AN

EXPOSITION

OF THE

CHURCH CATECHISM.

EXTRACTED FROM BISHOP KEN.

AN

EXPOSITION

OF THE

CHURCH CATECHISM.

QUESTION. What is your name?

ANSWER. N. Or M.

            Q. Why do you answer by that name rather than by your surname?

            A. Because it is my Christian name, and puts me in mind both of the happiness and duty of a Christian.

            Q. Where do you learn the happiness and the duty of a Christian?

            A. The next answer teaches me the happiness, and all the rest of the Catechism, the duty of a Christian. Q. Who gave you this name?

            A. My Godfathers and Godmothers in my baptism, wherein I was made a member of CHRIST, the child of GOD, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.

            Q. Show me from hence the happiness of a Christian?

            A. The happiness of a Christian is altogether unutter­able: he is one who has CHRIST for his head, GOD for his Father, and Heaven, with all its joys and glories, which are eternal, for his inheritance.

            Q. Show me, on the contrary, the' condition of one that is not a Christian.

            A. The misery of such a one is altogether insupport­able. He has CHRIST for his enemy, the Devil for his father, and hell, with all its miseries, and torments, and despair, which are eternal, for his doom.

            Q. Which of these conditions do you choose?

            A. I adore the goodness of GOD, who has set before me, "life and death, blessing and cursing," (Deut. 30: 19,) and in great compassion to my soul, has bid me choose life; and with all my heart I choose life, even life eternal.

            Q. Are there not many in the world that choose death?

            A. It is too visible that there are; such is the extreme madness and folly of obstinate sinners, that they choose the service of the Devil before the service of GOD, and hell before heaven; the damnation of such men is wholly from themselves; (Ezek. xxxiii. 11, Hos.xiii.9;) and having chosen death, even death eternal, it is most just with GOD to give them their choice.

            Q. Blessed be GOD who has given you grace to make a right choice. Tell me what you must do to obtain that which you have chosen, life eternal?

            A. All that I am to do is reduced to one word only, and that is LovE. This is the first and the great command, which comprehends all others: if I truly love GOD, I shall live beloved by GOD, to all eternity.

            Q. Tell me wherein the Love of GOD does consist.

            A. The Love of GOD is a grace rather to be felt than defined, so that I can do no more than rudely describe it; it is the general inclination and tendency of the whole man, of all his heart, and soul, and strength, of all his powers and affections, and of the utmost strength of them all, to GOD, as his only, and perfect, and infinite good.

            Q. Is this Love of GOD taught in the Catechism?

            A. The Catechism, having in the entrance of it pre­sented to our choice the happiness of a Christian, does throughout all the remaining parts of it instruct. us in the duties of a Christian, all summed up in the Love of GOD, which is here most methodically taught.

            Q. In what method does the Catechism teach the Love of GOD?

            A. In a method so excellent and natural, that if by GOD’s help I can but faithfully observe it, I shall not fail of the Love of GOD.

            Q. Explain this method to me.

            A. It teaches me how the Love of GOD is produced, how practiced, and how preserved.

            Q. Show me more distinctly in what parts of the Cate­chism each of these particulars is couched.

            A. If I seriously desire the Love of GOD, I must first expel all contrary loves out of my heart by faith. This is taught in the vow of Baptism and in the Creed.

When Divine Love is once produced, my next care is to put it in practice; and that is, by bringing forth the fruits of Love, which are all contained in the Ten Com­mandments.

            'When the Love of GOD is produced in my heart, and is set on work, my last concern is to preserve, and insure, and quicken it; it is preserved by Prayer, the pattern of which is the LoRD's Prayer; it is insured to us by the Sacraments, which are the pledges of Love; and more particularly it is quickened by the holy Eucharist, which is the Feast of Love: so that the plain order of the Cate­chism teaches me the rise, the progress, and the perfec­tion of Divine Love, which GOD of his great mercy give me grace to follow.

            Q. You are to begin with the vow you made at your Baptism. Tell me,

            What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you?

            A. They did promise and vow three things in any name:

            First, That I should renounce the Devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh;

            Secondly, That I should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith; And, Thirdly, that I should keep GOD’s holy Will and Commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life.

            Q. Post you not think you art bound to believe and to do as they have promised for thee?

            A. Yes, verily; and by GOD’S help so I will; and I heartily thank our heavenly FATHER, that he has called me to this state of salvation, through JESUS CHRIST our SAVIOR: and I pray unto GOD to give me his grace, that I may continue in the same unto my life's end.

            Q. The promises of faith and obedience, which you made in your baptism, will be mentioned in their proper places, when you come to the Creed and to the Com­mandments; that which now lies before you is to show how your renunciation is preparatory to the Love of GOD.

            A. As all particular graces are but the Love of Grin, varied by different instances and relations, so all particular sins are nothing but the love of one creature or other, in competition with, or opposition to, the Love of GOD. Now all the creatures on which we set our love are redu­cible to these three, the Devil, the world, and the flesh; and my heart must be emptied of these impure loves, before it is capable of entertaining the pure love of GOD.

            Q. If you are conscious to yourself, that you have entertained these impure loves, and have violated your baptismal vow, and have in your heart renounced Gm), instead of renouncing his enemies, what must you do to recover that favor of Gm), and to be delivered from the wrath to come?

            A. I must throughly repent of all the breaches of my vow, and seriously renew it.

            Q. Express your repentance for breaking it.

            A. I express it thus:

                        O LORD GOD, with shame, and sorrow, and confusion of face, I acknowledge thy infinite goodness to me, and my infinite vileness and ingratitude to Thee. You, LORD, infinitely good and gracious, \vast pleased, out of thy own free mercy, first to love me, to excite me to love again: glory be to thee.

You, LORD, didst vouchsafe, of a miserable sinner, to make me a member of my SAVIOR, thy own child, and an heir of heaven: glory be to thee.

I, infinitely wicked and unworthy, have despised, and rejected, and forfeited all the inestimable blessings, to which I was entitled by my baptism: LORD, have mercy upon me.

            Woe is me, wretch that I am, I have cut myself off by my sins, from being a true member of CHRIST'S mystical body, and from all the gracious influences I might have derived from my union to Him; LORD, have mercy upon me.

            Woe is me, wretch that I am, I have by my numerous provocations, lost that Holy Spirit of Adoption, whereby I might become thy child, O GOD, and call thee FATHER, and am become a child of wrath: LORD, have mercy upon me.

            Woe is me, wretch that I am, I have, by my own wilful impiety, disclaimed my being an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, and am become an heir to the kingdom of darkness: LORD, have mercy upon me.

            Woe is me, I have easily yielded to the temptations of SATAN, and have wrought the works of my father, the Devil: LORD, have mercy upon me.

            Woe is me, I have greedily coveted and pursued the pomps and vanities of this wicked world: LORD, have mercy upon me.

            Woe is me, I have often indulged the sinful lusts of the flesh: LORD, have mercy upon me.

            Woe is me, I have loved all things which You, LORD, hates, and am myself become odious in thy sight: LORD, have mercy upon me.

            Woe is me, 1 have neither believed in thee, O my GOD, nor obeyed thee, nor loved thee, as I ought, and as I so­lemnly vowed I would: LORD, have mercy upon me.

            O LORD GOD, most gracious and reconcilable, pity and pardon me. I lament, O LORD GOD, my detestable impiety, for having so long, and so often, and so obstinately offended thee.

            O FATHER of Mercy, I bewail and abhor my unworthiness, and the hardness of my heart, that has " despised the riches of thy goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, which should have led me to repentance." (Rom. 2: 4.)

            O LORD GOD, whatever you deniest me, deny me not " a broken and a contrite heart." (Ps. li. 17.)

            " O that my head were waters, and my eyes fountains of tears," (Jer. 9: 1,) that I might weep much and " love much," (Luke 7: 47,) having much to be forgiven.  LORD, hear me, help me, save me, for thy own gracious promise' sake, for thy own tender mercies' sake, for the merits and sufferings of JESUS thy Beloved, in whom you have made penitents accepted. Amen, Amen.

            Q. Having repented of the violation of your baptismal vow, show me how you will renew it.

            A. I shall do it after this manner:

            I have sinned, O LORD GOD, I have sinned, and done evil in thy sight; but I repent, I turn to thee.  I confess and forsake my wickedness, and am sorry for

my sins.  It grieves me, O most amiable Goodness, it grieves me that ever I offended thee.

            With all my heart, O my GOD, do I now renew the sacred vow, which, alas! I have so often violated.  O LORD GOD, I do, for the future, renounce the Devil, that arch-rebel against thee, with all his apostate angels.

            I renounce all his worship, all his impious suggestions, delusions, and temptations, and all the ways of consulting him which unGODly men have taken. (Acts xix. 19.)

            I renounce all his works, all those sins of the spirit, all pride, and malice, and envy; all treachery and lying, revenge and cruelty; all tempting others to sin, hatred to holiness, and apostasy. I utterly renounce, O GOD, the polnps and vanities of this wicked world; all covetous desires of honor, riches, and pleasure; all sinful excesses in things lawful.

            I renounce, LORD, all evil customs, all evil companions, all that is vain or wicked in the world, all that friendship with the world which is enmity with thee, all things that may alienate my heart from thee.

            I renounce, O LORD GOD, all worldly comforts and possessions, all my natural relations, and my own life, whenever they stand in competition with my duty to thee.

            I utterly renounce, O LORD GOD, all the sinful lusts of the flesh, all the inordinate desires of my own corrupt nature, of my own " carnal mind which is enmity with thee."

            I renounce, LORD, all fleshly lusts which war against thee, and against my own soul, all does and idleness, and intemperance, and lasciviousness; all filthiness of flesh and spirit, which render us unclean in thy sight.

            O LORD GOD, I utterly renounce all things that any way displease thee; from them all let it be thy good pleasure to deliver me.

I know, LORD, that sin is the utmost abomination to thy purity, the most audacious outrage to thy adorable majesty, and therefore I utterly renounce and abhor it.

I know, LORD, that sin exposes us to all the vials of thy wrath, and to vengeance eternal; I know it sets the sinner at the extremest distance and opposition to thee, and therefore I utterly renounce and abhor it.

            I know, LORD, I cannot love thee, without hating evil, and therefore I renounce and detest it.  Turn you me, O LORD GOD, and so shall I be turned. Turn, O LORD, the whole strain of my affections, from sensual love to the love of thee.

            O my GOD, let thy heavenly love be the constant bias of my soul; O may it be the natural spring and weight of my heart, that it may always move towards thee.

            Thy love, O my GOD, shall hereafter be the sole rule and guide of my life; I will love thee, and love whatever you loves, and hate whatever you hates; I will believe all the articles of the Christian Faith; and I will keep thy holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life.

            All this, O my GOD, I own myself bound to believe and do; and though of myself I am impotent to all good, yet by thy help I will perform it; and I heartily thank thee, O Heavenly FATHER, who, out of were compassion to my soul, have called me to this state of salvation, through

JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.

            Glory be to thee, O LORD, who has indulged me with this opportunity of repentance; glory be to thee who have wrought in me this will, to renew my baptismal vow.

            O my GOD, I humbly, I earnestly pray unto thee, to give me continual supplies of thy grace, that I may con­tinue in thy love unto my life's end, and that, being faithful to death, I may receive the crown of life.

            O LORD GOD, I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments. My heart longs for thee: enter, O my GOD; possess it with thy gracious presence, and fill it with thy love.

            LORD, for thy tender mercies' sake, restore me to favor; to all those privileges of my baptism, of which I have been spoiled by my sins.

LORD, make me a living member of the Church, the mystical body of thy SON.

            O my GOD, unite me inseparably to CHRIST my Head, and from thence let his gracious influences be ever streaming into my soul.

" FATHER, I have sinned against Heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son:" but I return with the Prodigal; O let thy paternal bowels yearn on me, and graciously receive me.

            LORD, send thy SPIRIT of Adoption into my heart, to instil true filial affections, that I may again be owned by thee for thy child, and call thee FATHER, and share in the blessings of thy children, and at last become an inheritor of the kingdom of Heaven.

O Heavenly FATHER, accept my imperfect repentance, compassionate my infirmities, forgive my wickedness, purify my uncleanness, strengthen my weakness, fix my unstableness, and let thy love ever rule in my heart, through the merits, and sufferings, and love of the Son of thy love, in whom you art always well pleased.

            Q. Rehearse the Articles of your Belief.

            A. 1: I believe in GOD the FATHER ALMIGHTY, Maker of Heaven and Earth:

            II. And in.JESUS CHRIST his only Son our LORD;

            IIII. Who was conceived by the HOLY GHOST, born of the Virgin MARY;

            IV. Suffered under PONTIUS PILATE, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell;

            V. The third day he rose again from the dead;

            VI. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of GOD the FATHER ALMIGHTY;

            VII. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

            VIII. I believe in the Home GHOST;

            IX. The holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints;

            X. The forgiveness of sins;

            XI. The resurrection of the body;

            XII. And the life everlasting. Amen.

            Q. What dost you chiefly learn, in these Articles of Belief?

            A. First, I learn to believe in GOD the FATHER, who has made me and all the world:

            Secondly, In GOD the Son, who has redeemed me and all mankind:

            Thirdly, in GOD the HOLY GHOST, who sancteth me, and all the elect people of GOD.

            Q. What is the method of the Creed?

            A. The Creed teaches me to believe in GOD, and to believe his Church.

            Q. How in GOD?

            A. It teaches inc to believe in GOD, with respect to his Unity, and then to the Trinity of Persons in that Unity,

FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST.

            Q. How does it teach you to believe the Church?

            A. It teaches me to believe the Church with regard to its different states, either militant below, or triumphant above.

            Q. How are the articles of the Creed motives of love?

            A. Every article includes a blessing as well as a mys­tery, and is as proper to excite our love, as to engage our faith.

            Q. Give me such a paraphrase on the Creed, that throughout the whole, your faith may work by love. A. I shall do it to the best of my power.

I believe.] My Lon]) and my GOD, with a full, free, and firm assent, I believe all the articles of my Creed, because you have revealed them; I know you art in-fallible truth, and can not, you art infinite love, and wilt not deceive me: Glory be to thee.

With all my heart, O my GOD, do I love and praise thee, who art so infinitely amiable in thyself, and so full of love to us, that all I can know, or believe of thee, excites me to love thee.

            Lord, daily increase my faith; make it active and fruitful, that I may believe and love thee as entirely as becomes one entirely devoted to thee.

In GOD.] I believe, O my GOD, that you art one, (Deut. 4: 35,) and that there is no other GOD besides thee. (Isa. xliv. 6. xlv. 5, 6.) You art that one infinite and independent Being, that one only true GOD, whom all men, and all angels, are to adore.

            O LORD GOD, help me to love and to praise thee with GOD-like affections, and a suitable devotion. I believe, O my GOD, that in the Unity of thy Godhead there is a Trinity of Persons: I believe in thee, O FA­THER, SON, and HOLY GHOST, in whose name I was baptized, (Matt. 28: 19,) and to whose service I am devoted. All glory be to thee.

            I believe, I admire, I love, I praise, I adore thee, O most blessed and glorious Trinity, GOD the FATHER, GOD the Son, and GOD the HOLY GHOST, for being the joint authors of our salvation. All glory be to thee.

O sacred, and dreadful, and mysterious Trinity, though I cannot conceive thee, yet let me daily experience thy goodness; let thy grace, O Lord JESUS, let thy love, O GOD the FATHER, let thy communications, O HOLY SPIRIT, be ever with me.

The FATHER.] I believe, and love, and praise thee, O my GOD, the first Person in the most adorable Trinity; the Fountain of the Godhead; the eternal FATHER of thy co-eternal Son, (.Iohn 1: 1S; 5: 1S,) JESUS my SAVIOR.

            Glory be to thee, O GOD the FATHER, "for so loving the world, as to give thy only begotten SON to redeem us." Glory be to thee, O Heavenly FATHER, for first loving us, and giving the dearest thing you hadst for us; O help me to love again, and to think nothing too dear for thee.

            Almighty. I believe, O my GOD, that you art a Spirit, most pure and holy, and infinite in all perfections, in power, and knowledge, and goodness; that you art eternal, immutable, and omnipresent: all love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe, O Lord, that you art most wise and just, most happy and glorious, and all-sufficient; most gra­cious, and merciful, and tender, and benign, and liberal, and beneficent: all love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe thy Divine Nature, O my GOD, to be in all respects amiable, to be Amiableness itself, to be Love (1 John 4: 8, 16,) itself; and therefore I love, I admire, 1 praise, and fear, and adore thee.  You, LORD, art my hope, my trust, my life, my joy, my glory, my GOD, my all, my love.  Maker of Heaven and Earth.] I believe that You, O FATHER ALMIGHTY, didst create heaven and earth, the whole world, and all things in it, visible and invisible, out of nothing, and by thy word only, (Gen. 1: 1, Hell. 11: 3, Psal. xxxiii. 6.) All glory be to thee.

            I believe, O you great CREATURE, that thy divine love made thee communicate being to thy creatures; that you loves all things, and hates nothing you have made. Glory be to thee.

            I believe, O GOD, that you art the sole Lord and Proprietor of all things you have made; that all things necessarily depend on thee; that it is in thee only we live, and move, and have our being. (Acts 17: 28.) All love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe, O you communicative Goodness, that you (lost preserve, and sustain, and protect, and bless all things you have made, suitably to the natures you have given them. All love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe, O mighty Wisdom, that you dost sweetly order, and govern, and rule over all things, (Ps. civ. 24,) even the most minute, (Matt. 6: 26, 28; 10: 3O,) even the very sins of men, (Gen. 1. 2O,) so as to make them conspire in thy glory. O do you conduct my whole life, and steer every motion of my soul towards the great end of our creation,—to love and glorify thee.

            I believe, O LORD, that thy love was more illustrious in the creation of man, than in all the rest of the visible world; you wert pleased to make him in thy own image, (Gen. 1: 26,) and after thine own likeness. All love, all glory be to thee.

            You, Lord, didst make man for thyself, and all things visible for man; you designest all creatures for his use, (Psal. 8:) and didst subject them to his dominion; the very angels you didst charge to keep him in all his ways. All love, all glory be to thee.

            Thy works, O LORD, are wonderful and amiable; I love, and admire, and praise thy universal providence over the whole world; the perpetual flux of thy goodness on every creature. All glory be to thee.

            I love and praise thee, O my GOD, for all the particular vouchsafements of thy love to me; for all thy deliver­ances and blessings, either to my body or to my soul, known or unknown; for all that I do not remember, or did not consider. All love, all glory be to thee.

            The longer I live, O my GOD, the more reason I have to love thee, because every day supplies me with fresh experiments of thy manifold love to me; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            And in JESUS. I believe in thee, O JESUS, and I re­joice in that dear name, which is so full and expressive of thy love. You art JESUS, our SAVIOR, because you earnest into the world on purpose to save us from our sins. All love, all glory be to thee. O be you ever JESUS to me; let me feel the kind force of that sweet name, in which I and all sinners read our danger and our deliverance, our guilt and our salva­tion.

            O JESUS! He well deserves to be accursed that does not love thee: Who, LORD, can ever hope to share in thy salvation, who does not love thee his SAVIOR?

            CHRIST. I believe, O merciful JESUS, that you art CHRIST, the true MESSIAS, the anointed of the LORD, the promised " Seed which was to bruise the serpent's head," long expected by the Fathers, (Luke 2: 25,) foretold by the Prophets, (Acts 10: 43,) represented by types, which were all fulfilled in thee, O You, " the Desire of nations." All love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe that You, O JESUS, wert anointed with the HOLY SPIRIT, (Acts 10: 38,) and that all his gifts and graces were poured out, like a sweet ointment, on thy soul " without measure:" you art altogether lovely, O CHRIST, and " of thyfulness we all receive." All love, all glory be to thee.

I believe, O you ANOINTED of GOD, that as Kings, (I Sam. 15: 1,) and Priests, (Lev. 4: 3, 5, 16,) and Pro­phets, (1 Kings xix. 16,) were heretofore anointed with material oil; so by thy heavenly anointing, (Matt. 3: 16,) you wast consecrated to be our Prophet, our King, and our Priest, and in all those offices to manifest thy love to us; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            Glory be to thee, O CHRIST, our Prophet, who didst teach, and reveal, and interpret thy FATHER'S will, and all saving truth, to the world.  Glory be to thee, O CHRIST, our King, (Luke 1: 33, 69, 71,) who dost give laws to thy people, dost govern and protect us, and have subdued all our ghostly enemies.

Glory be to thee, O CHRIST, our Priest, who clost bless us, who didst offer thyself a sacrifice, and dost still make intercession for us.

            Our redemption, our illumination, our support, is wholly from thy love, O you Anointed of GOD. All love, all glory be to thee. His on, SON. I believe that You, O most adorable JESUS, art the SON of GOD by ineffable generation; you didst from eternity derive thy Godhead from the FATHER; " you art the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." All love, all glory be to thee.

            You, O blessed JESUS, art the only SoN of GOD, the " only-begotten SON, full of grace and truth;" you art the only "beloved Son, in whom thy FATHER is well pleased;" it is only in thee, and for thee, that sinners have hope; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.  You art equal to thy FATHER, O JESUS, in amiableness and in love to us, and art equally to be beloved by us; and therefore all love and praise be to the FATHER that eternally begat, and to the SON eternally begotten.

            Our LORD. I believe, O you eternal SON of the FA­THER, that you art the great and true GOD, (1 John 5: 2O,) "JEHOVAH our righteousness," (Jer. 23: 16,) "Gov above all blessed forever." (Rom. 9: 6.) All glory be to thee. I believe, O LORD JESUS, that you didst make (John 1: 3,) and " Bost sustain all things by thy power;" (Heb. i. 3. 1O;) and that you art to be honored by men, and by angels, as thy FATHER is honored. (Heb. 1: 6; Phil. ii. 1O; John 5: 23.) All love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe, O you "KING of KINGS, and LORD of LORDS," that you art the Lord and the Author of the new creation, (kph. 1: 21, 22; 2: 1O,) as well as of the old; and that you art more peculiarly Lord of us sinners by purchase. (1 Cor. 6: 2O.) O that I, and all that own thy dominion, may for ever love, and revere, and obey so powerful and gracious a LORD!

            Who was conceived by the HOLY GHOST. I believe, O most condescending Majesty, that when you didst stoop so low, as to assume our frail nature, the HOLY GHOST came on thy sacred Mother, and that " the power of the Highest did overshadow her," and that she did conceive, and lodge thee in her womb, who fillest heaven and earth; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            Born of the Virgin MARY.] I believe, O most adorable humility, that you vast at last born into the world; and that, having only Con. for thy Father, and MARY, a pure virgin, for thy Mother, whom "all generations do call Blessed," both thy conception and birth were perfectly immaculate,--that being without sin thyself, you might be a fit sacrifice to atone for us sinners, who being born of unclean parents, were all by nature unclean; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee, O immaculate " LAME of GOD, who takest away the sins of the world."

            I believe, O blessed SAVIOR, that the two natures of GOD and of Man were in thee so mysteriously united, without either change or confusion, that they made in thee but one person, but " one Mediator," (1 Tim. 2: 5,) "one LoRD." (Eph. 4: 5.) You, O Eternal WTORD, didst become flesh, and didst dwell among us, on purpose to save us; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            Suffered. I believe, O adorable Love, that thy whole life was made up of sufferings, and that for sinful men, and in particular for me. O let me never cease to adore and love thee.  It was for us sinners, O tenderest Love, that in thy very infancy you wast circumcised, and designed by Herod for slaughter, and forced to flee into Egypt, and therefore I praise and love thee.

            It was for us sinners that You, O afflicted Love, went all thy life long "a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief;", that you vast persecuted and reviled, " despised and rejected," and hadst " not where to lay thy head:" and therefore I am bound to praise and love thee.

            It was for us sinners, that You, O compassionate Love, when you tookest on thee our nature, " avast touched with a feeling of our infirmities, and vast in all points tempted like as we arc, yet without sin," that you might the more affectionately pity the weak, and succor the tempted; and therefore I praise and love thee.

It was for us sinners, that You, O beneficent Love, didst go about doing good, preaching repentance, pub­lishing the glad tidings of salvation, sending thy dis­ciples, confirming thy heavenly doctrine by many glorious miracles, and illustrating it by a GOD-like example; all thy life is full of love and pity to us sinners, which constrain us to praise and love thee.

            O, how amiable are all thy graces! O fill my heart with thy love, and transform me into thy likeness, that I may all my life long imitate thy perfect obedience, unspotted holiness, universal charity, uninterrupted devotion, contempt of the world, heavenly-mindedness, ardent zeal for thy FATHER'S glory, and unbounded love; and that for the sake of that dearest love, which inclined thee to become incarnate for me.

            Under PONTIUS PILATE. I believe, O my Lotto and my GOD, that though you didst suffer all thy life long, yet thy greatest sufferings were under the Roman Governor of Judea, PONTIUS PILATE. I believe all those mighty sufferings, but am as little able to express the greatness of them, as I am the greatness of thy love, which moved thee to suffer: all I can do is to love and praise thee.

            How great were thy sufferings, when the very appre­hension of them made thy "soul very heavy, exceeding sorrowful, even to death;" made thee "offer up prayers, with strong crying and tears," that if it were " thy FA­THER'S will the cup might pass from thee;" and threw thee into an agony and bloody sweat, insomuch that there was an angel sent from heaven on purpose to strengthen thee! O you agonizing Love, impress on my heart so tender a sense of thy sufferings for me, that I may agonize with thee, that I may feel thy sorrows, that though I cannot sweat blood like thee, I may dissolve into tears for thee, that I may love and suffer with thee throughout every part of thy passion.

            O suffering JESUS, when my meditations follow thee from the Garden to Mount Calvary, I grieve and I love all the way.  I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O incarnate GOD, who couldst command more than twelve legions of angels for thy rescue, out of love to sinners, and in particular to me, one of the vilest of all, humbling thyself to be apprehended and bound by the rude soldiers, as a male-factor.

            I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O gracious Lord, for my sake, betrayed by the treacherous kiss of JUDAS, denied by PETER, and forsaken of all thy disciples.

            I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O spotless Inno­cence, out of love to me, dragged to Annas and Caiaphas, when I see thee accused by false witnesses, arraigned, and condemned.

            I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O Divine Majesty, out of love to me, spit upon, and blindfolded, and buf­feted, and mocked, sent to PILATE, then to HEROD, who with his men of war put on thee a white robe of mockery, and sent thee again to PILATE.  I grieve, and I love, O injured Goodness, when I see thee, though declared innocent by the traitor JUDAS, though declared innocent by PILATE himself, the Judge to whom thine enemies appealed, yet worried to death by the clamors of the rabble, that cried out, " Crucify, crucify;" and when I see BARABBAS, a traitor and a murderer, preferred before thee.

            I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O Lover of Souls, for my sake, given up into the hands of soldiers, to be stripped naked, and tied to a pillar, and scourged; when I see " the ploughers ploughing on thy back, and making long furrows."  I grieve, and I love, O King of Heaven, when I see thee, out of love to me, humbling thyself to be "arrayed in purple, with a reed in thy hand; " when I see thee " crowned with thorns," to multiply thy torments; when I see thee mocked by barbarous wretches with " Hail, King of the Jews."

            I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O LORD GOD, whom the angels worship, spit upon again, and buffeted, and for my sake made the scorn and sport of thy insolent and insulting enemies; and though still declared innocent by PILATE, yet surrendered to the unrelenting cruelty of the multitude, to be crucified.

My LORD, My GOD, with all my heart I love and adore thy infinite love to sinners; with all my heart I lament and detest the hatred and outrage of sinners to thee.

Was crucified.] I grieve, and I love, O sorrowful JESUS, when I see thee, for my sake, oppressed with the weight of thy own cross, till thy tender body, quite spent with sufferings, sank under it.

            I grieve, and I love, O you great Martyr of Love, when for my sake I see thy virgin body stripped naked, thy hands and thy feet nailed to the cross; when I see thee "crucified between two thieves," and "numbered with the transgressors;" when I see gall given thee to cat, and vinegar to drink.

            I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O incarnate DEITY, hanging on the cross, and for my sake, by thy own people, in the height of thy anguish, derided, re­proached, and blasphemed, with wagging of their heads, mocked by the soldiers, and by the impenitent thief.

            I grieve, and I love, when I see thee, O GOD, blessed for ever, O Fountain of all blessing, hang bleeding on the cross, and made " a curse for me." How does my indig­nation swell against the injustice, and ingratitude, and inhumanity of the Jews, who could thus cruelly treat so irreproachable an innocence, so compassionate a Savior!

            Alas, alas, it was the Sinner, O Love incarnate, rather than the Jew, that betrayed, and derided, and blasphemed, and tortured, and crucified thee; the sins of lapsed mankind, (Isa. liii. 6:) and particularly my sins, they were thy tormentors; and therefore from my heart I bewail, detest, and abjure them.

My LORD, and my GOD, instil penitential love into my soul, that I may grieve for my sins, which grieved thee, and that I may love thee for suffering for us sinners, who occasioned all thy griefs: O may I always love thee, O may I never grieve thee more!

            Dead. I grieve, and I love, O bleeding Love, when I see thee on the cross, quite spent with pain and anguish; when I see thee in thy dying pangs, commending thy spirit into the hands of thy heavenly FATHER, bowing thy head, and giving up the ghost. You, O LORD of Life, didst for us sinners humble thyself to death, even to the death of the cross, a death of utmost shame, and of tor­ment insupportable: all love, all glory be to thee.

            Was ever any sorrow, O crucified LORD, like that sorrow which my sins caused to thee! Was ever any love, O outraged Mercy, like that love which you didst show in dying for sinners! All the frame of nature, O dying SAVIOR, fell into convulsions at the crucifixion of their great CREATOR: " the sun was darkened, the veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom, the earth quaked, the rocks slave asunder, the bodies of dead saints rose out of their graves;" insomuch that the Centurion and infidel soldiers acknowledged thee bo be the SON of GOD. You wast lovely, and glorious, and adorable in thy lowest humiliation: all love, all praise be to thee.

            Thy bodily sufferings, O Almighty Love, were intoler­able; but yet thy inward were far greater. I grieve, I love, when I hear thee on the cross crying out, " My GOD, my GOD, why has you forsaken me!" (Matt. 27: 46.) Ah! sinful wretch that I am! how infinite and inconceivable were the inward agonies thou didst undergo for us sinners, when you didst tread the wine-press of thy FATHER'S wrath alone; when it pleased thy own beloved FATHER " to bruise thee, and to put thee to grief;" when the iniquities of the whole world were laid on thee, and my numerous sins increased thy load, and heightened thy torment; when thy own DEITY withdrew all consolations from thee; when Glop, offended by our sins, did " afflict thee in the day of his fierce anger!" (Lam. 1: 12.) No sufferings, no love, were ever like unto thine for me; no grief, no love, but thy own, should exceed mine for thee.

            For whom, O unutterable Goodness, didst you suffer the extreme bitterness of sorrow, but for the vilest of all thy creatures, sinful man; and for me, one of the worst of sinners?—and therefore I praise and love thee.

            For what end didst you suffer, but to save sinners from all things that were destructive, the curse of the law, (Gal. 3: 13,) the terrors of death, (Heb. 2: 14, 15,) the tyranny of sin, (Rom. 6: 14,) the powers of darkness, and torments eternal; (1 Thess. 1:1O;) and to purchase for us all things conducive to our happiness, (Eph. 1: 7, Heb. 9: 12, 15,) pardon and glace, consolation and acceptance, and the everlasting glories of the kingdom of heaven? —and therefore I praise and love thee.

            Out of what motive didst you suffer, but out of thy own preventing love, free mercy, and pure compassion? —and therefore I praise and love thee.

When no other sacrifice could atone, O you beloved SON of GOD, and reconcile Divine Justice and Mercy together, but the sacrifice of Go") incarnate, who as man, was to die, and to suffer in our stead, and as GOD, was to merit, and make satisfaction for our sins; it was then that You, O GOD the SON, didst become Man, the very meanest of men, didst " take upon thee the form of a servant," and didst on the cross show us the mystery and miracle of love, Go]) crucified for sinners, and sinners redeemed by the blood of GOD.

            O Go') incarnate, by what names shall I adore thee all are too scanty to express thee; love only, nothing but Iove will reach thee; you art Love. (1 John 4: 8.) O JESUS, you art all Love; soften, sweeten, refine, love me into all love like thee!  By the love of thy cross, O JESUS, I live; in that I will only glory, that above all things will I study, that before all things will I value. By the love of thy cross I will take up my cross daily, and follow thee; I will persecute, and torment, and crucify my sinful affections, which perse­cuted, tormented, and crucified thee; and if thy love calls me to it, I will suffer on the cross for thee, as you have done for me.

            How amiable were thy graces amidst all thy sufferings, O you afflicted JESUS: I admire and I love thy pro-found humility, unwearied patience, lamb-like meekness, immaculate innocence, invincible courage, absolute resig­nation, compassionate love of souls, and perfect love to thy enemies. O my Love, I cannot love thee, but I must desire above all things to be like my beloved: O give me grace to tread in thy steps, and conform me to thy image, that the more I grow like thee, the more I may love thee, and the more I may be loved by thee.

            And buried; he descended into hell.] I believe, O cruci­fied LORD, that you toast really dead, and that there was a separation of thy body and soul: that thy side was mortally wounded, and pierced with a spear on the cross, and thy sacred body was buried, to assure us of thy death. All love, all glory be to thee.

I believe, O wounded Love, that thy soul, in the state of separation, did descend into the place of spirits.

            Glory be to thee, O you great Champion of Love, who didst for our sakes singly encounter all our ghostly ene­mies, who didst thyself taste of death, that you might take away the sting of death, who didst wrestle with principalities and powers, and all the force of hell, that we might share in thy victory; for which wonderful sal­vation I will always praise and love thee.

            The third day he rose again from the dead. I believe, O almighty Love, that according to the types and pro­phecies which went before of thee, and according to thy own infallible predictions, you didst by thy own power rise from the dead the third day. All love, all glory be to thee.  Glory be to thee, who didst he so long in the grave, to convince all the world you wort dead; and didst rise so soon, that you might not see corruption. All love, all glory be to thee.

            He ascended into heaven.], I believe, O victorious Love, that You, after thy conquest over death and hell, didst ascend in triumph to heaven, that you might prepare mansions for us, and from thence, as conqueror, bestow the gifts of thy conquest on us, and above all, the gift of thy HOLY SPIRIT; that you might enter into the holy of holies, as our great High Priest, to pre-sent to thy FATHER the sweet-swelling sacrifice, the sole propitiation for sinners; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            Glory be to thee, O JESUS, who didst leave the world, and ascend to heaven, about the thirty-third year of thy age; to teach us in the prime of our years to despise the world, when we are best able to enjoy it, and to reserve our full vigor for heaven and for thy love.

            O you whom my soul loves, since you have left the world, what was there ever in it worthy of our love! O let all my affections ascend after thee, and never return to the earth more; " for whom have I in heaven but, thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee."

And sitteth at the right hand of GOD the EITHER Al-mighty.] I believe, O triumphant Lord, that you now sittest in full and peaceable possession of bliss, and at the right hand of God; that thy human nature is exalted to the most honorable place in heaven, where you now sittest on thy throne of glory, adored by angels, and interceding for sinners; and therefore all love, all glory he to thee.

            Glory be to thee, O Love enthroned; thy resurrection, ascension, and session, are all signal instances of thy love; and earnests of our future felicity, the entire purchase of thy love: all our hopes of heaven, our resurrection, as­cension, and glorification, depend on, and are derived from thine, and are all the trophies of thy love to us; and therefore I will ever praise and love thee.

            From thence he shall come to judge the quick and - the dead.] I believe, O glorified Love, that from thy throne at GOD’s right hand, where you now sittest, you wilt come again to judge the world, attended with thy holy angels.

            I believe, O you adorable Judge, that all mankind shall be summoned before thy awful tribunal. All the dead, who -shall be waked out of their graves when the Angel shall blow the last trump, and all that are then quick, and alive, shall appear before thee.  I believe, LORD, that I and all the world shall give a strict account of all our thoughts, and words, and actions; that the books will be then opened; that out of those dreadful registers we shall be judged; that SATAN and our own consciences will be our accusers. O let the last trumpet be ever sounding in my ears, that I may ever be mindful of my great account, and that I may neither speak, nor do, nor think any thing that may wound my own conscience, or make me tremble at the awful day.

            I know, O you adorable Judge, that love only shall then endure that terrible test, that love only shall be ac-quitted, that love only shall be eternally blest; and there-fore I will ever praise and love thee.

            Glory be to thee, O you beloved SON of GOD, to whole " the FATHER has committed all judgment."  How can they that love thee, O JESUS, ever despond, when at last they shall have Love for their Judge, Love that has felt and will compassionate all their infirmities; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

I believe in the HOLY GHOST. I believe in thee, O you SPIRIT of GOD, the third Person in the most adorable Trinity; I believe, O BLESSED SPIRIT, that you art the LORD, that you art Gan, eternal, omniscient, a Person distinct from both the FATHER and the SON, eternally proceeding from both, and equally sent by both, and joint-author with both of our salvation; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe, O blessed SPIRIT, that you art holy, essen­tially holy, in respect of thy divine nature, and being essentially holy, art infinitely amiable; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.  I believe, O blessed SPIRIT, that you art the Author of all internal holiness, and all internal and sanctifying grace; that you art the principle of all spiritual life in us; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.  Glory be to thee, O LOVE INCARNATE, for sending the SPIRIT in thy stead, and for promising him to our prayers.

            Glory be to thee, O SPIRIT of LOVE, for shedding the love of GOD abroad in our hearts, for filling all that love thee with joy and consolation. All love, all glory be to thee.  O you blessed SPIRIT the COMFORTER, purify my soul, and infuse thy love into it, and consecrate it to be thy temple, and fix thy throne immoveably there, and set all my affections on fire, that my heart may be a continual sacrifice of love offered up to thee, and that the flame may be ever aspiring towards thee.

            The holy catholic Church.] I believe, O blessed and adorable MEDIATOR, that the Church is a society of per-sons, founded by thy love to sinners, united into one body, of which you art the Head, initiated by Baptism, nourished by the Eucharist, governed by Pastors com­missioned by thee, professing the doctrine taught by thee, and delivered to the saints, and devoted to praise and love thee.

            I believe, O holy JESUS, that thy Church is holy, like thee its Author; holy by the original design of its institu­tion; holy by baptismal dedication; holy in all its admi­nistrations, which tend to produce holiness; and though there be a mixture of good and bad in it, yet it has alwaysmany real saints in it; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe, LORD, this Church to be catholic, or univer­sal, made up of all particular churches; I believe it to be catholic in respect of time, comprehending all ages to the world's end; catholic in respect of all places, out of which believers are to be gathered; catholic in respect of all saving faith, of which this creed contains the substance, which shall in it always be taught; catholic in respect of all graces, which shall in it be practiced; and catholic in respect of that war which it is to wage against all its ghostly enemies, for which it is called militant. O preserve me always a true member of thy catholic Church, that I may always inseparably adhere to thee, that I may always devoutly praise and love thee.

            Glory be to thee, O LORD my GOD, who have made me a member of the particular Church of England, whose faith and worship are holy, and catholic, and apostolic, and free from the extremes of irreverence or supersti­tion; which I firmly believe to be a sound part of thy church universal; and which teaches me charity to those who dissent from me; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            O my GOD, give me grace to continue steadfast in her bosom; and to improve all those helps to piety, all those means of grace, all those incentives of love, with which thou have mercifully indulged me in her communion, that I may with primitive affections praise and love thee.

The communion of Saints.] I believe, O King of Saints, that among the Saints on earth, there is a mutual and catholic participation of all good things, which is the immediate effect of catholic love.

            I believe, O you God of Love, that all the Saints on earth ought to communicate one with another, in evan­gelical worship, in the same holy sacraments, in the same divine and apostolical faith, in all offices of corporal and spiritual charity, in delight in each other's salvation, and in tender sympathy as members of one and the same body. O God of Peace, restore in thy good time this catholic communion, that with one heart and one mouth we may all praise and love thee.

            O my GOD, amidst the deplorable divisions of thy church, let me never widen its breaches; but give me catholic charity to all that are baptized in thy name, and catholic communion with all Christians in desire. O de-liver me from the sins and errors, from the schisms and heresies of the age. Give me grace to pray daily for the peace of thy Church, and earnestly to seek it, and to excite all I can to praise and love Thee.

            I believe the Saints here below have communion with thy Saints above, while we celebrate their memories, con­gratulate their bliss, give thee thanks for their labors of love, and imitate their examples; for which all love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe thy Saints here on earth have communion with holy Angels above; that they are " ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for the heirs of salvation;" and we give thanks to thee for their protection, and emu-late their incessant praises and ready obedience; for which all love, all glory be to thee.

            I believe, O my LORD, that the Saints in this life have communion with the three Persons in the most adorable TRINITY in the benign influences of love, in which all three conspire; for which all love, all glory be to thee, O FATHER, SON, and Holey GHOST, world without end.

Glory be to thee for all the graces and blessings in which the Saints communicate; and for breathing thy love into thy mystical body, as the soul that informs it, that all that believe in thee may love one another, and all join in loving thee.

            The forgiveness of sins. I believe, O my God, that none can forgive sins but you alone, and that in thy Church forgiveness is always to be had; and for so ines­timable a blessing, all love, all glory be to thee.  I believe, O you Lover of Souls, that without true re­pentance we cannot hope for pardon; and that it is out of thy mere mercy, O heavenly FATHER, and for the merits and passion of thy crucified Son, that you cost accept our imperfect repentance, and art pleased to forgive us; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            Glory be to thee, O most adorable Titim'rv, for thy infinite love in our forgiveness: glory be to thee, O FATHER forgiving, O SON propitiating, O Holey GHOST purifying: I, miserable sinner, praise and love that most sweet, tender, and amiable mercy, that delights in forgiving sinners.  The resurrection of the body. I believe, O victorious JESUS, that by the virtue of thy resurrection all the dead shall rise, bad as well as good: all love, all glory be to. thee, by whom death is swallowed up in victory.

            I believe, O almighty JESUS, that by thy power all shall rise with the same bodies which they had on earth; that you wilt collect their scattered dust again; that our souls shall be re-united to our bodies; that we shall be judged both in body and soul, for the sins committed by both; that the bodies of the wicked shall be fitted for torment, and the bodies of the saints made glorified bodies, immortal and incorruptible, fitted for heaven, and for eternally loving and enjoying thee; for which glorious vouchsafement I will always praise and love thee.

            And the life everlasting.] I believe, O great Judge of Heaven and Earth, that after all the quick and dead have appeared before thy judgment-seat, then the just sentence shall pass, and be executed to all eternity, joyful to those that love thee; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

I believe, O righteous JESUS, that the wicked shall be set on thy left hand, and be damned, to hell, to be tor­mented with everlasting and inconceivable anguish and despair, by the Devil and his angels, and their own con-sciences, both in soul and body, in the lake of fire and brimstone, from which there never can be any redemp­tion. O just reward of those that do not love thee!

O merciful JESUS, how desirous art you that. we should be happy in loving thee, when you have created hell on purpose to deter us from hating thee, and heaven to compel us to love thee; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.  I believe, O my LORD and my GOD, that the righteous shall be rewarded with joys unspeakable, with the beatific vision and love, of thyself in heaven, with a happiness of body and soul, which shall be in all respects most perfect, eternal, and unchangeable, so that they shall never sorrow nor sin more, which is all the free gift of thy infinite love, O heavenly FATHER, and the purchase of thy blood, O GOD Incarnate; for which I will ever, to the utmost of my power, adore and love thee.

            O boundless Love, when shall I love thee without either coldness or interruption, which, alas, too often seize me here below? When, O my GOD, shall I have the transporting vision of thy amiable goodness, that I may unalterably love thee, that I may, never more offend thee.

            O You a whom my soul loves," I would not desire heaven but because you art there; for you makest heaven wherever you art.

I would not, O JESUS, desire life everlasting, but that I may there everlastingly love thee.

            O inexhaustible Love, do you eternally breathe love into me, that my love to thee may be eternally increasing, since a love less than infinite is not worthy of thee. Amen. O you great Author and Finisher of our faith, do you daily increase my faith and heighten my love: O grant that in holy ardours of love towards Love crucified, my love may at last ascend to the region of love, that I may have nothing to do, to all eternity, but to praise and to love thee.

            Q. You said that your Godfathers and Godmothers did promise for you, that you should keep GOD’s Command­ments. Tell me how many there be?

            A. Ten.

            Q. Which be they?

            A. The same which GOD spoke in the twentieth Chapter of Exodus, saying, I am the LORD thy GOD, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

            I. You shall have none other GODs but me.

            II. You shall not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor worship them. For I the LORD thy GOD ant a jealous GOD, and visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth gene-ration of them that hate me, and show mercy unto thou-sands in them that love me and keep my commandments.

            III. You shall not take the name of the LORD thy GOD in vain: for the LORD will not not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

            IV. Remember that you keep holy the SABBATH-DAY. Six days shall you labor and do all that you host to do; but the seventh day is the SABBATH of the LORD thy GOD. In it you shall do no manner of work, You, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maidser­vant, thy cattle, and the stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore the LORD blessed the seventh day and hallowed it.

            V. Honor thy Father and thy Mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the LORD thy GOD giveth thee.

            VI. You shall do no murder.

            VII. You shall not commit adultery.

            VIII. You shall not steal.

            IX. You shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

            X. You shall not covet thy neighbor's house; you shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.

            Q. What dost you chiefly learn by these commandments?

            A. I learn two things; my duty towards GOD, and my duty towards my neighbor.

            Q. What is thy duty towards GOD?

            A. lily duty towards GOD is, to believe in him, to fear him, and to love him, with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength; to worship him, to give him thanks, to put my whole trust in him, to call upon’him, to honor his holy name and his word, and to serve him truly all the days of my life.

            Q. What is thy duty towards thy neighbor?

            A. My duty towards my neighbor is, to love him as my-self, and to do to all men as I would they should do to me: to love, honor, and succor, my Father and Mother: to honor and obey the KING, and all that are put in authority under him: to submit myself to all my go­vernors, teachers, spiritual pastors, and masters: to order myself lowly and reverently to all my betters: to hurt nobody by word or deed: to be true and just in all my dealings: to bear no malice nor hatred in my heart: to keep my hands from picking and stealing; and my tongue from evil speaking, lying, and slandering: to keep my body in temperance, soberness, and chastity: not to covet and desire other men's goods; but to learn and labor truly to get my own living, and to do my duty in that state of life unto which it shall please GOD to call me.

            Q. You have showed me how the Creed presents to us the Motives; show me next how the Ten Commandments contain the Fruits of divine love.

            A. JESUS our Love, the great Prophet of Love, has given us the trial of our love: " If ye love me, keep my com­mandments."

            Q. Are there not some general rules to be observed in expounding the Commandments?

            A. Divine love does suggest to us the best rules, and is the best expositor, to teach us the full iinport of every command.

            Q. Show me how.

            A. The love of GOD does necessarily include these two things, a tenderness to please, and a fearfulness to offend our Beloved; and this love will be a sure guide to us inboth the affirmative and the negative part of each command.

            Q. Express this more distinctly.

            A. I shall do it in these following particulars:

            1. O my GOD, when in any of thy commands a duty is enjoined, love tells me the contrary evil is forbidden; when any evil is forbidden, love tells me the contrary duty is enjoined. O do you daily increase my love to good, and my antipathy to evil.

            2. Though thy commands and prohibitions, O LORD, are in general terms, yet let thy love direct my particular practice, and teach me, that in one general are implied all the kinds, and degrees, and occasions, and incitements, and approaches, and allowances relating to that good or evil commanded or forbidden; and give me grace to pursue or to flee from them.

            3. O my GOD, keep my love always watchful, that in thy negative precepts I may, continually resist evil; keep my love warm with an habitual zeal, that in all thy affir­mative precepts I may lay hold on all opportunities of doing good.

            4. Let thy love, O you that only art worthy to be loved, make me careful to engage others to love thee, and to keep thy commandments. O my GOD, though I cannot love and obey thee as much. as I desire, I will do it as much as I am able; I will, to the utmost of my power, keep all thy commandments with my whole heart to the end. Accept my imperfect duty, and pardon all the defects of it through the merits, and love, and obedience of JESUS thy Beloved.

            5. Glory be to thee, O you supreme Lawgiver, for delivering these commands to sinful men; they are the words which you thyself, O great JEHOVAH, didst speak. Let me ever have an awful regard for every word you have spoken. Let me ever love thee for giving us the laws of love.

            6. Glory be to thee, O LORD GOD, who, to make every one of us sensible of our obligation, hash given all thy commands in the second person, and by saying You, has spoken in particular to every soul, that every soul might love and obey thee.  Glory be to thee, O my GOD, who in these Ten Com­mandments, have comprised the full extent of our duty, all the effects of Divine Love.

            Teach me, O LORD, to examine my love by thy com­mands, that I may know how to please thee, that I may know wherein I have offended thee, and grieve for my offences, that I may bewail all my commission of sin, all my omission of duty.

Teach me, O Lo RD, by this thy law, which is the rule of love, and of all my actions, to examine not only my sins, but also all their aggravations, whether they have been willful, or known, or frequent, or obstinate, or habitual, or ensnaring to others; that love may shed the more tears, and in some measure proportion my contrition to my guilt.

            7. Glory be to thee, O LORD GOD, who givest us Christians higher obligations to keep thy commands, than you didst to the Jews. They had only the memory of their temporal deliverance out of Egypt, and the house of bondage, set before them; we are delivered out of spiri­tual Egypt, from the bondage of sin, the power of SATAN, and the torments of hell. O give us grace to exceed them as much in our love and obedience, as we do in our blessings.

            8. Glory be to thee, O great JEHOVAH, who, to constrain us to love and obey thee, art pleased to honor every faithful soul with a near propriety in thyself, and gra­ciously to declare, " I am the LORD thy GOD."

O merciful LORD, what is it possible for me to desire more than to have thee for my GOD? If you be my GOD, I must be thy servant. LORD, be you mine, and I will be for ever thine.

            My Beloved is mine, and I am his.  My GOD, my Father, my Friend, my Love, what-ever is thine I will love: and particularly thy law will I love, for teaching me to love thee; thy law will I highlyesteem, and diligently read and study; thy law shall be daily my delight, and my counsellor.

            O my good GOD, keep the always thine, and let nothing ever divorce me from thy love.

            Q. You have laid down proper rules for interpreting the Commandments, show me now how they are divided.

            A. Into two Tables, suitable to the two respects they have to GOD and to our Neighbor.

            Q. Begin with the First Table, and show me the num­ber and order of the commands which it contains.

            A. It contains the four first commands, which relate to GOD, and teach us the Worship of GOD, even that love which we are to pay to GOD, and which arises from a true sense of his infinite goodness and greatness.

            This Worship of GOD is either inward or outward. The inward worship, being that of the heart, is the nobler of the two; and this, together with the right object of our worship, is taught in the first command­ment, as the foundation of all the rest. The outward is comprised in the three following, which teach us the regulation of GOD’s worship; in reference to our gestures in the second, to our tongues in the third, to our time in the fourth.

            Q. Which are the duties of the Second Table?

            A. They are the six remaining commands, which all relate to our neighbor.

            Q. What have you farther to observe of the Com­mandments in general?

            A. It is observable that those which refer to GOD are put first, to teach us that the Love of GOD is the chief and original command, and ought chiefly to be studied; and to teach us also, that all the duties of the Second Table must yield unto the First, whenever they stand in any competition.

            Q. Go over the Ten Commandments in particular, and show me how they are all the genuine fruits of divine love, exercised either in doing good, or eschewing evil.

            A. I shall do it, as distinctly as I can.

The First Commandment.

            O you who only art JEHOVAH, if you be my GOD, and if I truly love thee, I can never suffer any creature to be thy rival, or to share my heart with thee; I can have no other GOD, no other love, but only thee.

            O infinite Goodness, you only art amiable. Whatever is amiable besides thee, is no farther amiable than as it bears some impressions of thy amiableness; and therefore all love, all glory be to thee.

            O my GOD, O my Love, instil into my soul so entire a love of thee, that I may love nothing but for thy sake, or in subordination to thy Iove.

Give me grace to study thy knowledge, that the more I know thee, the more I may love thee.

            O my GOD, do you create in me a steadfast faith in the veracity, a lively hope in the promises, a firm trust in the power, a confident reliance on the goodness, and a satisfactory acquiescence in the all-sufficiency, of thee my Beloved.

            O my GOD, do you create in me an ardent desire of the presence, an heavenly delight in the fruition, of thee my Beloved.

            O my GOD, fill my heart with thanksgiving for the bless­ings, praise of the excellence, adoration of the majesty, and zeal for the glory, of thee my Beloved.

            O my GOD, fill my heart with a true repentance for offending, and with a constant fear of provoking, thee my Beloved.

            O my GOD, fill my heart with a fervent devotion in prayer, and with. a profound humility in ascribing all honor to thee, my Beloved.

            O my GOD, create in me a sincere obedience to all the commands, a submissive patience under all the chas­tisements, an absolute resignation to all the disposals, of thee my Beloved.

            O my GOD, let thy all-powerful love abound in my heart, and in the hearts of all those that profess thy name; that in these, and in all other possible instances of thy love, our souls may continually praise and love thee.

            O my GOD, let me ever be seeking occasions to excite all I can to love and adore thee.

            O my GOD, I renounce, and detest, and bewail, as odious and offensive to thee, as directly opposite to thy love and to thy glory,

            All self-love, (2 Tim. 3: 2,) and inordinate love of things below, (I John 2: 15:)

            All willful and affected ignorance, (2 Thes. 1: 8:)

            All atheism, or having no Goo; and polytheism, or having more GODs than one:

            All heresy, apostasy, and infidelity:

            All presumption and despair, distrust and carnal security:

            All voluntary humility, and worshipping of Angels, reliance on the creature, or recourse to evil spirits:

            All unthankfulness and irreligion, lukewarmness and indifference:

            All impenitence, and disregard of divine wrath:

            All indevotion and pride, disobedience, impatience, and murmuring:

            All the least tendencies to any of these impieties.

            From all these and the like hateful violations of thy love, and from that vengeance which they justly deserve, O my GOD, O my Love, deliver me.

O my GOD, O my Love, I earnestly pray that thy love may so prevail over our hearts, that we may sadly lament and abhor all these abominations, and may never more provoke thee.

The Second Commandment.

            O my GOD, O my Love, I know the true love of thee is incommunicable to any but thee; and therefore I re­nounce, and detest, and bewail, as odious and offensive to thee; All making of idols or false GODs, or of graven images, With intent of worshipping and bowing down before them: All representations and picturing of thee, O my GOD, by visible likenesses of things in heaven or in earth:

            All corporeal shapes, which are infinitely unsuitable to thy invisible and spiritual nature. All idolatry and religious invocation of creatures: All sacrilege and profanations of thy house, and of things sacred: All abuse, or disesteem, or carelessness of thy word, and contempt of thy ministers: All superstitions or unlawful rites, superfluities or mutilations, irreverence or indecencies, in thy public worship, by which you art any way dishonored: All resting in mere outward observances, (Matt. 15: 9, 11,) or refusing to give to thee bodily worship: All the least tendencies to any of these impieties.

            From all these and the like violations of thy incommu­nicable love, and from that vengeance which they justly deserve, O my GOD, O my Love, deliver me, and deliver all faithful people.

            O my God, O my Love, imprint on my soul an awful love of thy Majesty, that I may "worship thee in spirit and in truth."

            O my GOD, make me so tender of the honor of thee my Beloved, that I may show a due regard to all the parts of thy worship; that with lowest humiliation of soul and body, whenever I appear in the presence of infinite Love, I may fall down and adore thee.

            O my GOD, may I always enter thy house, the habitation of unbounded Love, with recollected thoughts, composed behavior, becoming reverence, and sincere intentions of love.

            O my GOD, may I ever frequent the public prayers, and approach thine altar with fervent and heavenly affections.

            O my GOD, may I always read and hear thy word, the heavenly register of thy love, with a serious attention, and a particular application, and ever learn from it some lesson of thy love.

            O my GOD, give me grace to pay a religious veneration to all sacred persons, or places, or things, which are thine by solemn dedication, and separated for the uses of divine love, and the communications of thy grace, or which may promote the decency and order of thy worship, or the edification of faithful people.

            O my GOD, let thy all powerful love abound in my heart, and in the hearts of all that profess thy name, that in these, and in all other possible instances of thy love, our souls may be continually employed to praise and to love thee.

            You, O my GOD, art "a jealous GOD," jealous of thy honor, and of the chasteness of my love; O let me never run after other loves, or commit spiritual adultery against thee.

            You, O my GOD, dost "visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children;" You, when thy " jealousy burns like fire" against idolaters, and those that rob thee of thy worship, art wont to punish them in their very posterity, with temporal evils, and with spiritual too, when their children tread in their steps; for then you makest their fathers' sins occasions of hastening or of increasing thy judgments, though you always sparest the children that repent: O let thy just indignation deter me, and all that profess thy name, from such violations.

            Thy jealousy, O my GOD, falls heavy upon them that hate thee; but how is it possible for any one to hate thee, who art infinite Love? And yet, alas! all that are enemies to thy worship, all that exalt any creature into thy throne, to ascribe their happiness, to sacrifice their esteem, and zeal, and affections, and to offer up sovereign honors to it, what do they but love false GODs, and hate thee, and are therefore hated by thee.

O LORD GOD, to hate thee is the proper character of Devils, and LUCIFER himself cannot sin beyond that ex­tremity of evil, the hatred of thee; and my heart is full of horror and grief to think, that ever those who bear thy image, and daily subsist by thy love, should turn them-selves into Devils, and this world into a hell, by hating thee: O boundless Love, turn them into men again, and then they cannot choose but love thee.

            Glory be to thee, O my Gop, "who showest mercy to them that love thee, and keep thy commandments:" love and obedience always go together, and entail a blessing on the posterity of thy lovers. O keep me always one of that happy number; let me ever love and obey thee.

Glory be to thee, O LORD GOD, whose love is more diffusive than thy anger; thy vengeance extends but to the " third," or, at most, " the fourth generation,"—thy " mercy unto thousands;" and the more diffused thy love is, the more powerfully let it move us to praise and to love thee.

The Third Commandment.

            O my GOD, O my Love, thy Name is thy own glorious and amiable self, (Ps. Ixxxiii. 18,) thy divine nature, and perfections, and works, most worthy to be adored, most worthy to be loved; and therefore I will always adore and love thy name.

            O my GOD, may I ever have awful thoughts of thee; may I never mention thy venerable Name, unless on solemn and just occasions; may I never mention it on those occasions without acts of love and adoration.

            O my GOD, to love and to glorify thy Name is the great end of our creation, which is still more enforced by our redemption: O let it be the business of my whole life to love and to glorify it in all possible ways, by my mouth, by my conversation, by my public confession of thee before men, even to death, whenever you art pleased to call me to it, and by engaging all I can to glorify and love thee.

            O my GOD, my heart shall ever be jealous of thy Name. I can have no true love, no real concern for thee, if I do not, to the utmost of my power, assert and vindicate the Name of my Beloved whenever I hear it dishonored.

            O my GOD, fix in my soul an habitual pure intention of thy glory in all my actions, that "whether I eat, or drink, or whatever I do, I may do all to the glory " of my Beloved. Oaths.

            O my GOD, O my Love, fill me with a religious awe of oaths, in which the honor of thy beloved name is so highly concerned. I know, O great JEHOVAH, that in an oath I solemnly invoke thee, as a witness to attest the truth of what I swear, and as a judge to punish me if I swear falsely. Far be it from me, O LORD GOD, ever to invoke thee, unless upon inducements lawful and important, when thy glory, the command of my superiors, the visible good of my neighbor, or " the ending of strife," obliges me to it.

            O LORD GOD, whenever I am duly called to an oath, grant that; I may swear "in truth, in righteousness, and in judgment." Whatever lawful promissory oaths I take, LORD, give me grace conscientiously to perform them, " though to my hindrance." Vows. O my GOD, O my Love, whenever I vow a vow to thee, give me grace to vow with all the caution I can, that I may vow those things only which are lawful and accept-able to thee, and which you have put into my power; that I may vow with deliberation and ghostly advice, and on weighty and considerable occasions only, and with a design of glory, (Ps. cxxxii. 2,) and thankfulness, and love to thee.

            O my GOD, give me grace faithfully to perform all the vows I make to thee, especially my baptismal vow, and all my repeated vows of amendment, in which I have so often vowed to glorify and love thy name.

            O my GOD, let thy all-powerful love abound in my heart, and in the hearts of all that profess thy name, that in these, and all other possible instances of thy love, our souls may be continually employed to praise and love thee.
            O my GOD, let me ever be seeking occasions to excite all I can to adore thee.

            O my GOD, who that knows thy great, thy beloved name, can ever in the least dishonor it?

            O my GOD, I renounce, and detest, and bewail, as odious and offensive to thee, All taking of thy name in vain: All use of it on trivial occasions, and without holy awe: All abuse of it in impious jests, in charms, or curses, or imprecations, or telling fortunes; all irreverent thought of thy name, profaneness, and blasphemy:

All denying thee by my works, or refusing publicly to confess thee, or tamely enduring to hear thee dishonored: All heathenish, or customary, or rash oaths, or swear­ing in ordinary communication, or by any creature: All breaking of lawful oaths, perjury, false-swearing, and invoking thee, O GOD of Truth, to attest a lie:

All hasty, or unlawful, or superstitious, or impossible vows; all violations of those that are regularly made: All the least tendencies to any of these impieties.

From all these, and the like hateful violations of thy love, and from that vengeance which they justly deserve, O my GOD, deliver me, and deliver all faithful people.

            O my GOD, I earnestly pray that thy love may so prevail over our hearts, that we may sadly lament acid abhor all these abominations, and may never more provoke thee.

            O great JEHOVAH, you art jealous for thy glorious name; and without serious repentance, you wilt "not hold him guiltless, that taketh it in vain;" you wilt pour on him the vials of thy wrath t and yet thy ever blessed name is, alas? daily, hourly blasphemed. O Almighty Love, you can as easily diffuse thy love

over the world, as you didst at first diffuse light; O let thy fear and thy love so universally affect the age, that thy great and beloved name may be universally adored and loved.

The Fourth Commandment.

            Glory be to thee, O my GOD, O my LovE, who in coin-passion to human weakness, which is not capable of an uninterrupted contemplation of thee, have appointed a solemn day on purpose for thy remembrance.

            Glory be to thee, O my GOD, for proportioning a seventh part of our time to thyself, and liberally indulging the remainder to our own use.

            O my GOD, let me ever esteem it my privilege and hap­piness to have a day set apart for thy service, and the concerns of my own soul; to have a day free from dis­tractions, and disengaged from the world, wherein I have nothing to do, but to praise and to love thee.

LORD, grant that I may not only on thy day give thee true worship myself, but may give leisure to all under my charge to serve thee also.

Glory be to thee, O blessed SPIRIT, who on the first day of the week didst descend in miraculous gifts on the Apostles; O descend upon me, that I may be always " in the Spirit on the LORD'S day."

            O my GOD, give me grace on thy day to worship thee in my closet, and in the congregation, and to spend it in doing good, in works of necessity and charity, in prayer, and praise, and meditation: O let it ever be to me a day sacred to divine love, a day of heavenly rest and refresh­ment.

Glory be to thee, O LORD GOD, who didst command the Sabbath, or Seventh Day, to be " kept holy" by the Jews as thy Sabbath, in memory of the Creation; (Gen. 2: 2;) of thy " making heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and of thy resting the seventh day; of thy blessing the seventh day, and hallowing it."

We Christians, O LORD GOD, following the equity of thy command, and authorized by Apostolical Practice, (Acts 20: 7, 1 Cor. 16: 2,) celebrate the LoRn's day, (Bev. 1: 1O,) " the first day of the week," in memory of our redemption, in memory of thy resurrection from the dead, O most beloved JESUS, when you didst rest from the labors and sorrows of the new creation. O may I ever remember thy day and thee.

            Glory be to thee, O my GOD, who has under the Gospel delivered us from the rigors, but not from the piety of the Jewish Sabbath.

LORD, since the blessing of everlasting salvation does wonderfully exceed the creation commemorated by the Jews, let our love and praise, and devotion, and zeal, proportionably exceed theirs also.

            O my GOD, let thy all-powerful love abound in my heart, and in the hearts of all that profess thy name; that in these, and in all other possible instances of thy love, our souls may be continually employed to praise and to love thee.

            O my GOD, let me ever be seeking occasions to excite all I can to adore and love thee.

            O my GOD, O my Love, I renounce and detest all pro­fanations of thy hallowed day, and of all other holy times set apart to thy praise and thy love:

            All worldly-mindedness, and unnecessary business, or not allowing leisure for thy service, on thy day, to those under my care:

All unmercifulness to my very beasts: (Luke 13: 15:) All indevotion, or forgetfulness of thee: (Deut. 6: l2; 8: 14:) All the least tendencies to any of these impieties.

Next to thy glorious Self, O my GOD, O my Love, and for the sake of thy supreme, independent Love, you have commanded rue to love my Neighbor, allied to me by nature, or by grace, all strangers and enemies, as well as friends; to honor all men, as being made after thy like­ness; and the greater likeness they retain to thee, to honor them the more.

            You, O my GOD, have commanded me to love myNeighbor as myself, for the sake of thy Love; give me love to relieve and assist him in all instances wherein he may need my help, as freely, as fully, as affectionately as I myself would desire to be treated, were I in his con­dition.

            O my GOD, for the sake of thy dearest Love, give me grace to love my Neighbor, a not in word and in tongue only, but in deed and in truth;" to wish well to all men; and to contribute my hearty prayers and endeavors, and give them, for thy sake, all lawful, and reasonable, and necessary succors.

Glory be to thee, O my GOD, who having commanded me to love my Neighbor as myself, Bost imply the re­gular love of myself; that I should do all I can to pre-serve myself free and vigorous to glorify thee in my sta­tion: it is for thy sake only I can love myself; and he does not wish or-endeavor his own happiness, he really hates himself, that does not love thee.

            You, LORD, by enjoining me to love my Neighbor as myself, has intimated my duty of loving those best, who either in blood or in grace are nearest myself: O let thy love teach me to observe the true order of charity in loving others.

            O you eternal Source of Goodness, give me grace to imitate thy boundless goodness; let thy love work in me an universal propension to love, and to do good to all men.

            Q. Show me how the love of your Neighbor is in the second table divided.

            A. The love of my Neighbor, which is the fulfilling of the law, of all the commands, of the second table, is di­vided according to those different conditions of our Neighbor, wherein we most exercise our love or hatred to him.

            Q. In how many ruling instances may we exercise that love or hatred?

            A. Either in outward acts, or inward disposition. Q. How in outward acts?

            A. In five several ways: In respect of his Superiori as in the Fifth commandment:

His Safety in the Sixth:

His Bed in the Seventh:

His Property in the Eighth; or,

His good Name in the Ninth.

            Q. How in our inward disposition?

            A. By regulating our very desires in relation to him, as the Tenth obliges us to do.

            Q. Let me hear how Divine Love moves in each of these commands?

            A. It moves in such acts as follow.

The Fifth Commandment.

            Let thy reverential love, O my GOD, teach and incline me to show respectful love to all my superiors, in my in-ward esteem, and in my outward speech and behavior.

            Glory be to thee, O LORD, who have comprehended all that are above me under the tender and venerable names of Father and Mother, that I, looking on them as resem­blances and instruments of thy sovereign power and paternal providence to Inc, may be the more effectually engaged for thy sake to reverence and love them.

            O my GOD, give me grace to imitate thy paternal good­ness, and, for the sake of thy love, to love, to cherish, to provide for, to educate, to instruct, and to pray for my children; and to take conscientious care to give them correction, and good example, and to make them thy children, that they may truly love thee.

            O my GOD, give me grace, for the sake of thy love, to honor my Father and Mother, to render them all love, and reverence, and thankfulness, and all that regard that is due from a child; that I may pay obedience to their commands, submission to their corrections, attention to their instructions, and succor to their necessities, and may daily pray for their welfare..

            Glory be to thee, O LORD, who have ordained Pastors, to be our ecclesiastical parents; to watch over our souls; to instruct us in saving knowledge; to guide us by their examples; to pray for, and to bless us; to administer spiritual discipline in the church; and to manage all the conveyances of thy divine love.

            O my GOD, for thy love's sake, let me ever honor and love the Ministers of thy love, the "ambassadors" you dost send "in thy stead, to beseech us sinners to be reconciled to thee," and to offer to thy enemies conditions of love, of love eternal: O may I ever hear them attentively, practice their heavenly doctrine,, imitate their holy examples,, pay them their dues, and revere their censures.

            O my GOD, for the sake of thy love, grant that I may ever love, and provide for my Servants, and may treat them like brethren; let me never exact from them im­moderate work: O may I always give them just wages, and equitable commands, and good example, and mer­ciful correction: grant, LoRD, that I may daily allow them time for their prayers, indulge them in due refresh­ments, take care of their souls, and persuade them to love thee; remembering "that I also have a Master in. heaven."

            Give me grace, O my GOD, for the sake of thy love, to honor, and love, and obey my Master and Mistress; to serve them with diligence, and faithfulness, and readiness; to please and to pray for them: and whatever I do, to do heartily as to thee, O LORD, and not to them.

            O my GOD, let thy love incline me to love and to honor all whom you have in any way made my Superiors, suit-ably to their quality, or age, or gifts, or learning, or wisdom, or goodness.

            O my GOD, grant that for thy sake I may ever love and honor all that are, or have been, instruments of thy love to me, in doing me good: O may I reverence my teach­ers, be grateful to my benefactors, and have always a peculiar respect to my particular Pastor.

            O my GOD, let thy love engage me to love those, whom you have obliged to love me; to show constancy, and fidelity, and sympathy, and love, and communicativeness to my friends; to be affectionate to my brethren and sisters; to be kind and affable to my equals, condescend­ing to my inferiors, and, in all possible ways, universally helpful, and obliging, and loving to all.

            O my GOD, let thy all-powerful love abound in my heart, and in the hearts of all that profess thy name; that in all these, and in all other possible instances of duty, our lives may be continually employed to love thee, and for thy sake to love our neighbor, and to excite our neighbor to love thee.

            O my GOD, O my LOVE, I renounce, and detest, and bewail, as odious and offensive to thee, as directly oppo­site to thy love, and the love of my neighbor for thy sake, All dishonor of our Superiors, either in despising them, speaking evil of them, or irreverent behavior