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them, Jam. v. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Go to now ye rich men, weep and howl, for your mifery shall come upon you, &c.

Let us then be perfuaded, as we love God whom we have not feen, as we love the gospel which we read and hear every day, and would preferve the reputation of it; as we would better the world, and the condition of mankind; as we love ourselves, and our own peace and happiness; to deal juftly and equally with all men. Till we come to live by this rule of equity, we can never hope to fee the world a quiet habitation. But if this were practifed among us, then Glory would dwell in our land, mercy and truth would meet together, righteousness and peace would kiss each other; truth would fpring out of the earth, and righteousness would look down from heaven: yea, the Lord would give that which is good, and our land would yield her increase; righteousness would go before him, and set us in the way of his steps, Pfal. clxxxv. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13a

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READER.,

ror have here an end of this great work, and I can affure you, that I have faithfully difcharged what at first I promised, which was, to give you thefe fermons truly tranfcribed from the orginals. I have fometimes put two fermons into one, or three into two, (as the author used to do in thofe he printed) and if on that account I have left out repetitions, or fhortened fome things which have been be fore printed, yet I never altered either the words or fenfe, otherwife than was necessary for the connexion; and as I did this purely to make the work more perfect, I hope I have rather obliged the publick, than deferved the cenfure of any.

By thefe fermons you have seen how good and ufeful a Preacher the author was; and though the publishing of them was all I had to do, yet that the world may fee that he was de vout as well as eloquent, I have ventured to annex fome of his prayers, with a short dif courfe to his fervants before the receiving of the facrament, all written by his own hand. These are no great addition to the work, and will, I hope, be valued by fome, or at the worfi can only be blamed as the indifcreet zeal, rather than any intereft or design of the publisher.

Brafted in Kent,
Dec. 3. 1703.

RA. BARKER.
PRAYERS

288

PRAYERS

Composed by

Archbishop TILLOTSON.

To which is added,

A fhort difcourfe to his fervants before the facrament.

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A Prayer before the fermon.

Reat and glorious Lord God! the high and holy one, who inhabiteft eternity, and dwelleft in that light which is not to be approached: We pray thee to look down from heaven, the habitation of thy holiness and thy glory, upon us vile and finful creatures. Have mercy upon us, O Lord and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out all our tranfgreffions: And do thou keep it for ever in the purpofe and refolution of our hearts, to ferve and fear thee for the future, and to keep all thy commandments always, that it may be well with us, and with our children after us. We pray thee to this end, to write thy law in our hearts, and to put thy fear into our inward parts, that we may never depart from thee.

Grant us the grace of thy Holy Spirit, to become every day better, to reform and amend whatever is amifs in the frame and temper of our minds, or in the courfe and actions of our lives ; to enable us to mortify our lufts, to govern our paffions, and

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to order our whole converfation aright; to affift us to all that is good, and to keep us from all evil, and to preferve us to thy heavenly kingdom.

We pray thee to inftruct us in all the particulars of our duty, which we owe to thee and men ; that we may herein exercife ourfelves always to have confciences void of offence both towards God and towards men; that we may love thee the Lord our God with all our hearts, and with all our fouls, and with all our ftrength; and may love our neighbour as ourselves; and whatever we would that men should do unto us, that we may do likewife unto them. And let the grace of God, which hath appeared to all men, and brings falvation, teach us, that denying ungodlinefs and worldly lufts, we may live foberly, and righteously, and godly in this prefent world'; waiting for the bleffed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jefus Chrift, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himfelf a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

And we pray thee to make us fenfible of our own frailty, of the fhortnefs and uncertainty of this life, and of the eternity of the next; to make us careful fo to live, as we fhall with we had done when we come to dy let our loins always be girded about, and our lamps burning, and we ourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord.

We pray thee, with us, to extend thy goodness to the whole world. Let thy way be known upon earth, and thy faving health among all nations. Pity and relieve the miferies and afflictions of men; efpecially thofe in our neighbour nations, who fuffer for thy truth and righteoufnefs fake. Support them, O Lord! under their fufferings; and in thy due time deliver them out of them. Blefs thy church; reform whatsoever thou feeft to be amifs in the belief and lives of Chriftians, and grant that all those who profefs thy name, and the holy religion of our bleffed Saviour, may live as it becomes the gospel, and may depart from all iniquity. VOL. X.

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In a particular manner we pray thee to be gracious to these finful nations to which we are related to pardon our great and crying fins, to prevent those judgments which our fins have justly deferved, and to fpare us according to thy great mercy. In a more efpecial manner, we pray thee to pour down thy bleffings upon thy fervant and our fovereign, by thy grace King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, and in all causes and over all perfons in thefe his dominions fupreme governor. Preferve him in his perfon; make his government a publick bleffing to thefe nations; Jet religion and righteoufnefs flourish under the influences of it, and let there be abundance of peace in his days. Blefs him in his royal relations,---and all the royal family. And thou who art the wife God, and governeft all the affairs of the world, be pleafed fo to blefs and direct all publick counfels and affairs amongst us, as that they may tend to the advancement of thy glory, the prefervation of religion, and the peace and happiness of these kingdoms. Blefs, we pray thee, all ranks and orders of men amongst us, and make them all in their feveral places and ftations useful and ferviceable to thy glory and to the publick good. Blefs thofe to whom Thou haft committed the care of inftructing and governing thy church, by what titles foever they are diftinguifhed, Archbishops, Bifhops, and all others that minifter in holy things. We pray thee to make them faithful to that truft which thou haft committed unto them, and to grant that by their diligent labours and prudent carriage, and holy and exemplary lives, they may gain many unto righteoufnefs. Blefs the two Universities of this land; grant that they may an fwer the ends of their inftitution, that religion, and learning, and virtue, may be the glory of thofe pla

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We pray thee to blefs us thine unworthy fervants, who at this time are affembled and met together in thy name; to be prefent in the midst of us, and to affift us in the work and fervice which we are about; and to grant that those truths which fhall be delivered

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