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of them, from speedy repentance, from the custody of thy senses and of thy heart, from firm purposes of growing in grace, from reading good books, and frequent receiving the holy sacrament. It is all one to him, if he deceives thee by a lie or by truth; whether he amaze or trouble thee, by love of the present or fear of the future: watch him but in these things, and there will be no part left unarmed, in which he can wound thee.

69. Remember how the proud have fallen, and they who have presumed upon their own strength, have been disgraced; and that the boldest and greatest talkers in the days of peace, have been the most dejected and pusillanimous in the day of temptation.

70. No man ought to think he hath found peace, when nothing troubles him; or that God loves him, because he hath no enemy; nor that all is well, because every thing is according to his mind; nor that he is a holy person, because he prays with great sweetness and comfort: but he is at peace who is reconciled to God; and God loves him when he hath overcome himself; and all is well when nothing pleases him but God, being thankful in the midst of his afflictions; and he is holy, who, when he hath lost his comfort, loses nothing of his duty, but is still the same, when God changes his face towards him.

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POSTULANDA;

OR,

THINGS TO BE PRAYED FOR.

Jubet Dens ut petas, et si non-petis displicet, et non negabit quod petis: et tu non petes?— S. August.

A Form of Prayer, by way of Paraphrase expounding the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father.

MERCIFUL and gracious; thou gavest me being, raisedst me from nothing, to be an excellent creation, efforming me after thy own image, tenderly feeding me, and conducting and strengthening me all my days: thou art our Father by a more excellent mercy, adopting us in a new birth, to become partakers of the inheritance of Jesus; thou hast given us the portion and the food of sons; O make us to do the duty of sons, that we may never lose our title to so glorious an inheritance.

Let this excellent name and title, by which thou hast vouchsafed to relate to us, be our glory and our confidence, our defence and guard, our ornament and strength, our dignity, and the endearment of obedience, the principle of a holy fear to thee, our Father,—and of love to thee and to our brethren, partakers of the same hope and dignity.

Unite every member of the church to thee in holy bands; let there be no more names of division, nor titles and ensigns of error and partiality; let not us, who are brethren, contend, but in giving honour to each other, and glory to thee, contending earnestly for the faith, but not to the breach of charity, nor the denying each other's hope: but grant, that we may all join in the promotion of the honour of thee our

Father, in celebrating the name, and spreading the family, and propagating the laws and institutions, the promises and dignities of our elder brother; that, despising the transitory entertainments of this world, we may labour for, and long after, the inheritance to which thou hast given us title, by adopting us into the dignity of sons. For ever let thy Spirit witness to our spirit, that we are thy children, and enable us to cry Abba, Father.

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Heaven is thy throne, the earth is thy footstool: from thy throne thou beholdest all the dwellers upon earth, and triest out the hearts of men, and nothing is hid from thy sight. And as thy knowledge is infinite, so is thy power, uncircumscribed as the utmost orb of heaven, and thou sittest in thy own essential happiness and tranquillity, immoveable and eternal. That is our country, and thither thy servants are travelling; there is our Father, and that is our inheritance; there our hearts are, for there our treasure is laid up till the day of recompense.

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy name, O God, is glorious, and in thy name is our hope and confidence: according to thy name, so is thy praise unto the world's end. They that love thy name, shall be joyful in thee; for thy name which thou madest to be proclaimed unto thy people, is, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty." In this glorious name, we worship thee, O Lord; and all they that know thy name, will put their trust in thee. The desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. Thou art worthy, O Lord, of honour, and praise, and glory, for ever and ever: we confess thy glories, we rejoice in thy mercies; we hope in thy name, and thy saints like it well: for thy name is praised unto the ends of the world; it is believed by faith, relied upon by a holy hope, and loved by a great charity: all thy church celebrates thee with praises, and offers to thy name the sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving.

Thou, O God, didst frame our nature by thy own image, and now thou hast imprinted thy name upon us; we are thy servants, the relatives and domestics of thy family, and thou hast honoured us with the gracious appellative of Christians. O let us never dishonour so excellent a title, nor, by unworthy usages, profane thy holy name, but for ever glorify it. Let our life be answerable to our dignity; that our body may be chaste, our thoughts clean, our words gracious, our manners holy, and our life useful and innocent, that men, seeing our good works, may glorify thee our Father which

art in heaven.

Thy kingdom come.

Thou reignest in heaven and earth: O do thou rule also in our hearts; advance the interest of religion; let thy Gospel be placed in all the regions of the earth; and let all nations come and worship thee, laying their proud wills at thy feet, submitting their understandings to the obedience of Jesus, conforming their affections to thy holy laws. Let thy kingdom be set up gloriously over us; and do thou reign in our spirits, by thy Spirit of Grace; subdue every lust and inordinate appetite; trample upon our pride, mortify all rebellion within us, and let all thine and our enemies be brought into captivity, that sin may never reign in our mortal bodies; but that Christ may reign in our understanding by faith,—in the will, by charity,-in the passions, by mortification,— in all the members, by a right and chaste use of them. And when thy kingdom that is within us hath flourished, and is advanced to that height whither thou hast designed it, grant thy kingdom of glory may speedily succeed; and we thy servants be admitted to the peace and purity, the holiness and glories of that state, where thou reignest alone, and art all in all.

Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven.

Thy will, O God, is the measure of holiness and peace; thy providence the great disposer of all things, tying all events together, in order to thy glory and the good of thy servants, by a wonderful mysterious chain of wisdom. Let thy will also be the measure of our desires: for we know, that whatsoever thou sayest is true, and whatsoever thou

doest is good: grant we may submit our wills to thine, being patient of evils which thou inflictest, lovers of the good which thou commandest, haters of all evil which thou forbiddest, pleased with all the accidents thou sendest; that though our nature is weaker than angels, yet our obedience may be as humble, our conformity to thy will may arise up to the degrees of unity, and theirs cannot be more; that as they in heaven, so we in earth may obey thy will promptly, cheerfully, zealously, and with all our faculties; and grant, that as they there, so all the world here may serve thee with peace and concord, purity and love unfeigned, with one heart and one voice glorifying thee our heavenly Father.

⚫ Grant that we may quit all our own affections, and suspect our reasonings, and go out of ourselves, and all our own confidences; that thou being to us all things, disposing all events, and guiding all our actions, and directing our intentions, and overruling all things in us and about us, we may be servants of the Divine will for ever.

Give us, this day, our daily bread.

Thou, O God, which takest care of our souls, do not despise our bodies, which thou hast made and sanctified, and designed to be glorious. But now we are exposed to hunger and thirst, nakedness, and weariness, want, and inconvenience, 'Give unto us neither poverty nor riches, but feed us with food convenient for us,' and clothe us with fitting provisions, according to that state and condition where thou hast placed thy servants; that we may not be tempted with want, nor made contemptible by beggary, nor wanton or proud by riches, nor in love with any thing in this world; but that we may use it as strangers and pilgrims, as the relief of our needs, the support of our infirmities, and the oil of our lamps, feeding us till we are quite spent in thy service. Lord, take from thy servants sad carefulness, and all distrust, and give us only such a proportion of temporal things, as may enable us with comfort to do our duty.

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.

O dear God, unless thou art pleased to pardon us, in vain

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