for now did the heavens wax dark, the veil of the temple rent asunder; the very stones cleave, and the dead arose. How great was his power in his death to produce such wonders by it, in it, and after it? How far did his merits and power extend! Even to the sun in the heavens, to the veil in the temple, to the holy of holies, the dead in the graves to the centre of the earth, to hell beneath; yea, to the very hearts of the impenitent. For the centurion was now convinced of his error and converted.

7. Oh! I will flee to the cross of my Saviour, and there with the pious, devout, and afflicted women, and his beloved disciple St. John, I will open the flood-gate of mine eyes, I will water my couch with tears, I will bring my body into subjection, and rend my heart; lest I by my evil deeds approve, and become partaker of their sins. The insatiable malice of the chief priests and elders, who persuaded the multitude to cry out at once, away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas. What was this but to say, destroy the innocent, and give us a traitor and a thief? Away with the prince of peace and universal charity, and leave unto us the author of sedition: put him to death who has raised up the dead before us, and give unto us a known murderer.

8. But what hast thou done, O thou Lamb of God? and how hast thou deserved, thou Saviour of the world, to be thus exposed, vilified, and tormented? What is thy crime, and the cause of thy grief? What is it that has laid thee on the altar of the cross, naked, bleeding, tortured, and

dying? The Lord has laid on thee the iniquities of us all: thou art wounded for our transgressions, thou art bruised for our sins; the chastisement of our peace is upon thee; and by thy stripes we are healed.

9. Sing then, all you dear-bought nations of the earth, sing hymns of glory to the only Jesus ; let every one break forth into singing; who pretends to felicity; sing praises to the God of our salvation; to him, who for us endured so much scorn, and patiently received so many injuries; to him, who for us sweat drops of blood, and drank of the dregs of his Father's wrath; to the eternal Lord of heaven and earth, who for us was slain by the hands of the wicked; who for us was led away as sheep to the slaughter; and meck as a lamb, opened not his mouth.

A Prayer on Friday Morning, acknowledging our own Frailty, and imploring God's Grace, through the Merits of the Passion of his Son Jesus Christ.

Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies, do away mine offences. Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my faults; and my sin is ever before me. Psalm li. 1, 2, 3.

O MOST great and glorious Lord God, just and terrible in thy judgments to all obstinate rebellious sinners, but of infinite mercy to such as truly repent, and turn unto thee; look down, I beseech thee, with the eyes of mercy upon me, who now present myself before thee, acknow

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ledging that I am not worthy to lift up mine eyes to the throne of thy glorious majesty. O Lord, my sins are so many and so great, that it is owing to thy infinite goodness and mercy, that I have now an opportunity of humbling myself before thee, and begging mercy for my soul, which, I confess, has greatly sinned against thee.

For I still fear, I have too great a desire after the things of this world; too great a fondness for the profits and pleasures of it. And though I am fully persuaded, that it is my happiness and privilege, as well as my duty to love and serve thee; yet I am very apt to forget thee, and to grow careless and remiss in that great and important work which thou hast given me to do.My devotion to thee is many times cold and languid; my prayers are full of wanderings, deadness, and distractions, and the very best of my religious duties are accompanied with so many failings and imperfections, that I have great cause to humble myself before thee.

O Lord, I have no hope but in thy mercy, and the infinite merits and passions of my dear Redeemer and if thou rejectest me, I am lost and undone for ever. Therefore, remember that I am but dust, and turn not thy face from me, nor cast thy servant away in displeasure; let the intercessions of thy beloved Son prevail in my behalf: and for the sake of his meritorious death and passion, for all that he has done, and all that he has suffered for me, have mercy upon me.

O Lord, pardon and forgive, I most earnestly and unfeignedly beseech thee, all the sins and

follies of my life past; especially, O my God, lay not to my charge those sins [here may be named particulars] by which I have offended thee, my good and gracious Lord God. O cleanse me from all my secret and unknown transgressions, and vouchsafe, O merciful Father, to be reconciled unto me, who am sorry for my sins, and grieved that I have offended thee, my most gracious Lord and master; for which, and all other thy repeated mercies to me, I owe all the returns of love and duty that can possibly be paid by a creature to thee his Creator.

O Lord! open thou mine eyes, that I may see the vileness and deformity, as well as danger of sin: that I may fly from all appearance of evil, and with an unwearied diligence follow after, and pursue the things that make for my everlasting peace. Grant, that for the time to come, I may live only unto thee, in an awful fear of thy great name, and a constant regard to thy blessed will, keeping always a conscience void of offence, both towards thee, my God, and towards all men; that when thou shalt think fit to take me out of this state of trial and temptation here, I may be. received into that blessed kingdom, where all tears shall be wiped from mine eyes, and sin and death shall be no more. Grant this, O merciful Father, through the merits, and for the sake, of the same thy dear Son, and my blessed Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Here observe the Directions given on Page 10, and more particularly endeavour to improve your soul by reading a lesson out of the NEW WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 4. Sec. I.

Meditation for Friday Evening.

Upon the Sufferings of Jesus Christ commemorated in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. :

For even hereunto were ye called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who his ownself bare our sins in his own body on the tree; that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. 1 Peter ii. 21, 24.

1. NOW, my soul, thy dearest Lord is taken down from the cross; let us by the eye of faith and reason look nearer upon him: O what a man of sorrows, what a doleful spectacle do we behold! How pale, how wan and extenuated, how mournful and doleful is his face! His eyes are sunk, his temples are furrowed with the thorns. O the gashes and deep wounds of his shoulders and back, opened all with stripes! O the wide rendings of his hands and feet! His empty veins, his stretched-out sinnews, his rankled flesh, how flaggy with stripes, how begored with blood! His hair clotted, and his whole body out of order; and all this for sinners, for his enemies, for lost ungrateful man, even for us, O my soul!

2. Come, O my soul, and compare thy love for Jesus with that he hath shewn for thee, and all mankind. O confess thy remissness and thy sin. Say, O blessed Jesu! I adore thy love, and acknowledge my transgressions: for love brought thee down from heaven to us; but how few of us doth it carry up thither unto thee? love made thee die the most shameful death? but it