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I confefs likewife before thee, that I have most grievously omitted and neglected my duty to thee, in not making better ufe of the talents and opportunities of doing good, which thou hast entrusted me withal. I have offended grievously, and been wanting to my duty in a great part of my life ; toward those whom thou haft committed to my charge, in not inftructing them, and watching over them as I ought, to inform them in the good knowledge of God; and to improve in other knowledge as was my duty to have done. Lord forgive this great and heinous fin.

I have offended against thee by anger and impatience upon many occafions; by neglecting to cultivate my mind, and to govern my paffions; by uncharitablenefs and evil fpeaking; and efpecially by mifpending my precious time, which might have been employed to excellent purposes. Lord! what can I fay unto thee for thefe and innumerable other provocations of my life? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayeft be feared. Lord, ler thy goodness, which I have had fuch plentiful experience of, lead me to repentance, and not to be repented of.

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out all my tranfgreffions, for thy mercy in Jefus Chrift, whom thou haft fet forth to be propitious by his blood for the fins of the whole world.

I do now, O Lord, in a deep fenfe of my fin fulness, and a hearty contrition for all my faults of omiffion and commiffion which I have been guilty of, humble myfelf before thee, and earnestly implore thy mercy and forgiveness. I do not only repent of all the evils of my paft life; but am now fully refolved by thy grace utterly to forfake them, and break off the practice of them; and do most heartily beg the affiftance of thy grace to make good this holy refolution for the remaining part of my life. Create in me a clean heart, O God! and renew a right Spirit within me, and do thou keep it for ever in the purpose and refolution of my heart, to make: good

good what I have now fo folemnly promifed to thee. Suffer me not to turn again to fin and folly but let thy grace continually preferve me, and enable me to do better; and let not fin have any more dominion over me, that I should ferve it in the luft of it.

Grant this, O merciful Father, for the fake of my bleffed Saviour and Redeemer, who died for our fins, and rofe again for our justification, and now fitteth at thy right hand to make interceffion for finners: In his name and mediation I offer up this act of repentance, and thefe my humble fupplications for pardon and forgiveness, for thy grace and affiftance, concluding all in his comprehenfive prayer: Our Father, &c.

Next a prayer for God's bleffing upon me, and his; and his Holy Spirit to be conferred upon me in the folemn dedication of me the day following to this high and holy office.

Almighty and moft merciful Lord God, the giver of every good and perfect gift, and the Father of lights, who haft promifed, that if any man lack wisdom, he fhall ask it of thee, who giveft to all li berally and upbraideft not, and it shall be given him; I moft humbly befeech thee in the folemn ation of the day following, wherein I thy fervant am to be dedicated, and fet apart to the fervice of thee, and thy church, in fo high and holy an office, to hed forth upon me, thy moft unworthy fervant, the gifts and graces of thy Holy Spirit in a plentiful measure.

And fince by thy own wife and good providence, and the important defire of thofe whom thou haft fet in authority over us, I am called to the government and conduct of this miferable, diftracted and divided church, in fo very difficult and dangerous a time, be pleafed of thine infinite mercy and goodnefs to thy finful and moft unworthy fervant, to af ford him the grace and affiftance of thy Holy Spirit, to enable him fo to discharge the office which thou haft called him to, that thy name may be glorified, and this church, which thou haft committed to his charge, may be edified in faith and holinefs,

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in love, peace and union, by his diligent and faithful cares and endeavours; grant to him fuch a degree of health, fuch a vigour of mind, and fuch a meafure of thy heavenly grace and wifdom, as may fit him to be an ufeful Paftor of thy church. Give me, O Lord, a mind after thine own heart, that I may delight to do thy will, O my God, and let thy law be written in my heart. Give me courage and refolution to do my duty, and a heart to spend myfelf, and to be spent in thy fervice, and in doing all the good that poffibly I can the few remaining days of my pilgrimage here on earth.

I have had great experience of thy great mercy and goodness to me all my days: Hide not thy face from me in this needful time. Thou hast been my help; leave me not, nor forsake me, O God of my fal vation; teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path because of mine enemies, Pfal. xxvii. 9, 11. In thee, O Lord, do I hope; thou wilt hear, O Lord my God; hear me, left otherwise mine enemies should rejoice over me, and when my foot flippeth they should magnify themselves against me, Pfal. xxxviii. 15, 16. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hands of unrighteous and cruel men : for thou art my hope, O Lord God, thou haft been my truft from my youth; by thee have I been holden up from the womb; my praise shall be continually of thee. I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my ftrong refuge. Caft me not off in the time of old age, for fake me not when my strength faileth. O God, thou haft taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works: Now also when I am old and gray headed forfake me not, until I have fhewed thy ftrength unto this generation, and thy power to them that are to come. Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy's fake in Jefus Chrift my bleffed Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.

Then I read the prayers in the confecration-office. I concluded with a prayer for the King and Queen; and a short ejaculation.

O Lord and heavenly Father, high and mighty, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the only Ruler

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of Princes, who doft from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth, moft heartily I befeech thee with thy favour to behold our most gracious fovereign Lord and Lady, King William and Queen Mary; endue them with all thofe graces and virtues which may fit them for that high ftation wherein thou haft placed them; give them wisdom and understanding to go in and out before this great people, and a heart to feek their good all the days of their lives and make them great examples of piety and virtue to an evil and degenerate age. Preferve them in their perfons, govern their counfels, and profper their forces by fea and land, and make them victorious over their enemies. Be pleafed to take the perfon of the King into the particular care of thy providence. Give thy Angels charge over him to keep him in all his ways; cover his head in the day of battle; and crown him with victory and good fuc cefs. Give courage and refolution to him, and to his fleets and armies, and take away the hearts of his enemies. Scatter the people that delight in war; fhew thyself, thou Fudge of the earth, and render a reward to the proud. Let not iniquity always triumph in the oppreffion of thy people. Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but do thou establish the just.

I befeech thee to blefs and ftrengthen the Queen, to whom thou haft now committed the care and government of thefe nations. Give her wifdom and refolution for such a time as this.. Discover and defeat all the defigns of wicked and unreasonable men against the perfons of their Majefties, and against our peace and religion, and turn their counfels into foolishness. Strike through the loins of those that rife up against that happy government, which thy fignal providence hath established among us. O Lord blefs them both (if it be thy bleffed will) with a hopeful iffue to fit upon the throne after them, and to be a bleffing to thofe nations for many generations. This, O Lord, is not impoffible with thee. Have a gracious regard, I beseech thee, to the humble condition of the Queen thy fervant, and make her that

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was barren to fing, and to become a joyful mother of children. Hear my prayer, O Lord, in this behalf, for thy mercy's fake in Jefus Chrift. Amen.

And now, O Lord, I humbly beseech thee to accept of thefe my praifes and thanksgivings, which I have humbly offered to thy divine Majefty! of my humiliation and repentance for all the fins of my life; and of my refolution of a better obedience for the future, and to enable me by thy grace to make them good. Hear likewife my prayers and fupplications for thy bleffing upon the folemn action of the day following, and upon thine unworthy fervant who is to be dedicated to thy fervice; and for them whom thou haft fet over us; and for thefe finful nations; and all for the fake of thy dearly beloved Son, in whom thou art well pleafed, Jefus Christ the righteous.

In whose name and words I conclude my prayers. Our Father, &c."

A difcourfe to his fervants concerning receiving the facrament.

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OW that I have mentioned the facrament, I have a great defire, that as many of you as can fhould receive it at Eafter, and that you fhould carefully prepare yourfelves for it against that time. It is the most folemn inftitution of our religion, and as we are Chriftians, we are obliged to the frequent receiving of it, and we cannot neglect it without a great contempt of our bleffed Saviour and his religion. He hath appointed it for a folemn. remembrance of his great love to us,, in laying down his life for us, and therefore he commands us to do it in remembrance of him; and St. Paul tells us, that as often as we eat this bread, and drink this cup, we do fhew forth the Lord's death till be come.

Both the comfort and the benefit of it are great. The comfort of it; because it does not only reprefent to us the exceeding love of our Saviour, in giving his body to be broken, and his blood to be hed for us, but it likewife feals to us all those blef

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