadful Majesty, and my own necessities of those things I come to pray for. Upon which I resolved constantly to keep myself in an habitual frame and temper of piety, to be more frequent in Prayer; and to praemeditate of the dread and awfulness of that Majesty before whom I appear: to consider beforehand that nothing but what is hearty, and from the ground of the Soul, will be accepted by him, and how great need I have of those things I ask. I will pray often for the Spirit of Devotion, and Sincerity, and will be sure to watch over my thoughts, when I am at my Devotions; but if any such enter, I will presently repel them, and then pray with greater fervency, to cross the Devil's design therein. These meditations and resolutions being over, you may begin again thus:  
O Lord increase my weak Faith; Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief, and give me Grace to live and die according to my belief; for I believe in thee O God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.  
And in Jesus Christ thy only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried. He descended into Hell. The third day he risen again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and siteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the Forgiveness of Sins: The Resurrection of the Body, and the life everlasting. Amen. O Lord be with my Spirit.  
O Most gracious God make me careful to discharge and perform all my Vows and Resolutions which I have made unto thee both in public and in private. Make me a serious and professed enemy to every sin, and to all ungodliness, especially O Lord to all, etc. (Here meition thy most prevailing Sins and Corruptions) and let no sinful thought surprise me without a sorrowful sigh; no ungracious word pass me without a sudden retractation, and devour confession; no wicked action defile me without a sincere and godly humiliation: Unto each measure of sin, enable me to allow a due measure of sorrow: Let those sins that have been reigning over me be at set times constantly revenged by me; and as my body hath been a deep sharer in my Sins, so let it have a daily share in my Sufferings: Help me at set times to deny myself some of those outward Enjoyments, which thou O Lord in mercy hast allowed me, as a true sign of my godly sorrow for that sinful excess, which I have too oft taken without thine allowance: Let those sinful hours which have been vainly lost in idleness and emptiness be willingly redeemed in a constant observation of Religious Duties: Let no day pass me with out a solemn and devout task of Devotion, no hour without some sweet Ejaculation; and when at any time the troubles and disturbances of this frail life shall deny me happy opportunities for those heavenly performances, what is wanting in act let it be made up in desire; which thou Lord I trust with'lt graciously accept and look upon because faithfully intended: These and whatever mercies thou knowest needful and requisite, I humbly beg in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.   

A Prayer for Grace, out of the Whole Duty of Man.  
O Most Gracious God, from whom every good and perfect gift cometh, I wretched creature, that am not able of myself so much as to think a good thought, beseech thee to work in me both to will and to do according to thy good pleasure. O enlighten my mind that I may know thee, and let me not be barren or unfruitful in that Knowledge. Lord work in my heart a true faith, a purifying hope, and an unfeigned love towards thee; give me a full trust on thee, zeal for thee, reverence of all things that relate unto thee; make me fearful to offend thee in any thing, careful to please thee in all things, thankful for thy mercies, humble under thy corrections, devout in thy service, sorrowful for my sins; and grant that in all things I may behave myself so, as befits a creature to his Creator, a servant to his Lord: Enable me likewise to perform that duty I own to myself, Give me that meekness, humility, and contentedness whereby I may always possess my Soul in patience and thankfulness: Make me diligent in all my duties, watchful against all temptations, perfectly pure and temperate, and so moderate in my most lawful enjoyments, that they never become a snare to me: Make me also, O Lord, to be so affected towards my Neighbour, that I never transgress that Royal Law of thine, in loving him as myself: Grant me exactly to perform all parts of Justice, yielding to all whatsoever by any kind of right becomes their due; and give me such bowels of mercy and compassion, that I may never fail to do all acts of Charity to all Men, whether Friends or Enemies, according to thy Command and Example. Finally, I beseech thee O Lord, to sanctify me throughout, that my whole Spirit, and Soul and Body, may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory for ever. Amen.  
Here you may also pray more particularly for those graces, you have found yourself most of all to stand in need of; better forms for which I can not advise you to th●n those contained in the Book of that Excellent Author, The whole Duty of Man, where you have devout Prayers for all those particular Graces which a Christian can stand in need of.  
These Prayers being over, spend some time again in Reading and Meditation; afterwards (having before prayed for yourself) you are next in Charity bound to pray for others also, being as members of the same mystical body the Church: which you may do in this or the like Form.   

A Prayer of Intercession.  
O Most gracious Lord, who so tenderly lovedst Mankind as to give thy dear Son out of thy bosom to be a propitiation for the Sins of the whole World, grant that the effect of this redemption may be as universal as the design of it, that it may be to the Salvation of all. O Let no person by impenitence and wilful Sin forfeit his part in it, but by the power of thy Grace bring all, even the most obstinate sinners, to repentance. enlighten all that sit in Darkness, all Jews, Turks, Infidels and Heretics, take from them all blindness, hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word, and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, unto thy Fold, that they may be saved among the number of the true Israelites. And for all those upon whom the Name of thy Son is called, grant, O Lord, that their conversations may be such as becometh the Gospel of Christ, that his Name be no longer blasphemed among the Heathens through us. O blessed Lord how long shall Christendom continue the vilest part of the World, a sink of all those abominable pollutions, which even Barbarians detest? O let not our profession and our practice be always at so wide a distance. Let not the disciples of the holy and immaculate Jesus be of all others the most profane and impure. Let not the Subjects of the Prince of Peace be of all others the most contentious and bloody, but make us Christians in deed, as well as in Name, that we may walk worthy of that holy vocation wherewith we are called, and may all with one mind and one mouth glorify thee the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have mercy on this languishing Church and sinful Nation; look down from Heaven the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: Where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards us? Are they restrained? Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever; but though our backslidings are many, and we have grievously rebelled, yet according to all thy goodness, let thy anger and thy fury be turned away, and cause thy Face still to shine upon thy Sanctuary, which is in danger to be desolate, for the Lord's Sake: do thou compose our differences, heal the wounds which our unhappy schisms and divisions have made in thy Church, and make up the breaches of our Zion; and so separate between us and our sins, that they may no longer separate between us and our God. Avert those heavy judgements, which we either fear or feel, and our sins cry aloud to Heaven for, and deny us not the continuance of those mercies which we yet enjoy, and are altogether unworthy of; but whatever temporal mercies thou art pleased to deny us, whatever temporal judgements thou art pleased to bring upon us, O remove not thy Candlestiks from us, nor quench the light of our Israel; but, blessed Lord, be pleased still to continue unto us the liberty of thy House, the freedom of thy Gospel, the enjoyment of thy Sabbaths, Sacraments, and Ordinances in their primitive purity and regularity, until time shall be no more. Save and defend all Christian Kings, Princes and Governors, especially thy Servant Charles our King; and those to whom we own subjection: Plead thou their cause, O Lord, against those that strive with them, and fight thou against those that fight against them, and so guide and assist them in the discharge of that Office whereunto thou hast appointed them, that under them we may live quiet and peaceable Lives, in all godliness and honesty. Bless them that wait at thy Altar, by what Names or Titles dignified and distinguished, whether Arch Bishops, Bishops, or other inferior Clergy; Grant that they may all speak as the Oracles, and live as the Messengers of God, that so they may both save themselves and those that hear them. More especially be gracious unto thy Servants. (Here you may insert the Bishop of the Diocese, your Parochial Minister, the Authors of good Books yet living, or any that have been instrumental to your conversation;) Pour down a double portion of thy Spirit into their hearts, make them eminent Instruments for thy glory: Let them turn many from their wicked ways unto thee the living God, and hereafter let them shine as Stars of the Firmament, in thy Kingdom. O let not the Lights of the World any more be put under Bushels, but keep them in their Candlesticks, that they may give light to all that are in the House. Let not Jeroboam's Priests profane thy service, but let the seed of Aaron still minister before thee. And O thou Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, succour and relieve all that are in affliction, and deliver the outcast and poor; help them to right that suffer wrong: Let the sorrowful sighing of the Prisoners and the Captives come before thee, and according to the greatness of thy Power preserve thou those that are appointed to die. Grant easy to those that are in pain, health to those that are in Sickness. (Here mention any that you know in that Condition.) Give them patience and contentation under this thy Visitation, and a happy Issue out of all their Afflictions, when and which way it shall seem best to thy godly Wisdom; only so preserve them by thy Grace that Christ may be unto them, whether in Life or Death, advantage. Give suitable supplies to all that are in want, to all presumptuous sinners give a sense of their sins, and to all despairing, a sight of thy mercy; and do thou, O Lord, for every one above what they can ask or think; forgive my Enemies, Persecutors or Slanderers, overcome all their evil with thy infinite goodness; turn their hearts, and draw them powerfully to thyself. Pour down thy blessings on all my Friends and Benefactors, all that have commended themselves to my prayer, or that I am bound to pray for, especially, etc. (Hear specify thy nearest relations, particular Friends, and all committed to thy Charge.) O Lord infuse Grace where it is not, and where it is weak, do thou strengthen it; give them all things necessary for their Souls and Bodies, guide them here by thy counsel, and afterwards receive them to thyself in glory: And grant, O merciful Father, that through this Blood of the Cross, we may all be presented pure and unblamable, and unreprovable in thy sight; that so we may be admitted into that place of Purity, where no unclean thing can enter; there together with Saints and Angels, to sing eternal Praises, Doxologies and Alelujahs to Father, Son, and holy Ghost, for ever. Amen.  
Either before or immediately after this Intercession, make an oblation unto God of something for the Poor, or Pious Uses; and if it be the tenth of all thy Acquists, thou wilt in the end be no loser by it, but 'twill prove unto thee a piece of frugal prodigality: He that soweth bountifully, shall reap bountifully; 2 Cor. 9.6. We put our money into sure hands, it is but lent though it be given. We engage God himself, and he will pay us again; Pro. 19.17. This is the Fast that God hath chosen and delights in, Isa. 58.7. This stock that you thus lay up, is the treasure that you send before you to heaven, your Friend of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when these earthly things fail, will receive you into everlasting habitations. 'Tis called a Sacrifice wherewith God is well pleased, Heb. 13.16. and again Phil. 4.18. a Sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. St. Augustine, saith, that Jejunium sine Eleemosina, Lampas sine Oleo: Fasting without Alms is a Lamp without Oil: It may show beautiful to the Eye, but will never lead you by its light to Heaven.  
When you have separated that portion which you cheerfully design for this Charitable Use, it may not be amiss if you offer and devote it to God in this or the like manner:  
O Blessed Lord God, I know that my goodness extendeth not to thee, thou art infinitely happy in and from thyself alone, 
Lucret.  and wants nothing of ours to make any addition to thy happiness: Yea, O Lord, all that we have and enjoy, is from thy bounty and goodness, and I can retribute nothing to thee, but what must first come from thee: Yet, O Lord, seeing there are many of thy poor necessitous Servants that stand in need of our Charity, and thou hast said that whatsoever we do unto these, we do it unto thee; in consideration of my duty and thy mercies, I here offer and devote unto thee for pious and holy uses, this small portion as thou hast been pleased to bless me the week past: O let it be a Sacrifice acceptable and well pleasing in thy Sight, through● Jesus Christ. Amen.  
Put this up in the poor Man's Purse by itself.  
By this course thou wilt have always something in store by thee to give all indigent persons, as there is opportunity offered; and this great advantage thou wilt have by it also, thou wilt not give grudgingly (as the Apostle terms it 2; Cor. 9.7.) or murmur when a poor Man asks an Alms of thee, Deut. 15.10. for thou lookest upon this stock as not thy own, and thyself only as God's Purser, and the Hand to dispense it; yea thou will rejoice and give God thanks when thou hast a fit opportunity to distribute, do good, and refresh the hungry bowels of thy poor Brother.  
After this spend some time in Reading, or Meditating, or both: Then call to mind and consider your Mercies both Spiritual and Temporal, which you have in the foregoing Week received at the hands of God; and if they have been any way eminent, omit not to commit them to your Diary, where also you may place your Vows, if you have made any (the benefit which may accrue from hence I shall hereafter show you.)  
If you have no other mercies but the preservation of you from your own vile-Lusts Lusts and Affections, from Presumptuous Sins, and from Death and Damnation, for the Temporal Mercies of each particular day, and the mercies even of this day, thou hast Matter enough of thanksgiving; therefore you cannot do better than conclude your Fast with Praises and Thanksgiving.   

The Thanksgiving and Conclusion of the Work.  
O Most holy and for ever blessed Lord, God, thy Name only is excellent and thy praise above Heaven and Earth.  
Heaven is thy Throne, and that thou fillest with thy Majesty, the Earth is but thy Footstool, and yet that thou fillest with thy Goodness. O how great are thy tender Mercies to us O Lord, how large is the Sum of them! If I would declare them and speak of them, they are more than I am able to express. I may as well count the sands upon the Sea Shore, or the drops of the Ocean, as enumerate thy favours. Thou didst at first create me out of nothing, instamp thine own Image upon me, and gavest me Dominion over the Works of thy hands. Thou art he that took me out of my Mother's womb: By thee have been holden up ever since I was Born: thy Almighty hand hath constantly supported me, and thy Providence watched over me; and I still acknowledge my dependence on thee. When Mankind had departed from thee by Disobedience, and erased that Image and Innocency in which he was created, and for feited that Right to all thy Mercies which thou freely and undeservedly at first gavest him, and made himself obnoxious to thy Wrath and eternal Misery, thou hast not abhorred our Nature, but hast so loved and honoured thy sinful Creatures, as to manifest thyself in our Flesh. O! that Men would therefore praise the Lord for his Goodness, and declare the Wonders that he doth for the Children of Men. I revere and adore thee, O Most Glorious Majesty, for the Son of thy love, and for all those mercies we enjoy in and through him: I praise and magnify thy holy Name for the Mission of thy holy Spirit, to be the Seal of our Adoption, the Sanctifier of our Souls, the Earnest of the Inheritance of the Saints, and the First Fruits of Everlasting Felicity: that thou hast spared me so long, and given me so large a time for Repentance, whereas thou mightest have justly long since cut me off in my Sins, and sent me headlong into eternal Destruction.  
Had I no other Mercies but (Hear enumerate thy spiritual Mercies) I have sufficient matter for perpetual Praise and Thanksgiving: O what, what shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me? I will take the Cup of Salvation, and will call upon the Name of the Lord: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive Riches and Wisdom, and Honour, and Power, and Glory and Blessing: Wherefore Blessing and Honour, Glory and Power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever.  
Besides, O Lord, those Spiritual Mercies, I have infinite Obligations upon me to bless and praise thee for those Temporal ones I have, and do yet enjoy: Thou followest me with thy goodness day by day, and loadest me with thy benefits every moment: It is a great mercy that I live, and a greater that I enjoy not only the necessaries, but the comforts of Life. Thou hast been wonderfully gracious unto me in thy protections of me from, and deliverances out of many apparent dangers: I desire with all thankfulness to remember (here mention thy deliverances) many more I have forgotten, or which I have suffered to pass unregarded through inadvertency; for all which my Soul doth magnify the Lord, and all that is within me praiseth his holy Name: Praise thou the Lord O my Soul.  
Blessed be thy holy Name, in particular for the fresh Testimonies of thy mercies this day, for that thou hast put it into my heart, and given me an opportunity now to humble myself before thee by Prayer and Fasting, to call myself to an account of my Sins, to make steadfast Resolutions against them, to beg thy preventing Grace, to render thee thanks for thy Mercies, and to endeavour a reconciliation with thee, and for any assurance of thy love and favour, which thou hast given in unto my Soul. Praise the Lord, O my Soul, and forget not all or any of his benefits. And now I beseech thee, O blessed God, to accept of my Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving, of my Fasting and Humiliation, Alms and Oblation, and do thou smell a sweet savour from them: Let it be a Sacrifice well pleasing and acceptable in thy sight, though not for any worth in itself, yet in and for the Merits of Jesus Christ.  
I confess, O Lord, shouldst thou be extreme to mark the Iniquities of my holy things, my Prayers have need to be prayed for, my Repentance to be repent of, and my Humiliations and Fast to be humbled and fasted for: But, O Lord, consider I pray thee that I am flesh and blood, yea dust and ashes, and so pity and pardon all my Infirmities, and deal with me not according to the weakness of my performances, but according to the riches of thy mercy in and through Jesus Christ: Seal unto my Soul the pardon of all those sins that I have this day confessed before thee, and begged pardon at thy hands for (especially, etc.) and not only those but all others, known or secret, of what Nature or what kind soever: Grant unto me all those Graces I have this day desired, or thou seest me to stand in need of (especially, etc.) give me Grace to resist all Sin for the time to come, not to regard any Iniquity in my heart, but to abstain from the very appearance of Evil, to have respect unto all thy Commandments, and to serve thee by a constant, sincere, uniform, and impartial Obedience, all the days of my Life.  
O mind me continually of all my Vows and Obligations, and I pray thee let me receive such strength from thee, as may enable me readily to perform the same: Of myself I am a frail weak Creature, obnoxious to the arrests and victory of all temptations, O do thou perfect thy strength in my weakness, and let thy Grace be sufficient for me. O deliver me (Blessed God) from my own self, and save me or I perish everlastingly, that so when I appear again before thee in this manner, I may find I have gotten Strength over my Corruptions, and that I can now run the way of thy Commandments, because thou hast set my Feet at liberty.  
And now, O Lord, seeing thou hast been pleased to promise that thou wilt give thy holy Spirit to them that ask it, I most humbly and ardently beseech thee to send down this holy Spirit into my heart, and let him take possession there, and rule, and reign, and govern therein for ever. And let this Spirit of thine also, if thou see it fit (in the close of this Exercise) assure my Soul of my pardon and reconciliation with thee, and let me have any, even the least taste of those joys, those ravishments of thy Love wherewith some of thy Saints have been so transported, that I may never be weary of well-doing, nor faint in my mind, but may run the way of thy Commandments with cheerfulness and alacrity, and may very feelingly, and in the sincerity of my heart confess, that thy ways are ways of pleasantness, and all thy paths are Peace.  
Hear me O Lord for myself: Hear me for others: Hear others for me, and hear the Intercessions of thy dear Son Jesus Christ for us all. In whose prevailing Name and holy Words I conclude my imperfect Prayers and Services, saying, Our Father which art in Heaven, etc.  
Thy grace, O Lord Jesus Christ, thy love, O heavenly Father, thy sweet and comfortable Fellowship, O holy, blessed, and glorious Spirit of Grace, be with me and remain with me always. Amen.  
This being over, leave thy Closet, and carry thyself with a Cheerful gravity towards thy own Family or others; that thou appear not unto M●n to fast: Mat. 6.18. then receive the good Creatures of God with moderation and thankfulness, and conclude the day as you do other Days.  
You having been for some time constant in this Duty, your Soul will still call for it, as your hungry Stomach will for food; and you will delight in the returns of it. Some time the Week after it may be very profitable if you review your Catalogue of old Sins, and your holy resolutions against them, that you may be still humbled for the one, and be put in mind to perform the other. And because I have here mentioned the Catalogue of Sins, I shall in the next place show you the reasons and benefits of keeping such a Catalogue or Narative by you, and afterwards direct you to the manner of doing it, by giving you ●n Exemplification thereof in some Sins.   

Reasons why we ought to keep such a Narrative, or Catalogue of our Sins, and the benefits of it.  
1. FIrst the committing of our Sins to such a Diary, or Catalogue, ●eeps them in perpetual Memory, and makes them (in David's phrase, Psal. ●1. 3) to be ever before us, so that we may Novas agere penitentias, renew our repentance for them, which probably was ●ot so complete at first as it ought to have been, besides we should think such Sins never sufficiently bewailed and repent of, and possibly too our memory may be too willingly treacherous, we may forget them, or at least the aggravating Circumstances of them: we desire God indeed not to remember them, but then we ourselves must and aught.  
2. The committing of our Sins to such an Accomptal, makes us presently to remember when God sends any Judgement upon us, for what particular Sin it is.  
Punishment is the natural effect and consequence of Sin: God many a times spares when we deserve punishment, but he never punishes us without our demerits; yea God many times doth so adapt the punishment to the sin, that we may very intelligibly read the one in the other; and then we shall have this benesit, that understanding the Cause, we may hasten to the Cure, confess and bewail the same, kiss his Rod, acknowledge the Justice of his proceed, and say, Righteous art thou, O Lord, and just are thy Judgements: This affliction is but the genuine product of my Sin, I may thank myself for it, and therefore I will bear the Indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him; the Cup is bitter, but salutary. God chastens me here, that he may satisfy his Justice, and spare me hereafter: And so the Sin repent of, the removal of the Judgement soon follows, seeing it hath answered that end for which it was sent.  
3. The keeping our sins in memory hath this great benefit in it, to teach us how to arm ourselves against the same sins for the time to come. If we have been once foiled by an Adversary, it is ten to one but (if we have adverted to it) we may easily remember what it was that gave him the advantage over us, and so like Alfrid strongly prepare against the next Assault: Si modo victus erat ad crastina bella parabat. It will be no difficult matter, having an account of your sin, and the circumstances of it, to recollect also what inducements and temptations prevailed against you; at what avenue the sin entered, and so thou mayst immediately guard and fortify thyself, that thou do not twice fall by the same Stratagem.  
4. It is profitable that you may see what strength you have got over them, and know how to keep your ground against them. Though an Enemy be several times repulsed, yet if he be still potent, subtle and malicious, he will not cease to assassinate. King Alfrid sat as unquiet, when he was Conqueror as when he was conquered.  Si modo victor erat ad cras●ina bella pavebat. 
We have entered the lists against a strong and malicious Combatant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Enemy of Mankind by way of Eminency, and he is constantly upon his Guard, going his Round, and seeking whom he may devour; and so subtle, that like Hannibal he will lay an Ambush even in the smoothest Field: let us not therefore ●emit our watchfulness or diminish our force, lest he again enter, and our last Estate be worse than the first.  
5. A fifth Reason is, That we may frustrate the Devils great Design and Endeavour, which is either to make them appear small in our Eyes when they are indeed very great, or else to hid them altogether from us until the Judgement of the great Day.  
No sin is indeed positively small, being committed against a God of infinite purity and holiness, but comparatively so, with relation to other sins; but yet the Devil is such an Impostor, that he would needs persuade us, that even great sins are no sins at all, or very small ones, peccadilloes; and tells us as Lot of Zoar, Is it not a little one? 'Tis but a small inconsiderable Lust, a humane Frailty, this will not ruin thy Soul, many thousands are guilty of far greater than this. Thus he will endeavour to hoodwink thee for the present, but then at the hour of Death, or day of Judgement, he will take off this Veil, and open thine Eyes, when to thine astonishing amazement, thou wilt find how miserably, how irremediably thou hast been deceived.  
The constant sight of thy sins will be apt to raise thy thankfulness to God, for being delivered from the power of them. Sin is the greatest Evil, and if we once come to be sensible of it, we shall not only fly from it, but have our hearts enlarged with the greatest thankfulness to God for our delivery from the power and dominion of it.  
Lastly, The keeping of such a Catalogue, is very profitable, that by reflex thoughts on our sins, we may be kept in the greater humility and low opinion of ourselves. We have generally in our Natures an inbred Principle of Pride, which puffs us up with a vain conceit of ourselves, and more especially in respect of Grace, with which being but slenderly imbued, we are presently opinionated of ourselves, undervalue others, and think that we have arrived to the very 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and height of Grace in a moment; not unlike your young Sophisters, who having suddenly sucked in some of the Elements of Logic and Philosophy, think as well or better of themselves than the Doctors of the Chair. Now the serious remembrance of our former Obliquities and Follies, will be apt to chastise this Vanity, and correct our Pride.  
It is storied of the Peacock, that though his Train be never so much expanded, and his Crest elevated, yet one glance of his Eye upon his black Feet, will presently depress his Crest, shrink and contract his Plume. In the highest● thoughts of ourselves, the consideration of our great enormous sins (if we be any way pious or ingenious) will humble us, and make us confess, That in us dwelleth nothing that is good.  
He that covereth his sin shall not prosper; but he that confesseth his sin shall find mercy.   

The manner of keeping your Narrative, and an Exemplification of it in some Sins.  
SUffer no sin to pass by you unregarded, and make every day a particular reflection upon the actions of the day (as before directed) that you may discover what sins you have been guilty of, and what most inclined to: And if there be any sin (upon Examination) found besides the common Frailties of humane Nature, in which your Conscience must not be partial, commit it to your Diary, and when you sum up all on your Fast-day, you may have a particular Paper Book for that purpose, and proceed after this method:  
Jan.— I fasted, and found myself guilty of unclean and unchaste thoughts, and with delight and approbation of my will: Of some frothy and corrupt Communication, and of a propensity to unclean Actions. Upon Examination of myself I find, that drinking of Wine or strong Liquors; using too plentiful Feeding, Softness and Delicacy, and suffering my thoughts to rove and wander; hath been the chiefest cause that hath drawn on this Sin. Upon which I intent (God assisting me) thus to regulate myself for the future.  
1 First, I will labour to keep my body under by a low spare Diet, avoiding drinking much Wine or Strong Drinks: by spare sleeping; and using hard postures in my Prayers.  
2 I will keep a strict Watch over my Thoughts, and not permit any that are sinful or unclean to enter within me, much less give them entertainment; but as soon as they offer themselves to my fancy, I will labour to divert them by holy and heavenly Meditations and Ejaculations.  
3 I will avoid all light and vain Company, frothy Discourse, idle Talk, and the like.  
4 I will pray often unto God for a clean Heart and purity of Spirit, for Temperance and Diligence.  
Likewise found myself guilty of misspending my time in vain and idle Thoughts, Discourse, Company Keeping, Recreations, etc. which I purpose by God's grace thus to avoid.  
1 First, I will consider every morning what I am to do that day, what time my Business or my Studies exact from me; and so draw out as it were a platform of the whole days business, allowing myself so much time for this thing, and so much for the other, that I may have no time to spend idly.  
2 I will be often thinking how precious my time is, that I shall shortly give a strict account for it; and that for aught I know time this day may expire in eternity, or at least may be no more as to me. God hath taught me the great value of it by his strait-handedness in the distribution of it, insomuch that he gives me not two minutes together, but when he gives me one, he takes away the other.  
3 I will fill up the chasms and intervals of my business with holy Meditations, and take all opportunities to bless and praise Almighty God, and to excite others to do the same.  
Lastly, I will watch over my own heart, ●nd withdraw my thoughts, when I perceive them ramble, That so in the whole series and connexion of them I may be careful to prevent what is idle and impertinent, and may use myself to think only of such things, of which if a Man upon a sudden should ask me, What it is I am thinking? I may freely answer with that Royal (though Pagan) Philosopher, this and that. Antonin. Medit. p. 55. Found myself also Guilty of much deadness, dulness, and wandering Thoughts in my Devotions. Exaamining myself, I found the cause to be want of keeping myself always in an habitual temper of seriousness and piety; want of due praemeditation before I come to pray, and not keeping that watch over my own heart in prayer as I ought. Upon which I resolved by God's assistance,  
1 First, To endeavour to abstract myself from multiplicity of business and cares in the World, and by frequent returns of my Soul to God, to keep myself in an habitual frame and temper of piety continually.  
2 I will always before my Devotions prepare myself with such Meditations as these: That that God before whom I am now going to appear, is a God of infinite Majesty and Glory: That nothing but what is hearty and from the ground of the soul is accepted by him: That it is the fervent prayer only that is effectuaal and prevaileth with him: How great need I have of those things that I come to ask; and that for aught I know this may be the last opportunity I may have to put up any petition unto God.  
3 I will be sure to keep a strict watch over my heart in prayer, and if I find my thoughts straggling, I will presently chide myself, and recollect them with greater fervency, to cross the Devil's design therein.  
4 If all my care cannot yet prevent, I will implore God's mercy and pardon after, and continue to pray for the Spirit of Supplication and Devotion until I have obtained it.  
Lastly, Found myself guilty of some ●incture of Hypocrisy, directing my Words and Christian Actions to the end of praise and esteem of Men, to be thought Religious, etc. which I purpose ●o avoid.  
1 By considering the heinousness of ●his Sin, how detestable it is to God, ●nd odious to Man.  
2 If I embrace this praise of Men, ●his is like to be all the reward I shall have for all my strict and holy Walking. ●erily, saith our Saviour of the Scribes ●nd Pharisees, who did all their holy duties for ostentation, and to be seen of Men, they have their reward; and may expect none from God in another World.  
3 Let me take care of harbouring any thoughts of my own Excellencies in respect of Grace, etc. or of ascribing any praise and glory to myself, which is due only to God, and say, Not unto me, not unto me, but unto God give the glory.  
Thus I have given you a taste of the manner of keeping your Narrative, and the examples of it in some Sins, which you may yourself enlarge as there is occasion.  
The use of this Narrative or Catalogue of Sins is obvious to every one, especially good Christians, who alone, o● else such as desire to be so, (I suppose) give themselves the trouble of perusing this Manual. I have given some Account of it before, and shall therefore now but briefly touch on it.  
The great use of it is, That on days of Fasting and Humiliation (especially before the Sacrament) you may read them over with a serious consideration, examining your own Conscience strictly, with all the heightening circumstances, which may make them seem more odious in thy sight, and raise in thee a deeper Sorrow, Contrition, and Repentance for them; also to work in thee serious Resolutions against them for the time to come, and that not only in general, but particular, every sin; and consider what it was that induced thee to the commission of this or that sin, and resolve to avoid the occasions of it for the future; and also what it is that may be most useful to thee towards the attainment of this or that Grace, which thou either wantest, or is but faint and weak in thee.  
And as it will be fit for thee to keep by thee a Catalogue of thy Sins, so I judge it will be no less profitable also to preserve a Catalogue of any extrordinary Mercies that God hath vouchsafed to thee in the whole course of thy Life, whether Spiritual or Temporal: And here seeing Gods Mercies are like himself, infinite, it will be impossible for me to set down any definite number of them; and therefore I shall leave it to every particular person to make his own Collection and Observation.  
But certainly the Spiritual Advantages will be very great, to intermix the remembrance of God's Mercies, with the remembrance of his own Sins; especially at such a time of Humiliation: it will conduce much to the augmenting of his sorrow and contrition for sin: for when the pious Soul shall thus reason with himself: Lord I have daily provoked thee to displeasure by my sinful and wicked Life, though thou hast followed me day by day with thy Mercies. I have crucified my Blessed Saviour afresh, and put him to an open shame, though he thought it not too much to suffer such great things, and at last to die for me, to rescue me from everlasting Damnation. I have grieved thy holy Spirit by my frequent Oppositions of his blessed Motions, who would have led me to Repentance, and hath often courted and invited me to it; and when I have run wilfully into Sin, O what earnest solicitations hath he made unto me to forbear? Thus and thus, O Lord, hast thou done for me, but yet what unworthy returns have I made for all this love of thine? O my Soul! canst thou think of this without remorse? Canst thou forbear condemning thyself, and justifying God? And to say, Thou, O Lord, art Righteous, but I am Vile and Wicked; thy ways are upright and equal, but mine very crooked and unequal: thou hast not dealt with me after my Sins, nor rewarded me according to my Iniquities. This was the Method that God himself took with David to work him to a true Compunction of Spirit, after he had been guilty of Adultery and Murder, 2 Sam. 12.7, 8. where you have God reckoning up the Mercies he had conferred on David; I anointed thee King over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul, and I gave thee thy Master's House, and thy Master's Wives into thy Bosom, and gave thee the House of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things; which in the 13. v. made him with sorrow of heart confess that he had sinned. So in Deut. 32.6. Is not he thy Father that hath bought thee? hath not he made thee, and established thee? Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise?   

Directions for Saturday.  
THings of great moment are never so well performed, as when there hath some preparation gone before to usher them in: Hence it is that we read John 19.31. of the preparation of the Passover (which was the day before it was to be celebrated) and Mark 15.42. of the preparation of the Sabbath. Moses taught the People over Night to remember the Sabbath, Exodus 16.23. and our Saviour himself sends Peter and John beforehand to prepare the Passover, Luke 22.8. Here is a memorandum annexed to this Commandment, which is not to any other, as if God had said, Remember beforehand to keep holy the Sabbath day. A Man must not think he can step from his Shopboard, or his Plough, or his Recreations, into the Church, and perform a Sacrifice well pleasing to God. Alas! our hearts are so corrupt, and our memories so tenacious of the vanities and things of this World, that it is no easy matter to give them a dismission; and I fear when we have done our utmost) even our best preparations are very mank and imperfect; and certainly I cannot easily be induced to be lief that he designs to sanctify the Sabbath, who (without some manifest and necessary hindrance) doth not make some preparation for it before it comes.  
You may therefore in order to it make use of this following Method:  
The Forenoon, and till Three in the Afternoon (which if I mistake not, was the beginning of the preparation of the Sabbath among the Jews) you may spend as you do other days; only it may be your care so prudnetly to dispose of your common Affairs, that they may be about that time at an end: The remaining part of the day, and till you betake yourself ●o rest (which should be earlier than on ●●her days, that you and your Family may rise the earlier the next Morning) ●ou cannot do better than spend in pri●ate Prayer; for Devotion, Sincerity, ●aith, Thankfulness, and other Graces, which are fit for the Actions of the following day, or that you find yourself ●o stand in need of, or in public Prayers in the Church, if there be any (as 〈◊〉 is great pity there should not) in reading the Scripture or some other good Book, in Meditation, and the like holy Exercises.  
In the close of your Evening Devotions, desire God to fit and prepare you for the great business of the ensuing day, that he will banish all vain and and worldly Thoughts, Desires and Cares; that he will fill thy Soul with Affections suitable to thy Duty; that so lying down in his fear, and being awakened to the Comforts of the succeeding day, thy Soul may be affected with the Majesty of it, and thy Mouth filled with his praise; that he will abstract thy thoughts from all the Vanities and Concerns of this World, and sublime them to a higher degree of Purity, that so beginning his day in his fear, thou may'st wholly spend it in his Service, and end it in his favour; to the Glory of his great Name, the discharge of thy Duty, the comfort of thy Soul here, and everlasting Happiness hereafter, in and through Jesus Christ.  
Having thus prepared thyself, thou may'st not fear to want the Assistance of God's Spirit in the Duties of the following day, which though thou art not so strictly able to perform as God requires, yet thou mayst do it so as he will be pleased to accept in and through Jesus Christ.   

Directions for the Lords Day.  
AS soon as you are awaked in the Morning, lift up your Soul to God by some Devout Ejaculations, or short Prayer, and say,  
This is the day which the Lord hath made, I will be glad and rejoice in it; Psal. 118.24.  
Grant, That as Christ was raised up from the dead by the Glory of the Father, even so I also may walk in newness of Life: Rom. 6.4.  
Because thou livest, I shall live also; Joh. 14.19.  
Thanks be to God, who hath not appointed us to Wrath, but to obtain Salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ; who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live with him; 1 Thess. 5. ●, 10. Knowing that he which raised up ●he Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus: 2 Cor. 4.14. and shall present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy: Judas 24.  
Glory be to God on high, on Earth peace, good will towards Men: Luk. 2.14.  
Thou art my God, and I will thank thee; thou art my God, and I will exalt thee: Psal. 118.28.  
Then rise out of your Bed, and that too more early than upon any other day in which you follow your Worldly Emplyments, to show your greater readiness to serve God than yourself. When you are dressed retire to your Closet, and keep a strict guard over your thoughts, that you suffer nothing (if possible) of any Worldly thing to enter there, but meditate that you are to keep this day in the blessed memory of your Lord and Saviour's Resurrection, and of the great goodness of God in vouchsafing you the liberty of another Sabbath day, the continuance of his Word and Ordinances; whereas there are many thousands which yet sit in Darkness and the Shadow of Death: And therefore resolve with thyself to spend it entirely to his Glory, and in his Service; and that not only in general but in particular: and draw out as it were a platform of thy holy performances that day, and resolve with thyself thus and thus to spend the day: as first I will read and meditate, than I will offer up unto God my Morning Sacrifice of prayer and praises in private by myself, afterwards with my family: Then I will spend the time between this and the public prayers, in examining myself concerning any unrepented Sin, in Reading, Meditation, Singing Psalms, or the like.  
Then betake thyself humbly to thy knees, and pray fervently and earnestly unto Almighty God, and praise his name, desiring God in the conclusion, to inflame thee with a spiritual zeal and affection; that thou may'st enter into his Gates with thanksgiving, and into his Courts with praise: that thy soul may be satisfied with the fullness of his House, as with marrow and fatness: That he will give thee reverence in his House, and a holy dread and awe of his more immediate presence there: that he will give thee fervency in thy Devotions, attention unto his Word, a retentive memory and grace to reduce the same to practise ●n thy Life and Conversation: In a word, that he will so assist thee with his holy Spirit, that thou may'st perform all those duties God requireth of thee, so as they may be wellpleasing and acceptable in his sight; that so at the end of the day, upon examination of thyself, thou may'st not find any thing to charge thy Conscience with, whereby thou hast omitted any part of thy duty, or committed any sin against God. Forget not to pray also for all the faithful Ministers of God's holy Word, that God would open their Lips that their Mouths may show forth his praise; that they may deliver his word with power and efficacy, to the convincing the most obdurate sinner, and comforting the feeble minded; and in particular, pray that God who knows the several Conditions of all Men, that he would be with the Spirit of that his Servant, who is to be the Dispenser of his Word unto thee that day, and put a Word into his Mouth, which may particularly respect thy own Condition, and give thee grace to apply it to thyself, and to practise it; and finally that he will be with all Congregations that are that day assembled in his faith, Fear, etc.  
A prayer comprising these Petitions you have in the subsequent pages.  
At the time appointed for Divine Service call thy whole family together, and go towards God's House, but not without considering where thou art going; Keep thy Foot, Eccl. 5.1. and go not without longing Desires, and hearty Ejaculations, and though thy tongue should be silent yet thy heart should speak the louder, and let it say;  
As the Hart panteth after the Water-Brooks, so panteth my Soul after thee, O God. My soul is a thirst for God, yea even for the living God, when shall I come and appear before him? One day in thy Courts is better than a Thousand: I had rather be a Doorkeeper in the House of my God, than to dwell in the Tents of ungodliness, etc.  
As thou art Entering say, Surely the Lord is in this place. Surely this is no other but the House of God, this is the Gate of Heaven.  
When thou art Entered into the House, uncover thy Head, and if thou followest the Custom of the Greek Church (to put a distinction between the House of God, and that which is profane or common) and bowest thyself, lifting up their Ejaculation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. God be merciful to me a Sinner, thou wilt show thy reverence to the Place, and him that is said to dwell in it, and give no offence to truly pious Christians, who do not esteem any essential but a relative holiness inherent in it.  
When thou comest into thy Seat kneel down, and use this or the like short Prayer.  
O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel, who dwellest between the Cherubims, and yet are pleased not only to permit, but to invite thy poor sinful Creatures to draw near unto thee, even for their own soul's Good: I who am not worthy to tread thy Courts, am here bold to present myself, to hear what the Lord will say unto me: O Pardon all my sins and frailties, which make me unworthy to appear in thy presence, and so assist me with thy holy Spirit that I may so perform all those duties thou requirest of me here, that they may be wellpleasing and acceptable in thy sight, through Jesus Christ. Amen.  
Be sure to go early to the house of God, at least before the Minister gins with the prayers of the Church, and if any overplus of time remain before, spend it not in gazing about, or in vain worldly discourse (as is too common) or in sleeping, or the like, but take thy Common Prayer Book, and thy Bible, and turn to the Service of the Church, the Lessons, Epistle and Gospel, and if there be yet spare time, read over the latter, and see how fitly the prudence and piety of the Church have adapted them to the day, and treasure up all those good Lessons and Instructions contained therein, in thy mind. When the Minister is about to begin, say O Lord be with the Spirit of thy Servant in the Discharge of his present duty, and open thou his Lips that his Mouth may show forth thy praise. When the Minister gins with the sentences, stand up, as also at the reading or singing of the Psalms (which was a Custom used by the Ancients and now continued by many good Christians) because they are of a sublime nature, and full of holy Prayers and Ejaculations: stand up likewise at the Hymns, Creed and Gospel: kneel at the Confession, Absolution, Litany, the Decalogue, and all the Prayers, and content not yourself with that slovenly posture of sitting or careless leaning, too common with many: God who made both for his glory, expects the worship of the body as well as that of the Soul, and certainly where there is real devotion and spiritual affection in the heart, it will discover itself by an outward reverence in the body. At the end of every prayer say an hearty Amen, a Custom which our times (which pretend to so much zeal) hath quite laid aside, not following our Saviour's example, Matth. 6.13. who placed it at the end of his own Prayer, nor the commands of the Apostles, 1 Corinth. 14.16.  
Be very attentive to the Absolution, and when the Minister pronounceth those Words, And hath given power and commandment to his Ministers to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the absolution and remission of their sins: He pardoneth, etc. Do thou thus ejaculate, O Lord confirm now I beseech thee this power unto thy Servant.  
Do thou ratify and establish in Heaven what thy Servant doth now on Earth: Amen, even Amen Lord Jesus.  
Make your alternate responses with an audible voice, and still bear your part in the Doxology, Glory be to the Father, etc.  
Do not slubber over your Devotions, but regard the manner as well as the matter: pray with fervency, and that for others (in any Sickness or Affliction) as well as for thyself, and as if thou wert in the same condition thou wouldst desire them to do for thee: sing and praise God with the Spirit: Attend unto the Word of God read and preached, with all diligence and carefulness, and as unto the Word of God, and not of Man. Suffer not thy Eyes to rove and wander, or any vain thoughts to enter within thee, to choke the good Word, and to that end fix thy eyes constantly on the Minister, and what things are profitable for instruction, revolve often in thy mind, that thou mayest remember them, or (if thou be so disposed) writ down the Sermon.  
Show respect to the Place and Ordinance, by keeping thy head uncovered: 〈◊〉 never knew any take Cold in the Church. Depart not from God's House without the final Blessing, which receive (according to the primitive manner) upon thy knees, and rise not till thou hast made his short prayer:  
BLessed be thy Holy name, O Lord, for all thy mercies, chief for this thy gracious opportunity: O Lord accept of my weak and imperfect Services, pardon their frailties and imperfections: Sanctify unto me all thy Ordinances, and continue such thy mercies unto me for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.  
As soon as thou returnest from the Church, retire into thy Closet, offer up a short prayer of thanksgiving again unto God, praising him for his mercies, and desiring him to sanctify unto thee that good Word thou hast heard, that it may bring forth Fruit in thee to the amendment of Life, that so it may in the end prove to be the Savour of Life unto Life, and not of Death unto Death; that he will bring again to thy remembrance what profitable Instructions thou hast heard, and write them in thy mind, and by the power of his Grace dispose thy Soul to a constant obedience of them.  
Then if thou hast omitted to do it before, commit to Writing what mos● practical Lessons thou hast been taught. Then receive the good Creatures provided for thee, with cheerfulness and thankfulness, yet keeping a more strict Watch over thyself than on other days, tha● thou be not guilty of vain, idle an● worldly discourse: Eat moderately, 〈◊〉 as not to make thyself dull or drowsy in the remaining Duties of the day, but so that thou may'st return unto them with greater cheerfulness and gladness of heart.  
After a little Parenthesis or Breathing, betake thyself again to thy Retirement, and offer up thy Meridian Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving, as well for the Refreshments of thy Body as the Soul; and desire God to go with thee again into his House, and to be present with thee by the Assistances of his Holy Spirit, in the remaining Duties of the day, etc.  
Then call thy Family together, make each read a Chapter, and read thyself unto them out of some good Book, or explain those places of Scripture they have read; or if thou art not able to do it thyself, make use of an Expositor.  
When the time calls thee again to the Church, repair there with cheerfulness, holy Meditations and Ejaculations, behaving thyself there as directed for the Forenoon. When thou returnest home, again give Thanks, meditate on what thou hast heard, and consider whether nothing particular to thy condition hath proceeded out of the Ministers mouth, which hath been the effect of thy former Prayer; if so, give God thanks that he hath heard thy Prayer, and be sure to make particular Application of it to thyself.  
Spend not the residue of the day (as too many lose and profane persons do) either in Recreations or Pastimes, or (which is worse) at the Taverns and Alehouses; but either in Reading, Medicating, holy Conference, Visiting the Sick, praying either with them, or in private for them, especially for any who have that day desired the Charity of the Public Prayers: pray also for those Graces thou seest thyself to stand in most need of; as, Faith, Hope, Chastity, Temperance, Patience, Charity, Preseverance, etc.  
After Supper call thy whole Family together, examine each person what they have learned that day, and make them give thee an account: Encourage those that have done wcll, and reprehend those that have been faulty. If they have not been Catechised at the Church, Catechise them at home, and instruct them in the Principles of Faith and other their Duties. Spend an hour or more in repeating the Sermons, reading to them out of the Bible, or some Practical Author, or causing them to read; and then conclude with a Psalm. Then you may withdraw, and suffer your Family to do so too for a little while, that both yourself and they may have time to meditate on what hath been read or taught.  
Examine now your own Conscience impartially concerning the Sins of Omission and Commission of the day, and of the Mercies received both Spiritual and Temporal, that so you may beg pardon for the former, and render praises for the latter. Then offer up your private Evening Devotions, which being done, prepare yourself for public Prayer in your Family, by Meditation, not only of the subject Matter of your Petitions, but even of the most accommodated Expressions, especially if you do not pray by a Form; and if you do, you may beforehand consider of a convenient place to insert such Petitions, as either the extraordinary occasions of the day, or the particular necessities of any of your Family require, which you should be watchful over to understand. Then close the duties of this day with your public Family Prayers, in which you may find a place also to insert a Repetition of some profitable Truths that you have learned from the Minister: You may pray against that Vice that hath been condemned, or for that Grace which hath been commended, and desire God to write his Law in your inward parts, and to give you all Grace to practise it in your Lives and Conversations. Pray to God also for the pardon of your Frailties and Imperfections in the discharge of your holy Duties: That he would bless his Minister that hath this day blessed you, that he would pour down a double portion of his Spirit into his heart, and make him an eminent Instrument for his glory; and finally may so live, and so preach, that he may both save himself, and them that hear him. Pray also that he would continue such his spiritual Mercies towards you, and make you to grow in knowledge, and to be more fruitful under all the means of Grace, that so his Word may be unto you the savour of Life unto Life, and not to any Soul of you, the savour of death unto death, etc.  
Thus shalt thou sanctify this day unto the Lord, and the Lord will sanctify thee unto himself: He will give thee of the blessings of this Life and that which is to come: Remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah, ch. 58.13, 14. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my Holy day, and call the Sabbath a Delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and shalt honour him, not doing thy own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the Earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy Father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.   

Of the holy Sacrament.  
SHould I here go about to enumerate the many great benefits of this holy Mystery, I might in the next page also reckon up all the benefits of Physic, Meat, and Drink; for what there are to the Body, the other is to the Soul: Meat and Drink are the Supporters of our Being's, strengthen the Powers and Abilities of the Body, preserve its natural heat and vigour, and repair its decays; and our Saviour saith of this Holy Sacrament, my Flesh is Meat indeed, and my Blood is Drink indeed; such as will not only like Meat strengthen and nourish, but like Drink (or Wine) comfort, encourage and revive even drooping, dying Souls: It came down from Heaven, and it is of Efficacy sufficient to translate us thither; and as the Body being but a little deprived of Food, languishes, and at last expires; even so is it with the Soul, being deprived of this spiritual Sustenance (which is said to nourish the Soul unto Life everlasting) it immediately grows sick, and at length dead unto all good Works: And then as the Body by too great plenty of feeding at last contracts Corruption and Diseases, and hath need of some Physic to cleanse and purify it, and to preserve the Blood from dangerous putrefactions, even so is it with the Soul, which by conversing with the pleasures and delights of the World is apt to contract some stain and foulness, which may here in this sacred Fountain be washed away and cleansed, and the Soul by this Antidote preserved from future Corruptions.  
It is not my design here to acquaint you with the nature, use, and end of this Sublime Mystery, or with the manner of worthy receiving it; this being a Province above my low Sphere or Capacity, and already so exactly done by the Learned and Pious Authors of the Christian Sacrifice, Whole Duty of Man, Method of Private Devotions, etc. to which I refer you. All that I shall say in it, is to endeavour to press you to the frequency of communicating, which if we consider the Will and Command of Christ, Luke 22.19. our continual wants and necessities, and the great and inestimable benefits we reap by it, we should not think ourselves excused from any opportunity that offers itself, but rather court every one, and if it be in our power, make it rather than want it; for certainly if thou be a good Christian, thou wilt think every return too slow, and confess with David, That as the Hart panteth after the Rivers of Waters, so panteth thy Soul after God: That thy Soul is athirst for God, even for the living God, when shalt thou come and appear before him.  
And if thou, not knowing it beforehand, come into a Congregation where the Table is spread, or art suddenly invited to communicate with a sick or dying person, I cannot see how thou canst turn thy Back upon that sacred Ordinance, although thy preparations are not according to the Sanctuary, or so strict as they ought to have been, hadst thou had timely notice thereof. Supposing thee therefore to be one who lives in an habitual preparation, (that is) in a daily Examination of thy Conscience, and calling thyself to an account of thy Sins, and in a constant performance of Religious duties, and even now lamenting that thou hast not more time to prepare thyself, so that what is wanting in Act is made up in Desire, thou may'st undoubtedly draw near with comfort, and receive as worthily (though not perhaps so much to thy own satisfaction) as if thou hadst made a greater and more solemn preparation: and I must tell thee, who ever thou art, that unless thou art thus always ready to receive, thou art in no wise prepared to die; which that thou mayst be, I shall in the next Section set down some short Rules and Directions, which may help thee towards it.   

Remote Preparations for Death.  
THere is nothing so much sharpens the sting of Death, and adds greater malignity and venom to it than the want of due Consideration of it beforehand, and Preparation for it. Inexpertata plus aggravant, novitasadjicit calamitatibus pondus. Senec. Epist. 91. The suddenness and surprise of an evil adds to the weight and smart of it. Death we are told is an enemy, 1 Corinth. 15.26. and (you know) to be surprised by an Enemy puts all into tumult and confusion, and permits not the free use of that reason and conduct that we should otherwise have had upon a timely monition and preparation: Nay we are told that it is the last enemy, and being to fight but this one battle, it will be the greatest imprudence in the World not to muster up all our forces, not to make all the provision we can beforehand, that we be not worsted in this last Conflict: Non licet in bello his peccare: To fail once here is to fail for ever: And we shall never have any opportunity more to rectify a former fault. And therefore that you may not miscarry in so momentous a concern, take and follow these brief Directions. First in the time of your greatest health carry yourself with the greatest innocency, watchfulness, and circumspection. Endeavour to keep your Soul in an habitual frame and temper of piety continually; abstain from the commission of any known Sin, and do not that at any time, which if God should then call for thee (for no Man hath any assurance that he shall not die suddenly) thou wouldst not be ashamed to be found doing. If a sharp Sickness seizes our Bodies whilst we have a load of guilt upon our Souls, what consternation and terror does it strike unto us? Our Sins stare us in the face, our Consciences accuse us, our faces are appalled, and our thoughts Distracted, to think that if this Sickness should prove our last, we must certainly not only be excluded from God's presence for evermore, but have our portion with Devils and Reprobates, in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone to all eternity.  
2. In the time of thy greatest health be frequent in the meditation of Sickness and Death. Si sapis, utaris totis, Coline, diebus extremumque tibi semper ad esse puta. Martial. It was the passionate Wish of Moses, Deut. 32.29. O that Men were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! The consideration of our latter end beforehand is the very 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the highest pitch of wisdom and understanding: and on the contrary the putting far from us the evil day is the perfection of folly. It is reported of Bilney the Martyr, that he used some time before his Martyrdom to acquaint himself with the heat and burning of a Candle, that the greater flames might not be novel and strange unto him at the time of his Suffering. The Grave would be no surprise to us if we did sometimes in our Health descend there in our thoughts and meditations. Praecogitati mali mollis ictus venit. Senec. Ep. 76. Thou may'st therefore sometimes when thou art in thy retirement fancy thyself to be then Arrested with thy last Sickness, and consider then what thou wouldst do, and how thou wouldst behave thyself in it: Imagine thy sickness long and tedious, thy pains violent, thy nights wearisome and restless; think that thou seest thy helpless Friends mourning about thy Bed, and thy hands so feeble that thou canst not stretch them forth to take thy last farewell of them; and at length findest thy Spirits quite Languishing, thy Eyestrings Cracking, Cold sweats bedewing thy Face, and thy extreme parts growing i'll and dead, and thy Soul just taking its flight to appear in the presence of God. Believe it, This is more than Romantic Story, or an Imaginary thing, and 'tis only a fancy with relation to the difference of time, otherwise a great reality.  
Thou may'st proceed farther likewise with these Considerations: Probably I may die a sudden death, and may possibly be snatched hence before I have time to make my peace with God, if I do it not now in the time of my health; and then how shall I be of all men the most miserable: It is but the just reward of my demerits for trifling away so much precious time as was allotted me for that purpose: I know many have died suddenly, a Syncope, Imposthume, or an Apoplexy, a small Obstruction in my Veins or Arteries, a Stone falling from the top of a House, a fall from my Horse, a Thousand casualties and accidents may take me off, or if I have the favour of a Deathbed, probably my pains may be so sharp, a Lethargy or Frenzy may seize my head, and dethrone my reason, or my thoughts may be so distracted, and in confusion, that I may be altogether unfit then to perform the great Work of repentance, or secure my peace with God: therefore take up holy Job's resolutions, Job 14.14. All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change shall come.  
3. In the time of thy greatest Health lay up in store a stock of proper Graces against the time of Sickness and Death. In the time of peace and quietness we discover no want of our Armour, but let an Enemy invade us, we are sensible of the folly of our neglect, because we are now destitute of that which should secure us in our greatest necessity. If we provide not beforehand a stock of Faith, and Patience, and most Christian Fortitude and Resolution; Armour to shield, and Weapons to repel the Frauds and Encounters of our great Assailant the Devil, which will then take all advantages of our weakness, we must certainly be foiled in the Combat. The Graces then to be ex●●cised are chief these, Faith, Hope Repentance, Patience, Devotion, and Charity, of which I shall speak more Particularly when I show you this manner of exercising them on your Deathbed.  
4. Set not your Affections too much on the World, and the vanities of it, but wean yourself from them by degrees, lest at last your heart come to be so united to them, that you cannot think of leaving them without great Reluctancy, and you be apt with the Disciple to talk of building Tabernacles here and set your Affections on things on the Earth more than things of Heaven; therefore Love not the World nor the things of the World; Lay not your Affections that way more than a natural conveniency requires: put now your House in order, and dispose of your outward concerns, prudently, piously, charitably, (Insere nunc Maelibaee, pyros; pone ordine vites.) that so when you come to die, you may have nothing else to do but to die; Emori satis est, and having nothing else, to do it well: This alone will exact our greatest care, our greatest diligence.  
5. Lastly, In the time of thy health be frequent in prayer unto God, that he will fit and prepare thee for that fiery Trial, that so Death find thee not unprovided. Pray often for those Graces that thou shalt then have occasion to make use of, that so, When this Earthly Tabernacle of thy Body shall be dessolved, thou may'st have a Building with God, not made with hands, but Eternal in the Heavens.   

Of the Proximate Preparations for Sickness and Death.  
FIrst, Therefore when it shall please God to visit thee with Sickness, ●hink thus, This Sickness will put a pe●●od to my days; I shall now go to the ●ates of the Grave, whence I shall not ●eturn; but before it comes to that, I ●ust pass through a tedious Sickness, and ●ost acute Pains; but however, be it ●hat it will, I resolve by God's Assi●ance, patiently to undergo it, and ●eerfully to submit to Gods Will and ●easure in it: My Sins have deserved ●uch more, Thy will (O Lord) be done 〈◊〉 Earth as it is in Heaven.  
If thy Distemper will suffer it, before ●ou takest thy Bed, kneel down and pray to God that he will sanctify unto thee this his Fatherly Chastisement, give thee a cheerful patience under it, and convert this thy Sickness into the advantages of Holiness and Religion; that he will strengthen thy Faith, encourage thy Hope, support thy Weakness, pity thy Infirmities; and that being tried, thou may'st come out of thy Affliction as Gold out of the Fire, more pure and more refined, and more fit for thy Master's use: Or if he hath in his Wisdom otherwise disposed, that he will be unto thee in death as well as in life advantage That he will not suffer thee to be temp●ed above what thou art able, but with the Temptation will make a way for the to escape, that thou may'st be able 〈◊〉 bear it. That he will arm thee against all the Subtleties and Assaults of the Devil, and discover to thee the sin for which he now sees it fit to afflict thee; an● make an absolute surrender of thy se●● unto God's alwise disposal.  
2. As soon as thou art in thy Bed, an● hast leisure and privacy, begin whil● thou hast strength, and the free use 〈◊〉 thy Reason (which possibly in some acu● Distempers thou may'st not long enjoy to renew thy Repentance, taking a fre● survey of all thy Capital Sins (which the former Catalogue will help thee in) and of any others lately committed by thee, remembering that God never corrects but for Sin; When thou with rebukes (saith David) dost chasten Man for sin: Psalm. 39.11. These again humbly confess to Almighty God, acknowledge thy de-merits, and the justice of his proceeding, and most earnestly implore his pardon.  
3. Next exercise thy Faith by a steadfast recumbency on God (through Jesus Christ) for the full pardon of all thy sins, and resting upon those gracious promises of his that he hath made: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as Snow; though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as Wool: Isa. 1.18. That God will never leave thee, nor forsake thee; Heb. 13.5. That Jesus Christ is the propitiation for thy sins, and that in him God hath said, He is well pleased; Math. 3.17. That God will deliver thy Soul from going down to the pit, because he hath found a Ransom; Job. 33.24. and will certainly give thee Eternal Salvation, if thou continue faithful unto Death. Believe also that God is wise and just in sending thee Afflictions, that he will not suffer thee to be tempted above what thou art able: That all things shall work together for good, to them that love God; Rom. 8.28. That if thou live, thou shalt live to him, and if thou die, Death shall be unto thee advantage: In a word, firmly believe all those Truths that thou didst believe and wert persuaded of in the time of thy greatest health.  
4. The next Grace now to be exercised is Hope, which is nothing else but a comfortable expectation of the performances of all those good promises made, unto thee by God. Job assures us that the hope of the Hypocrite shall perish, because it was not founded upon a good bottom, he continued in his sins, and yet hoped for Mercy: But thou hast repent of thy sins, and purified thyself from them, quite forsaken them, and therefore thy hope is such as maketh thee not ashamed, but thou may'st be assured that thou art of the number of those Righteous ones, Who have hope in their death; Prov. 14.32.  
Fifthly, Exercise throughout the whole course of thy Sickness, Prayer and Devotion. This is a time of trouble, and God bids us then to call upon him; and to encourage us, hath promised to hear us; Psalm. 5.15. besides as we have now greater needs than ever, so for the most part the Devotion of every pious Soul is at this time raised to a greater height, and accompanied with more fervency and humility than in the time of his greatest health: Therefore frequently Pray and Ejaculate unto God, as thou findest the temper of thy Soul requires; whether it be for support under thy weaknesses against despondencies, impatience, distractions or confusions of Mind, whether for Revelations of his Goodness and Irradiations of his Love and Favour; and if thou art a constant Reader and Meditator of God's Word, thou canst not want suitable Expressions out of that rich Treasury, the Holy Bible. You may find some culled out for that purpose in the subsequent pages, and in The Whole Duty of Man many more: But if thy Devotion be not so much exalted as thou wouldst have it, remember this is a time for Passion, not Action, and God will accept thee.  
6. Exercise likewise throughout the whole time of thy Sickness Christian patience: You have need of Patience; saith the Apostle, Heb. 10.36. That when you have done all, you may inherit the promises: Now is the chief use of this grace, therefore you cannot want it: It is that which crowns all the rest: This discovers itself by a cheerful submission to God's Fatherly Correction, justifying God, and condemning thyself; saying with the Psalmist, Thou hast punished me less than my sins have deserved: or with the Prophet, I will bear the Indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him; Micah 7.9. or with good old Ely, It is the Lord, let him do as it seemeth him good: Or with the Apostle, Chasten me here as thou pleasest, that I be not condemned with the World. And then resting in a cheerful Expectation that God will convert all to thy good, and that he will be to thee both in life and death advantage, taking up holy Job's resolve; That though he kill thee, thou wilt trust in him; Job. 13.5. and that though thou walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou wilt fear no Evil: Psalm. 23.4.  
Submit to the Rules of thy Physician, and be kind and courteous (not peevish as too many are) towards thy Attendants, and all that come to see thee, and give them and thy Family good Instructions, ●eeing those that are spoken from a Friend on a dying Bed stick closest ●f any: Be sure no word drop from thee of repining or murmuring against God's dispensations towards thee, but let thy words be sueh as tend to the use of Edifying; and in all things behave thy ●elf, as if thou wert giving up the Ghost ●he next moment.  
Be willing and content to die: say as St. Paul did, I desire to be dissolved and ●o be with Christ, which is best of all: or as David, Like as the Hart desireth the Water-brooks, so longeth my Soul aftee thee, O God.  
My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the presence of God?  
O that I had Wings like a Dove, for than would I fly away, and be at rest.  
Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer, O Lord make no long tarrying.  
Last of all exercise thy Charity (not as if thou wert not to use it all along, but now more particularly) give and forgive: Beg pardon for any injury done thy Neighbour, and if it be in thy power, make restitution for any Offence that is capable of it; if not, beg God to accept of thy Intentions, and to pay thy debt in Blessings: Forgive from thy heart all others who have injured thee, as thou expectest to be forgiven by God.  
When thou shalt find thy strength fail, and Death approaching, say, or ejaculate thus:  
Lord Jesus receive my Soul.  
Into thy hands I commend my Spirit, for thou hast redeemed it, O Lord, tho● God of Truth.  
Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.   

Remedies against some particular Temptations of the Devil in the time of Sickness.  
THe Devil is so delusory and subtle a Spirit, that like the cunning Angler he loves to fish in Troubled Waters, and takes all Advantages of our weaknesses and disturbances of mind to ensnare us; and then most strongly assails us when we have the least power to resist him: There was a time when Satan did suspend his Tyranny, sit close in the heart feeding on those lusts he found there, without any outward show of violence; (Certa quiscendi tempora fata dabant.) But now he awakes as a Lion out of sleep, and as a young Lion greedy of his prey, ready to tear the poor Languishing Soul in pieces, calls in all his powers and artifices, because he knows that he hath but a short time, and if he miss this opportunity he must then let it alone for ever. Therefore it will be very necessary that you pre-arme yourself against his Objections or Assailing; and they may be such as these.  
1. First, He may assail thee by setting before thee the multitude and heinousness of thy Sins, that they are so many and so great that thou canst not expect that God should pardon them, and so endeavour to draw thee to a despondency of God's mercy. But then presently oppose this Temptation of his by calling to Mind the multitude and infinitness of God's mercies, which cannot be out-numbred by our Sins, nor outweighed by our most presumptuous transgressions. Remember that place of Micah. 7 and 18. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgressions of thine heritage? Who retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy: and that other in Isa. 1.18. Though your Sins were as Scarlet, they shall be white as Snow; though they be Red like Crimson, they shall be as Wool. Consider also that the greatest Sinners repenting have found Mercy, as Manasses, Mary Magdelen, Peter, Paul, yea the Thief on the Cross, who at the last breath found mercy.  
2. The Devil may in the time of thy Sickness assail thee by setting before thee the Strictness and Severity of God's Justice, and tell thee, It is true God is merciful indeed, but he is just too; Zephan. 3.5. Psal. 92, 15. And he will not let the Wicked go unpunished; his justice runs parallel with his mercy; and as the one is infinite, so is the other too. To this oppose Christ's full and complete Satisfaction: Indeed by the Law no Man could be justified, but Christ was made a Curse for us that he might redeem us from the Curse of the Law. That he might receive the Adoption of Sons, Gala. 3.13. Christ by one Oblation of himself once offered, made a full, perfect, and sufficient Sacrifice, Oblation, and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World. Christ himself will answer for thee: These are mine, and shall be made up with my Jewels, for their transgressions was I stricken and cut off from the Earth, for them was I bruised and put to grief; my Soul was made an offering for their Sins, and I bore their transgressions; they are my seed, and the travel of my Soul: I have healed them by my Stripes, I have justified them by my Knowledge; they are my sheep, who shall take them out of my hands?  
3. Satan may object that thou hast no part in these promises, because thou art not elected. To this oppose God's free Covenant; all are invited to receive mercy, God excludes none but such as exclude themselves: Ho, every one that thirsteth come ye to the Waters, and drink, is the Language of God by the Prophet: Isa. 55.1. Nay our blessed Saviour confirms it also, John. 7.37. If any (excluding none) Man thirst, let him come unto me and drink: and again in the 55. of Isa. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous Man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. And so in the 33. of Ezekiel 11. As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the Wicked; but that the Wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your, evil way, for why will ye die, O house of Israel? And therefore if thou be one that hath turned from thy evil ways, never dispute thy election, but as sure as God lives, and that his Oath and Word are Truth, so sure shalt thou live with him in everlasting bliss and happiness; and therefore here thou may'st call to mind some of the fruits of thy Faith that thou hast at any time found in the Course of thy Life, and thence comfort thy drooping Soul; concluding that thou art certainly of the number of those that are ordained to Salvation.  
4. Fourthly, The Devil may perhaps endeavour to persuade thy Soul that because thou art as it were in some kind of desertion, and wantest that clear evidence which formerly thou hadst, by reason of God's present deal with thee, that God is not thy God, that thy unpardoned Sins causeth him now to hid his Face from thee in thy greatest Extremity, and that he will no more be entreated by thee.  
Indeed if thou hast not repent of thy Sins, the Devil's argument is good; but if thou hast, the Testimony of thy Conscience, that thou hast truly repent of all thy sins, and that in simplicity and godly sincerity, thou hast had thy conversation in this life; never be discouraged, but assure thyself, that though God seems to hid himself from thee, yet he has no other design in it but to try thee, and the strength of thy Faith, thy Christian courage and resolution: This will be but for a short time, and then the sweetness of his return will abundantly compensate for his short withdrawing: For a small moment (saith God) Isa. 54.7. have I forsaken thee, but with great Mercies will I gather thee. Job had sufficient confidence of the return of God's favour and mercy, though for the present there was no manifest appearance of it, but lay under the greatest pressure of affliction that a poor mortal could bear; and was advised, because God had forsaken him, to curse God and die; and therefore with a generous and noble Spirit resolves that though he kill him yet will he trust in him, Job. 13.15. Holy David's faith and courage was no less, when he could confidently say, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death yet will I fear none evil; Psalm. 23.4. I have read of a Martyr that during the time of his Imprisonment, being under some trouble of Mind, had often besought God for some irradiations of his Love and Favour, and that he would send him the Comforter, but could receive nothing of it, but rather more disquiet and anxiety of mind, but yet he was resolved to wait God's leisure, which he did; and when he was fastened to the Stake, he cries out with a heart too full of joy to express it in larger terms: He is come: He is come. I shall conclude this with the words of the Prophet Isaiah, ch. 50.10. Though a Man walk in darkness and see no light, yet may he trust in the Lord, and lean upon his God.   

Of Meditation.  
IT is the Character as well as the Practice of a good Man, That he delights himself in the Law of the Lord, and in that Law he doth meditate Day and Night Psalm. 1.2. Meditation is the consequence or effect of delight, and what any man loves and delights in, he is often thinking and meditating upon; and certainly much Reading without Meditation, seems to favour more of formality and custom, than of any real delight in it.  
Reading is like the Manducation or Chewing of our Food, and Meditation as the Concoction of it: and if both these go before, there is no doubt of a good and salutary Reflection to follow; and as one affords wholesome laudable Chyle for the nourishment of the Body, so will the other give forth strength and spiritual Refreshment for the Soul. But if a Man have the Lientery, that his Meat pass from him quickly and unchanged, what strength and vigour of Body is he like to receive by it? He may indeed eat more than a sounder Man, but he will draw thence but a small, faint and languishing Nutriment: Even so is it with such as have this Spiritual Boulimos, who have great Appetites and strong Desires after Reading and Hearing, but they never suffer it to digest, it suddenly passes through them, and the poor Soul is like to starve in the midst of so much plenty. Meditatin is styled by a Learned Author 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a kind of augmentation, a beating out of the Gold into Plate and Wire: An Enlargement of the Object we look upon, which by our continual Survey of the Beauty of it, we make it more clear and visible than before. Our study and desire of this holy Exercise wants no opportunity of time and place, Sed inter medios Rerum actus invenit aliquid vacui. In the midst of our Employments and Business finds leisure, and makes its Closet in the very Streets. I cannot therefore think any person totally excused from this Duty: Indeed those whose leisure is greater, and opportunities more, God will expect more from: According to that of the Apostle, Luke. 12.48. Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; but if thou hast less time, and thy occasions are more pressing, yet thou may'st cast in thy Symbol, thy Mite too, and no doubt but God will accept it.  
Meditation, I take to be a serious Cogitation or Consideration of any Divine or Spiritual Subject, and a particular Application of it to ourselves, so as to work upon, and raise our Affections.  
It is not a mere Employment of the Brain, but an Act of the Heart, and engages the Affections and all the Powers of the Soul. Of it there are two sorts, the one set and deliberate, the other occasional or sudden. Both these have a large Field to walk in, and are as unconfined as the Matter and Subjects of them are; but principally the former is taken up in Contemplation of the Love, Wisdom, Power, Justice, and other Attributes of God: in Consideration of the great and miraculous Love of Jesus Christ in his Incarnation, miserable (yet senseless) Life, bitter Death, Resurrection, Ascension, continual Intercession, and all the benefits of our Redemption; of the Miseries of Life, the Certainty of Death, and Uncertainty of the Time of it; the glory of God's Saints; the dreadfulness of Judgement, the Terrors of Hell: Or else in Meditating of any part of God's holy Word, etc.  
The latter is only conversant about sudden and occasional things, whereby the busy active Soul makes particular Applications and Reflections, according as the Subject or Occasion offers itself.  
The benefits of both these are very great. Meditatio quasi mentis ditatio. Meditation is an enriching of the Soul. By this means you have a sufficient Treasury or Stock of Scripture, fit for all Occasions and Conditions, to strengthen your Faith, to encourage your Hope, to incite your Love, both to be the matter of, and also to quicken your Devotions, and to comfort you in all your Trials and Afflictions, etc.  
I shall begin with the former of these, set or deliberate Meditation, and here according to my slender capacity, I shall give you some brief Instructions for it, and Examples of it.  
This work is of all others the most spiritual and sublime, and therefore the person most fit for this Heavenly Employ is the most holy, most heavenly Christian. He only can extract the Elixir and Quintessence from this precious Mineral.  
As to the time and place for your Meditation, it matters not much, so you make choice of that time when you may have the greatest vacancy and recess from your worldly Concerns and Business, and when the Temper of your Body and Mind is most fit for Contemplation, and that place where you may have the most privacy and retirement. Nunquam minus solus, quam cum solus; said Scipio Africanus  
The time of Isaack's Meditation was in the Evening, and the place was the Field; Gen. 24.63. David's time was at Midnight, and in the Bed; Psalm. 63.6. Our blessed Saviour (we read) used both these times, Matth. 14.23. Mark 1.35. His place was either in a Mountain, Wilderness, or solitary Garden; insomuch that even Judas when he came to betray him, knew where to find him, John. 18.1, 2. And though he took his Disciples there with him, yet he separated himself from them, for more private Devotions; Luk. 22.41. And though his Meditation be not directly named, but only his Praying, yet it is very clearly implied, Matth. 26.38, 39 his Soul is first made sorrowful with the bitter Meditations on his Death and Sufferings, and then he poureth it out in Prayer; Mark. 14.34. Our Saviour then had an accustomed place, for this accustomed Duty, whose holy Example we ought to imitate: And if thou be a Man who canst dispose of thy Affairs at thy pleasure, it will be convenient at least, that thou observe the same time for this holy Exercise. A stated time is a hedge to Duty, and defends it from many Temptations to Omission.  
The more frequent thou art in it the better, because seldom conversing with God, will create a strangeness betwixt thy Soul and him, and will take off much of that life, heat, and pleasure, which thou formerly hadst in the discharge of this Duty.  
Being then retired at a convenient time to this solitary place, which thou choosest for thy Meditation, endeavour in the first place to disband all vain and worldly thoughts, and to work up thy Soul to a due frame and temper of seriousness; to help which, thou may'st use this or the like short Prayer.  
LEt the words of my Mouth, and the Meditations of my Heart, be now and always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my Strength and my Redeemer.  
O Most gracious God, without whom I am not able so much as to think a good thought; be thou pleased to be present with me at this time, by the preventing and assistances of thy holy Spirit, that the course of my Meditation may be guided aright, and blessed: Remove from me all Distractions by worldly Thoughts, enlighten my Judgement, quicken my Invention, rectify my Will, and increase my Affection to heavenly Things, that my Heart may be more enlarged towards thee, and my Devotion so enkindled, that I may find my Corruptions abated, and my Graces thriven, and my Life every way bettered by this holy Exercise. Grant this, O Lord, for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.  
Next consider seriously with yourself, what the thing is whereof you meditate, and endeavour rightly to understand it in its definition, then proceed to the division and explication of it: from thence, if it be an Attribute of God, proceed to the Admiration and Love of God, for such his infinite Perfections; and if it be such as is imitable, steadfastly resolve to seek to attain it in part, which thou canst not in degrees; if it be a Virtue thou art meditating of, represent it to thy Soul in the most amiable dress, by comparing it with the contrary deformities of Vice. If a Vice uncover its nakedness, and show all its ugliness and evil consequences; freely confess thy former Follies, resolve against it, and beg God's Assistance against future Backslidings. If it be Mercies or Providences thou art meditating of, be sure to mention all the Circumstances of them, and to raise thy Soul to the highest pitch of gratitude for them: And in all these remember that if the Sacrifice wants a Heart, it will not be accepted by God; never therefore leave considering and meditating, until thou hast engaged thy Heart and Affections in the Work.  
Throughout the whole time of thy Meditation, be frequent in Soliloquies and Ejaculations, and at length conclude all with Thanksgiving, and recommending thyself too God.  
It will be impossible for me (and I think for any other) to prescribe an exact method for proceeding in this Duty, because of the different matter and various subjects of Meditation: Every pious Soul after some constancy in it, will know best how to adapt it to his own greatest profit. However take in good part (Reader) those following Exemplifications.   

The Thanksgiving after Meditation.  
O Blessed God, the fountain of all Mercies, I give thee most humble and hearty Thanks for this present Expression of thy love and kindness, for the Assistances of thy holy Spirit, and inward Comforts which I have now received by ●his holy Exercise.  
O that Men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare the wonders ●hat he doth for the Children of Men; for he satisfieth the empty Soul, and filleth the hungry Soul with goodness: Grant me, O Lord, an unweariedness in well-doing, and let it be the delight and joy of my Soul to do thy will; and let thy comforts always encourage and refresh my Soul. Pardon, O Lord, all my sins, pity all my Infirmities, especially those of my present performances; and receive me into thy gracious protection, both now and ever; through Jesus Christ. Amen.   

Divine Meditations.  

Concerning Gods Omnipresence.  
BY the Omnipresence or Ubiquity of God, is meant Gods being present in every place, and at all times. God's most glorious presence is in the highest Heavens, where he is encircled with Myriad of Angels, and beautified Spirits, who continually behold and admire his Majesty and Glory; yet he is not here Circum Scriptiuè, or as confined only to that place (for then he were not God) but he is here also on the lowest Earth, and we daily discover him in his Providences: Nay he is in Hell too, and that the Devil and Damned discover by their Torments; his Centre is every where, and his Circumference no where. Though no place can contain him, yet none can exclude him; for he fills Heaven and Earth: ●rem. 23.24. Whither shall I flee from ●y presence (saith David) if I ascend 〈◊〉 into Heaven, thou art there: if I ●ake my Bed in Hell, behold thou art ●ere also; Psalm. 139.7, 8.  
No place, no time can bond his pre●●nce. The most wild and untrodden ●aces of the Desert, the solitary Caves ●nd Recesses of the Earth, the thickest ●nd more than Cimmerian darkness of ●e Night, are no shelter from thy All-●eing Eye; the darkness is no darkness ●ith thee, yea the day and night to ●●ee are both alike; Psalm 139.12.  
God is present in the Church, beholding our Order and Behaviour there: He 〈◊〉 present in the Closet, when the door 〈◊〉 closest shut, to inspect our seriousness and devotion there: He is present ●t our Tables, and at our Merry Meetings, at our Feasts, and at our Fasts: ●e is about our Beds, and about our ●aths; he takes particular notice of all ●ur Actions, and weighs all our words ●n a balance: Nay thoughts, secret thought, are not hid from him; but he ●nows them long before we do or can. Our flesh, alas, is too pervious to hinder ●im from entering into the secret recesses' ●f our hearts.  
1. This than should teach thee, O my Soul, to revere and adore the God of such infinite Perfections, and firmly to believe what thou canst not comprehend. We know a humane Body (the perfection of the whole Creation) cannot be in two places at one and the same time, yet (blessed God) I am assured by Faith, and by the constant dispensation of thy Providences in all places, that thou art Omnipresent at the same time: That there is not any Creature that is not manifest in thy sight; Heb. 4.13. but all things are open and naked unto the Eyes of thee, with whom we have to do; for in thee we live and move, and have our being: Acts. 7.28.  
2. Thou may'st learn hence, O my Soul, to have continually an awful sense of the Divine Majesty, to tremble at the apprehensions of his presence; Jereu●. 5.22. and to behave thyself always as in his sight, not to dare to commit any, even the most minute sin in secret, because God sees, and is present, who will be both thy Witness and thy Judge. How shall I do this Wickedness, saith Joseph, and sin against God? Genesis 39.9. Though no Eye saw him, yet he was conscious that God was a Spectator, and therefore he dares not offend in his presence. Do thou therefore (good God) throughly convince my Soul of this great Truth, that I can never abscond myself from thy presence, that thy Eye is watchful over all my Actions; that thy Ear is ever open to hear all my words; and that thou discernest the most secret of my thoughts; that so looking upon thee as a Witness of my whole Conversation, I may always keep a Conscience void of offence towards thee and towards all Men.  
3. Be careful, O my Soul, because thou art in the immediate presence of God, to be sincere towards him in all thy Religious Duties, as well private as public, and approve thyself to thy Father, who seethe in secret; Matth. 6.6.  
4. This will be a comfort to thee, O my Soul, in all the Afflictions, in all the Troubles thou canst meet withal here in this World. 
Psal. 91.15. Gen. 17.1.  God is present with thee, he sees all thy wants and necessities: He is an All-sufficient God, he is able, and will always secure and relieve thee; take up then holy David's resolution, Why art thou cast down, O my Soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? put thy trust in God: Psalm. 42.5. Or that of the Church, Lamen. 3.24. The Lord is my portion, saith my Soul, therefore will I hope in him.  
5. This should stir up in thee longing and ardent desires after the full enjoyment of his more immediate presence in Heaven, where our joys shall be full, and our pleasures everlasting; Psalm. 16.11. Draw nearer, yet then, O my Soul; Is there in his presence such fullness of joy? Bring forth then thy strongest love towards him that hath prepared such great things for so contemptible Worms as we are: Thy strongest endeavours to please him here, and desires to enjoy him hereafter. I have had some prelibations or foretastes of the sweetness of thy presence in Praying, Meditating, Hearing thy Word, and Receiving the Holy Sacrament, but these have been incomplete and interrupted: It will not be long before I shall (by his Mercy) be admitted unto a more full, perfect, and complete enjoying of his more immediate presence, where I shall for ever behold his Face, and be united to him, without any divorce or separation to all Eternity. Eo feror, quocunque feror. Nihil aliud velim quam permanere illic in aeternum. St. Aug. Conf. If those Servants were accounted happy that stood continually in the presence of an Earthly Prince; 1 Kings 10.8. and if the Twelve Apostles were happy in the enjoyment of the sweet company of our Saviour here on Earth, though in the State of his Humiliation; then thrice happy are those Men and those Servants which shall stand continually before thee in thy Kingdom, who art King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.  
One day in those Celestial Courts, is better than a thousand. My Soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord, my Flesh and my Heart rejoice in the living God.  
My Soul thirsteth for thee, my Flesh also longeth after thee, in a barren and dry land, where no water is.  
Like as the Hart desireth the Water brooks, so longeth my Soul after thee, O God.  
My Soul is athirst for God, even for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the presence of God.   

Of the Mercy of God.  
MErcy in God is an Attribute Essential to his Nature, by which he pitieth those that are in Misery, relieveth those that are in Necessity, and passeth by many sins and frailties in his Creatures, which he might in Justice severely punish.  
Mercy and Misery are relatives, and were there no Want nor Trespass, there needed no Mercy.  
Mercy is either in the Affection or Expression: In the Affection it is termed Bowels of Mercy: in the Expression, Works of Mercy.  
The former God always hath; for it is one of his principal Attributes, and cannot be separated from him, no not at the time when he is in the Execution of his Justice; for when his hand strikes, his heart (as I may so speak) melts and pities, and his Bowels yearn within him; like a merciful Judge who at the same time (being compelled by justice) that he condemns the Criminal, relents in his heart for him. In the very midst of Judgement God remembers Mercy.  
The latter, every Man living hath daily fresh Experiences of in the plentiful Largesses of his undeserved Bounty. That thou yet livest, is an unparallelled Mercy; for thou mightest have been now in Hell, beyond the Hopes of any more Mercy, as well as many thousands who perhaps have deserved it less than thyself.  
It is of the Lords Mercy that we are not consumed; Lam. 3.22. Should I go about to enumerate the variety of God's Mercies towards us as Men, and as Christians, I might in the next page recount (what the Philosopher foolishly attempted) the sands of the Seashore, or the drops of the Ocean. God's Mercies towards us, as they are undeserved, so they are free; he hath no other motive than what proceeds from his own goodness and pleasure; He hath Mercy on whom he will have Mercy: Rom. 9.18.  
Alas, there is nothing in us that could invite his Mercy, but our own misery and wretchedness: he pitied us when we lay in our blood, and said unto us, live.  
God's mercy is universal, illimitable: His mercy is over all his Works; Psalm. 145.9. The wicked as well as the godly daily taste of his mercies; for he sendeth Rain upon the just, and the unjust; Matt. 5.45. but yet his Mercy is more special towards his Elect Servants: 1 Tim. 1.16. for those he hath mercies, tender mercies; yea multitudes of tender mercies: Psalm. 51.1.  
God is great in mercy, Psalm. 119.156. 2 Sam. 24.14. He is rich in Mercy: Eph. 2.4.  
The duration and constancy of God's mercy, it is for everlasting; Psal. 100 ul● 136.1.  
God is delighted in mercy. He is mercy in the abstract, and therefore David calls him: his mercy. Psal. 59.10.  
It it said that Mercy rejoiceth (or triumpheth) over Judgement; 2 Jam. 2.13. as if there were a pretty kind of contention between them, and mercy had gotten the upperhand. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, God in the Second Commandment threatens to punish to the third and fourth Generation, but his mercy extendeth to thousands. There is no perfection in God the Acts of which are more manifest, than in that of his Mercy: Let us Consider its opposite, Justice: How few Acts can we find of this, for multitudes of his mercies? And when he does smite, how many warnings doth he give beforehand? How long is he whetting his Sword, and lifting up his hand to strike? He seems even to lay aside his Omnisciency, that he might be frustrated in doing this work, This his strange Work: Isaiah 28.21. I will go down (saith God) and see if their wickedness be altogether so great as the Cry which is come up unto me: and if not, I will know: Genes. 18.21. God delighteth in mercy: Micah. 7.18. But it grieves him to the very heart (if I may so speak) when he is forced to execute his Justice. Dolet Deus quoties cogitur esse Deus. Who is there that can say he hath been punished according to his demerits? Nay, canst thou find out any Act of his Justice which hath not an Alloy or Mixture of his Mercy? for his tender mercies are over all his Works. Psal. 145.9.  
1. Learn then hence, O my Soul, to admire and adore this infinite perfection of Almighty God, and to labour after a due Sense and Consideration of it, that rhou mayst glorify him for it.  
2. Learn hence to acknowledge God's mercy in all that thou hast, and dost enjoy. All thy mercies come from him; 1 Chron. 29.14. What hast thou which thou hast not received from his benign hand? Every good gift comes down from above; James. 1.17. and St. Paul tells us, 2 Corinth. 1.3. That he is the Father of all mercies; and certainly if we are dutiful Children, we shall not suffer the remembrance of them to be buried in ungrateful silence: but as the Heart will be filled with the sense, so will the mouth with the acknowledgement of his Mercies. Who can express the noble Acts of the Lord, or show forth all his praise? Psal. 106.2. Oh how great is the Sum of them? If we tell them, they are more in number than the Sand: Psal. 139.17, 18.  
Praise the Lord, O my Soul, and all that is within me praise his Holy Name: Praise the Lord, O my Soul, and forget not all his benefits.  
3. And is God so merciful? Then this, O my Soul, should teach thee humility, and to have low thoughts of thyself. If thou wert not miserable, thou hadst no need of Mercy: If thou wert righteous, 'twere but justice to receive good from the hands of God, not mercy. Every particular blessing I enjoy is the fruit and effect of the mercy of God, and aught to each me a Lesson of Humility.  
Many Stripes, many Judgements indeed have I deserved, but I must confess with holy Jacob, That I am not worthy of the least of all his Mercies: Gen. 32.10.  
4. Is God a God of such infinite Mercies? This than should teach thee, O my Soul, in all thy difficulties and distresses, in all thy wants and necessities to, have recourse unto him, to rest and depend upon him.  
The Angel of the Lord, saith holy David, tarrieth round about them that fear him; Psal. 34.7. and delivereth them: And Psal. 34.22. The Lord delivereth the Souls of his Saints, and all that put their trust in him, shall not be destitute.  
And as in temporal dangers, so in temporal wants we must cast all our care upon him; for he careth for us: 1 Pet. 5.7. They that fear the Lordlack nothing; Psal. 34.9. and v. the 10. They that seek the Lord, shall want no manner of thing that is good. God is a God all-sufficient, and able to help me in my greatest necessities: He is a God rich in Mercy, and will not suffer me to want; therefore I will cast my burden upon him: I will put my trust in him.  
5. Is God so Merciful? This should teach me to fear him: This may perhaps seem strange, What shall I fear him, because of his Mercifulness? I have great reason to trust him indeed, and to love him, but shall I fear him for it? Yes certainly we ought to fear him even for his Mercy: There is forgiveness with thee (saith David) therefore thou may'st be feared: Psal. 130.4. and 67. ult. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the Earth shall fear him. Though he forgives, though he blesses, though he shows us mercy, yet we must fear him: Yea, I must needs say, that of all God's Attributes, Mercy is the dreadfullest; for wherever his Mercy lights, and is neglected, or returns empty, without answering Gods Designs, he will certainly recompense his abused Mercy with double Severity. Laesa patientia furor fit.  
6. Is God thus Merciful? This should teach us to imitate his Mercy, by being merciful to our poor necessitous Brethren. Let us imitate it in its universality; it is over all his works: Who is there under the Sun that hath not tasted of it in its reality? He giveth liberally and upbraideth not. It is far from God to do any thing seemingly; 'tis not enough to profess Compassion, and to say as those in St. James, ch. 2.16. Depart in peace, be ye warmed, be ye filled, and yet give nothing to cloth or to feed them. But thou shall do according to the Precept in Deuteronomy, ch. 15.10. Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him. And to encourage thee, take Gods own promise annexed to it, Because that for this thing, the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy Works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. Thus we must imitate God in being merciful unto all, and in being really merciful. All our acts of mercy to our poor Brethren, Christ takes as done to him; Matth. 25.40. In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my Brethren, ye have done it unto me. The miseries of my Brethren are my own miseries, and therefore your mercies to them, are in a sense mercies to me.  
Lastly, Is God thus merciful? This should teach thee, O my Soul, to be continually praising him for his Mercies. Praise is a Duty incumbent on all the Sons of Men, because that all have tasted of his goodness and his mercy.  
Give the Lord, saith David, the honour due unto his Name; Psal. 29.2. Showing that it is not an arbritrary or voluntary act, but a just debt which we own to God. God not only supplieth, but even daily loadeth us with his benefits (as the Psalmist observes) and as he expects no other, so we can make no other retribution unto him, but our Praises and Thanksgivings: O let us never then defraud him of that so easy Tribute; but let our Hearts be continually filled with the sense, and our Mouths with the acknowledgement of his Mercies.  
We confess, O Lord, that we are not worthy of the least of all thy Mercies, and therefore the less we deserve them, the more thou deservest our Praises. O let us not by our ingratitude provoke thee to discontinue thy Mercies, or to shut up thy tender Mercies in displeasure; and so teach us to value them, by making us feel the want of them. Alelujah.   

Of the certainty of Death and Judgement.  Hebrew 9.27. 
And as it it appointed unto Men once to die, but after this the Judgement.  
GOD at first Created Man in a state of Innocency, and appointed him Laws to observe, and gave him withal a power to keep them; and to the keeping of which he annexed the continuation of a happy life, and immunity from death: and lest his credulous Nature might be too easily imposed upon to his own and his posterities ruin; lest the ties of Love, and promise of a Reward, were not strong enough to bind him to his Duty and Allegiance; God was pleased to hedge in his way with a denunciation of threaten and judgements, in case he should any way disobey those Laws set, and tells him, Gen. 2.17. In the day that thou eatest thereof, transgressest my commands (for I have told thee positively, thou shalt not eat of it) thou shalt surely die: but Man, degenerate Man, soon cast off his primitive Innocence, violates those Laws, and thereby renders himself and all his posterity obnoxious to that Judgement of Death before threatened.  
And now God ratifies his former denunciation, establishes it by a perpetual Decree, That unto dust he shall return; Gen. 3.19. So that now we see whence Death had its first beginning, Rom. 5.12. It is but the product and birth of Sin. Sin having once conceived, never prove abortive, but brings forth Death; James 1.15. It is now appointed unto Men once to die, and as certain as the Decree of God is Irreversible, so certainly shall all the Offspring of Adam, High and Low, Rich and Poor, Learned and Unlearned, descend unto the gates of the Grave, mingle their dust, and pay down their Symbol of Mortality.  
Divesne, prisco natus ab Inacho,  
Nil interest & infimâ  
De gente, sub dio morieris,  
Victima nil miserantis orci.  
Omnes eo●em cogimur, etc.  Horat. Carmin. Lib. 2. Ode 3. 
St. Austin observes three kinds of ●eath: The first, is when God forsakes ●he Soul; so he forsook Saul, 1 Sam. 6.14. and so he forsook Pharaoh, Exod. ●13. This Death is also mentioned, Matt. ●. 22. Let the dead bury their dead.  
The second is, When the Soul forsakes the Body, which is in the common ●urse and order of Nature: So Lazars died, John. 11.  
The last is, When both Body and Soul ●ffer eternal Death; and this is mentioned, Matt. 25.46. and so also, Luke 16. ●2, 23. The Rich also Man died and was ●uried, and in Hell he lift up his Eyes ●eing in torments, etc.  
Now Sin is the parent of all these; ●ut great sins and a state of impenitency ●nd hardness of heart are the cause that ●ove God to the first and last: First to ●rsake the Soul (but not till the Soul ●rsakes him) next to consign him over 〈◊〉 that state of Immortal Death.  
The second kind of Death is common ●o the Godly as well as the Wicked, to ●im that feareth an Oath, as well as ●im that sweareth; to the Religious, as ●ell as the Profane; because God's Decree 〈◊〉 unchangeable, 
Eccles. 7.20.  and because ●hat even they also cannot lead a sinless life, but have many sins, many frailties and imperfections, that they cannot totally be freed from, while they live. Death (saith the Apostle) passed upon all Men, for that all have sinned; Rom. 5.12.  
Death then is certain to all 
— nullum  
Saeuà caput Proserpina fugit.  and yet nothing more uncertain than the time of it.  Mors certa est, incerta dies. 
One dies in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and vigour of his Age, when his Bones are full of Marrow, and his Blood of Spirits: Another in his Infancy, when there are great expectations of future comfort, and hopeful successes. Another is entombed in his Mother's Womb, and never sees the Light. Another dies in the Flower of his Youth Another in Old Age: but all sooner o● later come to one Seat, the Grave. One goes well at Night to his Bed, and in the Morning is found dead.  
Lotus nobisum est, hilaris coenavit & ide●  
Inventus mane est mortuus. Andragoras  Martial. l. 6. 
Another goes out of his doors, an● his beloved Consort is with much jo● and impatience expecting his happy re●urn, and anon she receives the sorrowful news of his Death, by a Fall, or a favour. Of all the uncertain things in ●●e World, I know not a more uncertain thing than the times of our Death.  
There are so many thousand Casual●es that may intervene to deprive a Man ●f life, that it is a greater wonder that ●e is, than that he is not. A Plague, or ●●me popular Disease, or Fever, or Smallpox: an Immoderate Grief, or profuse ●y, an Intemperate Draught, or undigested piece of Meat, yea a Hair, or a grapestone, with Myriad of other accidents, may introduce Death.  
And as Death is certain, so is Judgement too.  
As it is appointed unto Men once to ●e, so after this the Judgement. As one fixed by an irrevocable unalterable De●ee, so is the other too.  
He hath appointed a day in which he ●ill judge the World: Acts 17.31.  
This Judgement will be universal both 〈◊〉 to persons and things. God will judge ●e secrets of all hearts by Jesus Christ, ●om. 2.16. Every Man shall receive the ●●ings done in his body, according to ●●at he hath done, whether it be good or evil; 2 Cor. 5.10. and to that end we must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ.  
God is said to be the Judge of all, Heb. 12.23. which evinces the certainty of a day of Judgement: Otherwise to what purpose is there a Judge: And shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right?  
Here the good man finds the sharpest Misery and greatest Afflictions; the Evil Man the sweetest Felicity, and fullest Pleasures. Here the Rich man's Table stands pressed with Delicacies, and poor Lazarus lacks even Crumbs to feed him. Therefore it would much impeach the Justice and Goodness of God, if there were not a time and place to make some retribution to each of these; to reward the Righteous, and to punish the Wicked. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense Tribulation to them that trouble you, and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels; 2 Thess. 1.6, 7. Remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented: Luke 16.25. So that a Man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the Righteous; Verily he is a God that judgeth in the Earth: Psal. 58.11. Otherwise where is our Hope? For if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all Men most miserable; 1 Cor. 15.9. Nothing could buoy up the Spirits of a good Christian, amidst all the heavy Pressures and Afflictions of this Life, but that he has the Hopes and Assurance, that there is an exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory, laid up for him in the life to come.  
St. John in his Revelation tells us, Chap. 20.12, 13. That he saw the Dead, small and great, stand before God; and the Books were opened; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the Books, according to their Works: And the Sea gave up the Dead which were in it, and Death and Hell delivered up the Dead which were in them; and they were judged every Man according to their Works.  
From the whole, you see there is a certainty, nay a necessity of Death and Judgement. This than should teach thee O my Soul,  
1. First to be often meditating of it before it comes; Nil sic revocat a peccato quam frequens Mortis et Judicii meditatio. This will restrain thee from Sin, and make Death and Judgement less terrible when it comes. Is there such a day approaching for all the Sons of Men? How should we then resolve with David to make a Covenant with our eyes, that they behold not vanity: that we set a Watch before our Mouths, and keep the door of our lips, as with a bridle, that we offend not with our tongues: that we always have clean hands, and a pure heart, that at length we may dwell in his Tabernacle, and rest upon his holy Hill for ever. 
Si sapis utaris totis Colinediebus:  
Extremumque tibi semper adesse puta.  Martial. I know the sting of Death is Sin; but thanks be to God who giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  
2. Are there such days approaching and is the time uncertain? this than should teach thee, O my Soul, to be continually preparing for them. Upon this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this moment of time, depends eternity. After a few years, perhaps months or days (it may be minutes) thou shalt be arrested by Death, and thence pass to Judgement: Are thy Accounts fair? Canst thou give them up with joy, and not with grief? Art thou reconciled to God? and hast thou peace with him, and thy own Conscience? then, come blessed day: But if not, neglect not one day, nay one minute more; thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. How many have thy Eyes seen, or thy Ears heard of, that have been one day frolicking and taking their fill of pleasure, and the next shut up in the prison of the grave, whence there is no return to rectify thy former aberrations, and where there is no more repentance? The Grave is a safe repository, and as it receives, so it will keep thee to the Judgement of the great Day: He that goes thither filthy, will be filthy still; and he that is unjust, will be unjust still: He that is righteous, will be righteous still; and he that is holy, will be holy still. Revel. 22.11.  
Give me grace (Good God) all the days of my appointed time, to wait until my Change shall come; to think every day my last, and to prepare Accordingly: that so though the time be uncertain, I may not be at any time unprovided, but when I come to die I may have nothing else to do but to die; that my Soul in the Arms of the Holy Jesus may be deposited with safety and joy, there to expect the Revelation of his day, and then to partake the Glories of his Kingdom.  
3. Are there such days approaching? Then this should strike Horror and Amazement to all lose and wicked persons. The consideration of a Judgement to come made stout Felix tremble. The foolish Virgins did bethink them of Oil for their Lamps, when they heard the noise of the Bride-groom's Coming, and perhaps these when on their Deathbeds, will then too late think of this Day; but 'tis not then a few stillborn abortive prayers, a Lord have mercy upon us, or the like, will serve their turn. The Sinner may frolic it now, follow his intemperance and unlawful pleasures, and say still these are but tricks of youth, or frailties of his Nature; but let him remember that for all these things God will bring him into Judgement; Eccles. 11.9. 'Tis strange that Sinners should be so stupid, and put so far from them the evil Day: they think they shall still rejoice as in their youth, and see no evil, and so never bethink them of their condition, till they find themselves in the confines of Hell. Tell them now of preparation for Death, they will answer ●ou, 'tis time enough yet; and the fittest season for that, is when they are ●perannuated, and unfit for any thing ●●se: Their time must now be divided between their lusts and vanities, between ●nlawful pleasures, and imoderate sleep 〈◊〉 idleness; they cannot now find a time ●r Repentance, Prayer, and attending up●n the things of God; never considering that they must find a time to die in, ●●d that when Death comes, they must ●e at leisure for that. All their false pleasures are vanished like a shadow, and ●ow nothing remains but the sense of ●uilt, and a fearful expectation of Judgement: they now perceive the Arrows of ●●e Almighty stick fast on them, and ●●at there is no profit (but extreamless) 〈◊〉 those things, whereof they are now shamed: they now feel their Torments ●●gin, and court death to be freed from ●●e stingings of Conscience; but that on●● consigns them over to greater and ●ore impassable miseries; who like prisoners condemned to die, they are ●rought out of prison, their Chains knocked off, and yet carried to a more headful Execution.  
4. Are there such Days approaching? Then this brings great comfort and satisfaction to the Godly Man: he is ready to say with Jonah Chap. 4.3. And now I beseech thee, take away my Life, for it is better for me to die than to live: or with Saint Paul, I desire to be dissolved. Death I know, is but a stepping behind the Dark Curtain, and a passage into another Room: I set here in this Horizon, but I shall presently rise in another. 'Tis not a Period, but a Parenthesis, which may be put in or left out, To me to die is gain. I have had my Portion of evil things in the World, my share of miseries and troubles, but now I shall be freed from them all, and gain my port, which I have so long looked out after. And can you blame a Man that is tossed up and down the turbulent Waves of the Sea, to desire a safe Harbour to land in? Can you blame the poor Man that labours and toils all the day long in the sweat of hi● Brows, when his Work is done, to desire the night, wherein he may take hi● ease, and sweet repose? Neither is the Godly man (by Death) only freed fro● those Calamities and Troubles from with out, but from the depraved Corruption of his Nature; from Temptations from within and without, and from Sin itself; the greatest joy to a pious Soul: who more rejoiceth that he cannot sin, than that he cannot suffer.  
And as the approach of this Day brings great comfort and satisfaction to the Godly, upon the score of those Negatives, so it is much enhansed upon the consideration of those positive Rewards (styled by the Apostle the recompense of Reward) promised by Almighty God; which they have oftentimes some praelibations, or foretastes of: This makes them choose Death rather than Life, and to take up St. Austin's Words (breaking out in a holy rapture, commenting upon Moses' desire of God (Exodus. 33.) That he would show him his glory, and God's answer, Thou canst not see my Face; for there is no Man shall see my face and live.) O let me die, that I may behold thy glory. Eia Domine, moriar ut videam, videam, hic ut moriar; nolo vivere, volo mori, dissolvi cupio, & esse cum Christo. St. Aug. I know that my Redeemer liveth, that where he is, there his Servant shall be; I shall see him as he is, and my eyes shall behold him; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, face to face; and then, Olim haec meminisse juvabit— It will be very pleasant to think of those many past troubles, and escaped dangers  
Grant me gracious God so to live, that at last I may lay down my Head in the dust with joy, rest in hope, and at length rise to a blessed and glorious Immortality. Amen, even Amen Lord Jesus.   

Of Heaven and Hell; the Joys of one, the Torments of the other.  
JVxta se posita magis elucescunt. The darker the Foil, the more radiant doth the Diamond appear. The blackness and deformity of the Maid, makes the Mistress' Beauty more remarkable. The Meditation of the torments of Hell renders the joys of Heaven the more valuable; and therefore I begin with the former. God hath set before us Life and Death, eternal Rewards and eternal Punishments. He hath given us just and holy Laws to observe and keep, and power to keep them; and to the keeping of which he hath annexed an everlasting reward, by an irrevocable Decree: to the violation of which, he hath (by the same Decree) annexed an everlasting punishment: so that if we embrace the former we shall not fail of the recompense of reward; but if we persevere in the latter, we treasure up Wrath against the day of Wrath, and shall be sure at length to feel the Righteous Judgement of God. This is God's Covenant that he makes with us; To them who by patiented continuance in well doing seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, eternal Life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish; Rom. 2.7, 8, 9 Now 'tis essential to God to be just to his Covenant. The Lord is just, saith the Prophet, Zephan. 3.5. He is Just in all his decrees, and just in the Execution of them: He is just in himself, and just in his Law: just in his rewards, just in his punishments. He is Justice in the abstract. He is the Judge of all, and shall not he do right? Yes certainly he shall, and will. As he keeps mercy for the righteous, so he will by no means clear the guilty; Exodus. 34.7. Let no wicked person therefore condemn in this the severity of God's justice in proceeding against wicked Wretches, Whose damnation (as the Apostle says, Rom. 3.8.) is just. For it is their own voluntary free choice, their Destruction is of themselves, Hos. 13.9. Let God be true, and every man a Liar; that he may be justified in his saying, and clear when he is judged by wicked and unreasonable men: Rom. 3.4, 5, 6.  
St Paul puts the question, Is God unrighteous, who taketh Vengeance? and answers it himself, God forbidden; for how shall God then Judge the World? For if God be a Judge he be must just, and distribute punishments as well as rewards. The Lord is just (saith the Psalmist) and there is no unrighteousness in him; Psal. 92.15.  
O enter not into Judgement with thy Servant, O Lord, for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified.  
O Lord if thou condemn me thou art righteous; thou hast but dealt with me after my sins, end rewarded me according to the demerits of mine iniquities. Righteous art thou in all thy ways, just and true are thy Judgements. Holy St. Jerome was wont to say, That whether he did eat or drink, sleep or wake, or whatever he did, he thought the Sound of the last Trump did echo in his Ears, and heard a voice, saying, Arise ye Dead and come to Judgement. If this holy Man were under such continual apprehensions, and had such fears of the approach of the last day, that he could not at any time disband them from his thoughts: How then should it strike horror and amazement into the hearts of obstinate impenitent sinners, to think of the dreadfulness of that day, and the greatness and perpetuity of their torments, which shall then commence but never have an end?  
They have had their Heaven upon Earth, and now they shall have Hell instead of Heaven. Bona accepisti: Remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things, none remain now, but evil things; now thou art tormented.  
Ezekiel's Role was sweet in his Mouth but bitter in his Belly. Had Solomon's simple Man seriously considered what Shot his fatal Banquet would have cost him, He would never have commended the sweetness of his stolen waters, and pleasantness of his Bread eaten in secret, for he knew not (at least would not know) that he was a companion with the dead, and that his fellow guests were in the depths of Hell; Prov. 9.17, 18. where being once come he can never return.  
— Facilis descensus Averni,  
Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras,  
Hic labour, hoc opus,  
Hell is a place appointed by God for the tormenting of the Devil, wicked Angels, and sinful Souls, to all Eternty; and we are told that it is a place downwards, and beneath us; Prov. 15.24. The way of Life is above to the Wise, that he may departed from Hell beneath; and so ch. 7.27. speaking of the Harlot, Her house is the way to Hell, going down to the Chambers of Death; besides in Prov. 9.18. It is called Profundum, a Depth; to define the local place of which, is too deep for me; God grant I may never be able better to define it: Sin I am sure laid the Cornerstone of that deep and dark Vault, and it must be my Innocency that must preserve me from being an Inhabitant in it.   

The Ingenious Mr. Cowley hath given this Description of the place in his Davideis.  

BEneath the silent Chambers of the Earth,  
Where the Sun's fruitful Beams give Metals birth,  
Where be the growth of fatal Gold does see,  
Gold, which above more influence has than he,  
Beneath the Dens where unfletched Tempests lie,  
And infant Winds their tender voices try;  
Beneath the mighty Ocean's wealthy Caves,  
Beneath the Eternal Fountain of all Waves;  
Where their vast Court the Mother Waters keep,  
And undisturbed by Moons in silence sleep;  
There is a place deep, wondrous deep below,  
Which genuine Night and Horror does o'er flow;  
No bound controls the unwearied space, but Hell,  
Endless as those dire pains that in it dwell.  
Here no dear glimpse of the Sun's lovely face  
Strikes through the solid darkness of the place:  
No dawning Morn does her kind reds display;  
One slight weak Beam would here be thought the day.  
No gentle Stars with their fair gems of Light  
Offend the tyran'ous and unquestioned Night.   
But it is not so much the Place as t h Torments there to be endured: Who can express their Sharpness? Who their Number?  

Non mihi si centum linguae, sint oraque centum,  
Far a vox, omnes scelerum compr'endere formas;  
Omnia poenarum percurrere nomina possim.   

No heart of Man can think, no tongue can tell,  
The direful pains ordained and felt in Hell.   
All the Senses shall be rendered more exquisite than ever, the more fully to perceive their Torments; and every one have their fill of them.  
The Sight shall be afflicted with a more than Egyptian Darkness, and the continual beholding of monstrous Fiends and Devils.  
The Hearing with Shrieks and horrible Cries.  
The Smelling with Fumes of Brimstone, and noisome Stenches.  
The Taste with ravenous Hunger and insatiable Thirst.  
The Feeling (the most exquisite of all the Senses) with intolerable yet unquenchable Fire, because the Breath of the Lord, like a stream of Brimstone doth kindle it; Isaiah 30.33. Add to these a Fire continually flashing in the Reprobates Face, which shall yield no more light than with a glimpse to show him the Torments of others, and others his; yet withal of so violent a burning, that should it glow on Mountains of Steel, it would melt them like Snow.  
Suppose thou shouldest be confined to lie but one Night grievously afflicted with a raging Fit of the Stone, Strangury, Colic, Gout, Toeth-ach, or the like; though thou hadst a soft Bed to lie upon, Friends and Companions about thee, and all things necessary that thou couldst desire, but ease from thy pains, how long wouldst thou count the minutes, and blame the Clock for its slow progression? What will it be then for thee to suffer the torment of the hottest Flames? And that not for a Night only, but for Myriad of Ages; and when that circle is gone through, there is yet no point or end: 'Tis Labour actus in orbem, a continual Revolution.  
Believe it, This is no Poetical, Fantastical Styx or Acheron, but a real Hell.  
Ixion's Wheel was a place of Rest, compared with this Wheel of Justice.  
The Task of Sisyphus or Danaus' Daughter, but a sport compared with this Torture.  
And besides, these external Torments of the Body, the Soul (the more sensible part) drinks most deeply of this Cup of God's fury. All the Furies of Hell afflict his Conscience: Thought calls to Fear, Fear to Horror, Horror to Despair, Despair to Torment, Torment to Extremity; all to Eternity. The damned Soul, hath no Soul now capable of comfort; and though his Eyes distil like Fountains, and his Prayers and Cries were loud enough to silence the dismal Shrieks of all his miserable Companions; yet God is now inexorable, and speaks to them in this Language: You refused to hear me when I have called, yea when I have so often wooed and entreated you: I have waited to be gracious, and stretched out my hand all the day long, and you have not regarded; I will not now hear your Cry, I will laugh at your Calamity, and mock at your Fear; this shall be your portion for ever.  
This is the Damned's Poena Sensus, their positive punishment: There is also Poena Damni to be considered, their privative punishment; and this the Contemplation of the Blessedness of the Righteous, will much help them too; when they shall too late consider that such joys as the Righteous are now partakers of, might have been their lot and portion, if they had obeyed the Laws and Commands of God, as the others did. The consideration of this, is that Worm of Conscience that never dies; that cruel Vulture that continually gnaws upon the Liver of this Tityus, and cannot be shaken off.  — Haeret latori laethalis arundo. 
I could speak much more to aggravate the misery of the Damned, and represent the Torments of Hell; out, — par nulla figura Gehennae.   

Reflections upon Hell, and the Yorments of it.  
Is Hell such a direful Place? And are the Torments of it so acute, so inexpressible, so remediless, so eternal? Then this should teach thee, O my Soul,  
1. First to avoid Sin, which was the Founder of it, and which if persevered ●n, will certainly bring thee to that dismal Place, those dire Torments, from which there is no Redemption. Did sinners seriously consider of the evil consequences of Sin, and had they ●ut one glimpse of those Torments they are to suffer in Hell to all Eternity, how would it charm their Spirits, appall their Faces, and strike fear and astonishment to their Hearts; for who can think of the Divine Wrath without trembling? Or, Who can dwell with Everlasting Burn? O poor secure sinners, what will ye now do? Where will you hid yourselves? Or what shall cover you? Mountains and Rocks are gone, the Earth and Heavens that were, are passed away; the devouring Fire hath consumed all, except yourselves, who must be the Fuel for ever. There is no remedy for you but Repentance, that plank after Shipwreck, that can rescue you from this Vengeance: Think, O think of this, ye that now forget God, lest he pluck you away, and there be none to deliver you.  
2. Is Hell such a direful place? etc. Then this should teach thee to mind those things that are above.  
The way of Life is above to the Wise, saith Solomon, that he may departed from Hell beneath. The way to departed from Hell, which is the lowest, is to mind those things which are highest, which are above 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to seek (or be wise for) those things that are above: This is the truest Wisdom, the greatest piece of Understanding. 'Tis not enough to cease to do evil, but we must also learn to do well. Non progredi est regredi. If we lie still, we shall never come to our Journeys end: There is no standing idle or loitering in the School of Virtue.  
As we must abstain from the appearance of Evil, so we must follow after Holiness (without which no Man shall see God) so shall we be freed from the fears of this dreadful place: And when Christ who is our life shall appear, we shall also appear with him in Glory; Coloss. 3.4.  
3. Is Hell such a direful place? And are the Torments of it so insupportable, so endless? Then this should teach me to pity, instruct, and pray for those that are posting thither. We see Dives even in Hell, pities his poor Brethren, and would (could he have found a Messenger) have sent them an account of the Torments he felt, that they might escape their coming into that place. And although this Province be chief the Ministers, yet private Persons, as place and fit opportunity occurs, may also instruct and reprove the unfruitful works of Darkness; or if that doth not take place, we may at least pity them, mourn in secret for them, and pray for their Conversion; and though they perhaps may not reap the benefit, yet we may: God accepts our Charity, and will reward our Prayers; they shall return into our own bosom: Psal. 35.13.  
4. Is Hell such a direful place? And have I any assurance that I shall escape it? This than should raise my thankfulness to God for this his great and distinguishing Mercy towards me, that he hath called me from under the power of Darkness, into his marvellous Light. This should cause me to be continually magnifying his great and glorious Name, for so unspeakable, so inestimable a Mercy, that whereas others lie wallowing in the puddle of their Sins, heaping up Wrath against the day of Wrath, and hastening to their eternal ruin, he hath been graciously pleased to snatch me as a Firebrand out of the Fire, and hath given me some hopes and assurance that I shall never come into this Place of Torment. Praise the Lord, O my Soul, and all that is within me, praise his holy Name. Praise the Lord, O my Soul, and forget not all his benefits; who saveth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with mercy and loving kindness: And now being delivered out of the hands of these my spiritual Enemies, I may serve God without fear, in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of my life. This is that which will exact our greatest praises here, and because this life is too scanty and contracted for it, it will afford us matter for our eternal Praises in the Kingdom of Heaven.  
My next Method leads me to the Meditation of the joys of Heaven.  
And here I must pause a while— This is a Theme too sublime for Humane Oratory: the Tongues of Men and Angels come infinitely short of Expressions of those joys; nay they never entered into the heart of Man to conceive them: 1 Cor. 2.9. The Eye sees much, the Ears hear more, the Heart conceives most, yet all come short of apprehension, much more of comprehension of those joys: Therefore enter thou into thy Master's joy, for it is too great to enter into thee, said a pious Author: But as Pythagor as guessed at the Stature of Hercules by the length of his Foot: And as the Israelites made some discovery of the sertility of Canaan, from the few Clusters of Grapes brought them by the Spies: so may we make some imperfect Collection of the Glory of this heavenly Kingdom, from that of this temporal one; for the visible things of this World which are made, declare unto us the invisible things of God; Rom. 1.20. If we look downwards upon the beauty and comeliness, the order, decency, and usefulness of all created Being's here below; what Excellencies do we find there? But if we cast our Eyes upwards, and consider the Embroidered Canopy of Heaven drawn over our heads, the Majestic brightness of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, Lights to which pre●ious Stones in their brightest Lustre are but Clouds. What is exposed to our view, is admirable, how much more what we cannot see. If the outside of the Royal Palace be so Magnificent, if the Hall appear so rare, what Ornaments are there in the Presence-Chamber of the King? If the lower side of that Pavement which the Feet of the Saints shall walk upon in Heaven, be so glorious, What be the Parlours and Inner Chambers unseen? Whence the Poet, 
If in Heaven's outward Court such Bea●ty be,  
What is the Glory which the Saints do see?  Heaven I should express but in faint Metaphors, should I tell you of Crystal Streams and Shady Groves, of a feigned Elysium or Temporal Canaan. St. John in his Revelation gives us some imperfect account of this Holy Place, this New Jerusalem, Rev. 21. to bring the thing as near to sense as he can, and our apprehensions; he tells us the Walls are of all manner of precious Stones; the City of pure Gold: the Twelve Gates whereof are Twelve Pearls, every several Gate of one Pearl: There is no Night there, neither is there any need of the Sun or Moon to shine in it, or of a Candle to lighten it; for the Glory of the Lord doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the Light thereof: of which Ingenious Mr. Cowley.  
For there no Twilight of the Sun's dull ray  
Glimmers upon the pure and native day:  
No pale-faced M●on does in stolen beams appear,  
Or with dim Taper scatters Darkness there.  
We are now come to the high Court of Heaven; and if these things be so full of Majesty and Glory, what is the transcendent brightness and glory of their Maker? And here I can go no farther for as no Man hath ever seen God at any time, so no mind could ever comprehend him: Whatsoever we can conceive of him, it is but in part; 1 Cor. 13.12. We hear of him but a little portion, saith Job (ch. 26.14.) and we know less. Who can behold the Sun in his glorious Shining? Much less can we comprehend the glorious Majesty of God: Who hath beheld it, that he may demonstrate it? Not the Angels, for they are fain to cover their Faces; Isa. 6. v. much less we that dwell in houses of Clay, who have that ignorance and guiltiness that those glorious Seraphims are freed from.  
Should Angels, Cherubims and Seraphims descend from Heaven, to proclaim the exceeding greatness of his Glory, we may at length conclude with the Queen of Sheba (concerning Solomon's Magnificence) That the one half was not told us. And yet such is the immense goodness of God, that he hath promised us wretched Creatures, Dust and Ashes, who faithfully serve him, the Vision and Contemplation of this his Glory; that we shall be where he is, and behold him Face to Face. And in this Beatific Vision consists the greatest joy and blessedness of the Godly. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; Matt. 5.8. Here we shall have a perfect complete knowledge of his Goodness and Glory, and the full fruition of his presence, which will abundantly satisfy; and no wonder, for in his presence is fullness of Joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore: For quality they are pleasures, for quantity fullness, for dignity at God's right hand; for eternity, for evermore; Psal. 16. ult.  
Delight we in good Company? Here is the glorious presence of the Blessed Trinity; the Father that made us, the Son that redeemed us, even with the price of his own most precious Blood; the Holy Ghost that sanctified us, and that brought us unto this place: the holy and unspotted Angels that rejoiced at our Conversion on Earth, much more at our Consolation in Heaven: All the Patriarches, Prophets, and the full Communion of Saints.  
Delight we in pleasant Music? Here are Quires of Angels, and beautified Spirits, who cease not night and day to sing Praises and Hosannas unto him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb; and oh the sweet Melody of Alelujahs, which so many glorified Souls shall sing to God in Heaven.  
Delight we in dainty Fare, or good Cheer? We shall eat and drink with Christ at his Father's Table, and hear Christ himself thus Welcoming us; Eat O my Friends, and make you Merry, O well be loved: Cant. 5.1.  
Such honour have all his Saints.  
Delight we in good Apparel? We shall be arrayed with Fine Linen, and long White Robes; Revel. 6.11. If in Dominion? We shall Judge the Angels. And they shall Reign for ever and ever; Rev. 22.5.  
In a word, We shall enjoy more than ever we could desire or wish. All our Faculties (which shall now be more capacious than ever) shall be filled to the utmost, and we shall be possessed of those Joys and Delights, which know neither measure nor end.  
And as the consideration of the duration of the Torments of the Wicked to all Eternity, gives them their greatest venom and malignity; so on the other side the consideration of the continuance of those Joys to all Eternity, adds unto them their greatest Beauty and Perfection; they shall come out from thence no more for ever.  
For as nothing enters into that holy place that defileth, so there is nothing there that can defile. The great Dragon, the grand Enemy and Accuser of the Brethren, is cast down into the bottomless Pit; whence he shall never return to tempt the Godly more. The World is consumed, and no Temptation can come thence; or if we could come to it, those pleasures now would have no gusts or relish. The Flesh cannot tempt us, for that is now refined and purified from all Corruptions and vain Desires; we are now so confirmed in our State of Happiness, that God himself (with reverence do I speak it) cannot alter or change it to all Eternity.   

Reflections upon Heaven, and the Joys thereof.  
AND now, O my Soul! Is Heaven such a glorious place? Are the joys thereof so transcendent, so satisfactory, and so permanent, without any fear of Diminution, or Mutation? Then this should teach thee to use all possible diligence, that thou may'st in the end attain them; and think no pain, care or trouble too great for their Acquisition. This is the Pearl of great price, for which if thou sell all to purchase it, thou wilt be a great gainer. This is the Vnum necessarium, the only thing necessary; thy all that thou hast to do in this World.  
2. Is Heaven such a glorious Place? and are there such Joys and Privileges reserved for blessed Souls? Then woe is me that I must remain in Meshech, and have my habitation among the tents of Kedar. I cannot but say with Elias, I am weary of my life; and with Simeon, Lord now lettest thou thy servant departed in peace with St. Paul, I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ; which is far better than to abide in this Baca of Tears, and Wilderness of Fears; for there all Tears shall be wiped away from mine Eyes I shall cease to sorrow, cease to grieve cease to sin. If the poor deluded Mahometans can rejoice at the expectation of a feigned sensual Paradise: If a poo● Heathen could desire to die, 
Cicero de Somn. Scipion.  because he had hopes of conversing after death, with such Heroic Spirits as Socrates, Aristides, Scipio, etc. ●ow much more should all true Christians, who have far greater hopes and firm assurance of the enjoyment of a real spiritual Paradise, of conversing with Saints and Angels, with our blessed Redeemer, nay God himself; rejoice to ●hink of that day, and cry out with holy David, Oh that I had Wings like a Dove, for than would I fly away and be ●t rest. My Soul is athirst for God, yea ●ven for the living God, when shall I ●ome to appear before the presence of God? For one day in thy Courts, is better ●han a thousand: I had rather be a Doorkeeper in the House of my God, than ●o dwell in the Tents of Wickedness.  
Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer, O Lord make no long tarrying.  
3. Is Heaven such a glorious Place? And are there such joys and pleasures at Gods right hand? Then this discovers unto me the madness and extreme folly of the World, who put so high a value ●nd estimate upon the pitiful, contemptible, empty things of this Life, as riches honours, pleasures, and the like (which we either lose living, or leave dying) without securing themselves of that Heaven and those Joys, which are far above all value and comparison. What a deal of toil and trouble do Men take, for that Meat which perisheth? And neglect that which endureth to everlasting Life? How eagerly do Men gape after Riches; rise early, and late take rest; endeavouring by all unlawful as well as lawful means, to enlarge their Possessions, to add Field to Field, and House to House, till there be no more place▪ and neglect the true Riches? Yet mus● at last be content with a mouthful o● Earth, whom many Manors did no● content in life. How do Men prefer a● little outward pomp and grandeur, o● a fading title of Honour, before the Ornaments of a meek and humble Spirit before the honour of being God's Children here, and of being admitted into his presence, to reign with him for ever▪ How do Men greedily hunt after, and court the unsatisfactory, yea troublesome pleasures of this vain World 〈◊〉 which are but momentany; and aspire not to those which are at God's righ● hand for evermore.  
O my Soul, come not thou into their secret, to their Assembly be not thou united.  
4. Is Heaven such a glorious Place 〈◊〉 Do the joys thereof so far transcend all human Conceptions and Imaginations? Then this should teach thee, O my Soul, ●o be content with whatever corpse Entertainment thou shalt meet withal in ●hy way thither; be it poverty, sick●ess, disgrace, disappointment, losses, ●r the greatest temporal Evil or Calamity that may befall thee: Consider that Heaven will make amends for all: O how great is the goodness which thou hast laid ●p for them that fear thee. All the Afflictions thou canst meet with here, will accompany thee no farther than the Grave, and that is but a little way, a ●hort time, at most but a moment, with respect to Eternity. Those light Afflictions which are but for a moment, work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory; 2 Cor. 4.17. Those may not retard thy motion neither, for commonly they rather accelerate the course they work for us; where as too much prosperity slackens, clogs us, and works against us; makes us apt to set up our rest on this side Jordan, and never long for a better, for a more heavenly Canaan. If we come to a Friends House where we are well accommodated, and have all things according to our desire, we are inclined to stay longer than at first we designed, and are very difficultly drawn thence; but if we meet with bad Accommodation, and unwelcome Entertainment, we care not how soon we are gone, and presently bethink us of our home, where we shall have all things at our desire. This World is but our passage, our way, not our home: Heaven is our home, our abiding, our resting place, and we can never be well accommodated till we arrive there.  
We have many difficulties to pass through, before we come to our Journeys end, and then we may sit down and rejoice, Et olim haec meminisse juvabit; and than it will be pleasant and delightful to reflect upon our past dangers. Here I am in a state of Bondage, I shall then enjoy perfect Freedom and Liberty, yea the Liberty of the Children of God. I cannot here attend one minute to thy service without distraction, there I shall be free, and find no interruption. O bring my Soul out of Prison, that I may give thanks unto thy Name, and together with Angels and Arch-Angels, and all the company of Heaven, laud and magnify thy glorious Name, evermore praising thee, and saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts: Heaven and Earth are full of thy Glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord most high. Amen.  JOB 16.24. 
When a few years are come, then shall I go the way whence I shall not return.  
THere is not a more powerful Argument to reclaim a Sinner from the wickedness of his ways, or to encourage a holy man in the prosecution of Piety and Goodness, than the frequent Meditation of Death. When a wicked Man shall seriously consider, That though he now gives himself the full swing and liberty of his unlawful pleasures and desires, and denies himself nothing that his depraved Appetite can crave or suggest unto him; yet these are but fleeting and momentany: That when a few years are come, he shall be taken from them, and go the way whence he shall not return; this will certainly embitter his false joys, and lay some restraint upon him in the Career of all his Sensual Delights. On the other side, when a good and holy Man shall consider, that although in the ways of Virtue and Holiness he meets with many straits and difficulties, he hath many fears and troubles within, many trials and temptations without, yet these will not continue long; when a few years are come, he shall be freed from them all: he shall go the way, whence he shall not return. This certainly will encourage him to persevere, and to continue faithful unto Death.  
This was that which afforded holy Job so much comfort in the midst of all his Afflictions: He was in a very miserable Condition, under the power of Satan's Malice, full of noisome Boils and grievous Pains; laughed at, and mocked by his cruel Enemies; nay reproached and contemned by his nearest Friends (as you may see a Catalogue of his Sufferings, from verse the ninth to the 17th) yet he still maintains his Integrity with the considerations of the shortness of his life, and consequently of the duration of his afflictions; saying, When a few years are come, than I shall go the way whence I shall not return: from the words we may collect  
1. The certainty of Death: When a few years are come, than I shall go the way, etc.  
2. The uncertainty of the time of it, When a few years are come. The Prophet leaves it in indefinite, he doth not say, Such a number of years, or in such a year I shall die, but, when a few years are come, etc.  
3. The brevity of Man's Life: Thought he mentions years, yet they are but few: When a few years, etc.  
1. The certainty of Death: St. Paul tells us, Heb. 9.27. That it is appointed unto Men once to die, and this Royal Decree of Heaven is like that of the Medes and Persians irreversible; had Man continued in his primitive Innocence, he should not indeed have died; but when once Man put off that white Robe, he became immediately obnoxious unto Death; and God tells him, Gen. 3. Dust thou art, and to Dust shalt thou return. The wages of sin is Death.  
As certainly as we live, so certainly shall we die. Neither the Majesty of the Prince, nor the meanness of the Peasant: the Wealth of the rich Man, nor the Poverty of the Poor: The strength of the Mighty, nor the holiness of the Pious, can exempt from Death; so that I may take up that Interrogation of the Prophet, What Man is he that liveth, and shall not see Death?  
2. The uncertainty of the time of it. Astrologers by Calculating Nativities, have pretended to foretell the Deaths of others as well as themselves, but have seldom ever hit right in either, and have been miserably deceived. Our times are in God's hand: This is one of the Arcana Imperis, those incommunicative prerogatives God keeps to himself, and dare any Mortal be so bold as to pretend to it. God hath said that he comes as a thief in the Night, and hath bid us Watch: That of the hour and the season knoweth no Man; and yet shall we say that we have any certainty of his coming. Do we not see how many are daily snatched away by a sudden and untimely Death? And yet shall we boast ourselves of too morrow? Infancy, Childhood, Youth, Manhood and Ripeness of years, can no more plead Exemption from Death, than old Age; so that you see how uncertain the time of it is.  
3. The brevity of Man's Life. David observed that the days of our Age are Threescore years and ten, and at most but fourscore, and if we wade through many thousand Accidents, and at last arrive to that Age, it is still but short with respect to Eternity, and we spend our years as a Tale that is told, scarcely remembering when or where we began. But it is not one of many thousands, whose Lamp burn thus long to its lowest Basis, but either the Oil is consumed, or a puff of wind hath blown it out long before. What is our life, saith St. James? It is even a vapour that continueth but a little while, and then vanisheth away. David compares it to sleep, which lasteth but for a Night; to Grass, which in the Morning is green and groweth up, but in the Evening is cut down, dried up, and withered. Lucian calls it a Bubble, which by the next breath of wind vanisheth into Air. Homer a Leaf, which if it be not gathered by the hand, or eaten by a Worm, or forced by the wind, will whither and fall of its own accord at Autumn. Pindar, the Dream of a shadow; what more vain, unconstant, short lived things than these? Yet such is the Life of Man. Well then might Job say, When a few years are come, than I shall go the way whence I shall not return.  
From the words we may gather these four Corollaries or Observations.  
1. From the Example of this holy Man, I learn that we ought to think of Death before it comes. When a few years are come, than I shall go the way, etc.  
2. That we ought not only to think of Death in general, but of our own Death in particular: I shall go the way, whence I shall not return.  
3. That it is the highest piece of Prudence to prepare for it before it comes, because that after Death we shall not be able to return, to amend or rectify the deficiency of our former preparations; I shall go the way whence I shall not return.  
4ly. and Lastly, That to a pious and innocent Soul, the consideration of Death and never returning again to a troublesome and sinful Life, is matter of great joy and comfort. When a few years are come, than I shall go the way whence I shall not return.  
1. As to the first, That we ought (from the Example of holy Job) to think of Death before it comes. There is nothing so much discomposes a Man, or unfits him for the due Exercise of his Reason and Prudence, in the conduct of any weighty Affair, as to be surprised suddenly, and without his expectation. Even a sudden and profuse joy, as well as an immoderate and unlooked for grief, hath cut off the thread of the lives of many: What disorder and discomposure then, will a sudden Arrest from Death, make in the heart of that Man, that never as much as thought on, or looked for it before hand? How will it amaze or distract him? And turn all his Senses into Confusion? If a Man had only one thing of great moment to do in his whole Life, upon the success of which depended either his happiness or misery; we should count him certainly the most stupid and careless Fool, that should not as much as think and consider of it, and contrive all ways possible before hand, how he might succeed in it: You have seen already that Death is certain, and upon our dying depends our Eternal Salvation, or Eternal Damnation; how insensible must we then be, if we are not often in the time of our life and health, taken up with some serious thoughts, and contemplations of it?  
2. That we ought not only to think of Death in general, but of our own death in particular: I shall go the way whence I shall not return.  
Death is a general term, and if it touch not us or our Family, our Friends, or Relations, we are as unconcerned as to hear of a Sickness or Mortality beyond the Seas, in which we are like to be no fellow sufferers or sharers. We can read every Week the Bills of Mortality, and hear of this and the other great Person dead; nay we can take many turns in the Church and Yard, and walk over the Graves of our deceased Friends, and yet be as unmoved and unsensible of our own change, as the Stones we walk upon: But Alas! Do we think that ourselves alone are Immortal? That we only shall have an Exemption from Death? Shall not the Passing Bell at length Toll for us, and shall it not at length be said in the Streets, That such a one is dead? Yes certainly, when a few years (perhaps weeks or days) are come, than thou in particular shalt go the way whence thou shalt not return. O then think of Death before it comes, and of thy own death in particular; say thus within thyself, I am now in a state of health and strength, I have now time and opportunity for Repentance, my Lamp is yet burning, I am invited to the Marriage of the Bride, and the Door is yet open; now my Tears will be accepted, now my Prayers will be heard; now is the acceptable time, now is the day of Salvation: Now or never must I prepare for Eternity, now or never must I make my peace with God: What madness, what folly, will it be in me to hazard my Eternal Salvation upon the hopes of a long life? Or upon the possibility of having time to repent on my Deathbed.  
Our time you see is uncertain, and many there are who are taken away by a sudden death, even in the midst of their sins: Why may not I be one of those? Many that thought as little of it as I do, and had as good Resolutions as I have, have yet perished to all Eternity. Others there have been, who though they have had timely Warnings of their Death by a lingering and tedious Disease, yet either their pains and uneasiness have discomposed them for Repentance and fitting themselves for their change; or else God hath then in Justice denied them the grace of Repentance, who have been so long time neglective of it. Repentance is the gift of God, and he that hath promised pardon to the Penitent whensoever he reputes, hath not always promised to give the Sinner Repentance. And if God should thus deal with me (as he may justly do) even then deny me Repentance (without which I cannot be saved) when I call upon him for it, 
Qui promisit paenitenti veniam, non promisitpeccanti paenitentiam.  because I refuse to do it now, when he calls upon me; how miserable and deplorable will my condition be? Can I endure the Wrath of a Sin-revenging God? Can I dwell with everlasting Burn? Can any thing screen me from those direful Torments, prepared for the Devil and his Angels; but now I to have my share in them! O remember what God says, Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out minn hand, and no Man regarded; but ye have set at nought my counsels, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear comes.  
3. That it is the highest pice of Prudence to prepare for Death before it comes, because that after Death we shall not be able to return to amend or rectify the deficiency of our former preparations. I shall go the way whence I shall not return— Vestigia nulla retrorsum. The grave receives all that come into it, but will never suffer any to return thence before it hears the Voice of him that hath the Keys of it, saying, Arise ye dead, and come to Judgement. As the Tree falls, so it lies, there is no Repentance in the Grave, whither we all go: As Death leaves us, so the Resurrection will find us: If we died Sinners, no Purgatory can make us to rise Saints: He that was filthy at his Death, will be found to be filthy still; and he that was unjust then, will be unjust still; and he that was righteous, will be righteous still; and he that was holy, will be holy still; Rev. 22.11. O then let it be now thy care, as it is thy prudence and interest, so to prepare in life, that thou may'st receive comfort in death; that thy accounts may be fair, no error or deficicncy in them, and thou may'st be able to give them up with joy and not with grief, and receive that blessed Character and Reward, of, Well done thou good and faithful Servant, enter thou into thy Master's joy.  
4. That to a pious and innocent Soul, the consideration of Death and never returning again to a troublesome and sinful life, is matter of great joy and comfort: When a few years are come, than I shall go the way, whence I shall not return. This life is a life of trouble; we no sooner enter into it, but we commence miserable; the best part of it is Chequered with Sorrows, and when we leave it, it is not without pains and groans: So that the whole Series of it from the Cradle to the Grave, is nothing else but one Chain and Link of Misery. This lot happens both to the good, and to the bad; to the just, and to the unjust; and the latter as well as the former might seem to solace himself with the consideration of the brevity of the duration; but yet the righteous and holy Man, as his troubles are far greater, having the addition of grief for his own and others Sins, the fears of Relapses into them, the difficulty of conquering Temptations, and being faithful unto death: This enhanses his sorrow, and multiplies his troubles, and so consequently the consideration of his approaching Death and never returning more to so troublesome and sinful State of Life; must needs revive his Spirits, and magnify his joy. Methinks I hear him expostulating with himself in such language as this, Ah Wretched Man that I am, I came into the World with pains and tears, my Infancy was spent in sleep and ignorance, but yet not without its allay of sickness and inquietude: My riper years have been wholly taken up with Folly and Vanity, dishonoured with the multiplicity of Lusts and Sins, ensnared with passions, amazed with fears, divided between cares and impertinencies, wearied with labours, loaden with diseases, afflicted with want, evil spoken of with and without a cause: I have had many disappointments and losses, been unfortunate in my Friends and Relatives; and (which is worst of all) I have been daily harrassed with many impetuous Lusts and Temptations: My sins have prevailed against me; I have displeased my God, and wounded my own Conscience, interrupted my hopes of Heaven, and am continually tormented with evil and wicked inclinations: I find still a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind, and bringing me into Captivity, to the Law of Sin and Death: Those things which I would do, I cannot do; but those things that I would not do, those I do: O Wretched Man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this Body of Sin and Death that I carry about me? I am afraid lest my Faith should fail, lest having received the Grace of God, and tasted of the heavenly Powers, I should again be entangled by the Snares of my old beloved Lusts, and so forfeit all my right to Heaven, lose the Reward of all my strict and circumspect Walking, and not continue faithful unto Death: But, O my Soul, there is something, the remembrance of which alleviates my grief, and sweetens this bitter Cup; These my sorrows will not last long, a few years are the most, and they will suddenly come, and then I shall go the way whence I shall not return: I shall then cease to grieve any more, cease to sorrow, cease to fear, and cease to sin any more for ever. All tears shall then be wiped away from mine Eyes, and there shall be no more Sickness, nor Sorrow, nor Death, nor Crying, nor Pain: I shall then have perfect rest and joy, peace and quietness, without any interruption; for in his presence is fullness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore. Though the way be foul and troublesome, yet the Journey is but short, and the end will be pleasant and peaceable, and this consideration shall make me go cheerfully away with my present burden; for when a few years are come, than I shall go the way whence I shall not return.   

Meditations before (or at) Dinner or Supper.  
1. When you see the Table spread, Meditate on God's Fatherly goodness and providence towards all his Creatures, what vast infinite numbers there are, and yet he carefully (as a loving Father for his Children) provides for them all their Meat in due season.  
2. Meditate how much more gracicious God is to thee, who hath richly furnished thy Table, and prepared these his good Creatures for thee without any great care or trouble of thine; whereas there are many thousands in the World far better than thyself, who are sentenced to a necessitous Condition, and are enforced daily to tug at the Oar, to delve in the Dirt, to wash their Faces and bathe their Bodies in their own Sweat, and yet for all this, must be content at last with course Far, and hungry Stomaches.  
3. Meditate that every Creature of God is good, if it be received with Thanksgiving, and that it is sanctified by the Word of God and by Prayer; and therefore resolve always to implore his blessing on the same in the first place.  
4. Meditate that several of God's Creatures lose their lives to preserve thine, whose Nature have as great a repugnancy to Annihilation as thy own, and as thou now feedest on them, so the Worms shall shortly feed on thee; and let this excite thee to be temperate in the use of them, and so to eat and drink, as may the better dispose thee for any service of God, thy Neighbour, or thyself: Let not the daintiness of the Cheer tempt thee to Luxury, remembering that it is the greater Virtue to abstain when there is the greater Temptation.  
5. Lastly, Meditate that God who filleth things living with his goodness, expects no other return but praise and thanksgiving; therefore when thou hast eaten and art full, have a care that thou forget not to pay him that so easy Tribute.    

Occasional Meditations.  

Upon the sight of a Dying Friend.  
IT was not many days since that we had sweet Commerce together, and our Conversation was dear to each other; we frollicked it till the Night parted us, and then our separation was as the shadow of Death: We thought the Night's tedious and the Days long, till we should be again happy in each others Embraces; but ●o how soon the Scene is altered, my Friend is arrested by a fatal Disease, and is just expiring his last Breath: I came to comfort him, and to receive Comfort and Satisfaction from him; but alas, all that is left me to do now, is to be only a witness of his dying groans, to close his Eyes, and to receive his departing Breath. Those Arms that used to hug and embrace me at our first Meetings, are now become so weak and languid that he cannot shake hands at parting, nor lift them up unto his Maker, That Tongue that was formerly the Conduit of Eloquence, and Charmed all that heard him (by its sweet and mellifluous Expressions) into a sensible but silent admiration, is now become mute and speechless, that he cannot as much as take his Vltimum Vale, or bid me farewell at parting. Those Ears that were heretofore delighted with pleasant Discourse and melodious Sonnets, are now become thick of hearing, and cannot distinguish between the soft murmurs of some, and the louder cries of other his mournful Friends, nor can admit of the least comfortable Advice in this his greatest extremity. His Eyes sometimes so sparkling and sprightly, that they would not suffer the most minute Object to pass their Advertency, are now become so dull and heavy, that they can scarce peep out of their Casements, to behold the most glorious Object, nay not so much as to salute that Heaven, which he is just going to be the possessor of. That countenance which a few days since was so amiable and pleasant as to attract the Eyes (as well as raise the Envy) of all beholders, is now so pallid and ghastly, and his Cheeks so bedewed with Cold Sweats, that his dearest Friends and Relations draw the Curtains about him, that they may not contemplate his grim Visage. In a word, his brother Body, the Receptacle of his Divine Soul, and partner with her in all her Actions, which till now kept an indissoluble Relation with it, is turning into Dust, and says to the Grave, Thou art my Father, and to the Worms,, my Mother and my Sister, Job. 17.13. Good God, how great a change is this, in so short a span of time? This shall teach me to put a very slight estimate on all the imperfect Perfections of this World, and to seek after those things which alone are truly valuable. This shall teach me also to think often of my latter end, and all the days of my appointed time, to wait until my change shall come.  
O consider with thyself that thou art made of the same Flesh and Blood, moulded out of the same Clay, and that this might have been thy present Condition as well as thy Friends; and that it will be so before many years (perhaps months or days) pass by thee. Be wise therefore now in this thy day, and provide for it before hand: Lay up Treasures in Heaven, that when this Earthly Tabernacle of thy Body shall be dissolved, thou may'st have a building with God, not made with hands, but Eternal in the Heavens, and then be received into Everlasting Habitations.   

2. Upon the sight of Two Apple Trees, growing one by the other: The one tall and spreading, but having only Leaves, no Fruit; the other low, but full loaden.  
CErtainly there hath been as much Cultivation and Manuring bestowed upon the one as the other; they stand in the same soil, and if there be any difference, it is that the tallest seems to have had the greater plenty of Nourishment, and the more prolific Influences of the Sun's Beams; how then is it that we find here only a fair Spreading Tree, and a multitude of shining Leaves, but no Fruit? This minds me of that place of the Apostle, 1 Cor. 1.26. Not many Noble are called. Prosperity puffeth up, but Adversity humbleth. Those that are advanced to a degree above their Brethren, do many a times forget God and their duty; and over-topping others, shine very bright at a distance, and make a fair show, but if we come near and examine their Lives, we find indeed leaves and formal outward Profession, but no real Fruit. On the other hand, this low Tree represents the humble Christian, which lives (as it were) under the shadow of others Wings: He is content with his mean Condition, praises God for that Competency he enjoys, and makes it his business not so much to exhibit Leaves as Fruit, not so much to appear, as to be sincerely Religious.  
How mean soever my Condition be, grant good God that I may not be like the barren Figg Tree, and after all thy patience in digging and dunging, after all thy various Methods and Means of Grace, I may not be barren or unfruitful in good Works, and so be cut down for cumbering the ground, but may through thy discipline bring forth much Fruit to the Saving of my Soul.   

3. Upon the Sight of a Wasp without a Sting.  
I Was fast asleep in my Arbour, and the Noise of this Creature buzzing awakened me: I was angry with him at first, and took him in my hand, thinking to have killed him; but finding that he had no Sting, and had done me no hurt, but only roused me from my lazy slumbers, whereby I might better employ my time, I let him go, and thought myself obliged to his Courtesy. Thus it is with Afflictions; they may be somewhat irksome and ungrateful at first to Flesh and Blood, but they only serve to rouse us up out of our Carnal Security, and make us to consider of our Condition; but seeing they have no Sting, they cannot hurt us, and therefore we have great reason to thank God for them.   

4. Upon the sight of Two Doves billing each other.  
THe sight of this loving pair, minds me of the mutual Endearments between Christ and his Spouse the Church: He is pleased himself to call her by the Name of his Dove, Cant. 2.14. as being the greatest Emblem of unspotted Innocence, and of entire and unmixed love. When one of these hath lost his dearest Mate, how pensive and melancholy doth he wander alone, seeking her in every corner, and calling after her till he finds her; and then congratulates her with all the Expressions of Joy and Love. When the Church is deprived of Christ her Husband, though but for a little time, she is sick of Love; she seeks him, she calls him, she inquires after him until her head is full of Dew, and her Locks with the drops of the Night; and when she finds him whom her Soul loveth, she kisses him with the kisses of her Lips, and her right hand doth embrace him, Cant. 5.  
Make me, O my God, so much in love with my dearest Saviour, that I may with all diligence and unweariedness seek him, never rest satisfied until I have found him, think no pains or troubles too great to endure, that I may enter into a nearness and familiarity with him, and then caress and welcome him; exhibiting all the Testimonies of my love unto him, by admiring and adoring him, and engaging myself in such new indissoluble bands of Love, as no Waters may ever quench, no Floods drown, but that maugre all difficulties, my beloved may be mine, and I may be his to all Eternity.   

5. Upon the sight of a Lady's Fingers bedecked with many rich Diamonds of great value.  
I Cannot but with much pleasure look upon those beautiful Stones, and at once admire both their intrinsic value and outward lustre: Where Virtue and Beauty are conjoined, the Object is much more desirable.  
(Gratior est pulchro veniens è corpore virtus.)  
But if it be not my happiness to enjoy both, may I ever possess the former. Give me ever, O Lord, the bona Animae, the Graces of thy Spirit, and then as to the bona Fortunae, those Ornamental Endowments of Riches and other Earthly Enjoyments, deal with me as it seemeth good in thine own Eyes.  
I consider again the great value of those Jewels, and think how useless they now lie, which if sold, and the Money employed, how much overplus would come in to relieve the Bowels of the Poor, which now only please the Curiosity of the Eye, and how much better I should be for the prayers of my poor Christian Brother, than the admiration or applause of the Vulgar. Grant good God, I may not be as a Treasure hid in the Earth, useless and unprofitable; but diligently employ all those Talents thou hast entrusted me with, for the benefit of others as well as myself, that I fall not under the sentence of the slothful and wicked Servant.   

6. Upon the sight of many millipeds killed for a Medicine for my Patient.  
THese poor silly Worms which but just now had a life and being with myself; made and preserved by the same hand of providence with me, are in a moment (by my means) deprived of both, that they may be salutary to my Patient, and answer those ends for which they are designed. I am a Worm too, only of a greater magnitude, furnished with nobler Faculties indeed, but less Innocence, perhaps usefulness too: Thou may'st, blessed God, with much more reason and justice, because of my infinite transgressions, cut me as suddenly off from the land of the living, as I destroy these poor Creatures, and I might thereby answer the end of thy Justice, by teaching others not to presume too much on thy Mercy: But thou, O Lord, art God, and not Man, and therefore I continue to live; O let me live to answer the ends of my Creation; to glorify thee here, that I may enjoy thee for ever hereafter in thy Kingdom.   

7. Upon the sight of a brass piece of Money curiously gilded over.  
THis is like all outward things; before you enjoy them, they seem to be glorious, and promise much of satisfaction; but when you have enjoyed ●nd tried them, you soon discover that ●t is but a false lustre that Satan and our own exorbitant Lusts put upon them: They have gilded outsides, but when they come to wearing, the gilt wears off, and you find after a while what they are within: Or not unlike the wicked Man, who varnishes over his fouler Actions with some specious colour of pious Intentions; but as for spiritual things, the more you wear them, the more you find the beauty and excellency that is in them; for there is a dust and a rust that is cast upon them, which likewise the wearing takes off, and after a while makes it appear what they are, not a Counterfeit but a true Coin, which bear the stamp of their Prince and Author.   

8. Upon the finding of an Adder's Skin left behind in a straight passage.  
THis Creature being weary of her old Garment, voluntarily forced herself through this narrow passage, to be freed of its burden, by which she hath renewed her life and vigour. What is this but the lively representation o● the good Man's straight passage through the dark and narrow Gates of the Grave, to Immortal Life?  
His life was indeed troublesome and wearisome; he a long time desired to put off this his Earthly Tabernacle, that he might be clothed with the Robe of Immortality, but yet would not be any Volunteer to force his speedier dismission; but when God called him to it, he cheerfully deposited the burden of his Flesh, and being found clothed with the Righteousness of Jesus Christ, he is now passed to a state of Bliss and Immortality.   

9 Upon a Glow Worm.  
ALthough this Worm looks like a little Star in the night, and a Man would think at a distance it were some Glorious body, but if you approach near it, you will find it hath no more Light than to show itself to be something, and all its splendour is sure to be benighted with the rising Sun, and then nothing appears but an ugly Worm. The Hypocrite in the Eyes of the world makes a Gaudy show of Religion, hath such great pretensions of Piety and Holiness, that a Man would think him (at first Blush) to be nothing less than a Saint on Earth; but if we come near, and throughly view and scan his Actions, we shall find no more goodness in him than to discover him to be an Hypocrite and Counterfeit; and when the Sun of Righteousness shall appear, who shall detect the secret of all hearts, than every one's work shall be made manifest, and all the Hypocrite's gilded Glory vanish, and nothing remain but an empty deformed Caitif.   

10. Upon a Rotten Dunghill.  
SEe how the generous Sun casts his enlivening Rays and Influences upon this most contemptible place, and how this again requites that bounty it partakes of in a Stenchy fume or generation of vermin. We ought to imitate the courteous Sun by our diffusive kindness to all persons, the poor as well as the rich, the bad as well as the good; and not be like that vile ungrateful generation of Men, who daily participate of the sweet Influences of Heaven, and yet requite that Bounty with no other than eructations of Oaths and Execrations, and instead of improving God's mercies to his glory, turn them into Wantonness, make them an occasion of greater looseness and debauchery; as if because God hath been exceeding good to them, they industriously resolved to repay that his goodness with exceeding ingratitude and disappointment.  
We ought rather to emulate the true Crystal, whose property it is either to transmit or reflect those Rays it receives with great advantage of Light to the Darker Objects about it, and of a more visible splendour and glory to the Light itself; and so proportion our gratitude to the bounty which enriched us.   

11. Upon seeing of a Shepherd's Dog, bringing in the stray Sheep.  
HOw useful is this contemptible Creature, and how exactly doth he answer the Commands and Intentions of his Master? The Shepherd observing some of his Sheep to stray from the Flock, sets on his Dog, not to worry them, but gently to reduce them to the Herd; and as soon as they are come in, he rates off the Dog, and the Sheep are at quiet. I know, O Lord, that even Afflictions have their use as well as Comforts: in the Enjoyment of an uninterrupted Prosperity, we are apt to forget thee, and to stray from thy Paths and Commandments; but then thou the great Shepherd, in very faithfulness sendest us some crosses, some troubles or afflictions, not to consume us, but to be only as so many Monitor's to us, to return again into thy Fold, and when we are come in, thou ratest off those Afflictions, and they shall no longer rest upon us.  
Give me Grace, good God, in all thy dispensations towards me to acknowledge the Methods of thy infinite Wisdom and Mercy. 
Eceles. 7.14.  In time of prosperity make me watchful. In time of adversity make me humble, and to consider that if I have strayed from thy ways, I may speedily return, and till then, chasten me here, O Lord, as thou pleasest, that I be not condemned with the World.   

12. Upon the Sight of a Ship cast away within a little of the Port.  
THis Ship hath been a long Voyage, and run through many Hazards, and Difficulties, yet now at last, even in sight of the Harbour by a secret Leak, or a sudden Storm, is unfortunately with all it's Cargo cast away. This minds me of the hypocritical or unstable Christian, who did run well for a long time, had overcome many sinful Habits, and inbred Corruptions, but still retained one beloved lust, which hath ruined his precious Soul; or else now at last, in a day of Temptation, when Persecution ariseth for the Gospel, he cannot ride out the Storm, but cowardly (to avoid suffering) betrays his Faith, sinks under the pressure, and so is cast into Hell, when he is just upon the Confines of Heaven.  
The heart I know, O Lord, is deceitful above all things, yet suffer me not, O my God, to harbourany hypocrisy and unsincerity in mine, but make me rather continually the more watchful over it, that I do not permit any Dalilah or Darling Lust to have entertainment there; but having shaken off my Old Lusts, I may no more (be the temptation what it will) return with the Dog to his vomit, or the Sow to the mire, to my former pollutions; but that as I have received how I ought to walk, and to please thee my God, so I may abound more and more. And if, O Lord, thou shalt see it fit to try me in the fire, to call me to the Cross for thy sake, make me readily and cheerfully to embrace it. I carry always about me a Body of Flesh, which is ready to shrink at the approach of any thing grievous, do thou, O Blessed Jesus, pray for me, that my Faith fail not, that no terrors of Death, or Pains, may ever shake my constancy, or cause me to deny that Lord that suffered such bitter Agonies for me; but that I may continue faithful unto Death, and so receive a Crown of Life.   

13. Upon an Epileptic Person falling into the Fire, and being thereby Cured of his Disease.  
THis Person had for a long time laboured of his Epilepsy, the accessions of which at length were so frequent and violent, that it would often precipitate him to the Ground without as much as giving him any warnings of its approaches, where he would lie as incapable of helping himself, as he was insensible of his condition: The Patient used to have a Servant attending him to prevent danger, but was now by God's providence out of the way; In the mean time a fit seizes him, he falls into the Fire, which being fervent scalded and burned the hinder part of his Head and Neck, whereby were produced many Blisters and Ulcers, which afterwards unexpectedly by God's blessing effected a Cure of that obstinate Disease which hitherto had eluded the force of all Medicines. Good God what a Providence is this? how wonderful art thou in all thy do? what an allay of Mercy with Judgement is here? judgement in Afflicting, mercy in Relieving. The impotent Man which thirty and eight years had been Diseased, lay a long time at the Pool Bethesda, but could not be cured till our Saviour came; when we are all together unable to help ourselves, and when all outward means do fail, than God comes with his seasonable Relief, and to our amazement and admiration perfects that which we could not expect: He that once brought light out of darkness, can still bring good out of evil; nothing shall impede or hinder his Designs, but even that which in humane Judgement seems contrary, shall prove a salutary Remedy. This shall teach me even in the midst of the heaviest pressures not to despond, but to trust in him who is able (by ways though altogether unknown to me) to relieve me in the greatest difficulties.    

Ejaculations for several Occasions.  

For Pardon of Sin.  
HAve mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender Compassions blot out all my Transgressions. Wash me throughly from my Iniquity, and cleanse me from my Sin.  
For I acknowledge my Transgressions, and my Sins are ever before me.  
O God thou knowest my foolishness, and my Sins are not hid from thee.  
Purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than Snow.  
If thou Lord shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord who could abide it? But there is forgiveness with thee, therefore thou may'st be feared.  
Hid thy Face from my Sins, O Lord, and blot out all mine Offences.  
Be Merciful unto me, O Lord, heal my Soul, for I have sinned against thee.  
Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and loving kindness, for they have been ever of old.  
For thy Names sake, for thy Mercies sake, yea for thy dear Son Jesus Christ his sake, pardon all my Iniquities, for they have been very great.   

For Grace.  
TEach me to do the thing that pleaseth thee, for thou art my God.  
Show me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy Truth: O knit my heart to thee, that I may love and fear thy holy Name.  
Led me in thy Truth and teach me, for thou art the God of my Salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.  
With my whole heart have I sought thee; O let me not wander from thy Commandments.  
Incline my heart unto thy Testimonies, and not to Covetousness.  
Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me.  
Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way Everlasting.  
Set a Watch, O Lord, before my Mouth, and keep the door of my Lips.  
Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me thy Statutes.  
So teach me, O Lord, to number my days, that I may apply my heart unto Wisdom.  
Lord make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am.   

For the Light of God's Countenance.  
O Lord hid not thy Face far from me, put not thy Servant away in anger: thou hast been my help, leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my Salvation.  
O Lord, whatever thou art pleased to deny me, yet lift up the Light of thy Countenance upon me.  
Thy loving kindness is better than life: My Lips shall praise thee.  
Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me.  
Give me the comfort of thy help again, and establish me with thy free Spirit.  
Withhold not thy tender Mercies from me, O Lord, let thy loving kindness and truth continually preserve me.  
Turn me again, O God of Hosts, and cause thy Face to shine upon me, and so shall I be saved.  
Make me to hear of joy and gladness, that the Bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  
Speak peace unto my Soul and Conscience, and say unto my Soul, Thou art my Salvation.   

Thanksgiving.  
I Will praise the Lord according to his Righteousness, I will sing praise to the Name of the Lord most high.  
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart, I will show forth all thy marvellous Works.  
I will freely sacrifice unto thee, I will praise thy Name, O Lord, for it is good.  
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which only doth wondrous things.  
Morning and Evening, and at Noon, will I praise thee.  
Seven times a day will I praise thee, because of thy Righteous Judgements.  
While I live I will praise the Lord, I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.  
Praise the Lord, O my Soul, and all that is within me praise his holy Name.  
Praise the Lord, O my Soul, and forget not all his benefits.  
Blessed be the Lord God, which daily loadeth us with his benefits, who is the God of our Salvation, and blessed be the Name of his Majesty from everlasting and to everlasting. Amen. Amen.   

In the time of outward or inward Trouble.  
O Lord rebuke me not in thine Anger, neither chasten me in thy heavy displeasure.  
Look upon my Adversity and Misery, and forgive me all my sin.  
Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for my Soul trusteth in thee, and under the shadow of thy Wings shall be my refuge until these Calamities be overpast.  
Have Mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak, O Lord heal me, for my Bones are vexed.  
My Soul also is sore vexed; but thou O Lord, how long?  
Be not far from me, for trouble is near at hand, and there is none to help.  
Give me help, for I am in trouble, and vain is the help of Man.  
Keep me as the Apple of thine Eye, hid me under the shadow of thy Wings.  
O keep my Soul and deliver me, let me not be disappointed, for I put my trust in thee.   

Comfort in Troubles.  
THe Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom then shall I fear? He is the strength of my Life, of whom shall I be afraid?  
When my Father and Mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.  
Many are the troubles of the Righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all.  
But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my Glory, and the lifter up of my Head.  
I have set the Lord always before me, He is at my right hand, therefore I shall not be moved.  
My defence is of God, which saveth the Upright in Heart.  
At what time I am afraid, I will put my trust in thee.  
In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid what Man can do unto me.  
The Righteous cry, and the Lord heareth them, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.  
In God is my Salvation and my Glory, the Rock of my Strength, and my refuge is in God.  
Why art thou cast down, O my Soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my Countenance, and my God.   

Thanksgiving for deliverance from Troubles.  
BLessed be the Lord God, for he hath heard the Voice of my Supplication: With my Song will I praise him.  
O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.  
I will praise thee, O Lord my God with my whole heart, and I will glorify thy Name for evermore, for great is thy Mercy towards me, and thou hast delivered my Soul from the lowest Hell. The Snares of Death compassed me round about, and the pains of Hell got hold upon me.  
I found trouble and heaviness, and I called upon the Name of the Lord: O Lord I beseech thee deliver my Soul.  
Gracious is the Lord and Righteous; yea our God is Merciful. I was in misery and he helped me.  
Sing unto the Lord, O my Soul, and all that is within me sing praises at the remembrance of his Holiness.  
Blessed be God, which hath not cast out my Prayer, nor turned his Mercy from me.  
What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? I will take the Cup of Salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord.  
I will offer to thee the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and praise thy Name for ever and ever.   

Going to the Church or House of God.  
I Will wash my hands in Innocency, and so will I compass thine Altar, O Lord.  
It is good for me to draw near unto God, even unto God, in his Sanctuary.  
How amiable are thy Tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts? My Soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the Courts of my God. When shall I come and appear before him?  
As the Hart panteth after the Water brooks, so panteth my Soul after thee, O God.   

Immediately before entering into Church.  
I Will enter into thy Gates with Thanksgiving, and into thy Courts with Praise.  
I will Worship in thy holy Temple, and will praise thy Name.  
I will wait for thy loving kindness, O God, in the midst of thy Temple.   

In Church (if thou happen to be there before Service gins.)  
BUt as for me, I will come into thy House in the multitude of thy Mercies, and in thy Fear will I Worship towards thine Holy Temple.  
Lord, I have loved the Habitation of thy House, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.  
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I might dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his Temple.  
Thy way, O God, is in the Sanctuary: Who is so great a God as our God?  
I will abide in thy Tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the Covert of thy Wings.  
Blessed are they that dwell in thy House: They will be always praising thee.  
A day in thy Courts is better than a thousand: I had rather be a Doorkeeper in the House of my God, than to dwell in the Tents of Wickedness.  
God is greatly to be feared in the Assembly of his Saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him.  
Thy Testimonies are very sure: Holiness becometh thine House, O Lord, for ever.  
This is my rest for ever: Here will I dwell, for I have a delight therein.  
O let my Soul be satisfied, as with Marrow and Fatness, when my Mouth praiseth thee with joyful Lips.  
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, etc.   

Returning from the Church.  
O What shall I render unto thee, O Lord, for all thy benefits towards me? I will receive the Cup of Salvation and will call upon the Name of the Lord.  
Worthy art thou, O Lord, to receive Power, and Riches, and Wisdom, and Strength; and Honour, and Glory, and Blessing: Wherefore Blessing, Honour, Glory and Power, be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.  
The Law of thy Mouth is dearer unto me than thousands of Gold and Silver.  
I have had as great delight in thy Testimonies, as in all manner of Riches.  
I have thought of thy loving kindness O God, in the midst of thy Temple.  
O let my heart be sound in thy Statutes, that I be not ashamed.  
Hold thou up my go in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.  
Order thou my Steps in thy Word, so shall I not be disappointed of my hope.  
Thy Word is a Light unto my Feet, and a Lantern unto my Paths.  
O lead me in thy Truth, and Teach me, for thou art the God of my Salvation, on thee do I wait all the day.   

In the time of Sickness, or approach of Death.  
I.  
O Lord Correct me not in thine Anger, neither Chasten me in thy heavy displeasure.  
For thine Arrows stick fast on me, and thy hand presseth me sore.  
Mine Eye is consumed because of Grief.  
There is no Health in my Flesh, because of thy displeasures; neither is there any rest in my Bones by reason of my Sin.  
My Soul also is sore vexed, but thou, O Lord, how long? Return O Lord, deliver my Soul: O save me for thy Mercies sake.  
For in Death no Man remembreth thee; and who will give thee thanks in the Pit?  
What profit is there in my Blood, if I go down into the Pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it give thanks unto thee, or declare thy Truth? The living, the living shall praise thee, even as I do this day.  
O Let my Soul live, and it shall praise thee.  
Have Mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak: O Lord heal me, for my Bones are vexed.  
Cast me not away in the time of Age: Forsake me not when my Strength faileth me.  
Hid not thou thy Face from me, for I am in Trouble: make haste, O Lord, to deliver me.  
Hear me, O God, and have mercy upon me: Lord be thou my helper.  
O spare me a little that I may recover my strength, before I go hence and be no more seen.  
II.  
I have sinned, what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of Men?  
The Lord is Righteous; for I have rebelled against his Commandments, Lam. 1.18.  
I will bear the Indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him.  
Thy ways are equal; but mine have been very unequal.  
The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his Works.  
Thou hast punished me less than mine Iniquity hath deserved.  
I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy Son, no not the meanest of all thy Servants: But yet, O do not thou cast off the bowels and compassions of a Father, but as a Father pitieth his own Children, so be thou merciful unto me.  
Enter not into Judgement with thy Servant, O Lord; for in thy sight shall no Flesh living be justified.  
But there is Forgiveness with thee, that thou may'st be feared.  
Thou art full of Compassion and Mercy, long Suffering, and very Pitiful, and forgivest Sins, and savest in time of Affliction. Eccles. 2.11.  
Look upon my Affliction and my Pain; and forgive me all my Sin.  
My sins have deserved Eternal Torments; make me cheerfully and thankfully to bear my present Pains: Chasten me here as thou pleasest, that I be not Condemned with the World.  
III.  
I have set the Lord always before me: Because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved.  
Though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death, I will fear no Evil; for thou art with me, thy Rod, and thy Staff shall comfort me.  
Thy Word standeth fast for ever; in thy Word [and gracious Promises] is my hope: This is my Comfort in my Affliction.  
In the multitude of the Sorrows that I have on my Bed, thy Comforts shall refresh my Soul.  
My Flesh and my Heart faileth; but God is the strength of my Heart, and my Portion for ever.  
I will wait patiently for the Lord, until he incline his Ear unto me, and hear my cry.  
I know that my Redeemer liveth, and because he lives, I shall live also.  
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.  
Why art thou cast down, O my Soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Put thy trust in God; for I shall yet give him thanks, who is the health of my countenance and my God.  
I have fought a good Fight; I have finished my Course; I have kept the Faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Glory.  
iv  
I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, which is far better than to remain in this Vale of Tears; for there all Tears shall be wiped away from mine Eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain.  
O that I had Wings like a Dove; for than would I fly away and be at rest.  
My Soul is athirst for God, even for the living God: When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?  
In thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.  
Lord now lettest thou thy Servant departed in peace; for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation.  
Thou art my Helper, and my Redeemer: O Lord make no long tarrying.  
Into thine hands I commend my Spirit; for thou hast redeemed it, O Lord, thou God of Truth.  
Come Lord Jesus; come quickly.   

Thanksgiving for Recovery.  
BEhold for peace I had great bitterness▪ but thou hast in love to my Soul delivered it from the Pit of Corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back, Isaiah 38.17.  
The Lord was ready to save me: therefore will I sing unto him as long as I live; yea I will sing praises to the God of my life while I have any being.  
I should utterly have fainted, but that I believed verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the Living.  
I will praise thee, for thou hast heard me, and art become my Salvation.  
The Lord hath Chastened and Corrected me, but he hath not given me over unto Death.  
Open to me the Gates of Righteousness: I will go into them, and will praise the Lord, and pay him the Vows which I promised with my Lips, and spoke with my Mouth when I was in trouble.  
Gracious is the Lord and Righteous; yea our God is merciful.  
The Lord preserveth the simple: I was in Misery, and he helped me.  
Return into thy rest, O my Soul; for the Lord had dealt bountifully with thee.  
For thou hast delivered my Soul from death, mine Eyes from Tears, and my Feet from falling.  
What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me? I will take the Cup of Salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord.  
I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.  
Hold thou up my go in thy paths, that my Footsteps slip not.  
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.  
As it was in the beginning, etc.   

A Prayer for the Morning in private.  
EArly in the morning will I direct my Prayer unto thee, O ●ord, and will look up: O hear me in the multitude of thy mercies, and for the sake of Jesus Christ. O thou great Creator both of Heaven and Earth, and of all things contained therein: thou art a God infinately Wise, Holy, Powerful, Just, and Good; transcendent in all perfections: give me I beseech thee, O Lord, a firm belief and an acknowledgement of thy divine Nature and Existence; a deep sense, and due apprehensions of all thy excellencies and goodness, together with suitable affections and demeanour towards thee, that I may daily more and more adore thee, love thee, fear thee, honour thee, and depend upon thee. Give me a deep sense of thy infinite Purity and Holiness, which may cause in me averseness unto, and an abhorrence of whatsoever is sinful and impure; and excite in me the fear of Reverence and Caution of offending thee, by doing any thing that may displease thee, or omitting to do what may be pleasing unto thee. I confess, O Lord, hadst thou been exact to mark iniquity, and laid judgement to the Line, and righteousness to the Plummet, I had long since been cut off in the midst of my sins, and felt the Effects of thy severe displeasure; but because thy mercy triumphs over thy justice, I am not consumed unto this day: I have one opportunity more (praised be thy holy name) to beg pardon at thy hands for all my sins, which (to my own shame and confusion) I confess to be exceeding great and heinous, but yet, O Lord, I know thy mercies do far exceed the multitude and haniousness of my Transgressions, O magnify therefore the Riches of the same mercy, in the full pardon and forgiveness of them all, cast them behind thy Back, bury them in my Saviour's Grave, that they may never rise to shame me here, or to condemn me hereafter: and I pray thee, O Lord, to give me every day a deeper sense of my sins, and a more complete repentance for them, a loathing and detestation of them, and let their remembrance be bitter unto my soul. Send down thy holy Spirit into my heart, and let him root out every accursed unmortified Lust, and sinful corruption from my Soul, and destroy in me all the remaining affections unto Sins, and dispose my Soul to a constant obedience of all thy Commandments and keep me in an habitual frame and temper of Piety, all the days of my Life. O Lord, give me daily a clearer sight of my Duty, and incline my heart to walk exactly, and so acceptably continually before thee; make me sensible of thy exuberent Love, and let not all thy mercies, longanimity, and patience towards me (a miserable Sinner) prove successless; but raise in my heart all grateful acknowledgements.  
Blessed be thy great and glorious Name, O Lord God, for all the mianfestations of thy love and goodness towards me unto this day, for the Mercies of thy right, as well as thy left hand, but especially for the Fountain and Foundation of all our Mercies, Jesus Christ; for the means of Grace, for the hopes of Glory; for thy particular preservation of me (and mine) this Night past, and for all other thy goodness and loving kindness; and I pray thee, O Lord, Give me that due sense of all thy Mercies, that my heart may be unfeignedly thankful, and that I may show forth thy praise; not only with my lips, but in my life, by giving up myself to thy Service, and by walking before thee in Holiness and Righteousness all my days. And now, O Lord, since thou hast been pleased in thy Mercy to bring me safe to the beginning of another day; preserve me, I beseech thee, in the same by thy mighty power from all sin, and from all danger. Let thy spirit and providence direct and preside over all my Actions this day, and keep me by the power of thy Grace from those Sins to which my wicked and disorderly Nature subjects me to, but especially free me from [Here mention thy most prevailing Sins, or such as thy Nature, Business, or Company, may that day incline thee to.] Make me exactly watchful over myself, to behave my self as in thy presence, and to set thee always before my Eyes, that so I do nothing which may dishonour thee my God, or wound my own Soul; and grant that by the conduct of thy Grace I may be directed and assisted in keeping strictly close unto all thy Commandments, and in the discharge of my Duty in that place and Calling in which thou hast set me. Let thy blessing, O Lord, attend me in my Studies, Labours or Employments this day, give me holiness of intention in them, and succeed all with thy benediction: Let thy Providence signally watch over me, and thy Presence secure me from all evil, either of Soul or Body, this day and for ever. Hear me, O Lord, and answer me graciously, and do for me more abvundantly than I can ask or think; and all I beg for Jesus Christ his sake, for whom my Soul desires to bless thee, and in whosemost prevailing name, and holy words, I farther pray unto thee, saying, Our Father which art in heaven, etc.   

A Prayer for the Morning in public with thy Family, which with little variation may be also used in private.  
It is a good thing to give thanks unto thee, O Lord, and to sing praise unto thy name, O thou most high: to show forth thy loving kindness in the Morning, and thy faithfulness every Night.  
Hear our Prayers, O Lord, and accept of our praises in Jesus Christ.  
O Most Gracious Lord our God, whose Mercies endures for ever, and thy Remembrance throughout all generations: Thou art boundless in thy compassions towards all thy Creatures, and art infinitely good unto them, not only beyond what they can deserve, but what they can wish: We the unworthyest of them, desire (at this time) to give glory unto thee, in a humble and hearty acknowledgement of those many mercies and favours, both Spiritual and Temporal, which thou from time to time hast vouchsafed unto us, and most liberally heaped upon us. We confess, O Lord, that we are not worthy of the least of all thy Mercies, but most worthy of the greatest and severest of all thy Judgements, especially when we consider the sinfulness and wickedness of our lives past; for we have drank iniquity like water, gone on very Stubbornly and Rebelliously against thee and thy Commandments, all the days of our lives, continually committing those things thou forbiddest, and leaving undone those things which thou commandest; yea all the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts have been evil, and only evil, and that continually, and (which is worst of all) we have still the same proneness to all that is evil; but averseness and obstinacy towards that which is good: We have still impenitent hard hearts, that are not mollified with the sense of our Sins, or of thy Wrath due unto us for them: But O thou who art a God of infinite Mercies and Compassions, manifest the same unto us in the full pardon and forgiveness of all the Sins that ever we have committed against thy Divine Majesty: Accept of that satisfaction and atonement made by thy innocent and beloved Son Jesus Christ, and for the merits of his suffering pardon all that is past, and be thou fully reconciled unto us: And so assist us with thy Grace and Holy Spirit, that we may be able for the time to come to repel all the temptations of the Devil, the World, and the Flesh, and to live more Soberly, Righteously, and Godly, in this present evil World, that so having our fruits unto holiness here, we may have our ends everlasting Life. O make us steadfastly resolved to despise all the pleasures of sin, rather than offend thee our God: and to choose the most difficult parts of Virtue and Piety to obtain and secure thy Love: O let us delight in thy Service, and desire thy favour above al● things, which is better than life itself, and all the comforts of it: Let us love what thou lovest, and hate what thou hatest, wish nothing so much as to please thee, fear nothing so much as to offend thee, and in all things be conformable to thy holy Will, and walk before thee in all well pleasing. O Lord put us in mind of Death and Judgement, that every day we draw nearer to our last day, and that we shall all shortly give a severe account of all that we have done in the Body, and all that we have left undone; of all that we have spoken, nay of all that we have thought: So teach us therefore, O Lord, to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto Wisdom; and continually so to demean ourselves, as those that must one day appear before the Judgement seat of Christ. As to all our outward concerns here in this life, we desire to refer ourselves wholly unto thee, our good God; Thou art infinitely wise, and knowest what condition is best for every one of us: give us therefore any measure of prosperity, or adversity, riches or poverty, health or sickness, whereby we may most of all glorify thy holy Name, and in every condition give us grace to look up unto thee as the author and disposer of it, and therein to be really content.  
Together with us, we beseech thee to be mindful of all mankind: Let thy ways be known upon earth and thy saving health among all nations. Bless thy universal Church, lead it into all truth, and let not the Gates of Hell be ever able to prevail against it. Be gracious unto our Sovereign Lord the King, the Queen, and all the Royal Family, to all the Ministers and Magistrates, toal that fear thee, and call upon thyname. Remember all the Sons and Daughters of sorrow and affliction in what case or state soever, and relieve them all according to thy Mercies, and their several necessities; for thou only knowest them all. Bless all our Friends, Kindred, and Benefactors, and all that we are under any Obligation to pray for, whether Friends or Enemies; infuse Grace where it is not, and where it is weak do thou strengthen it, give them all things necessary for their Souls and Bodies, guide them here by thy Counsel, and at length receive them to thyself in Glory. And now, O Lord, because it is very meet, right, and our bounden duty at all times, and in all places, to give thanks unto thee, we desire at this time to praise and magnify thy holy Name for all the freeness and fullness of thy Mercy, and loving kindness towards us and others: Thou daily loadest us with thy benefits, spiritual and temporal, who art the God of our Salvation; thou hast given a fresh Testimony of thy Goodness and Mercy to us in our preservation this Night passed from those many sad Casualties and Accidents, which might justly (by reason of our sins) fall upon us, and brought us safe unto another day. O Lord thou mightest have made our Beds our Graves, our Sheets our Winding Sheets, and our rising again this Morning a rising unto judgement: What is man that thou art mindful of him? Or the Son of Man, that thou visitest him? Praise the Lord, O our Souls, and all that is within us praise his holy Name. Praise the Lord, O our Souls, and forget not all his benefits; and grant that we may render thee not only the fruit of our Lips, but the obedience of our Lives, by consecrating ourselves entirely to thy Service, and walking before thee in a sincere and impartial observance of thy holy Commandments, all the days of our lives. And seeing thou hast been graciously pleased to add another day unto our Lives, so we beseech thee to give us Grace to add more Wariness, Repentance, and Circumspection unto our days: Make us, O Lord, carefully to watch against all Sin, especially those that do so easily beset us, and that we have been so often conquered by. Teach us by the Strength of thy holy Spirit to deny ourselves, to pluck out even our right Eyes, to cut off even our right hands, to undergo the severest afflictions rather than to offend so Sacred a Majesty: Let our thoughts be always holy and heavenly, and when we are about our Studies and Employments, let them be often carried up unto thee by holy Meditations, and Divine Ejaculations. Let our words be seasoned with Salt, with prudence and discretion, not stained with filthiness and vanity, lying, detraction, or any other sin, but such as may tend to the use of Edifying, and minister Grace unto the hearer: Set a watch, O Lord, before our Mouths, and keep the doors of our Lips. Let our Actions, O Lord, be always holy and just, or at least innocent and unblameable: give us grace to walk as in thy sight, and evermore to set thee before our Eyes. Make us careful in the well spending of our time, so as we may best prevent or resist Temptations, and by discharging our Duties in our places and callings, may glorify thy holy Name. Take from us, O Lord, all slothfulness, and give us diligent and active Spirits, that when the Devil assaults us, he may not find us idle, but improving those Talents entrusted to every one of us, that we may at length receive from our great Lord and Master Jesus Christ that blessed Sentence, Of Well done ye good and faithful Servants, enter ye into your Masters Joy. Do thou O Lord, be with us in our labours and employments this day, and bless us; bless and prosper, O Lord, the works of our hands upon us, yea prosper thou our handiwork. Give thy holy Angels charge over us, to keep us in all our ways, that we rush not into any Temptation, nor fall into any kind of bodily danger, which our sins may justly expose us to; but preserve us as the Apples of thine Eye, and hid us under the shadow of thy Wings, that in our going out, and in our coming in we may be blessed, and have always thy watchful protection over us. These and whatever other Mercies thou knowest needful and requisite for us, for all thine, and thy whole Church, we humbly beg in the Name, and for the sake of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and in whose words we shut up our imperfect Petitions, saying as he hath taught us.  
Our Father which art in Heaven, etc.   

A Prayer at Noon.  
Morning, and Evening, and at Noon, will I praise thee, and thou wilt hear my Voice. Open thou my Lips, O Lord, and my Mouth shall show forth thy praise.  
O Father of Mercies, and God of all Comfort and Consolation, Thou art to be Worshipped and Adored with my continual Praises and Thanksgivings, for thou continually followest me with thy Goodness, and thy Mercies are renewed upon me every moment. In thee I live and move, and have my being, and without thy succour and support I should quickly return to my first Principle, of no being at all: Thou hast created me, redeemed me, and by thy Fatherly care and providence constantly provided for me: Thou art the God of my life, and the Author of all those Mercies I enjoy, whether Spiritual or Temporal, and therefore thou alone deservest my praises, and unto thee I ascribe, as is most due, all honour, praise, and glory, both now and for evermore. More especially I desire to bless and praise thy holy Name, for thy particular Mercies towards me at this time, that thou hast so plentifully refreshed my Body with thy good Creatures, and filled me with the Flower of Wheat: Blessed be the Lord God who daily loadeth me with his benefits, even the God of my Salvation: O Lord refresh my Soul also with the Spiritual Manna of thy Heavenly Grace, and grant my pursuit may not be after the Meat that perisheth, but after that which endureth to Everlasting Life. Pardon I beseech thee, O Lord, as all my sins in general, so especially whatever amiss hath passed from me this day, and for Jesus Christ his sake do thou become unto me a reconciled Father, own me for thy Child, and continually preserur me by thy providence; keep in me always a Religious Sense of thee, and of thy goodness towards me, and sanctify my heart with thy holy Spirit, that I may walk before thee the remaining part of this day, and all the days of my life, to thy honour and gl●ry, through Jesus Christ my blessed Lord and Saviour, in whose Name and Words I continu● to implore thy Mercies; saying, Our Father, etc.   

A Prayer for the Evening in private.  
O Most holy, holy, Lord God; Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy Glory: Thou art a God of purer Eyes then to behold the least Iniquity with the least Approbation, thou chargest thine Angels with folly, yea the Heavens are not pure in thy sight; How shall I then so sinful and impure a Wretch, dare to appear before thee, or to take so holy a Name into my sinful and unhallowed Lips? But, O Lord, thou art God and not Man, thy ways are not as our ways, nor thy thoughts as our thoughts, but as high as the Heavens are above the Earth, so are thy thoughts of Love and Peace higher than our thoughts, and therefore relying on thy Mercies and gracious Promises, I am bold at this time to prostrate myself before thee, humbly confessing that I am corrupt in my very Nature, having an inability and averseness to that which is good, and an aptitude and proneness to all that is evil; but I have corrupted myself yet much worse by many vicious Customs and sinful Habits: I have transgressed my duty to thee, my Neighbour, and myself, followed too much the devices and desires of my own wicked heart, and not only not obeyed, but many times wilfully broken thy Commandments which are holy, just, and good: and to my former provocations I have added the sins of the day past, of omission and commission, of thoughts, words, and actions. [Here particularise any sin.] Yea, I know not how often I have offended, O cleanse, cleanse thou me from my secret faults. And now, O Lord, shouldst thou be extreme to mark what I have done amiss, I could not be justified in thy sight, nor be able to answer thee for the sins of this one day; but thou, O God, delightest in Mercy, and there is forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared O I beseech thee let Repentance and Contrition prepare me for that Mercy of thine, and then be thou pleased to take away all mine Iniquity, and to receive me graciously into thy favour. Neither do I desire thee only for the pardon of my past sins, but do most bumbly beg for a Divine Power, that I may be able to subdue them for the time to come, and get a complete Victory over all the Temptations of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil: To that end, let thy Grace and goodness, and tender mercies prevent and follow me all the days of my life; and bring into obedience whatsoever exalteth itself against thy blessed will, that at last I may come to be such as thou wouldst have me to be, even holy in all manner of Conversation. And as I pray unto thee, so I desire likewise from an unseigned heart, to praise and to bless thee for thy infinite Mercies, for those which relate to this life, and a better; particularly for the Mercies of the day past. [Here enumerate them.] O Lord, the least of these deserves my hearty Thanksgivings: let not the universality and commonness of thy goodness, make me to have the slighter regard of it, but fill my Soul with a Sense of thy Love, and my Tongue with sincere acknowledgements; that as I daily receive blessings from thee, so I may daily from an affectionate and devout heart offer up thanks unto thee; and let my whole life, and all my actions be the verification of my Praises. And now I beseech thee, O Lord, receive me this Night into the Arms of thy providence, hid me under the shadow of thy Wings. Give thy holy Angels charge over me, to pitch their Tents round about me, that no evil happen unto me, nor any plague come nigh unto my Dwelling; but that I, and mine, and all my Concerns may be safe under thy gracious protection, that lying down in thy fear and being refreshed with moderate rest, I may be the fit to serve thee in the duties of the ensuing day. And all I beg in the Name, and for the sake of Jesus Christ my alone Saviour and Redeemer, for whom my Soul hath endless cause to bless and to praise thee; to whom, with thyself, and Holy Spirit of Grace, be by me ascribed (as is most due) and all thy Saints and Servants, both in Heaven and in Earth, all possible Praise, Might, Majesty and Dominion, both now and for evermore. Amen.   

A Prayer in public with the Family for the Evening.  
HEar us, O Lord, in the multitude of thy Mercies, even in the truth of thy Salvation; and let not, O let no● the loud cry of our sins hinder our Prayers from coming up unto thee, or thy Graces and Mercies from coming down upon us; but pardon our sins which make us unworthy to appear in thy presence, and our services to be accepted by thee; and assist us we pray thee with thy holy Spirit, which may make us fervent and earnest in our Devotions, that so we may obtain our Requests at thy hands in and through Jesus Christ.  
O Eternal and Everliving Lord our God, thou art in thyself most glorious and in thy Son most gracious: Heaven is thy Throne, and that thou fillest with thy Majesty, the Earth is but thy Footstool, and yet that thou fillest with thy Goodness; both Heaven and Earth loudly proclaim the exceeding greatness of thy Glory, and transcendent Excellencies: We thy sinful Creatures, who are not worthy to lift up our Eyes unto Heaven, for we have sinned against Heaven and before thee, are yet bold in the Bowels and Mercies of Jesus Christ, to cast ourselves down at the Footstool of thy Majesty, desiring in all humility of Souls and Bodies to acknowledge our own vileness and wretchedness. O Lord we brought into the World with us evil and wicked Inclinations, and we have since made it our business to improve them into practice: As the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts, so the very words of our Lips, and actions of our Lives have been evil, and only evil, and that continually: Our provocations against thee, our God, have been very great and heinous, and as for their number, more than the Sands of the Sea: We have lived in an universal disobedience to thy Laws, and violated all thy holy Commandments, in the keeping of which there is great Reward: And this, O Lord not only through ignorance and frailty, but too many times knowingly and wilfully, against the Motions of thy holy Spirit, against the Checks of our own Consciences, against those various methods of thy Mercies and thy Judgements, which thou hast used to draw us to thyself; yea against those many Promises, Vows, and Resolutions which we have so often made betwixt thee and our own Consciences, both in public and in private, of better obedience and amendment of Life: And now, O Lord, what belongeth unto us but shame and confusion of Face? And shouldst thou abandon and cast us out of thy favour for ever; we must needs confess that the Lord our God is Righteous, and that we reap but the fruit of our ways; but unto thee our God belong Mercies and Forgiveness, though we have rebelled against thee: Thou hast published thyself to be the Lord Merciful and Gracious, slow to Anger, and abundant in goodness and in truth: A God forgiving Iniquity, Transgression and Sin, and therefore it is that we yet hope; and because we hope, we pray: Have Mercy therefore upon us, O God, according to thy loving kindness, and according to the multitude of thy tender Mercies, blot out all our Transgressions washus throughly from our Iniquities, and cleanse us from our Sins, for we acknowledge our faults, and our sins are ever before us. We know, O Lord, that though our sins are exceeding great and many, yet they cannot exceed the multitude of thy Mercies, nor the greatness of Christ his Merits: O we beseech thee therefore, remember thy tender Mercies, which have been ever of old, and remember the bitter Sufferings of our blessed Redeemer; and for the Merits thereof, pardon all that is past, and become unto us a reconciled Father, and own us for thy Children. Neither do we desire thee only to forgive unto us our past sins; but we pray thee also to sanctify our Natures, to instruct our Understandings, that we may know the things that belong to our Peace: to regulate our Affections, and place them on their right Objects, and to dispose and incline our Wills readily to choose, and cheerfully to embrace what relates to thy Glory and our own Eternal Happiness: Subdue all our Lusts, mortify all our Corruptions, and bring into obedience whatsoever exalteth itself against thy most holy and blessed will, that at last we may come to be such as thou wouldst have us, and canst delight in. Strengthen us, O Lord, against all the Temptations of the Devil, the World, and our own corrupt Flesh: O Lord, thou knowest the Frailties and weaknesses of our Natures, and the number and strength of those Temptations we have to struggle with: We humbly pray thee leave us not to ourselves, for than we shall quickly leave thee, but assist us with thy Grace, perfect thy Strength in our weakness, and where thou seest we are either by Nature, or Custom, Company, or Temptation, most apt to be drawn aside to sin, there do thou more especially magnify thy power in our preservation: Set a watch, O Lord, before our Mouths, and keep the doors of our Lips: Turn away our Eyes from beholding Vanity, our hearts, lest they think on Vanity, and our hands, lest they at any time act it; and quicken thou us in thy way. Search us, O God, and know our hearts; O try us, and know our thoughts, and see what ways of Wickedness there are in us, and lead us in the way Everlasting. Give us grace to abstain from the very appearance of Evil, and to watch and pray that we enter not into Temptation. Possess our Souls continually with an holy fear and love of thee our God. Make us holy as thou art holy, pure as thou art pure, and merciful as thou our heavenly Father art Merciful; and Crown all thy Graces in us with Patience, and Perseverance, that notwithstanding all those discouragements and oppositions which we may meet withal here in this sinful World, we may go on cheerfully and constantly to do and suffer those things which thou requirest of us in order to thy Glory and the Salvation of our precious and immortal Souls: O grant that we may not recede from any Christian performance, upon the sight of any Obstruction lying in the way, but may be willing to resist even unto Blood for the Name, and for the sake of Jesus Christ. Fit and prepare us, O Lord, for all Estates and Conditions whatsoever thou in thy Divine Providence hast allotted for us; for Adversity, as well as prosperity; for Sickness as well as health, for an Evil, as well as a good Report. But above all, fit and prepare us for the hour of Death, and the day of Judgement, that so whensoever, wheresoever, or howsoever it shall please thee to call for us out of this Vale of Tears, we may be found prepared for thy coming, and may cheerfully and contentedly resign our Souls up into thine hands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator. But seeing that whilst we are here below, we have a continual need of supply of all those outward things for supportance of these Houses of Clay, we humbly beseech thee give us such a portion of them, as thou knowest may make most for the glory of thy Name, and the good of ourselves and others: Grant that we may seek first thy Kingdom, and the Righteousness thereof, and then let all those outward things be added unto us in such a measure, as thou in thy Divine Wisdom seest best for us; and in every condition that it shall please thee to place us; give us Grace to be content. Take away from us, O Lord, both the Evil of Sin, and the Evil of Punishment: O keep thy Servants from presumptuous Sins: deliver us from thine Anger, from the withdrawing of thy Grace, and from Everlasting Damnation: and as for all Temporal Afflictions, not as we will, O Lord, but thy holy and blessed will be done in all things; only whatsoever thou shalt please to inflict upon us, give us patience and contentment under it, and then chasten us here, O Lord, as thou pleasest, that we be not condemned with the World.  
With us we humbly beseech thee to be mindful of all thine the World over, give thy Enlightening Grace to all that are in darkness: Thy Converting Grace to all that are in Sin.  
O be favourable and gracious unto Zion: Build thou the Walls of Jerusalem; look upon the Tribe of thine own Inheritance, and the place where thou hast dwelled.  
Let thy Mercies and Blessings rest upon all people of this Nation from the highest to the lowest; more especially bless with thy choicest blessings our Gracious King Charles: The Queen, and all the Royal Family. Bless all our Ministers and Magistrates: Grant that they may be Men fearing God, and hating Coverousness. Charge thy Providence with all our Friends and Relations: Let those that are near and dear unto us, be near and dear unto thee; let their Souls be bound up in the bundle of Life, give them all things necessary for their Souls and Bodies; guide them here by thy Counsel, and afterwards receive them to thyself in Glory. Extend thy Compassions towards all that are in any Want, Trouble, Sorrow, Sickness, or other Adversity, either of Soul or Body; O visit and relieve them according to thine own Mercies. Reward those that have done us any good, and pardon those that have done or wished us any Evil.  
And now, O Lord, we desire to mingle praises with our Prayers, and to bless and magnify thy glorious Name for all thy Mercies and Favours from time to time vouchsafed unto us; but more especially for the Fountain of all our Mercies Jesus Christ, for the means of Grace, and the hopes of Glory; for all those Temporal Mercies, which thou hast given us richly to enjoy: For the Mercies of the day passed to our Souls and Bodies, to ourselves and others: Blessed be the Lord God, which daily loadeth us with his benefits, even the God of our Salvation, and blessed be the Name of his Majesty for ever and ever.  
Finally we recommend unto thee (our good God) our Souls and our Bodies, all that we have, and all that are near and dear unto unto us; most humbly beseeching thee to receive us this Night into thine Almighty protection, and whensoever it shall please thee that our Souls depart our Bodies; receive them, O Lord receive them into the Arms of thine Everlasting Mercy; in whose presence is fullness of joy, and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore: Grant us quiet and comfortable Refreshment by sleep, and awaken us again the next Morning with hearts full of the sense, and with mouths full of the acknowledgements of thy Mercies, that we may all of us return with more cheerfulness to serve thee in the respective places of our calling.  
Hear us, O most merciful Father, and graciously answer us in these our Requests, and not only in these, but in whatever else thou knowest more needful and requisite for us: Accept we humbly pray thee both of our persons and our Prayers at this time, pardon the many frailties and imperfections of our holy things, and deal with us not according to their weakness, or our demerits; but according to the Richness of thy Mercy in and through Jesus Christ; for whom we bless thee, and in whose Name and Words we farther pray, Our Father which art in Heaven, etc. Thy Grace, O Lord Jesus Christ, thy Love, O heavenly Father, thy sweet and comfortable Fellowship, O holy and blessed Spirit of Grace, be with us, remain with us, guide, defend, and comfort us this Night, and for evermore. Amen.   

A Prayer for Sunday Morning in the Family; which with very little variation, may be used by any single person in his Closet.  
Hear our Prayer, O Lord, give Ear to our Supplications: In thy faithfulness answer us, and in thy righteousness.  
O Thou high and lofty One, that inhabitest Eternity: Thy Name is great, wonderful, and holy, and thou dwellest in the high and holy place, with them also that are of a contrite and humble Spirit; howshall we then sinful Dust and Ashes, who dwell in Houses of Clay, and are very far from that Humility and Contrition, which should render us fit for thy Co-habitation, dare to appear before thee, or approach the place where thine honour dwelleth? But though thou art high, yet hast thou respect unto the lowly, and art pleased to humble thyself to behold the things that are done by us poor wretched Mortals here on Earth: Thou art pleased not only to permit, but to invite and command us miserable and needy Creatures, to make known our Requests unto thee; and it is our interest, as well as our duty so to do: In obedience therefore unto thy Commands, in a sense of our Du●y, and in a sense of our own Necessities (which can not where else be supplied but from the riches of thy Bounty) we are now emboldened at this time to present our Petitions unto thee: And because thou hast said, that if we confess our sins, thou wilt be faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; relying an thy Mercies, and gracious Promises, we desire in the first place, most humbly to confess before thee that we were not only conceived in Sin, and brought forth in Iniquity; but (as if that had been but a small matter) we have proceeded on to the commission of many actual Transgressions; To Sins of omission, we have daily added sins of commission: To sins of weakness and surprise, sins of wiljulness and obstinacy: To sins of ignorance, sins of presumption: Yea, O Lord, if we reflect upon the actions of our lives. past, and seriously consider how we have behaved ourselves even from the first use of our Reason, to this very moment, we can scarcely find that sin which we have not committed; that Commandment of thine which we have not often broken; although to the keeping of it thou hast annexed a great reward. Thou hast not been wanting unto us in any thing that might invite or encourage us to promote the welfare of our precious and immortal Souls: Thou hast given us the knowledge of our duty, and instructed us in it, and followed it with the inward work of thy Grace, whereby we might be enabled to perform it, and to conquer our sinful Lusts and Desires: But, O Lord, we still retain a darkness in our Understandings, an unruliness in our Affections, and a crookedness in our Wills, bending down towards the carnal part, and great proneness to gratify it: Thou hast deterred us also by thy menaces and denunciation of Judgements, saying, Thou wilt by no means clear the guilty: Tribulation and Anguish, Indignation and Wrath upon every Soul that sinneth; and yet neither have thy Mercies alured us, nor thy Threats affrighted us, from following the dictates of our own sinful Inclinations; but we have gone on in a continual Rebellion against thee, as if we meant speedily to fill up the measure of our Iniquity, and to hasten our own destruction. And now, O Lord, what can we say for ourselves? But that we have deserved the severest of thy wrath and displeasure, and that it is purely of the Lords Mercy that we are not consumed. And now Lord what is our hope? Truly our hope is even in thee. Thou hast revealed thyself to be a God gracious and merciful, slow to Anger, and of great kindness, repenting thee of the evil. We Appeal therefore from the Bar of thy Justice to the Throne of thy Mercy, humbly beseeching thee not to deal with us after our sins, nor to reward us according to our Iniquities, but for thy Names sake, for thy Mercies sake, yea for thy dear Son Jesus Christ his sake (in whom thou hast said thou art well plsased) blot out the multitude of our Transgressions, pardon all our sins, and receive us graciously yet once more into thy favour. And as we destre thee to free us from the guilt and punishment of our sins, so we pray thee also to free us from the power of them too: So assist us continually with thy grace, that we may be able to repel all the Temptations of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. Teach us to deny all Ungodliness, and every worldly Lust, and to live more Soberly, Righteously, and Godly in this present World, that so having our Fruits unto holiness here, we may have our ends Everlasting Life. And grant, O Lord, we may not only cease to do evil, but we may also learn to do well, that we may have respect unto all thy Commandments, and serve thee by a sincere, uniform, impartial Obedience, all the days of our lives; giving all diligence to add unto our Faith Virtue, to Virtue Temperance, to Temperance Chastity, to Chastity Humility, to Humility Meekness, to Meekness Brotherly kindness, Charity, Preseverance, and every Christian Grace. That we may at length arrive to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; to be such as thou wouldst have us to be, holy in all manner of conversation, even as thou our God art Holy.  
Prepare us for all Conditions that thou shalt see fit to call us unto here in this life, and give us hearts truly thankful, submissive, and contented in all thy disposals. Give us a sanctified use of all thy Creatures, and such a portion of those Temporals as may best secure our eternal concerns. Mind us of Death and Judgement; That we dwell in Houses of Clay whose Foundation is in the dust; that when a few days are passed we shall go the way whence we shall not return; and that it will not be long before we shall stand at thy just Tribunal, and be call●d to give an account of all our Actions in the Flesh, whether they be good or evil: Give us Grace therefore all the days of our appointed time to wait until our change shall come: That we may be continually trimming our Lamps, and waiting for the coming of the Bridegroom, that at whatsoever hour he calls for us, we may be ready to enter in, and be admitted to sit down at the Eternal Supper of the Lamb.  
Neither desire we a blessing for ourselves alone, but for the whole race of Mankind. Let the knowledge of the Lord cover the Earth, as the Waters cover the Sea. Let the people praise thee, O God, yea let all the people praise thee. More especially bless, we beseech thee, the Congregation of Christ's Church, however dispersed over the face of the whole Earth. Have a particular regard to that Church and Nation in which we live. Bless the principal Member of it, our gracious Sovereign Lord the King, the Queen, and all the Royal Family. Bless all that wait at thine Altar, by what Names or Titles dignified or distinguished. Grant that they may speak as the Oracles, and live as the Messengers of God. Bless all to whom thou hast committed the Sword of Justice; let them not bear it in vain, but so use it, as to be a terror to evil doers, and a praise to them that do well. Bless all the Commonalty of this Land; every one of us in our several places and relations, and grant that we may all live in the true Faith and Fear of thee our God; in humble obedience to the King, and in brotherly Love and Charity one towards another. Bind up the broken hearted: Give liberty to the Captives, and the opening of the Prison to them that are bound. Comfort all that mourn in Zion; give unto them Beauty for Ashes, the Oil of Joy for Mourning, and the Garment of praise for the Spirit of Heaviness.  
And as we pray unto thee, so we desire likewise to laud and praise thee for all thy Mercies Spiritual and Temporal towards us; for thy protection of us this Night, for all the Mercies of the Week past, to our Souls and Bodies: More especially we beseech thee accept our praises for the great Mercies of this day, for all the wonderful works of thy Creation, and for the providential care and provision made for every one of them: That thou hast appointed us certain seasons and opportunities to Worship and Adore thee, even for our own good. But above all we acknowledge thy inestimable benefits bestowed upon us in Jesus Christ. We praise thee for his immaculate Conception and Incarnation, his holy Life, and bitter Death; for his glorious Resurrection upon this day, for the Mission of his blessed Spirit, and continual Intercession for us at thy right hand; for all the means of Grace, and the hopes of Glory. We praise thee for the glorious Company of the Apostles; for the goodly Fellowship of the Prophets; for the Noble Army of Martyrs, and for all other thy Saints and Servants departed this life in thy Faith and Fear; beseeching thee to give us grace so to follow their good Examples, that we together with them, may be partakers of a glorious Resurrection unto life everlasting.  
And now, O Lord, seeing this is thy day, a day which thou hast sanctified and set apart for thy Service, be pleased to give us Grace wholly to devote it unto thy glory. Make us more watchful over all ●ur thoughts, words, and actions, than on other days; and so assist us with thy holy Spirit, that we may perform all those Duties thou requirest of us, in such manner as they may be well pleasing and acceptable in thy sight. Fit and prepare us for thy House of Pr●yer, and for the discharge of those great and weighty Duties, which thou there expectest from us; purify burr hearts from all sin, and inflame them with a Spiritual Zeal and Affection, that we may enter into thy Gates with Thanksgiving, and into thy Courts with Praise. Give us Grace to come before thee with reverence and godly fear: Make us servant in our Devotions, answerable to our needs and necessities: Give us hearing Ears, understanding Hearts, retentive Memories, particular Application of it to ourselves, and holy Resolutions of practising it in our Lives and Conversations, that we may return satisfied with the fullness of thy House, and praise thee more and more. Open thou the Mouths of thy Ministers every where this day: O be present with the Assemblies of thy Saints. Spea● unto thy Servants (the Ministers) that they may speak unto thy people, and deliver unto every one such Doctrine as may be suitable and seasonable to the several Conditions of their Auditors: That the most obdure sinner may be convinced and converted; the most weak in faith may be strengthened; the most d●je●cted in spirit may be comforted: And grant that all who speak, and all that hear this day, may add some Glory unto thy Name, and receive some benefit and comfort to their own precious and immortal Souls. Finally, thou, O Lord, who knowest the several wants and necessities of all thy Servants; O that thou wouldst be graciously pleased to put a word into the mouth of thy Minister, which shall dispense thy holy Oracles unto us this day, which may particularly respect our Condition; whether it be for Comfort or Terror, Reprehension, or Exhortation; Give us grace to apply it to ourselves, and to reduce it into practice, that thy word may be unto us the savour of life unto life, and not unto any Soul of us, the savour of death unto death. These Mercies, O most merciful Father, for ourselves, or any of thine, and whatever else thou knowest fitting for us (together with the acceptance of our praises) we humbly beg at thy hands, though not for any worthiness that is in ourselves (for we utterly disclaim all) but for the Merits of him who alone is worthy, Jesus Christ the Righteous; in whose endearing Name, and holy Words, we continue to pray unto thee, saying, Our Father, etc. Thy Grace, O Lord Jesus Christ, etc.   

A Prayer for Sunday Evening in the Family.  
Open thou our Lips, O Lord, and our Mouths shall show forth thy praise.  
O Most blessed and glorious Lord God, Father of Mercies, and of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thou fillest Heaven with thy Glory, and the Earth with thy Goodness: All thy works praise thee, O Lord, and thy Saints give thanks unto thee: Thy Name only is excellent, and thy praise above Heaven and Earth; but because thou art good, and delightest in doing good, thou art pleased to permit us thy poor unworthy Creatures here on Earth, to offer up our Prayers and our Praises unto thee, who dwellest in the highest Heavens, that thou may'st reward them with thy favour and loving kindness: And that we might never be wanting to ourselves, thou art daily pleased to give us new and fresh occasions of Praising and Magnifying thy Holy Name Even this very day we have had large Experiences of thy Goodness, which call for our highest Thanksgivings: The temporal Mercies we have received in thy protection of us from those many dangers to which we were exposed by reason of our sins, and the plentiful refreshment we have had in the use of thy good Creatures, deserve our due acknowledgements; but that thou hast given us (Dust and Ashes) an opportunity and leave to come into thy more immediate presence, to wait upon thee in thy House, to speak unto thee (the glorious Majesty of Heaven, before whom Angels cover their Faces) and to hear thee speaking unto us, instructing us in our Duties, and offering unto us terms of Reconciliation, most justly challenge our devoutest Affections, and most exalted Praises. Thou hast given thine only Son to be a Sacrifice for us, by whom we have Redemption through his Blood; thou hast given him Victory over Hell and the Grave, by his Resurrection from the dead, and he is now sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, making continual Intercession for us.  
Thou hast given us the constant Solicitations of thy blessed Spirit of Truth, the Seal of our Adoption, and the earnest of the Inheritance of the Saints; together with a succession of Pastors and Teachers, to be the Dispenser's of thy Word and Will, and the Guides of our Souls: And thou hast prepared such things for those that fear thee, as Eye hath not seen, nor Ear heard, nor ever entered into the heart of Man to conceive. Lord, what is Man that thou art mindful of him? Or the Son of Man, that thou hast done such great things for him? Praise the Lord, O our Souls, and all that is within us praise his holy Name. Praise the Lord, O our Souls, and forget not all his benefits.  
O that all this Goodness of thine might engage us by way of just return to thy free and undeserved Mercies, more hearty to love thee, more devoutly to worship thee, and more diligently to live after thy Commandments.  
Give us a due savour and relish of those Divine Truths we have learned this day: Grant that we may not be only hearers, but doers of thy Word; lest we deceive our own Souls. Cherish those holy Thoughts, Affections, and Resolutions which thy good Spirit hath raised in us: O Let not them pass out of our minds with the day, but leave Impressions upon our hearts the whole Week following, and all our days; that as we have received how we ought to walk and to please thee, our God, so we may abound more and more.  
Bless all the faithful Dispenser's of thy Word and Sacraments, however dignified, or distinguished: More especially bless him, O Lord, who hath this day blessed us in thy Name, Pour down a double portion of thy holy Spirit into his heart, make him an eminent Instrument for thy Glory: Let him turn many from their wicked ways unto thee, the living God, and hereafter let his Soul shine as a Star in the Firmament of thy Kingdom.  
Continue unto us, O Lord, such holy opportunities and seasons of Grace, as thou now afford us; and send them where they are not. Let not, O let not the loud cry of our national Sins provoke thee to remove thy Candlestick from us, or to quench the Light of our Israel; but blessed God, whatever temporal Judgements thou art pleased to bring upon us; whatever Mercies thou art pleased to deny us; yet for thy Names sake, and for thy Truth and Righteousness sake, be pleased still to continue unto us the free liberty of thy House, of thy Word, Sacraments, and Ordinances, in their primitive purity, and regularity, until time shall be no more.  
Pardon, we pray thee, good God, whatever thou hast seen amiss in us the day past, even the many frailties and imperfections of our holiest Duties, and Performances.: Look not upon the weakness of our Flesh, but upon the sincerity of our Hearts and Desires. Pity all our Infirmities; and let those Sacrifices which we have this day offered unto thy Divine Majesty, be accepted in and for that Sacrifice which thy Son Christ Jesus hath offered up upon the Cross for us. Finally, O Lord, we commend into thine hands, this Night, ourselves, Souls, and Bodies, and all our Friends every where, to be protected by thy providence, refreshed with moderate rest, and raised again the next Morning by thy power; to serve thee with more cheerfulness, and to praise thee for thy renewed Mercies: And all we beg for the alone sake and love of thy Son, who is the Son of thy love, Jesus Christ our Lord: In whose holy Name we are bold to beg the acceptance of our Petitions and Thanksgivings, and to continue to supplicate thy Divine Majesty: Saying as he hath taught us, 
Our Father which art in Heaven, etc.  
Thy Grace, O Lord Jesus Christ, etc.    

A Prayer preparatory for Death, to be often used in the time of Health.  
O Immortal and Everliving Lord God, thy years endure throughout all Generations; from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. I thy frail Creature, created at first (by thy power) to a state of Immortality with thyself, which by Adam's Transgression (the representative of all mankind) I have long since forfeited my right to, and am become liable to Death. I acknowledge thy mercy towards me in my Creation, and thy justice and faithfulness in the execution of thy Threaten, upon breach of the first Covenant. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. Behold thou hast now made my days as it were a span length, and mine age is even as nothing in respect of thee, and I am altogether vanity. The sentence of Death hath passed upon all; for that all have sinned: And I who have had so great a share in sinning, cannot but expect to receive the due Wages of it, Death. Only I beseech thee, blessed God. to make me wise now in the time of my Health and Srength, to understand this, and to consider my latter end. Grant, O Lord, that by departing from every known sin: by keeping Innocency, and always taking heed to the thing that is right, I may be in an habitual preparation for Death, and find peace at the last. Wean my heart daily more and more from the love of the World, and worldly things, and place my affections upon their right and more deserving Objects, Heaven, and Heavenly things; that my heart may be where my Treasure is; and that whenever I shall be called to part with them, I may leave all without any murmuring or reluctancy; and be willing and content to die. Let every pain and sickness mind me of my last: And that Death may not be a surprise unto me, furnish my Soul with all those Graces beforehand, which I shall have greatest occasions to make use of in my last Conflict. Give me Repentance unto life, not to be repent of. A Steadfast Faith, that worketh by Love towards thee my God, and Charity to all the World: A Firm Hope, such as maketh not ashamed, but may become an Anchor of my Soul, entering even within the Veil: True Christian Courage and Patience, and a resolvedness of a cheerful submission to thy Fatherly Correction: And Grant that in all things I may so put my Soul, and House in order, that when I come to die, I may have nothing else to do but to die.  
Let not my Death be unexpected, untimely, or violent, if it be thy holy will: And when it shall please thee to cast me on my last Bed, give me Grace to search my Heart; to renew my Repentance and Interest in Jesus; and to compose my Soul for God. Give me the opportunity and refreshment of thy holy Sacrament (the Seal of the Divine Love) the benefit of Absolution: Some irradiations of thy Love and Favour, in the assurances of pardon and peace, together with a patiented and comfortable expectation of the performance of all thy promises. Let not the Devil take advantage of my weakness, nor any of his Suggestions prevail upon me. Let not his Accusations or my Sins distract me in my last hour; but do thou interpose thy seasonable Relief: O forsake me not when my strength faileth me, but in the midst of the sorrows and temptations that I have upon my Bed, let thy Comforts refresh my Soul. O suffer me not for any pains of death to fall from thee: And in my last Agonies, when my Soul shall quit the ruinous habitation of my Body, let thy holy Angels convey it into the Regions of a glorious Eternity; where there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. Grant this, O merciful Father, for the sake of him, who by death hath overcome death, even Jesus Christ, my High Priest, and blessed Redeemer. Amen.   

A Prayer for Sincerity, out of the Whole Duty of Man.  
O Holy Lord, who requirest Truth in the inward parts, I humbly beseech thee to purge me from all Hypocrisy and unsincerity. The heart, O Lord, is deceitful above all things, and my heart (I fear) is deceitful above all hearts; O thou who searchest the Heart and Reins, try me, and seek the ground of my heart, and suffer not any accursed thing to lurk within me, but purify me even with Fire, so thou consume my dross. O Lord, I cannot deceive thee, but I may most easily deceive myself; I beseech thee let me not rest in any such deceit, but bring me to a sight and hatred of my most hidden Corruptions, that I may not cherish any darling Lust, but make an utter destruction of every Amalekite. O suffer me not to speak peace to myself, when there is no peace, but grant I may judge of myself as thou judgest of me, that I may never be at peace with myself, till I am at perfect peace with thee, and by purity of haert be qualified to see thee in thy Kingdom, through Jesus Christ. Amen.   

For Contrition, out of the same Author.  
O Holy Lord, Who art a merciful Embracer of true Penitents, but yet a consuming Fire towards obstinate sinners, how shall I approach thee, who have so many provoking sins to inflame thy Wrath, and so little sincere Repentance to incline thy Mercy! O be thou pleased to soften and melt this hard obdurate heart of mine, that I may hearty bewail the Iniquities of my life: Strike this Rock, O Lord, that the Waters may flow out, even Floods of Tears to wash my polluted Conscience; my drowsy Soul hath too long slept securely in sin, Lord awake it, though it be with Thunder, and let me rather feel thy Terrors then not feel my sin. Thou sentest thy blessed Son to heal the broken hearted, but Lord what will that avail me if my heart be whole. O break it, that it may be capable of his healing Virtue; and grant I beseech thee, that having once tasted the bitterness of sin, I may fly from it, as from the Face of a Serpent, and bring forth Fruits of Repentance in amendment of Life, to the praise and glory of thy Grace, in Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer. Amen.  
Those whose Devotions are apt to be assisted by variety, or are desirous of Forms for other Graces, or more particular occasions, may find a plentiful supply in the Books of the aforementioned-Pious Author; in Dr. Tailor's holy Living and Dying: but more especially in the Book of Devotions composed by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Patrick.   

A Prayer to be used by any Pious Christian in these difficult times.  
O Most just and holy Lord God, thou art Righteous in all thy ways, and holy in all thy Works; I must needs confess that when I seriously consider the multitude and heinousness of my own Sins, and those of the whole Nation, which cry loudly to Heaven for Vengeance, that it is even a miracle of Mercies that we have not long since felt the severities of thy Wrath in some direful Judgements; but thou, O Lord, hast been exceedingly gracious, and with much patience and long suffering hast waited for our Repentance and Amendment of Life; but yet we have abused this Mercy of thine beyond all the former, and have not returned unto thee. And now, O Lord, seeing we would not be alured by thy Mercies, thou art pleased to threaten us with the approach of thy Judgements, which if thou wilt not avert, O fit and prepare me for the cheerful Entertainment of whatsoever thy Wisdom shall think fit to inflict upon me, whether in Mind, Body, or Estate; and to that end furnish my Soul with those Gifts and Graces which are accommodate to the Condition of Suffering: Give me Spiritual Wisdom, Discretion to manage my Affairs aright in these difficult times, give me true Patience, Meekness, and an enlarged Charity towards all, yea even those whom thou shalt permit to be the instruments of my suffering, no way murmuring or repining, but instead thereof, following that admirable Example of my Blessed Saviour, loving and praying for my greatest Persecutors. fortify my Soul with Christian Courage and Constancy, that I may with cheerfulness and inward joy run the race that is set before me, and O let me receive such invisible Aids and Succours from thee, as may enable me thankfully to resign my self to thy disposals, and to resist even unto Blood: And because of myself I am a very frail Creature, subject to many Infirmities, having a heart apt to be divided betwixt the love of God and the World, betwixt fear of punishment, and trusting in thee; do thou, O blessed Mediator pray for me, that my Faith fail not, but that though it be tried with Fire, it may be found unto Praise, and Glory, and Honour, at thy appearing: In the mean time take from me all anxious, troublesome, and solicitous thoughts, and make me to commit myself wholly unto the Lord, and to trust in him; and so in every thing by fervent and humble Prayers with Thanksgiving make my Requests known unto thee, my God: and having done this, let me cheerfully acquiesce in thy disposals, meditate of thy Promises, of thy Faithfulness in performing them, and join these with my constant Experiences of thy goodness; and so rest confidently assured that all things, even the most bitter Afflictions that can befall me, shall work together for my good, either to make me more holy in life, or else more happy in death. Grant this, O merciful Father, for thy dear Sons sake, Jesus Christ. Amen.    

The Close.  
I Have now (by God's Assistance) gone through my proposed method, and I cannot but think it high time to draw to a Close, especially being conscious of the numerous Defects and Imperfections which the Reader hath met withal in his Journey hither. Many things (I confess) I have passed over siccopede, slightly and cursorily, designing only a Specimen or Essay, leaving it for more pious and worthy persons to make a complete discovery of the whole Merchandise.  
By way of Surplusage I have added those last Forms of Prayer, yet I would not be understood to be so supercilious as to think my own private Inventions better than those public ones of the Church, or that the one ought to justle out the other, or that any should be obliged to these Forms here prescribed (who probably can much better adapt their Conceptions and Expressions to their own particular Conditions) they being only designed to be a Direction ●r Method for those who are defective 〈◊〉 it; and therefore I shall hope to escape the Censure of my holy Mother, the Church, and all pious persons.  
If it be Objected by any that the course of Piety by me here prescribed, as too severe, and the burden I would impose is too insupportable, I must answer that if he be a person of leisure, and disposed to live a Godly Life; he will be willing to press on farther towards perfection, and diligently apply himself to every (even the most difficult) work of Piety, and walk in all the ways of well-doing, that may conduct him to it. Use and Custom will make that Task easy and pleasant, which at first seemed difficult, if not possible. Elige vitam optimam (said Seneca) consuetudo faciet jucundissimam.  
The Sands of Arabia, which to Strangers and Foreigners are troublesome to pass, to the Inhabitants are easy, because accustomed to them. And I dare presume may I so far prevail with any pious Soul as to put it in practice for some time, he will then confess it to be not only tolerable, but facile and delightsome. And yet I would not have any well disposed humble Souls to think ill of their conditions, although they proceed not to so a severe a Course of Piety as is here described; for I know this cannot be a Rule for all; nay 'tis not proper for all to follow. Some have not leisure and opportunities, and here it is not expected; others are Novices in the School of Grace, and those I would not counsel to lay too heavy burdens on their Shoulders before they are of Strength able to bear them. Milk is fittest for Babes, and strong Meat for those of adult years. Let not therefore such be discouraged, or follow after sorrowing, because they have not arrived to that height as others, but comfort themselves with this, viz. That God exacts not a perfect, but sincere Obedience; and that where Perfection is wanting in the act, that it be made up in the desires and endeavours; and this God will please to accept.  
We all pretend to be Christians, and we Name the Name of Christ, O let us departed from Iniquity, and let our practice be someway (at least answerable) to what we profess. I have read of Alexander, that hearing of a Captain in his Army called by his own Name, that proved himself to be a very Coward, he sent to him either to quit his Name, or to fight better. If we indeed own a God, and pretend to fight under his Banner, let us live Godlike, and behave ourselves as his faithful Soldiers and Servants. Though a speculative Atheist be indeed a great wonder, yet the practical one is certainly the biggest prodigy of the two; and I would much rather choose to be found at the last a Seneca, Antoninus, Scipio, or Aristides, an honest Heathen, or a devout Idolater, than a profane Christian.  
I shall add no more but my Prayers that God will make us Christians in Deed as well as in Name, that we may not only believe and acknowledge the Existence of a God, but that we may also be subject to him, governed by him, and in all things be conformable to his Will; which God grant for his Son Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.   
FINIS.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.