formance of it, may we pray without ceasing; and by guarding against every discouragement, may we pray, and not faint. May we cherish a grateful and cheerful disposition; not murmuring and repining, because all our wishes are. not indulged, or because some trials are blended with our enjoyments; but sensible of our desert, and impressed with the number and greatness of thy benefits, may we bless the Lord at all times, and may his praise continually be in our month. And may our gratitude be real, and practical, and increasing with our obligations. Enable us to inquire, Lord what wilt Thou have me to do? Enable us to resolve, I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living; enable us to pray— Make me to walk in thy commands, 'Tis a delightful road; Nor let my head, or heart, or hands, : We commend to thy pity, and thy power, all those who are any way afflicted in mind, body, or estate. May the young find it good to bear the yoke in their youth: may they that know Thee not, be chosen in the furnace of affliction and may thy own people find Thee a very present help in trouble. Be favourable to our land. Let those that are at the helm of public affairs be men of understanding, and know what Israel ought to do. May our magistrates be men fearing God and hating covetousness make our officers peace, and our exactors righteousness. Let not oppression be ever seen on the side of judgment, nor a perverse spirit be mingled in the midst of the people. Let glory dwell in our land, and upon all the glory may there be a defence. May the grace of, &c. Amen. TUESDAY EVENING. O THOU, that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come. Lord teach us to pray. We have reason to fear, that the language of our lips, and the feelings of our hearts, in our religious exercises, have not always agreed. We have frequently taken carelessly upon our tongues, a name never pronounced above, without the deepest reverence and humility. We have often desired things which would have proved our injury and we have deprecated things which have proved some of our chief mercies. We have erred, both on the side of our hopes and fears; we are unfit to choose for ourselves; we are convinced, that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. We know not what to pray for as we ought-Let thy Spirit help our infirmities; and produce in us those views and dispositions which will lead us to ask according to thy will, and then we know Thou hearest us. With regard to temporal blessings, may we never be importunate: may we always refer them, to thy fatherly goodness; for Thou knowest that we have need of these things before we ask Thee-But may we seek first in time and attention, thy kingdom and righteousness. May we value things by their relation to eternity. May we never think we prosper, unless our souls prosper that we are rich, unless we are rich towards God: that we are wise, unless we are made wise unto salvation. May our spiritual and everlasting welfare be our chief solicitude, and may we be conscious to ourselves, that we would rather be poor, and afflicted, and despised-if blessed with much of the life of God in our souls; than to be admired by our fellow men, and be successful in our enterprizes, and have more than heart can wish-if these things should prove the means of our forgetfulness of God. Having found this world to be dreams and lies, vanity and vexation of spirit, may we arise and depart from it, and seek our happiness in thy favour, and image, and presence, and service. And though we are unworthy to be regarded by Thee, especially after we have so often refused Thee, receive us graciously; justify our persons, and renovate our nature; and put thy laws into our minds and write them in our hearts: and be Thou to us a God, and may we be to Thee a people. Endear to us that Saviour, whose unexampled love led Him to suffer the just for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God. May we never dare to think of coming to Thee in any other way; but may we always have boldness and access, with confidence, by the faith of Him: yea, may we joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement: and not only so, but may we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. For blessed be thy name, we live not in a fatherless world; nor are our minutest affairs forgotten before God. The hairs of our head are all numbered; our losses and trials are not the effects of chance, but events, in which thy wisdom and mercy are, now concerned, and will be hereafter, displayed. We know that all things work together for good, to them that love Thee: may our character therefore, and not our condition, be the object of our anxiety. May we ascertain, that our heart is right with Thee, and be careful for nothing. Having given ourselves unto the Lord, may we remember that we have a right, from thy holy word, to depend upon Thee, to provide for us, and to manage all our concerns, even to the end. Discharged from the toil and the torment of care, may we feel ourselves at liberty to enjoy the advantages and comforts of our condition in life, and above all to pursue our work as christians. May we be attentive to duty may we inquire, how we can best serve our generation, and glorify Thee in our body and spirit. May holiness to the Lord be inscribed upon all our time, and talents, and substance; and may the inquiry of our grateful hearts, every moment be, What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? Thou hast made the outgoings of another morning and evening to rejoice. Thou hast crowned the day with thy goodness. Let the night witness thy care and kindness and may we enter on another portion of our time, not only under fresh obligations, but with new desires and resolutions to be for ever thine. Our Father, &c. Amen. 000-000 WEDNESDAY MORNING. O THOU Most High! enable us to feel and to express, becoming regards towards Thee, as the Creator of the ends of the earth, the Preserver of men, the Governor of the universe, the Judge of all, the Saviour of sinners. Thy greatness is unsearchable, but thy goodness is infinite. It is because thy compassions fail not, that we are not consumed. Thou hast not only prolonged our unworthy lives under numberless provocations, but Thou hast afforded us every needful supply and indulgence. Thy mercies have been new every morning, and every moment. Through thy good hand upon us, we have been rescued from the perils of another night; our repose has been unterrified and undisturb ** ed; sleep has refreshed our bodies and renewed our strength; and we find ourselves surrounded at the commencement of another day, with all our accustomed privileges. But O God, we can never be sufficiently thankful, that we have our existence in a christian country, and where we can hear words, by which we may be saved. O how important, how suitable, how encouraging are the discoveries, the doctrines, the promises, the invitations, of the gospel of peace. We are lost; but here is presented to us a free, full, and everlasting salvation. We are left without strength; but here we learn, that help is laid on one that is mighty. We are poor and needy; but here we behold the unsearchable riches of Christ. We are blind and ignorant; but in Him are hid, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We thank Thee O God for thine unspeakable gift, and we cordially accept of thy mercy extended to us, through the mediation of thy dear Son. We rejoice that He has been delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification; and that He is now exalted at thy own right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour. We abandon every other refuge to hide in, and every other foundation to build upon; and make Him our only hope, and our only confidence. And while we depend on his death, and make mention of his righteousness only, we admire his example, and desire to be conformed to his image. May we put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and increasingly resemble Him, whose life was beneficence; whose soul was meekness and humility; who pleased not Himself; and who, of obedience the most trying and difficult, could say, I delight to do thy will O my God, yea, thy law is within my heart. May his glory fill our minds; may his love reign in our affections; and at his cross, and at his tomb, may |