stancy. Let me ask, like the importunate woman, till I obtain thee; let me seek, like thy blessed Mother, till I find thee; let me knock, like the sinful publican, till thou open to me; that having found thee here by grace in the company of saints, I may live with thee in glory with the society of angels.

THE FAITHFUL MAN.

HIS FEAR.

Do this, and live :-some comfort yet remains ; though life be not absolutely granted, yet death is but conditionally threatened. Do this, and live. But what is the work that may deserve such wages? Give perfect obedience to thy God, and perfect love to thy neighbour. But will not the utmost of my power do? will not the best of my endeavour serve? No; He that is perfect made thee perfect, and requires a perfection. Alas! if life depend upon such terms, what flesh can live? Thy unability for the work, prophesies the impossibility of the reward. My soul, thou art become a legal debtor, and the utmost farthing is expected thou canst neither pay the debt, nor hide thee from thy creditor; what wilt thou do? wilt thou plead immunity? thy own hand will condemn thee; wilt thou plead payment? thy own poverty will implead thee; wilt thou plead mercy? thy own rebellion will dismay thee. My soul, what security wilt thou put in? or to what sanctuary wilt thou fly? Oh, flatter not

thyself, and put not the evil day from thee! thou hast not only not done what thou shouldest, but thou hast done what thou shouldest not. Thou. hast sinned against thy creation, by disobeying thy Creator; thou hast sinned against thy redemption, by crucifying thy Redeemer; thou hast sinned against thy sanctification, by quenching of the spirit; thou hast sinned against God's judgments, by thy presumption; thou hast sinned against his mercies, by thy despair; thou hast sinned against thy conscience, by thy rebellion ; thou hast sinned against Providence, by thy distrust. Every day brings in an inventory of thy sins, and every sin brings in a faggot to thy execution. O my soul, behold the misery of thy estate, and tremble; behold the mercies of thy God, and wonder. Tremble, for he is a God to punish thine iniquities; wonder, for he is become a man to bear thy iniquities; tremble, for thou art not able to do his commands; wonder, for he is willing to accept what thou canst do. Will not the frailty of thy flesh permit thee to do? let the faithfulness of thy heart incline thee to desire.. Do what thou canst, and believe what thou canst not.

CHEER up, my sad soul; for He that hath considered the frailty of thy hands, hath freely accepted the faithfulness of thy heart; who saith:

Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life. Rev. ii. 10.

Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter into the joy of thy Lord: Matth. xxv. 21..

So then, they that be of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. Gal. iii. 9.

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day. 2 Tim. iv. 8.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. James, i. 12.

HIS SOLILOQUY.

STAND not, O my soul, upon the legs of a sinner, but fly into the arms of thy Saviour; and what thou canst not purchase by thy endeavour, endeavour to believe: acknowledge thou thy debt, and thy Jesus will justify the payment; trust not in thyself, lest thou be deceived by thyself. Dost thou, O my soul, desire faith? renounce thyself; wouldst thou preserve thy faith? condemn thyself: the way to faith is from thyself. Is thy soul dark? faith enlightens it; is the gate of Heaven shut? faith unlocks it is that way dangerous? faith secures it is thy heart timorous? faith emboldens it: is death terrible? faith conquers it: is the crown of life difficult? faith obtains it. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life." Fear not thy weakness, O my soul; it shall not be to thee according to thy works, but faith: if thy good works cannot save thee before faith, then evil works* cannot damn thee after repentance. As He that crowns thy good works, crowns his own gifts, so He that pardons thy evil

*The Editor can, on no account, acquiesce in the doctrine contained in this sentence. R. W.

works, magnifies his own mercy. Cast anchor here, my soul; and if the waves of thy corruptions overwhelm thee, pump them out by true repent

ance.

HIS PRAYER.

MOST glorious God, in respect of whom the very angels are impure; before whom the cherubims do veil their blushing faces-I, the wretched offspring of presumptuous flesh and blood, fall down before the footstool of thy gracious presence, and humbly present thee with my sinful prayers. If thou shouldst weigh my actions with thy righteous balance, or try me with the touchstone of thy sacred laws, the vials of thy wrath would pour upon me, and thy justice would be magnified in my confusion. But, Lord, thou delightest not in the death of a sinner, nor takest pleasure in the destruction of thy creature. Lord, thy commandments are most just, and my performance is most imperfect; the best of all my works deserve not the least of all thy mercies; and the purest of all my actions, nay, my very prayers, are sin. I have sinned against my creation, and yet, Lord, thou hast redeemed me; I have sinned against my redemption, and yet, 0 God, thou hast in some measure sanctified me; I have sinned against my sanctification, and yet, O God, thou hast not forsaken me; I have sinned against the continuance of thy mercies, yet hast thou not confounded me. The whole practice of my life is nothing but rebellion, and the imaginations of my heart are evil, and that continually: wherefore I wholly renounce myself, O God, and

utterly disclaim the works of my own hands. In thy goodness, O Lord, I build my confidence, and in thy mercy I seek for refuge. Grant me the power to do what thou commandest, and then command me what thou pleasest; crucify the flesh within me, and deliver my soul from the spirit of bondage; free me, O Lord, from the oldness of the letter, that I may serve thee hereafter in the newness of the spirit. Let the rebellions of old Adam be lost in thy remembrance, and let the obedience of the new Adam be ever in thy sight; purge from my heart the dregs of unbelief, and kindle in my soul the fire of devotion; quicken my spirit with a lively faith. Lord, I believe: Lord, help my unbelief; that so being faithful to the death, according to thy command, I may receive the crown of life according to thy promise.

THE FEARFUL MAN.

HIS CONFLICT.

How potent are the infirmities of flesh and blood! How weak is Nature's strength! How strong her weakness! How is my easy faith abused by my deceitful sense! How is my understanding blinded with deluding error! How is my will perverted with apparent good! If real good present itself, how purblind is mine eye to view it! if viewed, how dull is my understanding to apprehend it! if apprehended, how heartless is my judgment to allow it! if allowed, how

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