family in all their capacities, that they may be always blessed, and always innocent, devout, and pious, and may be, graciously, accepted by thee to pardon, and Grace, and glory, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Bless, O God, my sons with excellent understandings, love of holy and noble things, sweet dispositions, innocent deportment, diligent souls, chaste, healthful, and temperate bodies, holy and religious spirits, that they may live to thy glory, and be useful in their capacities to the servants of God, and all their neighbors, and their relatives, in their conversation. Bless my daughters with a humble and a modest carriage, and excellent meekness, a great love of holy things, a severe chastity, a constant, holy, and persuasive Religion. O my God, never suffer them to fall into folly, and the sad effects of a wanton, loose, and indiscreet spirit. Possess their fancies with holy affections; be thou the covering of their eyes, and the great object of their hopes, and all their desires. Blessed Lord, thou disposest all things, sweetly, by thy Providence, thou guidest them, excellently, by thy wisdom, thou unitest all circumstances, and changes, wonderfully, by thy power, and by thy power makest all things work for the good of thy servants: Be pleased so to dispose my daughters, that if thou shouldst call them to the state of a married life, they may not dishonor their family, nor grieve their parents, nor displease thee, but that thou wilt so dispose of their persons, and the accidents and circumstances

of

of that state, that it may be a state of holiness to the Lord, and blessing to thy servants. And until thy wisdom shall know it fit to bring things so to pass, let them live with all purity, spending their time religiously, and usefully. O most blessed Lord, enable their dear parent with proportionable abilities and opportunities of doing his duty and charities toward them, and them with great obedience and duty toward him, and all of us with a love toward thee above all things in the world, that our portion may be in love and in thy blessings, through Jesus Christ our dearest Lord, and most gracious Redeemer.

O my God, pardon thy servant, pity my infir mities, hear the passionate desires of thy humble servant; in thee alone is my trust, my heart and all my wishes are towards thee. Thou hast commanded me to pray to Thee in all needs, thou hast made gracious promises to hear and accept me; and I will never leave importuning thy glorious Majesty, humbly, passionately, confidently, till thou hast heard and accepted the prayer of thy servant. Amen, dearest Lord, for thy mercy's sake hear thy servant. Amen.

O Almighty and most merciful Father, who hast promised children as a reward to the righteous, and hast given them to me as a testimony of thy mercy, and an engagement of my duty; be pleased to be a father unto them, and give them healthful bodies, understanding souls, and sanctified spirits, that they

may be thy servants and thy children all their days. Let a great mercy and Providence lead them through the dangers, and temptations, and ignorances, of their youth, that they may never run into folly, and the evils of an unbridled appetite. So order the accidents of their lives, that, by good education, careful tutors, holy example, innocent company, prudent counsel, and thy restraining Grace, their duty to thee may be secured in the midst of a crooked and untoward generation. And if it seem good in thy eyes, let me be enabled to provide, conveniently, for the support of their persons, that they may not be destitute and miserable in my death; or if thou shalt call me off from this world by a more timely summons, let their portion be thy care, mercy, and Providence, over their bodies and souls; and may they never live vicious lives, nor die violent or untimely deaths; but let them glorify thee here with a free obedience, and the duties of a holy life; that when they have served thee in their generations, and have profited the Christian Common-wealth, they may be coheirs with Jesus in the glories of thy eternal kingdom, through the same our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

For Offspring.

O MOST gracious and eternal God, Father and Lord of all the creatures, thou didst sanctify

marriage

marriage in the state of innocence, in the dwellings of Paradise, and didst design it for the production, and didst give it as one of the first blessings, of mankind. O be pleased to look upon thy handmaid who waits for thy mercy, and humbly begs of thy infinite goodness to make me partaker of that blessing which thou didst design to all the sons and daughters of Adam: thou, O God, hast the keys of heaven and hell, of rain and Providence, of the womb and the grave: make me, if it be thy good pleasure, a joyful mother of children, that thy handmaid may serve thee in encreasing the number of thy redeemed ones, and may minister blessings to this family, into which thou hast adopted me, and may bring comfort to my husband, whom do thou bless, and love, and sanctify for ever.

O God, I confess I am unworthy of this or any other favor; I am less than the least of thy mereies, yet our weakness and unworthiness cannot be the measures of thy mercy: thou art good and gracious, infinitely gracious, essentially good, and delightest in shewing mercy to them that call upon thee, and put their trust in thee: thou didst relieve the sorrows of thy servantHannah, and gavest her the blessing of children; thou didst bless the womb of Elizabeth, who was barren. Thy hand is not shortened, and thy mercies are not less than ever, no less than infinite, and why should not thy servant hope that thou wilt hear my prayer, and grant the desire of my soul? Even so, O gracious Father, let it be as thou pleasest thy wisdom is infinite, and thy counsels

counsels are secret, and the ways and lines of thy Providence are like the path of a bird in the air, not to be discovered by our weak sight.

I know, O God, that thou lovest to hear our prayers, and thou delightest in the humble, passionate, and resigned desires of thy servants. Although, O God, I desire this blessing with an earnestness as great as any temporal favor, yet I humbly submit my desires, my interests, my content, and all that I am, or have, to thy holy will and pleasure, humbly begging of thee that I may cheerfully suffer, and obediently do thy will, and choose what thou choosest, and observe the ways of thy Providence, and revere thy judgment, and wait for thy mercy, and delight in thy dispensation, and expect that all things shall work together for good to them that fear thee. O let thy holy Spirit for ever be present with me, and make me to fear thee, and to love thee, above all the things in the world, for ever; and then no ill can come unto thy servant: for whosoever loves thee cannot perish. Hear the prayer of thy servant, and relieve my sorrow, and accept me in the Son of thy love, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

▲ Prayer