7, Be humble.

8, By faith wait for the providence of God. Means to be content.

1, Confider you have what God allots you; what his providence allows you. Your croffes and comforts are mixed by his hands. It is the will of God that thou fhouldeft be thus and thus. Labour then to have that dearer to thee than any thing in the world.

2, Confider, that if you had fewer comforts and more croffes, you ought to be thankful; for do you know what you have deserved? 'Tis of the Lord's mercy that you are not confumed.

3, Whatever comes, take it as from the hand of God affure your felf, that without permiffion and direction it could not come.

4, Prepare to receive the will of God, and look for changes and alterations in the world.

5, Faith is another means to quiet, fatisfy and content the mind. That affures us, that that which is confiftent with the love of God may well be born. Outward loffes and afflictions are confiftent with the love of God. Whom the Lord loveth he chafteneth, Heb. xii, 6. We are all fubject to alterations; our life, health, eftate, friends, families, and all we have, are liable to changes. Let us then fix upon a God that never changes, that never fails, who is from everlafting to everlafting. Let us depend upon a God that depends upon none. And, what tho' our house be not fo with God as it hath been; yet if he hath made with us an everlafting covenant, we have great reason to be content with all his outward dealings with us, 2 Sam. xxiii, 5.

Means to preferve mercies.

1, Be thankful for them.

2, Receive them as mercies, not as dues. 3, Prepare to part with them.

4, Expect the continuance of mercies from God, he is the ftrength of our life, the staff of our bread, the breath of our noftrils, and the length of our days.

Signs of Sincerity.

1, Prayer is a fign of fincerity; if it be fecret, Matth. vi, 6. Frequent, Acts x, 2.

Rom. viii, 26.

Fervent,

2, A willingness to be fearched by God, Pfal. cxxxix, 23. By the righteous, Pfal. cxli, 5.By minifters, Acts x, 33. By confcience, Pfal. lxxvii, 6. By the fcriptures, John iii, 19, 20, 21. Sincere fouls love fincere dealings.

3, A fenfe of fin; particularly of fpiritual. fins, Mark ix, 24. Rom. vii, 21. And of original fin, Rom. vii. 24. efpecially when it drives to Chrift, ver. 25.

4, When a man is moft fenfible of, and watchful against his own fin, his conftitutional fin, the beam in his own eye.

5, Univerfal Tenderness. When a man will not plead for any fin, Pfal. cxix, 128. nor quarrel with any of the commandments, Pfal. cxix, 6. Acts ix, 6.

6, 'Tis a fign of fincerity when a man chufes affliction rather than fin, Dan. iii, 17, 18.

7, When a man relies upon Chrift for strength against fin.

8, When a man loves God above all, and loves others principally for what is God-like in them.

9, When a man delights in the word of God. 10, When he makes confcience to watch his heart in duty.

11, When a man's thoughts run freely on heavenly things.

12, When the glory of God is preferred a

bove all.

13, When a man's profeffion is joined with meeknefs.

14, A well governed tongue (for an outward fign) when a man dares neither boaft of himself, nor cenfure others, James iii, 2. Matth. xii, 36.

15. Conftancy in the ways of God, Job xxvii, 6, 10. Such a man can never be a hypocrite. Short questions whereby to know whether the heart be truly changed.

1, Hath thine heart been turned into forrow for fin ?

2, Hath thy forrow turn'd into prayer?

3, Hath thy prayer turned into faith?

4, Hath thy faith iffued in univerfal tendernefs and obedience.

Signs of Faith.

TO THOSE THAT BELIEVE.

1, Chrift is precious.

2, The word is fweet.

3, Sin is bitter.

4, Prayer is delightful.

5, Saints are dear.

6, Religion is their bufinefs.

7, The world is a broken idol.

8, Death is welcome.Or thus,

They that believe,

Have Chrift in their hearts; heaven in their eye; and the world under their feet. God's

fpirit is their guide; God's fear is their guard ;. God's people are their companions; God's promifes are their cordials; holinefs is their way; and heaven is their home.

Signs of love to Chrift.

THEY THAT LOVE CHRIST

1, Love to think of him.
2, They love to hear of him.
3, They love to read of him.

of

4, They love to fpeak for him.

to

5, They love the prefence of Chrift
6, They love the yoke of Christ.
7, They love the minifters of Chrift,
8, They love the name of Christ.
9, They hate fin,

10, They are pleafed when Chrift is pleased.
11, They are grieved when Chrift is grieved.
12, They long to be with Chrift.

Chrift's will is their will; Chrift's dishonor is their affliction; Chrift's caufe is their care; Chrift's minifters are their ftars; Chrift's faints are their companions; Chrift's day is their delight; Chrift's word is their oracle; Chrift's glory is their end.

Signs of the fear of God.

A MAN THEN FEARS God,

1, When he dares not fin, though folicited and tempted to it.

2, When fin is common and yet he fears it. 3, When he is afraid of an evil thought. 4, when he dares not fin though he fhould fuffer if he does not.

5, When his heart is broken, and trembles at the word of God.

6, When he flies to Christ.

7, When he is ftudious to please God.
Signs of true grace.

1, When felf-loving is turned into felf-loathing; felf-excufing into felf-condemning; felf-admiring into felf-abhorring; felf-feeking into felfdenying.

2, It is a fign of true grace when a man ferioufly complains of the want of grace.

A graceless perfon cannot truly complain that he hath no grace. There is grace in that complaint.

3, When the heart is tender, and feels the power of an ordinance.

4, When the foul hath an appetite after the word, 1 Pet. ii, 2.

5, When a man makes confcience of fecret prayer.

6, When we are taken with their converfation, and manner of life, who are moft fpiritual, Zech. viii, 23.

7, When we are willing to be acquainted with Chrift, and reconciled to God upon any terms. 8, When a man approves of all duties.

9, When he delires more grace: There is grace in the defire of grace, as there is fin in the defire of fin, Neh. i, 11. Pfal. lxxxiv, 5.

A fhort Prayer for Children.

MOST great and gracious God, thou art from everlasting to everlafting. No creature is worthy to come before thee; much lefs am I, poor finful duft and afhes.