the great foundation of empire and government: I adore thy majesty, and rejoice in thy mercy, and revere thy power, and confess all glory, and dignity, and honour, to be thine alone, and theirs to whom thou shalt impart any ray of thy majesty, or reflection of thy honour: but as for me, I am a worm and no man, vile dust and ashes, the son of corruption, and the heir of rottenness, seized upon by folly, a lump of ignorance and sin, and shame and death.—What art thou, O Lord? the great God of heaven and earth, the fountain of holiness, and perfection infinite.---But what am I? so ignorant, that I know not what; so poor, that I have nothing of my own; so miserable, that I am the heir of sorrow and death; and so sinful, that I am encompassed with shame and grief.

II.

And yet, O my God, I am proud: proud of my shame, glorying in my sin, boasting my infirmities; for this is all that I have of my own,---save only that I have multiplied my miseries by vile actions, every day dishonouring the work of thy hands my understanding is too confident, my affections rebellious, my will refractory and disobedient; and yet I know thou resistest the proud, and didst cast the morning stars, the angels, from heaven into chains of darkness, when they grew giddy and proud, walking upon the battlements of heaven, beholding the glorious regions that were above them.

III.

Thou, O God, who givest grace to the humble, do something also for the proud man; make me humble and obedient. Take from me the spirit of pride and haughtiness, ambition and self-flattery, confidence and gaiety: teach me to think well, and to expound all things fairly of my brother, to love his worthiness, to delight in his praises, to excuse his errors, to give thee thanks for his graces,-to rejoice in all the good that he receives, and ever to believe and speak better things of him than of myself.

IV.

O teach me to love to be concealed, and little esteemed; let me be truly humbled, and heartily ashamed of my sin and folly; teach me to bear reproaches evenly, for I have

deserved them; to refuse all honours done unto me, because I have not deserved them; to return all to thee, for it is thine alone; to suffer reproof thankfully, to amend all my faults speedily; and do thou invest my soul with the humble robe of my meek Master and Saviour Jesus; and, when I have humbly, patiently, charitably, and diligently served thee,change this robe into the shining garment of immortality, my confusion into glory, my folly to perfect knowledge, my weaknesses and dishonours to the strength and beauties of the sons of God.

V.

In the mean time use what means thou pleasest, to conform me to the image of thy holy Son; that I may be gentle to others, and severe to myself; that I may sit down in the lowest place; striving to go before my brother in nothing, but in doing him and thee honour; staying for my glory, till thou shalt please, in the day of recompenses, to reflect light from thy face, and admit me to behold thy glories. Grant this for Jesus Christ's sake, who humbled himself to the death and shame of the cross, and is now exalted unto glory: unto him, with thee, O Father, be glory and praise for ever and ever. Amen.

FOR MONDAY.

A Prayer against Covetousness.

I.

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O ALMIGHTY God, eternal treasure of all good things, thou fillest all things with plenteousness; thou clothest the lilies of the field, and feedest the young ravens that call upon thee: thou art all-sufficient in thyself, and all-sufficient to us; let thy providence be my storehouse, thy dispensation of temporal things the limit of my labour, my own necessity the measure of my desire but never let : my desires of this world be greedy, nor my labour immoderate, nor my care vexatious and distracting, but prudent, moderate, holy, subordinate to thy will, the measure thou hast appointed for me.

II.

Teach me, O God, to despise the world, to labour for the

true riches, to seek the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness,' to be content with what thou providest, to be in this world like a stranger with affections set upon heaven, labouring for, and longing after the possessions of thy kingdom; but never suffer my affections to dwell below, but give me a heart compassionate to the poor, liberal to the needy, open and free in all my communications, without base ends, or greedy designs, or unworthy arts of gain; but let my strife be to gain thy favour, to obtain the blessedness of doing good to others, and giving to them that want, and the blessedness of receiving from thee pardon and support, grace and holiness, perseverance, and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

FOR TUESDAY.

A Prayer against Lust.

I.

O ETERNAL purity, thou art brighter than the sun, purer than the angels, and the heavens are not clean in thy sight; with mercy behold thy servant apt to be tempted with every object, and to be overcome by every enemy. I cannot, O God, stand in the day of battle and danger, unless thou coverest me with thy shield, and hidest me under thy wings. The fiery darts of the devil are ready to consume me, unless the dew of thy grace for ever descend upon me. Thou didst make me after thy image: be pleased to preserve me so, pure and spotless, chaste and clean; that my body may be a holy temple, and my soul a sanctuary to entertain thy divinest Spirit, the Spirit of love and holiness, the Prince of purities.

II.

Reprove in me the spirit of fornication and uncleanness, and fill my soul with holy fires, that no strange fire may come into the temple of my body, where thou hast chosen to dwell. O cast out all those unclean spirits, which have unhallowed the place, where thy holy feet have trod : pardon all my hurtful thoughts, all my impurities; that I, who am a member of Christ, may not become the member of a harlot,

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nor the slave of the devil, nor a servant of lust and unworthy desires but do thou purify my love, and let me seek the things that are above,' hating the garments spotted with the flesh;' never any more grieving thy holy Spirit' by filthy inclinations, with impure and fantastic thoughts: but let my thoughts be holy, my soul pure, my body chaste and healthful, my spirit severe, devout and religious, every day more and more; that, at the day of our appearing, I may be presented to God washed and cleansed, pure and spotless by the blood of the holy Lamb, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

FOR WEDNESDAY.

A Prayer against Gluttony and Drunkenness.

I.

O ALMIGHTY Father of men and angels, who hast, of thy great bounty, provided plentifully for all mankind to support his state, to relieve his necessities, to refresh his sorrows, to recreate his labour; that he may praise thee, and rejoice in thy mercies and bounty: be thou gracious unto thy servant yet more, and suffer me not, by my folly, to change thy bounty into sin, thy grace into wantonness. Give me the spirit of temperance and sobriety, that I may use thy creatures in the same measures, and to the same purposes which thou hast designed, so as may best enable me to serve thee, but "not to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof:' let me not, as Esau, prefer meat before a blessing; but subdue my appetite, subjecting it to reason and the grace of God, being content with what is moderate and useful, and easy to be obtained; taking it in due time, receiving it thankfully, making it to minister to my body, that my body may be a good instrument of the soul, and the soul a servant of thy Divine Majesty for ever and ever.

II.

Pardon, O God, in whatsoever I have offended thee by meat, and drink, and pleasures; and never let my body any more be oppressed with loads of sloth and delicacies, or my

soul drowned in seas of wine or strong drink; but let my appetites be changed into spiritual desires, that I may hunger after the food of angels, and thirst for the wine of elect souls, and account it meat, and drink, and pleasure to do thy will,' O God. Lord, let me eat and drink so, that my food may not become a temptation, or a sin, or a disease; but grant, that, with so much caution and prudence, I may watch over my appetite; that I may, in the strength of thy mercies and refreshments, in the light of thy countenance, and in the paths of thy commandments, walk before thee, all the days of my life, acceptable to thee in Jesus Christ, ever advancing his honour, and being filled with his Spirit, that I may, at last, partake of his glory; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

FOR THURSDAY.

A Prayer against Envy.

I.

O MOST gracious Father, thou spring of an eternal charity, who hast so loved mankind, that thou didst open thy bosom, and send thy holy Son to convey thy mercies to us; and thou didst create angels and men, that thou mightest have objects, to whom thou mightest communicate thy goodness: give me grace to follow so glorious a precedent, that I may never envy the prosperity of any one, but rejoice to honour him whom thou honourest, to love him whom thou lovest, to commend the virtuous, to discern the precious from the vile, giving honour to whom honour belongs, that I may go to heaven in the noblest way of rejoicing in the good of others.

II.

O dear God, never suffer the devil to rub his vilest leprosy of envy upon me; never let me have the affections of the desperate and damned; let it not be ill with me, when it is well with others, but let thy Holy Spirit so overrule me for ever, that I may pity the afflicted and be compassionate, and have a fellow-feeling of my brother's sorrows, and that I may, as much as I can, promote his good, and give thee