And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.

For thine own infinite mercies' sake, and for the merits of the Son of thy love, "forgive me" and all penitent sinners "our trespasses," our sins, known or secret, of omission or commission, which are the vast debts 47 we owe to thy vindictive jus

tice.

"Forgive us," O Lord, "as we forgive all them," even our greatest enemies, that trespass against us," their trespasses, which are infinitely inconsiderable in comparison of our trespasses against thee.

Glory be to thee, O Lord, who, to teach us charity, hast made our forgiveness of others the condition of obtaining thine.

O easy, O gracious condition of pardon! Who would not forgive his brother a few pence in this life, to have "ten thousand talents forgiven in

the next!

"148

O, let my love, Lord, learn from thine, not only to forgive my enemies, but to be zealous also to do them good.

And lead us not into temptation.

O Lord God, thou seest how our ghostly enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, are every moment soliciting, enticing, alluring, or tempting us to evil. O, be merciful to us, save, and help, and deliver us.

Thou seest, O my God, how infirm I am, and how ready my own deceitful heart is 49 to surrender

47 Matt. vi. 12; Luke xi. 4.

49 Jer. xvii. 9.

48 Matt. xviii. 22, 24, 28.

itself to the tempter; and I know that Satan cannot tempt me without thy permission.50 O, lead me not, if it be thy good pleasure, suffer me not to fall into violent or lasting temptations, that may endanger my perseverance.

I know, O heavenly Father, that to be tempted is no sin, for thy own beloved Son, God incarnate, was tempted 51 to the most horrid of all sins, to fall and worship the very devil; I know, Lord, the sin lies in yielding to the temptation.

O my God, if thou, for trial of my love, lead me into any great temptation, and let me continue under it, thy will, Lord, be done, not mine.52 O, let thy paternal tenderness limit and control the tempter; O, let thy all-sufficient grace restrain my consent, and keep me always on my guard, watching and praying, and let me at last be more than conqueror.

I am content, Lord, to be tried and assaulted, so I be not wicked, though it be grievous for those that love thee to be tempted to offend thee.

But deliver us from evil.

53

O Father of mercy, if thou thinkest fit to "lead me into temptation, deliver me from the evil" to which I am tempted: deliver me from the evil of sin, and the evil of punishment, from the evil one, from the evil world,54 and from my own evil heart,55 and from all suggestions to evil; for all that is evil is most hateful to thee, who art infinite goodness, and most destructive of thy love. And therefore from all that is evil, O almighty Lord, defend me.

521 Cor. x. 13; 1 Pet. v. 8; 2 Cor. xii. 7, 9; James iv. 7.

53 John ii. 14.

54 Gal. i. 4.

55 Heb. iii. 12.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

glory, for ever and ever.

and the

teaches

I adore and love thee, O Jesu, The concluwho, by concluding this prayer with a sion. doxology, hast taught us, that the right to pray for end of our prayers should be the glory God's glory. a right end, of God, that we should be ever careful

to mix praise with our prayers, and to be as zealous to give thanks for what we receive,56 as to pray for what we want.

To thee, O Lord God, do we pray; on thee only we rely and depend for acceptance; to thee only we offer up our praises; for "thine is the kingdom "57 and sovereign right to dispose of all things; thine is "the power "58 almighty to relieve and bless "59 "thine is the glory.' us; All the communications of thy goodness, as they flow from thee, return to thee again in sacrifices of love, of praise and adoration.

Amen.

For the sake, O heavenly Father, of thy beloved,60 in whom all " thy promises are Amen," and who is himself "the Amen, the faithful and the true Witness" of thy love to us; hear me, and pardon my wanderings and coldness, and help me to sum up and enforce my whole prayer, all my own wants, and all the wants of those I pray for, in a hearty, and fervent, and comprehensive Amen.

56 Phil. iv. 6; Neh. ix. 5, 6. 59 Ps. xcvi. 7, 8.

57 Ps. xlvii. 2, 7. 58 Ps. CXXXV. 6. 60 2 Cor. i. 20; Rev. iii. 14.

G

The pledges of love.

PART V.

The Sacraments.

Q. How many sacraments hath Christ ordained in his Church?

A. Two only, as generally necessary to salvation, that is to say, baptism, and the supper of the Lord. Glory be to thee, O crucified Love,

Their num

ber.

out of thy wounded side flowed water and blood, the two sacraments which thou hast ordained in thy church, baptism, and the supper of the Lord; the one to initiate, the other to confirm us in our Christianity.

Glory be to thee, O Lord, who having ordained two sacraments only, and made them " generally necessary to salvation,"2 art yet pleased to "have mercy rather than sacrifice :" in cases where they cannot be had, and where a surprise of death may prevent their administration, thou dost supply the want of them by the merciful acceptation of those persons who earnestly desire, and who are disposed to receive them.

O blessed Jesu, the greater thy compassion is to those sincere persons who want thy sacraments by reason of their infelicity, not their choice, the greater will be thy indignation against those who wilfully neglect or contemn3 what thy adorable

1 John xix. 34.

2 John iii. 5; vi. 53.

3 Luke xiv. 24.

love has ordained to be throughout thy whole Church used and revered; from which neglect and contempt of thy love, good Lord, deliver me.

Q. What meanest thou by this word sacrament?

Nature.

A. I mean an outward visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, given unto us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof.

Q. How many parts are there in a sacrament? A. Two: the outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace.

Glory be to thee, O tenderest Love, who, to stoop to our weak and gross apprehension, hast in the two sacraments made "an outward and visible," and familiar thing, to be the "sign," and memorial, and representation, "of an inward and invisible" mysterious and spiritual "grace."

Glory be to thee, O bountiful Love, for ordaining and giving us the holy sacraments: thou thyself only art the Author and Fountain of grace, and thou only hast the right of instituting the conveyances of thy own grace: all love, all glory, be to

thee.

Glory be to thee, O mighty Love, who hast elevated these obvious and outward signs to an efficacy far above their natures, not only to signify, but to be, happy means and instruments to convey thy grace to us, to be seals and pledges to confirm and assure to us the communications of thy love, that our sight may assist our faith, that if with due preparation we receive them, both parts of the sacrament will go together; as certainly as we receive the "outward and visible sign," so certainly shall we receive the "inward and invisible grace :" for which, all love, all glory, be to thee.

4 Matt. xxvi. 26, 27, 28.