C I John ii. 1, 2. ing without fin Thyself, Thou mightest be a fit Sacrifice to atone for us finners, who being born of unclean parents, were all by nature unclean; and therefore all Job xiv. 4. Love, all Glory be to Thee, O Immaculate Lamb of God, who takest away the fins of the world. I believe, O Bleffed Saviour, that the two natures of God, and of man, were in Thee fo mysteriously united, without either change or confufion, that they made in Thee but one Perfon, but one Mediator, one Lord: Thou, O Eternal Word, didst become flesh, and didft dwell among us," on с g My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye fin not. And if any man fin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jefus Christ the righteous and He is the propitiation for our fins and not for ours only, but also for the fins of the whole world. d Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. e The next day John feeth Jefus coming unto him, and faith, Behold f For there is one g One Lord, one faith, one baptifm. h And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of e John i. 29. f 1 Tim. ii. 5. Eph. iv. 5. h John i. 14. purpose to save us; and therefore all Love, all Glory be to Thee. I Suffered. BELIEVE, O Adorable Love, that Thy whole life was made up of fufferings, and that for finful men, and in particular for me; O let me never cease to adore and love Thee. It was for us finners, O Tendereft Love, that in Thy very infancy Thou waft circumcifed, and defigned by Herod for flaughter, and forced to fly into Egypt, and therefore I praise and love Thee. grace and truth. i And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcifing of the child, His name was called JESUS, which was fo named of the angel before He was conceived in the womb. k And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Jofeph in a dream, faying, Arife, and take the young child and k His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word : for Herod will feek the young Child to destroy Him. Then Herod, when he faw that he was mocked of the wife men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth, and flew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coafts thereof, from two years old and under, ac It was for us finners that Thou, O afflicted Love, wert all Thy life-long, a Man of forrows, and acquainted with grief;' that Thou waft perfecuted and reviled, defpifed and rejected, and hadft not where to lay Thy head, and therefore I am m Mat. viii. bound to praise and love Thee. m 1 Isaiah liii. 3. 20. It was for us finners, that Thou, O compaffionate Love, when Thou tookeft on Thee our nature, waft touched with a feeling of our infirmities, and waft in all points tempted like as we are, yet without fin," that Thou mightest the more affec- Heb. iv. 15. tionately pity the weak, and fuccour the tempted; and therefore, I praise and love Thee. cording to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wife men. 1 He is defpifed and rejected of men; a man of forrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. m And Jesus faith unto him, The foxes have n For we have not an n Luke iv. 18. Р It was for us finners, that Thou, O • | Acts x. 38. beneficent Love, didft go about doing good, preaching repentance, publishing the glad P Mat. iv. 17. tidings of falvation, sending Thy Difciples, confirming Thy heavenly doctrine by many glorious miracles,' and illuftrating it by a God-like example; all Thy life is full of attractives of sweetest love 9 Mat. x. I, 5. r Mat. xi. 5. $ 2 Cor. v. 14. and pity to us finners, which3 kindly and • How God anointed Jefus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghoft, and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppreffed of the devil for God was with Him. P From that time Jefus began to preach, and to fay, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Spirit of the Lord ed, to preach deliverance them that are bruised. q And when He had called unto Him His twelve difciples, He gave them power against unclean fpirits, to caft them out, and to heal all manner of fickness, and all manner of disease. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, faying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. The blind receive their fight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleanfed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. s For the love of Christ forcibly constrain us to praise and love Thee. O most exuberant Love, 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, unfpotted Holiness, unchangeable Resolution, univerfal Charity, uninterrupted Devotion, Contempt of the world, Heavenly-mindednefs, gracious Condescension, ardent Zeal for Thy Father's Glory, and unbounded Love, and that for the fake of that dearest Love, which inclined Thee to become Incarnate for me. I Under Pontius Pilate. BELIEVE, O my Lord, and my God, His Sufferthat though Thou didst suffer all Thyings previ life-long, yet Thy greatest sufferings were Crucifixion. constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead. t For whom He did foreknow, He also did predeftinate to be con formed to the image of Let this mind be in ous to his |