the waters may settle, and thy thoughts be free to wait upon God. For this diversion from his service is evil, but not to be helped till the business that feeds it be withdrawn.

"Lastly, if the thoughts be only of indifferent matters and trifles, wandering on several things without coherence, to which thou hast neither affection nor engagement: rouse up and awaken thyself; put thy heart into the presence of God, and lie naked before his majesty. For this is the sleepiness of the head, and the drowsiness of the senses. For as in sleep, our thoughts run incoherently to and fro; so this is a degree of sleep, and thy thoughts ramble proportionably to this degree: but check them, awaken them, and bemoan thyself, and say; Pardon, O Lord, the behaviour of thy servant, so unsuitable to thy tremendous Majesty. Thy holy angels may justly have indignation against such a wretch as I am, that presume to treat the adorable majesty of their Lord with so little reverence and respect: while they, who are so much above me, so high in eminency and honour, yet pay thy infinite Majesty infinitely more awful homage. Ah! poor soul, what advantages dost thou lose of improving thy soul in grace! What strength, what spiritual knowledge, what comfort, what humility, what divine love mightest thou have acquired by dwelling in the presence of God, and sitting at his feet, in this time, which thou hast perfectly lost in vanity and dreaming? Assist me, O my God, to conquer this evil also, and then my soul shall be happy in conversing with thee."

I shall conclude the account of his devotions, with

a copy of his private prayers, which I find among his papers, which will give the reader a clearer view of Mr. Bonnell's piety, than any thing I am able to say of it, and which I hope many devout Christians will offer up to God with great comfort in their retirements.

Composed

about the

or 1692.

A PRAYER.

I have

"O Lord my God, heavenly Father! year 1691, Maker of all things; Judge of all men, most worthy Judge eternal; thou art a righteous judge, strong and patient, and thou art provoked every day; and that by my wretchedness. sinned, what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? God be merciful to me a sinner; mercy, mercy, O my God, in and through thy dear Son: accept of that full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, which he hath offered upon the cross, not only for my sins, but for the sins of the world, on my behalf, and of thy infinite mercies make me partaker of it. O my most gracious Saviour, vouchsafe yet to own me before thy Father for thine, and obtain for me pardon and forgiveness for all my sins. Accept of me, O most merciful Father, in him thy beloved Son, as thou hast enabled me humbly to offer up myself to thee through him; and grant me grace to serve thee faithfully, sincerely, uprightly, heartily, all my days.

Fill, O fill my soul with zeal for thy glory, and with longings for the coming of thy kingdom, that thou, O most gracious Lord Jesu, mayest see abundantly of thy seed, and of the travail of thy soul, and be comforted over all the trouble and sorrow

which thou hast endured for our sakes, in bringing forth salvation to the world; that thou mayest be exalted in the hearts of men, and that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be done away. Increase the number of thy own servants, strengthen their graces, be glorified in them, and let their hearts ever rejoice in thee. Fill my soul with such a deep sense of thy wonderful love to us, and of thy bitter sufferings for us, as may provoke me, for thy sake, to love those souls whom thou.hast so tenderly loved, and so dearly bought; and to endeavour to spend and be spent for them.

"Lord, have mercy upon us in these sinful nations : spare us, good Lord, we have grievously sinned: righteous are thy judgments which thou hast brought upon us; pardon our crying sins, which have provoked them; pardon our unreformedness under them. Pardon, mercifully pardon the unsuitable returns we have made to thy wonderful mercies. Be entreated for us, good Lord. Be glorified, if it be thy gracious will, by our reformation, and not by our destruction. Turn all our hearts to thee, from the highest to the lowest. Turn thou us, and so shall we be turned; send forth a spirit of reformation into the midst of us, and make us a holy people. Stir up the hearts of thy servants whom thou hast set over us, that they may be zealous and happy instruments in thy hand of promoting this good work, and may be blessed in their deed. Grant us princes to rule in righteousness, and pastors after thy own heart. Send forth painful labourers into thy Church, and bless all that wait at thy holy altar with soundness of doctrine and 8

piety, and exemplariness of life and conversation, particularly those for whom I am bound to pray. Grant that they may glorify thee on earth, and be glorified with thee in heaven.

Comfort, I implore, all thy poor servants that suffer for the testimony of a good conscience; visit them, O gracious Lord, in all their prisons, their dungeons, their galleys, their banishments, their distresses. Thou knowest them, thou seest them under all: 0 stay their souls upon thee, and let their lives be precious in thy sight, and their deaths right dear. Supply abundantly to all their souls the want of thy holy ordinances, so richly vouchsafed to us, and in thy good time deliver them, as thou hast so wonderfully and graciously delivered us. O that our whole souls may rejoice in thee, and bless thee for these thy wonderful mercies to us; O make us faithful to thee in all our holy vows and engagements.

"Vouchsafe to bless thy servants (my sister and her husband) with the fear of thy holy name, and with grace to bring up their children in thy fear; O that they and theirs may be thine. Bless all my near relations and dear friends, make them thy servants. Bless and reward all my benefactors; bless all whom I have injured by word or deed, in soul, body, goods, or good name. Of thy infinite mercy pardon these my sins, and remove the evil effects and influences of my sins, wheresoever they have reached. Reward a hundred-fold into the bosom of all that offer up, or have offered up prayers unto thy Majesty in my behalf; bless them, good Lord, and all that belong to them.

11

"Be gracious to all of us, whom thou hast admitted at any time together to thy holy table; strengthen our hearts, O most gracious Lord Jesus, in thy ways; strengthen us against all and each of our temptations and difficulties in life, and make us more than conquerors in thy love. Let the thoughts of thy wonder-ful love be ever sweet to our souls, and to my soul, and let us love to meditate thy bitter sufferings. ['O fit and prepare our hearts, whom thou dost Sacrament now invite to feast with thee, at this holy week. time approaching, that our hearts may burn within us, while thou art pleased to converse with us, that thou mayest then vouchsafe to be known to us in breaking of bread.'] O let us not be of the world, as thou wert not of it; keep us from the evil of it, till thou shalt bring us to thyself in peace.

"O my Father, O my God, I am in thy hand, and rejoice above all things in being so; do with me what seems good in thy sight; only grant me pardon for those sins which continually provoke thy rod, and sanctify every stroke of it to me; make it effectual to wean my heart from the world, and from all sinful affections, and root out the remains of my sinfully contracted habits, that I may be pure and holy before thee, and unreproveable in thy sight.

"O be gracious to all thy poor servants that are in misery and distress of mind, body, or estate, all that lie on the bed of sickness, all that want the comforts that I enjoy : ease them, gracious Lord, and relieve them, give them patience under thy hand, submission to thy will, and a happy issue, in thy good time, out of all their afflictions; and give me a heart