us especially those in the Lord Jesus in whom thy Grace hath so exceedingly abounded as to surpass not only our deserts but the largest of our desires Blessed blessed for ever blessed be thy fatherly goodness who hast sent him from heaven so unexpectedly to visit us vile wretches who dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou didst thus visit him We thank thee according to our poor ability from the very bottom of our hearts for his manifestation in our flesh for the charitable testimonies he gave of his love to mankind in the course of his life for that astonishing grace in submitting himself to dye for us for his glorious Resurrection and Ascension to heaven for the Soveraign Power and Authority which thou hast given him at thy right hand for his compassionate intercession for us and the assurances we have received of his being the King of glory and of his continued kindness to us by the coming of the Holy Ghost We will never cease to bless thee for that great salvation Heb. 2.3,4 which was first preached by the Lord was confirmed by them that heard him and for the witness which thou barest to them both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the holy Ghost according to thy own will We rejoyce in the Light of thy holy Gospel that we see the way to be happy both by the Doctrine and example of thy Son Jesus that we have the incouragement of his precious promises and such good hope of remission of sin and eternal life in the day when he shall judge the world in righteousness O how much are we bound unto thee for that comfortable hope which thou hast given us of seeing our dear Saviour in all his glory and being there where he is and reigning with him for ever We again render thee our most hearty thanks for that everlasting consolation and good hope through grace which thou hast given us and for all those benefits likewise which thou art pleased to bestow upon us to make our stay here on earth the more convenient and delightful to us We are every way obliged to thee beyond all that we are able to express or conceive Thou feedest us and clothest us thou preservest our health and our strength thou hast delivered us from innumerable dangers and when thou hast chastised us it hath been in great mercy and clemency and not according to our deserving O that all the world would shew forth thy praise and devote themselves to the service of our Lord. Let all Kings of the earth submit themselves unto him and glory in the name of his obedient subjects High and low rich and poor let them praise the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore Accept most gracious God of these unfeigned desires of us thy servants who for our parts intirely dedicate our selves both souls and bodies unto thee Resolving in all things to walk worthy of thee who hast called us to thy Kingdom and Glory and blessed us also with many other good things which make this life to be a more easie passage to a better We will never forget how much we are indebted to thee but study to express our grateful remembrance of thy mercies by living Tit. 2.12,13 soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Favour we pray thee these holy purposes with the constant assistance of thy good spirit that we may be able to accomplish what we have begun and to perfect holiness in thy fear Help us to 2 Pet. 1.5,6,7,8 add to our faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity That these things being in us and abounding they may make us to be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ Preserve us this day especially that we swerve not presently from these pious resolutions But may give such a proof of their sincerity by our being steadfast and immoveable in all well doing notwithstanding any temptation to the contrary that we may have the better hope we shall persevere to the very end through thy continued grace in Christ Jesus in whose words we desire all that thou seest needful either for our souls or bodies saying Our Father c. At Night WE are here again prostrate before thee O Lord of heaven and earth to joyn our selves with all that holy company Revel 4.8,11 who rest not day and night saying Holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created Blessed be thy divine goodness which hath made the children of men but little lower than the Angels and crowned us with such glory and honour that we are capable to accompany that heavenly host in giving continual thanks and praise unto thee Praised be thy name that we are now alive and that we have the use of our reason and understanding and enjoy so many of the comforts and conveniences of this present life and have attained a good hope through Christ Jesus of being immortally happy O how great was thy love which sent him into the world to direct us in the way to that happiness by his holy doctrine and life and to be a propitiation for our sins by his death and to Act. 26.23 be the first that should rise from the dead and should shew light unto the world We rejoyce in that light of life We most chearfully devote our selves to be the faithful Disciples of him the Prince of peace the Lord of life and glory It is our happiness as well as our duty to be governed by him and obey his commands We are sensible that they are all equal just and good and that thou hast done us an infinite kindness in teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world And therefore we here again most heartily surrender our wills to thine desiring that we may unchangeably cleave unto it with the greatest and most intire love and affection to all its commands O that there may abide for ever in us such a strong and powerful sense of thy mighty love towards us in Christ Jesus as may constrain us freely and willingly to please thee in the constant exercise of piety and devotion righteousness and mercy temperance and chastity meekness and patience truth and fidelity together with such an humble contented and peaceable spirit as may adorn the Religion of our Lord and Master O God that these holy desires and inclinations may
diligent more earnest and solicitous more humble and distrustful of my self and more fervent to implore the powerful succours of thy divine Grace O that it may be as natural to me to pray to thee as it is to breath And thou who fillest the hungry with good things pour into me life and strength and vigor in a constant dependance on thee and an hearty indeavour to do thy will Ephes 3.16 Strengthen me with might by thy spirit in the â—inner man That notwithstanding the strongest temptations wherewith I may be assaulted and notwithstanding the weakness and feebleness of my own spirit to resist them I may persevere couragiously in well doing unto the end and finish my course with joy and lay my self down to rest in an holy hope that I shall enter into a state of safety and security from all danger and remain for ever in the joy of our Lord. Amen A Prayer for the Divine Grace O Most blessed God the high and mighty One who inhabitest eternity and art what thou always wast and ever wilt be the mosâ— perfect power wisdom goodnesâ— and truth the fountain of all thâ— perfections that are in us We oughâ— to address our selves to thee in the greatest humility of spirit having nothing to present thee withal which we can call our own being unable by all our righteousness to profit thee who standest in need of none of thy creatures But alas O Lord we have robbed thee of that which we have received from thee and are so far from giving thee any thing of ours that we have not returned to thee that which is thine O the miserable condition therefore into which we have brought our selves who are not so much as fit to receive any more from thy divine bounty and which is worse have been too unwilling to partake of thy favours O thy infinite love in Christ Jesus which hath bestowed the richest grace upon us whether we would or â—o Thou hast honoured our naâ—ure with thy divine presence dwelâ—ing in it Thou hast delivered him â—o dye for our sins Thou hast given us 〈◊〉 blessed hope in thee by his Resurâ—ection from the dead Thou hast â—nt him to bless us in turning every one of us from our iniquities Act. 3.26 And given him all power in heaven and earth that he may succour and strengthen us when we are tempted and enable us to overcome I thank thee with all my soul for this abundant grace so freely and undesired conferred upon us Which incourages me to hope in thee now that thou inclinest my heart towards thee and hast given me a thankful sense of thy love and some will to obey thee and holy resolutions to cleave unto thee in well doing that thou wilt not deny me the constant assistance of that good Spirit which our Saviour hath bid us ask of thee to strengthen confirm and settle what thou hast begun to do for me in a perfect love and stedfast obedience to all thy holy commands O God of all grace and might the root of our life and power and strength without whom all good desires and purposes wither and die withdraw not the sweet influences of thy holy Spirit from thy unworthy servant who intirely confides in thee and hath no hope but in thy infinite Mercies Remember not against me former iniquities let not my late back-sliding and return to folly cut me off from the communication of thy grace which is wont to press into those souls that open themselves to receive it and seriously thirst after it My soul thirsteth for thee O God that I may be more firmly united to thee and be made more exactly like thee in unchangeable righteousness purity and goodness Cherish and increase the most faint but sincere motions which thou seest in me towards a more compleat participation of thee And especially preserve in me a full confidence in thy Almighty Love as ready to accomplish the desires and indeavours of all those who yield up themselves unto it in hearty willingness to be governed by it That being born up by this strong hope in thee my helper and exceeding great reward no temptation may be able to prevail over me but I may walk stedfastly and evenly with thee in all conditions and circumstances of life Make me feel so much of the comfort of this faith and love and hope and obedience reviving me to a delightful sense of a blessed immortality that whatsoever allurements or discouragements I meet withal in this world they may only provoke me to give a greater proof of all these in a constant adherence to my duty and occasion the increase of my unspeakable joy and satisfaction And inlarge my heart thereby to such a measure of Christian piety that I may not only be innocent and harmless but forward also to do good and not only be contented with my portion but rejoyce in our Lord alway and rejoyce not only to do thy will but to suffer also for righteousness sake knowing that great shall be my reward in heaven Bless my indeavours to add to faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience 2 Pet. 1.5,6,7,10,11 and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity That doing these things I may never fall But an entrance may be ministred to me abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen A short Prayer when any man's occasions call him to a place where he fears danger O Almighty God who art every where and more especially present to those souls that look up unto thee with an high esteem of thy favour and grace and with hearty desires to continue in thy love by patient continuance in well doing In this humble faith in thy Divine goodness and with a due fear and reverence of thy glorious Majesty I prostrate my soul and body before thee to put my self into thy most gracious protection and to beg the powerful assistance of thy holy Spirit to preserve me wheresoever I am in a dutiful observance of all thy holy commands I am sensible O Lord that we live in a world of temptations and that our nature is weak and ready to yield to them and that our affections are apt to wander after vanity and that sudden passions oftentimes transport us from our duty But I know withal that a sense of thy all-seeing eye and of the life to come and of the rewards and punishments which thou wilt render according to our works will certainly overawe all sinful motions in me and break the force of the strongest temptations that assault me And therefore the greater the danger is the more earnestly I sue unto thee to be possessed with a piercing sense and lively remembrance of these things which may abide with me alway and especially this day in every place and company into which I shall come O that I may not be so forgetful
thee Give us thy grace continually for our seasonable relief and succour that we persevering in well doing may have a solid and lively hope in our death of coming to see thee in that high and holy place where thou livest and reignest for evermore As for all the things of this life we most heartily refer our selves to thy Fatherly Wisdom and Goodness O Lord God Almighty trusting thou wilt order for us that which is most convenient and bless our honest diligence with such a competent portion of them that we may have the more leisure to give continual praise honour blessing and thanksgiving to thee whose mercies endure for ever Accept we pray thee of our thankful acknowledgements at this time for those which this day hath added to the rest of thy benefits which thou hast been continually heaping upon us ever since we were born And let all the people of the earth praise the name of the Lord which is highly exalted above all blessing and praise O that all the Kingdoms of the World would become the Kingdoms of our Saviour Christ and that all they who acknowledge his authority would religiously obey his holy Laws that all wars oppression and cruelty may cease among Christian people and they may live together in brotherly love and unity Make our Soveraign and all his Realms happy by a great increase of true knowledge godliness and vertue every where Bless all our friends forgive our enemies requite all the kindness of our benefactors comfort every one of thy desolate and afflicted servants and turn their mourning and heaviness into joy and gladness at the last And now that we are going to repose our selves keep us we beseech thee and all belonging to us in safety Refresh our wearied spirits with comfortable rest and sleep and when we awaken again in the morning direct our thoughts immediately to thee our merciful preserver and help us to imploy all our renewed strength to thy honour and glory according to thy will declared by Christ Jesus in whose blessed Name and Words we commend our selves to thy infinite Mercies Our Father c. PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES WEDNESDAY MORNING O Most great and mighty Lord the Possessor of heaven and earth All the Angels worship and adore thy incomprehensible Majesty with the humblest reverence and rejoyce in rendring praise blessing and thanksgiving to thee the Father of spirits For thou hast created all things and in wisdom hast thou made them all and spread thy tender mercies over all thy works It is no less our happiness than our duty to joyn our hearts and voices with that heavenly host most gratefully to acknowledge thy bounty to us among the rest of thy creatures and thy particular grace and favour in our Lord Jesus Christ our most merciful Saviour and Redeemer We can never sufficiently admire that love which gave him to dye for us and hath made him the Lord of life and glory that he may be the Author of eternal Salvation to all those that obey him All the love we have is too little to give thee to whom all our services are due by a former title Our highest praises fall infinitely short of thy most excellent Majesty and we are ashamed of the most affectionate thanks we can render to thee for those inestimable benefits which thou hast conferred on us and so long continued to us How much greater reason then have we to be abashed at our shameful ingratitude and disobedience to thy divine Majesty for which we are heartily sorry and do now most earnestly repent our selves of it unfeignedly resolving and protesting to be more faithful to thee for the time to come Pardon us therefore Good Lord and receive us unto thy mercy Accept of our renewed vows to study and do our duties conscientiously towards thee and towards all men And as thou hast excited these holy desires and purposes in our hearts so inable us to perform them constantly in the whole course of our life Our blessed Saviour hath told us thou wilt as readily give thy holy Spirit to them that ask it as a Parent will give bread to his hungry children O Father of mercies let it be unto us according to his Word Cherish these little beginnings of goodness which thou seest in our souls and prosper all our endeavours to attain a greater measure of it And since at the best we are but unprofitable servants and can do no more than was our duty to do inable us to do every thing which thou hast commanded us heartily with good will and true love to thy service We know this is all that can in the least commend us to thy free grace and favour and therefore we most humbly again dovote our selves to do thy Will with a cordial affection to it We would ever approach unto thee with delight and pleasure and feel it the joy of our hearts to think of thee to praise thee to give thee thanks and to offer our selves with absolute resignation to thee O that Mercy may always please us as it pleaseth thee that we may be strictly just and righteous may chearfully pass by injuries freely deny all desires of sinful pleasures willingly submit to thy fatherly corrections and perform the duties of our several relations with singleness of heart Render us so mindful of the great love of our Lord and Master Christ that we may be zealously concerned for his glory and use our utmost diligence to do Him and his Religion some honour in the world delighting to commemorate his Death and Passion making a joyful sacrifice of our souls and bodies to him and desiring most earnestly that his kingdom may come and all mankind submit themselves to his Government Fulfil most merciful Lord all our petitions and as thou hast mightily protected us and our dwellings this last night from fire and thieves and whatsoever might disturb our repose blessed be thy goodness so accompany us all this day with thy blessing that we may please thee in body and soul and be safe under thy defence who art nigh to all those that call upon thee that call upon thee in truth And O that all those who are forgetful of their duty to thee may be awakened to a lively sense of all thy benefits and fill the whole world with thy praises Stir up especially the minds of all Christian people to inquire after and follow the Truth as it is in Jesus abandoning all vice and wickedness and exercising themselves to have consciences void of offence towards thee and towards all men And dispose the hearts of all their Kings and Princes to make themselves the greatest examples of Christian Piety to all others Bless these Kingdoms and indue our Soveraign with such excellent Wisdom and holy Zeal for thy honour and glory that we may see many good days under his Government O that true Religion Justice Mercy Brotherly kindness and all things else that are praise-worthy may so flourish among us that we