We have a law in our members warring against the law of our mind, and bringing us into captivity to the law of fin that is in our members: fo that when we would do good, evil is prefent with us, and most eafily befets us.

The whole head is fick, the whole heart is faint, from the fole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no foundness in us, but wounds, and bruifes, and putrifying fores.

There is in us a bent to backslide from the living God our hearts are deceitful above all things, and defperately wicked: Who can know them? they start afide like a broken bow.

5. We must lament and confefs our omiffions of our duty, or neglect of it, and triflings in it; and, that we have done fo little fince we came in the world of the great work we were fent into the world about; fo very little to answer the end either of our creation, or of our redemption, of our birth, and of our baptism, and that we have profited no more by the means of grace.

We have been as fig-trees planted in the vineyard, and thou hast come many years seeking fruit from us, but haft found none; therefore we might juftly have been cut down and caft into the fire for cumbering the ground; thou hast come looking for grapes, but beheld wild grapes; for we have been empty vines, bringing forth fruit unto ourselves.

We have known to do good, but have not done it : we have hid our Lord's money, and therefore deserve the doom of the wicked and flothful fervant.

We have been unfaithful stewards, that have wafted our Lord's goods; for one finner destroys much good.

Many a price hath been put into our hand to get wifdom, which we have had no heart to, or our heart has been at our left-hand,

Our childhood, and youth was vanity, and we have brought our years to an end, as a tale that is told.

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We have not known, or improved, the day of our vifitation, have not provided meat in fummer, nor gathered food in harvest, though we have had guides, overfeers, and rulers.

We are flow of heart to understand and believe; and whereas for the time we might have been teachers of others, we are yet to learn the first principles of the oracles of God, have need of milk, and cannot bear ftrong meat,

We have caft off fear, and reftrained prayer before God; have not called upon thy name, nor ftirred up ourselves to take hold on thee.

We have come before thee as thy people come, and have fat before thee as thy people fit, and have heard thy words, when our hearts at the fame time have been going after our covetoufnefs. And thus have we brought the torn, and the lame, and the fick, for facrafice; have offered that to God, which we would not have offered to our governor; and have vowed and facrified to the Lord a corrupt thing, when we bad in our flock a male.

6. We must likewife bewail our 'many actual trafgreffions, in thought, word, and deed.

We have finned, Father, against heaven, and before thee; we have finned, and have come short of the glory of God; for the God in whofe hand our breath is, and whofe are all our ways, have we not glorified.

Against thee, thee only have we finned, and have done much evil in thy fight; neither have we obey-. ed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws which he hath fet before us, though they are all holy, just, and good.

Who can understand his errors! cleanse thou us from fecret faults.

In many things we all offend, and our iniquities are more than the hairs of our head.

As a fountain cafteth out her waters, fo do our hearts cast out wickedness; and this hath been our

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manner from our youth up, that we have not obeyed thy voice.

Out of the evil treasure of our hearts we have brought forth many evil things.

1. We must confefs and bewail the workings of pride in us.

We have reafon to be humbled for the pride of our hearts, that we have thought of ourfelves above what hath been meet, and have not thought foberly, nor walked humbly with our God.

We have leaned to our own understanding, and trufted to our own hearts, and have facrificed to our

own net.

We have fought our own glory more than the glory of him that fent us, and have been puffed up with that for which we fhould have mourned.

2. The breaking out of paffion and rafh anger.

We have not had the rule we ought to have had over our own fpirits, which have therefore been as a city that is broken down, and has no walls.

We have been foon angry, and anger hath refted in our bofoms: And when our fpirits have been provoked, we have spoken unadvisedly with our lips, and have been guilty of that clamour and bitterness which fhould have been put far from us.

3. Our covetoufnefs, and love of the world.

Our converfation has not been without covetoufnefs, nor have we learned in every state to be content with fuch things as we have.

Who can fay he is clear from that love of money, which is the root of all evil, that covetoufnefs, which is idolatry?

We have fought great things to ourfelves, when thou haft faid, Seck them not.

4. Our fenfuality and flesh-pleafing.

We have minded the things of the flesh more than the things of the fpirit, and have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton, and have nourished our hearts, as in a day of flaughter.

We have made provifion for the flesh, to fulfil the lufts of it; even thofe lufts which war against our fouls: And in many inftances have acted as if we had been lovers of pleafure more than lovers of God.

When we did eat, and when we did drink, did we not eat to ourselves, and drink to ourselves? 5. Our fecurity and unmindfulnefs of the changes we are liable to in this world.

We have put far from us the evil day, and in our profperity have faid we fhould never be moved, as if to-morrow muft needs be as this day, and much more abundant.

We have encouraged our fouls to take their eafe, to eat, drink, and be merry, as if we had goods laid up for many years, when, perhaps this night, our fouls may be required of us.

We have been ready to truft in uncertain riches, more than in the living God; to fay to the gold, thou art our hope, and to the fine gold, thou art our confidence,

6. Our fretfulness and impatience, and murmuring under our afflictions, our inordinate dejection, and diftruft of God and his providence.

When thou haft chaftifed us, and we were chaftifed, we have been as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke; and, though our own foolishness hath perverted our way, yet our heart hath fretted against the Lord; and thus, in our diflrefs, we have tref paffed yet more against the Lord.

We have either defpifed the chaftening of the Lord, or fainted when we have been rebuked of him; and if we faint in the day of adversity, our Arength is finall.

We have faid in our hafte we are caft off from before thine eyes, and that the Lord hath forfaken us, our God hath forgotten us, as if God would be favourable no more, as if he had forgotten to be gra

cious, and had in anger fhut up his tender mercies. This has been our infirmity.

7. Our uncharitablenefs towards our brethren, and unpeaceablenefs with our relations, neighbours, and friends, and perhaps injustice towards them.

We have been verily guilty concerning our brother; for we have not ftudied the things that make for peace, nor things wherewith we might edifie one another.

We have been ready to judge our brother, and to fet at nought our brother, forgetting that we must. all hortly fland before the judgment-feat of Christ. - Contrary to the royal law of charity, we have vaunted ourselves, and been puffed up; have behaved ourfelves unfeemly, and fought our own; have been easily provoked, have rejoiced in iniquity, and been fecretly glad at calamities.

We have been defirous of vain-glory, provoking one another, envying one another, when we fhould have confidered one another, to provoke to love and to good works.

The bowels of our compaffion have been fhut up from those that are in need; and we have hidden ourfelves from our own flesh. Nay, perhaps our eye has been evil against our poor brother, and we have, defpifed the poor.

And if in any thing we have gone beyond and defrauded our brother, if we have walked with vanity, and our foot hath hafted to deceit, and any blot hath cleaved to our hands, Lord, difcover it to us, that if we have done iniquity, we may do fo no

more.

8. Our tongue fins.

In the multitude of our words there wanteth not fin, nor can a man full of talk be justified.

While the lips of the righteous feed many, our lips have poured out foolishness, and fpoken fro

wardness.