vanity, and perdition. Ah ! my God how much am I grieved for having offended thee ! I am more troubled at the greatness of my ingratitude for having offended thee, than at the greatness of the torments which I have deserved for my sins. I would have my sorrow for my sins to be as great as the sins themselves. I would have my regret for having displeased thee proportioned to the injuries committed against thee. I would have a grief equal to thy mercy. I would willingly bewail the enormity of my sins with tears of blood, more for the offence and insult offered thy divine Majesty, than for* the injury and perdition they bring upon myself. But where shall I find so deep a sense of sorrow, save only in the fountains of thy grace? Where shall I find such a grief, save only in the contemplation of thy immense goodness and infinite majesty? Whence are those tears to flow, save only from the ocean of thy mercy? Here I cast myself at thy feet; consider not in what manner, at what time, or how late; consider only that I come. But ah! Lord, in how miserable a condition !' how filthy! how abominable! Clad with the deformity of my sins, covered with the filthiness of my offences, and defiled with the abominations of a vicious life ! But, in approaching thee, O my God, I come with the confidence of finding in thy mercy a secure haven, in thy compassion protection, in thy clemency a refuge, and in thy goodness pardon. Wherefore, O Lord, under the dread of thy justice, I seek no other remedy save that of thy mercy, nor fly to any other shelter but that of thy clemency. In thee I place my trust, O my God; for though by sin I have lost the blessings and privileges of a son, yet thou, O Lord, infinitely good, dost not lose the love and compassion of a father. Let then, O Lord, thy infinite
