Ofc 
 
 REESE LIBRARY 
 
 UK THE 
 
 ^UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Received^ 4& 
 
 A ccessions No. _ ~_L _ t^S.^r' Shelf No 
 


DEVOUT 
 
 EXERCISES 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 HEART, 
 
 I N 
 
 MEDITATION, SOLILOQUY, 
 PRAYER, AND PRAISE. 
 
 BY THE LAT& PIOUS.A&D INGENIOUS 
 MRS. R O W E. 
 
 REVIEWED AND PUBLISHED, AT HER REQUEST, 
 
 SITES S ITT 
 
 HI A: 
 
 PRINTED BY T. DOBSON, AT THE STONE-HOUSE 
 
 No 41, SOUTH SECOND-STREET. 
 M,DCC.XCI 
 
T O 
 
 AN INTIMATE fF R I E N D OJF 
 MRS. R O W E. 
 
 MADAM' Nwington, Sspt. 
 
 IV1ADAM, Jf 
 
 IF thefe pious MEDITATIONS, of 
 fo fublime a Genius, fhould be in- 
 fcribed to any name, there is none but 
 your's muft have flood in the front of 
 them. That long and conftant inti 
 macy of friendfhip with which you 
 delighted to honour her, that high 
 efleem and veneration you are pleafed 
 to pay her memory, and the facred 
 likenefs and fympathy between two 
 kindred fouls, abfolutely determine 
 where this refpecl fhould be paid. 
 
 Befides, Madam, you well know, 
 that fome copies out of thefe papers 
 have been your own feveral years, by 
 the gift of the deceafed ; and the fa 
 vour you have done me lately, by your 
 
 permiffion 
 
4 DEDICATION. 
 
 permiflion to perufe them, has aflifled 
 the correction of thefe MANUSCRIPTS, 
 and would add another reafon to fupport 
 this infcription of them, if your fear of 
 affuming too much honour could but 
 have admitted this piece of juffice. 
 
 I know, Madam, your tendernefs 
 and indulgence to every thing MRS 
 ROWE has written, cannot with-hold 
 your judgment from fufpe&ing fome 
 of her expreffions to be a little too 
 rapturous, and too near a-kin to the 
 language of the myftical writers ; yet 
 your piety and candour will take no 
 fuch offence as to prevent your beft 
 improvement by them, in all that is 
 divine and holy : And may your retired 
 hours find fuch happy affiftances and 
 elevations hereby, that you may com 
 mence the joys of angels, and of blefT- 
 ed fpirits, before-hand! 
 
 And when your valuable life has 
 been long extended amidft all the tem 
 poral bleffings you enjoy, and the 
 Chriflian virtues you pradtife, may 
 you, at the call of God, find a gentle 
 difmiffion from mortality, and afcend 
 
 on 
 
DEDICATION. 5 
 
 on high to meet your deceafed friend in 
 Paradife! Nor can I fuppofe, that any 
 of the inhabitants of that blifsful region, 
 will fooner recognize your glorified 
 fpirit, or will falute your firft appear 
 ance there with a more tender fenfe of 
 mutual fatisfa<5lion. There may you 
 join with you beloved Philomela , in 
 paying celeftial worfhip, in exalted 
 and unknown forms, to her God and 
 your God ! And may the harmony 
 of the place be affifted by your united 
 fongs to JESUS, your common Sa 
 viour ! 
 
 I am, Madam, with great fincerity 
 and efteem, 
 
 Tour ?nof} faithful^ 
 
 and obedient Servant , 
 L WATTS. 
 
 A 3 
 
THE 
 
 P R E F A C K 
 
 HPHE admirable Author of thefe 
 devotional papers has been in 
 high efteem among the ingenious and 
 the polite, fince fo many excellent 
 fruits of her pen, both in verfe and 
 profe, have appeared in public. She 
 was early, honoured under the feigned 
 name of Philomela, before the world 
 was allowed to know Mrs Elizabeth 
 Singer by the name drawn from her 
 family, or that of Mrs Rowe which fhe 
 acquired by marriage. 
 
 Though many of her writings,, that 
 were publifhed in her life-time, dif~ 
 cover a pious and heavenly temper, 
 and a warm zeal for religion and vir 
 tue j yet fhe chofe to conceal the Devo~ 
 tions of her heart ', till fhe was got be 
 yond the cenfiire and the applaufe of 
 mortals. It was enough that God, 
 whom {he loved with ardent and fu- 
 premeaffe<5tion, was witnefs to all her 
 lecret and intenfe breathings after him. 
 
 In 
 
PREFACE. 7 
 
 In February laft, he was pleafed to 
 call her out of our world, and take her 
 to himfelf. Some time after her de- 
 ceafe, thefe Manufcrtpts were tranf- 
 mitted to me, all inclofed in one fheet 
 of paper, and directed to me at -New- - 
 ington, by her own hand. In the 
 midft of them I found her letter, 
 which intreated me to review them, 
 and commit them to the prefs. This 
 letter I have thought neceffary to fhew 
 the world, not fo much to difcover my 
 right to publifh thefe papers, as to let 
 the reader fee fomething more of that 
 holy and heavenly character, which 
 Ihe maintained in an uniform manner, 
 both in life and death. 
 
 It; is now almoft thirty years ago 
 fince I was honoured with her acquain 
 tance, nor could her great modefty con 
 ceal all her fliining graces and accom- 
 plifhments ; but it is not my province 
 to give a particular account of this ex 
 cellent woman, who has bleffed and 
 adorned our nation and our age. I 
 expedt her temper, her conduct, and 
 
 her 
 
8 PREFACE. 
 
 her virtues, will be fet inajuftand 
 pleafing light among the memoirs of 
 herlife, by fome near relations,, to whom 
 the care of her poetical pieces, and her 
 familiar letters, is committed. 
 
 Thefe Devout Exercifes are animat 
 ed with fuch fire, as feems to fpeak the 
 language of holy paffion, and difco- 
 ver them to be the diftates of her heart; 
 and thofe who were favoured with her 
 chief intimacy, will molt readily be 
 lieve it. The ftyle, I confefs, is raifed 
 above that of common meditation or 
 foliloquy; but let it be remembered, 
 {he was no common Chriffian. As 
 her virtues were fublime, fo her ge- 
 nious was bright and fparkling, and 
 the vivacity of her imagination had a 
 tindture of the Mufe almoft from her 
 childhood. This made it natural for her 
 to exprefs the in ward fentiments of her 
 foul in more exalted language, and to 
 paint her own ideas in metaphor and 
 rapture, near a-kin to the dkftion of 
 poefy. 
 
 The reader will here find a fpirit 
 dwelling in flejth, elevated into divine 
 
 tranfports 
 
PREFACE. 9 
 
 tranfports, congenial to thofe of angels 
 and unbodied minds. Her intenfe 
 love to her God, kindles at every hint, 
 and tranfcends the limits of mortality. 
 I fcarce ever met with any devotional 
 writings, which gave us an example 
 of a foul, at fpecial feafons, fo far 
 raifed above every thing that is not im- 
 inortal and divine. 
 
 Yet Die is confcious of her frailties 
 too : She fometimes confeffes her fol 
 ly and her guilt in the fight of God, 
 in the rnoft affecting language of a deep 
 humiliation. It is with a pathetic fen- 
 fibility of her weaknefs, and in the 
 ftrongeft language of felf difplicency, 
 flie bewails her offences againft her 
 Creator and Redeemer; and in her 
 intervals of darknefs, ihe vents her 
 painful complaints and mournings, 
 for the abfence of her higheft and befl 
 beloved. 
 
 Let it be obferved, that it was much 
 the fafhion, even among fome Divines 
 of eminence in former years, to ex- 
 prefs the fervours of devout love to our 
 Saviour, in the ftyle of the Song of So 
 lomon: 
 
io PREFACE. 
 
 lomon : And I muft confefs, fevcral 
 >f my compofures in verfe, written in 
 younger life, were led by thofe examples 
 unwarily into this track. But if I may 
 be permitted to fpeak the fenfe of ma 
 ture age, I can hardly think this the 
 happieft language in which Chriftians 
 fhould generally difcover their warm 
 fentiments of religion, fince the clearer 
 and more fpiritual revelations of the 
 New Teftament. Yet ftill it muft be 
 owned, there are fome fouls favoured 
 with fuch beatifying vifits from hea 
 ven, and raptured with fuch a flame 
 of divine affection, as more powerfully 
 engages all animal nature in their de 
 votions, and conftrains them to fpeak 
 their pureft and moft fpiritual cxer- 
 cifes, in fuch pathetic and tender ex- 
 preffions , asmaybeperverfely profaned 
 by an unholy conftru&ion. And the 
 biafs and propenfity towards this ftyle 
 is yet ftronger, where early impref- 
 lions of piety have been made on the 
 heart by devout writings of this kind. 
 It fhould be remembered alfo, there 
 is nothing to be found here which rifes 
 
 above 
 
PREPACK ii 
 
 above our ideas : Here are none of thofc 
 abfurd and incomprehenfible phra- 
 fes, which amufe the ear with found 
 ing vanity, and hold % reafon in fove- 
 reign contempt: Here are no vifionary 
 fcenes of wild extravagance, no affec 
 tations of the tumid and unmeaning 
 flyle, which fpreads a glaring ronfufi- 
 on over the underftanding; nothing 
 that leads the reader into the region of 
 thofe myflical fhadows and darknefs 
 which abound in the Romifla writers, 
 under the pretence of refined light and 
 fublime ecftacy. Nor is the character 
 of this ingenious author to be blemifh- 
 ed with any other reproaches, which 
 have been fometimes caft on fuch fort 
 of meditations. 
 
 I know it hath been faid, that this 
 language of rapture addrefled to the 
 Diety, is but a new trad: given to the 
 flow of the fofter powers, after the 
 difappointment of fome meaner love ; 
 or at leaft, 'tis owing to the want of a 
 proper objed: and opportunity to fix 
 thofe tender paffions. But this cannot 
 be allowed to be the cafe here ; for as 
 
 Mrs 
 
12 PREFACE. 
 
 Mrs Rowe had been fought early by 
 feveral lovers, fo fhe fpent feveral years 
 of younger life in the connubial ftate, 
 with a gentleman of fuch accomplifh- 
 ments, and fuch circumftances, that 
 he was well fitted to be a partner of her 
 joys and cares. 
 
 I know, alfo, that this foft and paf- 
 fionate turn of religious meditation, 
 has fometimes been imputed to injuries 
 and ill treatment in the marriage-Hate, 
 whereby the fame affections are wean 
 ed from an undeferving object, and 
 poured out, in amorous language, up 
 on an object fnpremely worthy and 
 divine. But neither has this reproach 
 any pretence in the prefent cafe : That 
 happy pair had fouls fo near a-kin to 
 each other, that they perfevered in un 
 common amity, and mutual fatisfac- 
 tion, fo long as Providence favoured 
 him with life. It is fufficiently evident, 
 then, that, in thefe meditations, there 
 is no fecret panting after mortal love, 
 in the language of devotion and piety. 
 
 Nor yet can it be objected, that it 
 was any difplicence and peevifhnefs to 
 wards 
 
PREFACE. 13 
 
 wards other things round about her, 
 that taught her to exprefs herfelf with 
 fuch contempt of the things of morta 
 lity, and all the gay and tempting fcenes 
 of the prefent ftate. She was by no 
 means four and morofe, and out of 
 humour with the world, nor with her 
 acquaintance that dwelt in it : She of 
 ten converfed freely with the gay and 
 great, and was in high efteem among 
 perfons of rank and honour. But 
 honour and rank among mortals, with 
 all the fcenes of gaiety and greatnefs, 
 were little, defpicable, and forgotten 
 things ; while, in her devout moments, 
 her eye and her heart were fixed on 
 God, the Supreme Original of all ex 
 cellence, and all honour. 
 
 In common life, Ihe was affable and 
 friendly with perfons of every rank and 
 degree ; and in her latter years, as fhe 
 drew nearer to heaven, if fhe avoided 
 any thing, it was grandeur and public 
 appearances on earth. But fhe never fo 
 concealed and abftradted herfelf from 
 the fociety of any of her fellow-crea 
 tures, as to defpife the meanefl of her 
 B fpecies 
 
i 4 PREFACE. 
 
 fpecies. She was ever kind and com- 
 pafTionate to the diftreffed, and largely 
 liberal to the indigent. Nor did fhe 
 neglect the daily duties of human life, 
 under a vain imagination that fhe mo 
 ved in a higher fphere, and was fera- 
 phically exalted above them. 
 
 In fhort, there is nothing in thefe 
 papers that canjuftly fupportany fuch 
 fortofcenfures, though men of corrupt 
 minds may cover the Bible itfelf with 
 flander and ridicule. Let all fuch rea 
 ders ftand aloof, nor touch thefe facred 
 leaves, left they pollute them. 
 
 Though there is not one complete 
 copy of verfes amongft all thefe tranf- 
 ports of her foul, yet fhe ever carried 
 with her a relifh of poefy even into her 
 facred retirements. Sometimes fhe 
 fprings her flight from a line or two 
 of verfe, which her memory had im- 
 prefled upon her heart: fometimes, 
 from the midft of her religious elevati 
 ons, fhe lights down upon a few lines 
 of fome modern poet, even Herbert as 
 well as Milton, &c. though it is but 
 feldom Ihe cites their names. At other 
 
 times 
 
PREFACE. 15 
 
 times the verfes feem to be theeffufion of 
 her own rapturous thoughts, in fudden 
 melody and metre; or at leaft I know 
 not whence the lines are copied : But 
 fhe moft frequently doesme the honour 
 to make ufe of fome of my writings in 
 verfe, in thefe holy meditations of her 
 heart. Bleffed be that God, who has 
 fo far favoured any thing my pen could 
 produce, as to affifl fofublime a devo 
 tion. 
 
 From the different appearance of the 
 paper and ink in fome of thefe pieces, 
 as well as from the early tranfcripts of 
 feveral among her friends, it is evident 
 they were written in her younger days; 
 others are of a much later original > 
 though there is but one that bears a 
 date, and that is April 30, 1735. They 
 feem to have been penned at fpecial 
 feafons and occafions throughout the 
 courfe of her life. A few of them bear 
 the corre<5tions or additions of her own 
 pen, which difcovers itfelf by a little 
 difference of the hand-writing. 
 
 Though flie was never tempted away 
 from our common Chriftianity, into 
 
 the 
 
i6 PREFACE. 
 
 the fafhionable apoftacies of the age, 
 yet I am well informed, from majiy 
 ha'nds, that in her later years fhe en 
 tered with more zeal and affection into 
 fome of the peculiar doctrines of the 
 gofpel : And it is evident, that fome 
 of thefe devotional pieces have a more 
 evangelic turn than others, and proba 
 bly moft of thofe were compofed or 
 corrected in the latter part of her life. 
 The oppoiition which has of late been 
 made to fome of thefe truths, gave oc- 
 cafion to her further fearch into them, 
 and her zeal for them. However, I 
 have placed thefe papers all as I found 
 them pin'd up in a wrapping-paper, 
 though it is evident from plain cir- 
 cumftances, this is not the order in 
 which they were written, nor is that of 
 any great importance. 
 
 T hough thefe writings give us the af- 
 pirations of a devout foul in her holy 
 retirements, when fhe had no defign to 
 rprefent the public with them ; yet 
 they did not want a great deal of adjuft- 
 ment or correction, in order to fee the 
 light. The numbers, and the titles, 
 
 are 
 
P R E F A C E. 17 
 
 are added by the publifher, as well as 
 the breaks and paufes, which give a 
 fort of reft to the reader's mind, and 
 make the review more eafy. Here 
 and there, a too venturous flight is a 
 little moderated'^ Sometimes, amedi- 
 tionor a fentenceis compleated, which 
 feemed very imperfect ; or a fhortline 
 or two inferted, to introduce the fenfe, 
 where the langtiage feemed too abrupt, 
 or the meaning too obfcure. Her foul 
 had a large fet of ideas in prefent view, 
 which made every expreffion fhe ufed 
 eafy and perfpicuous to herfelf, when 
 flie wrote only for her own ufe ; though 
 fometimes her entire fenfe might not 
 be quite fo obvious to every reader, 
 without a little introduction into her 
 trad: of fentiments. Upon the whole, 
 I muft acknowledge, I was very un 
 willing that this excellent work ihould 
 lofe any degrees of elegance and bright- 
 nefs, by pafling through tny hands. 
 
 When the manufcriptcamefirft un 
 der my revifal, 1 read i over with the 
 eye of a critic and a friend, that I 
 might publifh it with honour to the 
 B 3 hand 
 
j 8 P R E F A C E. 
 
 that wrote it, and with religious inter- 
 tainment and advantage to the world : 
 Nor was this employment deflitute of 
 its proper fatisfaition. But never did 
 I feel the true pleafure of thefe medi 
 tations, till I had fiiLlhed this labour 
 of the Head, and began to read them 
 over again as Devout Exercifes of the 
 Heart : Then I endeavoured to enter 
 more entirely into the fpirit of the pious 
 Author, and attempted to affiime her 
 language as my own. But how much 
 fuperior was the fatisfacSion which I 
 received from this review, efpecially 
 wherefoever I had reafon to hope I 
 could pronounce her words with iince- 
 rity of foul ! How happily did this raife 
 and entertain all my .pleaiing paffioixs, 
 and give me another fort of delight than 
 the dry critical perufal of them, in or 
 der to judge concerning their propriety ! 
 But I confefs, alfo, it was an abafing 
 and mortifying thought, when I found 
 how often I was constrained to drop 
 the fublime expreffion from my lips, 
 or forbid my tongue to ufe it, becaufe 
 my own attainments funk fo far be 
 neath 
 
PREFACE. 19 
 
 neath thofe facred elevations of fpirit, 
 and fell fo far fhort of thefe tranfcen- 
 dent degrees of divine affe&ion and 
 zeal. 
 
 Let me perfuade all that preufe this 
 book, to make the fame experiment 
 that I have done ; and when they have 
 (hut out the world, and are reading in 
 their retirements, let them try how far 
 they can fpeak this language, and af- 
 fume thefe fentiments as their own : 
 And, byafpiringto follow them, may 
 they find the fame fatisfa&ion and de 
 light, or at leaft learn the profitable 
 leffons of felf-abafement and holy 
 fhame ! And may a noble and glorious 
 ambition, excite in their breafts, a 
 facred zeal to emulate fo illuftrious an 
 example! Whatfoever ardours of divine 
 love have been kindled in a foul united 
 toflefh and blood, may alfo be kindled 
 by the fame influences of grace, in 
 other fpirits labouring under the fame 
 clogs and impediments.! 
 
 But perhaps it will be neceffary here 
 
 to give a caution to fome humble 
 
 Chriftians, that they would not make 
 
 i thefe 
 
20 P R E F A C E. 
 
 thefe higher elevations of piety and 
 holy joy, the teft and ftandard by 
 which to judge of the fincerity of their 
 own religion. Ten thoufand faints 
 are arrived fa fe at paradife, who have 
 not been favoured, like St Paul, with 
 a rapture into the third heaven, nor 
 could ever arife to the affectionate 
 tranfports and devout joys of Mrs 
 Rowe : Yet I hope all ferious readers 
 may find fomething here, which, 
 through the aids of the Blefled Spirit, 
 may raife them above their ufual pitch, 
 may give a new fpring to their reli 
 gious pleafures and their immortal 
 hopes, and thereby render their lives 
 more holy and heavenly. 
 
 That the publication of this little 
 book may be favoured with the divine 
 bleffing for this happy end, is the 
 fincere defire and requeft of the pub- 
 lifher, as it was the real motive of the 
 ingenious and pious writer to commit 
 them by my hand to the public view* 
 This fufficiently difcovers itfelf in the 
 following Letter. 
 
' 
 
 OF THE 
 
 7J5BS 
 
 The r S, 
 
 AT NEWINGTON. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 HTHE opinion I have had of your piety 
 
 * and judgment^ is the reafon of my giv 
 
 ing you the trouble of looking over thefc 
 
 papers, in order to publifh them ; which 
 
 I dejire you to do as foon as you can con 
 
 veniently ; only you have full liberty to 
 
 fupprejs what you think proper. 
 
 1 think there can be no vanity in this 
 dcfign, for I amfenjiblefuch thoughts as 
 theje will not be for the tafte of the mo- 
 difo part of the world ; and before they 
 appear, IJbalt be entirely dijinterefted in 
 the cenfure or applaufe of mortals, 
 
 The rejletlions were occajionally writ" 
 ten, and only for my own improvements ; 
 but I am not without hopes , tbat they may 
 have the fame ejfeff on fome pious minds, 
 as the reading the experiences of others 
 have had on my own foul. The experi 
 mental part of religion , has a greater influ 
 
 ence 
 
ence than its theory ; and if \ when I am 
 Jleeping in the daft, thefe foliloquies foould 
 kindle a flame of divine love in the heart 
 of the loweft and mo ft def fifed Chriftian, 
 be the glory given to the great Spring of 
 all grace and benignity. 
 
 I have now done with mortal things ', 
 and all to come is vajl Eternity. Eter 
 nity, How tranfporting is the found ! 
 
 As long as Godexifts, my being and bap- 
 pi nefs is fc cure. ( ihe/e unbounded dejires, 
 which the wide creation cannot limit ^Jhall 
 befatisfiedfor ever. I foal I drink at the 
 fountain-head of pleajure^ and be re 
 ft efted with the emanations of original 
 life and joy. Ifoall hear the ^oice of 
 uncreated harmony -, f peaking peace and 
 ineffable confolation to my foul. 
 
 I expect eternal life i not as a reward 
 (of merit) but a pure a5l of bounty. 
 Detefting my f elf in every view lean take, 
 Ijfy to the righteoufnefs and atonement 
 of my great* Redeemer, for pardon and 
 falvation ; this is my only confolation and 
 hope. Enter not into judgment,, O 
 Lord ! with thy fervant ; for in thy 
 fight lhallnoflefh be juftified. 
 
 Through 
 
Through the blood of the Lamb, I hope 
 
 jor an entire viffory over the loft enemy; 
 
 and that before this comes to you , Ijhall 
 
 have reached the celejlial heights ; and 
 
 while you are reading thefe lines, Ijhall 
 
 be adoring before the throne of God, where 
 
 faith Jhall be turned into vijion^ and thefe 
 
 languijhing dejires fatisfied with the full 
 
 fruition of immortal love. Adieu, 
 
 ELIZ. ROWE. 
 
DEVOUT 
 
 EXERCISES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HEART, 
 
 I. Supreme Love to GOD. 
 
 WHY, O my God! muft this 
 mortal ftruiture put fo great a 
 feparation between my foul and thee ? 
 I am furrounded with thy eflence, yet 
 I cannot perceive thee j I follow thee, 
 and trace thy footfteps in heaven and 
 earth, yet I cannot overtake thee ; thou 
 art before me, and I cannot reach 
 thee, and behind me, and I perceive 
 thee not. 
 
 O thou whom unfeen I love ! by 
 what powerful influence doft thou 
 attract my foul? The eye has not feen, 
 nor the ear heard, nor has it entered in 
 to the heart of man to conceive, what 
 thou art ; and yet I love thee beyond 
 all that my eye has feen, or my ear 
 heard, beyond all that my heart can com- 
 C prehend. 
 
a 6 Devout Exercifes I. 
 
 prehend. Thou dwelleft in heights of 
 glory, ^to-- which no human thoughts 
 can foar ; and yet thou art more near 
 and intimate to my foul, than any of 
 the objects of fenfe. Thefe ears have 
 never heard thy voice ; and yet I am 
 better acquainted with thee, and can 
 rely on thee with more confidence, than 
 on the deareft friend I have on earth. 
 
 My heart cleaves to thee, O Lord ! 
 as its only refuge, and finds in thee a 
 lecret and conftant fpring of confolati- 
 on. 1 fpeak to thee with the utmoft 
 confidence, and think thy Being my 
 greateft happinefs. The reflection on 
 thy exiftence and greatnefs recreates my 
 fpirits, and fills my heart with alacri 
 ty; my foul overflows with pleafure; 
 I rejoice, I triumph, in thy indepen 
 dent bleflednefs, and abfolute domi 
 nion. Reign, O my God! forever, 
 glorious and uncontrouled. 
 
 I, a worm of the earth, would join 
 my aflent with the infinite orders above, 
 with all thy flaming minifters, who 
 rejoice in thy kingdom and glory. 
 
 Tho' 
 
I. of the Heart, 27 
 
 Tho J not with them, thy happier race, allow'd 
 To view the bright unveil' d Divinity; 
 (By no audacious glance from mortal eyes, 
 Thofe my flic glories are to be prophan'd) 
 But yet I feel the fame immortal flames, 
 And love thee, tho' unfeen, 
 
 I love thee, Thus far I can fpeak, 
 but all the reft is unutterable ; and I 
 muft leave the pleafing tale untold, till 
 I can talk in the language of immortal 
 ity : And then I'll begin the tranfpor- 
 ting ftory, which fhall never come to 
 an end, but be ftill and ftill beginning: 
 For thy beauties, O thou faireft of ten 
 thoufand ! will ftill be new, and fhall 
 kindle frefh ardor in my foul to all e- 
 ternity. The facred flame fhall rife, 
 nor find any limits, till thy perfections 
 find a period. 
 
 I love thee ; and O thou that know- 
 eft all things ! read the characters that 
 love has drawn on my heart. What 
 excellence but thine in heaven and earth 
 could raife fuch afpirations of foul, fuch 
 fublime and fervent affediions as thofe 
 I feel ? What could fix my fpirit, but 
 boundlefs prefe&ion ? What is there 
 
 elfe 
 
28 Devout Exercifes I. 
 
 elfe for whofefake I could defpife all 
 created glory? Why am I not at 
 reft here among fenfible enjoyments ? 
 Whence arife thefe importunate long 
 ings, thefe infinite defires ? Why does 
 not the complete creation fatisfy, or 
 at leaft delude me with a dream of hap- 
 pinefs ? Why do not the objects of fenfe 
 awake a more ardent fentirnent, than 
 things diftant and invifible ? Why 
 fhould I, who '* fay to corruption, 
 Thou srt.my Father/' afpire after an 
 union with the immenfe Divinity ? 
 
 Ye angels of God, that behold his 
 face, explain to me the facred myftery ; 
 tell me how this heavenly flame be 
 gan ; unriddle its wondrous genera 
 tion : Who hath animated this mortal 
 frame with celeftial fire, and given a 
 clod of earth this divine ambition ? 
 What could kindle it, but the breath 
 of God, which kindled up my foul ? 
 And to thee, its amiable original, it 
 afcends, it breaks through all created 
 p refection, and keeps on its reftlefs 
 eourfe, to the firft pattern of beauty. 
 
 Ye flowery varieties of the earth, 
 
 and 
 
I'; of the He art. 2^ 
 
 and ye fparkling glories of the fkies, 
 yourblandifhments are vain, while I 
 purfue an excellence that cafts a re 
 proach on all your glory. I would 
 fain clofe my eyes on all the various 
 and lovely appearances you prefent, 
 and would open them on a brighter 
 fcene. I have defires which nothing 
 vifible can gratify ; to which no ma 
 terial things are fuitable. O ! when 
 (hall I find objects more entirely a- 
 greeable to my intellectual faculties ? 
 My foul fprings forward in purfuit of 
 a diftant good, whom I follow by fome 
 faint ray of light, which only glim 
 mers by fhort intervals before me. Oh ! 
 when will it difperfe the clouds, and 
 break out in full fplendor on my foul. 
 But what will the open vifion of thy 
 beauties effedt, if, while thou art but 
 faintly imagined, I love thee with fuch 
 a facred fervour ? To what bleffed 
 heights fhall my admiration rife, when 
 I fhall behold thee in full perfection ; 
 when I fhall fee thee as thou art, exalt 
 ed in majefty, and complete in beau- 
 C 3 ty. ? 
 
3O Devout Exercijes II. 
 
 ty ? How fhall I triumph then in thy 
 glory, and in the privileges of my own 
 being ? What ineffable thoughts will 
 rife, to find myfelf united to the all- 
 fufficient Divinity, by ties which the 
 fons of men have no names to exprefs, 
 by an engagement that the revolution 
 of eternal years fhall not diffolve ? The 
 league of nature fhall be broken, and 
 the laws of the mingled elements be 
 cancelled ; but my relation to the Al 
 mighty God, fhall ftand fixed and un 
 changeable, as his own existence: " Nor 
 " life, nor death, nor angels, princi- 
 "palities,nor powers, nor things pre- 
 " fent, nor things to come, fhall ever 
 " feparate me from his love." 
 
 Triumph, O my foul ! and rejoice ; 
 Look forward beyond the period of all 
 terreftrial things ; look beyond ten 
 thoufand ages of celeftial bleffednefs ; 
 look forward ftill, and take an immea- 
 furable profped: ; prefs on, and leave 
 unnumbered ages behind, ages of in 
 effable peace and pleafure ; plunge at 
 once into the ocean of blifs, and call 
 eternity itielf thy own. 
 
 There 
 
II. of the Heart 31 
 
 There are no limits to the profped: 
 of my joy; it runs parallel with the 
 duration of the Infinite Divinity; My 
 blifs is without bounds ; O ! when 
 ftiall the full poffeffion of it com 
 mence ? 
 
 II. 
 
 The Truth and Goodnefs of GOD 
 
 ENgrav'tl as in eternal brafs, 
 The mighty promife (bines ; 
 Nor can the powers of darknefs raze 
 Thefe evcrlafting lines. 
 
 The facred word of grace is ftrong, 
 
 As that which built the flues ; 
 The voice that rolls the ftars along, 
 
 Speaks all the promifes. 
 
 And they all are built on the immuta 
 ble truth and goodnefs of thy nature: 
 Thou dolt not fpeak at random, like 
 yainman; but whatever thou haft en 
 gaged to perform, is the refill t of eternal 
 counfel and defign. Thou haft uttered 
 nothing that thou canft fee occafion to 
 alter on a fecond review : Thou canft 
 promife nothing to thy own damage, 
 nor -be a lofer by the utmoft liberality. 
 
 Thou 
 
32 Devout Exercifes If, 
 
 Thou art every way qualified to make 
 good thy engagements, by the fulnefs 
 of thy riches and power. 
 
 Nor haft thou any neceffity to flatter 
 thy creatures, or to fay kinder things 
 to them than thou meaneft to fulfils 
 Miferable rnan can bring no advantage 
 to thee, nor has any thing to claim from 
 thee. By what benefit has he prevented 
 thee? By what right can he demand 
 the leaft of thy favours ? Thy engage 
 ments are all free and unconftrained, 
 founded on thy own beneficence, and 
 not on the merits of the creature. While 
 I confider this, my expectations rife, 
 I fet no limits to my hopes: I look 
 up with confidence, and call thee my 
 Father; and, with a humble faith, I 
 claim every advantage that tender name 
 imports. My heart confides in thee 
 with ftedfaftnefs and alacrity; fear and 
 diftruft are inconfiftent with my 
 thoughts of the beneficence of thy na 
 ture. 
 
 Every name and attribute by which 
 thou haft revealed thy felf toman, con 
 firms my faith. Thy life, thy being is 
 
 engaged : 
 
II. of the Heart. 33 
 
 engaged : I may as well queftion thy 
 exigence, as thy faithfulnefs : As fare 
 as thou art, thou artjuft and true. The 
 protections of the moft faithful friend 
 I have, cannot give me half the confo- 
 lation that thy promifes give me. I 
 hear vain man with diffidence, 1 bid 
 my foul beware of trufting falfe mor 
 tality; but I hear thy voice with joy 
 and full affurance. 
 
 Thy words are not writ in fand, nor 
 fcattered by the fleeting winds ; but lhall 
 ftand in force when heaven and earth 
 ihall be no more. Eternal ages fhall not 
 diminifh their efficacy, nor alter what 
 the mouth of the Lord hath fpoken. I 
 believe, I believe, with the moft per 
 fect affent : I know that thou art, and 
 that thou art a revvarder of them thatdi- 
 ligently feek thee \ I feel the evidence, 
 for thou haft not left thyfelf without 
 witnefs in my heart. 
 
 HI. 
 
3 4 Devout Exercifes III. 
 
 III. 
 
 Longing after the enjoyment of GOD* 
 
 MY God ! to thee my fighs afcend : 
 every complaint I make, ends 
 with thy name ; I paufe, I dwell on 
 the found ; I fpeak it over again, and 
 find that all my cares begin and end in 
 thee. I long to behold the fupreme 
 beauty, I pant for the fair original of all 
 that is lovely, for beauty that is yet un 
 known, and for intellectual pleafures 
 yet untafted. 
 
 My heart afpires, my wifhes fly 
 beyond the bounds of creation, and 
 defpife all that mortality can prefent 
 me with. I was formed for celeftial 
 joys, and find myfelf capable of the 
 entertainments of angels. Why may 
 I not begin my heaven below, and 
 tafte at leaft of the fprings of pleafure 
 that flow from thy right hand for 
 ever ? 
 
 Should I drink my fill, thofe fountains 
 are ftill exhauftlefs ; millions of happy 
 fouls quench their infinite defires there : 
 
 millions 
 
III. of the Heart. 35 
 
 millions of happy orders of beings 
 gaze on thy beauty, and are made 
 partakers of thy bleffednefs ; but thou 
 art ftill undiminifhed. No liberality 
 can wafte the ftore of thy prefection ; 
 it has flowed from eternity, and runs 
 for ever frefh, and why muft I 
 perifh for want ! 
 
 My thirfty foul pines for the waters 
 of life : Oh ! who will refrefh me 
 with the pleafureable draught ? How 
 long fhall I wander in this defartland, 
 where every profped: is wafte and bar 
 ren ? I look round me in vain, and figh 
 ftill unfatisfied. Oh! who will lead 
 me to the ftill waters, and make me 
 repofe in green paftures, where the 
 weary are for ever at reft ? How 
 tedious are the hours of expectation ! 
 
 Come, Lord ! my head doth burn, my heart is fick, 
 
 While thou doft ever, ever flay; 
 Thy long deferring wounds me to the quick, 
 My fpirit gafpeth night and day : 
 O ihew thyfelf to me, 
 Or take me up to thee. 
 
 Diipatch thy commiffions ; give me 
 
 my 
 
36 Devout Exercifes III. 
 
 my work, and activity to perform it, 
 and let me as a hireling fulfil my day. 
 Lord ! it is enough : What am I better 
 than my fathers ! They are dead, and I 
 am mortal. 
 
 I'm but a ftranger, and a pilgrim here 
 
 In thefe wild regions, wand' ring and forlorn ; 
 
 Reftlefs, and fighing for my native home ; 
 
 Longing to reach my weary fpace of life, 
 
 And to fulfil my tafk. Oh ! hafte the hour 
 
 Of joy aad fweet repofe. Tranfporting hope ! 
 
 Lord ! here I am waiting for thy 
 commands, attending to thy pleafure. 
 O fpeak, and incline my ear to hear ; 
 give me my work, let me finifh it, 
 and gain my difmiffion from this body 
 of fin and death : this hated clog of er 
 ror and guilt, of corruption and vanity. 
 Oh ! let me drop this load, and bid thefe 
 fcenes of guilt a final adieu. 
 
 I have waited for thy falvation, O 
 Lord ! when wilt thou let me into thy 
 holy habitation ? How long fhall I 
 pine at this diftance from thee ? What 
 can I fpeak, to fhew thee my pain, to 
 utter my anguifli, when I fear the lofs 
 
 3 of 
 
III. of the Heart. 37 
 
 of my God ? Oh ! fpeak an alluring 
 word, and confirm my hope. 
 
 Tranfporting moment ! when wilt thou appear. 
 To crown my hopes, and banifli all my fear ? 
 
 Again, O my Father, and my eter 
 nal Friend ! I breathe my requefts to 
 thee in this land of fatigue and folly : 
 What is this life but a forry tirefome 
 round, a circle of repeated vanities ? 
 Happinefs has been never feen in it, 
 fince fin and folly entered : All is emp 
 ty appearance, or vain labour, or pain 
 ful vexation. 
 
 Suffic'd with life, my languid fpirits faint, 
 And fain would be at reft. Oh ! let me enter 
 Thofe facred feats ; and, after all the toil 
 Of life, begin an everlafting Sabbath. 
 
 Yet again, O Lord ! I aik leave to 
 tell thee, I have waited for thy falva- 
 tion , and hourly languifhed after the ha 
 bitat ions of my God. My heart grows 
 fick, and I almoft expire under thefe 
 delays : What have I here to keep me 
 from thee ? what to relieve the tedious 
 hour of abfence ? I have pronounced all 
 D below 
 
38 Devout Exercifes IV. 
 
 below the fun vanity and vexation, all 
 infipid and burdenfome : Amidft 
 health and plenty, friends and reputa 
 tion, thou art my only joy, my higheft 
 wifh, and my fupreme delight. On 
 thee my foul fixes all her hopes j 
 there I reft in a celeftial calm. Oh ! 
 let it not be broken with earthly 
 objects ; let me live unmolefted with 
 cares or delights of fenfe. 
 
 Oh ! let me flee 
 From all the world, and live alone to thee. 
 
 IV. 
 
 GOD my fupreme ', my only hope. 
 
 WHY do I addrefsthee, my God, 
 with no more confidence ? Why 
 do I indulge thefe remains of unbelief, 
 and harbour thefe returns of infidelity 
 and diftruft ? Can I furvey the earth, 
 can I gaze on the ftru6ture of the 
 heavens, andafk if thou art able to deli 
 ver ? Can I call in queftion thy ability to 
 fuccour me, when I confider the gene 
 ral 
 
IV. of the Heart. 39 
 
 ral and particular inftances of thy 
 goodnefs and power ? One age to an 
 other in long fucceflion, hath conveyed 
 the records of thy glory ; in all genera 
 tions thou haft been our dwelling- 
 place ; my fathers trufted in thee, and 
 were delivered. They have encour 
 aged me ; my own experience has en 
 couraged me to truft in thee for ever. 
 The fun may fail to rife, and men 
 in vain expe6t its light; but thy truth, 
 thy faithfulnefs, cannot fail: The 
 courfe of nature may be reverfed, and 
 all be chaos again ; but thou art im 
 mutable, and canft not by any change 
 deceive the hopes of them that truft in 
 thee. I adore thy power, and fub- 
 fcribe to thy goodnefs and fidelity; and 
 what farther objection would my unbe 
 lief raife? Is any thing too hard for 
 God to accomplifh? Can the united 
 force of earth and hell refift his will ? 
 
 Great God ! how wide thy glories fhine ! 
 How broad thy kingdom, how divine ! 
 Nature and miracle, and fate and chance 
 are thine. 
 
 Therefore 
 
40 Devout Exercifes 1 V . 
 
 Therefore I apply myfelf immediate 
 ly to thee, and renounce all the terror 
 and all the confidence that may arifc 
 from heaven or earth befides. 
 
 Not from the dufl my joys or forrows fpring ; 
 Let all the baleful planls flied 
 Their m';ngled curies round my head ; 
 
 Their mingled eurfes I defpife, 
 Let but the great, th' eternal king, 
 
 :k thro' the ciouda, and blefs me with 
 his eyes* 
 
 Let him blefs me, and I fliall be 
 bleiled ; bleffed without referve or li 
 mitation ; bleffed in my going out and 
 coming in, in my fitting down and ri- 
 fing up; bleffed in time, and bleffed to 
 all eternity. That bleffing from thy 
 lips will influence the whole creation, 
 and attend me wherever I am. It fhall 
 .go before me as a leading light, and 
 follow me as my protecting angel. 
 When I lye down, it will cover me; I 
 ihall reftbeneath the fhadow of the Moft 
 High, and dwell fafely in the fecrets of 
 his tabernacle. 
 
 Thy kingdom ruleth over all, O 
 Lord ! and thou doft according to thy 
 
 will 
 
IV. of the Heart. 41 
 
 will in the armies of heaven, and a- 
 mong the inhabitants of the earth ! I 
 confefs and acknowledge thy providence . 
 The ways of man are not at his own dif- 
 pofal, but all his goings are ordered by 
 thee j all events are in thy hands, and 
 thou only can ft fucceed or difappoint his 
 hopes. If thotf blow on his defigns, 
 they are for ever blafted ; if thou blefs 
 them, neither earth nor hell can hinder 
 their fuccefs : Therefore I apply my- 
 felf immediately to thee; for not all cre 
 ated power can affift me, without thee. 
 
 Hence from my heart ye idols flee, 
 Ye founding names of vanity! 
 No more my tongue fhall facrifice "^ 
 
 To chance and nature, tales and lies; s 
 
 Creatures without a God, can yield me 
 no fupplies. 
 
 Not all the power of men on earth, 
 nor angel nor faint in heaven, can help 
 or relieve me in the leaft exigence, if 
 my God hide himfelf, andftand afar off 
 from me. Second caufes are all at thy 
 direction, and cannot aid me till com- 
 miffioned by thee* 
 
 Lord 
 
 3 
 
42 Devout Exercifes IV. 
 
 Lord ! when my thoughtful foul furveys 
 Fire, air and earth, and ftars and leas, 
 
 I call them all thy flaves , 
 Commiflion'd by my Father's will, 
 Poifons fhall cure, or balm fhall kill ; 
 Vernal funs, or zephyrs breath, 
 May burn or blaft the plants to death 
 
 That iharp December faves. 
 What can winds or planets boaft, 
 
 But a precarious power ? 
 The fun is all in darknefs loft : 
 Frolt fhall be fire and fire be froft, 
 
 When he appoints the hour 
 
 At thy command nature and necef- 
 jfity are no more j all things are alike 
 eaiy to God : Speak but thou the 
 Word, and my defires are granted : 
 Say, Let there be light, and there fhall 
 be light. Thou canft look me in 
 peace, when the tumult of thoughts 
 raife a ftorm within. Bid my foul be 
 ftill, and all its tempeft lhall obey 
 thee. 
 
 I depend only on theej do thou 
 fmile, and all the world may frown : 
 Do thou fucceed my affairs, and I fhall 
 fear no obftacle that earth or hell can 
 put in my way. Thou only art the 
 
 objed; 
 
IV. of the Heart. 43 
 
 objedt of my fear, and all my defires 
 are directed to thee. 
 
 Human things have loft their being 
 and their names, and vanifh into no 
 thing before thee : They are but fhades 
 and difguifes to veil the active Divini 
 ty. Oh ! let me break through all 
 thefe feparations, and fee, and confefs 
 the great, the governing caufe. Let 
 no appearance of created things, 
 however fpecious, hide thee from my 
 view : Let me look though all to thee, 
 nor caft a glance of love or hope below 
 thee. With a holy contempt let me 
 furvey the ample round of the creation, 
 as lying in the hollow of thy hand, and 
 every being in heaven and on earth as 
 unmoveable, by the moft potent caufe 
 in nature, till commiffioned by thee 
 to do me good or hurt. Oh ! let thy 
 hand be with me to keep me from evil, 
 and let me abide under the fhadow of 
 the Almighty : I lhall be fecure in thy 
 pavilion. To thee I fly for fhelter, 
 from all the ills of mortality. 
 
44 Devout Exercifes V. 
 
 V. 
 
 GOD a prefent bclp> and ever near. 
 
 HPHOU waft found of me, O my 
 God ! when I fought thee not, 
 and wilt thou fly me when I feek thee ? 
 Am I giving my breath to the wind, 
 and fcattering my petitions in the air? 
 Is it a vain thing to call upon God ? and 
 is thereNno profit in crying to the Al 
 mighty ? jft4t thou a God afar off, and 
 not near at hand? Is there any place ex 
 empt from thyprefence? any diftance 
 whence my cries cannot reach thee ? " 
 Can any darknefs hide me from thy 
 eyes ? or is there a corner of the crea 
 tion unvifited by thee ? Doft thou not 
 fill heaven and earth, and am I notTur- 
 rounded by thy immenfity ? 
 
 Are my defires unknown to thee ? or 
 is there a thought in my heart conceal 
 ed from thee ? Doft not thou that haft 
 formed the ear, hear ? Canft thou for 
 get the work of thine own hands ? or, 
 retired far in the heavens, fullof thine 
 own happinefs, canft thou leave thy 
 creation to miferyanddiforder, helplefs 
 and hopelefs? Are the ways of man at 
 
 his 
 
V. of the Heart. 45 
 
 his own difpofal, and his paths undi- 
 redted by thee ? Is calling on the living 
 God no more than worfhipping a dumb 
 idol? Canft thou, like them, difap- 
 point and mock thy adorers ? 
 
 Art thou unacquainted with the ex 
 tent of thy own power, that thou 
 iliouldft promife beyond thy ability to 
 perform? or art thou as a man that 
 ihouldft lie, or the fon of man that 
 ihouldft repent ? Is thy faithfulnefs 
 uncertain, and thy power precarious? 
 Are thofe perfections imaginary, for 
 which men adore thee, and thy graci 
 ous names infignificant titles? Do the 
 children of men in vain put their trull 
 under the fhadow of thy wings ? Art 
 not thou a prefent help in the time of 
 trouble, and is there no fecurity in the 
 fecret places of the Moil High? Whi 
 ther then fhall I look in my diftrefs ? To 
 whom fhall I direct my prayer ? From 
 whom fhall I expedt relief if there is no 
 help in God for me? 
 
 But, oh ! what unrighteoufnefs have 
 my fathers ever found in thee ? What 
 injustice can I charge thee with? 
 
 What 
 
46 Devout Exercifes VI. 
 
 What breach of truth, or want of pity ? 
 Have the records of thy actions ever 
 been ftained with the breach of faith- 
 fulnefs ? Art thou not my only hope, 
 and my long experienced fupport ? Have 
 I ever found help from the creatures, 
 when thou haft failed me ? Have I, or 
 can I have a greater certainty than thy 
 word to depend on ? Can any other 
 power defend or deliver like thee ? Thou 
 art " a rock, and thy work is perfect, 
 " for all thy ways are judgment : a God 
 f< of truth, and without iniquity ; juft 
 " and right art thou." With my laft 
 breath I will witnefs to thy truth and 
 faithfulnefs, and declare thy goodnefs 
 to the children of men. 
 
 VI. 
 
 GOD an all-fujftcient God, and my only 
 happinefs* 
 
 WHY is my heart fo far fom thee, 
 My God, my chief delight ? 
 Why are my thoughts no more by day 
 With thee, no more by night ? 
 
 Why fhould my fooliih paflions rove ? 
 Where can fuch fweetnefs be, 
 
 As 
 
VI. of the Heart. 47 
 
 As I have tailed in thy love, 
 As I have found in thee ? 
 
 Where can I hope to meet fuch joys 
 as thy fmiles have given me? Where 
 can I find pleafure fo fincere and un- 
 allayed ? When I have enjoyed the 
 light of thy countenance, and the fenfe 
 of thy love, has not all my foul been 
 filled ? Have I found any want or emp- 
 tinefs? Has there been any room left 
 for defire, or any profped: beyond, be- 
 fides the more perfect enjoyment of my 
 God ? Have not all the glories of the 
 world been darkened, and turned into 
 blacknefs and deformity? How poor, 
 how contemptible have they appeared ? 
 or rather have they not all difappeared 
 and vanifhed as dreams and fhadows in 
 the noon of day, and under the blaze 
 of fun-beams ? 
 
 I have never found fatisfa<5Hon in a- 
 ny thing, but in God : Why then do 
 I wander from him? Why do I leave 
 the fountain of living waters, for bro 
 ken cifterns ? Why do I abandon the 
 full ocean in fearch of fhallow ftreams ? 
 What account can I give for folly like 
 
 this? 
 
4 8 Devout Exercifes VI. 
 
 this? I can promife myfelf nothing 
 from the creature; thofe expectations 
 fhall deceive me no more. 'Tis thou, 
 my God ! thou art the only objed of my 
 hopes and defires ; 'tis thou only that 
 can ft make me happy. 
 
 If thou frown, my being is a curie ; 
 thy indignation is hell with all its terrors . 
 Let me never feel that, and I defy all 
 things elfe to make me miferable. I 
 feem independent on all nature ; to thee 
 only I apply myfelf. Hear me, thou 
 beneficent Author of my being, thou 
 fupport of my life ! To thee I dired my 
 wifhes, thofe defires which thou wilt 
 approve, while I alk but the happinefs 
 I was created to enjoy. Oh! fix all 
 my expedition on thee, and free me 
 from this levity and inconftancy. 
 
 Look gently down Almighty Grace ! 
 Prifon me round in thy embrace : 
 Pity the heart that would be thine, 
 And let thy power my love confine. 
 
 Suffer me never to ftart from thee ; 
 fuch a confinement were fweeter than 
 liberty : Thy yoke is eafy, and thy 
 burden light. I fliall blefs the chain 
 
 that 
 
VI. of the Heart. 49 
 
 that binds me to thee. Oh ! give me 
 fiich a view of thy beauty, as fhall fix 
 my volatile heart for ever ! fuch a view 
 as fhall determine all its motions, and 
 be a conftant conviction how unreafon- 
 able is it to wander from thee. 
 
 Is it that I relifh any thing beyond 
 thy love ? Oh ! no. I appeal even to 
 thee, who canft not be deceived, and 
 knoweft the inmoft fecrets of my foul : 
 Thou knoweft where the balance of my 
 love falls, and that my wanderings are not 
 deliberate ; that is not by choice that 
 I forfake thee. I grieve, I figh for my 
 folly ; fhouldft thou forgive me, I can 
 never forgive myfelf, for I know it is 
 inexcufable. 
 
 I want nothing when I am poffeffed 
 of thee ; without thee, I want all things. 
 Thou art the centre of all my paffions ; 
 I have no hope but what is thine, no 
 joy but what flows from thee ; my 
 greateft fears are thefe of lofing thee ; 
 my inmoft care is to fecure thy favour. 
 This is the fubjeft of my deepeft anx 
 iety : Every figh I breathe, ends in thy 
 name j and that lov'd name alone al- 
 E lays 
 
50 Devout Exercifes VI. 
 
 lays every anguifli of my foul , and calms 
 its wildeft tempeft. 
 
 From thy frowns or favour all my joys 
 orforrows fpring; thy frowns can make 
 me infinitely miferable, thy favour can 
 make me infinitely bleffed. I can defy 
 hell, and fmile in the face of death, 
 while I can call thee mine, my God ! 
 Still letmeblefs the found, and part with 
 all things rather than renounce my pro 
 perty in thee : Let me hold it to my 
 laft breath, and claim it with my ex 
 piring fighs. 
 
 Secure of thee, nothing can terrify 
 my foul ; all is peaceful and ferene with 
 in, eternal love and immortal pleafure : 
 I defire no more ; imagination flops 
 here, and all my wifhes are loft in eter 
 nal plenty. My God ! more can 
 not be afked, and with lefs I fhould 
 be infinitely miferable. The kingdoms 
 jof the flcies fhould not buy my title to 
 thee and thy love : The blefTednefs of 
 fill creatures is complete here, for God 
 .himfclfis bleffed in himfelf for ever. 
 
 What 
 
VII. of the Heart. 51 
 
 What can I add, for all my words are faint I 
 Celeftial love no eloquence can paint. 
 No more can be in mortal founds exprefs'd, 
 But vaft eternity (hall tell the reft. 
 
 VII. 
 
 A Covenant with GOD. 
 
 heniible Being, who fearch- 
 JLeft the heart, and trieft the reins of 
 the children of men ! thou krunveft my 
 fincerity, and my thoughts are all un 
 veiled to thce ; I am furrounded with 
 thine immenfity ; thou art a prefent, 
 tho' invifible witnefs of the folemn 
 affair I am now engaged in. I am 
 now taking hold of thy ftrength, that 
 I may make peace with thee, and en 
 tering into articles with the Almighty 
 God. Thefe are the happy days long 
 fince predicted, when one fhall fay I 
 am the Lord's, and another fhall call 
 himfelf by the name of Ifrael, and an 
 other fhall fubfcribe with his hand to 
 the Lord ; and I will be their God, 
 and they fhall be my fons and my 
 daughters, faith the Lord Jehovah, 
 
 With 
 
5 2 Devout Exercifes VIL 
 
 With the moft thankful fincerity I 
 take hold on this covenant, as it is 
 more fully manifefted and explained in 
 thy gofpel by Jefus Chriit : and hum 
 bly accepting thy propofals, I bind 
 myfelf to thee by a facred and everlaft- 
 ing obligation. By a free and deli 
 berate aftion, I do here ratify the ar 
 ticles which were made for rne in my 
 bap trim, into the name of the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I reli 
 gion fly devote myfelf to thy fervice, 
 and entirely fubmit to thy conduct. I 
 renounce the glories and vanities of the 
 world, andchufe thee as my happinefs, 
 my fupreme felicity, and everlafting 
 portion. I make no aiticle with thee 
 for any thing befides : Deny or give 
 me what thou wilt, I will never repine 
 while my principal treafure is fecure. 
 This is my deliberate, my free, and 
 fincere determination ; a determina 
 tion, which, by thy grace, I will 
 never retradt. 
 
 Oh ! thou, by whofe power alone 
 I fhall be able to ftanci ! put thy fear 
 in my heart, that I may never depart 
 
 from 
 
VII. of the Heart. 53 
 
 from thee : Let not the world with all 
 its flatteries, nor death nor hell, with all 
 their terrors, force me to violate this 
 facred vow. Oh ! let me never live to 
 abandon thee, nor draw the impious 
 breath that would deny thee. 
 
 And now let furrounding angels 
 witnefs for me, that I folemnly devote 
 all the powers and faculties of my foul 
 to thy fervice ; and when I prefump- 
 tuoufly employ any of the advantages 
 thou haft given me to thy difhonour, 
 let them teftify againft me, and let my 
 own words condemn me. 
 
 ELIZABETH ROWE. 
 
 THUS have I fubfcribed to thy gra 
 cious propofals, and engaged myfelf 
 to be the Lord's : And now let the 
 malice of men, and the rage of devils, 
 combine againft me, I can defy all 
 their ftratagems ; for God hirnfelfis 
 become my Friend, Jefus is my All- 
 fufficient Saviour, and the Spirit of 
 God, I truft, will be my San&ifier, 
 and Comforter. 
 
 O happy day ! tranfporting moment ' 
 
 the brightest period of mylife ! Heaven, 
 
 3 E with 
 
54 De'vout Exercifes VII L 
 
 with all its light, fmiles on thee : What 
 glorious mortal can now excite my 
 envy ? what fcene to tempt my ambi 
 tion could the whole creation difplay ? 
 Let glory call me with her exalted 
 voice ; let pleafure with a fofter elo 
 quence allure me ; the world, in all its 
 fplendour, appears but a trifle, while 
 the Infinite God is my portion. He 
 is mine by as fure a title as eternal ve 
 racity can confer : The right is unque- 
 fHonable, the conveyance unalterable. 
 The mountains ihall be removed, and 
 the hills be diiTolved, before the ever- 
 lafting obligation Ihall be cancelled. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 A Thank-offering for faving grace* 
 
 LESS the Lord, O my foul 1 and 
 l that is within me, blefs his holy 
 name. Blefs the Lord, and forget 
 not all his benefits, who redeemed thy 
 life from deftrucftion, and crowneth 
 thee with loving-kindnefs and tender 
 mercy ; who brought thee out of the 
 
 mire 
 
VHL of the Heart. 55 
 
 mire and clay, and fet thy feet upon a 
 rock ; who broke thy fetters , and freed 
 thee from the miferahle bondage of 
 fin. I lay, a wretched flave, pleafed 
 with my chains, and fond of my cap 
 tivity, fatally deluded and undone, till 
 love, almighty love, refcued me. Bleft 
 effed: of unmerited grace ! I fhall Hand 
 for ever an illuftrious inftance of bound- 
 lefs mercy: To that I mufl entirely 
 afcribe rny falvation ; and through all 
 the ages of eternity, I'll rehearfe the 
 wonders of redeeming love, and tell to 
 liftening angels what it has done for 
 my foul. 
 
 Fll fmg the endlefs miracles of love ; 
 For ever that my lofty theme fhall prove. 
 
 My glorious Creator ! why did I 
 employ thy thoughts before I had a be 
 ing ? Why from all eternity was an 
 immortality defigned me, and my 
 birth allotted me in a land illuminated 
 with the rays of facred light. I might 
 have been invoking the powers of hell 
 w r ith deteftable ceremonies, inftead of 
 adoring the Omnipotent God. 'But 
 
 when 
 
56 Devout Exercifes VIII. 
 
 when thoufands are loft in thefe delu- 
 flons, why am I thus gracioufly dif- 
 tinguifhed ? Inftead of being born 
 among the fhameful vices of impious 
 parents, and an heir to their curfes, 
 why am I intitled to the bleffing of 
 religious anceftors? Why, when I 
 was incapable of choice, was I devoted 
 to the God that keeps covenant and 
 mercy toathoufand generations ofthem 
 that fear him. 
 
 Why, when I knew thee not, didft 
 thou fuftain me ? But, Oh ! why, 
 when I knew thee, and rebelled againft 
 thee, why didft thoufo long fuffer my 
 ingratitude? Why did thy watchful 
 providence perpetually furround me, 
 crofting all the methods I took to undo 
 myfelf ? Why was I not curft with rny 
 own wiihes, and left to the quiet pof- 
 feftion of thofe vanities I delighted in, 
 thofe toys which I foolifhly preferred 
 to all the treafures of thy love ? Why 
 didft thou purfue me with the offers of 
 tjiy favour, when I fled thee with fuch 
 averfion ? and had fled thee for ever, 
 if ttiou hadft not compelled me to 
 return. 
 
 Why 
 
VIII. of the Heart. 57 
 
 Why did thy Spirit ftrive fo long 
 with an obftinate heart, which refifted 
 all its motions, and turned thy patience 
 and long-fuffering into provocation and 
 guilt ? Why am 1 not undone by thofe 
 pleating fnares in which I have feen 
 fo many deluded wretches perifh ? Like 
 them, Idefpifed the unfearchable riches 
 of thy grace ; with them I had been 
 content to fhare the forry portion and 
 pleafures of this world, if thou had'ft 
 let me alone, and I fhould never have 
 enquired after thee; but why waft thou 
 found of one that fought thee not ? O 
 why, but becaufe thou wilt be merci 
 ful to whom thou wilt be merciful. 
 
 Therefore, again, withaftonifhment 
 and delight, I look back on the me 
 thods of thy grace; and again Iconfider 
 myfelf loft in an abyfs of fin arid mi- 
 fery ; when there was no eye to pity 
 me, no hand but thine to affiftme, thou 
 madeft it then the time of love. Never 
 was grace more free and furpriling 
 than thine is ; never was there a more 
 obftinate heart than mine ; and never 
 
 fuch 
 
58 Devout Exercifes V11L 
 
 fuch unconquerable love as thine. How 
 glorioufly has it triumphed over my 
 rebellious faculties? How freely has it 
 cancell'd all my guilt ? 
 
 Could 1 have made the leaft pretence 
 to merit, or have challenged any thing 
 from thee, the benefit had been lefs 
 exalted ; had there been any foundation 
 for human pride, my corrupt heart 
 would foon have taken the advantage, 
 and have robbed thee of thy honour, 
 by afcribing the glorious work to the 
 ftrength of my own reafon, or a natural 
 tendency to virtue. But here my vanity 
 is for ever filenced, I am loft in the 
 boundlefs abyfs. O height ! O depth ! 
 O length and breadth immeafureable ! 
 How unfearchable are thy ways, Al 
 mighty Love, and thy paths paft find 
 ing out? 
 
 Let me here begin rny eternal fong, 
 and afcribe falvation and honour, do 
 minion and majefty, to him that fits on 
 the throne, and to the Lamb for ever, 
 who has loved me, and ranfomed me 
 with his blood j ranfomed me from a 
 voluntary bondage, from the moft vile 
 
 and 
 
VIIL of the Heart. 59 
 
 andhopelefs captivity, a captivity from 
 which nothing but that invaluable pur- 
 chafe could have redeemed me. 
 
 " Infinite love ! almighty grace ! 
 " Stand in amaze, ye rolling Ikies." 
 
 Bring hither your celeftial harps, ye 
 beneficent beings, who, amidit the 
 height of your happinefs, exprefs a 
 kind regard for man : Teach me the 
 language of paradife, the ftrains of im 
 mortality. But, Oh ! it is all to feeble ; 
 the tongues of feraphims cannot utter 
 what 1 owe my Redeemer : From what 
 mifery, my adorable Saviour, haftthou 
 refcued me ? From error, from fin, from 
 fnares , from death , from infernal chains , 
 eternal horror, and the blacknefs of 
 darknefs for ever. 
 
 Nor here rny glorious Benefactor 
 flayed ; but ftill went on to magnify 
 the riches of his grace, and entitled me 
 to an endlefs inheritance, and an im 
 mortal crown; to the fruition of God, 
 and the unutterable joys that flow from 
 his prefence, 
 
 My- 
 
60 Devout Exercifes IX. 
 
 Myfterious depths of boundlefs love 
 
 Hy admiration raife : 
 O God ! thy name exalted ftands 
 
 Above my higheft p raife. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Evidence of Jin cere love to GOD. 
 
 IF I love thee not, my bleffed God, 
 I know not what I love ; If 1 am 
 uncertain of this, I am uncertain of my 
 exigence. If I love thee not, what is 
 the meaning of thefe pathetic expref- 
 fions, MY GOD! MY ALL! thou 
 fpring of my life, and fountain of my 
 happinefs ! my great reward, and my 
 exceeding joy ! the eternal obje6t of my 
 love, and fupreme felicity of my na 
 ture ! Does not my heart attend my lips 
 in all this language ? How can this 
 be, if my foul does not love thee? 
 
 O rny God ! if I love thee not, what 
 is the meaning of this conftant uneafi- 
 nefs at thy abfence? From whence pro 
 ceeds this painful anxiety of mind a- 
 bout thy love, and all thefe intenfe, 
 thefe reftlefs defires after thee? Why 
 
 are 
 
IX. of the Heart. 61 
 
 are all the fatisfa&ions of life iniipid 
 without thee ? Without my God, what 
 are riches, and honours, and pleafures, 
 to me ? I llaould efteem the poffeffion of 
 the world but a trifle, or rather my e- 
 ternal damage, if it muft be purchafed 
 with the lofs of thy favour. Thy be 
 nignity is better than life ; and the mo 
 ments in which I enjoy a fenfe of thy 
 love, are the only happy intervals of 
 my life. It is then Hive; it is then I 
 am truly blefs'd : It is then I look down 
 with contempt on the little amufements 
 of the world, and pity them that want 
 afafte for thefe exalted pleafures. 
 
 How calm, how peaceful in thofe 
 feafons are all the regions of my foul ! 
 I have enough; I aik no more. Can 
 they languiili for the ftream, who 
 drink at the overflowing fountain ? 
 I have all the world, and more, I 
 have heaven itfelf in thee ; in thee I am 
 completely and fecurely bleffed, and 
 can defy the malice of earth and hell to 
 ftiake the foundation of my happinefs, 
 while thou dofl whifper thy love to my 
 foul. O bleffed (lability of heart; O 
 F fublime 
 
6 2 Devout Exercifes 1 X . 
 
 fublime fatisfadtion ! Haft thou not 
 told me that thou art mine by an in 
 violable engagement, when my foul 
 devoted itfelf fincerely to thee ? Does 
 not thy word affure -me, that the moun 
 tains fhall depart, and the hills be 
 removed ; but thy kindnefs {hall not 
 depart, nor the covenant of thy peace be 
 broken ? 
 
 Haft thou not terminated my w ? ifhes, 
 
 Lord, in thyfelf and fixed my wan 
 dering defires ? Is it for riches or ho 
 nour, for length of days, orpleafure,that 
 
 1 follow thee with daily importunities ? 
 Thou knoweit thefe are not the fubjed: 
 of my reftlefs petitions. Do I ever ba 
 lance thefe toys with thy favour ? Oh, 
 no. One fmile of thine obfcures all 
 their glory. When thou doft blefs my 
 retired devotions with thy prefence, I 
 can w r ink all created beauty into black- 
 nefs. When I meet thee in my foli- 
 tary contemplations, with what con 
 tempt do I look back on the leflening 
 world ? 
 
 How dazzling is thy beauty ! how divine ! 
 How dim the Iniler of the world to thine ! 
 
 How 
 
IX. of the Heart. 63 
 
 How dull are its entertainments to 
 the pleafure of converfion with thee ? 
 Oh Hay, in thofe happy moments, 
 cries my fatisfied foul ! 
 
 Stay, my beloved, with me here ; 
 Stay till the morning-ftar appear \ 
 Stay till the duiky fhadows fly 
 Before the day's illuflrious eye. 
 
 Oh ! ftay till the gloomy night of 
 life is paft, and eternity dawn on my 
 foul. There's nothing in this barren 
 place to entertain me when thou art 
 gone : I can relifh nothing belo\v, after 
 thefe celeftial banquets. 
 
 Jf I love thee not, what's the mean 
 ing of this impatience to be with thee? 
 My foul longeth, yea fainteth, for 
 the courts of the Lord ; when (hall I 
 come and appear before thee ? Oh ! 
 that I had the wings of a dove, for 
 then would I flyaway, and be at reft. 
 
 X. 
 
64 Devout Exercifes X. 
 
 X. 
 Affu ranee affahation //? C H R I s T J E s u s . 
 
 T Have put my treafures, my immor 
 tal part, into thy hands, Oh my 
 dear Redeemer ! And fhall the prey 
 be taken from the mighty ? Shall a 
 foul confecrated to thee, fall afacrifice 
 to hell? 
 
 BlefTcd God ! am I not thine? and 
 (hall the temple of thy fpirit be pro 
 faned, and the lips that have fo often 
 afcribed dominion, and glory, andma- 
 jefly to thee, be defiled with infernal blaf- 
 phemy, and the execrations of the 
 damn'd ? Shall the fparks of divine love 
 beextinguifhed, and immortal enmity 
 fucceed ? And fhall I, who was once 
 bleffed with thy favour, become the 
 obje<5t of thy wrath and indignation ? 
 Shall all the mighty things thou haft 
 done for my foul, be forgotten ? Shall all 
 my vows, and thy own facred engage 
 ments, be cancelled ? *Tis all impof- 
 fible; for thou art not as man, that 
 thou fhouldil lie; nor as the fon of 
 man, that thou fliouldfl repent. 
 
 Thou 
 
X. of the Heart. 65 
 
 Thou art engaged by thy own tre 
 mendous name for my fecurity : my 
 God, and my father's God ; from ge 
 neration to generation thou haft been 
 our dwelling-place. I was devoted to 
 thee in baptifm, by the folemn VOW T S 
 of my religious parents : My infant 
 hands were early lifted up to thee, 
 and I foon learned to know and ac 
 knowledge the God of my fathers. I 
 have actually fubfcribed with my hand 
 to the Lord, and am thine by the 
 moft voluntary and deliberate obliga 
 tions. The portion of Jacob is my 
 joyful choice; nor need I fear lofing 
 it, while thy w r ord is eftablifhed as the 
 heavens. 
 
 The Lord, who made heaven, earth and fea, 
 
 And all that they contain, 
 Will never quit his ftedfafl truth, 
 
 Nor make his promife vain. 
 
 Were my dependence on myfelf, I 
 
 were undone : The firft temptation 
 
 would iliake my refolutions ; I fhould 
 
 fell the ineftimable riches of thy love 
 
 F 3 for 
 
66 Devout Exerctfes X. 
 
 for a trifle, and fool away immortal 
 pleafures for the joys of a moment; a 
 fpecious delufion would feduce me from 
 all my hopes of a glorious futurity. I 
 lliall fall a viHrn to my own folly, 
 and muft inevitably perifh, if thou 
 forfake me : But the ftrength of Ifrael 
 is my hope, the Mighty One of Jacob 
 my defence. 
 
 Thou art the rock of ages ; the fixed 
 and immutable Divinity is my high 
 tower and my refuge, my Redeemer 
 and Almighty Saviour. Thefe were 
 the bleffed , the glorious titles by which 
 thou did ft at firft allure my doubtful 
 foul : Thefe were the tranfporting 
 names I knew r and called thee by; and 
 thou haft anfwered them through all 
 the changes of my life. 
 
 I was thy early care ; thou didft 
 fupport my helplefs infancy, and art 
 the watchful guide of my unfteady 
 youth. Whkh way foever I turn, I 
 meet thy mercy, and trace thy provi 
 dence; and, as long as I live, I will 
 record thy benefits, and depend on 
 thy truth; thofe benefits which have 
 
 conftantly 
 
X. of the Heart. 67 
 
 conftantly purfued me, and that truth 
 which has never deceived me, and is 
 engaged never to abandon me. Tranf- 
 portingaiTurance ! What further fecuri- 
 ty can I aik? What fecurity can 1 
 wiih beyond eternal veracity? The 
 mountains ihall depart, and the hills 
 be removed : but thy kindnefs fhall 
 not depart, nor the covenant of thy 
 peace be broken; that covenant which 
 has been fealed by the blood of the 
 Son of God; and in that holy facrament 
 I have received the pledges of thy love. 
 Thou didft graciouily invite me into 
 that communion, and met me there 
 with the moil unmerited favour. 
 
 Fear not, fay 'ft thou, poor trem 
 bling foul ! for I am thy Redeemer, and 
 thy mighty Saviour, the hope of Ifrael, 
 and in my name ihall all the nations of 
 the earth be blefled. I am gracious 
 and merciful, long-fuffering, and a- 
 bundant in goodnefs and truth. Thefe 
 are the titles by which I have revealed 
 myfelftomen. I came the expected 
 Meffiah, the Star of Jacob, and the 
 glory of the Gentiles. I came from 
 
 the 
 
68 Devout Exernjes X. 
 
 the fulnefs of ineffable glory, in the 
 form of man, to redeem the race of 
 Adam : I am willing and able to fave; 
 and " whofoever comes to me> I will 
 in no \vife caft away/' Fear not: I 
 had kind defigns towards thee from 
 eternity; and by thefe vifible figns of 
 my body and blood, I feal my love to 
 thy foul : Take here the pledges of 
 heaven, the affurance of everlafting 
 happinefs. 
 
 'Tis enough, replied my tranfported 
 foul : divide the world as thouwilt, let 
 others unenvied fhare its glory; thy 
 love is all I crave. I am bleffed with 
 that affurance, I am furrounded \vith 
 the joys of paradife ; every place is a 
 heaven, while my Beloved is mine, 
 and I am his. 
 
 If all the monarchs, whofe command fupreme 
 Divides the wide dominion of this ball, 
 
 Should offer each his boafted diadem, 
 I would not quit thy favour for them all : 
 
 Thefe trifles with contempt I would refign^ 
 
 The world's a toy, while I can call thee mine. 
 
 Let God and angels witnefs for me, 
 that I renounce the world, and chufethy 
 
 love 
 
XI. of the Heart. 69 
 
 love as my portion; witnefs that I fa- 
 crifice my darling fins to thee , and , from 
 this moment, folemnly devote myfelf 
 to thy fervice. 
 
 Thus did I engage myfelf to be the 
 Lord's; and thus didft thou gracioufly 
 condefcend to feal the privileges of the 
 new covenant to my fouL And O, let 
 the folemn tranfadion never be forgot 
 ten ; let it be writ in the volumes of 
 eternity ; let it be engraven in the books 
 of unalterable deffiny: There let the 
 facred articles ftand recorded, and be 
 had in everlafting remembrance. 
 
 XL 
 
 Thou art my GOD. 
 
 OGOD ! thou art my God ; thou 
 art thy own bleffednefs, the centre 
 of thy own defires, and the boundlefs 
 fpring of thy own happinefs. Thou art 
 immutable and infinitely perfedt, and 
 therein confifts thy bleflednefs and glo 
 ry ; but that thou art my God, it is from 
 thence flows all my confolation ; this 
 glorious privilege is my dignity and 
 
 boafL 
 
7 o Devout Exet 'djes X [ . 
 
 boaft. " Thou art my God, and I will 
 praife thee ; my father's God, and I will 
 exalt thee. The Lord liveth, and bleff- 
 ed be my Rock, and let the God of 
 my falvation be exalted. Thy be 
 nignity is better than life, therefore 
 my lips fhall praife thee." 
 
 I have all things in poffeffing thee ; I 
 find no want, no emptinefs, within; 
 my wifhes are anfvvered, and all my 
 defires appeafed, when I believe my 
 title to thy favour fecure. Whatever 
 tempefts arife, whatever darknefs fur- 
 rounds me, yet thou art my God ; I cry, 
 and the ftorms are appeafed, and the 
 darknefs vanifhes. I find my expec 
 tations from the world difappointed, 
 my friends falfe, and human dependence 
 vain ; but fhll thou art my God, my 
 unfailingconfidence,my rock, my ever- 
 Jafting inheritance. Death and hell le 
 vel their darts againft me j but with a 
 heavenly tranquillity I cry," Thou art 
 my God : I dwell on high, my place 
 of defence is the munition of rocks/' 
 
IX. of the Heart. 71 
 
 MY hiding-place, my refuge, tow'r, 
 
 And fhield art thou, O Lord ! 
 I firmly anchor all my hopes 
 
 On thy unerring word. 
 
 while thou art mine, what can I 
 fear ? Can Omnipotence be vanquiih- 
 ed ? Can almighty ftrength be oppofed ? 
 When it can, then, and not till then, 
 {hall I want fecurity ; then, and not till 
 then, fhall my confidence be fhaken, 
 and my hopes confounded. 
 
 Thou art my God : Let me again re 
 peat the glorious accents, and hear the 
 pleafureable founds. Let me a thou- 
 fand and a thoufand times repeat it ; 
 it is rapture all, and harmony: The 
 harps of angels and their tongues, what 
 notes more melodious could they fing 
 or play ? What but thefe tranfporting 
 words give the ernphafis to all their 
 joys ? On this they dwell ; it is 
 their eternal theme, Thou art my God. 
 Like me, every feraph boafts the glo 
 rious propriety, and owes hishappinefs 
 to thofe important words : In them un 
 bounded joys are comprehended; par- 
 adife itfelf, all heaven is here defcribed ; 
 
 all 
 
72 Devout Extrcifes XL 
 
 all that is poffible to be uttered of ce- 
 leffial bleffednefs, is here contained. 
 
 My God my all fufficient good, 
 My portion, and my choice ! 
 
 In thee my vaft defires are fill'd, 
 And all my powers rejoice. 
 
 My God, my triumph, and my glo 
 ry ! Let others boaft of what they will, 
 and pride themfelves in human fecu- 
 rities ; let them place their confidence 
 in their wealth : their honour, and their 
 numerous friends : I renounce all earth 
 ly dependence, and glory only in my 
 God. 
 
 From him alone my joys fhall rife, 
 
 And run eternal rounds, 
 Beyond the limits of the ikies, 
 
 And all created bounds. 
 
 When death fhall remove all other 
 fupports, and force me to quit my ti 
 tle to the deareft names below, in my 
 God I fhall have an unchangeable pro 
 perty : That engagement fhall remain 
 firm, when I fhall lofe my hold of all 
 other enjoyments ; when all human 
 things vunifh with an everlafling flight, 
 
XL of the Heart. 73 
 
 I (hall bid them a joyful adieu, and 
 breathe out my foul with this trium 
 phant exclamation, Thou art my God, 
 my inheritance, my eternal poffeffion: 
 Nor death, nor hell, fhall ever feparate 
 me from thy love. 
 
 Thou art my God. Let me furvey the 
 extent of my bleffednefs : Let me take 
 a profpect of my vaft poireffion : Let 
 meconfideritsdimenfions: O depth! O 
 height ! O length and breadth immea- 
 furable ! I have all that is worth poffef- 
 fing ; Thou art my God. 
 
 But what have I uttered ? Is mor 
 tality permitted to fpeak thefe daring 
 words ? Can the race of man make fuch 
 glorious pretenfions ? Thou thyfelf 
 canft give no more : Thou that art thy 
 own happinefs, and the fpring of joy 
 to all thy creatures; with thee are the 
 fountains of pleafure, and in thy pre- 
 fence is fulnefs of joy : Immortal life 
 and happinefs flow from thee, and they 
 are neceflarily blefled who are furroun- 
 ded with thy favour ; thou art their 
 God, and thou art my God, to ever- 
 lafting ages. 
 
 G Earth 
 
74 Dewut Exercifes XII. 
 
 Earth flies with all the charms it has in ftore, 
 Its fnares and gay temptations are no more. 
 Creatures no more of entity can boaft. 
 The breams, the hills, and tow'ring groves are 
 
 loft. 
 
 The fun, the ftars, and the fair fields of light 
 Withdraw, and now are vanifh'd from my fight \ 
 And God is all in all. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Confeffion of Sin, with Hope of Pardon. 
 
 [ REAR, break, infenfible heart ! 
 Letconfufion cover me, and dark- 
 nefs, black as my own guilt,- furround 
 me. Lord! what a monfter am I be 
 come ? How hateful to myfelf for of 
 fending thee ? How much more deteft- 
 able to thee, to thee againft whom I 
 have .offended ? Why have I provoked 
 the God on whom my being every mo 
 ment depends ? the God, who out of 
 nothing advanced me to a reafonable 
 and immortal nature, and put me in a 
 capacity of being happy for ever: the 
 God whofe goodnefs has run parallel 
 with my life ; who has preferved me in 
 athoufand dangers, 'and kept me even 
 
 from 
 
XII. of the Heart. 75 
 
 from the ruin I courted, and even while 
 I repined at the providence that faved 
 me. 
 
 How often has he recovered me from 
 eternal mifecy, and brought me back 
 from the very borders of hell, when 
 there was but a dying groan, but one 
 faint figh between me and everlafting 
 perdition ? When all human help fail 
 ed, and my mournful friends were tak 
 ing their laft farewel ; when every fmi~ 
 ling hope forfook me, and the horrors 
 of death furrounded me ; to God I cry- 
 ed from the depths of mifery and de~ 
 fpair, I cried, and he was entreated, 
 and refcued my life from definition : 
 He brought me out of the miry clay, 
 and fet rny feet upon a rock. A thou- 
 fand inftances of thy goodnefs could I 
 recount, and all to my own confufion. 
 Could I coniider thee as my enemy, I 
 might forgive myfelf \ but when I con 
 iider thee as rny be ft friend, my tender 
 father, the fuftainer of my life, and 
 the author of my happinefs, Good 
 God ! what a monfhrous thing do I ap 
 pear, who have finned againft thee ? 
 
 Could 
 
7 6 Devout Exerctfes X I L 
 
 Could I charge thee with feverity, or 
 call thy laws rigorous and unjuft, I had 
 fome excufe; but lamfilencedthere by 
 the convicftion of my own rcafon , which 
 affents to all thy precepts as juftand holy. 
 But to heighten my guilt, I have vio 
 lated the facred rules I approve : I have 
 provoked the juftice I fear, and offended 
 the purity I adore. 
 
 Yet ftill there are higher aggravati 
 ons of my iniquity ; and what gives rne 
 t-he iitmoft confufion, is, that I have 
 iinned againft unbounded love and 
 goodnefs. Horrid ingratitude ! Here 
 lies fheemphafis of my folly and mife- 
 ry j the fenfe of this torments me, can 
 1 not fay, as much as the dread of hell, 
 or the fears of lofing heaven ? Thy love 
 and tender compaffion, the late plea- 
 ling fubjefts of my thoughts, are on 
 this account become my terror. The 
 titles of an enemy and a judge, fcarce 
 found more painful to my ears, than 
 thofe of a friend and a benefactor, 
 which fo fhamefully enhance my guilt : 
 Thofe facred names confound and ter 
 rify my foul, becaufe they furnifh my 
 
 conference 
 
XII. of the Heart. 77 
 
 conference with the moft exquifite re 
 proaches : The thoughts of fuch good- 
 nefs abufed,and fuch clemency affront 
 ed, feem tome almoft as unfupportable, 
 as thofe of thy wrath and feverity. 
 
 O ! whither fhall I turn ? I dare not 
 look upward; the fun and ftars up 
 braid me there : If I look downward, 
 the fields and fountains take their Crea 
 tor's part, and heaven and earth con- 
 fpire to aggravate my fins : Thofe 
 common bleffings tell me how much I 
 am indebted to thy bounty : But, Lord ! 
 when I recall thy particular favours, 
 I am utterly confounded ; what num 
 erous inftances could I recount ? Nor 
 has my rebellion yet fhut up the foun*- 
 tain of thy grace ; for yet I breathe, 
 and yet I live, and live to implore a 
 pardon : Heaven is ftill open, and the 
 throne of God acceffible; but, Oh! 
 with what confidence can I approach 
 it ? what motives can I urge, but fuch 
 as carry my own condemnation in 
 them ? 
 
 Shall I urge thy former pity and in 
 dulgence ? This were to plead againft 
 G 2 myfelf: 
 
78 Devout Exercifes XI L 
 
 myfelf: and yet thy clemency, that 
 clemency which I have abufed, is the 
 beft argument I can bring : thy grace 
 and clemency as revealed in Jefus, 
 the Son of thy love, the bleffed recon 
 ciler of God and man. 
 
 O whither has my folly reduced me ? 
 With what words lliall I chufe to 
 addrefs thee ? pardon my iniquity, O 
 Lord ! for it is great. Surprifing ar 
 gument ! yet this will magnify thy 
 goodnefs, and yield me an eternal 
 theme to praife thee: It will add an 
 emphaiis to all my grateful fongs, and 
 tune my harp to everlafting harmony. 
 The ranfomed of the Lord lhall join 
 with me, while this glorious inftance 
 of thy grace excites their wonder, and 
 unbounded gratitude : Thus fhall thy 
 glory be exalted. 
 
 O Lord God ! permit a poor worth- 
 lefs creature to plead a little with 
 thee : What honour will my deflruc- 
 tion bring thee? What profit, what 
 triumph to the Almighty, will my 
 perdition be ? Mercy is thy brightest 
 attribute; this gives thee all thy love- 
 
 linefs 
 
XII. of the Heart. 79 
 
 linefs, and completes thy beauty. 
 By names of kindnefs and indulgence 
 thou haft chofen to reveal thyfelf to 
 men : By titles of the moft tender im 
 port, thou haft made thyfelf known 
 to my foul ; titles which thou doft not 
 yetdifdain, but art ftill compaffionate, 
 and ready to pardon. 
 
 But that thou haft or wilt forgive 
 me, O my God ! aggravates my guilt. 
 And wilt thou indeed forgive me? 
 Wilt thou remit the gloomy fcore, 
 andreftore the privilege I have forfeit 
 ed ? Wondrous love, aftonifhing be 
 nignity ! Let me never live to repeat 
 my ingratitude; let me never live to 
 break my penitent vows j let rne die 
 ere that unhappy moment arrive. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 The Abfcnce of GOD on Earth* 
 
 WHAT is hell ! what is damna 
 tion, but an excluiion from thy 
 prefence ? It is the want of that 
 which gives the regions ofdarknefs all 
 their horror. What is heaven ? what 
 ire the -fatisf actions of angels, but the 
 
 views 
 
So Devout Exercifes XI II. 
 
 views of thy glory ? What but thy 
 fmjles and complacence, are thefprings 
 of their immortal tranfports ? 
 
 Without the light of thy counten 
 ance, what privilege is my being ? 
 What canft thou thyfelf give me to 
 countervail the infinite lofs ? Could the 
 riches, the empty glories, and infipid 
 pleafures of the world, recompence me 
 for it ? Ah ! no ; Not all the variety of 
 the creation could fatisfy me, while I 
 am deprived of thee. Let the ambiti 
 ous, the licentious, and covetous ^fliare 
 thefe trifles among themfelves ; they 
 are no amufements for my dejected 
 thoughts. 
 
 There was a time (but, ah ! that 
 happy time is part, thofe blifsful mi 
 nutes gone) when, with a rnodeft affur- 
 ance, I could call thee my Father, my 
 almighty Friend, my defence, my 
 hope and my exceeding great reward : 
 But thofe glorious advantages are loft ; 
 thofe raviiliing profpeits withdrawn, 
 and to my trembling foul thou doit no 
 more appear, but as a confirming fire, 
 an inacceilible majefty , my feverej udge,. 
 
 and 
 
XIIL of the Hear l. 81 
 
 and my omnipotent adverfary j and who 
 fhall deliver me out of thy hands ? 
 Where fhall 1 find a fhelter from thy 
 wrath ? What fhades can cover me 
 from thy all-feeing eye ? 
 
 One glance from thee, one piercing ray. 
 
 Would kindle darknefs into day : 
 
 The veil of night is no difguife,. 
 
 No fcreea from thy all-fearching eyes : 
 
 Thro' midnight-fhades thou findft thy way. 
 
 As in the blazing noon of day. 
 
 But will the Lord caft off for ever ? 
 Will he be favourable no more ? Has 
 God indeed forgotten to be gracious ? 
 Will he fhut out my prayer for ever, 
 and muft I never behold my Maker? 
 Muft I never meet thofe fmiles that 
 fill the heavenly inhabitants with un 
 utterable joys ? thofe fmiles that en 
 lighten the celeftial region, and make 
 everlafting day above. In vain then 
 have thefe wretched eyes beheld the 
 light; in vain am I endued with rea- 
 fonable faculties and immortal princi 
 ples : Alas ! what w r ill they prove but 
 everlafting curfes, if I muft never fee 
 the face of God ? 
 
8i Devout Exercifes XI I L 
 
 Is it a dream? or do I hear 
 The voice that fo delights my ear ? 
 Lo, he o're hills his fleps extends, 
 And bounding from the cliffs defceads: 
 Now like a roe outftrips the wind, 
 And leaves the panting hart behind. 
 
 I have waited for thee as they that 
 wait for the morning, arid thy returns 
 are more welcome than the Springing 
 day-light, after the horrors of a mel 
 ancholy night; more welcome than 
 eafe to the fick, than water to the thirf- 
 ty, or reft to the w r eary traveller. How 
 undone was I without thee ? In vain, 
 while thou wert abfent, the world hath 
 tried to entertain me : All it could of 
 fer, was like jefts to dying men, or 
 like recreation to the damned . On thy 
 favour alone my tranquillity depends ; 
 deprived of that, I fhould ligh for hap- 
 pinefs in the midft of a paradife : Thy 
 loving kindnefs is better than life ; 
 and if a tafte of thy love be thus tranf- 
 porting, what extafies fhall I know 
 when I drink my fill of the flreams of 
 blifs, that flow from thy right hand 
 
 for ever ; But when * 
 
 When 
 
XIIL of the Heart. 83 
 
 When (hall this happy day of vifion be ? ~\ 
 
 When fhall I make a near approach to thee ? v 
 Be loft in love, and wrapt in extafie ? 
 Oh ! when ihall I behold thee all ferene 
 Without this envious cloudy veil between ? 
 'Tis true the facred elements * impart 
 Thy virtual prefence to my faithful heart ; 1 
 But to my fenfe ftill unreveaPd thou art- j 
 This, tho' a great, is an imprefecT: blifs, 
 To fee a ftiadow for the God I wifh : 
 My foul a more exalted pitch would fly, 
 And view thee in the heights of majefty. 
 
 XIV, 
 
 Banijhment from GOD for ever. 
 
 TNEPART from me, ye curfed ! Oh 
 ^-^ let me never hear thy voice pro 
 nounce thofe dreadful words. With 
 what terrors would that fentence pierce 
 my heart, while it thunders in my ears ! 
 Oh, rather fpeak me into my primitive 
 nothing, and with one potent word finiili 
 my exiflence. To be feparated from 
 thee, andcurft with immortality, who 
 can fultain the intolerable doom ? 
 
 * At the Lord's Suffer. 
 
 O dread- 
 
4 Devout Exercifes XIV, 
 
 O dreadful ftate of black defpair, 
 
 To fee my God remove, 
 And fix my doleful flation where 
 
 I muft not tafle his love* 
 
 Nor view the light of thy countenance 
 for ever. Unutterable woe ! there is 
 no hell beyond it. Separation from 
 God is the depth of mifery : Blacknefs 
 of darknefs, and eternal night, muft 
 neceflarily involve a foul excluded from 
 thy prefence. What life, what joy, 
 what hope is to be found where thou 
 art not ? I want words to paint my 
 thoughts of that difmal ftate, Oh ! let 
 me never be referved for the dreadful 
 experience ! Ratherlet loofethy wrath, 
 anid in a moment reduce me into no 
 thing. 
 
 Depart from thee ! Oh, whither 
 fhould I go from thee ? Into utter 
 darknefs ! that makes no addition at 
 all to the wretch's mifery that is ban- 
 ifhed from thy face. After that fearful 
 doom I ftiould without conftraint feek 
 out fliades as dark as hell, being molt 
 
 agreeable 
 
XIV. of the Heart. 85 
 
 agreeable to my own defpair, and in 
 the horrors of eternal night bewail the 
 infinite lofs. 
 
 The remmbrance of that loft hap- 
 pinefs would render celeftial day infuf- 
 ferable. The light of paradife could 
 not chear me without thy favour. The 
 fongs of angels would but heighten my 
 anguiih, and torment me with a fcene 
 of blifs which I muft never tafte. The 
 fight of thy favourites, and the glories 
 of thy court, would but excite my 
 envy, and fill me with madnefs, w r hile 
 I confidered myfelf the object of thine 
 eternal indignation ! Nor could all the 
 harmony of heaven allay the horror of 
 that reflection. 
 
 The groans of the damned, and the 
 darknefs of the infernal caverns, would 
 better fuit my grief. There, to the 
 cries of tormented ghofts, and to the 
 found of eternal tempefts, I might join 
 my wild complaints, and lament the 
 lofs of infinite blifs, and curfe my 
 ow r n folly : But all the plagues below, 
 if I might fpeak my prefent thoughts, 
 fhould not extort a blafphemous re- 
 H fleftion 
 
86 Devout Exercifes XIV. 
 
 fle<ftion on the divine attributes ; for I 
 know I deferve eternal mifery, and 
 ^even in hell I fliould confefs thy juf- 
 tice. Thy long experienced clemency, 
 I am fure, ought to filence my re 
 proaches for ever, and to all eternity 
 leave thee unblemidied with the im 
 putation of cruelty. 
 
 But, oh! what agonies w r ould the 
 remembrance of thy former favour ex 
 cite ? What exquifite remorfe would it 
 give me to recall thofe happy moments 
 when thou didft blefs my retired devo 
 tions with thy prefence : After I have 
 relifhed thofe divine entertainments, 
 how bitter would the dregs of thy wrath 
 be ! Whither w r ould thy frowns fink 
 me, after I have enjoyed the light of 
 thy countenance ? 
 
 Ifl muft lofe thy favour, oh! let 
 me forget what that word imports, and 
 blot for ever from my remembrance 
 the joys that a fenfe of thy love has ex 
 cited : Let no traces of thofe facred 
 tranfports be kft on my foul. 
 
 But muft I depart from thee into e- 
 -verlafling fire ? Double and dreadtul 
 curfe ! And yet unquenchable flames, 
 
 and 
 
XIV. of the m&f. . 87 
 
 and infernal chains (if I can judge in 
 this life of fuch awful futurities) ^vould 
 be lefs terrible than the fenfe of thofe 
 loft joys. That lofs would endure no 
 reflection; the review would be tor ever 
 infufferable ; the ages of eternity could 
 not diminifh the exquifite regret ; ftill 
 it would excite new and unutterable 
 anguifh, and rack me with infinite 
 defpair 
 
 Blefled God ! pity the foul w r hofe ex- 
 tremeft horror is the doom of an eter 
 nal departure from thee. Draw my 
 fpirit into the holieft and the neareft 
 union with thyfelf that is poffible, while 
 it dwells in this flefh ; and let me here 
 commence that delightful refidence and 
 converfe with God, which neither 
 death nor judgment fhall ever deftroy, 
 nor fhall a long eternity ever put a pe 
 riod to it. 
 
 XV. 
 
88 Devout Exercifes XV. 
 
 XV. 
 
 *Tbe Glory of GOD , in His Works of Gre 
 at ion ^ Providence^ and Redemption . 
 
 r Y being immediately flows from 
 thee, and fhould I not praife my 
 Omnipotent Maker? I received the 
 laft breath I drew from thee; thou doft 
 fuftain my life this very moment, and 
 the next depends entirely on thy plea- 
 fure. It is the dignity of my nature to 
 know, and my happineis to praife and 
 adore my great original. But, Oh! 
 thou Supreme of all things ! how art 
 thou to be extolled by mortal man ? " I 
 ** fay to corruption, Thou art my fa- 
 ** ther j and to the worms, Ye are my 
 4i brethren; my days are as a hand's 
 41 breadth, and my life is nothing be- 
 " fore thee; but thou art the fame, and 
 " thy years never fail: From everlaft- 
 <( ing to everlafting thou art God:" 
 the incomprehenfible, the immutable 
 Divinity. The language of paradife, 
 and the ftrains of celeftial eloquence, 
 fall Ihort of thy perfe&ions; the firil 
 
 born 
 
XV. of tie Heart. 89 
 
 born fons of light lofe themfelves in 
 blifsful aftonifhment, in fearch of thy 
 excellencies ; even they with filent ec- 
 ftafy adore thee, while thou art veiled 
 with ineffable fplendour. 
 
 The bright, the blelt Divinity, is known 
 And comprehended by himfelf alone. 
 
 Who can conceive the extent of that 
 power, which out of nothing brought 
 materials for a rifing world, and from 
 a gloomy chaos bid the harmonious u- 
 niverfe appear. 
 
 Confufion heard the voice, and wild uproar 
 Stood rul'd ; flood vaft 'infinity confined.' 
 
 At thy word the pillars of the {ky 
 were framed, and its beauteous arches 
 raifed : Thy breath kindled the ftars, 
 adorned the moon with filver rays, and 
 give the fun its flaming' fplendour. 
 Thou didft prepare for the waters their 
 capacious bed, and by thy power fet 
 bounds to the raging billows : By thee 
 the valleys were clothed in their flow 
 ery pride, and the mountains crowned 
 with groves. In all the wonderful ef- 
 H 3 
 
90 Devout Exercijes XV* 
 
 feels of nature, we adore and confefs 
 thy power ; thou uttereft thy voice in 
 thunder, and doftfcatter thy lightning 
 abroad; thou rideft on the wings of 
 the wind ; the mountains fmoke, and 
 forefts tremble, at thy approach ; the 
 fummer and winter* the fhady night, 
 and the bright revolutions of the day> 
 are thine. 
 
 Thefe are thy glorious works, Parent of good ! 
 Almighty ! thine this univerfal frame : 
 Thus wond'rous they , thyfelf how wond'rous 
 then! 
 
 But, O ! what muft thy eflential 
 majefty and beauty be, if thou art thus 
 illuftrious in thy works ? If the difco- 
 veries of thy power and wifdom are 
 thus delightful, how transporting are 
 the manifeftations of thy goodnefs? 
 From thee every thing that lives re 
 ceives its breath, and by thee are all 
 upheld in life. Thy providence reach 
 es the leaft infecTt; for thou art good, 
 and thy care extends to all thy other 
 works. Thou feedeft the ravens; and 
 doft provide the young lions their prey; 
 Thou fcattereft thy bleffings, with a li 
 beral 
 
XV. of the Heart. 91, 
 
 beral hand, on the whole creation ; 
 man, ungrateful man, largely partakes 
 thy bounty. Thou caufeft thy rain to 
 defcend, and makeft the fun to fhine oa 
 the evil and unthankful; forthouart 
 good, and thy mercy end lire th for ever. 
 As the Creator and Preferver of men, 
 thou art glorioufly manifeft j but, oh! 
 how much more glorioufly art thou re 
 vealed, as reconciling ungrateful ene 
 mies to thyfelf by the blood of thy e- 
 ternal Son ? Here thy beneficence dif- 
 playsitsbrighteft fplendour : Here thou 
 doft fully difcover thy moft magnifi 
 cent titles, THE LORD, THE LORD 
 GOD, MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS, 
 LONG-SUFFERING, AND ABUNDANT 
 
 IN GOODNESS. How unfearchable are 
 thy ways, and thy paths paft finding 
 out ! Infinite depths of love, never to 
 be exprefled by human language ! and 
 yet fhould man be filent, the ftones 
 themfelves would fpeak, and the mute 
 creation find a voice to upbraid his un 
 grateful folly. 
 
 XVI. 
 
9 2 Devout Exercifes XVI. 
 
 XVL 
 
 Longing for the Coming of CHRIST. 
 , Lord Jefus ! come quickly. 
 
 Oh, come ! left my expectations 
 faint, left I grow weary, and mur 
 mur at thy long delay. I am tired 
 with thefe vanities, and the w r orld 
 grows every day more unentertaining 
 and infipid ; it has now loft its charms, 
 and finds my heart infenfible to all its 
 allurements. With coldnefs and con- 
 tempt I view thefe tfanfitory glories, 
 infpired with nobler profpefts and y 
 vafter expe&ations by faith. I fee 
 the promifedland, and every day brings' 
 me nearer the poffeffion of my heavenly 
 inheritance. Then lhall 1 fee God, 
 and live : and, face to face, behold my 
 triumphant Redeemer j 
 
 And in his favour find immortal light. 
 
 Ye hours and days, cut Ihort your tedious flight ; 
 
 Ye months and years, (if fuch allotted be 
 
 In this detefled barren world for me) 
 
 "With hafty revolution roll along; 
 
 I languifh with impatience to be gone. 
 
 I have nothing here to linger for ; 
 
 my 
 
XVL of the Heart. 93 
 
 my hopes, my reft, my treafure, and 
 my joys are all above: My foul faints 
 for the courts of the Lord, in a dry arxl 
 thirfty land where there is no refrefh- 
 ment. 
 
 How long fhall I dwell in Mefhech. 
 and fojourn in the tents of Kedar ? 
 When will thewearifome journey of life 
 be finifhed ? When fhall I reach my 
 everlafting home, and arrive at my ce- 
 leftial country ? My heart, my willies, 
 are already there : I have no engage 
 ments to delay my farewell, nothing 
 to detain me here; but wander an 
 unacquainted pilgrim, a ftranger, and 
 defolate, far from my native regions. 
 
 My friends are gone before, and are 
 now triumphing in the ikies, fecure 
 of the conqueft, poffeiTed of the re 
 wards of victory. They furvey the 
 field of battle, and look back with plea- 
 fure on the diftant danger ; death and 
 hell for ever vanquifhed, leave them in 
 the pofTeffion of endlefs tranquillity 
 and joy : While I, befet with a thou- 
 fand fnares, and tired with continual 
 toil, unfteadily maintain the field, till 
 
 active 
 
94 Devout Exercifcs XVL 
 
 adlive faith fteps in, affures me of the 
 conquefl, and fliews me the mortal 
 crown. It is faith tells me that light 
 is fown for the righteous, and glad- 
 nefs for the upright in heart : It affures 
 me, that my Redeemer lives, and 
 that he fhall lland at the laft day on the 
 earthj and though, after my fkin, 
 worms deftroy this body, yet in my 
 flefti fhall fee I God; whom I (hall 
 fee for rnyfelf, and not another; and 
 thefe eyes fhall behold, though my 
 reins be confumed within me. Amen, 
 even fo come Lord Jefus ! This mufl 
 be the language of my foul till thou 
 doft appear, and thefe my impatient 
 breathings after thee. Till, I fee thy 
 falvation, my heart and my flefh will 
 pine for the living God. 
 
 Grant me, O Lord, to fulfill as a 
 hireling my day : fhorten the fpace, 
 and let it be full of action. It is of fmall 
 importance how few there are of thefe 
 little circles of day sand hours, fo they 
 are but well filled up with devotion* 
 and with all proper duty. 
 
 XVIL 
 
XVII. of the Heart. 95 
 
 XV1L 
 
 Seeking after an abfent GOD. 
 
 H ! let not the Lord be angry: 
 and I, who ann but duft, will 
 fpeak. Why doft thou withdraw thy- 
 felf, and fuffer me to purfue thee in 
 vain ! If I am (unrounded with thy im- 
 menfity, why am I thus infenfible of 
 thee? Why do 1 not find thee, if thou 
 art every-where prefent ? 1 fearch thee 
 in the temple; where thou haft often 
 met me : there I havefeen the traces of 
 thy majeftyand beauty; but thofe fa- 
 cred vifions blefs my fight no more* I 
 fearch thee in my fecret retirements, 
 where I have called upon thy name, 
 and have often heard the whifpers of 
 thy voice ; that celeftial converfation 
 hath often reached and raptured my 
 foul, but I am folaced no more with 
 thofe divine condefcenfions : I liften, 
 but I hear thofe gen tie founds no more; 
 I pine and languish, but thou flieft 
 me ; ilill I wither in thy abicnce, as a 
 drooping plant for the reviving fun. 
 
 O 
 
9 6 Devout Exercifes XVII. 
 
 O ! when wilt thou fcatter this me 
 lancholy darknefs ? When fhall the 
 fhadows flee before thee ? When (hall 
 the chearful glory of thy grace dawn upon 
 my mind at thy approach ? I fhall re 
 vive at thy light ; my vital fpirits will 
 confefs thy prefence ; grief and an 
 xiety will vaniih before thee, and im 
 mortal joys furround my foul. 
 
 Where thou art prefent, heaven and 
 happinefs enfue ; hell and damnation 
 fill the breail where thou art abient. 
 While God withdraws, I am encom- 
 paffed with darknefs and difpair \ the 
 fun and ftars (hine with an uncomfort 
 able luftre ; the faces of my friends 
 grow tirefome ; the fmiles of angels 
 would fail to chear my languifhing 
 fpirit. I grow unacquainted with tran 
 quillity; peace and joy are empty founds 
 to me, and words without a meaning. 
 
 Tell me not of glory and pleafure, 
 there are no fuch things without my 
 God ; while he withdraws, what de 
 light can thefe trifles afford ? All that 
 amufes mankind, are but dreams of 
 happinefs, (hades, and fantaftic ap- 
 3 pearances 
 
XVII. of the Heart. 97 
 
 pcarances : What compenfation can 
 they make for an infinite God depart 
 ed? All nature cannot repair my lofs: 
 Heaven and earth would offer their 
 treafures in vain: not all the kingdoms 
 of this world, nor the thrones of arch 
 angels, could give me a recompence 
 for an abfent God. 
 
 O where can my grief find redrefs ? 
 whence can I draw fatisfadlion, when 
 the fountain of joy feals up its ftreams ? 
 My forrows are hopelefs till he return; 
 without him my night will never fee 
 a dawn, but extend toeverlaftingdark- 
 nefs : Content and joy will be eternal 
 ftrangersto my breaft. Had I all things 
 within the compafs of creation to de 
 light me, his frowns would hlaft the 
 whole enjoyment; unreconciled to God 
 rny foul would be ever at variance 
 with itfelf- 
 
 Even now, while I believe thy glory 
 hid from me but with a tranfient eclipfe, 
 while I wait for thy return as for the 
 dawning day, my foul fuffersinexpreffi- 
 bleagoniesatthedelay; the minutes feem 
 to linger, and days are lengthened into 
 i ages j 
 
9 3 Devout Exercifes X V 1 1 . 
 
 ages: But, Lord! what keener anguifh 
 ihould I feel, did I think thyprefence 
 had totally forfaken me, did I imagine 
 thy glory iliould no more arife on my 
 foul? My fpirits fail at thefuppofition ; 
 I cannot face the dreadful apprehenfion 
 of my God for ever gone. Is it not hell 
 in its moft horrid profpedt? eternal 
 darknefs, and the undying worm ? infi 
 nite ruin, and irreparable damage? Com 
 pared to this, what were all the plagues 
 that earth could threaten, or hell in 
 vent? What is difgrace, and poverty, 
 and pain ? What is all that mortals 
 fear, real or imaginary evils ? They are 
 nothing, compared to the terrors which 
 the thought of lofing my God excites. 
 O thou who art my boundlefs trea- 
 fure, my infinite delight, my all, my 
 ineffable portion ! can I part with thee ? 
 I may fee without light, and breathe 
 without air, fooner than be blefled 
 without my God. Happinefs, fepar- 
 ated' from thee, were a contradiction, 
 an impoflibility, (if 1 dare fpeak it) 
 to Omnipotence itfelf. I feel a flame 
 which the molt glorious creation could 
 
 not 
 
XVIII. of the Heart. 99 
 
 notfatisfy, an emptinefs which nothing 
 but infinite love could fill. I mult 
 find thee, or weary myfelf in an eter 
 nal purfuit. Nothing fhall divert me 
 in the endlefs fearch, no obftacle fhall 
 fright me back, no allurement with 
 hold me, nothing fhall flatter or relieve 
 my impatience ; my blifs, my heaven, 
 my all depends on the fuccefs. Shew 
 me where thou art, O my God ! Con 
 duct me into thy prefence, and let thy 
 love confine me there for ever. 
 
 XVIIL 
 
 Appeals to GOD, concerning the Supre 
 macy of Lo-ve to tin.;. 
 
 OGOD ! when f ceafe to love and 
 praife thce, let me ceafe to breathe 
 and live. When 1 forget thee, let 
 rne forget the name ot happinefs, 
 an] let every pleafing idea be ra 
 zed from my memory. When thou 
 art not my fupreme delight, let all 
 things elfe deceive me ; let me grow 
 unacquainted with peace, and feek re- 
 pofe in vain : Let delufions mock my 
 
 gayeit 
 
i o o Devout Exercifes X V 1 1 1 . 
 
 gayeft hopes: let my defires find no 
 fatisfadiion, til] they are terminated all 
 in thee. When i forget the fatisfadti- 
 ons of thy love, O my God ! let plea- 
 lure be a flranger to my foul ; when I 
 prefer not that to my chiefeft joy, let 
 me he infenfible of all delight ; when 
 thy benignity is not dearer to me than 
 life, let that life become my burden, 
 and my pain. 
 
 Search the inmoft receffes of my 
 heart ; and if thou findeil any compe 
 titor there, remove the darling vanity, 
 and blot every name but thine from my 
 bread. Let me find nothing but emp- 
 tinefs in the creature, when I forfake 
 the All-fufficient Creator: Let the 
 ftreams be cut off, when I wander a- 
 way and abandon the fountain. Let me 
 be deftitute of affiflance, when I ceafe 
 to rely on thee; let ray lips be forever 
 filent, when they refufe to acknowledge 
 thy benefits, and make not thee the 
 fubject of their higheft praife. Let no 
 joyful ftrain enter at my ears, when 
 thy name is not the mod delightful 
 found they can convey to my heart. 
 
XVIII. of the Heart. 101 
 
 I have been pronouncing heavy cur- 
 fes on myfelf, if thy love be not my 
 chief bleffing: Yet, O my deareft good, 
 my portion, and my only felicity ! 
 might I not go on farther ftill, and 
 even venture immortal joys on the fin- 
 cerity of my love to thee ? Bleffed Lord ! 
 forgive thefe dangerous efforts of a 
 mortal tongue, which are the mere out- 
 breakings of a fervent affection. I 
 could even dare to pledge all my hopes 
 and mypretenfions to future happinefs, 
 and (O let not my heart deceive me ! ) I 
 think I fhould rifle them all, if thou 
 thyfelf art not the object of my bright- 
 eft hopes, and the light of thy coun 
 tenance the height of that expected hap 
 pinefs. 
 
 If I defire any thing in heaven or on 
 earth in comparifon of thee, 1 am al- 
 moit ready to fay, banifh me as an eter 
 nal exile from the light of paradife: 
 Even that paradife would be melan 
 choly darknefs without thee ; and the 
 obfcureit corner of the creation , bleffed 
 with thy prefence, would be more a- 
 greeable, Oh ! where could I be hap- 
 1 3 py 
 
i o 2 Devout Excrcifes XVIII. 
 
 py remote from thee ? What imagina 
 ble good could fupply thy abfence ? 
 Say, O my God ! do I not love thee ? 
 
 Shall I call the holy angels to wit 
 nefs ? Shall 1 call heaven and earth to 
 witnefs ? Will not the Moft High God 
 himfelf, the poffeflbr of heaven and 
 earth, coridefcend to witnefs the ardor 
 and fincerity of my love? 
 
 With what pleafure do I refleit on 
 the obligations by which I have devo 
 ted myielf to thee ? My foul colled:s 
 itfelf, and with an entire affent gives 
 up all its powers to thee : I would 
 bind myielf to thee, beyond all the ties 
 that mortals know. You minifters of 
 light! give me your flames, and teach 
 me your celeftial forms ; let all be no 
 ble and pathetic, and folemn as your 
 own immortal vows, and I will joy 
 fully go through them all, to bind my- 
 felf to my God for ever. Say now, ye 
 heavens and earth ! fay ye holy angels ? 
 and, O thou all-knowing God ! fay, 
 do I not love thee ? 
 
 XIX. 
 
XIX. of the Heart. 103 
 
 XIX. 
 
 A devout Rapture; or, Love to GOD 
 inexpreffible. 
 
 THOU radiant fun ! thou moon ! 
 and all ye fparkling ftars ! how 
 gladly would I leave your pleafant light, 
 to fee the face of God ? Ye chryftal 
 ftreams, ye groves and flowery lawns, 
 my innocent delight ! how joy fully could 
 I leave you, to meet that blifsful prof- 
 peci ? And you delightful faces of my 
 friends ! I would this moment quit 
 you all to fee him whom my foul loves : 
 fo loves, that I can find no words to ex- 
 prefs the unutterable ardor : Not as the 
 mi'fer loves his wealth, nor the ambiti 
 ous his grandeur; not as the libertine 
 loves his pleafure, or the generous man 
 his friend: Thefe are flat fimilitudes, 
 to defcribe fuch an intenfe paffion as 
 mine. Not as a man fcorched in a 
 fever, longs fora cooling draught ; not 
 as a weary traveller willies for foft re- 
 pofe : My refdefs defires admit of no 
 equal comparifon from thefe. 
 
IO4 Devout Exercifes XIX. 
 
 I love my friend ; my vital breath and 
 the light of heaven are dear to me : 
 But, fhould 1 fay 1 love my God as 
 I love thefe, I fhould belie the facred 
 flame which afpires to infinity. It is 
 thee,abftra6tly thee, O uncreated beau 
 ty, that I love ! in thee my wifhes are 
 all terminated : in thee, as in their 
 blifsful center, all my defires meet, 
 and there they muft be eternally fixed : 
 It is thou alone that muft conftitute my 
 everlafting happinefs. Were the harps 
 of angels filent, there would be harmo 
 ny for me in the whifpers of thy love : 
 Were the fields of light darkened, thy 
 fmiles would blefs me with everlafting 
 day : The vilion of thy face will attrad: 
 my eyes, nor give me leifure to wafte 
 a look on other obje&s to all eternity, 
 any farther than God is to be feen in his 
 creatures. All their beams of grace, and 
 joy, and glory, are derived from thee, 
 The Eternal Son ; and will merit my 
 attention no farther, than they reflect 
 thy image, or difcover thy excellen 
 cies. 
 
 Even 
 
XIX. of the Heart. 1 05 
 
 Even at this diftance, encompaffed 
 with the (hades of death, and the mifts 
 ofdarknefs, in thefecold melancholy 
 regions, when a ray of thy love breaks 
 in on my foul, when through the 
 clouds I can trace hut one feeble beam, 
 even that obfcures all human glory, 
 and gives me a contempt for whatever 
 mortality can boaft. What wonders 
 then will the open vifion of thy face 
 
 fo 
 
 effect, when I iliall enjoy it in 
 lime a degree, that the magnificence 
 of the ikies will not draw my regard, 
 nor the converfe of angels divert my 
 thoughts from thee? Thou wilt en- 
 grofs my everlafting attention ? and I 
 fhould abound in felicity, if I had no 
 thing to entertain me but immediate 
 communion with the Infinite Divinity. 
 Mend thy pace, old lazy time ! and 
 fhake thy heavy fands ? make fhorter 
 circles, ye rolling planets ! when will 
 your deftined courfes be fulfilled ? 
 Thou reftlefs fun ! how long wilt thou 
 travel the celeftial road? when will thy 
 ftarry walk be finished ? when will 
 the commiffioned angel arreft thee in 
 
 thy 
 
106 Devout Exercifes XIX. 
 
 thy progrefs, and, lifting up his hand, 
 fwear by the unutterable name, that 
 time lhall be no more ? O happy pe 
 riod ! my impatient foul fprings for 
 ward to falute thee, and leaves the lag 
 ging days, and months, and years, 
 far behind. "Makehafte, my beloved ! 
 " and be like a roe or a young hart 
 " on the fpicy mountains/' 
 
 I pine, I die, for a fight of thy 
 countenance. Oh ! turn the veil a- 
 iide, blow away the feparating cloud; 
 pull out the pins of this tabernacle, 
 break the cords, and let fall the cur 
 tain of mortality. Oh ! let it interpofe 
 no longer between me and my perfect 
 blifs. I feel thofe flames of divine 
 love, which are unextinguifliable as 
 the lights of heaven ; not death itfelf 
 ihall quench the facred ardor. 
 
 Ye minifters of light ! ye guardians 
 ofthejuft! (land and witnefs to my 
 vows : and in a humble dependence 
 on thy grace, O Jefus! may I not 
 venture to bid thefe thy flaming mini 
 fters proteft againft me when 1 change 
 my love: and fland my accufers at the 
 
 laft 
 
XIX. of the Heart. 107 
 
 laft judgment ? When I prove falfe to 
 thee, may I not venture to fay to them 
 all, Bring in your awful evidence, 
 and proclaim my perjury. 
 
 For you have liflened, while the facred name 
 That kindles in each heavenly breaft a flame, 
 You liftened, while it melted on my tongue, 
 Flow'dfrom my lips, and grac'd the midnight fong. ' 
 Blefl was the time, and fwiftly fled the hours, 
 While holy love employed my nobleft powers : 
 The heav'ns appear'd, and the propitious (fides 
 Unveil'd their inrnoft glories to my eyes. 
 Oh, flay! I cry'd ; ye happy moments, ftay! 
 Nor in your flight fnatch thefe delights away ; 
 I afk no more the rifing fun to view ; 
 To mortals and their hopes I bid adieu. 
 
 Thefe heavens, and this earth, have 
 been witnelTes to my vows : The holy 
 angels have been witneffes : and all 
 will join together, to condemn me 
 when I violate my faith. Strengthen 
 and confirm it, O my Saviour! and 
 make the bonds of it immortal. 
 
 If I were only to reafon upon this 
 fubjed:, I mightfay, what motive could 
 earth, what could hell, what could hea 
 ven itfelf propofe to tempt my foul to 
 change its love? What could they lay 
 in the balance againft an infinite good ? 
 
 What 
 
io8 Devout Exercifes XIX. 
 
 What could be thrown in as a flake a- 
 gainft the favour of God ! Afk the 
 happy fouls, who know what the 
 light of his countenance imports, who 
 drink in joy and immortality from his 
 fmiles, afk them what value they fet 
 on their enj -ytnents? Afk them what in 
 heaven or earth mould purchafeone mo 
 ment's interval of their blifs? afk fome 
 radiant feraph, amiclft the fervency of 
 his raptures, at what price he values 
 his happinefs ? And when thefe have 
 named the purchafe, earth and hell 
 may try to balance mine. Let them 
 fpread the baits that tempt deluded 
 men to ruin ; let riches, honour, beau 
 ty, and bewitching pleafure, appear in 
 all their charms j the fenfuality of the 
 prefent and paft ages : the Feriian de 
 licacy, and the Romanpride ; let them 
 uncover the golden mines, and difclofe 
 the ruby fparkling in its bed; let them 
 open the veins of fapphire, and fhew 
 the diamond glittering in its rock ; let 
 them all be thrown into the balance : 
 Alas ! their weight is too little, and too 
 
 light. Let the pageantries of ftate 
 
 i be 
 
XIX. of the Heart. 109 
 
 be added, imperial titles, and the en- 
 ligns of majefty ; put in all that bound- 
 lefs vanity imagines, or wild ambition 
 craves, crowns and fceptres, regal veft- 
 
 ments, and golden thrones the fcale 
 
 Hill mounts. Throw the world en 
 tire 'tis unfubftantial, and light as 
 
 airy vanity. 
 
 Are thefe thy higheft boafts, O de 
 luding world? Ye minifters of 
 
 darknefs! have you nothing elfe to offer ? 
 are thefe your utmoft propofals ? are 
 thefe a compensation for the favour of 
 God ? Alas ! that boundlefs word has 
 a meaning which outweighs them all: 
 Infinite delight, unconceiveable joy 
 are expreffed in it ; the light of his 
 countenance iignifies more than angels 
 can difcribe, or mortality imagine: 
 And Ihall I quit all that an everlafting 
 heaven means, for empty fhadows ? 
 
 Go, ye baffled tempters ! go, offer 
 your toys to mad-men and fools; they 
 all vanifh under my fcorn, and cannot 
 yield fo much as an amufenient to my 
 afpiring thoughts. The fun, in all his 
 fpacious circuit, beholds nothing to 
 K tempt 
 
1 1 o Devout Exercifes XIX. 
 
 tempt my wifhes; thefe windingfldes, 
 in all their ample round, contain no 
 thing equal to my defires : My ambi 
 tion has far different ends, and other 
 profpe&s in view ; nothing below the 
 joys of angels can fatisfy me. 
 
 Let me explore the worlds of life and 
 beauty, and find a path to the dazzling 
 receffes of the Moft High ! Let me 
 drink at the fountain-head of pleafure, 
 and derive all that I want from original 
 and uncreated fulnefs and felicity. 
 
 Oh divine love ! let me launch out 
 into thy pleafurable depths, and be 
 fwallowed up of thee : Let me plunge 
 at once in immortal joy, and lofe my- 
 fclf in the infinite ocean of happinefs. 
 
 Till then I pine for my celeftial 
 country; till then I murmur to the 
 winds and ftreams, and tell the folita- 
 ry f hades my grief. The groves are 
 confcious to my complaints, and the 
 moon and fhirs liften to my fighs. By 
 their filent lights I talk over my hea 
 venly concerns, and give a vent to my 
 divine affections in mortal language; 
 
 then, 
 
XIX. of the Heart. i n 
 
 J 
 
 then, looking upwards, I grow impa 
 tient to reach the milky way, the feats 
 of joy and immortality. 
 
 Come love, come life, and that bleft day 
 For which I languifh, come away \ 
 When this dry foul thefe eyes (hall fee, 
 And drink the unfeal'd fource of thee. 
 
 Oh come, I cry, thou whom my 
 foul loveth ! I would go on, but want 
 expreffion, and vainly fhruggle with 
 the unutterable thought. 
 
 Tell me, you fons of light, who 
 feel the force of thefe celeftial fires ! in 
 what language you paint their facred 
 violence ? Or do the tongues of feraphs 
 faulter. Does the language of paradife 
 want emphaiis here, and immortal elo 
 quence fail ? Surely your happinefs is 
 more prefect than all your defcriptions 
 of it : Heaven echoes to your charm 
 ing notes, as far as they reach ; while 
 divine love, which is all your fong, is 
 infinite, and knows no limits of de 
 gree or duration. 
 
 Yet I would fay, fome gentle fpirit, 
 come and inftruft me in your art ; 
 
 lend 
 
11% Devout Exercifes XX. 
 
 lend me a golden harp, and guide the 
 facred flight : Let me imitate your de 
 vout (trains \ let me copy out your har 
 mony; and then, 
 
 Some of the faireft choir above 
 
 Shall flock around my fbng, 
 With joy to hear a name they love 
 
 Sound from a mortal tongue. 
 
 BlefTed and immortal creatures ! I 
 long to join with you in you celeftial 
 ftyle of adoration and love, 1 long to 
 learn your ecftafies of worfhip and joy, 
 in a language which mortals cannot 
 pronounce; an 1 to fpeak the divine 
 paffion of my foul, in words which are 
 now m.fpeakable. 
 
 XX. 
 Self -reproof for Inactivity. 
 
 TS it poffible that I fli-ould one day be 
 * rapt almoft into the third heavens, 
 and, ere a few weeks have palled over 
 me, I iliould find myfelf creeping a^ 
 mong the infefts of the earth, and al 
 moft as meanly hulled as they? Can 
 
 divine 
 
XX. of the Heart. 113 
 
 divine love, which exalted me lately 
 into flaming tranfports, fo far fubfide 
 and grow cool within me ? Can it leave 
 me fo unadlivc as I now feel myfelf ? 
 What (hall I do to ihame my confcience 
 with reproaches, and renew the flame 
 of religious zeal and vigour. 
 
 Alas ! how does the activity of men 
 about the little affairs of human life, 
 condemn my negligence in matters of e- 
 verlafting confequence ? Does the fond 
 lover with fuch anxiety and impatience 
 purfue the objed: of his wifhes ? and 
 {hall not divine beauty and infinite love- 
 linefs inflame my defires to a nobler 
 height, and excite my languifhing de 
 votion ? 
 
 Are the ambitious fo refllefs and fo- 
 licitous to make themfelves great, and 
 to purchafe the veneration of fools ? Do 
 they lay fuch mighty projects, and corn- 
 pals their deligns witnfuch pain and dif 
 ficulty, for mere pageantry and gaudy 
 trifles ? and {hall I , who am a candidate 
 for heaven, a probationer for celeftial 
 dignity, lofe my title for want of dili 
 gence? Shall I faint in the noble ftrife, 
 K 3 when 
 
1 1 4 Devout Exercifes X X . 
 
 when God and angels are ready to affift 
 me, and every moments toil will be 
 recompenfed with eternal ages of reft 
 and triumph. 
 
 See, fee ! the moments fly, the la 
 bour fhortens, and the immenfe reward 
 dra\vs near; the palm of victory, the 
 ftarry crown, are in view; the happy 
 realms and fields of light entertain me 
 with their glorious profpedt. Rouze 
 thee, my foul! to the moft a&ive pur- 
 fuit of thefe felicities : Waken all the 
 fprightly powers ; and let it never, ne 
 ver be thy reproach, that the vigour 
 and intenfenefs of thy labours fhall fall 
 ihort of the pretenfions of thy deiire j 
 or that thy holy induftry fhould fink fo 
 far below the fervour of thofe affections, 
 which in a devout hour thou haft pro 
 nounced inexpreflible. 
 
 O Lord ! what a mutable thing is 
 man ? What frailty works in this flefli 
 and blood, and hangs heavy upon our 
 better powers ? 'Tis grace, divine grace 
 alone, can keep alive that immortal 
 fpark within us, which came firft from 
 heaven, and firft taught our hearts to 
 
 arife 
 
XXL of the Heart. 115 
 
 arife and fpring upward. Prefer ve and 
 complete thy own work, Almighty 
 Grace ! 
 
 XXL 
 
 A joyful View of approaching Death. 
 
 Death ! where is thy fling? where 
 is thy boafted vi6tory ? The con- 
 queft is mine : I ihall pafs in triumph 
 through thy dark dominions j and, 
 through the grace of the Son of God, 
 my divine leader, I fhall appear there, 
 not a captive, but a conqueror. 
 
 O king of terrors ! where are thy 
 formidable looks ? I can fee nothing 
 dreadful in thy afped:. Thou appear- 
 eft with no tokens of defiance, nor 
 doft thou come with fummons from a 
 fevere Judge ; but gentle invitations 
 from my bleffed Redeemer, who hath 
 paftglorioufly through thy territories in 
 his way to his throne. 
 
 Thrice welcome, thou kind meffen- 
 ger of my liberty and happinefs ! a 
 thoufand times more welcome than 
 jubilee to the wretched Have, than par 
 don 
 
j 1 6 Devout Exercifes XXI. 
 
 don to a condemned malefadtor ! I am 
 going from darknefs and confinement, 
 to immenfe light and perfed: liberty ; 
 from thefe tempeftuous regions, to 
 the foft and peaceable climes above ; 
 from pain and grief, to everlafting eafe 
 and tranquillity. For the toils of vir 
 tue, I fhall immediately receive its vaft 
 rewards; for the reproach of fools, 
 the honour and applaufe of angels. In a 
 few minutes, I fhall be higher than 
 yonder ftars, and brighter far than 
 they. I fhall range the boundlefs 
 aether, and breathe the balmy airs of 
 paradife. I fhall prefently behold my 
 glorious Marker, and fing Hallelujahs 
 to my exalted Saviour. 
 
 And now come, ye bright guardians 
 of the juft ! conduit me through the 
 unknown and tracklefs aether, for 
 you pafs and repafs this celefHal road 
 continually ; you have commiilion not 
 to leave me till i arrive at mount Sion, 
 the heavenly Jerufalem, the city of the 
 living God : till 1 come to the innumer 
 able company of angels, and the fpi- 
 rits of juft men made perfect. 
 
 Hold 
 
XXL of the Heart. 117 
 
 Hold out, faith and patience! Tis 
 but a little while, and your work will 
 be at an end j but a few moments, and 
 thefe fighs and groans ill all be conver 
 ted into everlafting Hallelujahs ; but a 
 very few w r eary fteps, and the journey 
 of life will be finifhed. One effort 
 more and I {hall have gained the top 
 of the everlafting hills, and from yon 
 der bright fummit, fhall prefentlylook 
 back on the dangers I have efcaped, in 
 my travels through the wildernefs. 
 
 Roll fafteron, yelingering minutes! 
 the nearer my joys, the more impatient 
 I am to feize them : After thefe pain 
 ful agonies, how greedily fhall I drink 
 in immortal eafe and pleafure ? Break 
 away, ye thick clouds! be gone, ye 
 envious fhades ! and let me behold the 
 glories ye conceal ; let me fee the pro- 
 mifed land, andfurvey happy regions, 
 I am immediately to poffefs. How 
 long will you interpofe beween me 
 and my bright fun? between me and 
 the unclouded face of God ? Look up, 
 my foul ! fee how fweetly thole reviv 
 ing beaips break forth ! How they dif- 
 
 pel 
 
u8 Devout Exercifes XXI. 
 
 pel the gloom, and gild the fhades of 
 death ! 
 
 O bleiTed eternity ! with what a 
 chearful fplendor doft thou dawn on 
 my foul! With theecornes liberty, and 
 peace, and love, and endlefs felicity; 
 but pain and forrow, and tumult, and 
 death, and darknefs, vanifh before thee 
 for ever. I am juft upon the fhores of 
 thofe happy realms where uninterrupt 
 ed day and eternal fpring refide : Yon 
 der are deledable hills, and harmoni 
 ous vales, which continually echo to 
 the fongs of angels. There the blifs- 
 ful fields extend their verdure, and 
 there the immortal groves afcend : But 
 how dazzling is thy profped:, O city of 
 God ! of whom fuch glorious things 
 are fpoken. In thee there fhall be no 
 more night, nor need of the fun or 
 moon; for the throne of God, and of 
 the Lamb, is in the midft of thee ; and 
 the nations that are faved, ihall walk 
 in thy light, and the kings of the earth 
 fhall bring there glory and honour in to 
 thee ; and there the glorious Lord fhall 
 be to us a place of defence, a place of 
 
 ftreams 
 
XXL of the Heart. 1 1 9 
 
 ftreams and broad rivers ; and the voice 
 of joy, and the fhout of triumph, fhall 
 be heard in thee for ever. 
 
 There holy fouls perpetual Sabbaths keep, 
 And never are concern'd for food or fleep : 
 There new-come faints with wreaths of light are 
 
 crown'd, 
 
 While iv'ry harps and filver trumpets found : 
 There flaming feraphs facred hymns begin, 
 And raptur'd cherubs loud refponfes fing. 
 
 My eyes fhall there behold the King 
 in his beauty; and, oh how ravifhing 
 will the afpefts of his love be ! What 
 unutterable ecftafies fhall I feel, when 
 Imeetthofefmiles which enlighten hea 
 ven, and exhilerate all the celeftial re 
 gions ; when I fhall view the beatific 
 glory, without one interpofing cloud, 
 to eternity ; when I fhall drink my fill 
 at the fountains of joy, and in thofe 
 rivers of pleafure that flow from his 
 right hand for ever ! 
 
 XXII. 
 
120 Devout Exercifes XXII. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 A devout Refignation of Self to the 
 Divine Power and Goodnefs. 
 
 
 All-fufficient Friend, my fhield, 
 and my exceeding great reward ! 
 I have enough: unbounded avarice can 
 covet nothing beyond thee ; the foul 
 whom thou doft not fuffice, deferves 
 to be eternally poor. Thou art my 
 fupreme happinefs, my voluntary 
 choice : I took thy love alone for my 
 treafure, in that bleft day when I en 
 tered into covenant with thee, and be 
 come thine: I made no articles with 
 thee, for the friendlhips, the honours, 
 and pleafures of the world; but fo- 
 lemnly renounced them all, and chofe 
 thy favour for my fingle inheritance, 
 leaving the condud: of my life entirely 
 to thee. 
 
 Thefe were my vows, and thefe I 
 have often renewed; and lhall I now 
 retrad: fuch facred obligations, and al 
 ter a choice fo juft and reafonable ? 
 Forbid it, Gracious God ! let me never 
 
 be 
 
XXII. of the Heart. 141 
 
 be guilty of fuch madnefs ! the world 
 has often difappointed my nioft confi 
 dent expectations, but thou hall never 
 deceived me. In all my diftrefs, I 
 have found thee a certain refuge, my 
 ihield, my fortrefs, my high tower, 
 my deliverer, my rock, and he in whom 
 I truft. When there was none to fave 
 me, thy powerful hand has fet me 
 free : thou haft redreffed my grievan 
 ces, and diflipated my fears ; thou haft 
 brought me light out of obfcurity , and 
 turned my darknefs into day. 
 
 When the world could afford me 
 nothing but tempeft and diforder, with 
 thee I have found repofe and undiftur- 
 bed tranquillity. Thou haft been my 
 long-experienced refuge, my unfailing 
 confidence, and I ftedfaftly depend on 
 thee for my future conduct. 1 cannot 
 err when guided by infinite wifdom j I 
 muft be fafe in the arms of eternal love, 
 to which I humbly refign myfelf. 
 Let inehave riches or poverty, honour 
 or contempt : whatever comes from thy 
 hands Ihall be thankfully received. I 
 L would 
 
1 2 2 Devout Exercifes XXII. 
 
 would hear no voice but thine, nor 
 make a flep but where 1 am following 
 thee. 
 
 If thou wouldft leave rne to chufe 
 for myfelf, I would refign the choice 
 again to thee. I dread nothing more 
 than the guidance of my own blind de- 
 fires ; I tremble at the thoughts of fuch 
 a fatal liberty : Avert, Gracious God J, 
 that miferable freedom. Thpu forefeeft 
 all events, and at one {ingle view dolt 
 look through eternal confequences; 
 therefore do thou determine my circum- 
 ilances, not to gratify my own wild 
 defires, but to advance thy glory. 
 
 Thou haft an unqueftioned right to 
 difpofe of me; 1 am thine by neceflary 
 ties and voluntary engagements, which 
 I thankfully acknowledge, and folemn- 
 ]y renew. Deliberately and entirely I 
 j>at my felf into thy hands. Whatever 
 intereft I have in this world, I facrifice 
 to thee; and leave my deareft enjoy 
 ments to thy difpofal, acknowledging 
 it my greateft happinefs to be guided 
 by thee, 
 
 Lord ! 
 
XXII. of the Heart. 123 
 
 Lord! what is man that thouart mind 
 ful of him ? that thou who art fupreme- 
 ly bleffed, and independently happy, 
 fhouldft concern thyfelf with human 
 affairs, and condefcend to make our 
 wants as much thy care, as if mortal 
 miferies could reach thee, and inter 
 rupt immortal bleffednefs ? Thou 
 wouldft make us fenfible of thine in 
 dulgence by the inoft tender fimili- 
 tudes : A father's gentle care but faint 
 ly fhadows thine, and all we can con 
 ceive of human pity falls fhort of thy 
 compaffion. Thou doft feem to fhare 
 in our calamities, and fympathize in 
 all our griefs. No friend flies to our 
 affiftance with half the fpeed that love 
 brings thee, nor canftthou ever want 
 methods to relieve thofe that confide 
 in thee, 
 
 Thy providence finds or makes its 
 way through all oppofitions : The 
 ftreams (hall roll back to their foun 
 tains: the fun fliall ftand ftill, and the 
 courfe of nature be reverfed, rather 
 than thou want means to bring thy 
 purpofes to pafs. No ohftacle puts a 
 
 ftand 
 
124 Devout Exercifes XXII. 
 
 ftand to thy deiigns, nor obftruds thy 
 methods : 'Tis thy will that makes 
 nature and neceiTity. Who can flay 
 thy hand? or fay untothee, what doit 
 thou? Thy counfel fhall ftand, and 
 thou wilt do all thy pleafure. Nothing 
 is impoffible for thee to accompfifli. 
 Wherever 1 caft mine eyes, I fee in- 
 Jlances of thy power. The extended 
 firmament, the fun and ftars, tell me 
 what thou art able toperform ; they atteft 
 thy omnipotence, and rebuke my un 
 belief. The whole creation pleads for 
 ihee, and condemns my infidelity. 
 
 Almighty God ! forgive my diffi 
 dence, while I confefs it is mort inex- 
 cufable. Thy hand is not (hortened, 
 nor are the fprings of thy bounty feal- 
 edj thy ancient miracles have not ex- 
 haufted thy flrength, nor hath perpet- 
 ual beneficence impoverlihed thee ; thy 
 power remains undiminifhed, and thy 
 mercy endureth for ever. That daz 
 zling attribute furrounds me with 
 tranfporting glories. Which way fo- 
 ever I turn, I meet the bright convicti 
 on. 1 cannot recal a day of my paft life, 
 
 on 
 
X X 1 1 . of the Heart. 1 25 
 
 on which fome fignature of thy good- 
 nefs is not ftamped. 
 
 Oh ! who hath tailed of thy clemency, 
 In greater meafure, or more oft, than I ? 
 Which way foe'er I turn my face or feet, 
 I fee thy mercy, and thy glory meet. 
 
 In whatever thou haft granted, or 
 whatever thou haft denied me, thy be 
 neficence has been mingled with every 
 difpenfation ; thou haft not taken the 
 advantage of my follies, nor been fe- 
 vere to my fins ; but haft remembered 
 my frame, and treated me with the ut- 
 moft indulgence. Glory be to thy 
 name for ever. 
 
 XXIII, 
 
 'Redeeming Love. 
 
 A Lmighty love, the theme of every 
 heavenly fong ! Infinite grace, the 
 wonder of angels ! forgive a mortal 
 tongue that attempts thy praife ; and 
 yet, fhould man be filent, the mute 
 creation would find a voice to upbraid 
 him, 
 
 L 3 But, 
 
1 2 6 Devout Exercifes XXIII. 
 
 But, oh ! in what language fhall 
 I fpeak ? with what circumftance ihall 
 ] begin ? Shall I rollback the volumes 
 of eternity, and begin with the glorious 
 defign that determined man's redemp 
 tion, before the birth of time, before 
 the confines of creation were fixed ? 
 
 Infinite years before the day 
 Or heavens began to roil ? 
 
 Shall I fpeak in general of all the na 
 tions of the redeemed ? or, to excite my 
 own gratitude, fliall I confider myfelf, 
 my worthlefs felf, included, by an 
 eternal decree, among the number of 
 thofe who (ho uld hear of a Redeem 
 er's name, and be marked out a par 
 taker of that immenfe privilege ? Be 
 fore the foundation of the hills were 
 laid, the gracious defign was formed ; 
 and the bleffed plan of it fchemed 
 out, before the curtains of the iky were 
 fpread. 
 
 Lord ! what is man ? what am I ? 
 what is all the human race, to be thus 
 regarded? O narrow thoughts, and 
 narrower words! Here confefs your 
 
 defeats. 
 
XXIII, oftheHeart 127 
 
 defeats. Thefe are heights not to be 
 reached by you. Adoftible meafurcs 
 of infinite clemency ! Unfearchable 
 riches of grace ! With what aftonifli- 
 ment do 1 furvey you ! I am fwallowed 
 and loft in the glorious immenfity. 
 All hail, ye divine myfteries, ye glo 
 rious paths of the unfearchable Deity ! 
 Let me adore, tho' I can never exprefs 
 you. 
 
 Yet, iliould I be filent, heaven and 
 earth, nay hell itfelf, would reproach 
 me : The damned themfelves would 
 call me ungrateful, fhould I fail to 
 celebrate that grace w r hofe lofs they 
 are for ever lamenting, a lofs that leaves 
 them for ever defperate and undone. 
 3 Tis this grace which tunes the harps of 
 heaven, and yields them an immortal 
 fubjeit of harmony and praife. The 
 fpirits of juft men made prefect, fix 
 their contemplations here : They a- 
 dore the glorious myftery ; and while 
 they fing the wonders of redeeming 
 love, they afcribe fublime and living 
 honours to him that fits on the throne, 
 and to the Lamb for ever. And in 
 finitely 
 
1 2 8 Devout Exercijes X X 1 1 L 
 
 finitely worthy art thou, O Lord! to 
 receive the grateful homage. Who (hall 
 not praife and magnify thy name? Who 
 fhall deny the tribute of thy glory ? 
 
 But, alas ! what can mortal man 
 add to thee ? what can nothingnefs 
 and vanity give? We murmur from 
 duft, and attempt thy praife from the 
 depths of mifery ; yet thou doft con- 
 defcend to hear and liften to our broken 
 accents : Amidft the Hallelujahs of 
 angels, our groans afcend to thee, our 
 complaints reach thee : From the 
 height of thy happinefs, and from the 
 exaltationsof thy eternal glory, thou haft 
 a regard to man, --poor, wretched man ! 
 Thou received his homage with de 
 light; hispraifes mingle with the har 
 mony of angels , nor interrupt the 
 facred concord. Thofe natives of hea 
 ven, thofe morning-jftars fing together 
 in their heavenly beatitudes, nor difdain 
 to let the fons of earth and mortality 
 join with them in celebrating the ho 
 nours of Jefus, their Lord and cur's : 
 To him be every tongue devoted, and 
 let every creature for ever praife him* 
 Amen. XXIV* 
 
XXIV. of the Heart. 129 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Pleading for Pardon and Holinefs. 
 
 TMmortal fpring of life, the fountain 
 ** of ail exigence, the firft and laft, 
 without beginning of days or end of 
 years ! before the heavens were created , 
 thou waft, and flialt remain unchanged 
 while they wax old and decay Thou 
 art infinitely bleffed in thyfelf, thy 
 glory admits of no addition; the praifes 
 of angels cannot heighten thy happi- 
 nefs, nor the blafphemies of hell dimi- 
 niih it : Thou canft do everything, 
 and thy power finds no obftacle : Thou 
 rnadeft heaven and earth, the fea, and 
 the fountains of water : Thou doit 
 according to thy will in the armies of 
 heaven, and among the inhabitants of 
 the earth : Thou holdeft the waters in 
 the hollow of thy hand, and meafureft 
 out the heavens with a fpan : Thou 
 comprehended the duft of the earth in 
 a meafure, and weigheft the mountains 
 in fcales, and the hills in a balance : 
 
 Thou 
 
130 Devout Exercjfes XXIV. 
 
 Thou covered thyfelf with light as 
 with a garment and art furrounded with 
 inacceflihle fplendor : Thou art glori 
 ous in holinefs, fearful in praifes : 
 The heavens are not clean in thy fight, 
 and thou chargeft thine angels with 
 folly. What then is man, that drinks 
 in iniquity like water ? What is man 
 that thou art mindful of him, or the 
 fon of man that thou doft thus vifit 
 him? *Tis becaufe thou art good, and 
 thy mercy endureth forever. Mercy is 
 thy prevailing attribute. Thou art 
 compaflionate and infinitely gracious, 
 and haft fully manifefted thy love and 
 beneficence to the race of man, in the 
 glorious methods of our redemption 
 from everlafting bondage and death, 
 by thy fon Jefus. 
 
 Therefore, with theloweft reverence, 
 and moft humble gratitude, I defire to 
 proftrate myfelf before thee, acknow 
 ledging it my greateft honour and un- 
 deferved privilege, to approach the 
 Lord, and bow myfelf before the high 
 God j I that am unworthy to utter thy 
 tremendous name, or once to lift up 
 
 mine 
 
XXIV. of the Hear f. 131 
 
 mine eyes to heaven. To my own 
 confuflon I here confefs I have abufed 
 the mercy which I now implore, and 
 injured that goodnefs and forbearance 
 by my (ins which I am now addreffing 
 myielf to. I have forfeited the very 
 benefits I aik, and defpifed thofefacred 
 privileges which I am forced to plead ; 
 I can ufe fcarce any motive, but what 
 wx)uld carry in it my own condemna 
 tion. Shall I implore thy mercy by the 
 gracious terms of the new covenant, 
 fealed by the blood of thy eternal Son ? 
 Alas ! that gracious covenant I have 
 violated, and profaned its facred 
 feals : I have finned againft the cleareft 
 light, and the tendereft inftances of 
 love : I have not only broken my ob 
 ligations to thee as my Creator, but the 
 flronger engagements of thy adoption, 
 even the glorious privilege of being ad 
 mitted into thy family, and numbered 
 among the children of God. 
 
 But ftill thofe very circumftances 
 that aggravate my guilt, exalt thy mer 
 cy. Here the freenefs and magnifi 
 cence of thy grace will difplay itfelf ; 
 
 here 
 
132 Devout Exercjfes XXIV. 
 
 here thou wilt anfwer the indulgent title 
 of a father in its tendereft extent ; I 
 have no fins too great for infinite cle 
 mency to pardon. Thou art God, and 
 not man ; and as the heavens are high 
 above the earth, fo high are thy ways 
 of compaflion above all human me 
 thods. 
 
 I dare not fet bounds to thy goodnefs, 
 nor affirm that thus far, and no farther, 
 divine patience extends. Thou haft 
 pardoned and reflored me to thy favour 
 too often for me now to defpair : My 
 penitent fighs were never rejected, nor 
 my humble requeftsunafwered: I have^ 
 always found the heavens open, and 
 the throne of God acceffible, through 
 the blood of a Redeemer. By his ag 
 ony and bloody fweat, by his crofs and 
 paffion, by his painful death, and glo 
 rious refurredtion, I implore thy par 
 don : he has made a full atonement, 
 and divine juftice will demand no far 
 ther fatisfaction. To him give all the 
 prophets witnefs, that, through his 
 name, whofoever believes in his name, 
 fhall receive remiffion of fins. 
 
 a O 
 
XXIV. oftheHeart. 133 
 
 O blefled Jefus, the hope of the Gen 
 tiles, the falvation of the ends of the 
 earth, the great Meffiah, the promifed 
 Saviour, who doft anfwer thefe glorious 
 titles in their utmoft iignification ! To 
 thee, my certain, my experienced re 
 fuge, I fly ! O Son of God, here me ! 
 O Lamb of God, who takeft away the 
 fins of the world, have mercy on me ! 
 
 O Eternal Spirit, the promifed Com 
 forter, come with all thy facred confo- 
 lations! Come, and be as dew to the 
 drooping flowers, as rain to the parch 
 ed ground! Oh! come with thy re 
 viving light, and difpell the darknefs 
 that be-clouds my foul : Break in like 
 the fun, after a melancholy night; one 
 beam of thine would melt this frozen, 
 this obdurate heart, and kindle in my 
 foul the fpark of holy love : Breathe up 
 on my cold affe&ions, and raife them 
 to a facred flame. 
 
 Searcher of hearts, from whom no 
 thing is concealed, whofe penetrating 
 eyes find out hypocrify in its darkeft 
 difguife 1 Thou knoweft the defires of 
 my foul, and art my impartial witneft 
 M tnat 
 
134 Devout Exercifes XXIV. 
 
 that I kneel not here for the riches and 
 honours of the world ; that I arn not 
 proftrate before thee for length of days 
 or pleafiire; but that it is the kingdom 
 of God, and the righteoufnefs thereof, 
 that I feek. Give me not my portion 
 with the rich and great, but let me have 
 jny humble lot with thy children: let 
 me bear contempt and derifion, and 
 fuffer reproach with the people of God, 
 rather than enjoy the pleafures of fin, 
 which are but for a feafon. 
 
 Thy favour is the end of all my 
 wifhes, the conftantfubjecl of my pray 
 er. Oh ! thou whofe ears are open to 
 the w r ants of all thy creatures, who 
 heareft the young ravens when they cry 
 from their nefls to thee, who givefl 
 the men of the world the traniitory 
 things they chufe ! wilt thou deny the 
 defires which thou thyfelf doft infpire 
 and approve ? O let me be filled with 
 that righteoufnefs which 1 hunger and 
 thirft after, and be fatisfied with thy 
 likenefs! Thoucanftnot be diminifhed 
 
 by 
 
XXIV. of the Heart. 
 
 by whatever perfection thou doft com 
 municate to the creature j endlefs libe 
 rality could not make thee poor. 
 
 I afk not privileges above the capa 
 city of my nature, nor afpire to the 
 perfections of angels : I only beg that 
 I may reach thofe heights of holinefs 
 and divine love, which fouls inverted 
 with a mortal body like mine, and in- 
 cumbered with the fame human paf- 
 fions , have attained . But in vain I ftrive 
 to imitate thofe brightexamples thou haft 
 fet before me; without thy affiftance, 
 all my endeavours will prove fuccefslefs. 
 Thou know eft the frailty of my nature, 
 and the mighty difficulties I have to en 
 counter : I have not only the allurements 
 of the world, but all the ftratagems of 
 hell to engage with ; and a treacherous 
 heart within, ready on all occafions to 
 betray me into fin and endlefs perditi 
 on ; O let my impotence and danger 
 awaken thy compallion ! 
 
 Remember thy former benignity, O 
 Lord ! and let that engage thee to grant 
 new fupplies of that grace, by which 
 alone I fhall prove victorious. Thy 
 
 bounty 
 
1 3 6 Devout Exercifcs XXIV. 
 
 bounty to any of the works of thy 
 hands, muft always flow from the good- 
 nefs of thy own nature ; for what crea 
 ture can pretend to merit .my thing from 
 thee ? I would urge nothing but thy 
 own infinite mercy, when 1 entreat 
 thee not to let me periih, after the won 
 derful things thou haft done for my 
 foul. After all the pledges thou haft 
 given me of thy love, let not my follies 
 provoke thee to forfake me ; but re 
 member thy covenant, and its graci 
 ous articles, and a6t according to thy 
 own ineffable benignity, which has 
 been the glorious motive of every fa 
 vour I have received from thee. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 A Tranfpwttf Gratitude forfievingmercy. 
 
 Blefs a thoufand times the happy 
 day, when firft a beam of heaven 
 ly light broke in on my foul : when 
 theday-ftar from on high vilited me, 
 and the celeftial light began to dawn, 
 I welcomed its chearful luftre, and felt 
 
 the 
 
X X V . of IDC tieart. I 3,7 
 
 the facred influence ; the flames of ho 
 ly love awoke, and holy joys were 
 kindled. 
 
 The earth, and all its pageantry, 
 difappeared like clouds before the mor 
 ning-fun : The fcenes of paradife 
 
 were opened feraphicpleafures, and 
 
 unutterable delights. All-hail, I cri 
 ed, you unknown joys, you unexpe 
 rienced pleafures ! compared to you 
 what is all I have relifhed, till now? 
 what is earthly beauty and harmony ? 
 what is all that mortals call charming 
 and attractive? I never lived till now : 
 I knew no more than the name of hap- 
 pinefs till now : I have been in a dream 
 during all the days of my folly and 
 vanity ; but now 1 awake to the life 
 of heaven-born fpirits, and tafte the 
 joys of angels. 
 
 M 3 XXVL 
 
1 3 8 Devout Exercijes XXVI. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Importunate Reauejls for the Return of 
 God to the Soul. 
 
 THOU great and glorious, thou in- 
 viilble and univerfal Being ! art 
 thou no nearer to be approached ? or 
 do I fearch thee amifs ? Is there a 
 corner of the creation unvifited by thee, 
 or any place exempt from thy pre fence? 
 I trace thy footfteps through heaven 
 and earth, but I cannot overtake thee. 
 
 Why do I feek thee, if thou art not here ? 
 Or find thee not, if thou art every where ? 
 
 Tell me, O my God, and my All ! 
 tell me where thou art to be found ; 
 for there is the place of my reft. What 
 imaginable good can fupply thy ab- 
 fence ? Deprived of thee, all that the 
 world can offer w 7 ould be like a jeft to 
 a dying man, and provoke my aver- 
 lion and difdain. 'Tis a God that I 
 
 feek: 
 
 My 
 
XXVI. of the Heart. 1 3 9 
 
 My \vifhes (loop not to a lower aim; 
 Thou, then haft kindled this immortal flam \ 
 Which nothing can allay. 
 
 Adieu, adieu to all human things ! 
 Let me find my God, the end of all my 
 wiflies : Why doftthou keep back the 
 face of thy throne 1 Why does the 
 cloud and facred darknefs conceal 
 thee ? 
 
 Thy voice produc'd the feas and fpheres, 
 Bid the waves roll, and planets iliine , 
 
 But nothing like thyfelf appears, 
 
 Thro' ail theie various works of thine. 
 
 O thou fairer than all the works of 
 thy hands ! wilt thou ever hide thyfelf 
 from a creature that loves and feeks 
 thee with fo intenfe deiire ? I appeal 
 to thee, O Lord ! are not my breath 
 ings after thee more hearty and un 
 feigned ? Does not my foul pant after 
 thee, with a fervour which cannot be 
 extinguifhed, and a fincerity which 
 cannot be difguifed ? 
 
 For thee I pine, and am for thee undone, 
 
 As drooping flow'rs that want their parent fun, 
 
 HOW T do my fpirits languiih for thee ! 
 
 No 
 
1 40 Devout Exercifcs X X V f . 
 
 No fimilitudes can exprefs the vehe 
 mence of my delires: Wealth and glory, 
 friends and pleafure, lofe their names, 
 compared to thee. To follow thee, I 
 would leave them all behind : I would 
 leave the whole creation, and bid the 
 fields and fparkling fkies adieu. Let 
 the heavens and earth be no more; 
 while thou endureft for ever, I can 
 want no fupport. My being itfelf, 
 with all its bleffednefs, depends entire 
 ly on thee. 
 
 Place me far from the bounds of all 
 creation, remote from all exigence but 
 thy own ; in that ineffable follitude let 
 me be loft, let me expatiate there for 
 ever, let me run the endlefs rounds of 
 
 blifs. But, alas ! I flatter myfelf, in 
 
 vain, with fcenes of unattainable hap- 
 pinefs. I will fearchthee, then, where 
 1 hope thou may eft be found. I caft 
 my eyes to the bright regions above, 
 and almoft envy the happy beings that 
 fee thy face unveil'd : I fearch thee in 
 the flowery meadows, and liften for 
 thee among the murmuring fprings : 
 Then iilent and abftra&ed from hu 
 man 
 
XXVI. of the Heart. 141 
 
 man things, I fearch thee in holy con 
 templation. 'Tis all in vain. Nor 
 fields, nor floods, nor clouds, nor 
 ilars, reveal thee. 
 
 Ye happy fpirits, that meet his 
 fmiles, and hear his voice! dired: a 
 mournful wanderer, while I feek him 
 whom my foul loves. While I figh 
 and complain, and cart my languifh- 
 ing eyes to yonder happy inaniions, 
 fain would I penetrate the ftarry pavil- 
 lions, and look thro > the fepanvt ing fir 
 mament. Oh, that thou wouldft di 
 vide the clouds, that thou wouldft rend 
 the heavens, and give me one ginnpfe 
 of thy glory! that thou wouldlt difplay 
 thy beauty ; and in the midfl of thefe 
 earthly fcenes of amufing vanity, give 
 me one moment's interval of celeflial 
 bleflednefs ! 
 
 One look, of mercy from thy eye, 
 
 One whifper of thy voice, 
 Exceed a whole eternity 
 
 Employed in carnal joys. 
 
 Could I the fpacions earth command, 
 Or the more boundlefs fea j 
 
 For 
 
1 42 Devout Exercifcs XXVI. 
 
 For one dear hour at thy right-hand, 
 Pd give them both away. 
 
 If things were put into juft balances, 
 and computed aright, for the firft mo 
 ment of this fatisfadtion, I am ready 
 to fay, the whole creation would be 
 cheaply loft : How gladly would I re- 
 iign all for fuch a blifs ! Adieu to hu 
 man things ; let me find my God, the 
 end of all my w r iilies : *Tis he whom 
 I ftek, 'tis he alone who can fatisfy 
 my infinite defires. Oh ! why doft 
 thou withdraw ? why thus long con 
 ceal thyfelf ? where doft thou retire ? 
 Nor earth, nor heaven, reply to my 
 repeated calls. 
 
 Let me invoke thee by every graci 
 ous title, My God, and the God of 
 my fathers: From one generation to 
 another thou haft been our dwelling 
 place: the claim has defcended from 
 age to age; thy covenant has been e- 
 ftablifhed with us, and thy faithful- 
 nefs remains unblemilhed. Oh ! for 
 get not thy convenant, forget not the 
 bleffings entailed on me ? forget not 
 
 the 
 
XXVI. of the Heart. 143 
 
 the prayers and tears by which my pi 
 ous anceftors have engaged thy mercy 
 for me; forget not their vows, and 
 folemn dedication of me to thee : Oh ! 
 recall thy ancient favours, and renew 
 thy former mercy to a family which 
 has been thine in a fucceffion of ages. 
 Let me invoke thee now by a nearer 
 property : My convenant God, my 
 Father, and my Friend ! If by all 
 thofe tender names I have ever known 
 thee, forget me not. By thofe facred 
 engagements, O Lord ! I entreat thy 
 return. If all thy paft favours were 
 real, if all was waking blifs, and not a 
 gay delufion, O reftore my heaven a- 
 gain. Life of my foul, Light of my 
 eyes, return ; Come, and bring all thy 
 facred confolations : once again let me 
 experience thofe holy joys that thy pre- 
 fence imparts j once again let me hear 
 thy voice, arid once again be bleft with 
 thy fmiles. 
 
 Oh, hear ! and to my longing eyes 
 
 Reftore thy wonted light ; 
 And fuddenly, or I fliall fleep 
 In everlafling night. 
 
 BlefTed 
 
1 44 Devout Exercifes XXVI. 
 
 BleiTed Saviour I in thee we behold 
 the face of God as a reconciled father : 
 And doft thou withdraw thyfelf ? Oh 
 how welcome will thy returns be ! How 
 like the breakings of immortal day, 
 will thy pre fence chear me ! How dear 
 ly fhall 1 prize my happinefs ! How 
 fearful fhall I be of every thing that 
 would offend thee ! How joyful in the 
 bleffed difcovery, and poffeflion of thy 
 love ! I'd whifper my blifs to the lift- 
 ening ftreams and groves : 
 
 I'd carve thy paffion on the bark *, 
 
 And every wounded tree 
 Shall droop, and bear fbme myrtle mark^ 
 
 That Jefus died for me. 
 
 The fwains fhall wonder when they read, 
 
 Infcrib'd on all the grove. 
 That heaven itfelf came down, and bled, 
 
 To win a mortal's love. 
 
 But why do I flatter myfelf with 
 thefe delightful fcenes ? 1 find thee ab- 
 fent ftill : I mourn and complain as 
 one unpitied. What is life, while 
 thou art abfent ? Oh, return and blifs 
 me with thy prefence, thou who know- 
 eft my diftreffes, and art acquainted 
 
 with 
 
XXVI. of the Heart. 145 
 
 with my fccret cares : Thou who art 
 the witnefs of my midnight iighs, and 
 doft hear when at the dawning day I 
 call thee; but ftill thou anfwereft not, 
 and feemeft deaf to my prayers. I am, 
 it is true, a wonhlefs wretch : but, 
 vile as I am, thou haft, in thy immenfe 
 compaffion, brought me into covenant 
 with thee : My beloved is mine, and 
 I am his. 
 
 He is my fun, though he refufe to (liine \ 
 Though for a moment he depart, 
 I dv/ell for ever on his heart, 
 For ever he on mine. 
 
 Nothing can break the facred union. 
 But for this confidence, I were un 
 done; but for this beam of hope, I 
 were loft in eternal darknefs. Why 
 art thou difquieted, O my foul ! and 
 why art thou caft down within me ? 
 Hope in God, for I (hall yet praife 
 him for the light of his countenance; 
 I fhall yet welcome his return: I fhall 
 yet hear his charming voice, and meet 
 his favourable fmiles. 
 
 But why, O my God ! this long 
 N fufpenfe ? 
 
146 Devout Exerctfes XXVL 
 
 fufpenfe ? Why do thefe intervals of 
 night and darknefs abide upon me, 
 and torment my heart fo long ? Wilt 
 thou deny a blifs fo eafily granted ? I 
 afk not more than is lawful for mor 
 tality to wifh : I aik not the viiions of 
 angels here below ; nor the beatitudes 
 of perfected fpirits : I aik but \vhat 
 thou haft bid me feek, and given me 
 hopes to obtain; I aik that facred fel- 
 lowfhip, that ineffable communion, 
 with which thou favoureft thy faints. 
 Oh ! let me hear thefe heavenly 
 whifpers, that give them the foretaftes 
 of immortal pleafures : Let me be 
 fenfible of thofe divine approaches , that 
 kindle celeftial ardour in their fouls. 
 Let me meet thofe beams, that darken 
 all mortal beauty : Let me enjoy, at 
 this earthly diftance, thofe fmiles that 
 are the blifs of angels in heaven. 
 Though it is but darkly, and afar off, 
 yet let me feel their influence ; it will 
 brighten the paffage of life ; it will di- 
 rel me through its mazes, and gild 
 its rough and gloomy paths : It will 
 raife the flames of facred love ; it will 
 
 waken 
 
XXVII. of the Heart. 147 
 
 waken the divine principle within me, 
 and fet it a glowing through all my 
 powers. I abandon, I fhall forget the 
 vanities below, and the glories of the 
 world will be no more. But while 
 thou, O my God ! hideft thy face, I 
 lofemyfun, I languish, and die : Yet 
 to thee I will lift up my eyes ; to thee 
 I lift up my foul. 
 
 Come, Lord 1 and never from me go \ 
 This world's a darkfome place ; 
 
 I find no pleafure here below, 
 When thou cloft veil thy face. 
 
 XXVIL 
 
 Breathing after GOD, and weary of the 
 world. 
 
 T 
 
 I faint 
 
 IIS no mean beauty of the ground, 
 
 That has allured mine eyes j 
 beneath a nobler wound, 
 Nor love below the ikies. 
 
 If words can reach the heights of 
 love and gratitude, let, me pour out 
 the fecret ardour of my foul. O let it 
 not offend thy grcatnefs, that duft and 
 
 vanity 
 
1 4 8 Devout Exercifes XXVII. 
 
 vanity adore and love thee. If thou 
 haft given me other capacities, and 
 formed any thing more Suitable to my 
 wifhes, I might have found a lower 
 happinefs, and been content with 
 fomething below the infinite deity ; 
 but the f canty creation affords nothing 
 to fatisfy me, and I follow thee by a 
 divine inftindt, and mere neceility of 
 nature. 
 
 My life is ufelefs, and my being in- 
 fignificant, without thee : My reafon 
 has no proper employment j love, the 
 nobleft paffion of my foul, has no ob- 
 jecft to anfwer its dignity. I am redu 
 ced to abfolute poverty ; my nature is 
 ruined; I am loft, eternally loft, un 
 done, and abandoned to defpair, if I 
 am deprived of thee. There can be no 
 reparation made for an infinite lofs; 
 nothing -cap be iniread of God to my 
 foul. 
 
 I have willingly renounced all things 
 elfe for thy lake : All the fentiments 
 of tendernefs and delight, that my 
 foul ever feels for an earthly objed:, 
 is mere indifference, compared to my 
 
 love 
 
XXVII. of the Heart. 149 
 
 love for thee ; and it grows into ha 
 tred, when that object ftands as my ri 
 val or competitor. This is the con 
 quering, the fuperior flame, that 
 draws in, and f wallows up, all the 
 other ardors of my nature. My en 
 gagements with all terreftrial things 
 are broken ; the names of father, of 
 brother, or of friend, are no more: 
 Abftradfted from thee, thefe tender ti 
 tles give me neither confidence nor 
 joy, and are mere iniignificant names ; 
 but as thou doftgive them an emphafis, 
 they are nothing at all without thee; 
 what finite good can be an addition ? 
 
 The foul can hold no more, for God is all ; 
 He only equals its capacious grafp, 
 He only overfills to fpaces infinite. * 
 
 Thou art my God ; and I have e- 
 nough, my foul is fatisfied. I am en 
 tirely at reft. Divide the vain, the 
 periihing creation, to the miferable 
 wretches that aik no otherportion : Let 
 them, unenvied, poffefs the honours, 
 and riches, and pleafures of the 
 world ; with a laviih hand divide them 
 N 3 away : 
 
150 Devout Exercifes XX VI I. 
 
 away : Thcfe things are but as the 
 dufl of the balance, to the happy foul 
 that knows what the light of thy coun 
 tenance imports. After that, there can 
 be no relifh left for the low delights of 
 mortality. 
 
 Loft in the high enjoyments of thy love, 
 What glorious mortal could my envy move ? 
 
 You ineffable delegations of divine 
 love ! let me havenofentiment of plea- 
 fure left but for you. My God reveal 
 ing his glories and his graces in Jefus 
 Chrift his fon, is fufficient for my e- 
 ternal entertainment. 
 
 What if all former ideas of vifible 
 things were wiped from my foul? What 
 if I had no imagination, no memory, 
 no traces left of any thing, but the joys 
 I have found in thy prefence, and the 
 affurance of thy everlafting favour? 
 Thofe are the only paft moments I re- 
 cal with pleafure ? and Oh ! let all the 
 vaft eternity before me be fpent in thefe 
 fatisfa&ions. 
 
 Vanifh, ye terreftrial fcenes ! fly 
 away, ye vain objects ot fenfe ! I re- 
 
 %n 
 
XXVII. of the Heart. 151 
 
 fign all thofe poor and limited faculties 
 by which you are enjoyed. Let me 
 be infenfible to all your impreffions, if 
 they do not lead me to my God. Let 
 chaos come again, and the fair face of 
 nature become an univerfal blank : Let 
 her glowing beauties all fade away, 
 and thofe divine characters fhe wears 
 be effaced ; I fhall yet be happy ; the 
 God of nature, and the original of all 
 beauty, is my God. 
 
 What if the fun were extinguifhed 
 in the ikies, and all the etherial lamps 
 had burnt out their golden flames, I 
 fhall dwell in light and immortal day, 
 for my God will be ever with me. 
 When the groves fhall no more renew 
 their verdure, nor the fields and vallies 
 boaft any longer their flowery pride ; 
 when all thofe lower heavens, and this 
 earth, are mingled in univerfal ruin, 
 and thefe material images of things are 
 no more; I fhall fee new regions of 
 beauty and pleafure, for ever opening 
 themfelves in the divine efTence, with 
 all their original glories. 
 
 But, Oh! how various, how bound- 
 
 lefs, 
 
1 5 2 Devout Exercifes XXVII. 
 
 lefs, howtranfportingwillthe profped: 
 be! Oh, when fhall 1 bid adieu to 
 phantoms and delufions, and converfe 
 with eternal realites? When {hall I 
 drink at the fountain-head of effential 
 life and bleffednefs ? 
 
 -and then, 
 
 * O what ! But afk not of the tongues of men, 
 For angels cannot tell \ let it fuffice, 
 Thyfelf, my foul, {halt feel thy own full joys, 
 ' And hold them fall for ever.' 
 
 Oh ! break my fetters, for I muft 
 be gone. Bring my foul out of prifon. 
 I am ftraitened ; the whole creation is 
 too narrow 7 for me ; I iicken at this 
 confinement, and groan and pant for 
 liberty. How fweet are the thoughts of 
 enlargement ! My foul is already on 
 the wing, and practifes imaginary 
 flights : I feem to reach the heaven of 
 heavens, where God himfelf refides. 
 It is good for me to be here. 
 
 But, ah ! how foon do clouds of mortal fenfe 
 Arife, and veil the charming vifion ! 
 
 Alas ! what do I hear in this waftc 
 
 and 
 
XXVII. of the Heart 153 
 
 and dreadful wildernefs: this difmal 
 region, where our delights are vaniih- 
 ing, and the very glirnpfes of future fe 
 licity we enjoy, are fo foon overfhadow- 
 ed, and furrounded with real horrors ? 
 Alas ! what do I here, wafting that 
 breath in fighs and endlefs complaints, 
 that was given me to blefs and praife 
 the infinite Creator ? Alas ! what do I 
 here, among ftrangers and enemies, in 
 this wild unhofpitable place, far from 
 my home, and all the objects of my folid 
 delight ? 
 
 Mywlfties, hopes, my pleafures, and my love, 
 My thoughts, and nobleft pailions, are above. 
 
 What do I here, in the dominions 
 of death and fin, in the precin&s and 
 range of the powers of darknefs ? 
 Here they lay their tools, and fet their 
 fatal fnares : but, Lord ! what part 
 haye they in me ? 1 have bid defiance 
 to the powers of darknefs in thy 
 ftrength, and renounced my fhare in 
 the vanities of the world. I am a fub- 
 ject of another kingdom, and dare not 
 enter into any terms of peace and amity 
 
 w r ith 
 
154 Devout Exercifes XXVII. 
 
 with the irreconcileable adverfaries of 
 God and my foul, which inhabit thefe 
 treacherous and finful regions. The 
 friendfhip of this world is enmity with 
 God. Death and destruction are in its 
 fmiles. I ftand on my guard, and am 
 every moment in danger of furprife : 
 Oh 1 when will my deliverance come 
 from on high ? 
 
 -When, my foul, 
 
 O when fhallthy releafe from cumb'rous flsfh 
 Pafs the great leal of heaven ? What happy hour 
 Shall give thy thoughts a loofe to Ibar, and trace 
 The intellectual world ? 
 
 What glorious fcenes fliall open, 
 when once this mortal partition falls, 
 when thefe walls of clay lhall totter 
 and fink down into duft ! 
 
 Ye waters of life ! ye torrents of 
 immortal pleafure ! how impetuoufly 
 will you then roll in upon me, and 
 fwell and fill up all the capacities of 
 joy in my nature ! Every faculty fliall 
 then be filled, and every wifh (hall end 
 in unutterable fruition. When I awake 
 into immortal light, I lhall be fatisfied 
 
 with 
 
XXVIL of the Heart. 155 
 
 with thy likenefs. Thefe exprefslefs 
 defires will die into everlafting raptures. 
 Hope and languishing expectation will 
 be no more ; but prefent, complete, 
 and unbounded fatisfa6lion, will fur- 
 round me. My God, my God him- 
 felf, fhall be my infinite, my unutter 
 able joy. All the avenues of pleafure 
 fhall be open before me, the fcenes of 
 beauty, and profpedts of delight. E- 
 verlafting joy lhall be upon my head, 
 and forrow and fighing fhall fly away 
 for ever 
 
 There will be no more intervals of 
 grief and fin; fin, that unfupportable 
 evil, that worft, that heavieft burden. 
 Here the painful deadly preffure lies. 
 'Tis this that hangs as a weight on all 
 rny joys. But, thanks be to God, I 
 can fay, I fincerely deteftand hate this 
 vileft of flaveries, this curfed bondage 
 of corruption : 1 long for the glorious 
 liberty of the fons of God; I groan 
 under this load of flefh, this burden 
 of mortality, this body of death. 
 
 But grant, O Lord ! I may with pa 
 tience continue in well-doing, and at 
 i laft 
 
156 Devout Exercifes XX VIII. 
 
 laft obtain glory and immortality 
 through my Redeemer's righteoufnefs. 
 Sanctify me thro' thy word of truth*; 
 remember this requefl of my glorious 
 Advocate. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 A Prayer for fpeedy SanElif cation. 
 
 O Lord God! great and holy, all- 
 fufficient, and full of grace ! If 
 thou iKouldft bid me form a wifh, and 
 take whatfoever in heaven or earth I had 
 to aik, it fhould not be the kingdoms 
 of this world, nor the crowns of prin 
 ces; no, nor fliould it be the wreaths 
 of martyrs, nor the thrones of archan 
 gels : My requeft is to be made holy; 
 this is my higheft concern. Re6tify 
 the diforders fin has made in my foul ; 
 and renew thy image there; let me be 
 fatisfied with thy likenefs. Thou haft 
 compaffed my paths with mercy in all 
 other refpedts ; and I am difcontented 
 with nothing but my own heart, be- 
 caufe it is fo unlike the image of thy 
 
 holincfs 
 * >to 17. 
 
XXVIII. of the Heart. 157 
 
 holinefs, and fo unfit for thy immediate 
 p re fence. 
 
 Permit me to be importunate here, 
 O bleffed God ! and grant the impor 
 tunity of my wifhes : Let me be fa 
 voured with a gracious and fpeedy an- 
 fwer, for I am dying while I am fpeak- 
 ing : The very breath with which I 
 am calling upon thee, is carrying away 
 a part of my life: This tongue that is 
 now invoking thee, muft fhortly be 
 filent in the grave : Thefe knees that 
 are bent to pay thee homage, and thefe 
 hands that are now lifted to the Moft 
 High God for mercy, muft ihortly be 
 mouldering to their original duft: 
 Thefe eyes will foon be clofed in death, 
 which are now looking up to thy throne 
 for a blefling. Oh ! prevent the flying 
 hours with thy mercy, and let thy fa 
 vour outftrip the hafty moments. 
 
 Thou art unchanged, while rolling 
 ages pafs along; but I am decaying 
 with every breath I draw : My whole 
 allotted time to prepare for heaven is 
 but a point, compared with thy in 
 finite duration. The ftiortnefs and 
 O vanity 
 
1 5 8 Devout Exercifes X X VI I f . 
 
 vanity of my prefent being, and the 
 importance of my eternal concerns; 
 join together to demand my utmoft fo- 
 licitude, and give wings to my warm- 
 eft wifhes. Before I can utter all 
 my prefent defires, the hafty oppor 
 tunity perhaps is gone, the golden 
 minute vaniihed, and the feafon of 
 mercy has taken its everlafting flight. 
 
 Oh God of ages! hear me ipeedily, 
 and grant my requeft while I am yet 
 fpeaking: my frail exiftence will admit 
 of no delay. Anfwer me according 
 to the iliortnefs of my duration, and 
 the exigence of my circumfhmces. My 
 bufinels, of high importance as it is, 
 yet is limited to the prefent now, the 
 pafling moment ; for all the powers on 
 earth cannot promife me the next. 
 
 Let not my preffing importunity 
 therefore offend thee j my happinefs, 
 my everlafting happinefs, my whole 
 being, is concerned in my fuccefs ; as 
 much as the enjoyment of God himfelf 
 is worth, is at ftake. 
 
 Thou knoweft, O Lord ! what 
 qualification will fit me tobehold thee: 
 
 Thou 
 
XXVIIL oftheHeart. 159 
 
 Thou knoweft in what I am defective; 
 thou canft prepare my foul in an in- 
 ftant, to enter into thy holy habitation : 
 I breathe now, but the next moment 
 may be death ; let not that fatal mo 
 ment come before I am prepared. The 
 fame creating voice that faid, Let 
 there be light, and there was light, 
 can in the fame hour purify and adorn 
 my foul, and make me fit for thy own 
 prefence; and my foul longs to be thus 
 purified and adorned. O Lord ! delay 
 not, for every moment's interval is a 
 lofs tome, and may bealofs unfpeak- 
 able and irreparable. Thy delay can 
 not be theleaft advantage tothee; thy 
 power, and thy clemency, are as full 
 this prefent inftant, as they will be the 
 next, and my time as fleeting, and my 
 wants as preffing. 
 
 Remember, O Eternal God! my 
 loft time is for ever loft, and my waft 
 ed hours will never return : my ne- 
 gledled opportunities can never be re 
 called ; to me they are gone for ever, 
 and cannot be improved : But thou 
 canft change my finful foul into holi- 
 
 nefs 
 
1 60 Devout Exercifes XXIX. 
 
 iiefs by a word, and fet me now in the 
 way to everlafting improvement. 
 
 O let not the fpirit of God reftrain 
 itfelf, but blefs me according to the 
 fulnefs of thy own Being, according to 
 the riches of thy grace in Chrift Jefus \ 
 according to thy infinite inconceivable 
 love manifefted in that glorious gift 
 of thy beloved Son, wherein the ful 
 nefs of the Godhead was contained : 
 'Tis through his merit and mediation, 
 1 humbly wait for all the unbounded 
 bleffings I want or aik for. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Gratitude for early and peculiar favours. 
 
 LET me trace back thy mercy, O 
 my God ! from the firft early dawn 
 of life; and blefs thee for the privileges 
 of my birth, that it was not in the land 
 of darknefs, where no ray of the gof- 
 pel had ever darted its light, where the 
 name of a Saviour never had reached 
 my ears, nor the tranfporting tidings 
 
 of 
 
XXIX. of the Heart. 161 
 
 of redemption from eternal mifery 
 had ever bleffed my foul. 
 
 But how fhall I exprefs my grati 
 tude for that grace which ordained my 
 lot in this happy land, one of the iflands 
 of which it was long fince prophefied, 
 they fhotild fee thy glory, and truft in 
 thy name ! God has enlarged Japhet, 
 even the iflands of the fea, and made 
 him dwell in the tents of Shem, in the 
 inheritance of Abraham. I have my 
 defcent from the Gentiles, who were 
 once ftrangers to the covenant of grace, 
 aliens from the commonwealth of Ifra- 
 el ; but are now brought nigh by the 
 blood of fprinkling. Jefus, the great 
 peace maker, hath brought both near 
 to God, and to each other. 
 
 I blefs thee, with all my powers, 
 for the privilege of my defcent from 
 pious anceftors; that thou haft been 
 their dwelling place from generation to 
 generation, and haft not taken thy lov 
 ing kindnefs from their feed, nor fuffer- 
 ed thy faithfulnefs to fail. 
 
 Thou haft extended thy mercy to me 
 
 the laft and leaft of all my father's 
 
 O 3 houfe 
 
1 62 Devout Exemfes XXIX. 
 
 houfe, unworthy to wipe the feet of the 
 meaneftof the fervantsof my Lord : and 
 yet by an abfolute act of goodnefs, I am 
 brought into thy family, and number 
 ed with the children of God. Even fo 
 it has feemed good in thy fight, who 
 art gracious to whom thou wilt be gra 
 cious. 
 
 I might have been a veflel of wrath, 
 a trophy to thy juftice, inftead of a 
 monument of thy mercy : How un- 
 fearchable are thy ways ! how uncon- 
 trouled and free! Thou didft regard 
 me in my low eftate, in more than my 
 original guilt and mifery ; for I had 
 improved the wretched ftock, and been 
 a voluntary, as well as a natural Have 
 to fin and death. 
 
 From this ignominious flavery, 
 thou, my great Redeemer, haft ran* 
 fomed me, and brought me into the 
 glorious liberty of the ions of God. I 
 was a ftranger, and thou didft take 
 me in ; naked, and thou haft clothed 
 me with the fpotlefs robes of thy own 
 righteoufnefs. I was hungry, and 
 thou didft feed me; thirfty, and thou 
 
 didft 
 
XXIX. of the Heart. 1 63 
 
 didft give me to drink of the fountain 
 of life. 
 
 What am I, O Lord ! and what is 
 my father's houfe, that thouhaft dealt 
 thus gracioufly with me, in entering 
 into an everlafting covenant, figned and 
 fealed, even fenfibly fealed to my foul, 
 by the witnefs of the fpirit ? Lord ! 
 why me, rather than many that were 
 companions of my early vanities and 
 folly? whence were the motives 
 drawn, but from thy fovereign plea- 
 fure? How many are paffed by that 
 could have donethee more fervice, and 
 returned a warmer acknowledgement 
 to thy diftinguifhing bounty ? 
 
 Yefpirits ofjuft mcnmade perfed: ! 
 ye ranfomed nations, triumphant a- 
 bove ! inftruti me in the art of celeftial 
 eloquence ; tell in what ftrains of fac- 
 red harmony you exprefs your grati 
 tude for this glorious redemption, 
 while in exalted raptures you fing to 
 him that loved and wafhed you in his 
 own blood, and made you kings and 
 priefts to God. 
 
 XXX. 
 
164 Devout Exercifes XXX. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Affiring after the Vifion of GOD in 
 
 Heaven. 
 
 Befeech thee, fhew me thy glory. 
 -*- It was a mortal in a ftate of frailty 
 and imperfection, that made this bold, 
 but pious requeft ; which I repeat on 
 different terms : Since none can fee thy 
 face and live, let me die to behold it. 
 This is the only requeft I have to 
 make ; and this will I feek after, that 
 I may behold the beauty of the Lord, 
 not as I have feen it in thy fandhiary 
 below, but in full perfection and fplen- 
 dour, as thou art feen by feraphs and 
 cherubs, by angels and archangels, and 
 the fpirits of juft men made prefed:. 
 
 O my God ! forgive my importuni 
 ty : Thou haft commanded me to love 
 thee with all my heart, my foul, my 
 ftrength ; and haft, by thy Spirit, 
 kindled the facred flame in my breaft : 
 From this rifes my prefent impatience ; 
 from hence the ardour of my defires 
 fpring. Can I love thee, and be fa- 
 
 tisfied 
 
XXX. of the Heart. 165 
 
 tisfied at this diftance from thee ? Can 
 I love thee, and not long to behold 
 thee in perfed: excellence and beauty ? 
 Is it a crime to prefs forward to the 
 end for which I was created ? All my 
 wifhes, and my hopes of happinefs, 
 terminate in thee. 
 
 Does not the thirfty traveller pine 
 for fome refrefhing ftream? Would 
 not the weary be at reft, or the wretch 
 ed captive be free ? And fhall not my 
 thirfty, weary, captive foul, long for 
 refrefhment, liberty, and reft? lam 
 but a ftranger, a pilgrim here, and 
 have no abiding place. This is not 
 my reft, my home : and yet if thou 
 haft any employment for me, though 
 the meaneft office in thy family, I will 
 not repine at my ftay. 
 
 But, O Lord ! thou haft no need of 
 fuch worthlefs fervice as I can pay 
 thee; thy angels are fpirits, thy mi- 
 nifters flames of fire; thoufands of 
 thoufands ftand before thee, and ten 
 thoufand times ten thoufand minifter 
 unto thee ; they attend thy orders, and 
 fly at thy command. O deliver me 
 
 from 
 
1 66 Devout Exercifes XXX. 
 
 from this burden of mortality; and 
 1 will ferve thee with a zeal as pure 
 and a<5tive as theirs. 
 
 I can fpeak of thy loving-kindnefs 
 to the children of men, in a very im- 
 perfed; manner ; but then I will join 
 with the celeftial choir, in praifing thee, 
 and rehearfe to liftening angels what 
 thou haft done for my foul. Here I 
 have a thoufand interruptions from the 
 delightful work ; a thoufand cold and 
 darkfome intervals, when my heart 
 and tongue are both untuned; a thou 
 fand neceflary diftradtions that rife 
 from the miferies of mortality : but 
 when thefe intervals of grief and fin 
 fhall ceafe, my foul lhall dwell at cafe, 
 and be for ever glad, and rejoice in 
 thy falvation. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 A Surrender of the Soul to GOD. 
 
 /COMMAND me what thou wilt, 
 V>< O Lord ! give me but ftrength to 
 obey thee, be thy terms ever fo ievere. 
 
 O 
 
XXXI. of the Heart. 167 
 
 O let us never part. I reilgn my will, 
 my liberty, my choice, to thee; I 
 ftand diverted of the world, and afk 
 only thy love as my inheritance. Give 
 or deny me what thou wilt. I leave 
 all the circumftances of my future time 
 in thy hands ; let the Lord guide me 
 continually : Here I am, do with me 
 what feemeth good in thy light ; only 
 do not fay, Thou haft no pleafure in 
 me. 
 
 Let me not live to dishonour thee, 
 to bring a reproach on thy name, to 
 profane the blood of the Son of God, 
 and grieve the Spirit of grace. O take 
 not thy loving kindnefs from me, nor 
 fuffer thy faithfulnefs to fail. Thou 
 haft fworn by thy holinefs, and thou 
 wilt not lie to the feed of thy fervants : 
 Thou haft fx^orn, that the generation 
 of the righteous fhall be bleffed : Veft 
 me with this chara<5ter, O my God! 
 and fulfill this promife to a worthlefs 
 creature, 
 
 XXXII. 
 
1 68 Devout Exercifes XXXII. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 *ruft and Reliance on the Divine Pro- 
 wife*. 
 
 OLet not my importunity offend 
 thee, for 'tis the importunity of 
 faith; 'tis my ftedfaft belief in thy 
 word that makes me periift : Thy 
 word, and thy oath, the two immuta 
 ble things in which it is impoffible for 
 God to lie, give me ftrong confolation. 
 *Tis this that makes me prefs for 
 ward to thy throne, and with confi 
 dence lay hold on thy ftrength, thy 
 wifdom and thy faithfulnefs, on thy 
 goodnefs and tender companion ; thofe 
 glorious attributes for which the chil 
 dren of men put their truft under the 
 lhadow of thy wings. 'Tis thy glory 
 to be the confidence of the ends of the 
 earth; and it was long fince predicted , 
 That in thy name the Gentiles Ihould 
 truft. 
 
 Kind guardian of the world, our heavenly aid, 
 To whom the vows of all mankind are paid. 
 
 We pay thee the higheft homage, 
 
 and 
 
XXXII. of the Heart. 169 
 
 and exalt thy infinite attributes by faith 
 and confidence in thee. 
 
 I know that thou art, and believe 
 thee a rewarder of them that diligently 
 feek thee. I will never quit my hold 
 of thy promifes: There I fix my 
 hopes; I \vill not let a tittle go, nor part 
 with a mite of the glorious treafure. 
 I humble hope I have a rightful claim ; 
 thou art my God, and the God of my 
 religious anceftors, the God of my mo 
 ther, the God of my pious father: 
 Dying, and breathing out his foul, he 
 gave me to thy care, he put me into thy 
 gracious arms, and delivered rne up to 
 fhy protection. He told me thou 
 wouldft never leave nor forfake me ; 
 he triumphed in thy long-experienced 
 faithfulnefs and truth, and gave his 
 teftimpny with his laft breath. 
 
 And now, O Lord God of my fa 
 thers ! whofe mercy has defcended from 
 age to age, whofe truth has remained 
 unblemiihedand inviolable, and whofe 
 love remains without decay ; O Lord, 
 the faithful God and the true, keep 
 ing covenant and mercy to a thou- 
 P . fand 
 
170 Devout Exercifes XXXIf. 
 
 fand generations ! let me find that pro 
 tection and bleffing, that the prayers of 
 my dying father engaged for me : 
 Now, in the time of my diftrefs, be a 
 prefent help ; and if thou wilt this once 
 deliver me, thou alone (halt be my fu 
 ture truft, my counfellor and hope. To 
 thee I will immediately apply myfelf, 
 and look on the whole force of created 
 nature as infignificant. To thee 1 w r ill 
 devote all the bleffings thou fhalt give 
 me ; my time, my life, my whole of 
 this world's good; whatever fhare thou 
 fhalt gracioufly allot me, fliall furely 
 be the Lord's. 
 
 Oh hearken to the vows of my dif 
 trefs ! and for thy own honour deliver 
 me from this perplexity which thou 
 knoweft, and reveal to me the abun 
 dance of thy mercy and truth. 
 
 'Twas my dependence on thy pro- 
 mife and fidelity, that brought me in 
 to this exigence. 1 ftaggered not at 
 thy promife through unbelief, but bold 
 ly ventured on the credit of thy word : 
 I took it for my fecurity ; and can the 
 Strength of Ifrael repent ? Can ft thou 
 
 break 
 
XX XII . of the Heart. 171 
 
 break thy covenant, and alter the thing 
 that is gone out of thy mouth ? 
 
 O God of Abraham, God of Ifaac, 
 and the God of Jacob ! this is thy 
 name for ever, and this thy memorial 
 to all generations ; the God before 
 whom my fathers walked, the God 
 that fed me all my life long till now, 
 and the Angel that redeemed me from 
 evil, blefs me. Let the God of Jacob 
 be my help, let the Almighty blefs 
 me ; let the bleffing of my father pre 
 vail above the bleffing of my progeni 
 tors, to the utmoft bounds of the ever- 
 lafting hills. 
 
 Blefs me according to thy own 
 greatnefs, according to the unfearcha- 
 ble riches of thy grace in Chrift Jefus: 
 he is the fpring oi all my hope, in 
 whom all the promifes of God are yea 
 and amen ; he is the true and faithful 
 witnefs, and has, by his death, fealed 
 the divine veracity, and is become fure- 
 ty for the honour and faithfulnefs of 
 the Moft High God. To this alfo the 
 Holy Gholl, the Spirit of Truth, bears 
 
 witnefs. 
 
 Oh 
 
172 Devout Exercifes X X X I L 
 
 Oh Great Jehovah, Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghoft, the Lord God Omnipo 
 tent ! hear and grant my requeft, for 
 the glory of thy mighty name, that 
 name which faints and angels blefs 
 and love : Let thy perfections be 
 rnanifeft to the children of men j let 
 them fay, there is a God that judgeth 
 in the earth ; let them confefs thou 
 doft keep thy covenant with the feed 
 of thy fervants, that thy righteoufnefs 
 is from age to age, and thy falvation 
 jfhall never be abolifhedj let them fee and 
 acknowledge, that in the fear of the 
 Lord is ftrong confidence, and his 
 children have a place of refuge. 
 
 Unfliaken as the facred hill, 
 
 And firm as mountains be; 
 Firm as a rock the foul fhall reft, 
 
 That leans, O Lord, on thee. 
 
 Memorandum. 
 
 This a6t of faith in God was fully 
 anfwered ; and I leave my teflimony, 
 that the name of the Lord is a ftrong 
 tower, and he knoweth them that put 
 their trull in him. 
 
 XXXIIL 
 
XXXIII. of the. Heart. 173 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Application to the Divine Truth. 
 
 HOWEVER intricate and hopelefs 
 my prefent diftrefs may be to hu 
 man views, why fhould I limit the 
 Almighty? or why fhould the holy 
 One of Ifrael limit himfelf ? Nature 
 and neceflity are thine : thou fpeakeft 
 the w r ord, and it comes to pafb; no 
 obftacle can oppofe the omnipotence of 
 thy will, nor make thy deiigns ineffec 
 tual . 
 
 Is thy hand at all fhortened, fince 
 the glorious period w 7 hen thy mighty 
 pow r er and thy ftretched arm formed the- 
 heavens and earth, when thefe fpaci- 
 ous fkies were fpread at thy command, 
 and this heavy globe fixed on its airy 
 pillars ! 
 
 The ftrong foundations of the earth 
 
 Of old by thee were laid ; 
 Thy hands the beauteous arch of heaven 
 
 With wond'rous fldll have made. 
 
 And thefe fhall wax old as a gar 
 ment ; as a vefture {halt thou change 
 P 3 them, 
 
1 74 Devout Exercifes XXXIII. 
 
 them, and they fhall be changed : but 
 fliouldeft thou, like thefe, decay, where 
 were the hopes of them that confide in 
 thee? If in all generations thy per 
 fections were not the fame, what con- 
 folation could the race of men draw 
 from the ancient records of thy wonder 
 ful works? Why are we told, thou did ft 
 divide the fea, to make a path for thy 
 people through the mighty waters ? that 
 thou didft rain bread from heaven, 
 and diffolve the flinty rock in chryftal 
 rills, to give thy choien nation drink? 
 
 Thou art he that diftingufhed Noah 
 in the univerfal deluge, and preferved 
 the floating ark amidft winds , and rains , 
 and tumultuous billows. 
 
 'Twas thy prote<fting care that led 
 Abraham from his kindred and his na 
 tive country, and brought him fafely to 
 thepromifed land. 
 
 Thou didft accompany Jacob in his 
 journey to Padanaram, and give him 
 bread to eat, and raiment to put on ; 
 till, greatly increafed in fubftance, he 
 returned to his father's houfe ; he 
 
 wreflled 
 
XXXIII. of the Heart. 175 
 
 wreftled for a blefTing, he wreftled 
 with the Almighty, and prevailed. 
 
 With Jofeph thou wenteft down in 
 to Egypt, and didfl deliver him out of 
 all his adverfities, till he forgot his for- 
 rows, and all the toil of his father's 
 houfe, 
 
 Thou didfl remember thy people in 
 the Egyptian bondage, and look with 
 pitying eyes on their affliction ; and 
 after four hundred and thirty years, 
 on the very day thou hadft promifed, 
 didft releafe and bring them out with 
 triumph and miracles. Thy prefence 
 went with them in a pillar of cloud by 
 day, and a protecting fire by night : 
 Thy conquering hand drove out great 
 and potent nations, and gave them en 
 tire poffeffion of the land promifed to 
 their fathers: Nor didft thou fail in 
 the leaft circumftance, of all the good 
 things thou hadft promifed. 
 
 What a cloud of witnefles ftand on 
 record 1 Jolhua and Gideon, Jephtha 
 and Sampfon, who through faith ob 
 tained promifes. 
 
 Thou didft command the ravens to 
 
 feed 
 
1 7 6 Dwout Exercifes XXXIII. 
 
 feed the holy prophet ; and at the 
 word of a prophet, didft fuftain the 
 widow's family with a handful of meal. 
 
 Thou didft walk with the three He 
 brews in the fiery furnace : Thou waft 
 prefent with Daniel in the lions den, 
 todeliverhim, becaufehetruftedin thee. 
 
 In what inftance has the prayer of 
 faith been rejected ? Where were the 
 righteous forfaken ? Who can charge 
 God, without charging him foolifh- 
 ly ? What injuftice has been found in 
 the Judge of all the earth ? His glori 
 ous titles have flood unblemifhed from 
 generation to generation : Nor can a- 
 ny of his perfections decay, or rolling 
 years make a change on the Ancient 
 of Days. 
 
 Are not his words clear and dif- 
 tindt, without a double meaning, or 
 the leaft deceit ? Are they not fuch as 
 may juftly fecure my confidence ? fuch 
 as would fatisfy me from the mouth 
 of man, unconftant man, whofe breath 
 is in his noftrils, and his foundation in 
 the duft, unftable as water, and fleet- 
 
XXXIII. of the Heart. 177 
 
 ing as a fliadow ? And can I fo flowly 
 affent to the words of the Moft High? 
 Shall I truft impotent man, that has 
 neither wifdom nor might to accom- 
 plifh his deligns ; that cannot call the 
 next breath or motion his own, nor 
 promife himfelf a moment in all futu 
 rity ? Can I reft on thefe feeble props, 
 and yet tremble and defpond, when I 
 have the veracity of the eternal God, 
 to fecure and fupport me ? 
 
 I know he will not break his cove-* 
 nant, nor fufferhis faithfulnefs to fail: 
 I dare atteft it in the face of earth and 
 hell ; I dare ftake my all for time and 
 eternity on this glorious truth, a truth 
 which hell cannot blemilh, nor all its 
 malice contradict. 
 
 Exert yourfelves, ye powersof dark- 
 nefs ! bring in your evidence, colledt 
 your inftances ; begin from the firft ge 
 nerations, fince the world was peopled, 
 and men began to call on the name of 
 the Lord ; When did they call in vain ? 
 when did the Holy One of Ifrael fail 
 the expectation of the humble and 
 contrite f pint ? Point out, in your black- 
 eft 
 
178 Devout Exercifes XXXIII. 
 
 eftchara&ers, the difmal period, when 
 the name of the Lord was no more a re 
 fuge to them that trufted in him : Let 
 the annals of hell be produced, let 
 them mark the dreadful day, and dif- 
 tinguifh it with eternal triumphs. 
 
 In vain youfearch; for neither hea 
 ven, nor earth, nor hell, have ever 
 been witnefs to the leaft deviation from 
 truth orjufHce : The Almighty fhines 
 with unblemiilied glory, to the confu- 
 fion of hell, and the confolation of 
 thofe that put their truft in him. 
 
 On thy eternal truth and honour I 
 entirely caft myfelf: If lam deceived, 
 I am deceived ; angels and archangels 
 are deluded too: they, like me, have 
 no dependence, beyond the divine 
 veracity, for their bleffednefs and im 
 mortality ; they hang all their hopes 
 on his goodnefs and immutability ; 
 If that fails, the celeftial paradife va- 
 nifhes, and all its glories are extinct ; 
 the golden palaces fink, and the fe- 
 raphic thrones, muft totter and fall. 
 Where are your crowns, ye fpirits 
 elect? where are your fongs, and your 
 
 triumphs, 
 
XXXIII. of tie Heart. 179 
 
 triumphs, if the truth of God can fail ? 
 A mere poffibility of that would dark 
 en the fields of light, and turn the 
 voice of melody into grief and lamen 
 tation. 
 
 What pangs would rife, even 
 through all the regions of bleffednefs ; 
 what diffidence and fear would lhake 
 the heart of every inhabitant ; what 
 agonies furprize them all, could the 
 \vord of the Moft High God be can 
 celled ? The pillars of heaven might 
 then tremble, and the everlafting 
 mountains bow; the celeftial founda 
 tions might be moved from their place, 
 and that nobleft ftrucSure of the hands 
 of God be chaos, and eternal ernpti- 
 nefs. 
 
 But, for ever juft and true are thy 
 ways, thou King of faints ! Blefled 
 are all they that put their truil in thee ; 
 for thou art a certain refuge in the day 
 of diftrefs, and under the ihadow of 
 thy wings I will rejoice. My foul (hall 
 make her boaft in the Lord, and tri 
 umph in his falvation : I called on 
 
 him 
 
I So Devout Exercifes XXXIV. 
 
 him in diftrefs, and he has delivered 
 me from all my fears, -Hallelujah ! 
 
 Here I difmifs my carnal hope, 
 
 My fond defires recall ; 
 I give my mortal intereft up, 
 
 And make my God my ail 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Glory to GOD, for Salvation by JESUS 
 and bis Blood. 
 
 LET me give glory to God before I 
 die, and take fhame and confufi- 
 on to myfelf. I afcribe my falvation 
 to the free and abfolute goodnefs of 
 God. Not by the ftrength ofreafon, 
 or any natural inclination to virtue, 
 but by the grace of God, I am what I 
 am. O my Redeemer ! be the victo 
 ry, be the glory thine. I expedt eter 
 nal life and happinefs from thee, not 
 as a debt, but a free gift, a prormfed 
 adl of bounty. How poor would my 
 expectations be, if I only looked to be 
 rewarded according to thofe works, 
 which my own vanity, or the partality 
 
 of 
 
XXXIV. of the Heart. 181 
 
 of others, have called good, and which, 
 if examined by the divine purity, 
 would prove but fpecious fins ? As 
 fuch, I renounce them: pardon them, 
 gracious Lord ! and I afk no more ; 
 nor can hope for that, but through the 
 fatis faction which hath been made to 
 divine juftice, for the fins of the world. 
 OJefus, my Saviour, what harmo 
 ny dwells in thy name ! Celeftial joy, 
 immortal life is in the found. 
 
 Sweet name ! in thy each fyllable 
 A thoufand blefs'd Arabia's dwell ; 
 Mountains of myrrh, and beds of ipices, 
 And ten thoufand paradifes* 
 
 Let angels fet this name to their 
 golden harps j let the redeemed of the 
 Lord for ever magnify it. 
 
 O my propitious Saviour ! where 
 were my hopes, but for thee ? How 
 defperate, how undone, were my cir- 
 cumftances ? I look on myfelf, in ev 
 ery view I can take, with horror and 
 contempt. I was torn in a ftate of 
 miferyand fin, and, in my beft eftate, 
 am altogether vanity. With the ut- 
 
 moft 
 
i8a Devout Exercifes XXXIV. 
 
 moil advantages I can boaft, I flirink 
 back, 1 tremble to appear before un- 
 blemifhed Majefty. O thou, in whofe 
 name the Gentiles truft ! be my refuge 
 in that a\\ful hour. To thee 1 come, 
 my only confidence and hope. Let the 
 blood of fprinkling, let the feal of 
 God's covenant, be on me. Cleanfe 
 me from my original ftain, and my 
 contracted impurity; and adorn me 
 with the robes of thy righteoufnefs, by 
 which alone I expect to ftand juftified 
 before infinite juftice and purity. 
 
 O enter not into judgment with me, 
 for the beft acftions of my life cannot 
 bear thy fcrutiny, fome fecret blemifh 
 has ftained all my glory. My devotion 
 to God has been mingled with levi 
 ty and irreverence; my charity to man, 
 with pride and oftentation. Some la 
 tent defed has attended my beft acfti- 
 ons; and thofe very things which per 
 haps have been highly efteemed by 
 men, have deferved contempt in the 
 fight of God. 
 
 f When I furvey the wond'rous crofs, 
 On which the Prince o glory died 5 
 
 ' My 
 
XXXV. of the Heart. 1-8-3- 
 
 * My richeft gain I count my lofs, 
 
 * And pour contempt on all my pride. 
 
 ( Forbid it, Lord ! that I fhould boaft, 
 
 * Save in the crofs of Chnft, my God : 
 
 ( All the vain things that charm me mofi, 
 Ifacrifice them to thy blood.' 
 
 APRIL 30, 1735. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 A Review ofWrvine Mercy and Faith- 
 Julnefs. 
 
 AM. now fetting to my feal, that 
 God is true ; and leaving this as 
 my lalt tefHmony to the divine veraci 
 ty. I can from numerous experiences 
 aflert his faithfulnefs, and witnefs to 
 the certainty ot his promifes. The 
 word of the Lord is tried, and he is a 
 buckler to all thofe that put their truil 
 in him. 
 
 O come, all you that fear the Lord ! 
 and I will tell you what he has done 
 for my foul; I will afcribe righteouf- 
 nefs to my Maker, and leave my re- 
 card for a people yet unborn, that the 
 
 generation 
 
184 Devout Exerc/fes XXXV, 
 
 generation to come may rife up and 
 praife him. 
 
 Into whatever diftrefs his wife provi 
 dence has brought me, I have called 
 on the Lord, and he heard me, and 
 delivered me from all my fears; I truft- 
 ed in God, and he faved me. Oh ! 
 let my experience ftand a witnefs to 
 them that hope in his mercy ; let it be to 
 the Lord for a praife and a glory. 
 
 I know not where to begin the re 
 cital of thy numerous favours. Thou 
 haft hid me in the fecret of thy pavi 
 lion, from the pride of man, and 
 from the ftrife of tongues, when by 
 a thoufand follies I have merited re 
 proach : Thou haft gracioufly protect 
 ed me, w 7 hen the vanity of my friends, 
 or the malice of my enemies, might 
 have ftained my reputation: Thou 
 haft covered me with thy feathers, and 
 under thy wings have I trufted : Thy 
 truth has been my fhield and my buck 
 ler ; to thee I owe the blefling of a clear 
 and unblemillied name, and not to my 
 own conduct, nor the partiality of my 
 
 friends. Glory be to thee, O Lord 1 
 
 Thou 
 
XXXV. of the Heart. 185 
 
 Thou haft led me through a thou- 
 fand labyrinths, and enlightened my 
 darknefs. When (hades and perplexi 
 ty furrounded me, my light has broke 
 forth outof obfcurity , and my darknefs 
 been turned into noon-day. Thou hail 
 been a guide and a father to me. When 
 I knew not where to aik advice, tliou 
 haft given me unerring counfel : the 
 fecret of the Lord has been with me, 
 and he has {hewn me his covenant. 
 
 In how many feen and unfeen dan 
 gers haft thou delivered -me ! How nar 
 row my gratitude ! how wide thy mer 
 cy ! h-DW innumerable are the thoughts 
 of love! how infinite the inftances of 
 thy goodnefs ! how high above the ways 
 and thoughts of man ! 
 
 How often haft thou fupplied my 
 wants, and, by thy bounty, confound 
 ed my unbelief! Thy benefits have fur- 
 prifed, and juftly reproached my dif 
 fidence; my faith has often failed, but 
 thy goodnefs has never failed. The 
 world an j all its flatteries have fa. led, 
 my own heart and hopes have' failed ; 
 
1 86 Devout Exe rafts X XX V . 
 
 but thy mercy endures for ever, thy 
 faithfulnefs has never failed. 
 
 The Strength of Ifrael has never de 
 ceived me, nor made me afhamed of 
 my confidence. Thou haft never been 
 as a deceitful brook, or as waters that 
 fail, to my foul. 
 
 la loving-kindnefs, in truth, and 
 in very faithfulnefs, thou haft afflided 
 me: Oh, how unwillingly haft thou 
 feemed to grieve me ! With how much 
 indulgence has the punilhment been 
 mixed! Love has appeared through 
 the difguife of every frown ; its beams 
 have glimmered through the darkeft 
 night; by every affliction thou halt 
 been ftill drawing me nearer to thyfelf, 
 and removing my carnal props , that I 
 may lean with more afliirance on the 
 Eternal Rock. 
 
 Thy love has been my leading glory 
 from the firft intricate fteps 01 life: 
 The firft undefigning paths I trode, 
 were marked and guarded by the vigil 
 ance of thy love; oh! whither elfe had 
 my fin and tolly led me ? 
 
 How often have 1 tried and experi 
 enced 
 
XXXV. of the EC art, 1 87 
 
 enced thy clemency, and found an im 
 mediate anfwer to my prayers ! Thou 
 haft often Ikerally fulfilled thy word. 
 I have a frefti inftance of thy faithful- 
 nefs again : thou haft made me triumph 
 in thy goodnefs, and given a new tef- 
 timony to the veracity of thy promifes. 
 
 And, after all, what ingratitude, 
 what infenfibility reigns in my heart ! 
 Oh cancel it by the blood of the coven 
 ant ! root out this monftrous infidelity 
 that ft) 11 returns after the fulleft evi 
 dence of thy truth. Thou haftgraciouf- 
 ly condefcended to anfwer me in thy own 
 time and way, and yet I am again doubt 
 ing thy faithfulnefs and care. Lord, 
 pity me ! I believe, O help my unbe- 
 Jief ! Go on tofuccour, go on to par 
 don, and at laft conquer my diffidence. 
 Let me hope againft hope, and, in the 
 greateft perplexity, give glory to God, 
 by believing what my own experience 
 
 has fo often found, That the 
 
 ftrength of Ifrael will not lie ; nor is 
 he a man, that he ihould repent. 
 
 While I have memory and thought, 
 let his goodnefs dwell on my foul; let 
 
 me 
 
1 88 Devout Exercifes XXXV. 
 
 me not forget the depth of my diftrefs, 
 the anguilh and importunity of my 
 vows. When every human help fail 
 ed, and all was darknefs and perplex 
 ity, then God was all my ftay ; then 
 I knew no name but his, and he alone- 
 knew my foul in adverfity. Blefs he 
 Lord, O my foul ! and forget not all 
 his benefits. 
 
 c Long as I live, Fii blefs thy name. 
 
 r My King, and God of love ! 
 *' My work and joy fhallbe the fame, 
 
 * In the bright worlds above/ 
 
 I have yet a thoufand, and ten thou- 
 fand deliverances to recount, ten thou 
 fand unafked-for mercies to recall : No 
 moment of my life has been deftitute 
 of thy care; no accident has found me 
 unguarded by thy watchful eye, or ne 
 glected by thy providence. Thou halt 
 been often found, unfought by my un- 
 g.ateful heart ; and thy favours have 
 lurpnfed me with great and unexpect 
 ed advantages; 1 hou haft compelled 
 me to receive the blellings my fooLih 
 humour defpifed, and my corrupt will . 
 
 lam 
 
XXXV. of the Heart. 189 
 
 fain would have rejeited. Thou haft 
 topped thy ears to the defires which 
 would have ruined and undone me, 
 when I might juftly have been left to 
 my own choice for the punifhment of 
 my many fins and follies. How great 
 my guilt ! how infinite thy mercy ! 
 
 Hitherto God has helped me, and 
 here I fet up a memorial to that good- 
 nefs, which has never abandoned me 
 to the malice and ftratagems of my in 
 fernal foes, nor left me a prey to hu 
 man craft or violence. The glory of 
 his providence has often furprifed me, 
 when groping in thick darknefs. With 
 a potent voice, he has faid, Let there 
 be light, and there was light. He has 
 made his goodnefs pafs before me, and 
 loudly proclaimed his name, the Lord, 
 the Lord God, merciful and gracious. 
 To him be glory for ever. Amen. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
1 90 Devout Exercifes XXXVI. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Some daily Experiences of the gracious 
 Methods of Divine Providence to me, 
 the lea/I and moft unworthy of all the* 
 Servants of my Lord. 
 
 FIRST WEEK*. 
 
 day's experience re- 
 proaches my unbelief, and brings 
 me fome new evidence of thy faithful* 
 nefs. Thou haft difpelled my fears, and, 
 to the confufion of my fpiritual foes, 
 fc&ou haft heard the voice uf my uiiifei^ 
 But a lew hours ago I was trembling, 
 and doubt ing if thou waft indeed a God 
 hearing prayer: And now I have a 
 frefh inftance of thy goodnefs, which 
 with a grateful heart I here record. 
 May the fenfe of thy benefits dwell for 
 ever on my foul ! 
 
 2. Thy mercies are new every mor 
 ning : Again thou haft given me an-* 
 inftance of thy truth. I trufted in 
 
 God, 
 
 * The divifion of thefs Meditations into /evens, by 
 the Pio'is Writer, fiems to tzll us y that theft were the 
 devout thoughts of fix weeks of her life ._ 
 
XXXVI, of the Heart 191 
 
 God, and he has delivered me; I will 
 love the Lord, becaufe he has heard 
 the voice of my fupplication; therefore 
 will I call on him as long as 1 live* 
 
 3. As for God, his way is prefect; 
 the word of the Lord is tried. He is a 
 buckler to all that put their truft in 
 him. He has pun&ually fulfilled the 
 word on which 1 relied. Blefs the 
 Lord, O my foul ! 
 
 4. Thy bounty follows me with an 
 unwearied courfe : Language is too 
 faint to exprefs thy praife , no elo 
 quence can reach the fubjeft . My heart 
 is warm with the pious reflection. I 
 look upward, and filently breathe out 
 the unutterable gratitude that melts 
 and rejoices my foul : I Daggered at thy 
 promife thro* unbelief, and yet thou 
 haft gracioi fly performed thy words- 
 If we fometimes doubt or faulter in our 
 faith, yet he abideth faithful who has 
 promifed. 
 
 5. With the morning-light my 
 health and peace are renewed: The 
 
 chearing 
 
igz Devout Exerclfes XXX VL 
 
 chearing influence of the fun, and the 
 fweeter beams of the divine favour, 
 
 fliine on my tabernacle. Lord ! why 
 
 me? why am I aranfomed pardoned fin- 
 ner ? why am I rejoicing among the in- 
 ftances of fovereign grace and unlimit 
 ed clemency? 
 
 6. 1 boafted in thy truth, and thou 
 haft not made me afhamed : My in 
 fernal foes arc confounded, while my 
 faith is crowned with fuccefs. 
 
 Oh ! who hath tailed of thy clemency, 
 In greater me&fure, and more oft, than I ? 
 
 7. As the week began, fo it ends 
 with a fcries of mercy. Language and 
 numbers fail to reckon thy favours; 
 but this fhall be my eternal employ 
 ment. 
 
 When nature fails, and day and night 
 
 Divide thy works no more ; 
 My ever thankful foul, O Lord ! 
 
 Thy goodnefs fhall adore* 
 
 SECOND 
 
XXXVI. of the Heart. 193 
 
 SECOND WEEK. 
 
 i T Have feen the goings of my 
 *- God, rny King, in his fan&ua- 
 ry : But, oh how tranfient the view ! 
 My fins turned back thy clemency, 
 and yet I can celebrate the wonders of 
 forgiving grace. 
 
 2. What do I owe thee, O thou 
 great Preferver of men ! for eafy and 
 peaceful fleep, for nights unmolefled 
 with pain and anxiety ? 
 
 Thou round my bed a guard doft keep; 
 Thine eyes are open while I fleep, 
 
 Not a moment flides, in which I 
 am unguarded by thy gracious protec 
 tion. 
 
 3. Thanks be to God, who has giv 
 en me the victory, through the Lord 
 Jefus ChrifL Thou haft delivered me 
 from the fnare of the fowler, the craft 
 and malice of hell, and kept me back 
 from finning againft thee : Be thine 
 the victory and praife, Hallelujah! 
 
 4. O Lord God of Ifrael! happy is 
 
 R the 
 
194 Devout Exercifes XX XVI. 
 
 the man that putteth his truft in thee. 
 I left my burden at thy feet, and thou 
 haft fuflained me ; my cares are diffi- 
 pated, my deiires anfvvered. O, who 
 is a God like unto thee ! near unto all 
 that call on thee. 
 
 ' 5. Thy ftrength is manifeft in 
 weaknefs : Not unto me, O Lord ! 
 but to thee be all the glory. 
 
 For ever thy dear charming name 
 
 Shall dwell upon my tongue, 
 And Jefus and falvation be 
 
 The theme of every fong. 
 
 This ihall be my employment 
 through an eternal duration. It is that a- 
 lone can meafure my gratitude. The 
 Lord Jehovah is my ftrength and fal 
 vation ; he alfo fhall be my fong. 
 
 6. Every day's experience confirms 
 my faith, and brings a frefh evidence 
 of thy goodneis. Thou haft difpelled 
 my fears, and, to the confufion of my 
 fpiritual foes, hearkened to the voice 
 i>f my diftrefs, 
 
 7. I will love the Lord, who has 
 
 heard 
 
XXXVI. of the Heart. 1 95 
 
 heard my fupplications. I made my 
 boaft in his faithfulnefs, and he has 
 anfwered all my expectations. 
 
 THIRD WEEK. 
 
 i . Ti Jf Y laft exigence will be the clo- 
 JJYl. {ing part of life. Oh remem 
 ber me then, rny God ! thou who haft 
 led me hitherto, forfake me not at laft. 
 Be my ftrength, when nature fails, 
 and the flame of life is juft expiring ; 
 let thy fmiles chear that gloomy hour: 
 Oh, then, let thy gentle voice whifper 
 peace and ineffable confolation to my 
 foul ! 
 
 2. In fix and in feven troubles thou 
 haft delivered me, and been a covert 
 from the tempeft, a hiding-place from 
 the wind : Hitherto God has helped, 
 and I have dwelt fecure ; and here I 
 leave a memorial to thy praife, a witnefs 
 againftall my future diftruft of thy 
 faithfulnefs and truth. 
 
 3. Every day of my life increafes 
 the fum of thy mercies: The rifing 
 
 and 
 
196 Devout Excrcifes XXXVI. 
 
 and the letting fun, in its conftant re 
 volution, can witnefs the renewal of thy 
 favours. Thou waft gracioufly pre- 
 fcnt in an imminent danger ; by thee 
 my bones have been kept entire, and 
 tho.u haft not fuffered me to dalli my 
 foot againft a ftone. 
 
 4. Blefs the Lord, O my foul ! and 
 all that is within me, blefs his holy 
 name. Blefs the Lord, O my foul ! and 
 forget not all his benefits \ who heals 
 thydifeafes, and pardons all thy fins. O 
 thou, the Great Phyiician of my body, 
 as well as of my diftempered foul ! 
 thou haft reftored and faved me from 
 death and hell. Bleffed Jefus ! thou 
 haft taken my infirmities, and bora my 
 ficknefs ; the chaftifementof my peace 
 was upon thee, and by thy ftripes I 
 am healed. 
 
 5, I fubfcribe to thy truth, O Lord ! 
 latteftit, in contradiction to infernal 
 malice, to all the hellifh fuggeftions 
 that would tempt my heart to diffidence 
 and unbelief, even againft repeated ex 
 perience^ 
 
XXXVI. of the Heart. 197 
 
 perience, againft the fulleft evidence of 
 the divine veracity. 
 
 6. Oh thou, who never flumbereft, 
 nor fleepeft ! this night thy watchful 
 care has kept me from a threatening 
 danger; thy eyes were open, while I 
 was ileeping fecure beneath the covert 
 of thy wings . 
 
 7 . Another, and a greater deliverance 
 has crowned the day. I have found thy 
 grace fufficient in an hour of temptati 
 on; thy ftrength has been manifeft inmy 
 weaknefs. Thine was the conqueft; 
 be the crown and the glory thine for 
 ever. By thee I have triumphed over 
 the ftratagems of hell. Not unto me, 
 butto thy name be the praife, O Lord ! 
 
 FOURTH WEEK. 
 
 i . J nniS not one of a thoufand of 
 A thy favours I can record ; but 
 eternity is before me, and that unlimi 
 ted duration ihall be employed to re- 
 hearfe the wonders of thy grace. Then, 
 in the great affembly, 1 will praife 
 R 3 thee, 
 
1 98 Devout Exercifes XXX VI. 
 
 thee, I will declare thy faithfulnefs, 
 and tell to liftening angels what thou 
 haft done for my foul j even for me, 
 the leaft in thy family, unworthy to 
 wipe the feet of the meaneft of the fer 
 vent s of my Lord. 
 
 2. Ho wnumberlefs are thy thoughts 
 of love to my foul ! If I fhould count 
 them, they are more than the land on 
 the fhore : Thou haft again reproved 
 my unbelief, and given me a new eon- 
 vidtion, that my whole dependence is 
 on thee ; that fecond caufes are nothing, 
 but as thou doft give them efficacy : 
 All nature obeys thee, and is governed 
 at thy command. 
 
 3. O rny God ! I am again ready to 
 diftruft fhee, and call in queftion thy 
 faith fulnefs. Oh how deep has this 
 curfed weed of infidelity rooted itfelf 
 in my nature ! but thou canft root it 
 out. 
 
 4. Again I muft begin the rehearfal 
 of thy mercies, which will never have 
 an end, for thpu doft renew the in- 
 
 ftances 
 
XXXVI. of the Heart. 199 
 
 ftances of thy goodnefs to a poor un 
 grateful finner : thou haft punctually 
 fulfilled the promife on which I de 
 pended ; thou haft granted the requeft 
 of my lips, and led me in a plain 
 way, that I have not (tumbled. 
 
 5. This day I have received an un- 
 expe&ed favour. I doubted the fuo 
 cefs indeed; but thou haft gently rebu 
 ked my unbelief, and convinced me 
 that all things are poffible with thee, 
 and that the hearts of the children of 
 men are in thy hands. 
 
 6. Whether thou doft favour or af 
 fli<5t me, I rejoice in the glory of thy 
 attributes ; in whatever inftance they are 
 difplayed, be thy honour advanced, 
 whether in mercy or juftice : I muft ftill 
 aflert the equity of thy ways, and af- 
 cribe righteoufnefs to my Maker. Yet 
 let me plead with thee, O my God ! 
 Since mercy is thy darling attribute, oh 
 let it now be exalted ! deal not with 
 me in fe verity, but indulgence ; for if 
 thou fhouldft mark what is amifs, who 
 can ftand before thee ? 
 
200 -Devout Exercifes XXXVI. 
 
 7. Thou doft heal my difeafes, and 
 renew my life ; thou art the guardian 
 of my fleeping and my waking hours. 
 Glory to my God, whofe eyes never 
 flumber. 
 
 FIFTH WEEK. 
 
 i. HPHOU knoweft my fecret grief, 
 A* where my pain lies, and what 
 are my doubts and difficulties. In thy 
 wonted clemency, O Lord ! difpel my 
 darknefs ; leave me not to any fatal 
 delufion, in an affair of everlafting mo 
 ment. This is my hour of informati 
 on and practice ; beyond the grave no 
 miftake can be ratified ; as the tree falls, 
 fo it muft for ever lie. 
 
 2. Thy goodnefs ftill purfues me, 
 O heavenly Father ! with an unweari 
 ed courfe; new inftances of thy faith- 
 fulnefs reproach my unbelief. I fent 
 up my petition with a doubting heart ; 
 and yet thou haft gracioufly deigned 
 to encourage my weak and ftaggering 
 faith, \vhich has often wavered and 
 
 failed, 
 
XXXVI. of the Heart. 201 
 
 failed, even in the view of the bright- 
 eft evidence of thy power and truth. 
 
 3. Thou doft feem refolved to leave 
 my unbelief without excufe, by -renew 
 ing the glorious conviction of thy clem 
 ency and truth. O let not the unworthi- 
 nefs of the objed: turn back thy be 
 nignity from its natural courfe ! 
 
 4. How many unrecorded mercies 
 have glided along with my fleeting 
 moments, into thoughtlefs filence, 
 and long oblivion I How prone is 
 my ungrateful heart to forget thy bene 
 fits, or (oh amazing guilt!) to make 
 an ungrateful return ! 
 
 5. Oh never let my falfe heart re- 
 lapfe into diftruft and unbelief again ! 
 Thou haft rebuked my folly, and put 
 a new fong of praife into my mouth. 
 Let thefe infernal fuggeftions vanifh, 
 that would once object againft the oft 
 experienced truth. In this I would 
 ftill triumph, and infultall the malice 
 of hell, A time will come, when 
 thou fhalt be glorified in thy faints, 
 
 when 
 
202 Devout Exercifes XXXVI. 
 
 when thy truth and faithfulnefs (hall 
 appear in fullfplendour, when the beau 
 ty of thy attributes fhall be confpicu- 
 ous, and clear from every blemifh, 
 that the impiety of men, or the malice 
 of devils, has charged on thy moft 
 righteous providence. 
 
 6. Let me ftill affert, that the ways 
 of God are perfect juftice and truth. 
 I have a frefh inftance of thy goodnefs 
 to boaft, and yet my ungrateful heart 
 is even now ready to diftruft. The 
 Lord increafe my faith : Let thy re 
 newed favours filence my unbelief, 
 to fhew that the Lord is upright : He 
 is my Rock, and there is no unrighte- 
 oufnefs in him. 
 
 7. Teach me your language, ye 
 minifters of light ! that I may exprefs 
 my wonder and gratitude. O thou 
 who canft explain the fecret meaning 
 of my foul ! take the praife that hu 
 man words cannot exprefs ; accept 
 thofe unutterable attempts to praife 
 thee. 
 
 SIXTH 
 
XXXVI. of the Heart. 203 
 
 SIXTH WEEK. 
 
 f .T ET me go on, O Moft Holy ! 
 -* J to record thy faithfulnefs and 
 truth : let it be engraven in the rock 
 for ever ; let it be imprefled on my foul, 
 and impoffible to be effaced. What 
 artifice of hell is it that fo often tempts 
 me to diftruft thee, and joins with my 
 native depravity to queftion thy truth ? 
 
 2. Oh, may I never forget this re 
 markable prefervation ! Thy gentle 
 hand fupported me, and underneath 
 were thy everlafting arms. Thou haft 
 kept all my bones, not one of them is 
 broken : Thy mercy upheld me, even 
 when it forefaw my infenfibility and in 
 gratitude. How does my guilt heigh 
 ten thy clemency ! How wondrous 
 is thy patience, O Lord ! and thy rich 
 grace, that only gently rebuked me, 
 when thou mighteft have taken feverc 
 vengeance on my lins ! 
 
 3. I muft again begin the rehearfal 
 of thy love. Thou haft eafed my pain, 
 Scattered my fears, and lenghtened out 
 
 my 
 
204 Devout Exercifes XXXVI. 
 
 my days. O may my being be devoted 
 to thee I Let it be for fome remarkable 
 fervice, that I am reftored to health a- 
 gain ! 
 
 4. I find thy mercies renewed with 
 my fleeting days, and to rehearfe them 
 lhall be my glad employment. I truft- 
 ed thee with my little affairs, and thou 
 haft condefcended to give me fuccefs. 
 Lord ! what is man that thou doft 
 thus gracioufly regard him ? Even my 
 fins, my hourly provocations, cannot 
 put a check to the courfe of thy benefi 
 cence ; it keeps on its conquering way, 
 againft all the oppofition of my ingrati 
 tude and unbelief ; and haft thou not 
 promifed, O Lord ! it fhall run parallel 
 with my life, and meafure out my 
 days ? 
 
 5. Jefus, my never-failing truft ! 
 I called on thy name, and thou haft 
 fully anfwered my hopes : Let thy 
 praifes dwell on my tongue ; let me 
 breathe thy name to the laft fpark of 
 life. Thou haft fcattered my fears, and 
 been gracious beyond all my hopes : 
 My faint and doubt ing prayers have not 
 
 been 
 
XXVL ef the Heart. 205 
 
 been rejc&ed ; but , oh, how flow arc 
 my returns of praife ! how backward 
 my acknowledgements ! 
 
 6. Never have I trufted thee in vain. 
 Lord, increafe my faith ! confirm it 
 by a continued feries of thy bounty ! 
 add this favour to the reft ! for faith is 
 the gift of God, an attainment above 
 reafon or nature. I am now waiting 
 for the accomplifhment of a promife : 
 Oh fhew me thy mercy and truth ! 
 Add this one inftance to the reft : and 
 for ever filence the ftiggeftions of hell, 
 and my own infidelity. 
 
 7. How rooted is this curfed princi 
 ple of unbelief, that can yet diftruft 
 thee, after fo many recorded inftances 
 of thy love ! How long will it be, ere 
 my wavering foul fhall entirely confide 
 in thy falvation? Oh my God! pity 
 my weaknefs, give new vigour to my 
 faith, and let me take up my reft in 
 thee for ever. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
I N D E X. 
 
 o 
 
 i \^Upreme Love to God, -* 25 
 
 2. The Truth and Goodnejs of God, 3 1 
 
 3. Longing after the Enjoyment of God, 34 
 
 4. God my Supreme, my only Hope, fc - 38 
 
 5. God a prejent Help, and ever near, 44 
 
 6. God an All-Jufficlent Good, and my only Hap- 
 
 pinefs ^ 46 
 
 7. A Covenant with God, jr 
 
 8. A Thank-offer ing for Saving Grace, 54 
 
 9. Evidence of Sincere Love to God, 60 
 
 10. AJJ'urance of Salvation in Chrift Jefus, 64 
 
 1 1 . Thou art my God, 69 
 
 12. ConfeJJionofjin, with Hspe of Par don. 74 
 
 13. The abfence of God on Earth, - 79 
 
 14. Banifhment from God for ever, 83 
 
 15. The Glory of God, in his works of Creation, 
 
 Providence, and Redemption, - 88 
 
 1 6. Longing for the Coming of Chrift, 92^ 
 
 17. Seeking after an Abfent God, - 95 
 
 1 8. Appeals to God, concerning the Supremacy of 
 
 Love to him, 99 
 
 19. A devout Rapture; or, Love to God inexpref- 
 
 Jible 103 
 
 20. Self-reproof for Inactivity., 1 1 2 
 
 21. -^ y^)/w/ /^/m; of approaching Death, 115 
 
 22. ^f devout Rejignation of Self to the Divine 
 
 Power and Goodnejs, 1 2o 
 
 23. Redeeming Love, 12$ 
 
 24. Pleading for Pardon and Holinefs. 129 
 
 25. ATrarifportof Gratitude for Saving Mercy. 136 
 
 26. Importunate Requfjls for the return of Cod to 
 
 the Soul, 138 
 
INDEX. 
 
 fi 7 Brea thing after God, and weary of the fiPorld. 147 
 
 28. <d Prayer for fyeedy Sttntfijtcation; 156 
 
 29. Gratitude for early and peculiar Favours 160 
 30* Af pi ring after the Vifion of God in Heaven. 164 
 31. A Solemn Surrender of the Soul to God, 166 
 32- TVw/? and Reliance on the Divine Promifes, 168 
 
 33. Application to the DivineTruth, 173 
 
 34. Glory to Gody for Salvation by Jefus and his 
 
 blood. - - 1 80 
 
 35. AReviewof Divine Mercy and Faithfulnefs, 138 
 
 36. Z)fl//y Experiences of the kind Provi 
 
 dences of God, and pious Breathings 
 
 ef the Soul towards the heavenly world t 190