glory to thee, O what an abundant cause hast thou given me, when as I have no good thing on earth, but of thy bounty, and am out of hell, only through thy mercy. And O that And O that my life may be spent in thy dearest love, and in thy faithful service, ever delighting to do thy will O my God! As I am the receiver of such mercies, so make me the preacher of thy praises. Let me bless thee, Lord, at all times, and have thy praise continually in my mouth, even while I have my being. Accept, O gracious Father, and continue me for thy own, and make me still fitter for thy blessed acceptance in Jesus Christ my Saviour. Amen.

A Prayer after a Relapse into Sin.

MY God! I am filled with confusion to lift up my face unto thee, from whom I have so foolishly and wickedly departed, and against whom I have so greatly and provokingly sinned. I am ashamed to confess unto thee, what alas! I have not been afraid to commit against thee. Thou Lord, hast made me to know better, but I have held the truth in unrighteousness, and therefore deserve to be beat-. en with many stripes, for sinning so against my own knowledge. Yea, how oft have I been taught, as with briars and thorns, what an evil and bitter thing it is to trespass upon the Lord as I have done! and yet worse than a child or brute, I have run upon the offences for which I knew I must sadly repent, or do worse; nor have I only resisted the clearest light and conviction; but trampled on the richest grace and

love; therefore I am inexcusable, O righteous Lord! and have nothing to say in my own defence: no, the guilt which I have contracted, stops my mouth. O into what a depth am I fallen! and is there any hope now for one that has so wilfully spoiled himself as I have done? The pardon and grace which I am necessitated to come begging at thy hands, O my.Lord, how much greater are they than I have any reason to expect! yet no greater than thou the God of all grace canst give; nor greater than thou hast also promised to bestow even upon the greatest sinner, repenting and returning to thee. It is thy reviving word to such, that thou wilt have mercy upon them, and abundantly pardon; and though men may be false, and their offers but ensnarements, yet faithfulness itself can never deceive us.

Seeing thou hast made such a way for our redemption, O God of all grace, to heal and save our poor lost souls, by the stripes and death of thy only beloved Son; O that the blessed Saviour whom thou hast sent into the world may exer cise his power and pity, and great salvation upon me, in this my woeful condition! and make me some way to escape, that I may not be thus taken captive by the tempter at his will. Good God! there is nothing in me but misery to moye thy mercy. O fetch arguments of pity from thy own infinite goodness, and thy tender inclinations, to compassionate and relieve poor sinners returning to thee, after they have foolishly misbehaved themselves, and wickedly rebelled against thee. Mercy, O Lord, mercy I beg of

thee, for mercy's sake: 0.let thy compassion spare me, and withhold thy justice from proceeding against me. I have sinned as a silly wicked man; O Lord, pardon and heal me, as an Almighty and most merciful God. I have gone astray like a lost sheep! O seek thy servant Lord, and bring me back to the shepherd and bishop of my soul. Wilt thou take this sad opportunity to advance thy everlasting glory, in pitying the worst of fools, in saving the chief of sinners? For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, which is so exceedingly great.O absolve me from the guilt, deliver me from the power, cleanse me from the pollution, and save me from the punishment of this, and all my offences that expose me to thy wrath, and indispose me for thy service; estranging me from thee, and hindering the freedom of thy love, and delight in thee.

Lord of love, the God of my mercy, heal my backslidings, that I may not again return to folly. O let me vow and pay to the Lord my God; and so go forth in thy strength, that thou mayest confirm my resolution, and enable me to perform what I have promised. O thou compassionate Succourer of the tempted, lead me not into temptation, but, by thy grace and mighty aid, secure me to thyself, that I may not only, in this day of confusion and anguish when my wounds are fresh bleeding upon me, but in all times to come, humble my soul, and hate my sin, and take heed to my ways; and with purpose of heart cleave to the Lord, and keep thy holy fear and love to my life's end.-Amen.

Another humbling Office under any foul fall.

JUST and holy God, what shall I say unto thee, and how shall I show my face before thee, after I have so highly affronted thy glorious Majesty, and violated thy righteous commands, striking more wounds still into my woefully distressed conscience! O that I should have the sad occasion to come upon the same account, to confess and bewail the sin which I have so often confessed and bewailed before. Holy Lord, I am ashamed that I have this need to beg; and afraid lest my sins have so provoked thee, that I should beg in vain; for sin when it is finished, brings forth death; it destroys our grace, and peace, and comfort now; and without the interposition of thy infinite mercy, it will destroy soul and body eternally. And when I am under the desert of that condemnation, O what mercy from the Father of mercies do I experience, that it is not executed upon me! What patience but that of the longsuffering God, would ever bear with such as provoke him every day, when he could so easily break out in fury, and avenge him of his adversary; O how justly mightest thou, Lord, refuse to hear me now crying to thee in the anguish of my soul, who have so often refused to hear the calling upon me by the motions of thy holy Spirit! O the spoils, and havock, and desolation, which sin has made in my soul! So many aggravamy tions of this sin do make it beyond measure sinful, till I am become vile in my own eyes. And such frequent falls do ruin my hopes, and

render my case so extremely hazardous, that I am ready to fear, lest mercy should quite have done with me, and abandon me over to my wretched self, and leave me to be filthy still, and to lie and perish in my sins, because I have revolted more and more.

I abhor myself, and humble my soul here in the dust before thee, O Lord, and because I have made so bold with thy laws, I am sorely afraid of thy judgments. My sins have taken such hold of me, that my heart fails me; yet Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole. I come therefore in hope to beg the so often forfeited life of my poor soul, at thy blessed hands; for thou that hast charged us to forgive an offending brother seventy times seven, even as often as he repents, wilt thou be harder to thy offenders, when they become penitent seekers of thy mercy? no, though we so often forget our duty, thou canst never forget thy mercy. A woman may sooner forget her compassion to the fruit of her womb, than the Lord of Love will forget his kindness to his child. And to the mercy that has hitherto so wonderfully endured me, O my Lord, I seek and beg now this addition, even the further prolonging yet of thy patience towards me.

In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me. I believe, thy power and readiness O Lord, to relieve poor sinners repairing to thee; and to that end didst thou, O blessed Saviour, come into the word, and shed thy precious blood, to atone for our guilt, and to cleanse us from all our sins. O