MANUAL OF PRAYER.

FIRST ORDER OF MORNING PRAYER.

THE MINISTER COMMENCES BY READING ONE OF THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES OF SCRIPTURE.

[It is recommended that the Congregation rise at the commencement of the Religious Exercises, and remain standing until the close of the Exhortation; also, that they KNEEL in time of Prayer, and STAND, facing the pulpit, in time of Singing.]

THE Lord is in his holy temple; Let all the earth keep silence before him!

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your

souls. For my yoke is

light.

easy, and my burden is

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself: God, I thank thee that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all I possess. And the Publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven; but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful' to me a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,
Call ye upon him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

And let him return to the Lord, and he will have

mercy upon him;

And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

The following, or some other suitable Exhortation, shall then be read:

My brethren, we have again assembled together, as the disciples of Jesus Christ, to render thanks to God for all his mercies; to confess our manifold transgressions; to renew our good resolutions; and to recommend ourselves and all our concerns to the

care of our heavenly Father. I do therefore most earnestly exhort you to withdraw your thoughts from the perishing things of this world, and to fix them upon the solemn service in which we are engaged. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Put your trust in him, and you shall not be disappointed. With humble and contrite hearts, let us approach the throne of the heavenly grace.

LET US PRAY.

Then shall be offered this Prayer :

O LORD, our heavenly Father, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day; defend us in the same, with thy great power; and grant that this day we may not fall into any sin, neither run into any danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by thy governance, may be righteous in thy sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Or this:

ALMIGHTY GOD, the Father of our spirits, whose mercy is everlasting, and whose truth endureth unto all generations, unto thee we lift up our souls, and magnify thy name together. We thank thee that we still continue to enjoy the blessings of this life, and the means of preparing for the life which is to come. And we pray that, by putting our whole trust in thy wise and good providence, our hearts may be established in thy fear and love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

OUR Father who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forAmen.

ever and ever.

The Minister shall then say, (the Congregation rising,)

MAY the words of our mouths, and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer.

Then shall be sung the following Psalm:

O, COME, let us sing unto the Lord, let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and show ourselves glad in him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In his hands are all the corners of the earth, and the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land.

O, come, let us worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is the Lord our God; and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.