PRAYERS.

A Morning Prayer for a Family.

MOST gracious God, and kind Father! we present ourselves before the throne of thy majesty and glory, in all humility of soul and body, acknowledging that we are thy dependent creatures, and that from thy bountiful hand we have received many and exceeding great blessings.

By Thee, we were wonderfully made; by thy power we have ever since been preserved; and it is owing to thy great mercy and goodness that we have not been cut off in the midst of our sins, but that thou hast been patient and long-suffering toward us, and hast given us this opportunity of coming into thy presence to renew our praises and ac knowledgments to thy Divine Majesty. O Lord, thy compassion fails not:

by Thee we have been preserved the night past; and to thy goodness we ascribe it, that we are brought in health and safety to the beginning of this day.

Accept, we humbly pray thee, our unfeigned thanks for all the mercies and blessings, which thou hast been pleased to bestow upon us; and pardon, we beseech thee, for the sake of thy Son Christ Jesus, our great unworthiness of what thou hast done for us. Give us such a sense of thy infinite love and kindness, as may engage us more and more to love and obey thee, and make us afraid of every thing that may be displeasing in thy sight.

O Lord! vouchsafe us such a measure of thy grace and Holy Spirit, as may defend us against the snares and temptations of this wicked world, and enable us to overcome all our corrupt and sinful desires. Give us a true sense of the inestimable value of our souls, that we may make it the chief concern of our lives to work out our salvation with the greatest care and diligence, and to secure an interest in thy favour, which is better than life itself.

Withdraw our minds from the love of this world, and place them upon heaven and heavenly things. Give us grace to use the enjoyments which thou art pleased to bestow upon us, with temperance, sobriety, and moderation; with an entire trust and dependence on thy fatherly care and good providence; and with a perfect submission to thy blessed will in all things.

O Lord! root out of our hearts all pride and envy; all hatred, malice, and ill-will. Purify our hearts from all censoriousness and uncharitableness, from all lying and slandering, and from whatever else is contrary to a truly christian spirit: and endue us, we most humbly pray thee, with that meekness and humility which is in thy sight of so great value, and with all those holy and christian dispositions which thou lovest and delightest in.

Instruct us in all the particulars of our duty which we owe to Thee, our neighbour, and ourselves. Guide us by thy right-hand, and conduct us by thy good spirit, through all the business and affairs of this life. Teach us to

act with faithfulness and honesty in every thing that we undertake; and give us such a dread of thy displeasure, and such a sense of thy continual presence with us, as may guard us, by thy Grace, against all the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil.

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This is to be omitted on Sunday morning; and what follows may be used instead thereof.

Be with us, O Lord, this

day wherever we go, and in whatsoever we do. Preserve us from the dangers of evil company; from the deceitfulness of our own hearts; and more especially from those sins, that are most apt to betray and ensnare us. Let thy blessing accompany all our honest labours; and vouchsafe us such a measure of health, and other temporal blessings, as thou seest best and most fitting for us. Wẹ desire, O Lord, to leave ourselves, and all our concerns in thy hands; humbly beseeching thee to take us, and all that belong to us, under the protection of thy good providence; and so to bless, direct, and guide us in this life, that we may at last obtain that greatest of all blessings, the eternal salvation

of our immortal souls, through the merits, and for the sake, of thy dear Son, and our alone Saviour Jesus Christ. for whom our souls adore and praise thy glorious name, and in whose most holy words we sum up our own, and the wants of all mankind, saying, Our Father, &c.

This is to be used on a Sunday morning, instead of the

foregoing paragraph.

Dispose our hearts, O Lord, we humbly beseech thee, to a serious attendance upon thee in all holy duties. Makeus duly mindful of all thy sacred institutions, and grant that we may never so far forget the interest of our souls, as to neglect the religious observance of the christian sabbath. And as thou hast brought us to the beginning of this sacred day; so be thou graciously pleased to take us into thy protection, and to assist us in a right discharge of its duties. Withdraw our minds from the care and business and pleasure of this life, which will shortly have an end; that we may more earnestly attend upon the great concern of that far better life, which is to last for ever,