to that fure fanctuary, and blessed retreat, in the heavenly reft, and everlasting joy of thy Lord: where thou wilt no more offend him, nor have any temptation to it, nor further trouble upon that account, world without end.

L

THE PRAYER.

ORD, if it be thy will, that I should grapple with temptations; I will not defire then "wholly to be exempted from them; but only to "be fupported under them, and carried fafe through "them, and fet above the evil and danger of them: "that I may not be hurt, but bettered by them. O "give me the disturbance that shall rouze me out of "an ill cafe, and awaken my care, and quicken me "to the livelier discharge of my duty. The evils. "which I cannot forefee, be pleased, Lord, to pre"vent and those which I cannot avoid, but must "encounter, O do thou enable me to overcome: "that I may not fink under them; but by the pow "erful defence of thy good hand, be kept fafe; till "I reach to the bleffed period of all my trials and "travails, my labours and troubles; and fhall be out "of all this pain and peril, this care and concern, in "the heavenly reft, and everlasting joy of my Lord,. "Amen.'

MEDITATION C.

Of Perfeverance.

F all the promises of God, none fo reviving and encouraging to my timorous mind, as thofe, of his perfecting what concerns us, and crown

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ing his own gracious work in us. To hear, that his gifts and calling are without repentance, and his mercy, like himself, endures for ever; that he will give his sheep eternal life, and they fhall never perish, nor any pluck them out of his hands; that when I am fo mutable, and prone to fall away, and spoil my. felf, his love, which is an everlafting love, will not lofe me fo, nor his grace, that is a well of water, fpringing up to everlafting life, be dried up: but a bound, even over all my abounding fins, and make me fafer than Adam was in the very state of innocence, because it gives me, not only the power to ftand, if I will, but the will to prefift, and endure to the end: nor only fets me up, to ftand on my own legs, but in the ftrength of Chrift, and keeps me by the power of God, through faith, to falvation: and and when I am fo often at a lofs, will guide me with his council, till he receive me into glory. That "mountains and hills fhall be removed, fooner than "the covenant of his peace," Ifa. liv. 10. And by that everlasting covenant, he has not only engaged himself," not to turn away from me, to do me "good; but to put his fear into my heart, that I fhall "not depart from him," Jer. xxxii. 40.

I know then, my foul, whom I have believed; and how faithful he is, that has promifed. And if the Lord has faid it; I will not queftion: but fet my heart at reft; and build upon the fure foundation of his word; that shall never pafs away. It is he who has wrought all my works in me, that must ordain peace for me; and carry on the good work begun, till the day of Jesus Christ. I mistrust myself: and too much do I know of my own heart, to repofe any confidence in it: all my fufficiency is of God, and all my expectation from the Lord. Without him, I can do nothing. O no; I fhall be gone: I fhall be undone if I am not upheld and fecured by his help and defence. But to him will I look, for the accomplishment

complishment of his own gracious defigns, fet on foot in my foul. For can I think, that he, who looked upon me in my blood, to bid me live, will fuffer me to miscarry, after he has fhewed me fuch mercy? if he would beftow his grace upon me, when there was nothing of invitation in me: yea, when I was, not only a stranger, but an enemy; that had enough to turn him all against me: fure he will not neglect to cultivate the plant of his own planting, nor to cherifh that heavenly production; which is the feed, and the very life of God, in my foul.

Though he will forfake those that forfake him: yet never fhall they forfake him, whom he has "be"trothed to himself for ever," Hof. ii. 19. Though grace has its ebbs and flows: and they that have it, do often rife and fall: yet there is a promife that is their fecurity, from falling away finally, Pfal. xxxvii. 24. "Though the good man fall, he fhall not be ut "terly caft down: for the Lord upholds him with

his hand." Such then, as we read of in holy fcripture, falling away, they did but feem to ftand; or elfe but feem to be gone: when indeed, they were no final apoftates. "They went out from us; (faith "the apoftle, 1 John ii. 19.) but they were not of "us: for if they had been of us, they would, no "doubt, have continued with us." And though we muft endure to the end, that we may be faved: yet the fuppofitions of their going to ruin, who have known the grace of God in truth, are no affertions of the thing: but cautions to our revolting hearts, and fpurs to our fluggish minds, and fuch incitements of our watchfulnefs and diligence; that we may not tempt the Lord our God, to go and caft ourselves down precipices, nor run into the mouth of danger, but be shy and wary, to keep off from the occafions of falling; and follow him with our fupplications, and ftrong cries, that is able to keep us from it: and fo thefe very intimations of our peril, are indeed the

Lord's

Lord's means of preferving us to his heavenly kingdom.

But they that would rob the church of this doctrine, go the way to undermine the fureft ground of confolation, that I know of in the world. Without which, O how hollow is the comfort; even when we are got in the holieft frame: were frail creatures, not withheld by an almighty hand from undoing themselves.

us,

And yet fo far is the doctrine, (well taken,) from emboldening men in any ill ways, that I know not a more forcible motive to all holy, chearful obedience; than, that our labour fhall not be in vain in the Lord; and that he will never leave nor forfake but still take care of us, and watch for good over us, till he has raised us above all the danger; and fixed us fafe, in the joy of our Lord. O what will fo wing us, with love and zeal, to live to fuch a Lord; and to abound in his work, and lay out ourselves, to exprefs the eternal thanks of our hearts, for the everlafting obligation laid on our fouls!

For confider it, my foul! fhall nothing be able to separate me from the love of God, in Chrift Jefus our Lord? O what manner of love then is this? that not only makes me rejoice in hope of the glory of God, but to know that I have eternal life; as fure as I have any spiritual life: becaufe grace is not only the fore-runner, but the prepoffeffion of glory, and fomewhat of it even in hand already. And wherever is the new creation in Chrift Jefus; never will God forfake that work of his own hands. O then, my foul, fhall I not love him, that has first so loved me? when my Beloved will be mine; fhall I not be also for ever his? yes, I will. Seeing he will not part with me, I will hold him, and not let him go. No, the world fhall never part between me and my Lord, who when the world fails me, will stick to me; and after it can ftand me in no further ftead, will not

cease

cease to do me good; but be my bleffed portion for ever. Amen.

.

How apt am I, Lord, to be led away of my own lufts, and enticed, yea, to yield to the "temptation, and prove falfe to my God, and fall "away from thee: if thou hold not up my goings " in thy paths, that my footfteps flip not! I cannot "preferve and help myfelf: 1 fhall fpoil and lofe all, "if thou, Lord Almighty, be not my defence and "fecurity. To thee, therefore, I look, and upon "thee alone I depend, for the compleating of what thy own grace has begun in me. O let me find my good God ftill too ftrong for the wicked one, "to keep me in the way of falvation, upon which "thou haft fent me: that I may never fall away "from thee; nor let go the hold of thy grace, and "the hope of thy glory, which thou haft given me. "But when 1 fall, Lord, do thou raise me; when I

ftray, reduce me, and tie me afresh to thyfelf, "with the cords of love; and never fuffer me to un"do myself. But amidst all the revolutions and " uncertainties of this world, and all the frailty and "mutability in my ownfelf, here let me find the "rock to build upon, the foundation of the Lord, "which ftandeth fure, the free grace, and good pleasure of my God, who changeth not; but having loved his own, loves them to the end, and "without any end. To whom, therefore, be all "glory world without end. Amen."

THE END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.