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It is our complaint against ourselves to thee, the Lord, that thou art ever teaching us, and yet we learn nothing; or if we learn anything, yet we come not to the perfyte knowledge of the truth. When thou art drawing near to us, then we draw back from thee; and when thou puts forth thy hand to fetch us to thee, we come; but presently we start back again at the first heat of tentation, and then we never stay, but runs back still, till we be where we were first again. And, which is worst of all, we consider not of the danger of this estate of ours. Surely, if now we return to our former sins, we do greatly dishonour thee, and we weary thee, who is the physician of our souls. When thou are applying plasters to our souls, we rug (tear) them off again; and when thou art giving to us potions of physick, we vomit them up again; and thus we do greatly dishonour thee, and lightly (set light by) thy mercy offered. And, by returning to our sin, we give a bad example to others, and we put ourselves in a worse case than we were in at the first; for this returning to sin is like the returning of the ill spirit, with so many worse spirits nor himself, and so is worse to be dispossessed than it was before. And therefore, good Lord, when thou has once gotten a grip of us, and apprehended us when we were running away from thee, let not the grip gang again, but hold it fast, and draw us nearer to thee. And when we are once entered into a good course, let us see what is to hinder us from walking into it, and that if we go back again, we go back to hell; and if so be that we go fordward in it, then we go on from grace to grace, and so from comfort to comfort. And let us see also that there is glory at the end of it, and that cloud of faithful witnesses are there possessing it now, which they -aimed at while they were here; and now, in a manner, all of them are calling upon us, testifying to us what rest is to be found there, and bidding us follow their example, if so be we would be at their end: for there there is no sin, but holiness; no misery, but perfyte happiness; no slavery, but freedom. Lord, if we could forget that which we have done, as indeed it is unworthy to be remembered, and press hard toward the mark of our high calling in Christ, and be aye labouring to get further knowledge! for this is the thing that wracks (wrecks) us, that we have not the knowledge of thee, and thy ways; and the most part cares not for knowledge, and to have the power of religion into their souls. Lord, pity us, we beseech thee, and increase faith more and more into our souls, and make it lively and evident that we have it; that so we may glory in this, that we are the children of God, whom he has ordained for life and for happiness. Lord, increase true holiness in our hearts by the means of grace; and let us not satisfy ourselyes with this, to think that it is into our hearts, but make it to appear in our lives and conversations: for if so be that our life be not renewed, then we cannot say that we walk worthy of our profession, or of our confession. And, Lord, be thou with us at this time, for the increase of grace in our souls. We have spent many hours in sin with delight: when shall it once be that we shall have also great delight in the ways of grace? We have set our hearts fully on following vanity; when shall it once be that we set all our hearts on following thee, and thy ways? Corruption, O Lord, is strong in us, and grace is weak; and therefore is it that we do this. And because there can be no progress in thy ways, unless we be united to Christ, and yet we are strangers to him, and the life of grace, Lord, if we could yet draw near to him! Lord, if we could find that Spirit in us, which is in him, quickening us! for if we had the Spirit, then our consolations would be more, and we would find power coming from him, and falling in upon (influencing) us, whereby we would get some order taken with our corruptions, and some further strength to do thy will. We regret that we are strangers to the power of godliness; Lord, acquaint us with it. So many of us as finds or has the power of sin, Lord, deliver us from that slavery: and so many of us as desires to find the power of Christ into us, Lord, let us find it, in quickening us from being dead in sins and trespasses, and to walk in thy ways. And we beseech thee, O Lord, because there be some times more difficil than others to walk in thy ways, that then especially thou would be with us, and strengthen us: and at every occasion of good that we are about, let us find more grace, that so we may see at least that we are not in a course of defection, but we may see that we are going on in thy ways; and so go on in a happy progress, till we come to the end of our journey, through Jesus Christ. In whose, etc.