in heart, open and innocent in their conversation, like-minded one towards another, and united together by the bonds of a mutual agreement and love. This was the state of the church under the apostles; thus did the first converts to our holy religion observe the commandments of Christ, and maintain with each other the law of charity. And thus the holy scripture saith of them: "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul." And again : "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." And to this was in great measure owing the success of their prayers; therefore they might ask with confidence whatever they stood in need of at the throne of grace.

18. But now amongst us the spirit of unity is very much broken, and with it that of charity is much weakened also. Formerly they sold their lands and houses, and purchased for themselves a treasure in heaven; giving the price of them to be disposed of by the apostles for the use of the poor. The case at present is so far altered, that we do not so much as expend upon these occasions the tithe of our possessions; but instead of selling what we have, as our Lord directed us, we enlarge our estates by continual purchases. And are the firmness and alacrity of our faith indeed thus decayed and withered? The ghostly strength of believers thus weakened and enervated? Well

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might our Lord, in respect of such times as these, observe and ask in his gospel: "When the son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" We see the case stands as he foretold it would. In any fear of God, in any regards to the law of righteousness, in any proofs of brotherly love, in any works of charity, there are no marks of such a faith appearing; no one seems to have any apprehensions upon him of futurity, nor of the wrath of God, which is to be revealed from heaven in the great and terrible day of his coming; nor of that dreadful punishment which awaits unbelievers; nor of those eternal torments which are reserved for the betrayers of their faith. It were impossible we should not be afraid of these things, if we in earnest believed them; we do not therefore fear them, because we do not indeed believe them; if we did believe them, we could not but beware of them; and if we did beware of them, we should certainly escape them. Let us then rouse up the powers of our faith and vigilance; let us lay aside all sloth and drowsiness, and be intent upon our master's will. Let us be such as he would have us, and hath directed us to be, saying, "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watch

ing." We therefore, my brethren, should have our loins thus girded; and our light should thus shine forth, that so we may be led out of the darkness of this world, into the glorious light of a better life. We should look out with an holy vigilance for the coming of our Lord, which, we are told beforehand, will be sudden; that when he knocketh, he may find us awake and watching for him, and may crown our faith and diligence with the glories of his heavenly kingdom.

TRACT II.

ON THE LORD'S PRAYER.

This tract seems to have been written about the beginning of the year 252. The design of it was not very foreign from that of the preceding; and as the Unity of the Churh will be found to have been much in our author's thoughts, whilst he was writing his discourse upon the Lord's Prayer, so his discourse upon that prayer hath a notable tendency to promote such unity. The antients greatly extolled this performance. Augustin frequently refers to it; and in his book of Grace and Freewill, exhorts and intreats his readers that they would attentively peruse what the blessed Cyprian had written upon the Lord's Prayer, that they would labour to understand it as far as they were able, and commit as much of it as they could to memory.

1. The precepts of the gospel, my beloved brethren, are to be considered as the lessons of God to us, as the foundations of our hope, and the supports of our faith; as spiritual consolations to us, shewing us the paths of righteousness, and setting us forward in the way of salvation: for whilst with teachable and willing minds we receive upon earth the instructions hence conveyed to us, we are led on insensibly to the kingdom of heaven. The will of God had been revealed to the world before in some competent measure by his servants

the prophets; but now the Son of God, who was the WORD by which those prophets themselves were taught to speak, hath revealed it far more copiously and more clearly; he hath not now, as formerly, directed his way to be prepared for him; but he hath come amongst us in his own person, and pointed to us the way we should henceforwards walk in; that so we, who had hitherto sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, without any clue to lead or to direct us, might keep close to the paths of life, through the help of his gracious guidance and illumination. Now amongst other excellent precepts and rules of living, whereby he hath consulted our eternal welfare, he hath also given us a form of prayer; and hath instructed us in clear and express terms what we should pray for.

2. He who gave us life hath taught us how to pray, with the same indulgence and benignity wherewith he hath conferred upon us numerous other benefits and mercies; and when we address the Father in the language of the Son, and in the manner which the Son hath recommended, without all peradventure the Father will hear us. The Son had foretold in his lifetime, that "the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth ;' and he hath now fulfilled his own prediction; thus we who, from the satisfaction made by him to his Father's justice have received the spirit of truth,