of thought, circumspection of spirit, and the strictest regularity of conduct, never forsake me: May I be strongly convinced, and live under the constant lively impression, of these great truths that no disguises can shelter from thy eye; that all arts and colourings of hypocrisy are vain; that the darkness and the light are both alike to thee: nor is there any shadow of death where the workings of iniquity can hide themselves.

O thou great trier of the hearts of the chil dren of men, let not my spirits be depressed, and sink within me; let not the strength and steadiness of my resolution, or the ardour of my zeal for the sacred cause of religion, and the honour of thy laws and government, in the least abate; however I may be suspected, slandered, vilified, and unjustly persecuted, by the craft, pride, and malice of the ungodly. Let me not by a base and cowardly renouncing

my faith in thee, and the testimony of a good conscience, give occasion to the enemies of truth and mercy (with whom worldly power and gain are godliness) to triumph; but despising all their cruelty and terror, and deriving, so far as I am conscious of my own integrity, ward encouragement and comfort from the

contemplation of thy omniscience, may I be steadfast and unmoveable, and always abound. ing in the work of the Lord.

And grant, O God, that while I strenuously assert, and with calmness, firmness, and intrepidity, contend for my own freedom and inde pendency of mind, I may sincerely abhor, and to the utmost of my power oppose and renounce, all usurped dominion over the faith and con sciences of others. Keep me from being transported by a blind intemperate zeal, or an imposing violent spirit, to pronounce rash and uncharitable censures upon the final state of any of my brethren. Before the tribunal of thy omniscience only, the hearts of men are cognisable, and thou alone art able to save, and to destroy. Wherever my lot is cast, and whatever my station and rank of life may be,; whether public or private, social or solitary; of more enlarged or contracted influence; may I be equally careful to discharge every part of my duty to thee, my father, who seest in secret.

But let it be my highest concern, and the principal scope of my ambition, and of all my endeavours, to fix deep in my mind the seeds

of universal goodness, and to cultivate and establish pure, benevolent, and god-like dis positions; being steadily persuaded, that no disposition to mercy, no generous purpose formed, though it was not in my power to execute it, none of my most concealed and hidden virtues can escape thy notice, or fail of receiving from thee their due recompense. And because none of us can thoroughly understand our errors, but we are all of us apt to be misled by blind partiality and self-deceit, in the judgments which we form concerning ourselves, do thou, O God, who knowest my frame, search me thoroughly. Illuminate what is dark, calm what is tumultuous, and reduce and regulate whatever is disorderly; if there be any wicked way that is connived at, any latent seed of iniquity in me, discover it to me, and enable me to root it out, and lead me in the way everlasting.

I see, O great and blessed God, with concern and horror, that thy immensity and allpiercing eye are apt to excite dread and aversion in corrupt and vicious minds. And, being deeply affected, with what I know must be the extremely miserable state of a desolate, therless, and ungoverned world of rational

creatures, and struck with a strong sense of compassion for these fatally deluded sinners, I pray that they may be reclaimed from this most unnatural depravity-save them, O God, in some way or other, that is best known to thy infinite wisdom, how terrible soever it may be to their guilty consciences-O save them, that they perish not.

And together with them, I also pray most earnestly for myself, that my reason may never be so totally darkened, and I may never become so insensible of the most important privileges, and consolations of derived and dependent natures, as to wish, that it were even possible to fly from thy presence, which diffuses beauty, and order, and happiness, throughout the whole of created beings. May I rejoice in the assurance which I have, that thou, being every where present, and the first power in the universe, art able to regulate all affairs in all places, and at all times; so that no confusion can possibly happen, to perplex the plan of thy government, and obstruct its main design..

But above all, from an ardent zeal for thy glory, and an earnest desire of the happiness of all my fellow-creatures, would I mix the mos

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generous and sublime joy with my praises, when I consider the universe as thy great temple, in every part of which thou wilt for ever reside, to accept graciously the rational and humble homage of all thy sincere worshippers. To thee, from this thy holy, most magnificent, and glorious temple, may adorations, prayers, and thanksgivings, be continually offered; and may all mankind be speedily brought to join in one solemn form of devotion, with one heart, and one voice, ascribing glory to thee, as the God of all nature, and the God and father of Jesus Christ. Amen, and Amen.

THE WISDOM OF GOD.

O GOD, who art not only high above all human thought, but infinitely exalted beyond all finite conceptions, I humbly acknowledge, that thou art in all things most worthy to be praised. But amongst the divine perfections, which by their united influence constitute thy consummate excellence, I am bound in a particular manner to celebrate thy infinite wisdom; which is underived, independent, immutable, and incapable both of increase and diminution. I, therefore, most justly adore thee as the only