thy grace, and fresh tokens of thy love. We are not worthy indeed that thou shouldst take notice of us, or be entreated by us: but worthy is the Lamb, that was slain to take away the sins of the world; worthy is the Lamb, that thou shouldst for his sake do more for us than we can ask or even think for he has fulfilled those holy laws, which we have broken, and perfectly satisfied thy justice for all our transgressions of them. In him thou art a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness even to the chief of sinners: in him thou art reconciled to those who deserve nothing but to be forsaken and abhorred by thee. We acknowledge that to us belong shame and confusion. of face our sins have been so multiplied, that we might well expect thy judgement and fiery indignation; and if thou shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss, we could not escape the curses of thy holy law.

But, O gracious Father, regard not what we have done against thy Majesty; but rather regard what our blessed Saviour has done for our souls: consider not what we have made ourselves, but what he is made of thee our God unto us. And O that Christ may be to every one of us (what he is to all thy faithful people) wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption! Let his precious blood cleanse us from all our sins: and let the grace of thy holy Spirit renew and sanctify our souls. Righteous Father, subdue, we pray thee, our iniquities, and mortify our lusts; quicken us to all the duties of thy holy service, and enable us to perform them with profit and delight. O let not sin reign in our mortal bodies, that we should obey it in the lusts thereof. Let there be no sin in us

which is not felt and hated, bewailed and resisted by us: let us approve our very hearts to thee, the searcher of them; and let all our ways be pleasing in thy sight.

O teach us to know thee our God; and enable us to do thy will as we ought to do. Give us hearts to fear thee, and to love thee: cause us to trust in thee, and to adhere with faithfulness unto thee. Let no temptations draw us, nor any tribulations drive us, from thee: but let all thy dispensations to us be received as messengers of thy love to our souls; and let all thy dealings with us bring us nearer to thy blessed self, and make us fitter for thy heavenly kingdom. Quicken us, O Lord, in our dulness; that instead of dishonouring thee by our lifeless and listless services, we may abound in thy work, and be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Make us also faithful in all our intercourse with our neighbours. Make us ready to do good, and to bear evil: make us just and kind, merciful and meek, peaceable and patient, sober and temperate, humble and self-denying, inoffensive and exemplary in our conduct; that so glorifying thee here upon earth, we may, at our departure hence, be received into the joy of our Lord, and be for ever glorified in thy heavenly kingdom.

O thou that hast kept us alive to this day, and hast refreshed us during the night season, renew thy mercy to us together with this morning light: thou that makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice, lift up the light of thy countenance upon us, and make us glad with the tokens of thy love and as thou art ever present with us, O make us ever sensible of thy presence, that we may duly remember thee in all our ways, and wisely demean

ourselves in all our affairs. Be with us, good Lord, at our going out and our coming in: and let thy grace follow us this day, and all the days of our life. O never leave us, never, never forsake us; but be our guide unto death, in death our comfort, and after death our everlasting portion. O hear us from heaven, thy dwelling-place; and, when thou hearest, have mercy: forgive the sins of our persons, and the sins of our prayers: and do more for us, than we are worthy to expect at thy hands; for his sake, who alone is worthy in whose comprehensive words we sum up all our desires, Our Father, &c.

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A SEVENTH MORNING PRAYER.

O LORD God Almighty, thou art the sovereign Majesty of heaven and earth, against whom all our sins have been committed, and by whom alone they can be pardoned! there is none but thee, by whom our iniquities can be subdued, our souls be sanctified, or our necessities supplied. But thou art able, and also ready, to hear and help, to bless and save thy people that call upon thee: thou delightest to show mercy, and lovest the occasions of glorifying thy compassion. We come to thee, therefore, Ŏ Lord, begging that mercy, which thou knowest we extremely want, and grace to help us in this time of our need. We beg the same, for the sake of thine infinitely beloved Son, who alone is worthy, and in whose precious blood is all our trust.

We are unclean, Lord, we are unclean; and thou mayest well abhor our guilty souls: but O look upon us in the Son of thy love; and prepare us for the mercies which thou hast treasured up for us in him. Make us to feel the burthen and the bitter

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ness of our sins; nor let us ever attempt to cover and conceal them, lest they find us out at the last, and overwhelm us with shame and misery. Holy Father! carry on with power thy great work, even the work of faith and the sanctification of our souls. Quicken us, O Lord our God, and stir us up to thy work; and assist us in the performance of all our duties, which of ourselves thou knowest we are unable to perform. Work in us to will and to do, of thy good pleasure; establish the things, O God, which thou hast already wrought for us; and go on to work mightily upon our hearts by thy grace, till our souls are fitted for the enjoyment of thy glory.

Gracious Lord, thy mercies are fresh and new to us every morning. We have laid us down and slept, and awaked again; for thou hast sustained us, thou hast kept us from the terrors of the night, and from all evil accidents; so that we are once more risen in peace and safety. Glory be to thee, O God of our salvation, who art still so mindful of us so merciful unto us. Go on, we pray thee, to be good to us this day, and teach us how to demean ourselves aright, and to order our affairs to thy glory. O direct our undertakings, and prosper our endeavours. Rule our hearts in thy fear and love, and keep us living to thy praise and honour. Behold, we commit ourselves to thee, and shelter ourselves under the shadow of thy wings: O keep us from evil, and help us to do that which is good and pleasing to our God, through Jesus Christ. Give us, Lord, all that we have asked as we should; forgive us all that we have asked amiss; and bestow on us all things needful, which we should have asked; and which we continue to ask, in the comprehensive words of thy dear Son, Our Father, &c.

FIRST EVENING PRAYER FOR A FAMILY.

O LORD our God! thou art infinitely great, and infinitely good. Thy glory is above all our thoughts, and thy mercies are more than can be numbered. O what cause have we to admire, and bless, and praise thee, for making us the objects of thy love, and the living monuments of thy goodness! When we survey thy glorious perfections, especially as they shine forth in the person of Jesus Christ, we are encouraged to come unto thee, we are emboldened to call thee Father. And though we have great and many sins to confess, yet do we look up with confidence, trusting that thou wilt pardon them, and give us power from on high, to mortify and subdue them.

[Thou didst create us, O Lord, after thine own blessed image, in a holy and happy estate but we have made ourselves vile and miserable; we are no longer upright, but have sought out many inventions we are become averse to good, and prone to evil; yea so full are we of all iniquity, that we are a mystery to ourselves; we wonder at the depravity of our own hearts, and are astonished that thou hast not long since cut us off in anger, and shut us up under final despair of mercy. But thou hast declared thy willingness to be reconciled even to thine enemies; yea, thou hast sent thine only Son into the world for this very end; thou hast sent him, that all might believe in him, and that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. O Lord, we believe; help thou our unbelief: and give us true repentance towards God, and right faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; that we may be of the number of those who repent and believe, to the saving of their souls.