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hands Thou adoptest them Thy children in baptism, feedest them with Thy body, comfortest them in affliction, armest them against the fear of death, and fittest them for a blessed eternity. Grant that I may truly weigh the sanctity of my calling, and faithfully discharge it; and that others may weigh it, and bless Thee for so great a blessing. I am appointed to sanctify others. O grant that I may first sanctify myself; that I may separate myself from this world, its profits, pleasures, honours, and all its idols. Amen. Let my zeal, O my LORD and Master, be answerable to that account which I must one day give. Let me not see Thy laws broken, hear Thy name blasphemed, Thy word set at nought, Thine ordinances despised, with patience. And oh, may I never, by any neglect or sinful silence of mine, contribute to these crimes; but employ my authority to suppress them. Let me remember what was once said by CHRIST himself to a Christian bishop : "Because thou art lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Inspire my heart with such holy resolution and courage, that I may not fear any man when Thy honour and my duty call me; that no worldly considerations may hinder me, when my office obliges me to stand in the gap. Amen. Give me such holy dispositions of soul, whenever I approach Thine altar, as may in some measure be proportionable to the holiness of the work I am about, of presenting the prayers of the faithful, of offering a spiritual sacrifice to God, in order to convey the body and blood of JESUS CHRIST, the true bread of life, to all His members. Give me, when I commemorate the same sacrifice that JESUS CHRIST once offered, give me the same intentions that He had to satisfy the justice of God, to acknowledge His mercies, and to pay all that debt which a creature owes to his Creator. None can do this effectually but JESUS CHRIST; Him, therefore, we present to GOD, in this Holy Sacrament. O Thou, who hast made me a servant in Thy house, give me such dispositions as that I may never dishonour Thy service. Amen.

I am a sinner, and yet I am appointed to offer up prayers for others. It is to the great God to whom I offer these prayers. To me the Church, the spouse of CHRIST, intrusts her desires,

her interests, her necessities, and her thanks. What a trust is this! O may I never betray it! may I never obstruct Thy mercies to Thy Church by a formal service. Let me ever speak to GOD, and from GOD with attention, with love, with respect, with fear, with purity of heart, and with unpolluted lips. Amen. The office of a shepherd of souls is full of difficulty. Consider what toil JESUS CHRIST underwent, what reproaches, what contempt, what despite !-and from those persons to whom He preached the most concerning truths; and, last of all, laying down His life for His sheep. I am astonished, and greatly ashamed, when I consider how very far I come short of this pattern, how poor my pains have been, how little of my time, my care, my thoughts, have been spent in this service. O Chief Shepherd and Bishop of souls, communicate to me, the meanest of thy herdsmen, such a degree of concern as may thoroughly qualify me for this great work; pardon my past negligence, and lay not to my charge the evils which may have happened thereby. Amen. Consider the patience of your great Master, with what compassion He treated sinners; transcribe His example; and if any of your flock are perverse, froward, obstinate, bear with them, condescend to their weakness, and strive to reduce them even against their wills. But has this been my way? Very far from it. I have been impatient when any of my flock have not been bettered by my care and pains. And this, not from a true zeal for the glory of GoD, and the good of souls, but too often, alas! from a principle of self-love; angry, because I have been so conceited as to think that my labours should not be in vain. And yet how often has God spoken to me myself, and I regarded it not? How long was his grace ineffectual even with myself. O JESU, impart to me a portion of that Spirit of meekness which prevailed with Thee to preach to a people who regarded Thee not, who despised, who crucified Thee. Then why should I, who am a sinner, complain of my unsuccessful labours? Forgive, gracious God, the faults I have committed in this great work of the ministry; and let no unworthiness in me hinder thy blessings from descending upon the souls committed to my care. Amen.

Reflect seriously what a dreadful account you have to give,

if you say, "Peace, peace, when there is no peace;" or if you give the children's bread to dogs, that is, admit to the LORD's Table those that are unworthy of such a favour. This would be to lay men asleep in their sin. LORD, preserve Thy servant from this sin. Amen. I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done. O LORD, that I could say this to the flock over which the HOLY GHOST hath made me Overseer. That I could say, Be ye devout, as ye see me devout; do ye forgive one another, as ye see me ready to forgive; despise the world, &c. as ye see me do it. Let me seriously consider, that I am not only answerable for my own personal offences; I sin every time I cause others to sin by my example. What repara

tion can be made, what answer can be given, when CHRIST requires our flock at our hand? LORD, suffer me not to follow my own will; reform me, that I may reform others; give me light to discover, and grace to amend, where I have done amiss. Amen. Let your conversation be such as becomes, not only the Gospel, but ministers of the Gospel, to whom all that is curious, useless, light, and vain, is forbidden; all scurrilous language, idle stories, &c.

Endeavour to leave some impression of piety upon the minds of those with whom you converse. JESUS CHRIST did so always. Make no distinction betwixt the rich and poor, as to converse with one, and not with the other. LORD, grant that Thy example may ever be before me; and my conversation holy, useful, and edifying. Amen.

As to the disposal of the Church's revenues, the suggestions of avarice, of vanity, of pleasure, and of the world, ought not to govern me. I am only a steward, not a proprietor, and should be as criminal as those laymen, that invade them, if I convert them to lay and secular uses; which side of sacrilege, very probably, took its rise from others observing the Church's revenues put to secular uses. Grant, O my LORD, who hast given me much more of this world's goods than Thou tookest Thyself, grant that I may apply the goods of the Church to Thy glory, and to the support of Thy poor members; and pardon all my vain expenses. Amen.

He, and especially that Minister, "that hath not the spirit of CHRIST, is none of His." He ought to perform all his duties in CHRIST's name, by His authority and power; and offer all to GOD through Him; adore JESUS CHRIST as preaching, praying, absolving, and comforting, by you His Minister; LORD, grant that I may set Thee ever before me, that I may direct all my labours to Thy glory; let me so speak, and so live, that my words and actions may be worthy of Thee, that Thou mayest call them Thine. Amen.

"The Priest's lips should keep knowledge." Whence this knowledge, but from the holy Scriptures, which alone make us sound in doctrine, and able to convince gainsayers? But even these are not to be understood without the light of GOD'S SPIRIT, a diligent reading of them, and a knowledge of the maladies men are subject to, in order to apply them wisely and safely. Men read the Gospel rather as judges than as disciples, which is the rise of all errors both in life and doctrine. Grant, O LORD, that when I read Thy Word, I may do it with a spirit crucified to the world, to my curiosity, to my vanity, to my interest, and to my prejudices. Cure me, O blessed Physician, first, and then teach me to know and relieve the maladies of my flock, that I may present them sound and lovely in Thy sight. Amen. Covetousness is idolatry in every man; but it is abominable in a minister of JESUS CHRIST, who ever affected poverty rather than wealth, who lived upon charity, and forbad his disciples superfluities, when he sent them to preach the Gospel. He that takes care of the fowls of the air will never fail to provide for His own ministers. It is therefore infidelity to be over careful for this world. GOD grant that I may ever depend upon the providence of GOD!!

Purity of soul and body is a most necessary qualification in a Minister of JESUS CHRIST. To offer the prayers of the faithful to God with polluted lips, to break the bread of life with unclean hands, to receive that bread into a soul defiled with unchaste thoughts, how dreadfully provoking must it needs be!

A blindness of spirit, an alienation from divine things, an incapacity to receive them, are the necessary effects of impurity. The natural man receiveth not the things of the SPIRIT. Into a

malicious soul wisdom and piety cannot enter.

Matt. v. 8.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see GOD."

A Priest, who, in the exercise of his function, has an eye to the grandeur, repute, esteem of great men, presumptuous authority over the consciences of others, worldly advantages, &c. perverts the design of the Ministry.

Grant, O LORD, that I may regard nothing but Thy glory, that I may act and live for Thee alone, that my zeal for Thy glory, and the good of souls, may be the chief motive of all my actions. Amen.

OXFORD,

The Feast of St. Stephen.

[FOURTH EDITION.]

These Tracts are continued in Numbers, and sold at the price of 2d. for each sheet, or 7s. for 50 copies.

LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON,

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE.

1840.

GILBERT & RIVINGTON, Printers, St. John's Square, London.

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