when they have served thee in their generations, and have profited the Christian commonwealth, they may be coheirs with Jesus, in the glories of thy eternal kingdom, through the same our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prayer to be said by Masters of Families, Curates, Tutors, or other obliged Persons, for their charges.

O almighty God, merciful and gracious, have mercy upon my family, [or pupils, or parishioners, &c.] and all committed to my charge: sanctify them with thy grace, preserve them with thy providence, guard them from all evil by the custody of angels, direct them in the ways of peace and holy religion by my ministry and the conduct of thy most Holy Spirit, and consign them all, with the participation of thy blessings and graces in this world, with healthful bodies, with good understandings, and sanctified spirits, to a full fruition of thy glories hereafter, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

A Prayer to be said by Merchants, Tradesmen, and

Handicraftsmen.

O eternal God, thou fountain of justice, mercy and benediction, who, by my education and other effects of thy providence hast called me to this profession, that, by my industry, I may, in my small proportion, work together for the good of myself and others; I humbly beg thy grace to guide me in my intention, and in the transaction of my affairs, that I may be diligent, just, and faithful: and give me thy favour, that this my labour may be accepted by thee as a part of my necessary duty: and give me thy blessing to assist and prosper me in my calling, to such measures, as thou shalt, in mercy, choose for me and be pleased to let thy Holy Spirit be for ever present with me, that I may never be given to covetousness and sordid appetites, to lying or falsehood, or any other base, indirect, and beggarly arts; but give me prudence, honesty, and Christian sincerity, that my trade may be sanctified by my religion; my labour, by my intention and thy blessing; that, when I have done my portion of work thou hast allotted me, and improved the talent thou hast intrusted to me, and served the commonwealth in my capacity; I may receive the mighty price of my high calling, which I expect and beg, in the portion and inheritance of the ever blessed Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus. Amen.

Q

A Prayer to be said by Debtors, and all Persons obliged, whether by crime or contract.

O almighty God, who art rich unto all, the treasury and fountain of all good, of all justice, and all mercy, and all bounty, and to whom we owe all, that we are, and all that we have, being thy debtors by reason of our sins, and by thy own gracious contract, made with us in Jesus Christ; teach me, in the first place, to perform all my obligations to thee, both of duty and thankfulness; and next, enable me to pay my duty to all my friends, and my debts to all my creditors, that none be made miserable or lessened in his estate by his kindness to me, or traffic with me. Forgive me all those sins and irregular actions, by which I entered into debt farther than my necessity required, or by which such necessity was brought upon me; but let not them suffer by occasion of my sin. Lord reward all their kindness into their bosoms, and make them recompense, where I cannot; and make me very willing in all that I can, and able for all, that I am obliged to: or, if it seem good in thine eyes to afflict me by the continuance of this condition, yet make it up by some means to them, that the prayer of thy servant may obtain of thee at least, to pay my debt in blessings. Amen.

V.

Lord, sanctify and forgive all that I have tempted to evil by my discourse or my example; instruct them in the right way whom I have led to error, and let me never run farther on the score of sin: but do thou blot out all the evils I have done, by the spunge of thy passion, and the blood of thy cross; and give me a deep and an excellent repentance, and a free and a gracious pardon, that thou mayest answer for me, O Lord, and enable me to stand upright in judgment; for in thee, O Lord, have I trusted; let me never be confounded. Pity me and instruct me, guide me and support me, pardon me and save me, for my sweet Saviour, Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

A Prayer for Patron and Benefactors.

O almighty God, thou fountain of all good, of all excellency both of men and angels, extend thine abundant favour and loving-kindness to my patron, to all my friends

and benefactors; reward them and make them plentiful recompense for all the good, which, from thy merciful providence, they have conveyed unto me. Let the light of thy countenance shine upon them, and let them never come into any affliction or sadness, but such as may be an instrument of thy glory and their eternal comfort. Forgive them all their sins; let thy divinest Spirit preserve them from all deeds of darkness. Let thy ministering angels guard their persons from the violence of the spirits of darkness. And thou, who knowest every degree of their necessity by thy infinite wisdom, give supply to all their needs by thy glorious mercy, preserving their persons, sanctifying their hearts, and leading them in the ways of righteousness, by the waters of comfort, to the land of eternal rest and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

CHAPTER IV.

OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

RELIGION, in a large sense, doth signify the whole duty of man, comprehending in it justice, charity, and sobriety; because all these being commanded by God, they become a part of that honour and worship, which we are bound to pay to him. And thus the word is used in St. James, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."* But, in a more restrained sense, it is taken from that part of duty, which particularly relates to God in our worshippings and adoration of him, in confessing his excellencies, loving his person, admiring his goodness, believing his word, and doing all that, which may, in a proper and direct manner, do him honour. It contains the duties of the first table only; and so it is called godliness,† and is by St. Paul distinguished from justice and sobriety. In this sense I am now to explicate the parts of it.

Of the internal Actions of Religion.

Those I call the internal actions of religion, in which the soul only is employed, and ministers to God in the special * James i. 27.

+ Tit. ii. 12.

Faith believes the repromises: and charity Faith gives us under

actions of faith, hope, and charity. velations of God: hope expects his loves his excellencies and mercies. standing to God: hope gives up the passions and affections to heaven and heavenly things: and charity gives the will to the service of God. Faith is opposed to infidelity, hope to despair, charity to enmity and hostility: and these three sanctify the whole man, and make our duty to God and obedience to his commandments to be chosen, reasonable, and delightful, and therefore to be entire, persevering, and universal.

SECTION I.

OF FAITH.

The Acts and Offices of Faith are,

1. To believe every thing which God hath revealed to us: and, when once we are convinced, that God hath spoken it, to make no farther inquiry, but humbly to submit; ever remembering, that there are some things, which our understanding cannot fathom, nor search out their depth.

2. To believe nothing concerning God, but what is honourable and excellent, as knowing that belief to be no honouring of God, which entertains of him any dishonourable thoughts. Faith is the parent of charity; and whatsoever faith entertains, must be apt to produce love to God but he that believes God to be cruel or unmerciful, or a rejoicer in the unavoidable damnation of the greatest part of mankind, or that he speaks one thing and privately means another, thinks evil thoughts concerning God, and such, as for which we should hate a man, and therefore are great enemies of faith, being apt to destroy charity. Our faith concerning God must be, as himself hath revealed and described his own excellencies; and, in our discourses, we must remove from him all imperfection, and attribute to him all excellency.

3. To give ourselves wholly up to Christ, in heart and desire, to become disciples of his doctrine with choice (besides conviction,) being in the presence of God but as idiots, that is, without any principles of our own to hinder the truth of God; but sucking in greedily all that God

hath taught us, believing it infinitely, and loving to believe it. For this is an act of love, reflected upon faith, or an act of faith leaning upon love.

4. To believe all God's promises, and that whatsoever is promised in Scripture, shall, on God's part, be as surely performed, as if we had it in possession. This act makes us to rely upon God with the same confidence, as we did on our parents, when we were children, when we made no doubt, but whatsoever we needed, we should have it, if it were in their power.

5. To believe also the conditions of the promise, or that part of the revelation, which concerns our duty. Many are apt to believe the article of remission of sins, but they believe it, without the condition of repentance, or the fruits of holy life and that is to believe the article otherwise than God intended it. For the covenant of the gospel is the great object of faith, and that supposes our duty to answer his grace that God will be our God, so long as we are his people. The other is not faith, but flattery.

6. To profess publicly the doctrine of Jesus Christ, openly owning whatsoever he hath revealed and commanded, not being ashamed of the word of God, or of any practices enjoined by it; and this, without complying with any man's interest, not regarding favour, nor being moved with good words, not fearing disgrace, or loss, or inconvenience, or death itself.

7. To pray without doubting, without weariness, without faintness, entertaining no jealousies, or suspicions of God, but being confident of God's hearing us, and of his returns to us, whatsoever the manner or the instance be, that, if we do our duty, it will be gracious and merciful.

These acts of faith are, in several degrees, in the servants of Jesus; some have it but as a grain of mustardseed; some grow up to a plant: some have the fulness of faith but the least faith is, must be a persuasion so strong, as to make us undertake the doing of all that duty, which Christ built upon the foundation of believing. But we shall best discern the truth of our faith by these following signs. St. Jerome reckons three.

Signs of true Faith.

1. An earnest and vehement prayer; for it is impossible, we should heartily believe the things of God and the