fervations of the night; and in fupplication to him for his prefence with you, in the duties of the fucceeding day. After fuch ejaculations, before you rife from bed, you will do well to confider with yourself, what are the duties before you this day, whereby God may be moft glorified, your fpiritual interefts beft fubferved, and you most useful in your generation. Whilft arifing from bed and dreffing yourself, entertain meditations upon fubjects suited to the occafion, fuch as the neceffity of your refurrection from spiritual death, or the certainty and confequences of the nal refurrection at the great day of Christ's appearing and kingdom; the neceffity of your being cloathed with the righteoufnefs of Chrifl; or the glorious livery, in which you hope to appear before the tribunal of your Judge, when you fhall fhine as the firmament, and as the ftars for ever and ever. Thefe, or fuch like meditations, a variety whereof will readily offer to your mind, may be an excellent means to put your foul into a proper frame for the duties before you.

When rifen from bed, retire as foon as you conveniently can into your clofet. Read fome portion of the word of God; mixing it with faith, giving a clofe attention, making devout reflections and occafional ejaculations of prayer and praise, according to the subject matter you are entertained with. After reading, paufe a while, and endeavour to affect your mind with lively impreffions of the infinite perfections of the glorious Majefty, before whom you are approaching. Lift up your eyes to God, with fervent afpirations after the influences of his blessed Spirit, to help your infirmities, to teach you to pray, as you ought; and to make interceffions for you, with groaning which cannot be uttered. Thus in the name of Chrift bow your knees before God, with an awful fense of the infinite diftance between him and you, and of your entire unworthiness of his favour; yet with an humble hope and confidence in his infinite grace and mercy in Chrift; and keep up a ftrict and continual guard over your thoughts and affections, that they do not wander from the business before you, and render the duty a mere fuperficial lip

fervice.

From your closet proceed to the duties of family-wor flip. Call your whole houthold together; let none be

abfent. Read a chapter in the facred Bible: and I would advise you commonly to read in course, that the whole word of God may be read in your family. Perhaps it may be an agreeable practice, and most for edification, to read in the Old Teftament one part of the day, and in the New Teftament the other. I would advise you to fing part of a pfalm; and then pray with your family. Which done, gravely difmifs them, to their respective fecular occafions.

Having thus carried yourself and family through the morning facrifices, do not fuppofe, that you are now difcharged from all religious and fpiritual concerns, until the return of the stated times of divine worship; but keep your foul diligently, ftudy to preferve and cherish still a fpiritual frame. Intermix frequent occasional meditations and ejaculations, with all the bufinefs you are engaged in. After dinner, I would advife you to retire again into your clofet for fome exercises of devotion. Imitate David and Daniel in the frequency of your fecret retirements; and make it your stated rule, at evening, in the morning, and at noon to pray, and to let God hear your voice.

Chufe fome convenient time every day for religious meditation, and folemn reflection. Daily fpend half an hour, at least, in this ufeful and delightful employment; and more, when your circumftances will allow it. Let the time be stated; and let no ordinary avocations prevent your duly attending upon this exercife, at the return of the appointed feafon. Perhaps experience will teach you, with the patriarch Ifaac, to chufe the evening for this fervice. But this depends upon the refpective bufinefs and circumftances of life, and difpofitions of mind, of each particular perfon. The whole word of God will af ford you matter for your meditation; that you have a large field before you, enough to keep you happily employed to all eternity: but the perfections of the divine. nature, the astonishing work of redemption by Jesus Christ, the glorious excellency of his perfon, and the wonderful benefits of his falvation, the incomparable glories of the heavenly world, the precioufnefs of your foul, with its various wants, and the like, fhould be the most common, as they are the most important fubjects of your contemplation. Engage in this bufinefs, as in the prefence of

:

God, call in your thoughts from every foreign concern, and keep them clofely engaged. Deeply mufe, till the fire burns: meditate on divine and eternal things; till they become real and visible to the eyes of your mind ; even till your foul is brought (if it pleafes God) to the top of Pifgah, and to a view of the heavenly Canaan. But I need not infift upon the methods of performing this duty. By a faithful and fteady attendance upon it, your experience will quickly teach you the best manner of its performance.

And now being brought to the close of the day, end it as you began it, with refpect to the duties both of your clofet and family. And when you betake yourself to your reft, review the conduct of the day paft; and confider what matter of repentance, or of thanksgiving, is thereby before you. Solemnly interrogate yourself, whether you are fit to die; and what your state is like to prove, if you this night should awake in the eternal world. Your anfwer to this momentuous queftion must either excite your diligence to flee from the wrath to come; or animate your love and gratitude to God, and your zeal for his fervice, in hope of the glory to be revealed. To conclude, endeavour to improve your waking minutes on your bed (whether before you first fall asleep, or when you fhall awake in the night) in religious and divine meditation. So, when you wake and rife in the mor ning, ftill be with God.

Thus I have fet before you a method of filling up your time with duty; with fuch duties, as will every one of them tend to promote your progress to eternal bliss. And I need now only further put you in mind, that befides thefe daily exercises of religion, there are feasons wherein the whole day fhould be taken up in the immediate. fervice of God: excepting when we are called off by works of neceffity and mercy. Such is the Lord's day, which ought to be fo ftrictly fanctified, that we should not fo much as allow ourselves to think our own thoughts, or to fpeak our own words. Such are likewife occafional days of humiliation and thanksgiving, which the fcripture calls our Sabbaths. The frequent and devout celebration of thefe days may prove of eminent ufefulness to promote the life and power of godlinefs. The fcriptures do not

indeed direct how often these should be attended. They are a free will offering: and the ftate of your foul, with the difpenfations of providence towards yourself, your family, or the church of God; and the refpective bufinefs, whether temporal or spiritual, which you have before you, will be a fufficient direction, as to the time and manner of performing these duties.

I would fuggeft here one thing more: you would do wifely to keep an exact account in writing, of your daily expence of time. Before you go to bed, recollect, and record (at least in fome brief hints) the bufinefs you have done, the duties performed, the mercies received, the frames of your foul, difpenfations of providence, with the the fins and imperfections of the day paft. Let this be done fo, that you yourself upon a review, can understand it; though there may be fome occurrences requiring a veil of obfcurity to be thrown over them, that they may not be understood by others, if ever your papers fhould fall into their hands. By this means, you may have always before you, what special reformation is wanting, what fpecial obligations you are under to God; and what proficiency you make in the school of Chrift.

7. Walk by faith in the Son of God. Whatever you do, let faith in Christ be kept in daily exercise, and run through all your duties, from firft to laft. I have adapted my former directions to that state of fufpence, which you are in, with refpect to your converfion to God. You have fometimes (you tell me) refreshing and encouraging hope, that you have had fome experience of those marks of converting grace, which I have defcribed.' Be it then fuppofed (as I truft there is ground to suppose) that the hope you have at times, is well founded; in this cafe your compliance with thofe directions is the best means of a fuc cefsful and delightful progress towards your heavenly inheritance. But you complain, that You often conflict with diftreffing doubts and fears, that the prevalence of your corruptions, the formality and hypocrify of your duties, and the dead carnal frames, which you feel in yourfelf too frequently, are utterly inconfiftent with wellgrounded hopes of a renewed and fanctified foul.' Were your cafe indeed according to.your fears, what better method could be proposed, than to attend the directions here

given, in order to feek after the renewing influences of the Spirit of God?

But I must observe to you, there is one thing that is eminently of importance, and which feems yet wanting, in order to your maintaining a heavenly converfation, and a comfortable walk with God. To walk with God, is to walk in Chrift; and to have the life which we live in the flefb, be by the faith of the Son of God. It is by faith in Chrift, that we have accefs to the throne of grace. By whom alfo we have access by faith, into this grace wherein we ftand, Rom. v. 2. It is by faith in Chrift, that our perfons and fervices find acceptance with God, Who hath made us accepted in the beloved, Eph. i. 6. It is by faith in Chrift, that our corruptions are mortified, and our hearts cleanfed. Purifying their hearts by faith, Acts xv. 9. It is by faith in Chrift, that we are enabled to tread the world and its idol vanities under our feet. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith, 1 John v. 4. It is by faith that we enjoy the confolations and pleasures of a religious life, We have joy and peace in believing, Rom. xv. 13. It is by faith in Chrift, and by our holding fast our confidence firm unto the end, that we are rendered ftable and stedfast in our religious courfe, and enabled to per⚫ fevere to the end. Thou ftandeft by faith: he not high minded, but fear, Rom xi. 20. It is by faith, that we obtain the fealings of the bleffed Spirit, and the earnests of our future inheritance. In whom alfo, after that ye believed, ye were fealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, Eph. i. 13, 14. And in a word, it is by faith, that we keep the mark for the prize of our high calling in view, and are actuated to the diligent pursuit of the recompence of reward. Faith is the fubftance of things hoped for; and the evidence of things not feen, Heb. xi. 1. Thus you fee, that if you would walk with God, you must walk by faith in the Son of God. Here therefore it feems needful to give you fome plain and familiar directions.

And I would first direct you, to look to Jefus as the author and finisher of your faith. You are (you fay) uncertain whether you have a true faith or not? Look then to this fountain of all grace, to get your doubts removed, to be freed from this uncomfortable fufpence of mind.