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foften my heart, and melt me into fhame and tears of penitential forrow, for having fo long abufed the tender mercy of fo good a God. I defire now to refign and give up myself to the conduct of thy holy fpirit. Lead me in the truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my favation. Let thy word be my rule, thy grace my guide and affiftance, thy goodness my pattern and example, thy promifes my encouragement, and thy joys my everlafting recompenfe and reward, thro' the merits and interceffion of thy blessed Son, my Saviour and Redeemer.

Amen.

See the concluding prayer and blessing on pages 38 & 39.

The Meditation: Saturday Morning*. On the excellency of the holy sacrament.

COM

This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat therefore, and not die. John vi. 50. 1. NOME unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, fays the bleffed Jefus, and I will refresh you; take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye fhall find reft unto your fouls; for my yoke is eafy, and my burden is light.

2. Does my Saviour invite me, and fhall I go? fhall a finner dare to fit down at his table? does he invite, and fhall I not

go?

* Here you may observe the directions given on page 3.

go? fhall a wretch presume to refuse his call? rife then, my foul, and take thy fwifteft wings, and fly to the participation of this great mystery. A feast of holy bread and holy wine, in reprefentation of Chrift's moft facred body broken, and blood fhed for us, where thou, deareft Jefu, doft freely give thyfelf to the meaneft gueft; a feaft of peace and love, and incomparable fweetnefs, to which thou haft thus kindly invited us.

3. Come to me, ye that labour for holinefs, and are oppreffed under the weight of your fins; ye that hunger after heaven, and thirft to drink of the fountain of blifs, come to me, and I will refresh you with the wine of gladness, and bread of life.

4. But ftay, am I arrayed like a friend of the bridegroom, that I may fafely come to this marriage fupper? have I confidered how chafte thofe eyes fhould be, which go to behold the God of purity? have I confidered how clean that mouth fhould be, which prefumes to eat the bread of heaven? but, moft of all, have I confidered how all-celeftial that foul fhould be, which afpires to an union with the body of Chrift?

5. Look, my heart, look well into thyfelf, and strictly fearch every corner of thy bréaft Alas! how poor, and dull, and I

empty

empty are we! how infinitely unworthy of fo divine a facrament! yet are we called by him that can command, by him that fees and pities our infirmities; he bids us come, he furely will receive us, and with his bounteous fulness fupply our defects.

6. Go then, my foul, to that facred table, and take thy part of that delicious banquet; go all inflamed with divine love, and joy, and hope, and quench thy facred thirft with that fpring of life. And when thou haft tafted the everlafting fweetnefs of that holy facrament, thou fhalt feel the heavenly ftreams of Chrift's blood flowing into thy truly repenting

heart.

7. Let them fink deep to the root of thy heart, and turn thy barren foil into a fruitful land; fruitful in holy thoughts and pious words; fruitful in good, and juft, and charitable deeds; fruitful to thyfelf in thine own improvement; fruitful to others in thy good examples. Praife the Lord, O my foul, and all that is within me praise his holy name, who faveth thy life from deftruction, and feedeth thee with the bread of heaven, which is adminiftered to the worthy receiver in the holy facrament.

A Prayer

Prayer on Saturday morning for. pardon and grace, to resist temptations, that our receiving the holy sacrament may be found acceptable in the sight of God.

Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.Exod. xxxiv. 9.

Almighty God, who, art of purer eyes than to be behold iniquity, who canft not look favourably upon finners, neither fhall any evil dwell with thee: how fhall I, a guilty, polluted creature, dare to approach thy prefence! Lbluth, O Lord, to lift up mine eyes towards heaven; to me belongs nothing but fhame. and confufion of face, under which I ought to lie down before thee, if i reflected only upon the bafenefs of my defcent, being the offspring of difloyal parents, who were rebels and traitors against thy Divine Majefty; with what dejection of fpirit then ought I to think of, and mention all thofe offences, whereby I have juftified that firft rebellion, and fill taken part with the devil and his angels, against thee and the motions of thy Holy Spirit in my heart

Wretched man that I am, who fhall deliver me from this bond of death, from this bondage of corruption? thy grace, I know, O Lord, is fufficient for me, and thy Son mighty to fave me; his office is I 2

10

to fave his people from their fins, for this end he gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Olet the blood of Chrift, who through the eternal spirit offered himfelf without fpot to God, purge my confcience from dead works to ferve the liv ing God. Affift me by thy grace, that I may not only abominate all filthy vices, but also hate the garments infected with fin, and abstain from all appearance of evil. And do thou, O God of peace, fanctify me wholly, that my whole fpirit, foul and body, may be preferved blamelefs unto the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Amen.

Here observe the directions given on page 8, and more particularly endeavour to improve your soul by reading a lesson out of the NEW WHOLE DUTY OF MAN. Sunday 6. Sections 1, II, III, and IV.

The Meditation for Saturday Evening.

On my unworthiness to come to the holy sacrament.

Whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 1 Cor. xi. 27.

1.

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My foul, thou perceiveft that my tranfgreffions are innumerable, and the weight of them is intolerable: that my imperfections are fhameful, my nature corrupted, crofs, and perverfe: and almoft every temptation draws me

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