V?' E Y ALIFOR] LSWORT 5 I s < o "* ._ _^. __. m*m OK ma MANUAL OF PRAYER. ACCOUNTABILITY. O THOU Judge of the quick and the dead, make me realize that I am responsible to thee for all my thoughts, words, and actions ; and in all my duties and privileges. Thou knowest all the thoughts of my mind, with all the works of my life ; and thou makest record of them : and for all these thou wilt bring me into judgment, whether they be good or evil. Then there shall be nothing that now is co- vered, that shall not be revealed ; and hid, that shall not be made known : and it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for my soul, if I fail to serve thee now in reverence and godly fear. For even the earth that drinketh in the rain, that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God ; but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, arid is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. O let not my stewardship of thy mercies be one of wilful sin, of abused privileges, and neglected du- ties ; but grant that in all things I may strive, in the grace of Christ, to work out my salvation with fear and trembling. Lord, excite me to diligent labour on behalf of thy church and of sinners. May I feel that I am bound to do good as I have opportunity ; looking diligently to the judgment of that day, when the 2* 17 18 unprofitable servant shall be cast into outer dark- ness, while he that has been faithful shall enter, through the atonement of Christ, into the joy of his Lord. And unto him that is able to keep me from falling, and to present me faultless before the pre- sence of his glory with exceeding joy ; to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, do- minion and power, both now and forever. ADOPTION. Lord, wilt thou give me the spirit of adoption, by which I may cry "Abba, Father?" I am indeed Vhine offspring by creation. May I be thine by adoption : and be thou my parent in that nobler relation, of a reconciled God and Father in the Lord Jesus. Make me one of the number, and give me, through the merits of Christ, a title to the pri- vileges, of thy dear children. Behold ! what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on them, that they should be called the sons of God ! O grant that in indulging this hope, I may purify myself, even as thou art pure. Make it a spirit of tenderness and reverence, of gratitude and love, of obedience and zeal. May it give me access to thy throne with an humble confidence in the faith of Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named ; and keep me from that spirit of bondage, that servile fear and slavish formality in duty, which will make me as a hired servant, in- stead of an heir, in my Father's house. May it enable me in all the vicissitudes of life to look up to thee as infinitely able and willing to bless me with thy paternal gifts : for if earthly parents know how to give good gifts to their children, much more will our heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to 19 them that ask him. Grant that thy Spirit may bear witness with mine that I am thy child ; and if a child, then an heir, and a joint-heir with Christ, in that inheritance which fadeth not away. Look in mercy, O God, on thy children by na- ture, who are wandering as prodigals from their home, and are living without God in the world. Touch their hearts with a feeling of their wants and their apostasy ; and do thou bring many back, who shall say they have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and are not worthy to be called thy child- ren. Establish them in the fellowship of thy saints, and make them heirs of the grace of life, through the Lord Jesus Christ* ADORATION. Adorable Jehovah, I would praise thee for thine excellent greatness, Thou dwellest in light that is inaccessible and full of glory : thou severest thyself with it as with a garment ; and thou art clothed with honour and majesty ! Thou dwellest on high, and humblest thyself to behold the things that are done in heaven and earth. Thou art infinite, eter- nal, and unchangeable in thy being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Thou art not worshipped as though thou needest any thing ; for thou givest unto all, life, and breath, and all things. Yet thou art exalted above principalities and powers, that at thy name every knee should bow, and every tongue confess. O, thou art infinitely worthy of the everlasting adoration of all thy rational creatures. Thou art glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing won- ders. In thee I live, and move, and have my being. From thee I derive every good and perfect gift. It 20 was thy power which created me ; it is thy wisdom that governs me ; thy goodness that provides for me ; and thy grace that saves me. O help me, ado- rable Jehovah, to feel and express the infinite ex- cellencies of thy character, and to bow before thee as over all, God, blessed forever ! \_See PRAISE, and the various Attributes.'] AFFLICTION. In the time of trouble, hide me in thy pavilion, O Lord ! Prepare me for meeting and bearing all the adversities of life. Support or deliver me in poverty, in sickness, in pain, in bereavement, in persecution, in sorrow, in reproach. Let the trial of my faith in all these work patience and holiness. May I endure as seeing him who is invisible ; and so repose on thy wisdom and goodness, that I may say " Thy will be done do with me as seemeth good in thy sight thou givest and takest away ; blessed be the name of the Lord." Though thy judgments are unsearchable, and thy ways past find- ing out, I know that thou art too wise to err ; for thine understanding is infinite. Thou art too good to be unkind ; for thou dost not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men ; yea, whom thou lovest thou chastenest, and scourgest every child whom thou receivest. Lord, cause my judgment, and heart, and will to approve of every measure of thy correcting and reclaiming love. O Shepherd of Israel, cause my every adversity to be sanctified to me. Lead me to see thy hand in it ; to feel that my sins have far more than de- served it ; and to be willing that thy justice may be exalted at my expense, and that I may be brought 21 to acknowledge, " I know, O Lord, that thy judg- ments are right, and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me." Show me that my cup has been mingled with mercies ; for the days of my comforts have far outnumbered the hours of my sorrows that my griefs are not peculiar to me ; for they are the lot of humanity that they are not the accidents of life ; for thou dost all things and that I am not called to suffer them alone; for thou hast said, " I will never leave nor forsake thee:" and thy rod and staff they shall comfort and support me, even in the valley and shadow of death. Lord, grant that thy grace may be peculiarly dear to me in the hour of trial ; and bring me out from it as gold that is tried in a furnace. Assure me, that every branch that beareth fruit, thou purgest, that it may bring forth more fruit ! Enable me to say with thy servant, " Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I have kept thy word." May that grace strengthen me, that I may glory in tribu- lation, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience a hope that maketh not ashamed. Lead me closer to thy throne, as the only place where I may find abiding help in every hour of need. Grant, merciful Father, that my troubles may lead me to sympathise with all who suffer in mind, body, or estate ; remembering them that are in bonds, as be- ing bound with them ; and them that suffer adver- sity, as being myself also in the body. Lord, cause my sorrows, which indeed are but for a moment, to wean me from the vanities and wickedness of earth, to prepare me for eternity, and to work out for me an eternal weight of glory : and vouchsafe to me, in all of them, the consoling thought, that though the earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, I have 22 a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Grant, O Lord, that the impenitent, when they suffer affliction, may be so influenced by it as after- wards to reap the peaceable fruits of righteousness. Let them not despise thy chastenings, nor faint when they are rebuked of thee. Show them that unless they repent, these are but the beginnings of sorrows, that shall know no relief and no end. Convince them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Lead them to repent and forsake the error of their ways, and to turn unto him who maketh all things work together for good to them that love him. These prayers I offer through the prevailing name of Jesus; to whom, with the Father and Spirit, be all honour and rule forever. ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF GOD. Sovereign of the Universe, the heaven of heavens cannot contain thy fulness. Thou art the infinite source of blessedness. Giving doth not impoverish thee, neither doth withholding make thee rich. It is in thee that my weakness is made strength, and the iniquities of my heart removed. O Lord, let a full persuasion of thy boundless sufficiency fill my heart, that I may forsake the broken cisterns of hu- man happiness, and go to the fountain of living waters. All that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. Be thou more precious to me than music to the ear, or light to the eye, or fragrance to the smell, or sweetness to the taste, or friendship to the heart. Make thy love my continual feast. May I commit all my wants and trials to thee ; may I be encouraged in the midst of danger and distress ; be persuaded that infinite wisdom and goodness govern 23 all thy dealings ; and be led to persevere in faith and prayer, until the vision of hope be exchanged for thine open presence, where there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore !" ANGELS. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments ; hearkening unto the voice of his word ! Great God, do thou exalt my intellect and purify my heart by medita- tions on the nature, character, and employments of the angels in heaven. Lo ! they are an innumera- ble company of pure spirits ; to whom thou hast given an endless life ; endowing them richly with knowledge, power, holiness, and love. They dwell forever in thy presence ; where their eyes are never dim with tears, nor their minds clouded by igno- rance ; where their affections are never wounded by grief, nor their hopes broken by disappointment, nor their hearts stained with guilt. And there they do thy holy pleasure with all the heart, and without delay, and continually. I thank thee that thou hast revealed to us that these exalted beings sympathize deeply in the wel- fare of the children of men. The incarnate Son of God was proclaimed to the shepherds of Bethlehem by the angel of the Lord, with the message of glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people : and a multitude of the heavenly host, that sang to- gether over man's creation, and mourned over his fall, praised God in an anthem of good-will to man. And now, though it is their privilege to scan widely the wonders of creation, and search deeply into the mysteries of providence ; though they find ample employment and delight in the reciprocal joys of 24 their own blessed fraternity of wisdom, holiness, and love though they dwell in the absorbing and vivifying transports of the open vision of the Most High yet there is joy in their presence over one sinner that repenteth ! Lord, teach me the value of that scheme of re- demption which the angels desire to look into. There they learn the dignity of thy law, the rigour of thy justice, the immutability of thy truth, the depravity of man, the peril of his guilt, and the glory of thy mercy. O God, suffuse my heart with shame, that the plan of repentance and salvation, in which thou hast condensed the perfections of thy character, for the adoring wonder and excited love of perfect spirits, should be so often to my soul only as a dream when one awaketh ! Gracious Lord, I praise thy mercy which sends forth these messengers of thy power and grace, to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. Grant, I beseech thee, in the name of Jesus, that I may belong to those children of adoption, whose beds they watch, whose hearts they comfort, and whose ways they protect. Heavenly Father, prepare me for fellowship with that blessed throng, when the season of my earthly probation shall close. Enable me now, according to the feebleness of human nature, to do thy will as it is done in heaven. And when, at the end of the world, the reapers shall come forth to gather the tares in bundles, to burn them, but the wheat into the barn, grant that I may be garnered with thy saints ; and that I may have my spirit made perfect in the everlasting communion of the sons of God ! God of Justice, admonish my fear of the guilt and punishment of sin by the awful example of those 25 rebel angels, who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, and are reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, until the judgment of the great day. Preserve me, I pray thee, from the power of that spirit that now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience. Help me to wres- tle against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and to bruise Satan under my feet, in the strength of the God of peace. ANGER. Lord, strengthen me by thy grace, that I may restrain and conquer my propensities to unholy anger. Let it not cloud my brow, nor envenom my tongue, nor vex my heart. Let gentleness, courtesy, and kindness spread themselves, like the green covering of earth, over my character and con- duct. Teach me that he who ruleth his own spirit is greater than he who taketh a city ; and that he who is hasty of spirit exalteth folly, and shall suffer punishment. Show me that a soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up strife. He that soweth to the wind shall reap the whirlwind ; but the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. May I consider him who endured the contradiction of sinners, and seek not to avenge myself, but rather give place to wrath. Let me do nothing in rashness and strife. Enable me, in the exercise of candour, forbearance, meek- ness, and forgiveness, to disarm every temptation to sinful passion, and to cause the wrath of my ad- versaries to praise thee. Source of Wisdom, instruct me how I may be angry and sin not. Let me not be indignant with- out cause and above cause. Give me a holy dis- 3 r 26 pleasure against transgression ; but let it be mingled with a reclaiming pity towards the transgressor ; and be exercised for his good and thy glory. APPRE N T 1C E S. O thou, who art Lord and Master over all, bless thou our youth who are held at service as appren- tices. Instead of the apathy that prevails respect- ing them, do thou excite in the community, and especially in the church, a strong solicitude for this class of our population ; who, in the lapse of a few years, will become the muscles and sinews of so- ciety ; and who are now moulding their own cha- racters for time and eternity. Lord, bring such influences to bear on them, that they may be fitted, in mind and in morals, for usefulness to society ; and that they may be prepared for thy favour both on earth and in heaven. Heavenly Father, teach them the duties of their station. Make them contented with their circum- stances ; industrious in their callings ; faithful, in all things, to the interests of their masters ; and obedi- ent to every requisition of lawful service. And may they be persuaded that the discharge of all these duties is demanded as much by their own welfare, as by the interests of those whom they serve. Lord, secure for them the kindness of their mas- ters. Let their personal comforts, their instruction in business, their mental culture, their social habits, their moral character, and their religious opportuni- ties, be objects of constant and conscientious atten- tion. Set before them, I pray thee, the dangers to which they are liable, by absence from the scrutiny and protection of the parental home ; by frequent 27 exposure to the seductions of ungodly associates , and by the tendencies to corruption in their own hearts. O do thou throw wholesome restraints around them. If sinners entice them, let them not consent to their persuasions. Make them flee youthful lusts, that war against the soul. Preserve them from every form and degree of temptation. Dispose and qualify them to discharge their present duties : incline and prepare them to fill with honour to themselves, and advantage to the public, their fu- ture positions in life : and, more than all else, give them the indenture of thine own service, in which thou makest the servant an heir, and the bondman a freeman of the Lord. ASSURANCE. Lord, grant me a well-grounded assurance of a personal interest in thy favour. Comfort me by the persuasion, that my many offences have been re- mitted. Enable me to gather satisfactory evidence from my feelings and conduct, that I have passed from death unto life ; and may thy Spirit bear wit- ness with mine, that I am numbered with thy child- ren. Give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of Christ, that I may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Cause me to feel that it is my duty to aim at the attainment of this grace, and my privilege to enjoy it, in the exercise of faith, prayer, and zeal. Enable me to say " Though thou wast angry with me, thine an- ger is turned away; and thou comfortest me." Blessed God, grant me the full assurance of hope unto the end : a hope that I am accepted before thee, for the merits of Christ; that through his grace 28 I shall be saved ; and that though worms may de vour this body, yet in my flesh I shall see thee, and be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness. ATHEISM. Great God, regard with pity the fool, who hath said in his heart, "There is no God!" Although thou hast written thy name in language of fire, on the canopy of heaven ; and revealed thy being in the countless creations of air, earth, and sea yet there are some of thy creatures, who profess to be- lieve that thou art not! Though thou mayest be known by the judgments thou executest ; and though human consciousness, in its universal consent, has been a memorial of thee, through all generations- they would vainly persuade themselves that thou art but the empty dream of religious fancy t O Lord, let this outrage upon knowledge, and holi- ness, and hope, make me cling, with a closer grasp, to the instructive, and purifying, and hopeful truth, that thy kingdom ruleth over all. Gracious Parent, how cheerless would this earthly probation be to my spirit, if I did not know that thou art Alpha and Omega. Lord, let the fact that any could be so lost to reason and piety, as to deny thy being, be strong testimony before the world of the depravity of the carnal mind; which, in all its various degrees of sentiment, is still enmity against God ! O, if it be consistent with thy justice, recover these children of disobedience to the wisdom of the just; and lead them to adore and trust in thee, as the living God. Lord, commiserate those who, while they ac- knowledge thee in their judgments, deny thee in their lives : and who, in the midst of thy presence, are without God in the world I They will not re- 29 tain thee in their knowledge, nor follow thy ways, nor seek thy favour. Give them not over to a re- probate mind, to be filled with all unrighteousness ; but do thou bring them, in the living way of thy Son, to know, and love, and glorify thee as God. O Most High, does not practical atheism leaven my own heart, and the hearts of many that call on thy name ? For when we do what we know to be wrong in thy sight, and leave undone what we know thou hast commanded us to do, we virtually say, " Who is the Lord, that we should obey him ?" I pray thee, rebuke this unrighteousness ; and banish every vestige of it from us ; until our hearts shall know, and our works shall proclaim, in all things, the power of thy life ! ATONEMENT. God of Salvation, I thank and adore thee that in the counsels of eternity thou didst devise a plan by which rebellious, guilty, and hell-deserving man might receive thy forgiveness, be reconciled to thee, and enjoy thy favour; and that in the fulness of time thou didst finish thy decree of mercy, by sending thine only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. O it was matchless compassion that made the ruins of our apostasy the theatre on which to display the wonders of redeeming love ! When we lay in the open field, and were polluted in our own blood, thou didst bid us live : yea, thou didst bid us live ! Scarcely for a righteous man would one die ; per- adventure for a good man some would even dare to die : but thou hast commended thy love to us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Thou didst set him forth to be a propitiation, through 3* 30 faith in his blood, for the remission of sins, in order that thou mightest be just, and be the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Make me under- stand that it was his divinity that made this offering a perfect work : for Lebanon was not sufficient to burn ; nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering ; nor could the fruit of the body atone for the sin of the soul: but lo! the blood of Christ clean seth from all sin ! Lord, may I have an ever-present conviction that there is no other name by which I can be saved. May I seek redemption only through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Purge thou my conscience from dead works to serve the living God ; and may I thus judge, that if Christ has died for me, I should henceforth live not unto myself, but unto him. Let the blessings of this atonement rest on me, in sins pardoned, in punish- ment averted, in fear pacified, in the soul reconciled, in the heart sanctified, and in the spirit made joyful in an endless hope. O Lord, grant that at last I may be found among those that have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. O may there be many, who shall go into all the world, and preach this blessed gospel to every crea- ture. May men every where learn their guilt and danger, and see the fitness of the Saviour thou hast provided for them. May multitudes thirst after righteousness, and be led to that fountain which has been opened in the house of David, where whoso- ever will, may take of the waters of life freely. Grant, in thy mercy, that all the ends of the earth may look unto Christ, and be saved. [See JESUS CHRIST.] 31 AUTUMN. O thou that makest the seasons, and crownest them with thy goodness, give ear to the thanksgiv- ings and entreaties which I now offer thee in the name of Jesus. I praise thee that thou hast pre- served me amid the heat and diseases of the past summer. I thank thee for the fruits of the earth which have already been gathered, and for those which still burden the fields with the promise of plenty. The whole face of nature speaks thy praise, and bears witness to thy bounty. Lord, what is man, that thou hast been thus mind- ful of him ; or the son of man, that thou visitest him ? Instead of continuing health and sparing life, thou mightest have brought over us the pestilence that walketh in darkness, and the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. Instead of making the earth to bring forth and bud, that it might give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, thou couldst have made it more desolate than the wilderness, until the land had fainted by reason of the famine. It is of thy mercies that we are not consumed: for thou art slow to anger and full of compassion ; and thy ten- der mercies are over all thy works. O God, incline me to be merciful to others, even as thou hast been merciful to me. Dispose me, in my enjoyment of the abundance of the earth, to pity and relieve the wants of the needy ; and deeply impress on my heart the lesson of gratitude which thou hast been striving to teach me by thy goodness. Whilst thou art now changing the face of the de- clining year, and bringing over it the tokens of de- cay and death, O teach me that such are earthly hopes and human life. The fashion of this world 32 passeth away ; and we all do fade as a leaf. The grass withereth, and the flower fadeth ; and all flesh is as grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field. May these waning scenes lead me to seek that inheritance in light, where no sor- row shall wither, and no sin shall blast the fruit of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God ! Lord, instruct me that he who soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly ; and that he who soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Let my Christian experience be like the fruit of the earth, which bringeth forth first the blade, then the ear, and after that, the full corn in the ear : and then, O Lord, when thy harvest is come, put in thy sickle, and gather me, as a shock of corn cometh in his season, into thy heavenly garner. And the praise of my salvation shall be unto the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost forever. BACKSLIDING. O thou, who through Christ, art rich in mercy to all who call upon thee, preserve me, I pray thee, against backsliding from the ways of grace. Let not my infirmities and corruptions lead me back to the love of the world. Suffer not the temptations by which I am surrounded to draw me away from my love and allegiance to thee. Teach me to avoid the appearance of evil, and to watch against the earliest and least encroachments of sin, both in the heart and in the life. Let me not fall into the occasional nor habitual neglect of public or private duties. Permit me not to substitute formality for the spirit of devotion ; nor insincerity for truth of heart ; nor vain glory for good will to man ; nor error for 33 the truth of God. Keep me, O Lord, from open transgression, and from degrading thy cause in the eyes of a gainsaying world, by an unholy walk and conversation. And show me that if any man draw back, thy soul has no pleasure in him. Grant, merciful Father, that when my feet fall into snares, and slide in the way of evil, thy grace may be sufficient for that hour of need. Bring me back from all my wanderings, and may the memory of them make me humble and watchful. Forgive my backslidings, restore me to thy favour, set my feet upon the rock, establish my goings in thy strength, and dispose me to press on towards the mark, for the prize of my high calling. Lord, let me not be of those that draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe, unto the saving of the soul. BENEVOLENCE. Father of Mercies, fill my heart with ever-living sympathies for the wants and woes of all my fellow- creatures. Make me merciful even as thou, Hea- venly Father, art merciful. May I desire more the blessing of them that are ready to perish, than the favour of the wise, and rich, and mighty. Make me the steward of thy bounty ; for with such sacri- fices thou art well pleased. Incline me to practice that economy which will enable me to give to him that needeth. May I remember that whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, the love of God dwelleth not in him. Gracious God, sanctify my motives in all the exercises of charity. Let them not be done to be seen of men, nor as acts of self-righteousness. I would do good, that I may enjoy the testimony of 34 an approving conscience, and find it more blessed to give than to receive. May I regard benevolence as the means of improving the heart, and making the character like that of Jesus. I would remem- ber, too, that thou lovest a cheerful giver. Help me, O God, to make thy glory the end of all my benevolence. Dispose me to do good, as I have op- portunity, in all my spheres of life. May I be eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, health to the sick, strength to the feeble, help to the needy, and com- fort to the mourner. But above all, may my desires, and zeal go forth for the spiritual wants of mankind. Let not indolence, selfishness, nor unbelief steel my heart against the claims of those who live re- gardless of thy will, and of those who are perishing for lack of knowledge. Lord, make me an humble yet honoured instrument in thy hand, of spreading the knowledge of thy truth, and of turning sinners from the error of their ways, unto the wisdom of the just. BIB L E. See Scriptures. BIRTH-DAY. O thou Giver and Preserver of Being, I would lift up my thanksgivings to thee for having continued and blessed my life through another year. Here 1 would raise my Ebenezer, and say, " Hitherto hath the Lord helped me." I would look back with mingled feelings of wonder and love on the way in which thou hast led me, ever since the dawn of my existence. If thou hadst measured unto me accord- ing to my deserts, my days of probation would long ago have been ended, and I should now be reaping the fruits of sin in the world of despair. But, thanks 35 be unto thee, thy mercy rejoiced against judg- ment ; and I, who might have been a monument of thy justice, am a witness that thou art long-suffer- ing and abundant in goodness. Lord, accept my gratitude for the many tokens of thy favour which I have enjoyed since my last birthday. I thank thee for my food and raiment, my home and friends, my health and my countless comforts. I praise thee that the means of grace the institution of prayer, the worship of thy sanc- tuary, the oracles of truth, the fellowship of saints, have all been continued unto me. And to all these thou hast added the teaching, and sanctifying, and rejoicing influences of thy Holy Spirit. Lord, thou hast crowned my year with thy goodness, and thy paths in it have dropped fatness. O God, help me to ponder and fulfil the duties of heart and action which lie before me in the untra- velled and uncertain, but important period of time, on which I am now entering. I may have num- bered the last year of my existence ; and ere the present one shall have finished its brief circle, time may be to me no more, and the state of my soul be unalterably fixed. Make me thoughtful of death and eternity ; and yet suffer me not to forget, that while it is still day, and before the night cometh, in which no man can work, thou hast appointed unto me spheres of duty, which thou requirest me to occupy until thy coming. Give me, I beseech thee, in Christ Jesus, an eye of wisdom to discern, and a heart of love to do, all the requirements of thy blessed will. And if it be thy pleasure to prolong my years, may I look back on them as spent in thy service, and say, " For me to live is Christ !" But if thou wilt bring my season of trial to an end, O 36 grant that I may be able to say, with exulting joy, " For me to die is gain !" BIGOTRY. God of Truth, preserve my understanding and heart from the influence of bigotry. While I am not permitted to tolerate dangerous error, nor con- nive at heresy, keep me from ignorant perversity and blind obstinacy in defending my own opinions ; and from unkindness and intolerance towards those from whom I differ in sentiment. Suffer me not to mistake prejudice for the love of truth, nor malice for true zeal. Lord, if this root of bitterness be in my spirit, (and who among the children of men is free from it ?) O, do thou take it utterly away : and in its place implant a vine whose brandies will cling in love, and whose fruits will hang in plenty, on every object in its reach. May I sincerely desire the success of all who labour for the glory of God and the welfare of souls. Restore, O Lord, the spirit of harmony in all the divisions of the house- hold of faith ; so that thy watchmen may see eye to eye, and thy saints, of every name, dwell in the unity of the Spirit. BLESSING OF GOD. Great God, I desire to feel that without thy bless- ing, which maketh rich, and addeth no sorrow with it, all that I now possess, and all I hope to enjoy, will be barren and worthless. Thou only canst make my possessions and pursuits answer the pur- poses of wisdom and goodness. Lord, bless thou my waking and sleeping hours ; my seasons of re- tirement and intercourse ; my daily food and daily duties; my joys and sorrows; my prosperity and 37 adversity; my rest and labour; my praises and prayers ; my thoughts, words, and actions ; my hopes ; my all. Whatsoever thou mayest deny me, grant me thy favour which is life, and thy loving- kindness which is better than life. Let me not un- dertake nor prosecute any thing on which 1 cannot ask thee to set the seal of thine approbation. May I turn away from every thing which I may judge to be repugnant to thy will. Especially may I feel, in my religious duties, that neither is he that planteth any thing, nor he that watereth, but God thatgiveth the increase. If thou vouchsafe not thy favour, the heaven that is over rny head shall be as brass, and the earth that is under my feet shall be as iron. Without thee I can do nothing; for in myself my strength is weakness, my wisdom is folly, and my goodness is as the morning cloud and the early dew. But I praise thee that my sufficiency is of God, and that I can do all things through Christ strengthen- ing me. Endue me, I beseech thee, with power from on high ; and make thy strength perfect in my weakness. O Lord, bestow thine abiding sanction and thy richest blessing upon the various efforts of thy church. Give them abundant success. Make them all works of faith and labours of love. Let " Glory to God in the highest, on earth, peace and good-will to men," be inscribed on every motive and every exertion of Christian zeal. Cast down every ob- stacle, and subdue every enemy. O, do thou re- move all the woes and vices that afflict humanity and in their stead, bring thou the peace and purity of the precious gospel, which are the sure and satis fying tokens of that holy blessedness which fills the courts of thine upper sanctuary. Lord, give thes 4 38 petitions gracious audience through Christ the Sa- viour ; and dispose me to ascribe unto the King, immortal, eternal, and invisible, all the praise and dominion, now, henceforth, and forever. BLIND. O thou, who hast formed the eye to be the light of the body, look mercifully on the blind ; in whom thou hast sealed up, in rayless darkness, one of man's chief avenues of knowledge and pleasure. Lord, I would acknowledge my ingratitude to thee for the blessing of eyesight ; and my indifference towards those, from whom, in thine inscrutable wisdom, thou hast withheld it. I pray thee that when I look upon the cheerful scenes of nature, and share in the pleasant fellowship of social life, and drink in precious knowledge from the leaves of hu- man and holy writ, that then I may remember thee, the giver of these perfect gifts, and those also, whom thou hast deprived of them. Lord, I thank thee that whilst thou hast denied to them the light of the eye, thou hast bestowed on them an increased and wonderful sense of touch : and that the ingenuity and benevolence of men have taken advantage of this provision of thy mercy, to restore, in part, the priceless boons of intelligence and joy. I pray thee so to improve the healing art, that many, very many, of these children of darkness may be brought into the open light of day : but do thou put within the reach and use of those whose sight no skill can restore, the means that are now employed for giving them, in the mysterious lan- guage of the fingers, the pages of intellectual and saving wisdom. But O, let thy chief compassion to them be, to 39 shine into their hearts, to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ: in whom, though now they see him not, neither the works of his hands, yet believing, may they rejoice with a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory : receiving the end of faith, even the salva- tion of their souls. Lord, regard with pity those blind, who have eyes that will not see ; and who love darkness, be- cause their deeds are evil ; and who will not come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. Unscale, I beseech thee, their inward sight; remove every film of vice ; and grant that in thy light they may see light ! BROTHERLY LOVE. O thou, who art the fountain of love, fill my heart with strong affections for all that are of the household of faith. May I keep that message that we had from the beginning that we should love one another. He who doeth this abideth in light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him ; but he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen ? May I regard thy people as lively stones of thy spiritual house ; as partners with me in the trials of life, and in the grace of God ; as members of thy family on earth, and of thy heritage in heaven. Lord, grant me that testimony of having passed from death unto life, which flows from love to the bre- thren. Lord of Hosts, may all thy saints love each other, not in word nor in tongue only, but in deed and in truth. Show them how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. May they be 40 kind one to another, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven them. May brotherly love continue, through evil report, as well as good report. Dispose them to suffer long, to hope all things, to believe all things. May they bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Show them, O Lord, that the success of thy kingdom among the ungodly, the peace and joy of the fold of Christ, and the enduring favour of Jehovah, depend on their loving one another, out of pure hearts, fervently. Let this grace be as the dew of heaven, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion ; where the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. BUSINESS. Lord, dispose me to act according to thy will, and in reference to thy glory, in all my worldly bu- siness. I thank thee for that law of my nature, by which thou hast connected my happiness and use- fulness, with the employment of my body and mind in the duties of life. Let all my avocations be law- ful in thy sight. Give me a calm mind and mode- rate prosperity in the pursuit of them; or grant me patience under disappointed efforts. O let not mere selfishness be the motive nor end of my labour. May I desire to fulfil in myself the benevolent pur-* poses of thy providence, in giving me an active na- ture ; and to make my employments promote the temporal and spiritual interests of mankind. Make me diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord : so that whether I eat, or drink, or what- ever I do, I may do it for thy glory. 41 CENSORIOUSNESS. Lord, preserve me from the spirit of censorious- ness. Guard me against an intermeddling, rash, or uncharitable judgment on the conduct of my fellow- creatures. May I do unto others in this matter, as I would they should do unto me. May I remember that with what measure I mete, it shall be measured to me again. Let me not judge according to appear- ance, but judge righteous judgment. Whenever I am tempted to behold the mote that is in my bro- ther's eye, may I consider the beam that is in mine own eye. Show me my own weakness and sinful- ness. Dispose me to think no evil of any, and to maintain a good opinion of all, until I have proved all things. Incline me always to pray for the for- giveness of the offence, and for the welfare of the offender. And when it becomes my duty to cen- sure others, may I do it, not in anger nor pride of heart, but in sorrow, and with a desire to do good. CHARITY. Giver of all Good, grant me that fruit of the Spirit which is love. May this be the element where my soul will live, and move, and have its being. O, may I feel that if I could speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal : though I should bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Lord, grant that thy holy commandment, and the countless examples of thy good-will, and the various wants of my fellow-creatures, may be heart-stirring motives to this law of kindness. And especially 4* 42 may the love of Cbdst constrain me to love my neighbour as myself. Make it a bond of perfect- ness, and the end of the commandment ; spring- ing out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. May this grace pre- serve me from envy, censoriousness, and ill-will, and so mould my temper and character, that I shall be meek and forbearing, disinterested and self-de- A nying, and steadfast and kind in all my intercourse / with mankind. Blessed God, let it not be bounded by narrow limits, but be as expansive as the length and breadth of the world, and take into the bosom of its sympathies the whole family of man. O thou, Sovereign of Destinies, hasten that time when charity shall fill the hearts and control the conduct of all men ; when anger, and malice, and revenge shall have fled away forever ; when nations shall learn war no more, and Jesus, the Prince of Peace, shall reign over an undisturbed empire of love. CHASTITY. Preserve me, O Holy One, from impurity in thought, in word, and in action. Grant that a sense of thy holiness and thine omniscience may so rest upon me, that I may walk in the Spirit, and not ful- fil the lusts of the flesh. May I set a watch upon my lips, that no double meaning nor corrupt com- munication may proceed out of my mouth ; and suf- fer me not to take pleasure in, but to abhor and turn away from, the language of indelicacy and lascivious- ness on the tongues of others. Help me to make a covenant with my eyes, that they may not dwell on unlawful objects, nor pamper forbidden wishes. Throw a guard round my heart, that it may not de- 43 vise wicked imaginations. Teach me to loathe and flee from these beginnings of evil, which debase the spirit, enfeeble the mind, and drown the soul in perdition. Enable me to put away uncleanness, and to glorify thee in my body and spirit, which are thine. God of Justice, enter not into judgment with our land for the foul impurity which covers it. If thou wert strict to mark its iniquity, thou wouldst bring over it the besom of desolation, and make it a monu- ment of reproach. O lead us, in thy mercy, to the use of such measures as shall subvert the dominion of licentiousness, and establish purity of heart, speech, and conduct. Lord, thou knowest whether the means which have been employed, by social and open action, for the suppression of that destroying vice, are according to thy holy will. If they are, O give them abundant success. But if they are not, cause them to be laid aside, and teach thy people what they may do that will secure thy blessing. Correct, elevate, and inform public opinion in rela- tion to the destroying evils oflewdness. Put under the ban of universal condemnation the unchaste word, the licentious song, the impure page, the lascivious dance, and the dissolute play-house. Make the libertine a scorn and reproach in every society. O preserve those who are still pure ; and let them not go down the pathways of disgrace and destruction. Convince and alarm those whose name is clean in the eyes of the world, but whose thoughts cherish unholy emotions, and whose hearts work uncleanness greedily. Recover those who have listened to the song of the syren, and who go as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life : who think not that many strong men 44 have been slain by her, and that her house is the chambers of death, and that her guests are in the depths of hell. Cleanse our land and the world from this vile leprosy which destroys health, and happi- ness, and virtue : and bring over it a reformation that shall be total abstinence from impurity of every name. CHEERFULNESS. Lord, make cheerfulness the habit of my temper. Enable me to pursue the happy mean between that mirth, the end of which is heaviness, and that sul- lenness, which is a canker upon personal comfort, a reproach upon social character, and a libel on divine goodness. Let not my spirit be soured by disappoint* ment ; nor be dejected by misfortune ; nor be made morose by hostility. May I regard these as light af- flictions, compared with a peevish and gloomy tem- per : which will corrupt my own pleasures, shed mildew on all my associations in life, and disparage thy grace. Show me that a cheerful mind will dif- fuse gladness over my pathways, scatter pleasure around those who journey with me, and glorify the mercy of God. Gracious Parent, speak to me " Son, be of good cheer: thy sins are forgiven thee." O how light would the crosses, and afflictions, and disasters of earth weigh on me, if I were conscious of guilt for- given, and peace with heaven! Lord, grant that whilst I drink gladness from all the lawful sources of comfort around me, I may draw from the wells of salvation a living water, which the world can neither give nor take away. 45 CHILDREN. Lord, I thank thee that thou dost suffer little child- ren to come unto thee, and that thou dost ordain praise out of the mouths of babes and sucklings. I would praise thee that thy saving truth, while it is fitted to fill the minds of angels with the most exalted knowledge, can be learned, and understood, and felt by children ; and that many such have known its power, and have spoken in their feeble accents of its excellence, both in their life and death, and are now enjoying the fruits of its redemption in the courts above. Lord, for the sake of the com- passionate and prevailing Redeemer, increase that cloud of witnesses. May many remember their Creator in the days of their youth, and increase in wisdom and in favour with God. Be thou the guide of their youth, and satisfy them early with thy mer- cies, that they may rejoice and be glad all the days of their lives. God of Grace, I would praise thee for what thou hast done and art doing, through the labours of thy people, for the rising generation. Multiply the num- ber and increase the efficacy of these efforts. Ena- ble parents to make an unreserved dedication of their offspring to the Lord, and train them up in the way they should go, that when they are old, they shall not depart from it. May all who have any influence over youth, devote their most zealous labours that they may be made wise unto salvation, through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. And grant, I pray thee, that thy Church may regard them as the hope of the world, and bend all her energies of faith, and love, and zeal, that the rising generation may be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 46 Heavenly Father, incline the hearts of children to fulfil their duties to their parents. Teach them that they are bound by the laws of natural affection, and the ties of gratitude, to honour their father and mother which is also the will of God, and the first commandment with promise. O, how often are the authority and peace of parents disregarded or violated by those for whom they have spent their property, and time, and anxieties ; and to whom they have looked for comfort and support in declin- ing age. Lord, do thou make every child feel its obligations to keep its father's commandment, and to forsake not the law of its mother ; but to bind them continually upon the heart, and to obey them in reverence and love. Gracious Parent, look in mercy, I pray thee, on the ungodly children of the church. Lord, shall it be that many shall come from the north, and from the south, and from the east, and from the west, and sit down in the kingdom of heaven, while the child- ren of the kingdom shall be cast out ? Turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the diso- bedient to the wisdom of the just, until they shall all be households of faith. But do thou regard, in special compassion, the impenitent offspring of the pious dead. Startle in their memory the echoes of long forgotten parental instructions ; bring to their remembrance the images of long neglected exam- ples of parental godliness. And, O let the prayers of these saints, which are kept by thee as odours in golden vials, be poured out before thee, until spirits redeemed shall see of the travail of their souls, and rejoice over their offspring, born again to an end- less life. [See EARLY PIETY, SABBATH SCHOOLS, YOUTH.] 47 CHRIST MA S. Heavenly Father, assist me to exercise those feel- ings of grateful devotion which are suitable to this day, which has been set apart by so many of thy followers, in memory of the birth of thy well-be- loved Son. Grant me enlarged and soul-moving views of all that relates to the glorious plan of sal- vation through a Redeemer. Unfold to my mind, I beseech thee, the deep de- pravity and lost estate into which our guilty race had fallen. The whole head was sick, and the whole heart faint : and from the sole of the foot even unto the head, there was no moral soundness in it ; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores ! All flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth ; and the whole world was guilty before God. Lord, thou wast angry with the wicked every day : thy curse was in their house ; and thy wrath trea- sured up for them perdition in the day of thy wrath. O, if thou hadst not laid help upon One, mighty to save, all men would have had their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Gracious God, make me sensible of that love whereby thou didst give thine only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life and which thou hast com- mended to us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Though thou hast shown thy loving- kindness in the works of creation, and in the deve- lopements of providence, in this thou hast gathered, as into a bright and burning centre, the matchless proof of thy good-will to man. O, the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge ! 48 Lord, make me to know the excellencies of Christ's glory, and the depths of his humiliation. Though he dwelt in the bosom of the Father, and inhabited the praises of eternity, and exercised the powers of the Godhead, yet he took upon him our sinful nature, was born in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross ; and was buried, and continued under the power of death for a time. Teach me that he was thus made sin for me, that I might be made the righteousness of God in him. O God, show me that though he thus gave his life a ransom for many, still there is none who can have redemption through his blood, without the con- vincing, renewing, and sanctifying power of thy grace. Lord, make me know my sin, and my need of a Saviour ; dispose me to turn away from all my transgressions, and to lay hold of the hope set be- fore me in the gospel. Lord, impress on my heart the features of Christ's lovely and perfect character. May I learn of him who was meek and lowly, kind and patient, obe- dient and forgiving, wise and holy. Let the same mind which was in him be also in me. Show me that he is glorified in the bodies and spirits of them whom thou hast given to him ; and that if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. May the grace which has brought salvation, teach me to deny ungodliness and to work righteousness ; that his image, destroyed by the fall, may be re- renewed in me, and that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in my mortal flesh. God of Grace, excite my faith in this blessed Saviour, by clear visions of that heavenly glory 49 which he has prepared for those that love him. O, thanks be unto thy name, thou hast not only re- deemed thy saints from the wretched dominion of sin and the fearful penalties of guilt, but thou hast given them thine unfailing promise, that they shall go into life eternal, and dwell before thy throne, and serve thee day and night in thy temple. Lord, grant that through his merits, an entrance may be ministered unto me, abundantly, into the everlast- ing kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Merciful Father, persuade the ungodly, who are rejecting the Saviour, that without his atoning right- eousness their souls must endure the perdition of eternal death ; while through his blood they may have remission of sins, and an inheritance among them that are sanctified. Reconcile them unto thy- self, through him ; not imputing their trespasses unto them. O dispose them to join with fulness of heart, that heavenly anthem, which heralded his birth in our nature " Glory to God in the highest ; and on earth peace, good-will towards men !" CHURCH. Great Shepherd of Israel, I thank thee that thou hast established thy church on the earth, and hast put the seal of thy redeeming grace on it, and hast promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I would praise thee that he who is thy fulness, has been made head over all things to his church, which is his body, and which he has re- deemed by his blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. Lord, dispose me to sustain all the relations which I bear to thy heritage. Suffer me not to withdraw, in any degree, from the fellowship of the saints, in 5 50 their profession of faith in the Lord Jesus. Thou hast commanded that fellowship ; thou hast adapted it to our social nature ; thou hast made it the stream of our consolation, the wall of our safety, and the field of our usefulness. May I love to seek thy face in the tabernacles of the righteous, and to worship thee there in spirit and in truth. May I cherish the reputation, and welcome the instructions, and en- courage the labours of those whom thou hast set to minister in holy things. Lead me, O Lord, to seek the interest of thy church, in its purity, peace, know* ledge, and universal dominion. Lord, cause all thy people to strive for the wel- fare of Zion. May they mourn over her desolations, and rejoice when her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth. Baptize them by one spirit, into one body ; and make them all one in Christ Jesus. May they feel deeply humbled at their want of personal holiness, and at their neglect in extending the blessings of salvation to a perishing world. Let every one that nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity. May the sons of God be blameless, and harmless, and without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation ; among whom may they shine, as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life. Make them a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Let utterance be given to them, that they may open their mouths boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel. Let not the ingratitude nor hostility of sinners discourage their efforts to win them to thy service. May they have the pleasure of seeing thy work prospering in their hands, and multitudes added to their number, of such as shall be saved. 51 Arise, and have mercy on Zion : let the time to favour her, yea, the set time come. Bring her up from the wilderness, leaning on her Beloved ; and make her the perfection of beauty. When her enemy comes in like a flood, do thou lift up a standard against him. Be thou as a wall of fire round about her, and a glory in the midst of her. Hast thou not purchased her with thy blood ; and wilt thou not grave her on the palms of thy hands, and set her walls continually before thee? O, King of Kings, do thou marshal, and discipline, and strengthen, and multiply the sacramental host, and lead it on conquering and to conquer, until the king- doms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. CITIES. Heavenly Father, remember in special mercy, I beseech thee, the cities of this land, and of the world. It was in such that Christ sought con- tinually, in the days of his ministry on earth, to proclaim his words of life. And it was to such that his apostles resorted, when commanded to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every crea- ture. O Lord, there thou hast poured out, from generation to generation, the most copious effusions of thy Holy Spirit; and hast built up many, very many, churches in the beauty of holiness. Gracious God, excite an earnest solicitude in the hearts of the pions, on behalf of our populous places. May they realize that in these dwell the potent in- fluences of wealth, intelligence, commerce, and numbers, which control the wide country for good or evil ; and that out of them go streams that poison or heal the veins of social life throughout the land. Teach thy people that there are the strongholds of vice, where the adversary of souls stations his choicest legions, and establishes his dominion in the nation. Show them that if his power could be sub- verted in the midst of these crowded marts, his sceptre would be broken, and his throne be shaken to its foundations. O God, make thy followers appreciate the facili- ties that are there afforded for procuring the triumph oi' the gospel. In these thou hast gathered a large proportion of the human race, and hast put their dwellers within the reach of Christian exertion for their salvation. There thou hast planted the insti- tutions of religious benevolence, which, like trees of life, are shedding their leaves for the healing of the nations. And Lord, the wealth of our cities can furnish the means, and their numbers the men, that shall carry to all the earth's inhabitants the messages of mercy. Lord, bless all the instrumentalities that are now employed for the conversion of these places. Bring all their youthful population into Sabbath-schools, and into the nurture of the Lord. May personal Christian effort be brought to bear, in prayerful re- liance on thy help, on every impenitent heart. In- crease and give universal application to the power of the Christian ministry : and roll on the chariot of thy gospel amidst these dense congregations of life, until each place shall shadow forth the holiness and joy of that city, which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God ! 53 COMMUNION WITH GOD. O thou that hearest prayer, grant that I may hold communion of spirit with thee, the Father of Spirits. As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so may my soul pant after thee : and as the parched land drinketh in the rain of heaven, so let my soul re- ceive the gifts of thy presence. Dispose me to be faithful and to delight in the observance of stated seasons of private devotion, and in the frequent ex- ercises of occasional prayer. May I love to seek thee in the tabernacles of the righteous. Let my thoughts and desires hold intercourse with thee in thy word, and in thy works, and in thy ways. Let my walk be close with thee ; and do thou fix my affections on thee, as the highest and noblest object of love. Teach me thy will, that I may ac- quaint myself with thee, and be at peace. Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance upon me. Draw near to me in all my attempts to ap- proach thee ; and manifest thyself unto me as thou dost not unto the world. Sprinkle reconciling blood on the altar where I meet thee. Kindle with heaven- ly fire the incense I bring thee, and let it rise up as a sweet-smelling savour before thee. Make tfiine abode with me ; and let my heart be a temple of the Holy Ghost. Give me that spirit of adoption by which I may cry, " Abba, Father." May I be per- suaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from thy love, which is in Christ Jesus. Give me such a sense of pardoned sin, as shall fill me with holy joys, and strong pur- poses of new obedience to thy will. Grant me, in these seasons of sweet converse with thee, those 5* 54 blessings which are spiritual in their nature, satis fying in their possession, and eternal in their con- tinuance. Cause me, in the enjoyment of them, to commiserate the destitution of those who are with- out God in the world, and the wo of them who are shut out from thy presence forever. O let me cling closer to this precious privilege, and be pervaded with deeper pity, and animated with stronger zeal, for those who know not the delights of thy com- munion. Lord, vouchsafe that my fellowship with thee may be sought only through him who is the way, the truth, and the life ; for no man cometh unto the Father but by him. Let the communion of thy Holy Spirit rest upon me, and abide within me, now, henceforth and forever. COMMUNION OF SAINTS. Heavenly Father, dispose me, in gladness and singleness of heart, to keep the fellowship of the saints. May I have more relish for their company, though they may be poor and unhonoured, than for intercourse with those who are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Make my communion with them pleasant and profitable to my soul ; and do thou come and be in the midst of us, to bless us. Let our bonds of union have the strength and beauty of those that bind the happy throng above, in their perpetual fellowship of bliss. May I feel that we are all children of the same Parent ; brethren of the same family; subjects of the same discipline of trials and duties ; and heirs of the same inheritance beyond the grave. Incline me to love their persons, their character, and their interests rejoicing with them that do rejoice, and weeping with them that 55 weep ministering to their necessities holding converse with them in the grace of God seeking not to please myself, but bearing their infirmities and burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ, who hath given us a new commandment, that we love one another. COMPANY. Lord, teach me that my habits of life, and my reputation, will be determined by the company I keep. Make me ever mindful that evil communica- tions are full of corruption, and that the companion of fools shall be destroyed. Make me holy, harm- less, undefiled, and separate from sinners. O let me not enter the path of the wicked, nor follow a mul- titude to do evil ; and permit me not to conform, in any degree, to either the principles or practices of the ungodly. But when I am called, in the exercise of social or religious duties, among the impenitent, enable me to seek by kindness, and persuasion, and example, to win them to the obedience of faith. Make me, O Lord, a companion of them that fear thee and keep thy precepts. May I desire more the fellowship of them that are lowly and poor in spirit, than of those who are rich in this world's goods, while their hearts are strangers to the love of God. Preserve me, I pray thee, from every un- holy association ; and lead me to seek the commu- nion of thy saints, that we may be comforted to- gether, by our mutual faith. Suffer not my conduct, anywhere, to be a reproach on thy cause ; but do thou bestow on me grace to occupy my station in the family, in society, and in the church, so as to promote thy glory in the sight of men. CONDESCENSION OF GOD. Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him ; or the son of man, that thou visitest him ? Thou art infinite in all thy perfections, and needest not our praises nor services to increase thy happiness and glory. If our guilty race had continued even as thou didst create it, (but a little lower than the angels,) we must have praised thee for thy conde- scension in nourishing and governing us ; but now, that we have lifted the arm of rebellion against thee, and have steeped our souls in transgression, how greatly is thy condescension magnified, in pursuing us with thy mercies, in providing for our wants, in protecting and delivering us from evil ; and above all, in offering to redeem us from our lost estate by the sacrifice of thy Son. He, who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. He, who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He, who from eter- nity knew no pain, sweat great drops of blood, and suffered unspeakable agony, that we might escape the wrath to come the worm that never dieth, and the fire that is never quenched. O help me, God of Grace, to acknowledge thine undeserved and as- tonishing mercy. May it draw me closer to thee in the bonds of love and confidence, and seal me for thy service, in a covenant never to be forsaken. CONFESSION. Holy One of Israel, help me, I beseech thee, to confess before thee my unworthiness and ill-desert. To whom but to thee should I go with the recital of my transgressions ; for it is against thee, thee 57 only, I have sinned. Thou hast said that he who covereth his sins shall not prosper ; while he who confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy. If I say, " I have no sin," I deceive myself, and the truth is not in me ; but if I confess my sins, thou art faithful and just to forgive them, and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. O Lord, I have sinned against thee in doing what thou hast forbidden, and in leaving undone what thou hast commanded. I have transgressed thy law and gospel, in thought, word, and deed. I have sinned in childhood, in youth, and in riper years. I would acknowledge with shame and sorrow, my vanity and selfishness, my pride and hypocrisy, my impatience and unbelief, my self-indulgence and self-righteousness, my neglect of thy service and glory, and my living to myself, and not unto thee. How often has my heart rebelled against thy whole- some discipline in affliction, or impiously forgotten thy dispensing hand in the enjoyment of mercies. O, I have in countless instances, backslidden from thy love, broken my covenants with thee, and brought dishonour on thy name. I have rolled that as a sweet morsel under my tongue, which has filled heaven with solicitude, earth with desolation, and hell with anguish. And yet such has been the hardness of my heart, that 1 have mourned but little over such transgressions. O Lord, these my sins have been protracted through long years which thou hast crowned with forbearance and mercy. They are heavy and black with enormous guilt, because they were committed in the midst of light and knowledge. My trans- gressions are more numerous than the hairs of my head ; and if thou wert strict to mark one in a thou- 58 sand of them, I could not stand before thee. My iniquities are increased over my head, and my tres- passes are grown up to the heavens. Thou might- est justly cause that dark cloud to shutout the light of thy countenance ; and gather there the thunders of thy wrath, and break them on my guilty head, with an overwhelming vengeance. Lord, I am vile ; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth, and put my mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope. God be merciful to me a sinner. CONFIDENCE IN GOD. O Lord, Jehovah, thou art the strength of all that put their trust in thee. Thou art boundless in wis- dom, omnipotent in power, and infinite in goodness. Thou dost not withhold any good thing from him that walketh uprightly. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water ; that bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; his leaf also shall not wither. What- soever he doth shall prosper ; and the end of that man is peace. Lord, if thou art my light and salvation, whom shall I fear ? If thou art my strength, of whom shall I be afraid ? Enable me, I pray thee, to trust in thee with all my heart; and keep me from lean- ing on my own understanding. May I cast all my cares upon thee, in perils, in wants, in losses, in griefs, in sickness, and in death. Cause me to hear thy voice, in every variety of tribulation, saying unto me. " What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." I would remember that oft when I said, "My foot slippeth," thy mercy, 59 O Lord, held me up. In the day when I cried, thou didst answer and strengthen me. May the memory of thy past goodness, the possession of present joys, and the testimonies of thy promises persuade me, that though the mountains depart, and the hills be removed, thy kindness doth not depart from thee ; neither is the covenant of thy peace re- moved. Heavenly Father, give me confidence towards thee in the duty of prayer. May I come to thee as to a forgiving, a bountiful, a compassionate, a wise, and a powerful God for thou only hast an eye of pardon, a hand of plenty, a heart of pity, a judgment of knowledge, and an arm of might. Assure me that whosoever cometh unto thee, ihou wilt in no wise cast out. Help me to ask in faith, nothing wavering. God of Israel, inspire thy people with unlimited and unwavering reliance on thy character, dealings, and purposes. May they learn that the word of the Lord endureth for ever. Let them not cast away their confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. As thou didst not withhold thine own Son, but didst deliver him up for them, O cause them to hope that, with him, thou wilt freely give them all things. Lord, let them never forget that thou makest all things work together for good to them that love thee. Although the fig-tree may not blos- som, neither fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive fail, and the fields yield no meat ; the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls yet may they rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of their salvation. Thou canst make even the bed of death a couch of down ; and the gloomy grave the cradle of immortality. 60 CONSCIENCE. God of Judgment, I thank thee that thou hast given me an inward monitor, to warn me against iniquity, and to smite me when I transgress. May I regard its testimony as a proof of a future judg- ment; when the righteous shall receive the recom- pense of reward, and the wicked the retribution of wo. Enable me, I pray thee, to nourish and cul- ture this plant of thy hand. Show me that my happiness and welfare, and the enjoyment of thy life-giving countenance, will depend on the activity, strength, and purity of my conscience. If the light that is in me be darkness, how great is that dark- ness ! May thy will, as exhibited in thy word, be the supreme rule of its actings. May thy Spirit cleanse it from error and sin, and animate it with right knowledge and holy power. Lord, give it peace through the justify ing merits of Jesus Christ, and purge it from dead works to serve the living God. Make it tender and watchful, and a faithful index of thy sovereign will ; that it may be void of offence towards God and man. Lord, stimulate and give a wholesome vigour to the conscience of all men. May it exercise a con- trolling and righteous influence over their inmost thoughts and their outward actions. Teach them that though they may turn away from its testi- monies, and stifle its chidings, yet there is a day coming when, if they continue impenitent, it will rise up in judgment against them ; when he that sitteth upon the throne will confirm its testimony, by pronouncing the verdict " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." 61 CONSISTENCY. Enable me, O Lord, through the grace of Jesus, to follow thee fully. May I act, in all things, worthy of the vocation wherewith I am called ; and strive to be of those, who, by patient continuance in well- doing, seek eternal life. Thou art entitled to my full-hearted and consistent obedience. O may that obedience be without reserve, and without hy- pocrisy. Let me not call thee " Lord, Lord," and yet do not the things which thou sayest. Make my walk the index of my heart ; and make my heart right in thy sight. Give me oil for my lamp, that when the Bridegroom cometh, I may go forth in joy to meet him. May I remember that he who gathereth not with thee, scattereth abroad. Let me never do evil that good may come. When I would do good, let not evil be present with me: let not the law in my members war against the law of my mind, and bring me into captivity to the law of sin. Permit me not to act so that the way of truth may be evil spoken of; nor that the friends of the gospel may be ashamed of me. Suffer not my vows to be as the fitful wind; nor my devotions as the chang- ing cloud ; nor my hopes as the early dew. I be- seech thee to give me strength to cleave to thy service, steadfastly, in penury and in plenty, in per- secution and in peace. May my light shine in evil report, and in good report. And, Lord, let it be as the path of the just, which shineth more and more, unto the perfect day. CONTENTMENT. Great Sovereign of heaven and earth, thou art infinitely wise and good, in all the allotments of 6 62 thy providence. I pray thee, teach me in what- ever state I am, therewith to be content. Keep me, O Lord, from envy, from avarice, from ambition, from anxiety, and from murmuring. May I remem- ber it was discontent that brought death into the world, and all its woes. Make me content with such things as I have ; for thou hast said thou wilt never leave nor forsake me, if I put my trust in thee. May mine be the prayer of Agur " Give me neither poverty nor riches ; lest I be full, and deny thee ; or be poor, and steal, and take thy name in vain." Let me not forget that the love of money is the root of evil. They who will be rich fall into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. Make my soul satis- fied in the midst of losses and afflictions. May I be ever ready to say " The Lord gave, and the Lord taketh away: blessed be the name of the Lord." Heavenly Father, discipline me so by thy grace, that I shall be careful for nothing, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, make known my re- quests unto thee. Let me not trust in uncertain riches ; but in the living God, who giveth me all things richly to enjoy. Show me that human hap- piness consists not in the abundance of worldly trea- sure ; but in godliness, which with contentment is great gain. I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies; wherefore then should I complain? t brought nothing into the world, and I can carry nothing out ; let me therefore look not at things which are seen and temporal ; but at things which are not seen, and that are eternal. May thy great and precious promises give me more comfort than the wicked have, when their corn and wine do most abound. Induce me, O Lord, to seek my portion 63 where the righteous ohtain joy and gladness, and where murmuring and sorrow shall flee away for- ever. CONTRITION. thou that hearest and answerest prayer, grant me, for Christ's sake, that contrite heart, which in thy sight is of great price. Show me my guilt, as committed against thee, my Maker, Governor, and Benefactor. Lead me to abhor myself, and to re- pent in dust and ashes. May I look on him whom I have pierced, and mourn, and be in bitterness. Give me a deep consciousness that I deserve the curse of that law which I have violated. Lord, 1 would acknowledge my transgressions : O may my sins be ever before me. 1 thank thee for thy promise, that thou wilt dwell with him that is of an humble and contrite heart. Thou desirest not sacrifice ; else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The sa- crifices of God are a broken spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Pre- pare my heart for thine abode. According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out all my transgressions. Create within me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me by thy free Spirit ; then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. CONVERSATION. See Tongue. CONVERSION. Lord, I would come to thee, in the name of Christ, that I may learn the necessity, the nature, and the fruits of regeneration. Cf do thou fasten on my 64 mind, abiding convictions that the carnal mind is enmity against thee, and that all mankind are by nature the children of wrath, and receive not the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to them; neither can they learn them, for they are spiritually discerned. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Show me, O Lord, that if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature ; old things are passed away ; all things are become new. He has put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of him who created him, in righteousness and true holiness. It is thou, God of Mercy, who workest in such to will and to do, of thine own good pleasure ; not by works which they have done ; but according to thy mercy ; by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. They are born not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God, who only giveth repent- ance unto life, and the earnest of that Spirit whereby they are sealed until the day of redemption. Teach me, O Lord, that they who have been born from above bring forth fruits, meet for repentance ; that they add to faith virtue, knowledge, temper- ance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity; and that these, abounding in them, cause them that they be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of the Saviour. They are made free from sin, and have become servants unto God : having their fruit unto holiness, and the end ever- lasting life. Blessed Saviour, give me evidence in my heart and conduct, that I have passed from death unto life ; that having been convinced of my sin and mi sery, I have had my mind enlightened in the know- 65 ledge of thee, my will renewed, and have been persuaded and enabled to embrace thee, as thou art freely offered in the gospel. Let me not be satis- fied with the form of godliness, without its life-giv- ing power. Search me, O Lord, and try me ; and see if there be any evil way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Make me watchful against temptation ; quick to retrace my way when I fall into evil ; ready to confess my trespasses ; and earnest in purposes of new obedience. Create in me a new heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Grant me forgiveness of sins, and enable me to look forward, with a rejoicing hope, to an inheritance among them that are sanctified. Vouchsafe unto me, I pray thee, the testimony of thy Spirit, that I have been redeemed by thy grace. O, if thou hast begun a good work in me, continue it unto the end ; and let thy grace be in me as a well of living water, springing up into everlasting life. Lord, convince the impenitent of sin, of righteous- ness, and of judgment. Thou hast no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, and thou art not will- ing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. O lead many to inquire what they must do to be saved. Show them that they who are in the flesh cannot please God. Set before them distinctly, life and good ; death and evil. May thy law be a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ, that they may be justified by faith. Persuade them to believe in that only name by which sinners can be saved. May they be born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible ; by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever, 6* 66 COUNT RY. Lord, the kingdom is thine, and thou art the Go- vernor among the nations. I thank thee, Great Ruler, that the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places ; and that I have a goodly heritage. Imbue my heart with a Christian patriotism, which will take pleasure in every token of my country's real wel- fare. May I love it as the place of my home, my sustenance, my protection, and my civil and reli- gious privileges. I would rejoice in its length and breadth, fitting it for the ample support of a teeming population in its plenteous products, crowning the year with goodness in its works of art, binding it in unity, and facilitating its commerce, and increas- ing its opulence. I would praise thee for its schools of knowledge, scattering instruction through every class of its inhabitants for its happy form of go- vernment which has made it (though deeply dis- honoured by one form of tyranny) a beacon light to other countries, and the refuge of the oppressed and the home of the free and for its banner of peace, sheltering it from from foes without, and preserving it from enemies within. But, above all, I thank thee that it is a land of Bibles, of Sabbaths, of sanc- tuaries, and of gospel light. But, O Lord, if guilt be measured by the number and value of abused mercies, then has this nation a most fearful reckoning with thee. Reprove this people, and set their sins in order before them. Lo ! thy Sabbaths, which thou hast given to be a sign between thee and us, are polluted. Because of swearing the land mourneth. This people have loved the gain of oppression and treachery ; and have spoiled both the stranger and the native. When 67 thou hast fed them to the full, then they committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. Multitudes have loved the cup of drunkenness ; until our name has been a reproach among the nations. Our transgressions, O Lord, are multiplied before thee ; and our sins testify against us : and thou hast a controversy with this nation. Yet, Gracious One, take not the weapons of thine indignation, to destroy us. Make us not as Admah : set us not as Zeboim. For the sake of its righteous, let thy repentings be kindled together ; for there is a remnant who have not bowed the knee to Baal ; and wbo sigh and cry for the abominations that are done in the midst of us. May thy Church be our safety. Thou hast said, that if the wicked repent, and turn themselves from all their transgressions, iniquity shall not be their ruin. O may we loose all our bands of wickedness ; and then shall our light break forth as the morning ; and our health spring forth speedily : our righteousness shall go before us ; and the glory of the Lord shall be our re re- ward. Lord, bless this country. Cover it with plenty. Secure to all its inhabitants just and equal laws. Let them that rule over us, rule in the fear of the Lord ; justifying the righteous and condemning the wicked. Let peace dwell in all our borders. Put the keys of knowledge into every hand. Sanctify all our prosperity. Let the blessings of religion reach every household and every heart. Honour this people by employing them as chief instruments in giving to every nation the grace that bringeth salvation. Be thou our God, and we will be thy people ! 68 COURAGE. Lord, enable me to add to faith, Christian forti- tude. May I endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Give me grace to encounter and subdue the corruptions of my own heart ; and in that conflict between the flesh and the spirit, may I come off more than conqueror through him that hath loved me. Strengthen me that I may resist the allurements of a world lying in iniquity, and that I may strive against the fear of man ; re- membering that whosoever will deny Jesus before men, shall be denied by him before the Father in heaven. May I always be ready to answer every man that asketh me, a reason of the hope that is in me. Make me strong in the power of thy might ; for I am not called to wrestle against flesh and blood, merely ; but against principalities and powers ; against spiritual wickedness in high places. Great Captain of Salvation, give me the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit ; and having thus the whole armour of God, may I be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Grant that when the time of my de- parture is at hand, I may have the consoling confi- dence, that I have fought a good fight, and that death shall be swallowed up in victory! COVENANT. Adorable Jehovah, I would praise thee that, in thy sovereign mercy, thou didst from eternity enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver men out of their estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer. Lord, make with me this everlasting covenant, even the sure 69 mercies of David. Call me with a holy calling; not according to works, but according to thy pur pose, which was given in Christ Jesus before the world began; but has now been made manifest by his appearing, who hath brought life and immortality to light through thy gospel : and in whom we have redemption, through his blood. O bind me to thee in the adoption of thy children, wherein thou makest them accepted in the Beloved. Lord, assist me to remember and keep all my en- gagements to thee. In the silence of retirement and communion with thee in the acts of social and public prayer in the hearing of thy word and the singing of thy praise and in the solemn sacra- ment, where thy saints subscribe with the hand unto the Lord I have again and again pledged myself unto thee. My vows are written in my conscience, and in the book of thy remembrance. Help me, I beseech thee, to shun all that I promised to forsake : help me, I pray thee, to perform all that I promised to do. Put thy law into my mind, and write it in my heart; and be my God, that I may be of thy people, chosen according to thy covenant of grace. Make my heart and life abundant in the fruits of that holy relation. Let me not forsake thy love, nor turn from thy ways, but press on towards the mark for the prize of that high calling which is in Christ Jesus. Merciful God, regard with compassion those who are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise. Make them feel the deep and radical depravity of their hearts. Convince them of sin, as committed against a holy God. Show them the danger to which they are exposed while they refuse to forsake their trans- 70 gressions. Exhibit to them Christ crucified, as him by whom alone they can escape from the dominion, the guilt, and the retribution of their sins. O may thy Spirit give them grace to receive and rest upon him for pardon and acceptance. And grant that they may enjoy a union with him as close and fruitful as the branch which abideth in the vine. COVETOUS NESS. Preserve me, Great Helper, from the vice of covetousness, which is idolatry. O let me not worship filthy lucre, instead of the living God. May I remember the judgment of the valley of Achor, on him who coveted forbidden spoil ; and the swift destruction of them that kept back part of the price, and agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord. Let me not dishonour my faith in thee, nor blight my spiritual comfort, nor bring disgrace on thy cause, in the eyes of the world, by indulging in this wickedness. Give me full contentment with my own condition, and a right and charitable frame of spirit towards my neighbour and all that is his. Banish from my mind all discontentment with my own estate ; all envying and grieving at the good of my neighbour, and all inordinate emotions and affections to any thing that is his. Help me, O Lord, to overcome the love of the world. May I seek thy favour as the chief good of life, and say in my heart " there is none on earth I desire beside thee." Lead me to look with the eye of benevolence on the wants of my fellow- creatures ; and in supplying them, as thou hast prospered me, to find that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Let me not seek to lay up trea- sures on earth, but in heaven ; where moth and rust 71 do not corrupt, and where thieves cannot break through and steal. Lord, redeem thy church from this vice, which has spotted her garments, and tainted her blood, and crippled her energies. How long, Blessed Saviour, shall they, who have covenanted to be thine, bow the knee at the golden shrine of mammon ? Show them that covetousness degrades their immortal nature, breaks thy holy law, and is the fruitful source of manifold iniquity. Keep them from those grasp- ings of avarice, those daring speculations and greedy monopolies, which are the offspring of pride, and the fountains of misery. May they thus judge, that if Christ has bought them by his own precious blood, they should not live for themselves, but for him. Excite thy people, O Lord, to active and un- wearying benevolence. As thou hast made them the stewards of thy multiplied mercies, let none forget to do good, and to communicate ; for with such sacrifices thou art well pleased. May they cease to do evil and learn to do well ; and labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life. CREATION. Great Builder of the Universe, in the beginning thou didst make the heaven and the earth ; and by thee were all things created, that are in heaven and earth, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers. Thou didst speak, and it was done : thou didst command, and it stood fast. Lord, thou didst make man in thine own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, with do- minion over the creatures. But man being in honour abode not. He fell from that holy and happy estate, 72 in which he was created, by sinning against God ; and now all that dwell upon the face of the earth are by nature the children of wrath : yea, the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain, because of transgression. O God, redeem the works of thy power from their degeneracy. May this earth be renewed with the beauty of Eden. Breathe thou into man the breath of life, and make him a new creature in Christ Jesus. Lord, assist me to acknowledge thy power, wis- dom, and goodness, as they are shown in the works of thy hands. The heavens declare thy glory, and the firmament showeth thy handy-work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth ; and their words to the end of the world ! All thy works praise thee. O let my tongue and my soul join the chorus of creation ; and praise thee in songs of rejoicing, and in new- ness of life. Great God, make me thoughtful of the truth, that the heavens and earth, which are now, are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of person ought I to be, in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God ; wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ? Nevertheless, may I, according to thy promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 73 DAILY BREAD. Gracious God, I would bless thee that thou carest for the wants of this perishing body ; and that thou permittest me to ask thee for my daily bread. Herein thou hast shown both thy condescension and thy love ; and hast taught me my dependence on thee, and warned me against undue anxiety respecting the future. I confess before thee, that I am prone to neglect the duty of desiring and seeking, as the gifts of thy hands, my food, and all my temporal comforts. And in receiving them, how often do I fail to acknowledge thy providing and nourishing goodness ! O lead me constantly to look to thee, as willing to give to all their meat in due season ; and dispose me to receive always thy benefits with hu- mility and thanksgiving. Lord, suffer not my appetite to crave luxury. May I seek such provision as will recruit and strengthen my body. Let my steadfast desire be, that I may be fitted by thy sustaining mercies, for thy service : so that whether I eat or drink, I may do all to the glory of God. Teach me, for Jesus' sake, that man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Let me esteem thy words more than my necessary food. Let me not take thought what I shall eat or drink, or where- withal I shall be clothed ; but cause me to seek first thy righteousness ; and all these things shall be added unto me. Lord, feed me with heavenly manna Give me the Bread of Life ; that I may eat and live forever. 7 74 DEAF AND DUMB. Lord, I thank thee that thou hast given me ears to hear, and a tongue to speak. Increase, I pray thee, my gratitude for these invaluable blessings ; and dispose me to use them for my best good and for thy glory. Gracious Parent, look in mercy on thy children, to whom thou hast given ears that know no sound, and tongues that have no speech. I bless thee that thou hast so directed the benevolence of the humane, that schemes have been devised, which have re- stored, in part, to these unfortunate and dependent creatures, by the language of signs, the gift of speech ; and that they have been led to the fountains of precious knowledge, and taught useful arts. If it please thee, O let the science of man, in the mul- titude of its discoveries, find a remedy that will cause the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. Yet, if thy wisdom deny this prayer, give perfection and universal use to the plans invented for the benefit of deaf mutes. Lord, though thou hast stopped their ears to the language of man, do thou speak to them in the whispers of thy Spirit. Though thou hast denied to them the utterance of words, do thou give their hearts a voice of praise. Grant, O God, that many of them may be prepared for that kingdom, where the blemishes and defects of human nature, shall be exchanged for the beauty and perfection of the spiritual life. DEATH. Blessed Lord, make me ever mindful of the truth, that it is appointed unto all men once to die. Thou canst wound and kill, and there is none to deliver 75 out of thy hand. Thou hast determined our days, and appointed the bounds of our habitations. O lead me to consider my latter end, and teach me to number my days, that I may apply my heart unto wisdom. Make me to know my end, and the mea- sure of my days, that I may learn how frail I am. Lord, what is my life ? It is a vapour that appear- eth for a little while, and then vanisheth away. Teach me, thou Source of Wisdom, that death is the great crisis of my being, which will determine my destiny forever. He whom it finds unjust and filthy, shall be unjust and filthy still ; and he whom it finds righteous and holy, shall be righteous and holy still. Lord, let me pass the time of my so- journing here in fear, seeking to be ready for its solemn message ; for in such an hour as we think not, the Son of Man cometh. Whatsoever, therefore, my hand findeth to do, may I do it with niy might; since there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither I go. Let me not fear them that can kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul ; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell, which is the second death. Lord, train me to such habits of obedience to thy will, and trust in thy dealings, and faith in thy promises, that while I look upon the earthly house of this tabernacle, as one that must be dissolved, I may rejoice in the hope, that I shall have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. When I am called to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, be thou my rod and staff, to comfort me : and when my heart and flesh fail, be thou the strength of my heart, and my 76 portion forever. Let me die the death of the righte- ous, and let my last end be like his. Lord, fix the thoughts of the impenitent on that great event in their history, when the last fibres of life are breaking; and the soul, fluttering on the verge of eternity, looks back on the familiar scenes of earth with keen remorse, and forward on the un- known future with acute despair. May they now inquire, " How shall my heart endure, or my hands be strong, in the day when thou wilt deal with me ?" Persuade them to make their peace with thee now ; and then amid the strife of dissolu- tion, thou wilt soothe their tender consciences with the assurance of pardoned sin, and cheer their faint- ing hearts with the hope of glory. Look in mercy, I pray thee, on those who are encompassed by the sorrows of death. Prepare them for their solemn and awful change. If they have made their peace with thee, through the blood of Christ, comfort them, and give them blessed fore- tastes of thy heavenly kingdom. But if they have not, O bring them by thy saving power into thy covenant of grace. O thou who didst weep at the tomb of Lazarus, comfort those who mourn for the loss of cherished friends. May they kiss thy rod ; and if it be con- sistent with the life or death of the departed, let them not sorrow as those who have no hope ; but look forward to that hour, when the hand that now has riven, will restore their fellowship, and make it pure as the light and lasting as the days of heaven ! DECISION. Almighty God, help me to resolve to be thine, wholly thine, in the bonds of an everlasting cove- 77 nant. Let me not halt between two opinions, but choose now to serve the living and true God, with all my heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. O let me not harden my heart, nor provoke thy wrath, by putting off to a more convenient season, the things which belong to my everlasting peace. May I learn that now is thine accepted time for the dis- charge of duty, and this the day of that salvation which makes thy saints willing subjects of thy power. Teach me that there are no neutrals in thy dominion : and that he who is not with thee is against thee. Lord, make me not only almost, but altogether a Christian. May thy word, and provi- dence, and Spirit inspire me with energy of purpose to do thy pleasure. Whatsoever I do, may I do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men. O make me steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord ; for we know that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. DEPENDENCE, My soul, wait thou only upon God ; for my ex- pectation is from him. Teach me, Giver of Mercies, my absolute and continual dependence on thee for life, and breath, and all things. Thou didst make me by the word of thy power, and I live every mo- ment at the expense of thy bounty. I am full of wants, without any ability in myself to supply them. I am a creature of yesterday ; my breath is in my nostrils ; and I am crushed before the moth. I know not what a day may bring forth : I cannot add one cubit to my stature ; nor make one hair of my head white or black. Grant me, I pray thee, such an abiding conviction of my subjection to thee as shall keep me from resting on an arm of flesh, and lead 7* 78 me to trust in the living God. In the hour of pros- perity, let me not forget that thou art the giver of every good and perfect gift : and in the season of affliction, show me that thou canst comfort me on every side canst make my wilderness as Eden, and my desert as the garden of the Lord. Make me realize that in all my efforts to do good, either to myself or others, I must depend on thee. Thou only givest the increase. But blessed be thy name, thy Spirit helpeth my infirmities ; and thy strength is made perfect in my weakness. Assist me by thy grace, in all the vicissitudes of life, to feel that thou art a present help in every hour of need. When toil and care, fears and trials encom- pass me, lead me to thee, with whom alone dwell- eth that peace which passeth understanding: and do thou guide me into green pastures and beside still waters ; and let thy banner over me be love. And grant, O Lord, through the merits of Jesus Christ, that when I am called to struggle with the king of terrors, thy grace may be sufficient for me, and that I may be made glad in the hope of eternal life. DEPRAVITY. See Human Depravity. DILIGENCE. Lord, quicken thou me in thy way. Make me diligent in thy work, continuing instant in prayer, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Grant, that in every duty I may be active, watchful and persevering ; for no man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the king- dom of God. Let noC mine be the doom of that servant who hid his master's talent in the earth. 79 Let me not be slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Suffer me not to rely on the memory of past experience, nor on the hope of future obedience ; but whatsoever my hand findeth to do, give me zeal to do it with my might. O give me the spirit of diligence in every work of faith and labour of love ; remembering my accountability to thee, the importance of the trusts thou hast re- posed in me, the shortness of human life, and the abundant rewards thou hast promised to them who are faithful in thy service. Lord, enable me to lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset me, and run with patience the race that is set before me ; looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, and pressing toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Lord, rebuke the sloth of thy covenant-people. Give them a spirit of active energy in all that re- lates to the sanctification of their own hearts, the saving health of thy church, and the conversion of sinners. Yet do thou make them feel that while they strive with all their vigour in the obedience of faith, it is thou that workest all in all. DOUBTS. Merciful Father, preserve me from a doubtful mind. Let not disease of body, nor affliction of mind, disquiet my soul within me. Let not igno- rance nor error intrude on my comfort in the hope of the gospel. Let not Satan unsettle my trust in thy covenant of mercy. And O, suffer not sin, in any form, to bring a cloud over the light of thy countenance, and the joys of thy salvation. O thou that givest rest to the weary and heavy-laden, show 80 me that thy mercy endureth forever. Teach me that thou art merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness. Lead me, I pray thee, in every feeling of despondency, to that throne from which thou givest grace to help in every sea- son of trial. Say unto me, when accused by a guilty conscience " Come, let us reason together: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow : though they be red, like crimson, they shall be as wool." Dissipate my fears, and give me an assurance of an interest in thy favour, and of acceptance in thy sight, through the right- eousness of Christ. Grant me thy blessed Com- forter, that I may have joy in the Holy Ghost. Cheer me by thy gracious promises, which are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus. Give me, Lord, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Let my light rise in my obscurity, and my darkness be as the noonday. Cause thy righteousness to go before me, and thy glory to be my re re- ward ! DUELING. Lord, I would mourn before thee that man still imbrues, in single combat, his hand in the blood of his fellow-man. O, thou seest that many hearts, which were cherished in the social and family circle ; many lives, which were valuable in the public ser- vice ; and many souls, whose redemption was pre- cious have been periled and cast away in these barbarous rencounters. Lord, wilt thou not utterly subvert that merciless code of honour, which com- bines folly and cowardice, madness and malice, sui- cide and murder ? Do thou bring against this presumptuous and heaven-daring sin, a flood-tide 81 of public opinion. Let the pulpit, the press, the forum, and every circle of influence, speak out with a condemning voice. Cause the blood that has been spilt in this unrighteousness, to cry from the ground against it. May every principal and every accessory to it, be regarded in society, and treated in law, as murderers. Let the terrors of an aveng- ing Jehovah startle the fears and quell the violence of every one that would lift up his hand against his brother. Lord, make the statutes of the land and the law of God the umpires in all the collisions between man and man. Let humility, forbearance, and love, supplant pride, insult, and revenge. And grant, I pray thee, that the balmy atmosphere of peace may encircle the whole earth. DUTY. Eternal God, O may my daily and hourly inquiry be, " What wilt thou have me to do?" Instruct me that the duty which thou requirest of me, is obedi- ence to thy revealed will. Help me, I pray thee, to discharge all my obligations to thee, to myself, and to my fellow-creatures. May I love thee with all my soul, and mind, and strength, and heart. Dispose me to submit to thy will ; to love thy character ; to trust in thy name ; and to fear thine excellent greatness. May I regard thee as, through Christ, the object of prayer, and the rewarder of them who diligently seek thee. Help me, I pray thee, to worship thee, who art a Spirit, in spirit and in truth. Lord, enable me, by thy Spirit, to do my duty to myself. May I exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and repentance unto life ; and make a dili- 82 gent use of all the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates unto us the benefits of redemption. May I Avork out my salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God that worketh in me, to will and to do of his own good pleasure. Assist me, O Lord, to perform all the duties, social, civil, and religious, which I owe to my fel- low-creatures. May my conduct to them be governed by that spirit of charity which excludes anger, re- venge, censoriousness, prejudice, injury, and op- pression. Make me averse to injure the feelings, persons, property and character of any. May I delight in the happiness of others. Make my heart a well-spring of sympathy, compassion, and libe- rality ; and lead me to spend cheerfully my pro- perty, my time, and, if needs be, my life, in works of mercy and justice. Enable me to fulfil all my relations as a superior, an inferior, and an equal. Lord, I thank thee for the encouragements thou art giving, in the course of thy providence, to reli- gious effort, by making rich with thy blessing those who are diligent in thy cause. Yet, I would feel that while these things are to be remembered with thankfulness, they increase my obligation to labour, that I may return thine own to thee with abundant usury. Strengthen me, I pray thee, to do thy will, while it is called to-day to do it with my might, and with perseverance therein to the end even as thine angels do it in heaven. Lord, I would offer these and all other petitions through him who is the Prophet, Priest, and King of the whole Israel of God ; and without whose merits and intercessions, all my services would be without hope or profit. [See OBEDIENCE.] 83 EARLY PIETY. Heavenly Father, I thank thee for the evidence which thy word and the history of thy church give us, that children and youth may be taught to love thy name, and do thy will. Whilst thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, thou hast revealed them unto babes. Thou hast told the young to remember thee ; and hast given thy promise that those who seek thee early shall find thee. Our blessed Saviour said, " Suffer little children to come unto me :" and he took them in his arms and blessed them, saying, " Of such is the kingdom of heaven.' 1 Lord, thy church, in every age, but es- pecially in our own, has raised up many witnesses, that thou canst satisfy the children of men early with thy mercy, that they may rejoice and be glad all their days. Lord, increase and multiply greatly the instances of early piety. May multitudes of children feel and act from the motives which should lead them to do that which is well pleasing in the sight of the Lord. Convince them that they are sinners, ex- posed to thy wrath, walking in rebellion against their heavenly Father, and yet receiving the most tender offers of mercy through Christ the Saviour. Make them feel that Christian friends and happy spirits, holy angels and Jesus Christ, desire their salvation. Make them understand something of the worth of the soul ; of ^death and judgment ; of heaven and hell. O lead them, through repentance and faith in Jesus, to remember and serve thee in the days of their youth. Shepherd of Israel, rebuke the unbelief of thy church respecting the conversion of children, even 84 as thou didst rebuke thy disciples when they would have hindered such from coming to thee. Let none despise these little ones ; for thou hast warned us that their angels do always behold the face of their Father in heaven. O may thy saints on earth be instruments of leading them to Christ, and training them as plants of righteousness, whose leaf shall not wither, and who will bring forth the fruits of grace. Bless, I beseech thee, the various means which are now used to fill the minds of children with religious truth. Let not this condemnation come upon them, that they knew thy will, but did it not. O may their privileges be to them as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as showers that water the earth ; and which cause it to bring forth beauty, and verdure, and fruit. [_See SABBATH SCHOOLS.] EDUCATION. God of Wisdom, I thank thee that thou hast given me a rational mind and an immortal soul, capable of being trained to the highest and noblest exercises of thought and feeling. Teach me that thou hast put on me the responsibility of training these pow- ers in wisdom and holiness, that I may glorify God, do good unto others, and fill up the measure of my everlasting happiness and welfare. Let me not, I beseech thee, by any neglect or perversion of my rational and immortal faculties, defeat thy benevo- lence in placing me so far above the brutes that perish. O lead my understanding into useful know- ledge, and my heart into redeeming grace. Lord, bless the useful discoveries and efforts that have been made, and are now making, for the spread of education. O diffuse and increase them, every- 85 where, until every human mind will know its pow- ers, and exercise them in such spheres as will make them a blessing to itself, to its country, and to the world. Assist those who would scatter, by the light of truth, the mists of ignorance and error that hang over the minds of the great mass of mankind : but suffer them not to forget that righteousness is the stability of truth, and holiness the safeguard of knowledge. Make all our schools and seminaries nurseries of piety as well as of learning. Cast the healing salt of thy grace into all the fountains of knowledge, and cause them to send forth copious and unfailing streams that will make glad the city of our God. Father in Heaven, preserve my heart from the baneful dominion of envy. Teach me its exceed- ing sinfulness, and show me that if I indulge in it, it will be a fountain of unhappiness to myself, and of mischief to my fellows ; while it will bring down on me thy heavy displeasure. Lord, let me not be jealous of the gifts, or advantages, or success of others. Let me not be envious of the prosperity of the wicked, whose eyes stand out with fatness, and who have more than heart could wish : surely thou hast set them in slippery places ! Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days be pro- longed ; yet may I be assured it will be well only with them that fear the Lord. May I feel that I am not worthy of the least of the mercies thou hast already given me ; and teach me that thou hast not, in caprice, withheld from me, and bestowed on others, the things which seem good in my eyes. 8 86 Lord, make me content with thy will ; and so shall my heart rejoice in thy ways for evermore. ERROR. Lord, I would come to thee, in the worthy name of Jesus, to implore thee to shield my judgment and heart from the influence of error. Give me sound knowledge and right feelings. Make me quick to discern that which is right, and to reject that which is wrong. Keep me from the way of the wicked, which is as darkness ; and who know not at what they stumble. Lead me to do thy will, that I may know of every doctrine whether it be of God. O let not ignorance cloud my understand- ing ; nor prejudice warp my judgment ; nor interest stifle my conscience ; nor sin fetter my will : but do thou enable me to detect, and hate, and shun what is false, and to know, and love, and follow the truth, through evil and good report. Lord, subdue and scatter every form of error in thy church, and throughout the world. Remove from the household of faith, every thing that exalts itself against thy word, and perverts the right ways of the Lord. Bring thy people of every name, into the unity of the Spirit. Almighty God, cast down the Man of Sin ; overthrow the False Prophet ; scatter the temples of Idolatry ; break the fetters of Infidelity ; and overturn, and overturn, and overturn, until the Prince of Truth shall have the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. ETERNITY. O God, help me to dwell, by faith and prayer, on the solemn realities of the world to come. Thou hast made me in the image of thine own eternity, 87 with powers that are capable of eternal progress in holiness, knowledge, and happiness or in sin, error, and wo : and thou hast filled my soul with hopes and fears that travel far beyond the narrow limits of this life, and find their home in the future state of endless being. My condition will be fixed either in heaven or hell enjoying the light of thy countenance, or cast out from thy presence for ever rejoicing in the company of the good, or enduring the fellowship of the wicked bathing in the foun- tain of eternal bliss, or plunging in the burning lake of undying wo. Lord, I thank thee that thou hast revealed eternal things to me, and hast shown me how I may escape everlasting death, and obtain eternal life. Give me a firm belief of their reality, and a deep conviction of their importance. Teach me, O God of Mercy, that life, and time, and means are given me to prepare for eternity that there is but a step between me and death and that according to my character then, will be my destiny forever. O seal me now by thy Spirit until the day of redemption ; and then let an entrance be ministered unto me, abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, where my tongue shall utter a ceaseless anthem of praise, my understanding enjoy an un- clouded knowledge of truth, and my soul delight in a perpetual feast of love. [_See HEAVEN, HELL, SOUL.] ETERNITY OF GOD. From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. The number of thy years cannot be searched out ; for thou hast no beginning of days, nor end of years. Thou art Alpha and Omega ; the beginning and 88 ending ; which is, and which was, and which is to come ; with whom the past, the present, and the future are one eternal NOW. Thou hast life in thy- self; and all thy creatures have their being in thee. Heaven and earth shall perish, but thou shalt en- dure : they shall wax old like a garment ; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed ; but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Lord, may the solemn truth that thou art eternal, suitably affect my heart and control my conduct. Thou hast undying power, to make me happy or wretched forever. Throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity, thy hand will be on me for weal or wo. O do thou enable me to shun the wrath to come, and to lay hold on eternal life. Make with me now thine everlasting covenant; and be the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. Great Sovereign, it has pleased thee, in the un- searchable purposes of thy wisdom, to permit sick- ness and pain, misfortune and misery, death and sin, to dwell on earth, and turn its gardens into de- serts, its joys into sorrows, and thy subjects into rebels against thy mercy and justice. It is even so, Father, for so it hath seemed good in thy sight. Yet, I am persuaded that thou art controlling and overruling every evil thing for the accomplishment of thy great designs. I know thou hast taught the whole intelligent universe, by the history of man's fall, the bitter fruits of transgression : and I rejoice that in due time, thou didst commend thy love to us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us ; that where sin and its fruits have abounded, 89 grace and its blessings may much more abound. Father in Heaven, restore, I pray thee, this earth to the happiness and purity of its first creation. Re- move every thing that would mar the peace and ho- liness of mankind : and grant that as sin has reigned unto death, even so may grace reign, through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ, our Lord. EXAMPLE. Lord, make me understand the good and evil in- fluences I may exert in the world by my example Let me not dishonour thy name, nor cast shame on thy church, nor throw a stumbling-block in the way of sinners, by a careless or unholy walk : but may my light so shine before men, that they may see my good works, and glorify thee. May I walk as the children of light, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness ; but rather reprove them. Enable me by well-doing, to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Make me blameless and without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse people ; holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not laboured in vain. Blessed Lord, grant me, for Christ's sake, a name and a place among thy pecu- liar people, whom thou hast chosen to show forth thy praises. Make me a guide to the blind, alight to them that walk in darkness, and a living epistle of good works, known and read of all men. Enable me to hold fast the profession of my faith, without wavering, that men may take knowledge of me that I have been with Jesus. O God, restore thy salva- tion unto me, and uphold me by thy free Spirit ; so 8* 90 shall I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Lord remove every deformity and repair every defect in my character; and mould my temper and conduct according to the image of the Saviour ; who has left us an example, that we should follow in his steps. Make me a partaker of his holiness, that I may escape the corruption that is in the world ; and that when he shall appear, I may be like him, and see him as he is. EXISTENCE OF GOD. Thou, Jehovah, art the only living and true God. My reason tells me that thou art my conscience warns me of thy being thou art known by thy judgments, and art proclaimed by thy mercies. Wherever I go, I see the proofs of thine existence ; for the whole universe is an index, referring to thee, as over all, God, blessed for ever. Lord, let not my heart ever say with the fool, " There is no God;" nor my conduct show that I have forgotten or de- nied thee. Grant that I may not only believe that thou art, but that thou art the re warder of them that diligently seek thee. O teach me out of the book of nature and the volume of thy word, thy being, and character, and will ; and may all I learn of thee, lead me to worship and serve thee in spirit and in truth. [_See ATHEISM.] FAITH. Lord, increase my faith. I would believe : help thou mine unbelief. Give me unwavering trust in thee as infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in all thine attributes. Cause me to repose with implicit confidence in thy purposes and dispensations to- 01 wards thy creatures. Enable me to confide all my interests, for time and eternity, to thy keeping. Be thou, O God, the strength of my heart, and my portion forever ! Let me not stagger at thy word through unbelief; for without faith it is impossible to please thee. May I trust thee in all thou hast spoken, as well as in all thou hast done. Let me not hold thy truth in unrighteousness ; but do thou make it profitable to me for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness ; that thereby I may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. Teach me to confide in its precious promises, to heed its solemn warnings, to follow its sacred ex- amples, and to obey its holy precepts. Lead me, blessed God, to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. To him give all the prophets witness, that through him, whosoever be- lieveth on his name, shall have remission of sins : while he that believeth not shall be damned. O may he be my Teacher, my Saviour, and my Ruler ; and may I receive and rest upon him alone for sal- vation, as he is offered in the gospel. Heavenly Father, excite my trust in thee by the examples of the saints, who by faith wrought righteousness, obtained promises, and out of weak- ness were made strong. Wherefore seeing that I am compassed about with so great a cloud of wit- nesses, may I also, for the joy set before me, en- dure the cross, and run my race with patience, striving against sin. Lord, enable me to exercise faith in prayer. Give me an abiding conviction, that thou art the rewarder of all that diligently seek thee. May I ask of thee the things that are according to thy will, trusting 92 that I shall receive them. May I knock at the door of thy mercy, believing that thou wilt open unfo me. O grant me access with confidence to the throne of thy grace, in the strength of Christ's merits, and of that intercession which he ever liveth to make for those that come unto thee by him. Lord, give me grace to show my faith by my works ; for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. May I add to it virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godli- ness, brotherly-kindness, and charity. May it so work by love, that I may realize the iniquity and danger of those who are strangers to thy covenants of promise, and have the energies of my soul and body stirred up, to pluck them as brands from the burning. Heavenly Father, give me the evidence of things not seen, and the substance of things hoped for. May I walk by faith, and not by sight ; looking not at the things which are seen and temporal, but at those that are not seen, and are eternal. O may it please thee to give me that victory which over- cometh the world ; and to grant that in all the trials of life, and amid the struggles of death, I may come off more than conqueror, through him who is the end of the law for righteousness, to all that believe on him ! FALSEHOOD. Lord, preserve me from falsehood. Teach me that it degrades character, injures peace of con- science, subverts the welfare of society, and incurs thy hot displeasure. O make my conscience tender with regard to every violation of truth. Let me not utter falsehood in jest ; for thou hast said that for 93 every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment. Let me not depart from truth, for the love of gain ; for the wages of sin is death. Let me not practice deceit, through the fear or favour of man ; for his breath is in his nostrils. And, O Lord, let me not be false, with the plea of doing good ; for we may not do evil that good may come. Keep me, I pray thee, from every thing which is prejudicial to truth, or injurious to my own or my neighbour's good name. Suffer me not to think, nor act, nor speak deceitfully in any thing. O Lord, make me, above all, sincere towards thee. Let me not attempt to draw nigh to thee with a lip-service, while my heart is far from thee. Thou searchest the heart, and triest the reins : thou art not deceived, and thou canst not be mocked. May all my homage before thee, spring from a controlling desire to do thy will, which requires truth in the inward parts. O renew my spirit in the likeness of thy Son ; who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. FAMILIES. Lord, bless all the households of the earth. Thou art worthy to be praised for the institution of the family relation, in which thou hast blended the sweet influences of support and dependence, pro- tection and control, love and obedience ; which are essential to the comfort and virtue of individual be- ing, and the safety and purity of social life. Fulfil, I pray thee, all the purposes of mercy thou hadst in view, in the establishment of the domestic con- stitution ; and do thou make all the homes of earth households of piety. 94 Lord, let mutual attachment, counsel, and assist- ance, and love to God, be the bonds of union be- tween every husband and wife. Give to parents an adequate sense of the responsibility thou hast laid on them, to train up their offspring in knowledge, industry, and virtue. Cause them to teach thy words diligently to their children ; and to talk of thy sta- tutes when they sit in their house, when they walk by the way, when they lie down, and when they rise up. Show them that the rod and reproof give wisdom ; but a child, left to himself, bringeth shame. Make them wise to discern, and faithful to execute, those measures, which will secure, with thy bless- ing, domestic happiness and piety. O let an altar, for daily sacrifice, be raised in every dwelling, to consecrate its pleasures, and to obtain thy favour. Heavenly Father, dispose children everywhere to obey their parents, in the Lord. Let them not, by unkindness and disobedience, bring shame or sor- row to the hearts of fathers and mothers ; nor draw down disgrace or misery on their own heads. Though they can never requite the care and labour that have been bestowed on them ; yet may they by reverent affection and dutiful service, minister to the comfort and well-being of their parents. And O do thou gladden the hearts of such, by bringing their offspring into the adoption of the sons of God. Lord, cause the relations of brothers and sisters to be distinguished by forbearance, conciliation, as- sistance, and love : and let all their reciprocal ties be purified and cemented by the friendship of him that sticketh closer than a brother. O do thou secure for those that are servants, justice and kindness from their superiors. Teach them the duties of their station ; and incline them to 95 discharge every lawful labour with cheerful fidelity. Make them realize thine own claims on their obe- dience ; and incline them to fulfil, with all their strength, the service of their heavenly Master. Gracious God, make the domestic circle the dwell- ingplace of every thing that is pure, and lovely, and of good report. Make it the cradle of the household of faith, and the nursery of the brother- hood of glory. FASTING. Assist me, O Lord, to set my face unto thee, to seek by prayer and supplication, with fasting. Lead me at suitable times, to deny my appetites, out of religious principle, and with a view to spiritual bene- fits on myself and others. Teach me that thou hast commanded this duty ; that thy saints in all ages have fulfilled it ; and that in doing so, they have enjoyed thy favour. Lord, make it the intelligent service of my heart. May I resort to it as a means of crucifying the flesh, of mortifying the deeds of the body, and of bringing my worldly desires into subjection to the immortal interests of the soul. Enable me to offer it in penitence before thee, as the expression of a sense of my sinfulness. Do thou make its every exercise conducive to the health of my body, and the clearness and vigour of my mind. Grant that it may assist me to forsake sel- fishness and iniquity, and to serve thee with a pure- hearted and an increasing devotion. Lord bless the appointed fasts of thy churches. May these solemn seasons be accompanied by peni- tence for transgression, Abandonment of sin, conse- cration to thy service, and revivals of pure and undefined religion, which shall pervade all the courts 96 of Zion, and be the means of adding to her many of such as shall be saved. F ATHE RS. Heavenly Parent, let the hearts of the fathers be turned to the children, lest thou come and smite the earth with a curse. Lord, instruct those to whom thou hast intrusted the paternal relation, in all the duties which are incumbent upon them. Teach them that their primary and essential qualification is personal piety, of an elevated and controlling character. Make them deeply conscious of the ne- cessity of prayer, in enabling them to realize their responsibilities, in preparing them to meet their duties, and in securing thy favour on their efforts. Convince them of the unspeakable importance of continual uprightness, that their example may be pure in the eyes, and influential on the hearts, of their offspring. Make them understand the value of that power of control, which having wisely as- certained, and fixed the rules of obedience, requires strict compliance with them. Let them seek to gain not only an outward submission to their com- mands, but to bring the will into a cheerful and ha- bitual obedience to their authority. Persuade them that though folly is bound up in the heart of a child, the rod of correction will drive it far from him. May the spirit of prudent love be the governing impulse in all their paternal dealings, whether of rewards or punishments ; and let neither sinful in- dulgence, nor cruel revenge, dictate the measures of their government. Cause them to observe a steady uniformity of discipline, which shall be known to all the household as the law of the family. Give them that constant watchfulness, which will 97 seek to avert every danger, and obtain every good. Make them anxiously careful respecting the asso- ciates of their children ; for he that walketh with the wise shall be wise ; but the companion of fools shall be destroyed. May they train them up in such employments as shall suit their characters, and make them useful to themselves and society. Let them labour in honesty, to make competent provision for their households. Dispose them to give their cordial co-operation to every judicious scheme which mo- thers, in the discharge of their duties, may endeavour to execute. Let the intellectual education of their youth be an object of constant solicitude and atten- tion. And, Lord, let every measure of their con- duct be auxiliary to the desire and effort, that the souls of their offspring may be saved. O God, convince fathers that character is formed in the earliest stages of life that they are responsi- ble to their children, to their country, and to God, for the impress that is given to the juvenile mind and that the influences they set in motion, will go down from generation to generation, and have no limits, even in the results of eternity ! Lord, who is suf- ficient for these things ? Thou givest power to the faint ; and to them that have no might, thou in- creasest strength. Lo, their sufficiency is of God! FEAR. Lord, grant that my heart may always be influ- enced by that fear of thee, which is the beginning of wisdom ; and which is a fountain of life that is clean, enduring forever. Let not my fear of thee be the dread of a slave, nor the terror of a criminal ; but the awe of a servant, mingled Math the confi- dence of a child. May it lead me to avoid thy dis- 9 98 pleasure to desire thy favour to hate evil and to do thy pleasure, in all the walks of life. Lord, cause the dread of thy judgments to rest on the wicked. Make them feel that thy presence is continually about them, and that thy knowledge makes record of all their transgressions. May they learn thy power and justice, and be convinced that these attributes are pledged to destroy the finally impenitent. Cause them to kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and they perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Show them that thy mercy is upon all that fear thee, from generation to generation. Keep me, O Lord, from the fear of man that bringeth a snare. If thou art for me, who can be against me ? Who is he that will harm me, if T am a follower of that which is good ? Grant me cou- rage to speak of thy testimonies and not be ashamed. Though the proud have me in derision, let me not decline from thy law. Help me to despise the shame of a gainsaying world, lest the Son of Man be ashamed of me, when he cometh in the glory of the Father, with his holy angels. FELLOWSHIP. See Communion. FORBEARANCE. Vouchsafe unto me, O Lord, that spirit which is not easily provoked ; but that beareth all things, and endureth all things ; that suffereth long, and is still kind. Fix permanently in my mind, the example of Christ, who also suffered for us, that we should follow in his steps. And thou hast said that when we do well, and suffer for it, yet take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. Show me that the dis- 99 cretion of a man deferreth his anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. May I consider my own proneness to trespass upon the rights of others, lest I also be tempted, and need the forbear- ance of my fellows. Let me recompense to no man evil for evil; nor avenge myself; but rather give place to wrath : for vengeance is thine, and thou wilt repay. Dispose me, O Lord, to love my enemies ; and O let me not be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. FORBEARANCE OF GOD. Heavenly Father, assist me to contemplate the riches of thy forbearance and long-suffering. I am not deserving of the least of thy mercies. Hadst thou been strict to mark mine iniquities, I had long ere this been receiving the endless retributions of sin. My whole life has been a witness for thee, that thou wilt have mercy, and not sacrifice : and I enjoy now the privilege of approaching thy mercy- seat, because thy mercy rejoiceth against thy judg- ment. O I am not worthy to come into thy pre- sence, nor to lift up mine eyes to the place where thine honour dwelleth. Lord, let me not vex thine enduring goodness by continued sin, lest thou say in thy wrath, " Ephraim is joined to his idols, let him alone." Let me not weary thy patience with unfruitfulness ; lest thou pronounce thy judgment, 44 Cut him down : why cumbereth he the ground ?" Merciful Father, grant that thy forbearance may lead me to the humility of penitence, and the obe- dience of faith. Lord, let not sinners despise nor presume on the riches of thy long-suffering. Suffer not their hearts to be set in them to do evil, because sentence 100 against an evil work is not executed speedily. Show them that thou givest thy mercy, that they may have space for repentance ; or, that if they turn not from their evil ways, thou mayest display thy holy justice in their condemnation. O grant, Lord, that thy patience with them may lead them to repent, and to learn, in the day of their merciful visitation, the things which belong to their peace. FOREKNOWLEDGE. God of Wisdom, how infinite is the contrast be- tween thine omniscience and our imperfect know- ledge. We know not what a day may bring forth : but thou knowest the end from the beginning. There is none that has been thy counsellor : thine eye alone searches the secrets of futurity. A thou- sand years are with thee as but one day ; and among the infinite series of events that lie throughout the eternity to come, there is not one, of which thou dost not know the time and the manner of its coming. Lord, I would praise thee for those fruits of thy foreknowledge, which thou hast given us in thy prophecies and promises. I thank thee that thou hast granted us these testimonials of thy wisdom and love to confirm our faith in thy word, and to strengthen our hope in thy mercy. O grant that the foretellings of thy knowledge, which are regis- tered in thy word, may convince the infidel, that the Bible is everlasting truth. And may all that love thee, thank God, and take courage from these seals of thy testimonies. FORGIVENESS. Almighty God, do thou so control and discipline my heart, that I shall be ever ready to exercise the 101 virtue of forgiveness. Though my motives and character be slandered, and my property and person be injured, let me not return railing for railing, nor injury for injury. May I remember thine example of long-suffering and great mercy, in which thou dost not avenge thyself of thine adversaries ; and art not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. May 1 consider how long thou didst bear with my own disregard of thy rights, and disobedience to thy law ; until thou didst at last move me to repentance and faith, and didst crown me, as I trust, with undeserved forgiveness of my sins. Lord, make me realize the condition of that prayer, " Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." O let me not, by a vindictive spirit, seal up the fountains of thy pardon ; for thou hast said that if we do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will our Father in heaven forgive us our trespasses. Lord, incline me, moreover, to a mer- ciful spirit, by the reflection that I often commit offences against the rights of others. May I there- fore do unto them as I would have them do unto me. Make me willing to seek forgiveness of any whom I may offend or injure. Permit not false shame nor pride to keep me from acknowledging my errors and transgressions. May I feel that there is more honour in confessing and repairing a sin against my neighbour, than in covering it up, and refusing to render him justice. Lord, dispose me to love my enemies, to bless them that curse me, and to do good to them that hate me. Make me willing, under every injury, to pray " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." [See PARDON.] 9* 102 FRUGALITY. Make me frugal, O Lord, in my habits of life. Let me not be anxious as to what I shall eat, or drink, or wherewithal I shall be clothed ; nor seek to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Persuade me that I have no right to de- corate my person, my family, my house, or my table, with unbecoming, or dishonest, or luxurious expenditure. O let not this reproach, so common in the church, rest on me, that I spend more on my selfishness, than the amount of the tithes I bring into thy storehouse. Convince me that an immoderate use of thy bounties is inconsistent with peace of mind, health of body, and enjoyment of thy fa- vour. May I gather up my fragments of time and property, and employ them in thy service. Lord, dispose me to use economy and prudence in my expenses, that I may thus be furnished with addi- tional means of supplying the wants of the desti- tute, and contributing to those objects of benevolence, which promote the welfare of man and display thy glory. GAMING. Lord, root out of every society the insidious and destructive vice of gaming. Make men understand its seductions, iniquities, and dangers. Teach them that a sinful love of money is the spring that throws open the heart to its lures ; and that while it pro- mises plenty and joy, it is gently drawing its thoughtless victims into the magic circles of its destroying whirlpool. Show them that it is the destroyer of every virtue, and the patron of every transgression. Reverence, truth, honesty, peace, and purity sicken and perish before it : while pro- 103 fanity, falsehood, fraud, contention, and lust, spring up and flourish in its pathway. O how has hope been blasted, abundance impoverished, character ruined, and souls destroyed by this legate of Satan. Nor, alas, have the victims suffered alone : for they have dragged down with them into penury and sorrow, those that were bound to them with ties, which their fall could not break. Merciful God, preserve the young from this vice. Let those who control this class consider whether what seem to be innocent games of chance, are not laying the foundation, in their pliant minds, for that love of play which has filled with countless wrecks this vortex of ruin. Have mercy on those who are floating on its deceptive currents. Turn them back from the error of their ways. Let him that stole, steal no more ; but rathr let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good. Make the gamester a reproach in every circle of decency : and let the moral and good shrink from his fellow- ship as from the contagion of death. Do thou make honest industry honourable everywhere : and per- suade him who is tempted to forsake it, that better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. GENTLENESS. Heavenly Father, bestow on me that fruit of thy Spirit which is gentleness. Impress on my mind, that the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men. May I remember him who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and like a sheep dumb before his shearer, opened not his mouth : who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth ; who when he suffered threatened not, but 104 committed himself to him thatjudgeth righteously leaving us an example, that we should follow in his steps. Blessed Jesus, thou pattern of meekness, preserve my temper and conduct from unkindness and violence. May a holy calm pervade my heart in all the changes and trials I may encounter and manifest itself in kindness and good-will, in all the relations of life. Ofill my heart with that wisdom from above, which is gentle, easy to be entreated, and full of mercy and good fruits, GLORY OF GOD. Lord God Almighty, thou art glorious in the infi- nite excellencies of thy character. Thau art ever- lasting in being, almighty in power, infinite in wis- dom, inflexible in justice, eternal in truth, spotless in holiness, and boundless in mercy. Great and marvellous are thy works, just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints. Who will not fear and glorify thy name ? The heavens declare thy glory, and the firmament exhibiteth thy handi- work : day unto day uttereth speech concerning thee, and night unto night showeth knowledge of thee. All thy works praise thee. But it is in the person and work of our blessed Saviour, that thoa hast chiefly shown the perfection of thy character, for the adoration and homage of thine intelligent creation. There thou didst make thy richest dis- play of might and knowledge, righteousness and goodness. O, thou art worthy to be held in ever- lasting honour, that he who was the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person, was made flesh, and dwelt with us, being in all points tempted as we are ; and when he had filled up the measure of his reproach and perse*- 105 cution, gave himself up to an ignominious death, that we might have redemption through his blood, even the remission of sins ! Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. O help me to honour thee whenever I contemplate thy works, or thy word, or thy providence. Make me willing to spend my substance, my reputation, my time, and my life itself, to promote the honour of thy name. May I praise thee in my thoughts, and with my lips, and by my life : and whether I eat or drink, or whatsoever I do, may I do all to the glory of God. And do thou shine into my heart to give me the knowledge of thy glory, in the face of Jesus Christ. Lord, let all thy saints bless thee. Instruct them that their chief end is to glorify thee. Dispose them to show forth the praises of him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light. May they meditate on thy greatness, and talk of thy wondrous works, and honour thy will by acts of holy obedience. Be thou admired in all that believe on thee. Make them the blessed in- struments of leading multitudes, who now cast dishonour on thy mercy, to witness and magnify the riches of thy grace. Father, glorify thy name in turning the wicked from the error of their ways unto the wisdom of the just. O fulfil in all their power and efficacy the messages of the gospel, which are glory to God in the highest ; peace on earth, and good- will to men. GOD, See Adoration, Existence, Omnipre- sence, 4*c. 106 GODLINESS. O Lord, vouchsafe to me, through the merit and intercession of Jesus, that godliness which is pro- fitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Lead me to reverence thy name ; for thou art God, and beside thee there is none other. Incline me to love thy character, which is the perfection of excellency. Learn me thy testimonies, which are sure, making wise the simple. Lead me to sub- mit willingly to all thy dispensations ; for they are of the Lord ; let him do what seemeth good in his sight. May I depend on thee with a confiding heart, for every blessing ; for thou hast said that as my day is, so shall my strength be. Teach me to supplicate thee for thy mercies ; and let not my prayer be as a lamp that has neither oil nor light. Excite me, O Lord, to praise thy goodness ; for thou art merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness. Build thou my hopes of thy favour on the precious merits of Jesus, besides whose name there is no other given by which I may be saved. And, O Lord, assist me by thy grace to obey all thy law ; for not every one that saith, *' Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of our Father in heaven. Shepherd of Israel, bless the fold of Christ. Let none who have the form of godliness deny the power thereof. Give thy people wisdom, love, zeal, and influence. Grant them that piety which is wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost, and nurtured by communion with thee ; which is fed daily by thy precious word, and made healthy and 107 vigorous by active obedience to thy command- ments. May their lives be hid with Christ in God, so that when Christ, who is their life, shall appear, they also sftall appear with him in glory. And grant, most merciful God, that all men may learn that mystery of godliness ; God manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preach- ed unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, re- ceived up into glory ! GOOD WORKS. Blessed God, make me understand the imperfec- tion of human obedience. There is not a just man on earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. Even when I most fulfil thy will, I am an unprofitable servant. Lord, keep me from thoughts and boast- ings of merit : for it is not by works of righteous- ness, I have done, that I shall be justified, but by thy grace, through Jesus Christ, the Saviour. And yet, O Lord, do them make me careful to maintain good works : for thou requirest me to work that which is well pleasing in thy sight ; and thou hast an infinite right to my service, as my Creator, Ruler, and Redeemer. Create me, therefore, in Christ Jesus, unto good works, and make me as the branch which abideth in the vine, bearing fruit. May thy word be in my heart ; as good seed, which springe th up, and beareth an hundred fold. May I do thy will with a heart of love, with faith unfeigned, and with desire that all I do may be for thy glory. Grant me the renewing of the Holy Spirit, and that faith which works by love, and is accepted by thee, in Christ's name, for righteous- ness. Teach me, Lord, that whatsoever a man 108 soweth that shall he also reap. If he sow to the flesh, he shall of the flesh reap corruption : but if he sow to the Spirit, he shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. I pray thee, therefore, let me not be weary in well-doing" ; for in due season I shall reap, if I faint not. [_8ee DUTY ANI> USEFULNESS.] GOODNESS OF GOD. Bless the Lord, O rny soul, and forget not all his benefits ; for God is love. Thou art good, O Lord, in giving, preserving, and blessing the lives of thy creatures. They are thine offspring, and have their being in thy mercy. The eyes of all are unto thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season : thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desires of every living thing. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fat- ness. Thou hast shown thy mercy in thy for- bearance ; for if thou didst mark iniquity, who could stand? Yea, thou art long-suffering, and art not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But thou hast ex- hibited thy goodness, above all, in the gift of thy Son. Thou didst so love the world, as to give him, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life : and thou didst commend thy love to us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Though we had turned every one to his own way, the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. Blessed God, thou art merciful in the gift of the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make us wise unto salvation and in the bestowment of that Comforter, whose ministrations are life, because of righteousness. Even our afflic- tions have been blessings in disguise : for thou hast 109 chastened us for our profit, that \ve might be par- takers of thy holiness : and though thy chastenings seemed not to be joyous, but grievous, yet after- wards they worked the peaceable fruits of right- eousness. Lo ! thou hast made even the sins of thy creatures to work together for good : thou hast made the wrath of man to praise thee : and where sin hath abounded, grace doth much more abound. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even he shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord ! Heavenly Father, make me feel that I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies, and that I have deserved thy wrath instead of thy kindness. Bind me, I beseech thee, to thee and thy cause, by a strong and an abiding gratitude. Permit me not to forget nor abuse thy mercies. Let them not rise up in judgment against me, either in this world, or in that which is to come. Do thou lead me, O Lord, to imitate thy goodness, by labours of love, and by seek- ing occasions to do good, in all the relations of life. Lord, draw all men unto thee by the cords of thy love. May thy kindness lead them to repentance, and to devotion to thy cause. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his won- derful works to the children of men. His goodness eudureth continually, and his mercy is everlasting. Lord let thine abundant grace, through the thanks- giving of many, redound to thy glory. Amen. GOSPEL. Gracious Jehovah, assist me to understand, and love, and obey the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I would magnify the riches of thy mercy, which devised these glad tidinsrs of great 10 110 joy for all people. I would praise thee that thon ilidst send it in due time, in all its fulness of grace and truth, life and immortality. It was not because we deserved thy favour, or sought thy mercy ; but because thou didst pity our lost condition, and didst enter into a covenant of grace, to bring us out of an estate of sin and misery, into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer. Lord, I would praise thee that this word is offered without money and without price ; and that whosoever will, may take of the waters of life freely. Thou hast made the plan of redemption commensurate with the wants and sins of our ruined race, and with the claims of thy holy and inflexible justice. I bless thy name that it has brought light for the benighted ; joy for the mourner; liberty for the captive ; rest for the heavy-laden ; plenty for the destitute : pardon for the condemned ; purity for the unholy ; life for the dead ; and the hope of salvation for the heirs of perdition ! Lord, help me to lay hold upon the hope set be- fore me in the gospel. May I receive it as the only savour of life unto life. Let me not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ; but may I glory in it, as the power of God, unto salvation, to every one that believeth. May it teach me to deny ungodli- ness, and to live righteously in thy sight. Make it the instrument of building me up in saving know- ledge, holy love, and willing obedience, to the praise of Jesus Christ. O God, make the impenitent feel that they can- not escape thy wrath, if they neglect this great sal- vation. May it bring them, from being strangers and foreigners, to be fellow-citizens of the house- hold of faith. May it turn their carnal minds from their enmity unto peace with God, and release them, Ill being justified by failh, from that wrath of God which now abideth on them. Blessed Saviour, call them from darkness into marvellous light : free them from the bondage of sin, and cause the*m to stand fast in the liberty wherewith thou makest thy ser- vants free. Lord, may the kingdom of thy gospel come, and thy will be done on earth as in heaven. Multiply the number of those who shall run to and fro, in creasing knowledge. Make the reading, but espe- cially the preaching of thy word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners. Strengthen the minds, and sanctify the wills, and increase the zeal of thy people. Send the rod of thy strength out of Zion, and make thy people willing in the day of thy power : and may converts be multiplied to them as drops of dew in the morning. O God, re- deem thy promise, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord, to the praise of God, the Father. GOVERNMENT. King of Kings and Lord of Lords, dispose me to pray for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all honesty and godli- ness. May I remember that the powers that be are ordained of God, and that by thee kings reign and princes decree justice. Make me grateful to thee that thou hast put the restraints of law upon man- kind. O do thou make every rule of administra- tion throughout the world, conform to thy benevo- lent will. Make those that bear the sword a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well. Make our officers peace, and our exactors righteous- ness. Let our lawgivers be men that fear God and 112 hate covetousness. Though thou canst make the wrath of tyrants to praise thee ; yet do thou so order the means and ohjects of human government, that thy glory may be advanced by the holiness and hap- piness of rulers and people. Lord, I thank thee for that form of government which has been, under thy hand, a protection and blessing- to this nation. Reform its evils, and spread its blessings, until every country shall rejoice in the sovereignty of useful and just laws. But, O Lord, may we not forget that it is righteousness which exalteth a nation ; while sin is a reproach to any people. Deal not with us according to our trans- gressions. Say not in thy wrath, that thy kingdom shall be taken from us, and given to a nation bring- ing forth the fruits thereof. Make this land Imma- nuel's land, where peace will have her dwelling, liberty her home, and piety her abode ; until this world, and all the works therein, shall be burned up, and there be new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness! [_See COUNTRY.] GRACE. Lord, enable me, through the adorable Redeemer, to know, and value, and possess the exceeding riehes of thy grace. It is rich in its source ; for it is the fulness of him that filleth all in all. It is rich in its abundance ; since it is given to us for help in every time of need. And, O, it is rich in its un- speakable blessings ; for it brings the forgiveness of sins gives us the washing of regeneration unites us to Christ by a living faith justifies us by his merits bestows on us the witness of the Spirit gives us the victory over the world and the grave makes us heirs of God, and joint heirs with 113 Christ, in the enjoyments of heaven forever. Show me, O Lord, that Jesus is the mediator of this bless- ing : it is he that maketh peace through the blood of his cross : he giveth repentance and remission of sins : and he seals the redeemed soul, by the Spirit, through sanctification, unto eternal life. Lord, thou couldst have glorified thyself in the de- struction of thy rebel creatures ; but thou hast chosen, in thy niercy, to win them back to thee by love, that thou mightest glorify thyself in their newness of life on earth, and their eternal bliss in heaven. Merciful God, enable me, by thy blessing, to grow in grace. May I hunger and thirst after righteous- ness, and desire the sincere milk of the word, that I may grow thereby. May I seek to give strength to every godly principle within me, by habitual in- dustry in thy service ; by exercising myself unto godliness, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Be pleased to order thy dispensations, whether of prosperity or adversity, so that they may promote my spiritual good. Build me on the founda- tion of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ be- ing the chief corner-stone. May I in all things by prayer and supplication, make known my requests unto thee. And, O, grant me thy Holy Spirit, to sanctify my affections, and to assist me in giving all diligence to make my calling and election sure. Heavenly Father, transform me by the renewing of my mind, that I may know what is thy good, and perfect, and acceptable will. Animate my heart with supreme love to God, and impartial love to man. Give me an increasing purity of motive, strength of principle, abasement of self, and loath- ing of sin. Turn me from every wrong pursuit, 10* 114 and lead me into every right way. Let me not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. May I cherish the fellowship of thy saints ; and seek the welfare of thy kingdom, by gifts, by labour, and by supplication. Blessed Lord, make me holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Enable me to go from strength to strength ; and do thou change me from glory to glory. Shepherd of Israel, cause thy grace to dwell richly in the hearts of all thy people. May they watch unto prayer against anger y pride, and covet- ousness ; against ambition, censoriousness, and impurity. May they look diligently, lest any fail of the grace of God ; lest any root of bitterness springing up, trouble them, and thereby many be defiled. Make their Christian character as the light of heaven, which shineth more and more, unto the perfect day. Lord, exert the power of thy grace on the hearts of the impenitent. Convince them of their guilt and danger ; persuade them to accept of thy mercy in Jesus ; renew their wills and sanctify their feel- ings ; lead them to pant after thee, as the hart pant- eth after the water-brooks, and to run willingly in all the ways of thy commandments. O grant that where sin hath abounded, grace may much more abound. And to God, only wise, be glory, through Jesus Christ, forever. GRATITUDE. Lord Jehovah, thou art good, and lovest to do good. Thou art the giver of every good and perfect gift. My whole life has been a record of thy mercy. Thou hast given me the blessings of health and peace, food and clothing, home and friends, pro tec- 115 tion and happiness. Yet all these are but as the small dust of the balance, compared with thy mercy in Christ Jesus. Though the creatures thou hadst made, to be the subjects of thy bounty, had all re- belled against thy law, thou didst so love them, as to give thy Son for them, to bring them back, with an everlasting redemption. And because they still, notwithstanding this matchless offer of compassion, would not come unto thee, that they might have life, thou hast given them the influences of thy Holy Spirit, to persuade them to accept of mercy. And to as many as thou hast given power to become the sons of God, thou hast vouchsafed such measures of thy grace, that they shall be able to persevere in obedience, through faith, unto complete salvation. O Lord, cause my gratitude to bear some propor- tion to thy goodness. Let me not forget thy bene- fits, nor think that my own hand has wrought any of them. Incline me to look back often, with min- gled feelings of wonder and love, on the way in which thou hast led me by thy providence and grace. Show me the enormity of my sinfulness, which has made me blind to thy love, forgetful of thy favour, and thankless for thy mercy : and grant me deeper impressions of that benevolence, which though thus abused, has still waited to be gracious. Give me such views of thy loving-kindness, and of my own utter unworthiness, as shall lead me to magnify con- tinually the richness of thy goodness. Induce me to love thee because thou hast first loved me. Make my enjoyment of thy mercies a motive to obedience. Especially may the love of Christ constrain me to do thy will. O may I desire to show my sense of obligation to thee, by always seeking to do what is well-pleasing in thy sight. 116 Great God, cause thine unnumbered mercies to- wards guilty men, to melt the hardness of their hearts, to subdue their rebellious wills, and to lead them, by the allurements of thy love, to a godly sorrow for sin, a cordial faith in the atonement, and a grateful devotion to thy cause. Make the multi- tudes who are children of disobedience, the sons of adoption, to the praise of the fulness of thy grace. O Lord, permit me not to be ungrateful to my fellow-creatures. Thou hast been pleased so to constitute our social relations, that each is depend- ent on others for kindness and favour. Thou hast made many of them the almoners of thy bounty to me. Make my heart sensible to every benefit I re- ceive from them : and while my affections abound towards those who do me good, lead me, O Lord, to do good to all men. Promote, I beseech thee, the prevalence of acts of good- will among all thy creatures ; until envy, ingratitude, and hatred shall be banished from the world, and all men abound in love to God, and to each other. GRAVE. Great God, teach me that I am dust, and must return to dust. May I often and habitually look forward to the grave, that narrow house appointed for all the living. Lead me to regard it as the monu- ment of human guilt ; for if there had been no sin, there had been no grave ; the wages of sin is death. O may every mound that marks the last dwelling- place of a human being, be a witness that sin has entered into the world, and death by sin. May I learn from it, the vanity of earthly good we bring nothing into the world, and we can carry nothing 117 out we must say to corruption, " Thou art my father ;" and to the worm, " Thou art my mother and my sister." Lord, this wide world is one vast burial-place ; and we plant our feet daily on some spot that has been the charnel-house of mortality. Alas, death dwells everywhere, but in the giddy thoughts of men ! But I thank thee, O Lord, that amid all its gloom, the grave has its consolations. Jesus, our Saviour, has been there, and has sanctified the tomb as the restingplace of his people's dust. There the weary are at rest. Though the body shall turn to dust, the spirit will return to God who gave it : and while thy saints are absent from the body, they are pre- sent with the Lord. Nor shall our sleep be eternal : the earth shall cast out her dead this mortal shall put on immortality, and that which was sown in dis- honour, shall be raised in glory. Lord, grant that when the dead shall come forth at thy voice, mine may be the resurrection of life ; that so I may be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and be made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity. Heavenly Father, grant, for Christ's sake, that every tomb may be a convincing and persuading preacher to the impenitent. May they learn and act upon the truth, that it is appointed unto all men once to die. Behold thou hast made their days as a hand-breadth, and their age is as nothing before thee. Show them that after death cometh the judg- ment, when they who have done evil, shall come forth to the resurrection of damnation. O may many now lay to heart the things that belong to their eternal peace : and then, when Christ shall appear, 118 they also shall appear with him, who is the resur- rection and the life, blessed forever. Compassionate Jehovah, thou knowest all the sources of my griefs the afflictions of my body the weakness and ignorance of my mind the loss of cherished objects and the miseries of my sin- fulness. When I look back upon my past life, how do slighted mercy, neglected grace, and sinful re- bellion rise up to confound me with sorrow. When I look within me, and examine my present state, I find that when I would delight in the law of the Lord, after the inward man, there is a law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin ; so that I am constrained to say, " O wretched man that I am ; who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" When my thoughts go forth into the un- known future, I have reason to pass the time of my sojourning here in fear, lest, being led away by the corruption of my heart, the error of the wicked, and the deceit of Satan, I may fall from my stead- fastness. When I look around me, I find sources of grief everywhere ; for the ways of Zion mourn, and my heart is faint within me : I behold the trans- gressors, and am grieved: rivers of waters should run down mine eyes, because men keep not thy law. O God, it behooves me also to mourn when thou dost, for any reason, hide thy face from me when the heavens above me are as brass, and my trembling heart would surmise that even God had forgotten to be gracious, r But, O Lord, thou knowest all my griefs ; and thou canst sanctify them to me. I pray thee, soothe 119 and bless my sorrows. Recompense me in all of them, by the light of thy countenance. Give me the blessedness of them that mourn with a godly sorrow ; for they shall be comforted. Restore unto me the joys of thy salvation, and uphold me by thy free Spirit. Let not my soul be cast down, nor grow weary of life, nor rebel against thy will. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. When thou hast wrought the purposes of thy sovereignty, O give me beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the gar- ments of praise for the spirit of heaviness. HAPPINESS. Blessed God, I thank thee for that impulse of my nature, by which I am led to pursue happiness. Without its refreshing influence, life would be but a barren desert. Yet, O how has my evil heart cor- rupted this law of thy benevolence. Whilst thou hast given me faculties and aspirings for communion with God, and heaven, and holiness, I have sought my joys in sense, and earth, and sin. Lord, help me to overcome this corruption of my nature. May I make my happiness subordinate to thy glory, and in unison with my duty. Dispose me, I pray thee, to use the lawful pleasures of life temperately, and with submission to thy will. Let not my soul find its portion in this world's pleasures, honours, or riches. Lead me to seek first the kingdom of right- eousness, and all that I need for my comfort shall be added to it. Give me the blessedness of the poor in spirit and the mourners for sin ; of the meek and those that hunger and thirst after righteousness ; of the merciful and the pure in heart ; of the peace- makers, and those who are reviled and persecuted 120 for Christ's sake. May I seek thy favour, as the source and life of every joy. Comfort me, I pray thee, with a sense of thy forgiving mercy in Jesus ; and, O be thou in him my reconciled God and Fa- ther. Vouchsafe unto me the joys of holy commu- nion with the triune God, and of faitli in thy charac- ter, word, and providence. Grant me the delights of thy rich, distinguishing, and unmerited grace ; and of an humble but blessed instrumentality in doing good. Teach me, O Lord, that it is not the lot of even the best of the righteous, to enjoy undisturbed bliss in this vale of tears. The deceptions of sin within and without, the malice of the wicked, and the as- saults of Satan, often bring anguish on the hearts of thy people. Incline me, therefore, to look at those things which are unseen and eternal, and to lay up treasures where there is no sin nor sorrow, but ful- ness of joy and pleasures for evermore. Lord, lead those who are seeking their happiness in the perishing and corrupting pleasures of the world, to feel their folly and guilt. Show them the excellency and stability of the joys of thy service and salvation ; and enable them by thy grace in Christ, to make thee the strength of their hearts, and their portion forever. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord ! HEALTH. I thank thee, O Lord, for the comfortable degree of health I have been permitted to enjoy. I bless thee that thou hast healed my sicknesses, and that thou hast made their seasons short and few, com- pared with those in which I have been free from disease and pain. Lord, grant me the healthful 121 exercise of all the powers of my mind and body. Lead me to know and follow those physical and moral laws within and around me, disobedience to which, will disorder this structure which thou hast so fearfully and wonderfully made ; but which, if obeyed, will tend to promote my personal comfort and soundness. May I make the pursuit of health, the means of enabling me to grow in grace, to do good, and to advance the glory of God. Blessed Lord, be thou the Physician of my soul. Heal my heart when it is broken with sorrow ; bind up my conscience when it is wounded by trans- gression. Cleanse my mind from error, and my spirit from sin ; and do thou bring over my soul the renovating and strengthening joys of thy saving health. HEART. O God, assist me to keep my heart with all dili- gence ; for out of it are the issues of life. May I remember that it is by nature deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ; and that none but God can bring a clean thing out of this unclean. O how would I blush to let my most familiar friend look into its hidden chambers. Dispose me, I pray thee, to watch over it, lest I fall into temptation; to be humble and mournful for its hardness and sinfulness ; and to seek earnestly for grace to cleanse me from its secret faults and presumptuous sins. May I ever feel, O Lord, that thou searchest the heart, and knowest it altogether. Help me, I be- seech thee, to make thee the object of its sincere, unchanging, and unreserved love. Great and Merciful God, guide and govern my affections, so that they shall promote thy glory, 11 122 show forth the beauty of holiness, and impart to me peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, fulness of grace, and steadfastness, through faith, unto complete redemption. O do thou give strength to my heart in all the exigencies of life in the days of prosperity and the hours of affliction in Zion's troubles andjoys in rejoicing and sorrow in duty and temptation in doubts and fears in sickness and death. Give me an inward propensity to holi- ness. Help me to keep the avenues of my soul my eye, that it may not lust after evil my ear, that it may be open to God, and shut to sin and my thoughts, that they may not be vain and unholy. Lord, dispose me to watch unto prayer ; to ponder the path of my feet ; to search the Scriptures ; and to rely on thy Spirit to cleanse me from all that is evil, and to strengthen me in all that is good. Merciful Father, persuade impenitent sinners to give their hearts to thee. Make them feel that thou hast created them for thine own ; that thou hast purchased them day by day, by thy common mercies ; and that Christ died that they might love thee. Make them realize, in some degree, what it is to be cast off from thy love forever. O lead them by the terrors of the Lord, and by the cords of love, to give thee their affections without reserve, whilst thou art waiting to be gracious. Whilst thou art calling, " To-day," O may they hear thy voice, and harden not their hearts ; but open their con- sciences to conviction of sin, and their souls to the renewing of the Holy Ghost ; so that they may the able to say, " Whom have we in heaven but thee, and there is none on earth that we desire beside thee." 123 HEATHEN. Blessed God, I thank thee for the rich and va- rious blessings of thy gospel which I am permit- ted to enjoy. O may the possesion of them remind me that there are millions of my fellow-creatures, as good by nature as I am, to whom tftey are de- nied. Give me, I pray thee, for the merits of Je- sus Christ, such a sense of these mercies, that my gratitude to thee shall constantly urge me to strive to extend them to the benighted nations of the earth. Make my heart a fountain of compassion for the wants and woes of the heathen ; and lead my feel- ings into such actions as shall make me an instru- ment of giving them the blessings of salvation. Show me that where there is no vision the people perish, and that they only who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ; and how shall they believe in, him of whom they have not heard ? And how shall they hear without a preach- er ; and how shall any preach except they be sent? Make my conscience and heart feel the command thou hast given thy people, to preach the gospel to every creature. O Lord, lead me to obey it accord- ing to the dictates of thy Spirit, and the openings of thy providence. Grant that I may regard it as an incumbent duty and a blessed privilege, to con- tribute of my substance, my labours, and my pray- ers, for the conversion of the world. Lord, I would praise thee for what thou hast in- clined thy chosen generation to do, in these days, for the heathen world. O strengthen and bless all their efforts which are founded on obedience and love ; and do thou lead them to plan and execute 124 every measure which will secure thy favour. Im- part to all thy churches a holy and fervent mission- ary spirit ; and cheer them by frequent tidings, that thou art granting to the Gentiles, repentance unto life. Grant that every attempt which is made to spread thy gospel abroad, may result in the re- vival of pure religion at home. O do thou give wisdom and energy to those societies and organi- zations which devise and direct missionary efforts. May they be composed of men of wisdom, faith- fulness, and prayer ; who shall have the confidence of thy people, and the favour of God, in their un- dertakings. Be pleased, O Jehovah, to raise up and qualify many, who shall go forth to the be- nighted, to preach the everlasting gospel. Make them men of clean hands, holy hearts, and self-de- nying labour. Lord, dispense thy choicest and fullest mercies on those who are now labouring among the heathen. Animate them with zeal, courage, prayer, and hope. Be thou a glory in the midst of them, and a defence around about them. Give efficacy to their plans of education, especially among the rising generation. Grant them access to the affections, judgments and consciences of those whom they instruct in temporal and spi- ritual knowledge ; and give them the pleasure of seeing thy work prospering in their hands. I bless thee for the success which has already crowned the work of thy servants. O let this wave-offering be the pledge of the future harvest. Though it be but as a handful of corn in the earth, upon the top of the mountains ; do thou cause the fruit thereof to shake like Lebanon ! Bless, I pray thee, those nations who have recently received the gospel. Be not as a stranger in their land, and as 125 a wayfaring man, that turneth aside to tarry only for a night. Bear rule over them : call them by thy name ; and let not thy cause suffer reproach among the heathen. Lord, look in mercy on ail who are the objects of the missionary enterprise. Stay their hands from cruelty to those who are sent to them with the gospel message. Break down every barrier of law, of prejudice, and of enmity; and cause the heathen to receive the missionary with kindness and gladness of heart. Incline their ears and open their hearts to receive that truth which is able to make them wise unto salvation : and grant that Christ may speedily have the heathen for his in- ner itance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for nis possession. HE AVE N. O God, Most High, assist my feeble powers to contemplate the bliss of heaven. In that blest land the righteous shall hunger no more ; neither thirst any more ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There they shall understand all mys- teries and all knowledge. Now they see through a glass darkly ; but then they shall see face to face now they know but in part ; but then they shall know even as they are known. There they shall dwell in the city of the living God, the New Jeru- salem, with an innumerable company of angels, and spirits of just men made perfect; and shall sing, with unwearied tongues, the new song of praise to the Lamb, who has redeemed them to God by his blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. There they shall serve God with fulness of joy, holiness of heart, 11* 05178 - 126 and obedience of will : and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them, the Lamb shall feed them, and lead them to living fountains of waters : and thus they shall be forever with the Lord ! I thank thee, O God, that thou hast made known to us the glories of the heavenly state, and that thou hast taught us how we may obtain them. Life and immortality have been brought to light by the gospel ; and though the carnal eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, nor have entered into such heart, the things which thou hast prepared for them that love thee ; yet thou hast revealed them to thy children, by thy Spirit, as a foretaste of that glory which shall be made known in the eternal life. O Lord, shall I be a partaker of that blessedness ? Grant that the contemplation of it may make me feel the vanity of earthly things, and lead me to set my affections on things that are heavenly and divine. May I follow after holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord ; and seek a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Lord, grant that visions of heavenly glory may quicken the hopes, and purify the hearts, and ani- mate the zeal of thy chosen people. May they have thy grace in them, as a rich prelude to the joys of everlasting life. May they show by their lives, that here they have no abiding place, no continuing city ; but that they seek a better, even a heavenly. Lead them, O Lord, while they strive to work out their own salvation, to seek to bring others into the path of eternal life. Make them feel that their own happiness and glory in the future state, will be greatly increased by their turning souls unto righteousness here : for then 127 they shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars forever and ever. Blessed Lord, convince the worldly-minded and sinful, of the depraving and perishing nature of temporal things ; and of the exalted and eternal treasures thou hast laid up in the home of the righteous. Induce them, by thy Spirit, to renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil ; and to seek that faith in Christ, that purity of heart, and that compliance with thy will, by which they shall be made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. And to thy name, Father, Son, and Spirit, shall be the glory of their salvation forever. H ELL. O Lord, give me a deep conviction of the awful truth, that thou hast ordained arid fixed a place of torment for all the finally impenitent a bottomless pit, where there is the blackness of darkness a prison, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth a lake of fire, where the smoke of their torment ascendeth forever. There they will re- member their ungodly deeds ; their multiplied mercies ; the riches of thy long-suffering which they despised; the instruction they hated; and their hardness and impenitence of heart, whereby they treasured unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath. There they shall have cruel fel- lowship with the devil and his angels : hatred and malice, and every evil passion, shall vex their souls ; while around, and above, and beneath them, will be indignation and wrath, tribulation and an- guish ! Lord, let not my heart ever rebel against the wisdom and righteousness of thy punitive justice. 128 Just and true are all thy ways, thou King of Saints. Teach me, O God, by the deep damna- tion of the wicked, that thou hatest sin and lovest holiness ; and that thou art thus promoting the obedience and welfare of the universe, and sus- taining thy character as the moral Governor of creation. Assist me, God of Grace, to flee from the wrath to come, and to lay hold of eternal life, through the Saviour. But O, let me not be satisfied with my own safety. May I seek the salvation of those that are in the broad way of ruin. Impel me by keen sympathy for their danger, and love for their happiness, to put forth such efforts of prayer and labour, as shall be the means of saving some that are ready to perish. O do thou arouse the church to a conviction of her duty to a perishing world. Let none of thy people dishonour their calling, by carelessness about the eternal welfare of the impenitent. May each one feel the powers of the world to come ; and by earnest supplication, and by fervent action, strive for the blessedness of converting sinners from their dangerous ways, and of saving souls from the second death. Lord, I beseech thee, give the wicked such views of the everlasting destruction awaiting the unrepenting sinner, as shall lead them to consider the mercy that has provided a way of escape from perdition. Persuade them, by thy terrors, to be reconciled to thee by the blood of the everlasting covenant. O make many* who now seem to be vessels of wrath, fitting for destruction, to be ves- sels of mercy, preparing for glory ; who shall be kept by thy power, through faith, unto final salva- 129 tion : where the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, which are begun on earth, shall be perfected forever. HOLINESS. Heavenly Father, grant me the spirit of holi- ness. O restore me to thy blessed image, and transform me by the renewing of my mind, that I may know thy will, and present myself a living sa- crifice, holy and acceptable, which is my reasonable service. Mould my character by thy word, and lead me to obey that form of doctrine which thou hast delivered to me. Make me spiritually-minded, which is life and peace. O enable me to say, " Behold, old things are passed away ; all things are become new." Lord, make me a partaker of thy holiness, and lead me in the paths of righteousness, for thy name's sake. But let me not forget that this great work is not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. My heart is by nature desperately wicked ; and unless thou give me the sanctifying power of thy Spirit, I shall remain dead in trespasses and sins. Renew me, I beseech thee, in the spirit of my mind, turn me from darkness unto light, and put on me the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Blessed Lord, let me not regard iniquity in my heart, nor roll sin as a sweet morsel under my tongue. Make me feel all the motives that should deter me from transgression. Teach me to be holy, because thou art holy. Grant me such views of the cross of Christ, as shall lead me to hate and 130 forsake sin. Thou didst choose thy saints in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy and without blame before thee in love: and he gave himself for them that he might redeem them from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people. O may the hope of his salvation, prompt me to purify myself, even as he is pure. Make me feel the guilt, misery, and danger of sin. Assist me to mortify the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof, that I may live in thy favour. May I remember that the eyes of men are upon me : let me not cause thy name to be blas- phemed through my transgression. Instruct me that thy glory requires me to hate evil ; for thou hast made thy people a holy nation, to show forth the praises of him who has called them from dark- ness into light. O God, make rne pure in heart ; for without holiness no man shall see the Lord ; and there shall in no wise enter into heaven, any thing that defileth. Lord, assist me, I beseech thee, in this great duty of personal sanctification. Let thy grace be in me as a perpetual fountain of godliness. May I go from strength to strength, and may my path be as the shining light, which shineth more and more, unto the perfect day. O fill me with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. HOLINESS OF GOD. Lord, thou art glorious in holiness. There is no stain on thy will, and no spot on thy character : the righteous Lord loveth righteousness. Just, and true, and pure are all thy thoughts, purposes, and doings. Thou art of purer eyes than to counte- 131 nance evil in others ; and thou canst not look on sin without abhorrence. Thou art angry with the wicked every day, and thou wilt cast them, unless they repent, into everlasting destruction. Even the heavens are not clean in thy sight ; and thou chargest thine angels with folly. Blessed God, teach me the beauty of thy holiness. O, it is the life and perfection of thy character. Thou hast shown it in all thy ways in the works of creation, which were all very good in thy provi- dence, by which thou hast sought to make us par- takers of thy holiness in thy grace, which teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts in the gift of Jesus, who came to save us from the guilt and dominion of sin in thy truth, by which we are sanctified in the work of thy Spirit, whereby we are baptized unto righteousness : and thou wilt show it in the awful decisions of the last day, when the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. O Lord, may a sense of thy holiness awe and control my spirit. May it dispose me to walk humbly in thy sight : for if the holy ones of heaven veil their faces before thee, it becomes me to lie in the dust, and to cry, "Guilty; unclean: God be merciful to me a sinner." Teach me that there is no communion between God and unholy spirits ; and that none but the pure in heart can enjoy thy favour, or see thy face in righteousness. May t learn more and more the excellence of the Saviour whom thou hast provided for sinners : for if we were not accepted in the Beloved, none could be justified in thy sight. Cause a conviction of thy sinless perfection to fill me with reverence in all my approaches to thee ; and suffer me not to forget 132 that if I regard iniquity in my heart, thou wilt not hear my supplications. O give me such contem- plations of thy holiness as shall cajise me to die unto sin and live unto righteousness. And may I, beholding as in a glass its glory, be changed into the same image, from glory to glory. HOLY SPIRIT. Blessed and Triune God, enable me to understand the character and offices of the Holy Ghost. Thou hast revealed him to us as a partner of the Deity, who exercises the attributes of the Most High, and does the works of the Almighty. O may my thoughts of him be such as become me when I me- ditate on the name of God. I thank thee that thou hast sent that Spirit to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Grant, O Lord, that I may share in all his blessed influences, and that they may be in me as a well of water, spring- ing up into everlasting life. May they be as show- ers that water the earth, imparting to my soul growth, beauty, and fruitfulness, and giving me fa- vour in the sight of God and man. Blessed Spirit, show me my sinfulness, apply to me the redemption purchased by Christ, mortify the deeds of the body, and renew me day by day in thy holy image. O do thou lead me into the knowledge of truth, make intercession within me in prayer, bear witness with my spirit that I am a child of God, and seal me with that promise, which is an earnest until the redemption of the purchased pos- session. Be thou my comforter in sorrow, my strength in weakness, my shield in temptation, my teacher in ignorance, my security in joy, my leader 133 in the labyrinths of life, and my consolation in the hour of death. Lord, pour out thy Spirit on all thy servants. May they enjoy, in the fullest measure, those fruits which are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, meekness, gentleness, temperance, faith. Persuade them to set a high value on these things, and to seek them by fervent and believing prayer. Cause them to live in continual dependence on divine in- fluence, and to walk worthy of the character of that Holy Agent. Make them his living temples, where there shall be the incense of prayer, praise, and holy obedience. May he sanctify their hearts, bind them closer by faith to Christ, make them wise unto sal- vation, and prepare them for their eternal weight of glory. Lord, I would praise thy name for the power which the Holy Ghost has exerted over the con- sciences and wills of sinners, in leading them to feel their guilt and danger, and in persuading and enabling them to accept the plan of salvation. O continue and increase these manifestations of thy mercy. Let not the ungodly grieve thy Spirit, and be left to ripen for perdition. Let none wrest to their own destruction the truth, that they must be born again by the Holy Ghost : but may they make it the anchor of their hope, and receive with glad- ness those ministrations which are life, because of righteousness. O do thou convince, convert, and sanctify multitudes who now live after the flesh ; and do thou lead them, in the exercises of a spirit- ual life, to glorify thy grace on earth, and enjoy the fellowship of the Father, Son, and Spirit, in heaven. 12 134 HOME MISSIONS. Great God, cause my heart to give a ready and fervent response to the appeals that are made to it, to send the gospel to every kindred and nation under heaven : but O let it not forget, in the excitement of foreign enterprises, the equally urgent, but less sti- mulating, claims of the destitute in our own borders. I thank thee that institutions have been organized to send the heralds of the cross over the length and breadth of our land, to seek out and build its waste places, and to gather and feed those that are scattered as sheep without a shepherd. But, Lord, show us that this work is but just begun ; and that our in- creasing population greatly outruns the supply of the means of grace : that in many places thy precious word, thy holy day, and thy sanctifying worship, are not known, or are but little regarded ; while in- fidelity and lewdness, profanity and intemperance, Sabbath-breaking and fraud, are spreading, like in- fection, throughout communities. O let the work of domestic missions commend itself to the patronage and prayers of the wise and good of all classes. May the patriot regard it as the prosperity of the country ; the philanthropist further it as the welfare of humanity ; and the Chris- tian prosecute it as the temporal and eternal well- being of the people. Let those who are supplied with the institutions of the gospel, gladly send them to the destitute ; and let those who are without them, be excited to seek, and welcome, and help to sus- tain them in their midst. God of Missions, give increased success to the efforts already made in this glorious cause. Bring many other labourers up to the help of the Lord, in 135 the contest with ignorance, error, and vice. Esta- blish a pastor in every destitute neighbourhood. Let the Bible, the Sabbath, the Sunday-school, and the sanctuary, dispense their riches wherever there is a people in want of them. And let thine enduring favour rest upon every such labour of love. Lord, grant, for Jesus' sake, that the voice of in- struction, of praise, and of prayer, may abide in every city, and village, and hamlet, and household, in our wide and flourishing country. HONESTY. Lord, dispose me to render to all their dues. Im- plant such a sense of justice in my bosom, that I shall willingly give to my fellow-creatures, of every rank, all their lawful and moral rights. Let not sel- fishness exalt itself against the dictates of integrity ; nor covetousness violate the duties of uprightness. Rebuke in me that love of lucre, whether it be in small things or in great, which would lead me to forego the demands of rectitude for the desires of dishonesty. Grant me, if it seem good to thee, that moderate competence, and contentment with it, which will raise me above the temptations of poverty. But do thou assure me, that the wealth, which I sometimes covet, neither satisfies the soul, nor elevates its sense of justice, but begets raging de- sire and clamorous injustice. Heavenly Father, make me prompt in the dis- charge of my obligations ; especially to the poor. Let me owe no man any thing, without his cheerful consent. Or if misfortune or disappointment deny me the present ability to discharge the claims of creditors, let no evasive plea nor legal subterfuge release me from the conviction of indebtedness, and 136 the purpose of recompense. Great God, may I remember the wo of him that buildetli his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong ; and the reward of him that walketh righteously, and despiseth the gain of oppressions, and shaketh his hand from holding bribes he shall dwell on high ; his defence shall be the munitions of rocks ; bread shall be given him ; his water shall be sure ; his name shall be as ointment poured forth, and his memory shall be blessed. HOPE. Lord, grant me a good hope through grace. May it be the fruit of thy Spirit, and be rooted and grounded in that faith by which we receive the atonement of the Messiah : for other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid in Jesus Christ. May it be a hope that maketh not ashamed ; that purifieth the heart ; that is a helmet of salvation ; and an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which enters into that within the veil, and rejoices in the expectation of the glory of God. O may it prompt me to seek to bring others into the same fellowship .of joy, that we together may share the promise of life. Teach the wicked, O God, that a door of hope has been opened for the chief of sinners : a way of access to pardon, in which thou canst be just, and still be the justifier of them that believe in Jesus. Let not their hearts be deceived by those hopes of earthly good, which are either blasted in their bud, or ripen into bitter fruit. Show them that the expectation of the wicked shall perish, and that the trust of the hypocrite shall be as the spi- der's web : while ^he hope of the righteous shall 137 be gladness and assurance forever. I pray thee bring many sinners to the footstool of thy throne, to learn the blessedness of putting their confidence in the blood of the everlasting covenant ; from which only can they receive the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. HOSPITALITY. Lord, give me the spirit of hospitality. Grant me a heart of generosity, that will take pleasure in reciprocating the kindness of domestic life, and in supplying the wants of the stranger and the desti- tute. May I remember that some, in so doing, have entertained angels unawares ; and that thou hast said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Thou hast commanded us to use hospitality, with- out grudging ; and hast promised that those who do so, shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Lord, thou art good to all : thy tender mercies are over all thy works. Even thine enemies share richly in thy bounty. Incline me, therefore, to be merciful, even as thou art merciful. Lead me to do good, and to communicate ; for with such sacrifices thou art well-pleased. Dispose me to be an almoner of thy bounty. As I have freely received, so may I freely give. HUMAN DEPRAVITY. Lord, thou didst create man, after thine own image, in knowledge and holiness; but he fell from the estate wherein he was created, by sinning against God ; and now, by his fall, all mankind have lost communion with God, are under thy wrath and curse, and are made liable to all the miseries of this 12* 138 life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. Thou didst indeed make man upright ; but he has sought out many inventions. His gold has become dim, and his most fine gold is changed. And now the heart of the sons of men is full of evil : the carnal mind is enmity against God : they are all gone out of the way : there is none righteous ; no, not one. O Lord, everywhere I behold the records of human depravity. The pages of history, the experience of my own heart, the witness of my eyes, and the news brought on every breeze, tell me that man is a sinner. And yet for every spark of sin in the outward life of every man, there has been a raging flame of transgression in his hidden nature. O let not my mind be swayed from this truth, because there are some, who in their natural and unredeemed state, seem to be not far from the kingdom of God : for if thou hadst not controlled their characters, and shaped their destinies, they also had been the vilest of the vile. Suffer me not, in my intercourse with children, to suppose, from their comparative innocence and docility, that they are not depraved : for O, thy testimony against them is, that they go astray from the womb ; and that folly is bound up in their hearts. Lord, give me an ever-present conviction of this solemn doctrine, that I may watch and pray against the evil tendencies of my own heart, and also look with earnest anxiety on the condition of those, who have not been brought to know and forsake their iniquities. Enable me to realize its nature and ex- tent to understand that the most unsanctiued sel- fishness has usurped the sceptre which God should sway in the heart ; and that all men are, in their natural character, utterly destitute of holiness, and 139 entirely sinful. Lord, permit not my thoughts to impeach thy wisdom, or justice, or holiness, when I meditate on this truth ; for thou hast laid no stern necessity on us that we should sin : and we, we only, are guilty before thee in our transgressions. O God, take away this stony heart out of my flesh, and give me a heart of flesh. Subdue the corrup- tion of my nature, and make me a new creature in Christ Jesus. x Blessed Lord, convince the wicked of their deep- rooted depravity ; and that unless they are born again, they must be shut out of the kingdom of God. Show them that they have destroyed them- selves ; while in thee only is their help. Teach them that thou hast sought their repentance by the every-day mercies of life, by the offers of pardon, and by the threats of vengeance : and yet they have abused thy gifts, and turned a deaf ear to thine en- treaties and warnings. Show them that the way of the wicked is darkness, and the end thereof eternal death : while the path of the just is as the shining light, and his reward a blissful eternity. Whilst thou art revealing to them the enormity of their guilt, show them the surpassing extent of the redemption thou hast provided for it. O may thy Spirit transform their corrupt wills, and renew their depraved affections. Save them by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost; that being sanctified by grace, they shall be made partakers of thy holiness, and heirs of eternal life. HUMILITY. Heavenly Father, give me such views of thine infinite excellence, and of my unworthiness, as shall humble me in the dust before thee. Thou art the 140 infinite, eternal, and unchangeable Jehovah ; and all thine attributes and works are excellent and glo- rious. But as for us, we dwell on the footstool of thy dominion, and live every moment at the expense of thy goodness. We are ignorant ; not knowing what a day may bring forth. We are helpless ; not being able to make one hair white or black. We are by nature the children of wrath ; and even in our best estate, when thy Spirit has wrought upon our hearts, it becomes us to say, " God be merciful to us, sinners.'* Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him ; or the son of man, that thou visit- est him ? Lord, I would remember that he who was the brightness of his Father's glory, abased himself, and led a life of trial and reproach, and suffered a death of cruelty and shame. O God, make me a follower of him who was thus meek and lowly. Lo, the angels of heaven veil their faces before thee, in expressive token of inferiority and un worthiness. How much more should I humble myself in thy holy presence. Thanks be to thy name, this which is my duty, is also my privilege. Thou hast given thy promise to humility ; saying, that he who humbleth himself shall be exalted. Thou hast been pleased to put matchless and unspeakable honour on it, by making the contrite heart thy dwelling- place. O may this grace control my life. May it dwell in my heart, teaching me my proper charac- ter. May it pervade my walk, leading me to meek- ness of speech and action, and controlling my spirit, both in prosperity and in adversity. May it fit me for doing thy holy will in all things. Lord, clothe all thy followers with humility. Make them feel their infinite disparity with thee. 141 May they, in lowliness of mind, esteem others better than themselves. Let them not be high-minded, but fear : and while they think they stand, may they take heed lest they fall. May they look back to the hole of the pit whence they were digged. Teach them that thou hatest the pride of man ; and that thou wilt give the kingdom of heaven to those only who are poor in spirit. HYPOCRISY. God of Truth, let a sense of thy presence, and a regard for thy will, preserve me from the odious sin of hypocrisy. Let me not insult thee with a lip- service, while my heart is far from thee : nor with a form of compliance with thy law, while my soul pursues the carnal pleasures of earth. Thou art not deceived, and thou canst not be mocked ; be- cause thou searchest all hearts, and understandest all the imaginations of the thoughts. O make me feel both the folly and vileness of this transgression. Thou hast said that the hope of the hypocrite shall perish, and that his trust shall be as the spider's web. Thou hatest them that cover up their wick- edness ; who are like whited sepulchres, which in- deed appear beautiful outward, but within are full of dead men's bones, and all manner of unclean- Mess. God forbid that I should have only the name, without the character, of godliness. Make thou my life the symbol of my heart, and my heart the living record of thy commandments. Keep me, O God, from hypocrisy towards my fellow-creatures. Restrain me from desiring or at- tempting to make any deceptive impression on them. Let no guile be found in my tongue, nor affectation of righteousness in my walk. Let me not outwardly 142 appear righteous to men, while within I am full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Keep me from a deceitful mind and flattering lips, and from ail disposition to make or love a lie. Let not my heart be set on the applause or patronage of men ; but on the favour of God, and on that final plaudit: "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." IDOLATRY. Great God, look in mercy on those who are bow- ing down to gods which their own hands have made, or worshipping the things thou hast created, and which are dependent on thee for their being. O Lord, further every effort that is made to spread light among the dark places of the earth. May brightness spring up to them that sit in the region and shadow of death. Cause the isles to wait for thy law, and the Gentiles to come to thy light. Bring many from the east and the west, who shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. Say to the north, " Give up ;" and to the south, " Hold not back." Bring thy sons from afar, and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. Make the wilderness and solitary place to be glad ; and the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose. Lord, teach the heathen that the Godhead is not like unto gold, or silver, or stone ; graven by art or man's device. May they learn the folly and wickedness of their worship, and casting their idols to the moles and the bats, honour and serve the living God. Lord, thou seest that this harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few. Send forth labourers into it, who shall be the means of dis- pelling every form of superstition, and spreading 143 the day-spring of thy gospel : until every heart shall be an altar, and every tongue a voice of praise, unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever. Blessed Lord, keep my own heart from idolatry. Thou art God ; and beside thee there is none other. Suffer me not to idolize the world, nor any thing that is in the world. Let no created good supplant thy dominion over my heart. Let no object of af- fection divert from thee that supreme love which I owe thee, as my Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer. What concord hath Christ with Belial ? what agree- ment should the temple of God have with idols ? Be thou to me my all, and in all. Persuade and control my soul to acknowledge thee as the only true God, and my God ; and to worship and glorify thee accordingly. IMMORTALITY. See Eternity, Heaven, Hell, Soul. IMMUTABILITY OF GOD. Thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foun- dation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands : they shall perish ; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old, as doth a garment ; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed : but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. In all the perfections of thy nature there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning. Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. Thou hast been the hope of the fathers ; and thou art the God of their seed after them thou hast been the dwelling-place of thy people in all generations ; and thou wilt be their surety for good continually. Thy promises are Yea and Amen, in Christ Jesus. 144 And thy decrees of salvation, or of condemnation, stand fast forever. O Lord, make me feel my own fickleness of heart and mind, and my uncertainty of being, that I may be better prepared to adore and trust thee as the unchangeable God. INCOMPREHENSIBLENESS OF GOD. Who can, by searching, find out God ? Thou dwellest in light that no man can approach unto. The knowledge of thee is" high as heaven ; deeper than hell and the measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. The thunder of thy pOAver who can understand ? The number of thy years cannot be searched out. Thine under- standing is infinite. Thou doest great things, past finding out, and wonders without number. Thy way is in the sea, thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. But greater than all things else is the mystery of godliness ; God mani- fest in the flesh, to reconcile the world unto himself, and make reconciliation for the sins of the people. O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are thy judgments, and thy ways past finding out. Great Jehovah, help me to bow before thee with mingled sensations of adoration, fear, humility, and love. INDEPENDENCY OF GOD. Thou art the uncreated, self-existent, independent Jehovah. Who hath been thy counsellor; who hath taught thee the path of judgment; or showed thee the way of understanding ? Thou hast stretch- ed forth the heavens alone, and spread the earth by thyself: thou faintest not, neither art weary with labour : thou art everlasting strength. Thou need- 145 est not the wisdom nor power of any, to help thee in the measures of thy government ; for they are all thy creatures, and thy counsel standeth forever. Thou art not worshipped as though thou needest any thing ; every beast of the forest being thine, with the cattle upon a thousand hills ; and thou giv- est unto all, life, and breath, and all things : yea, thou art exalted above blessing and praise. Lord, make me understand that I am dependent on thee for life, for hope, for blessing, for every thing. O dispose me to seek thee, as the source of every right feeling, and the fountain of every pure joy. Of thee, and through thee, and unto thee, are all things ; to whom be glory forever. INFIDELITY. God of Light, destroy those various forms of in- fidelity which exalt themselves against God and truth ; and which are gathering snares and destruc- tion upon multitudes of immortal souls. Teach all men that these delusions are the offspring of human depravity and ignorance, and the fruitful sources of misery, vice, and ruin. They who cherish them love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil ; and they choose the fruits of death, rather than come to thee, and obtain life. They walk in the vanity of their minds, having their understand- ings darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them ; because of the blindness of their hearts. Religion would not suffer their enmity, if it were not the foe of sin : nor would the world hate thee, if thou didst not testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Yet, O Lord, have not the dissensions and sins of those who profess thy name, greatly contributed 13 146 to increase the scepticism of the unbelieving heart? how has the cause of Christ been wounded in the house of his friends ! Take away, I beseech thee, every root of bitterness from thy church ; and cause thy people so to live, that even the infidel shall be led to glorify our Father in heaven. Blessed God, I thank thee that thy word has been made stronger by every effort to undermine it ; and brighter by every endeavour to tarnish it. Scatter, 1 pray thee, every mist of error and sin, by the light of truth ; and bring all mankind to submit their judg- ments, and bow their wills, to the teachings of thy written word. Give it victory over all that pollutes, and degrades, and ruins man in behalf of all that purifies, exalts, and saves him. May it subdue his understanding to truth, his habits to righteousness, and his heart to a peace, which the world can neither give nor take away. I NQUIRERS. Merciful God, dispose many to ask the fearfully solemn and important question, " What must I do to be saved ?" Fasten in the minds of such a tho- rough conviction of the exceeding guilt of sin. May thy Spirit show them its enormity, as committed against the Author of their being, and the Giver of their mercies. Make them feel their wretched con- dition, in being without hope and without God in the world, with thy wrath abiding on them. Show them their own inability to save themselves, and that their every effort, that is not seconded and sanc- tified by the Spirit, sinks them deeper in their con- demnation. Set clearly before their minds the necessity and value of salvation through the blood of Jesus : for they that reject it, shall perish with 147 an everlasting destruction, while they who accept it, shall be redeemed from the dominion and penalty of sin, and be blessed with the favour of a recon- ciled God forever. O give them earnest desires for that redemption ; desires that spring from convic- tions of the worth of the soul the wrath of an offended Judge the tender love of a dying and interceding Saviour the bliss that shall be revealed to the saints above and the glory of the Most High, who will cause their salvation to praise him. Lord, make them fearful of grieving away the strivings of thy Spirit. Let them not be deluded by the vain hope of a more convenient season. Impress, with a living freshness, upon their hearts, that now is the accepted time, and this the day of salvation. Say to them that thirst, " Come ye to the waters : yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price : eat ye that which is good, and let your souls delight themselves in fatness." Let none of them draw back to perdition. Enable them at once, and forever, to renounce their transgressions, and to receive and rest upon Jesus alone for salva- tion. Let the Holy Ghost lead them into the know- ledge of truth preserve them from the power of error give them peace in believing and fill them with a holy zeal to advance thy cause and fulfil thy will, in all the duties of religion. INTEMPERANCE. Lord, I beseech thee, in the name of Jesus, to banish from our land, and from the world, the causes and evils of intemperance. Reclaim those that are now wandering in the paths of drunkenness ; re- cover them whose feet are running in the way of temptation ; and throw thy merciful restraint and 148 protection over those who are yet untainted by this destroying vice. O do thou enlighten mankind as to its nature and remedy ; enlist against it the full- hearted and persevering opposition of children and youth ; and hring up to the help of the Lord against the mighty, the good of every name and nation. May all men learn that alcohol, the intoxicating ingredient of spirituous liquors, is not the gift of God, hut the product of man's selfishness ; that as a drink it is not necessary nor useful, but hurtful and poisonous. Teach them that it diseases the body, weakens and paralyzes the understanding, stupifies the conscience, and hardens the heart. O, how has it destroyed property, time, happiness, and life and filled the world with poverty, misery, and crime and dragged down to everlasting perdition souls that otherwise might have been brought within the reach of the gospel, and have been made heirs of eternal life ! Lord, I thank thee for the efforts which have been made to stay these desolations, and for the success which has thus far crowned the temperance reforma- tion. But I would feel that there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. Alas, there is still a fearful residue of this evil to be removed. O may the zeal of the efforts already put forth in this benevolent scheme, be continued and greatly in- creased. Establish the principle that total absti- nence from every thing that can intoxicate, is that alone which, with the blessing of God, will redeem and preserve our race from the fearful evils of in- temperance. O do thou remove the causes of this vice ; and let there be none to make, nor sell, nor buy the hurtful poison. Dispose our lawgivers to take away the protection and sanction of law from 149 this traffic in the bodies and souls of men ; and to enact such statutes as will dry up these fountains of poverty and wretchedness, crime and death. Do thou inform and purify public sentiment everywhere in relation to the great and vital interests of temper- ance. Then, O Lord, our hearts will rejoice that the merciless destroyer has been banished, to give place to health, industry, individual and public wel- fare, and the triumphs of the gospel. INTERCESSION. Heavenly Father, I thank thee that we have an advocate at the right hand of the Majesty on high, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. He hath not en- tered into the holy place made with hands ; but into heaven itself, to appear in the presence of God for us ; where he ever liveth to make intercession for his chosen generation. Blessed Jesus, I rejoice that thou wilt not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax ; that though Satan hath desired to have thy people, that he might sift them as wheat, yet thou prayest for them, that their faith fail not : and that thou art their Mediator, to present their be- lieving prayers, and secure their acceptance, at the throne of the heavenly mercy. Lord, lead me, in the faith of that intercession, to the sceptre of thy grace, persuaded that thou art able by thy power, and willing in thy mercy, to supply me with all that I need. Assist me to draw nigh, with a true heart, in the full assurance of faith : for we have not an high-priest who cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities ; but one who was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin ; and who is able to save, unto the ut- termost, all who come unto thee by him. O Jesus, 13* 150 Blessed Mediator, take my cause into thine own hands. Plead my interests for me, by thy spotless life, thy bleeding wounds, thy cruel death, and thy purchased glory ; and enable me to rejoice in thy success, and to bless thy holy name forever. Lord, grant me, for Christ's sake, a strong and an abiding spirit of intercessory prayer. Dispose me to make supplication for all men. Make it my privilege to commend to thee all that are near and dear to me ; that thou wouldst guide them by thy counsel, protect them by thy power, and save them by thy grace. Lead me to pray for my enemies, for the needy, the afflicted, the sick, and the dying. Incline me to lift up earnest supplication on behalf of thy church. Especially, O Lord, may the yearn ings of my heart go forth for the impenitent. Make me feel that the triumphs of thy church will depend on the importunity of thy people for mercy on the ungodly. O may I understand their awful condi- tion, and be induced to plead with thee, in the name of Christ, and through the intercessions of thy Spirit, that they may be saved. Give me that de- gree of confidence in thee, and regard for thy glory, and such earnest longings after their conversion, as thou wilt own and bless, by the redemption of souls. J E W S. Merciful God, seek and save the lost sheep of the house of Israel, whose history thou hast made the monument of thy justice, and the seal of thy truth. Look in mercy on thine ancient covenant people, who are scattered and peeled, and who have become a by-word, and a term of reproach, among the na- tions of the earth. How long, O Lord, shall thy goodness delay towards those to whom were once 151 committed the lively oracles ; and of whom, as con cerning the flesh, Christ came? Do thou use such instrumentalities as shall bring them to feel their blindness of mind and hardness of heart, in reject- ing Jesus ; and may they look to him from the ends of the earth, and be saved. Lord, confirm the evi- dences of the truth of the gospel, and glorify thy Son, by bringing them into the blessings of the new covenant. For if the fall of them was the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness ! Thou hast not indeed cast away thy people, whom thou didst foreknow. They shall turn to thee, when the vail shall be taken away. Assemble, I pray thee, the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dis- persed of Judah, from the four corners of the earth. Bid these dry bones hear the word of the Lord ; and breathe on these slain, that they may live. O Lord, hasten that time, when, through the mercy bestowed on us, they also shall obtain mercy ; and when, with the fulness of the Gentiles, all Israel shall be saved ! JESUS CHRIST. Blessed Father, teach me thy truth as it is in Je- sus. Grant that I may love it, and feed upon it ; and that I may teach it by my lips, and manifest it by my conduct to others. Alas, our race, which thou didst make but a little lower than the angels, fell from the noble and happy condition in which it was created, by sinning against thee: and when thou didst look from heaven, upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, or seek after God ; behold ! they were altogether become filthy : there was none that did good ; no, 152 not one. Yet thou didst not cast them off; but in the counsels of thy mercy, didst enter into a cove- nant of grace, to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer ; even the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, that he might redeem us from the curse of the law, in being made a curse for us ; and that we might have salvation through his blood. O Lord, we exercised no penitence of heart that could have prompted thee to this display of compassion ; and there was nothing in our character which could give thee any delight. It was sovereign, unsearchable, unmerited grace that formed and perfected the plan of redemption. Thou didst indeed commend thy love to us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us ! (Deity.] Great God, enable me to make Christ, and him crucified, the primary object of study and faith. Give me heartfelt and precious views of his character and offices. May I regard him as that Word, which was in the beginning with God, and was GOD ; and which was made flesh, and dwelt on earth, full of grace and truth. O suffer me never to doubt that in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. To him belongs eternity ; for he was before all things. He is the creator ; for with- out him was not any thing made that was made. To him pertains dominion; he upholds all things by the word of his power. He is everywhere pre- sent ; since where two or three are gathered to- gether in his name, he is in the midst of them. His understanding is infinite ; for he knows the hearts of all men. He that honoureth not the Son, ho- noureth not the Father, which hath sent him. Blessed Jesus, if thy disciples worshipped thee, as 153 the Searcher of hearts and the Saviour of souls if all the angels of heaven cry unto thee, "Bless- ing and honour, glory and power" well may I ac- knowledge and proclaim thee, as the living and true God! (Prophet.] Lord, assist me to receive Christ as my Teacher. May he reveal to me, by his word and Spirit, the will of God for my salvation. May I learn of him, who spake as never man spake, and who taught as one having authority. Let me re- member that if I hearken not to his words, thou wilt require it of me : for if they escaped not, who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not I escape, if I turn from him that speaketh from heaven. O put his law into my mind, and write it in my heart. Let its entrance give light and love, zeal and purity to my soul. Lord, let it not be a savour of death unto death, but of life unto life. (Priest.} Help me, I pray thee, to receive Jesus as the High-Priest of my profession. May I look on him as offering up himself a sacrifice, to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God ; and as ever living to make intercession for his chosen people. He who was the brightness of the Father's glory, and who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, took upon himself the form of a servant, that he might put away sin, by the sacrifice of himself, in his own body, on the tree. Yea, it pleased thee to bruise him, to put him to grief, to make his soul an offering for sin, that he might justify many, and that the pleasure of the Lord might prosper in his hand. In due time, when we were without strength, Christ died for the ungodly ; taking away the hand- writing of ordinances that was against us ; suffering the just for the unjust; that he might bring us to 154 God. Lord, I would praise thee that by him we have received the atonement. Thou hast set him forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, for the remission of sins. He has given his life a ransom for many. He who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. O Lord, convince me that forgiveness is granted only for his sake : there being no other name given among men whereby they can be saved. Teach me that his costly sacrifice was not needed to make thee willing to be reconciled to us ; for it was the fruit of thy love : but because thou wouldst maintain thy justice, and still be thejustifier of him that believeth in Jesus, and his deliverer from the wrath to come. Heavenly Father, show me by this office of Christ's mission, the lost condition of human nature, and the wonders of thy justice and love. May it be the most cherished object of my contemplation, and fill my spirit with adoration and thanksgiving, love and obedience. May I thus judge, that if Christ has died for me, I should henceforth live, not unto myself, but unto him ; and that both living and dying I should be the Lord's. [See INTERCESSION.] (King.) Great God, I pray thee, make me will- ing to receive Christ not only as my Saviour, but as my Sovereign, to subdue me to himself, to rule and defend me, and to restrain and conquer all his and my enemies. O may I regard his service great- er riches than the treasures of Egypt. Thou hast set him at thy right hand, that at his name every knee should bow, and every tongue confess ; and hast given unto him the keys of death and hell, with all power in heaven and earth. His throne is forever and ever. Thou wilt break them with a rod of iron, 155 who will not have thy Son to reign over them ; and wilt dash them in pieces, as a potter's vessel. Thou wilt make him Governor among the nations, and give him the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession. hasten that day. Lord, lead my thoughts often to that consummation of Christ's sovereignty, when he shall come in his glory, to judge the quick and the dead. O may he then be my Saviour King, and I be a redeemed vassal of his everlasting king- dom. (Example.} Jehovah God, incline me to make Jesus my example in all the duties of life. May the same mind that was in him, be also in me. Lead me to walk even as he walked ; for he that followeth not after him is not worthy of him. May 1 look unto him as my pattern of patience and hu- mility, prayer and faith, long-suffering and benevo- lence. May I strive to purify myself even as Christ is pure ; and beholding, as in a glass, his glory, be changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. (Union.} Lord, unite me to Christ by a living faith, even as the branch is united to the vine. Make me a new creature in him. May I receive of his fulness, and grace for grace. May he be to me that bread from heaven that giveth eternal life ; and be formed in my heart the hope of glory. Make me a member of that body, of which Christ is the head. Build me upon the foundation of the Apos- tles and Prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cor- ner-stone ; in whom the whole building, fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy temple of the Lord. O may my life be hid with Christ in God ; that he 156 may be made unto me, wisdom and righteousness, sanctificatiori and redemption. Lord, suffer me not to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus. Teach me to regard it as my highest honour, to have communion with the Spirit, and fellowship in the service, of my blessed Saviour. Make him my all in all : my song in the season of rejoicing, and my hope in the hour of trial. God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ. God of Mercy, do thou present the character and offices of Jesus to the min'ds of the unconverted, so that they may be convinced that they are transgres- sors, and be persuaded to trust in him for salvation. O may thy Spirit apply to them the redemption purchased in him, by convincing them of their sin and misery, enlightening their minds in the know- ledge of Christ, renewing their wills, and persuad- ing and enabling them to embrace Jesus, freely offered to them in the gospel. [See CHRISTMAS.]] JOY. Lord of Blessedness, grant me that joy of faith, that rejoicing of hope, which is a fruit of thy Spirit. Give me a full and rich experience of the sources of this bliss which indeed are not broken cisterns, that can hold no water, but fountains full to over- flowing, with the healing stream of life. Lord, re- veal thyself unto me, as thou dost not unto the world, and fill my heart with pleasure in learning thy cha- racter, and in communing with thy love. Enable me to rejoice in Christ, and in the forgiveness of sin through him, with a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory. Give me that blessed spirit of adop- tion, by which I may cry " Abba, Father." May 157 the Holy Ghost give life to my hope, and strength to my rejoicing. Cause me to rejoice in thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. May I love the ha- bitation of thy house, and find more comfort in thy tabernacles than in the tents of wickedness. Let all the means of grace be to my spirit as rain upon the new-mown grass, and as showers that water the earth. Make it my privilege to verify thy word, that it is more blessed to give than to receive ; for the Lord loveth a cheerful giver, and he that soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Grant me the peace of a conscience that is void of offence to- wards God and man. Make the communion of saints an abundant source of refreshment and strength to my Christian graces. May the triumphs of thy gospel give me more pleasure than the wick- ed have when their carnal luxuries do most abound. O Lord, comfort and bless my soul by the con- templation of that exceeding and eternal weight of glory, that remains for the people of God, in heaven. Lord, grant that my spiritual enjoyments may excite me to gratitude, and lead me to open my lips, that my mouth may show forth thy praise. May others be led by my cheerful happiness, to taste and see that the Lord is good. When thou enlargest my heart, teach me to run in the way of thy commandments. Enable me to say in the hour of trial and suffering " None of these things move me ; neither count I my life dear, so that I may finish my course with joy/' And, O when heart and flesh shall faint and fail, in the struggle of death, may thy rod and staff comfort me : and be thou the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. 14 158 JUDGMENT. Great God, thou hast appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment, when every one of us shall give account of himself to God ; and when thou wilt display to an assembled universe, the righteousness of thy justice, and the glory of thy holiness. Of that day and that hour knoweth no man ; but it shall be the end of the world, when all the works therein shall be burnt up, the heavens pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat. Lord, make me mindful of that awful day, and of the solemn truths thou hast re- vealed concerning it. Then the Lord Jesus will come with his holy angels, and sit on his great white throne, and open the books of remembrance the testimonies of creation, of providence, of scripture, and of conscience. The quick and dead shall stand before him, to be judged out of those things that are written in the books, according to their works, with every secret thing, whether it be good or evil ; and also for every thing which thou didst command to be done, but which they left un- done. Lord, make me realize that men will then be judged also for the privileges they have enjoyed ; for of them unto whom much has been given, much will be required. O, even the best of thy saints will then need the atonement of Christ : they could not stand before thee, if thou shouldst mark their ini- quities. But, blessed be thy name, there will be no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus : they shall receive the promise of a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. But then the judge will say to them on his left hand " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 159 prepared for the devil and his angels :" and the wicked shall be turned into hell, witli all the nations that forget God. O God of infinite compassion, grant that in that fearful day of trial, my name may be found written in the Lamb's book of life, and that my unworthy, hell-deserving spirit may be re- ceived, through the merits of Christ, into the habi- tations of eternal life. JUSTICE OF GO D. O Most High, a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: just and true are all thy ways, thou King of Saints. Of a truth thou art no respecter of persons : thy law is holy, and thy government upright. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. I would adore and praise thee, O Lord, that thou didst maintain and magnify the excellency of thy justice, in giving thy Son, to repair by his own blood, the violated law ; and thus to make it more honourable in the redemption of the transgressor, than in his hopeless condemnation. O Lord, show me, in the light of this attribute, the glory of thy dispensation of the gospel, in which thou canst be just, and the justifier of even the worst of sinners, who believe in Jesus. But, may I learn from it also, that thou wilt be to the finally impeni- tent, a consuming fire. May the knowledge of it prevent me from neglecting or violating the rights of my fellow-creatures, and lead me to render that which is just and equal, to all men. Let the threat- ened retributions of thy judgment warn me against transgression, and dispose me to seek conformity to thy will. 160 Lord, cause a sense of thy justice to alarm the fears of the ungodly. Make them know that they are treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath, and righteous revelation of the judgment of God. Lead them now to bow to thy sceptre, which is still the symbol of mercy ; but which ere long may be- come the instrument of destruction. I pray thee, redeem them from the curse of the law, and give them the adoption of sons, through the righteous- ness of Christ. JUSTIFICATION. Blessed Lord, give me clear, and scriptural, and saving views of that justification, which is a cardi- nal doctrine of the gospel, and an essential and life- giving principle of personal piety. Teach me that it is an act of thy free grace, wherein thou pardon- est all our sins, and acceptest us as righteous, in thy sight, only for the righteousness of Christ, im- puted to us, and received by faith alone. Show me that in it thou hast displayed thy holiness, satisfied thy justice, and magnified thy law Christ being made the end of the law, to every one that believeth. Instruct me that by the deeds of the law, no flesh living shall be justified ; but only by the faith of Jesus ; in whom thou art reconciling the world unto thyself, not imputing unto them their tres- passes and sins. Lord, justify me freely by thy grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. In his merits, acquit me from the punishment I deserve for my transgressions, and give me a title to those bless- ings which I would have received through thy law, if I had fulfilled it in sinless obedience. O may I ever be found in him, not having on mine own 161 righteousness, which is of the law ; but that which is by the faith of him, unto all and upon all that believe. Grant that I may have peace with thee, and access to thy throne, with confidence of ac- ceptance, in the Beloved. Give me faith in him as a living, as well as a dying Saviour he being risen again for our justification. May I know him in whom I have believed, as my atoning sacrifice ; and be persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him. And grant, O Lord, that my hope of forgiveness and favour, in the blood of the Redeemer, may result in that open acknow- ledgment and acquittal, in the day of judgment, which will be followed by everlasting glory. Lord, let the question, " How shall men be just with God?" agitate the minds of those that have not made their peace with thee. May thy spirit answer it, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And do thou give this truth such convincing and persuading power, that many shall accept and rest on Christ, as the only and all- sufficient hope of salvation. KNOWLEDGE. Great God, I thank thee for those powers of mind thou hast bestowed on the human race, which raise us so far above the brutes that perish, and which fit us to acquire and use rational knowledge. Lord, make me understand and practice the duties which belong to the possession of these powers. I pray thee, cultivate suitably in me, each of the faculties of my mind. Enlighten my judgment, strengthen my memory, and inform my understand- ing. Keep me from error, and guide me into truth. Especially do thou show me, O Lord, the path of 14 * 162 life, and grant me that wisdom which leads to sal- vation. Instruct me in all the duties I owe to men, to myself, and to thee. While I am careful to edu- cate my faculties, make me mindful of the weak- ness and failings of human judgment. Let me not lean on my own understanding, but trust in the living God. O do thou so discipline my thoughts, that I may be fitted to enjoy the pleasures of know- ledge, in that holy region, where there is no cloud of ignorance nor of error, and where the light of truth fills and surrounds all its blessed inhabi- tants. LAW OF GOD. I thank thee, Great God, for that law of nature, impressed on my conscience, by which I am left without excuse, in the transgression of thy will. But I would praise thee still more, that thou hast given me the law of thy word, to convince me of sin, to warn and restrain me, and to lead me in the ways that are well-pleasing in thy sight. Thy commandment, O Lord, is holy, just, and good. Thou art holy ; and thy law is perfect, converting the soul thou art just ; wherefore thy judgments are true and righteous altogether thou art good ; and thy statutes rejoice the heart; for in keeping them there is great reward. Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, until all be fulfilled. Incline me, O Lord, to take heed to my ways, according to thy word. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Make thou thy testimonies my delight and counsel- lors ; my songs in the house of my pilgrimage, and the daily monitors of my conduct. May I make 163 thy will my meditation by day, and my remem- brance in the night. Make it a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path ; and do thou incline rny heart to perform thy statutes always, even to the end. Impress deeply on my mind that solemn truth whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all. Lord, teach me that thy commandment is exceed- ing broad and deep : that it has relation not only to the actions of life, but to the hidden workings of thought and feeling. For though the sound of my lips, and the work of my hands, may be right before men ; yet thy statutes may condemn the thoughts of my heart ; and I may stand more guilty in thy sight, for secret sin, than for open violations of thy will. Heavenly Father, let not my regard for thy com- mandment create within me a spirit of self-right- eousness : for in the trial of thy justice, every mouth shall be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. Make it a schoolmaster to bring me to Christ, as my only hope of justification. May I remember, that while it is the rule of my obedience, it is not the plan of salvation. He who came to fulfil it, is himself the end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believeth. O Lord, make thy law the sword of the Spirit in thy dealings with the impenitent. May it awaken and alarm their consciences, enlighten and convince their minds, and persuade and sanctify their wills ; so that they may be born, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible ; by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. 164 LEVITY. Lord, keep me from levity of spirit and behaviour. Thou knowest my proneness to this sin ; and how ready I am to yield to that frivolity which charac- terizes the careless and unconverted; and which is so inconsistent with the solemn realities of the Christian life. Help me, I beseech thee, through the Saviour, to repent of it, and so turn away from it in future, as to avoid the appearance of evil. Lord, let not my thoughts cherish those subjects which excite levity of speech or action. I pray thee especially, to lay a restraint on my tongue, that unruly member ; and dispose me to avoid studiously saying any thing which may dissipate serious im- pressions, or make me a stumbling-block in the path of others, or cause the ways of religion to be de- spised or reviled. Enable me to attain and cultivate that happy medium between moroseness and fri- volity, that calm seriousness of mind and holy cheerfulness of life, which will diffuse a savour of piety in all I say and do. Great God, do thou show me that the rational faculties with which thou hast endowed me, were given for higher and holier purposes, than for indul- gence in a light and frivolous demeanour. Seriously impress on my mind, that a disposition to trifle is a fruitful cause of disquietude in the soul, and of de- linquency in the life. May I reflect that the eyes of the church, and of the world, are upon me ; and that according as I demean myself, so will the cause of religion be advanced or hindered. Let a sense of thy presence control me to live as one professing godliness. 0, incline me, I pray thee, to order all 165 my walk and conversation, so that I may be a living illustration of the sober influences of piety. LIBERTY. Lord, increase my gratitude to thee for the bless- ings of liberty. While millions of the human race are groaning under the yoke of oppression, thou hast, in undeserved mercy, given to me the privileges of civil and religious freedom. O let me not abuse them, nor deny them toothers, who are destitute of them. Give me strong sympathy for the down- trodden of every name and nation. Dispose me to desire, and pray, and labour for the extension of freedom to all mankind. Enlighten the consciences and cleanse the hearts of all men, in relation to the great doctrines of human rights. Do thou fan, and purify, and spread the fire of truth, until it shall melt off every fetter from every limb until deliver- ance shall be preached to all the captives, and li- berty be proclaimed to all the oppressed. O Lord, release men everywhere, from the bond- age of sin. Break the yoke of Satan, of the world, and of selfishness. May thy Son make man- kind free, and they shall be free indeed : so shall they be servants to God only, that their fruit may be holiness, and the end everlasting life. Lord, thou art the Author and Owner of my life. Apart from thy will, I can have no existence ; and if it should please thee to revoke my title to being, in that moment I would be blotted from the face of creation. Instruct me, I pray thee, in the uncer- tainty and shortness of human life. We are but of yesterday, and our days upon earth are a shadow. 166 Our breath is in our nostrils : it is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Teach me that my span of life is given me as my probation for eternity. Grant, therefore, that I may walk circumspectly ; redeeming the time, because the days are evil. While I grow in age, enable me to grow in grace. While I travel through this wilderness, guide me by the fiery-cloudy pillar, feed my hunger with manna from heaven, and quench my thirst with water from the smitten rock. Lord, let me not be anxious for length of days ; nor grow weary of my season of trial. Make me con- tented that my seasons are in thy hands, and willing to wait all the days of my appointed time, till my change come. Give me, I beseech thee, in all the vicissitudes of life, such preparation of heart, that whether I live, I may live to the Lord ; or whether I die, I may die to the Lord : so that whether living or dying, I may be the Lord's. Heavenly Father, may the considerations that life is short, and that it involves the destinies of eternity, excite those who are now thoughtless about their eternal peace, to number their days, that they may apply their hearts unto wisdom : even that wisdom which will lead them to live for the glory of him who died for their salvation ; and which will also prepare them to depart, and be with Christ, which is far better. LONG-SUFFERING. See Forbearance. LORD'S SUPPER. Compassionate Jehovah, give me lively percep- tions of the nature and uses of that holy Supper, which thou hast instituted in memory of the dying 167 Saviour. May it always be to the eye of my faith, a token and pledge of a covenant of mercy, in the blood of Christ. Let it ever be my Eucharist my giving of thanks to thee, from a heart overflow- ing with gratitude, that thou didst recover man from his condition of sin and misery, by the gift of a Redeemer. Make it my Passover, in which my soul shall be made joyful, in being exempted from the wrath which abideth on the ungodly. O let it be the Sacrament of that allegiance to thy cause, which will lead me to rejoice when I am counted worthy to suffer shame for thy name's sake ; and to glory in nothing, save in the cross of Christ. Make it a Feast, at which he shall sup with me, and I with him ; and in which my heart shall be re- freshed by his spiritual presence. And O do thou make it a precious season of Communion, wherein I shall hold fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; and be knit, with closer bands of unity, to them that are of the household of faith. Lord Jesus, help me to keep this ordinance in re- membrance of thee. Give me knowledge to discern thy body, and faith to feed upon thee. Grant me repentance, love, and new obedience ; lest coming unworthily, I eat and drink judgment to myself. Make me a partaker of thy body and blood, not af- ter a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith ; with all thy benefits, to my spiritual nourishment and growth in grace. Grant me comfort from this feast-, when I am wounded by a sense of sin ; for thou wast revealed to take away sin : give me patience in trials and afflictions, by looking at thee, enduring the contradiction of sinners, and the hidings of thy Father's love : and O grant that I may imbibe a holy hatred for transgression, when I look at thy 168 body broken and thy blood shed, because I have sinned. Blessed Jesus, crowned in light and glory, dostthou indeed desire us sinners to remember thee? that we should ever forget thy matchless, un- speakable claims to our love ! O help me to re- member the glory thou didst leave, the flesh thou didst adopt, the reproach thou didst meet, and the sufferings thou didst endure, that I might be re- deemed from the curse of the law, and be made a partner of thine inheritance in glory ! I would learn of thee, as my Prophet ; I would rely on thee, as my Priest ; I would follow thee, as my Example ; 1 would obey thee, as my King ! Heavenly Father, make thy people feel their ob- ligation to celebrate the Supper of the Lord. Thou hast commanded it, and made it the badge of their discipleship. Thou hast set it forth to be the me- morial of a Saviour's love, in which they show forth his death, before heaven and earth. And thou hast made it a special season of communion with thee, in thy banqueting-house, where thy banner over them is love. O may they always be prepared for this service, by self-examination, by meditation, and by prayer : and so let them eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. May they resolve, upon that sacred altar, that they will renounce every transgression, and live only for that which is good in thy sight. Give them an affectionate and confiding trust in thy covenant of grace ; and build them up, by means of this ordinance, through faith, unto salvation. God forbid that there should be any hand on the table which will betray the Son of man. Let none who thus profess thy name, be cast forth as a branch that is withered, and cast into the fire, and burned ; but make them all branches, that shall 169 abide in thee, bringing forth much fruit, that thy name may be glorified. Lord, grant that the impenitent may reflect, that if they eat not the flesh of the Son of man, and drink not his blood, they shall have no part nor lot in his salvation. May thy Spirit reveal Christ to them in the breaking of bread, in all his fulness and willingness as a Saviour. O may they be persuaded to make with him a covenant of mercy and obedi- ence, which shall never be revoked nor forsaken. These petitions I offer thee, Gracious Father, through him whose blood speaketh better things than that of Abel ; and who sitteth at thy right hand, to make intercession, and receive the service and adoration of saints and angels, forever. LOVE OF GOD. God is love ! Lord, thou art good, and thou lovest to do good. The eyes of all are unto thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season : thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desires of every living thing. Thy tender mercies are pver all thy works, and thy goodness is seen in all thy ways. But thou hast most commended thy love to us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Here it is beyond parallel ; it transcends the strong- est effort of thought ; and it is above blessing and praise. This is the bright and glorious centre of thy good-will to man, around which every other token of thy mercy gathers. I would praise thee, Lord, for the common and special benefits of thy providence, and for that wise arrangement of the laws of nature, which promotes the happiness and well-being of thy creatures : yet I would offer thee louder strains of praise, and stronger feelings of 15 170 gratitude, for thy compassion to our souls, in reveal- ing thy will, in teaching us the issues of eternity, in giving thy Son to bear our iniquities, and in be- stowing thy Spirit, to convince us of sin, to enlighten our minds in the knowledge of truth, and to per- suade us to accept the plan of salvation. Forbid it, O God, that I should ever forget or undervalue thy favours which are past ; or that I should doubt thy suretiship of compassion for the future. Continue to manifest thyself unto me, as thou dost not unto the world. Enrich thou my soul with the fulness of thy love, now, henceforth, and forever. O Lord, why should there be any so carnally- minded, as to be enmity against thee, the God of love ? Show them thy rich goodness, and their own dark ingratitude. Make them feel that this world has no charms, when compared with that full tide of affection, which flows from the heart of God towards them that put their trust in him. O make many such the partners of thy loving-kindness in Jesus, which is unto eternal life. LOVE TO GOD. Exalted Jehovah, thou art worthy, both by thy nature and dealings, of the strongest love of all thy rational creatures. Thou art perfect in all the attri- butes of thy character. No ignorance impairs thy wisdom ; no error perverts thy justice ; no falsehood clouds thy truth ; no spot stains thy holiness. Thou art, moreover, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness. O that the language of my heart might always be " Whom have I in heaven but thee ; and there is none on earth I de- sire besides thee." Be thou my Alpha and Omega ; 171 my morning praise ; my noonday thought ; my evening prayer ; and my waking meditation. Blessed Jesus, help me that I may love thee with all my heart, and soul, and strength, and mind. I desire to cherish the memory of thine example and instructions, thy benevolence and promises, as the dearest objects of thought. O may my affection for thee urge me to advance thy glory, to desire to be conformed to thine image, to seek communion with thee, and to love thy house, thine ordinances, thy word, and thy people. But let me not think that any strength of attachment can merit thy love to me ; for O thine acceptance of my love is one of the crowning gifts of undeserved mercy. Glorious God, may thy saints bring thee the full tribute of their hearts. Let the constant bearing of their thoughts be unto thee, and the remembrance of thy name. Fill their hearts with gratitude to thee, and lead them to seek thee, with delight, in all the exercises of religion. May they rejoice in thy word, as the index of thy will ; and take pleasure in thy people, as the excellent of the earth ; and seek the glory of Christ more than the favour of man, or the love of the world. Lord, bring those who are now at enmity with thee, to esteem and desire thee, as their chief good. Cast out their selfishness and aversion, and take the dominion of their hearts, that they may be able to say, the Lord is their portion, and his love the ful- ness of their joy. LOVE TO MAN. Lord, I pray thee, for Christ's sake, to make my heart a wellspring of affection for all mankind. Let no jealousy, nor selfishness, nor anger, nor malice, 172 lead me to forget that every man is my brother. Thou makest thy sun to rise on the evil, and on the good ; and sendest rain on the just, and on the un- just. Why then should I shut up my compassions from any that are my fellow-creatures ? O help me to feel for every want, and to sympathize with every wo, that afflicts humanity. And, I pray thee, dis- pose me, in benevolence of heart, to do what I can, to dry up the fountains of human misery, and to multiply the sources of man's real happiness. Lord, incline me to love the souls of men. May I have strong pity for those who are thoughtlessly or wilfully destroying their eternal peace ; and may I seek to bring them under the influences of the blessed gospel. Grant me that spirit which seek- eth not her own, and is not easily provoked, and that rejoiceth in the truth. Cause me to abound in good-will to the brotherhood of faith, and to be kindly affectioned towards them in brotherly love. May I seek their company, and be glad in their prosperity, and make common cause with them in all their interests. Lord, give me, I pray thee, the love of benevolence towards every thing that is ca- pable of happiness or misery, and the affection of complacency towards every creature possessed of holiness. LUKEWARMNESS. Lord, I pray thee, through thy grace in Jesus, to preserve me from lukewarmness in my religious duties. Make me feel an interest in them propor- tioned to their unspeakable importance. Let no worldly influence, no allurement Of Satan, no self- ish desires, lower the tone of my religious feeling and activity. How long, O Lord, shall I serve thee 173 with an indifferent heart thee, who hast infinite claims on my most ardent attachment, and whose service should be my chief delight. O rebuke my apathy, and fill me with a holy zeal. Make me fervent in spirit ; and whatsoever my hand finds to do, dispose me to do it with my might. Let thy Spirit that quickeneth, give me life, and cause me to mount up with wings, as eagles ; to run, and not be weary ; to walk, and not faint. LUNATICS. Lo, the inspiration of the Almighty giveth un- derstanding to man! Lord, show me the beauty and value of the gift of reason ; which thou hast made in thine own image ; and by which I am fitted to learn thy character, to meditate on thy works, to understand my duties, and to enjoy happiness. Let my regard and gratitude for this blessing, and for the preservation of it, be excited by the melancholy fact, that it has been denied to many of my fellow- creatures. Lord, behold in mercy those whose balance of intellect has been broken, and who have become the sport of their own deranged judgment. Do thou restrain them from doing injury to themselves, or to others. Let them not be made the objects of merriment and annoyance by the thoughtless ; but of the pity and care of the humane. I bless thee that in the prevalence of gospel humanity, asylums for the protection and cure of the insane, have been established, from which many of these victims of derangement have gone forth, clothed, and in their right minds ; while those who have remained, as incurable, possess every earthly comfort, compatible with the loss of reason. Do thou multiply the 15* 174 number of these institutions, and cause them to be sustained by liberal patronage. Increase the kind- ness and skill of those who manage them. And, Lord, let the rapid progress of knowledge include, in its discoveries, such remedies as shall dissolve the fetters that imprison and pervert these immortal minds, and give them the freedom and joy of in- telligent and virtuous wisdom. Gracious God, provide, in thy mercy, for those who shall go down through life, to the gates of death, without the cheering and guiding torch of reason. O let the darkness and disquietude which afflicted them here, give place to the light and bless- edness of that region, where they shall know, even as they are known. LUXURY. Heavenly Father, guard me against indulging in luxury. Let me not seek to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lust of the eye, or the pride of life. Let not my desires go out in anxious pursuit of what I shall eat, or drink, or wherewithal I shall be clothed ; nor be unduly set on any of the pomps of sense, or vanities of life. May I use this world as not abusing it; remembering that a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things he pos- sesses. Teach me that earthly indulgences excite pride and sensuality ; and that instead of satisfying the heart, they increase, continually, its restless de- sires for unprofitable and corrupting enjoyments. Lord, thou wilt require it of the souls of those who lay up treasures for themselves, but are not rich to- wards God. O let me not desire to live in pleasure on the earth, nor nourish my heart as in a day of slaughter. Make me content with a competent 175 portion of the good things of this life ; and let me enjoy thy blessing with them. Show me that health of body, peace of mind, and ability and willingness to do good to others, will depend on my abstinence from fleshly lusts. Lord, be thou to me more than all thine other gifts. Incline me to lay up treasure in heaven, that there my heart may be also. M AL ICE. Lord, keep my heart from the occasional or fre- quent influence of malice. Let no rivalry and no sense of injury, ever excite me to feelings or acts of malignity. O how infinitely is such a temper opposed to thy holiness ; and how nearly does it approach to the hatred which fills the bosoms of the damned ! Blessed Jesus, bring me into closer likeness to thy precious example. Thou didst not render railing for railing, nor evil for evil; but con- trariwise, blessing. O give me, I pray thee, that spirit of love which worketh no ill to its neighbour; and which looks on the earth, in all its length and breadth, as one neighbourhood and on all its diver- sified races, as one brotherhood of man. MA RRI AGE. Heavenly Parent, thou hast shown both thy wis- dom and goodness in the institution of marriage. Thou hast sought by it to increase the happiness, and promote the virtue of mankind. The works of thy creation, though good in thy sight, were unfi- nished, while man dwelt alone ; and thy last and best gift to earth, was she that should be a fountain of joy, a partner of pleasure, and a solace of sor- row. Lord, teach all men that this relation of 176 life is still (and must be throughout the annals of time,) identified with the comfort and welfare of our race. O let none with ruthless and impious hand, undermine nor overthrow this ordinance of God ; but may all regard and sustain it as the safeguard of purity, the pledge of social bliss, and the bond of public good. Lord, reform the opinions and correct the practice" of Christians in relation to unhallowed marriages. Let none such be unequally yoked with unbelievers. May they marry only in the Lord. Show them that those who ally themselves in sacred ties with the ungodly, rebel against the will of God, cast snares and unhappiness in their way through life, and fearfully hinder the grace of God in their own hearts. Lord, govern by the dictates of affection, pru- dence, and piety, those who would enter on the duties and pleasures of matrimony. Bless all who have embarked on them. May their relations be characterized by mutual love, esteem, forbearance, assistance, and sympathy. May the same sincere, ardent, unchangeable, protecting, and providing love, which the Saviour manifests to his spouse, the church, be shown by the husband to his wife. And dothou direct her conduct to him in subjection, reverence, prudence, and love. Lord, make their union conducive to every rational good of human life. Let it be an emblem of the union between Christ and his church ; that they may walk in all the statutes and ordinances of the Lord, blameless, and be made mutual helpers in the fellowship of the gospel of Jesus ChrisU 177 MASTERS. O thou, who art King of Kings and Lord of Lords, bless those who occupy places of authority over their inferiors. Teach them the duties of their stations. Induce masters to give that which is just and equal to their servants, in every thing that re- lates to courtesy, recompense, and good-will. May they forbear threatening, knowing that their Master is in heaven, and that with him there is no respect of persons. May they reflect that though their ser- vants are inferior in rank, they are their equals by nature, equals in the grave, and equals at the throne of judgment. Show them that the labourer is wor- thy of his hire : and let no honest wages be kept back by meanness or fraud ; lest the cry of the hire- ling enter into the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth, and thou render vengeance for unrequited toil. Lord, incline the hearts of masters to kindness. Make them careful to avoid unjust exactions of la- bour, and every display of the pride of rank and authority. Give them patience under provocation ; and lead them to seek every reasonable comfort for their domestics. And above all, may they strive to promote their spiritual welfare, by setting them a godly example, by giving them full access to the means of grace, and by personal exertions, that they may become the servants of God, and heirs of that recompense of reward, which liveth and abideth for- ever. ME ANS OF GRA CE. Lord, I thank thee for those means of grace which thou hast appointed for the instruction and conviction, conversion and sanctification of man- kind. O bless me, I pray thee, in the enjoyment 178 of them. Make the Holy Scriptures profitable to me for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Let thy preached gospel bring me glad tidings of good things. May I hallow thy Sabbaths, and make them my delight. Make thy sacraments times of refreshing from thy presence. O cause the exercises of public, social, and private prayer to make me feel my wants, and thine infinite fulness and willingness to supply them. May I sing thy praises with melody of heart. Give me grace to keep the season of fasting or of thanksgiv- ing, so that it may be a time of refreshing from thy presence. Grant me the sanctified use of meditation and self-examination ; and lead me to such fellow- ship with thy saints, as will strengthen my heart and encourage my zeal in the Christian race. Blessed God, I humbly pray thee, that I may use these privileges only as the means, and not as the end, of religion. Make me regard them as the chan- nels through which thou dost vouchsafe to pour the refreshing streams of thy grace. It is the Spirit which gives efficacy to all the appointments of thy mercy. O Lord, make me understand that while I work out my salvation with fear and trembling, it is thou who workest in me, both to will and to do, of thine own good pleasure. MEDIATOR. Heavenly Father, I would praise and magnify thy name, that thou hast laid help upon One, who is mighty to save, unto the uttermost, all who come unto thee by him. Though the human race was at enmity with thee, and lay exposed to thy curse, thou didst, in infinite mercy, appoint an Interposer between thee and us, that we, who were alienated 179 and enemies by wicked works, might be reconciled in the body of his flesh, through death. We thank thee that we are not called to that mountain which burned with fire, and was clouded with darkness and tempest ; but to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to that blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than that of Abel. O, it was needful that he should be the Son of God ; for no other sacrifice could satisfy the demands of infinite justice and he must needs be the Son of man ; since without the shedding of blood, there is no re- mission of sins. He who is our eternal Daysman, has infinite fitness for his high and holy office : for in him dwells the fulness of power, wisdom, and mercy ! Blessed Jesus, be thou the propitiation for my sins ; and not for mine only, but also for the whole world. O thou who didst become the High-Priest of thine own sacrifice, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people, do thou blot out the hand- writing of ordinances that was recorded against me, for my transgressions procure for me, by thine in- tercession, the loving kindness of Jehovah and bind all my affections to the throne of grace, by that new, and better, and everlasting covenant, which is the fruit of thy wisdom and mercy, and the work of thy power and grace, unto salvation. Hea- venly Father, make the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, and the service of my life, acceptable to thee, through him who is my Strength and my Redeemer. MEDITATION. Blessed Jehovah, enable me to withdraw my thoughts and desires, at frequent seasons, from the 180 things that are seen and temporal, and to fix them on those that are unseen and eternal. O may thy character, in all its variety and fulness, be a rich topic of my meditation. Grant me holy and ex- alted converse with thine attributes, as they are re- vealed in thy word, and in thy works of creation, providence, and redemption. May Jesus be to my soul, the chief among ten thousand, and one alto- gether lovely. Draw out my thoughts, sweetly and confidingly, to that Holy Spirit, whose work is qui- etness and assurance forever. May I love to dwell upon the law of thy mouth ; and do thou make it better to me than thousands of gold and silver. Teach me in these hours of reflection, my weakness and sinfulness, and the means by which I may grow in grace, and advance the various interests of thy kingdom. Help me, O Lord, to fix my thoughts on the shortness of time, the certainty of death, and the undying worth of the soul. Lord, grant me the presence and blessing of thy Spirit, in these solemn meditations. May the peace of God, which passeth understanding, fill my heart and make it a fountain of love to God, and of good- will to man. May my knowledge be refreshed and enlarged. While I muse on holy things, cause the fire to burn within me, until the dross of sin be con- sumed, and my soul be as gold that has been tried in the furnace. O vouchsafe unto me, rich foretastes of those heavenly contemplations, where no cloud of sense, nor of sin, shall shut out the light of thy presence, and where there are pleasures for ever- more. 181 MEEKNESS, Merciful God, impart to me the grace of meek- ness. Preserve me from the exercise of a violent and overbearing temper. Break down the native stubbornness and resentment of my heart ; and give me that childlike spirit, which knows no will but that of its heavenly Father. Bestow on me that temper of soul, which seeketh not its own selfish good ; that is not easily provoked by injury ; and that hopeth all things, before it thinketh evil of any one. May this state of rnind be the working of thy Spirit, teaching me that I am, in myself, weak and sinful, and thatthou requirest meekness of spirit in all that would be followers of Christ : for if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Show me that this grace is an ornament of great price in thy sight ; and that he who ruleth his own spirit is greater than he who taketh a city ; and that he findeth rest for his soul, in learning of him who was meek and lowly in heart. Lord, excite me to seek this heavenly mind, by considering the exam- ples of the patriarchs and prophets, of the apostles, and Jesus Christ, who manifested it. O grant me the blessings of the meek ; whom thou guidest in judgment, and beautifiest with salvation, and makest the dwelling-place of thy power and mercy. MEMORY. Lord, invigorate and sanctify, for Jesus' sake, all the exercises of my memory. O how has this noble faculty been weakened and corrupted by the fail ! But thou canst restore it ; and instead of suf- fering it to run after forbidden and unholy things, thou canst give it employment in those things which 16 182 belong to wisdom and salvation. Lead me, I pray thee, to remember thee, my Creator, and all thine excellent mercies. May my memory be precious of him who is the way, the truth, and the life. Im- press indelibly on my thoughts, the doctrines, pre- cepts, warnings, and promises of thy word. Make me mindful of my transgressions, and let my sin be ever before me. Enable me to bring up in review, the covenants and promises I have made to thee ; and lead me to pay unto thee my vows. O Lord, preserve me from every thing, moral or physical, that will weaken or deprave my memory. Lead me to the use of such means as will promote its strength and purity. May I regard and value it as the storehouse of knowledge and comfort ; the spring of repentance and hope ; and the monitor of thankfulness and faith. May it retain that which is good, and banish that which is evil. Dispose me to practice every holy thing it remembers ; arid grant that I may so use this noble power, that I may glorify thee in my body and spirit, which are thine. MERCY. Great Giver of every good and perfect gift, grant me a sanctifying and saving knowledge of thy mer- cy. O thou art good and gracious ; slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Yet thou hast a perfect right to withhold it from us yea, to visit us with unmixed and irretrievable evil, for we are not only unworthy of the least expression of thy goodness, but we have deserved the severe retributions of thy wrath. Nevertheless, thy goodness has pursued us in all the walks of life. It has stayed, or soothed, or healed the inflictions of merited evil ; and it has 183 bestowed on us uncounted tokens of unmerited good. When we have been thoughtless of thee, thou hast been mindful of us : when we hated thee, thou hast loved us. Verily, thou art long-suffering, and abundant in compassion. Thou dost not mete unto man evil for evil ; but dost crown him with loving-kindness and tender mercy. O that my memory could retain, and that my heart could properly value, the long catalogue of thine affectionate dealings with me. Thou hast watched over me by night, and guarded me by day ; thou hast preserved me in health, and healed me in sickness ; thou hast chosen for me the changes of life, and hast suited me to them : and more than all things else, thou hast given our race that mercy of Christ, whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, with healing in its beams. Lord, enable me to cherish a suitable estimate of thy goodness. May it lead me to love thee, and to do thy will may it succour me when I am tempted, and comfort me when I am grieved. May it strengthen me in the hour of death, and be the song of my rejoicing throughout the ages of eternity. Compassionate Father, deal not in strict justice with those who are now rejecting thy mercy. Say not in thy wrath, that they shall not enter thy rest. Make them hear thy tender and oft-repeated entreat- ies to turn from their wickedness, whilst thou art waiting to be gracious. Display to them the riches and fulness of that compassion, which brings the Sovereign of heaven to plead with them, and to pursue them, in their obstinacy, with so many ex- pressions of love. Extend to them thy golden sceptre of grace, that they may touch it, and live. O, forsake them not ; but multiply thy mercies upon 184 them, until their hardness of heart shall be melted down, in humble sorrow and love until their re- bellious wills shall be brought to serve the living and true God. MILLENNIUM. Great God, rejoice my heart with frequent and thankful contemplations of that millennial glory, when thy name shall be great among the heathen, and when thou wilt give them to thy Son, for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth, for his possession. Then thou wilt pour out thy Holy Spirit without measure, and darkness and trans- gression will be supplanted by light and obedience. Love to God and love to man, will fill the hearts of all the dwellers on earth : they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Then there will be no clashing of sects ; for there will be one Lord, one faith, one baptism. The hea- vens shall give their dew ; the earth shall give her increase ; the parched ground shall become a pool ; and the desert shall blossom as the rose. They shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, " Know the Lord ;'* for they shall know thee, from the least of them unto the greatest of them. The mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and be exalted above the hills. O then there will be great voices in heaven, saying, " The kingdoms of the world are become the king- doms of the Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever !" Lord, teach all thy people the duties that belong 185 to them, In reference to the coming of that glorious season. May they trim their lamps, and keep their lights burning, and be ready at the advent of their Master. But do thou show them that his glorious appearing will be by the instrumentality of the sanctified and intelligent efforts of his church. O induce them to desire it ardently, to pray for it fer- vently, to hope for it believingly, and to labour for it diligently, in all those measures which thou hast been pleased to institute, as the means of accom- plishing it. Bless all their works of faith, and labours of love. O hasten thy glorious dominion. Spread it from pole to pole, from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth ; and fill the wide world with thy knowledge, even as the waters cover the sea. MINISTRY. Great Author and Dispenser of Truth, bless those whom thou hast set to preach the everlasting gos- pel, and to bring glad tidings of good things. Thou hast not sent us the ministry of angels, but of men ; and hast given us this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power might be of God. It has pleased thee, by that which the world calls the foolishness of preaching, to save them that be- lieve. Lord of the Vineyard, let none take upon them this holy office, who are unfit for its sacred duties, in body, mind, or spirit. Yet do thou call out and prepare many, very many, who thou knowest are meet for the divine work of saving souls. Qualify those who are now ambassadors for Christ, and enable them to persuade sinners to be reconciled to God. Make them men of strong and cultivated 16* 186 judgment ; of diligent and persevering study ; of zealous and faithful labour ; and of prayerful, fer- vent, and consistent piety. Make them as the voice of him that cried in the wilderness, " Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight." May they be themselves instructed unto the king- dom of heaven, and bring forth out of their treasure, things new and old. Cause them to exemplify their doctrine by a holy walk. Preserve them from the desire of applause, and the love of lucre. Let them not confer with flesh and blood. Bestow on them a mouth and wisdom which their enemies shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. Give them grace to speak thy word with all boldness ; keeping back nothing that is profitable ; shunning not to declare all the counsel of God ; and having this record, that they are pure from the blood of all men. O Lord, bring them before their flocks in the ful- ness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Dis- pose them to give themselves continually to prayer, and the ministry of the word. Lead them to proclaim the gospel, not only in the sanctuary, but from house to house. May their preaching be in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power. Let thy pleasure prosper in their hands, and thy word have free course, and be glorified. May they seek dili- gently to bring the religion of their people up to the standard of the Bible to the measure of the faith once delivered to the saints. Give them power to alarm the guilty consciences, and to persuade the stubborn wills, of the impenitent. Constrain them to watch, as those who must give an account of their stewardship. Let them not be compelled to say, "All day long, we have stretched forth our hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people :" 187 nor to ask in despair, " Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord re- vealed ?*' O make them guides of the blind, and lights of them which are in darkness. Grant that by their efforts, revivals of pure and undefiled reli- gion shall prevail, to cleanse thy church, and to save perishing sinners. Shepherd of Israel, incline thy people to dis- charge the duties they owe to the messengers of thy word. May they remember that the labourer is worthy of his hire, and that they who preach the gospel, should live of the gospel. May they pro- perly appreciate the office of those that are over them in the Lord, and esteem such very highly, in love, for their works' sake. Make them careful to main- tain all the institutions of thy word. May they listen to the preached message with the preparation of heart, the culture of prayer, the hearing of faith, and the purpose of obedience : receiving with meek- ness the engrafted word, as that which ministers grace to the hearers. Blessed Lord, excite them to sustain thy ministering servants by their interces- sory prayers, that thou wouldst make them wise as serpents, and harmless as doves that thou wouldst enable them to turn many to righteousness, who shall be as stars in the crowns of their rejoicing, at the last day. Lord, give to every destitute flock, a pastor after thine own heart, who shall go in and out before his people in righteousness and zeal. Send thy mes- sengers of mercy to those who are perishing for lack of knowledge. O raise up, and qualify, and send forth those who shall teach all nations, bap- tizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost : and be thou with them always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. 188 MISSIONS. See Heathen, Idolatry, Home Mis- sions. MOHAMMEDANS. Lord, look in mercy on the followers of the False Prophet, whose system of blood and sensuality has dragged into the net of delusion and death, so many millions of the human family. Thou seest how they have usurped the seats of the early triumphs of the gospel ; and how they are trampling under- foot conscience and liberty, in the scenes where Jesus and his apostles taught, and toiled, and died for the blessed truth of God. O Lord, open a great and effectual door of access to this people, through which the chariot of thy gospel may go forth, con- quering and to conquer. Subdue their prejudice and bigotry ; destroy their licentiousness and love of carnage ; supplant their pride and superstition ; and on the ruins of this dominion of sin, build that kingdom of righteousness, which is peace on earth and good-will to men. MORNING. O God, thou art my God ; early will I seek thee. I thank thee for peaceful and refreshing sleep, and for the returning light of the morning. Lift thou on my soul, the light of thy reconciled and lifegiving countenance. May my heart rejoice in the daily renewals of thy love, even as the springing grass rejoices in the reviving visits of the morning sun. O cause my first awakings of thought my earliest desires, to fix on thee, and the remembrance of thy name. Whilst I have slept in quiet comfort, many have been racked by pain or disease ; or disturbed by fear or calamity ; or suddenly called to the retri- 189 butions of eternity. Grant me grace, for Christ's sake, to meet and discharge the duties of this day. Be thou my guide and protector, in the midst of them. Let me not undertake any thing which is not agreeable to thee. Dispose me to follow all my occupations in the world with a heavenly mind. May t use this world, as not abusing it ; and pass through things temporal, so as not to forget nor forfeit the things eternal. Enable me to make this life my journey to my everlasting home. O Lord, let a conviction of thy presence and of my accountability, pursue me in my worldly busi- ness, and render me subservient to thy will. Pro- tect me from folly, error, and sin. Make me kind, forbearing, and just in all my intercourse with man- kind. Preserve me from exercising selfishness, deceit, or ill-wilt, towards any one. Be pleased, Gracious God, to make the allotments of thy provi- dence towards me this day, such as may not tempt me to evil ; but such as will work together for my good. Guard my thoughts, that they may not tam- per with sin ; arid my lips, that I offend not with my tongue ; and my feet, that they wander not in forbidden paths. Grant me disposition and leisure to retire from the world, to hold sweet and profita- ble communion with thee, at thy throne of grace. And, O may I find at the close of this day, that while I have been drawn so much nearer eternity, I have been suitably advanced in meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light. MOTHE RS. Heavenly Parent, bless, for the glory of Christ, the maternal relation. Thou hast been pleased to assign to mothers, more than to any other class, the 190 moulding influences, which determine the character and destinies of children, for time and eternity. Lord, do thou teach every mother her various duties, and give her wisdom and grace to fulfil them. May she realize that it is in the days of infancy and of early life, that those principles and habits are formed, which decide the future history of the child ; and that on her thou hast laid the chief responsibi- lity of forming them. Give her a heart of piety, that shall impart a savour of life unto life to all her efforts. May she seal all her anxieties and efforts by fervent prayer, with and for her offspring, that thou wouldst help her to train them up in the way they should go, and preserve them in it, unto eter- nal life. Make her example such as shall be right in thy sight, and adapted to win their confidence, love, and obedience. May she constantly seek in- struction in the various details of her duty. Induce her to acquire such mental culture as will secure the respect of her offspring, and enable her to in- struct their forming minds. May she remember that undue indulgence is the besetting sin of mo- thers, and that it is the sunken rock on which count- less numbers have made shipwreck of all their hopes. Let the decisions of her authority be wise- ly made, and rigidly enforced. Teach her that the rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. Let not re- vengeful anger, but reclaiming love, prescribe the kind and measure of punishment. May her incen- tives and rewards for obedience be such as shall es- tablish abiding principles of virtue. Let a scrupu- lous regard for truth manifest itself in all her deal- ings with her children. Guard her against partial treatment among them. Give her wisdom to know 191 and skill to consult their different characters. May she strive to cultivate in them habits of prudence and frugality, industry and generosity. Make her careful to preserve them from vain pleasures, from evil company, and from selfish pursuits. Establish a perfect harmony between fathers and mothers, in their separate and mutual plans of family training. Bestow thy rich favour on maternal associations. Establish them in every community, and cause sound knowledge and saving wisdom to dictate and govern all their measures. O, Gracious God, let the salvation of her children be the object of every mother's strongest solicitude and most diligent efforts. May she feel that while this end is not se- cured, every other success is but as water that is spilled on the ground, and cannot be gathered. Lord, let a full sense of their responsibilities and duties rest on the hearts of all mothers. Yet suf- fer them not to be cast down by the weight of them. Assure them that thy grace is sufficient for them, and that thy strength shall be made perfect in their weakness ! MOTIVES. Lord, I pray thee, through the merits of Jesus Christ, that thou wouldst sanctify my motives. Let my outward conduct be according to righteousness and mercy ; but O, do thou make my heart pure in all its promptings towards duty. Dispose me to watch narrowly, lest I make a merit of good works ; or perform them to be seen of men, or to advance my selfish interests. Raise me above the love of self, and the desire of applause. Let not my mo- tives, when they are right, be unsteady ; but do thou give them such stability as shall cause me to 192 be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Teach me that if my purposes are right in thy sight, O Lord, thou wilt bless me, though thou mayst see fit to deny their accomplish- ment. Show me that where there is a will to serve thee, it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to what a man hath not ; for even the widow's mite secured a richer meed of favour, than the expensive gifts of the wealthy ; and a cup of cold water given to a disciple, out of love to Jesus, shall in nowise lose its reward. Blessed Lord, make mine eye single, and my heart sincere. May I do good, not to be seen of men, but in the spirit of not letting my left hand know what my right hand doth ; for my Father which seeth in secret, will re- ward me openly. Lord, I would not seek to do thy will merely that I may derive comfort from so doing; but chiefly because it is thy pleasure that T should obey thee, and because it should be my own desire that good may be done, for thy glory and human welfare. NATURE. Great God, the invisible things of thee, from the creation of the world, are clearly seeii, being un- derstood by the things that are made ; even thine eternal power and Godhead. Help me, I pray thee, to make Nature the handmaid of devotion. Give me knowledge to discern thy character in her various scenes. May I see thy power in the extent and diversity of creation ; and discern thy wisdom in the arrangement and government of thy works ; and acknowledge thy goodness in the harmony and excellence of thy products. Behold, all that I see is eloquent of God ! The day, with its flood of 193 light ; the night, with its pall of darkness ; the sea- sons, with their circle of changes ; life, with its mysteries of being, thought, and feeling ; and death, with its pains, and silence, and corruption all, all are full of the messages of divinity ! There is no language where their voice is not heard ; their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. Yet, O Lord, Nature is, in all these, but the echo of thy word. Although thou hast given thyself such witness in her, that men are left without ex- cuse in rejecting thee ; yet without thy revealed will, they become vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart is darkened : they change the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man ; and to birds, and to four- footed beasts, and to creeping things ! Alas, the world by wisdom knew not God. Lord, give me grace ever to study thy works in the light of thy word ; and dispose me to worship and serve the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. NEW YEAR. O thou God of the rolling seasons, I thank thee for thy mercies to me during the last year. There has not been an hour nor a moment of it, which has not brought me tokens of thy care and kindness. Assist me now to bring its transactions, in which I have been engaged, in solemn review before my conscience. Though the record of them is fast wasting away from the treacherous tablet of my memory, yet they are written, as with a pen of iron, on the books of thy remembrance ; where they will remain until that fearful hour of trial, when the books shall be opened, and all men shall be judged ' 17 194 out of the things that are written therein, whether they be good or evil. Lord, I desire to acknowledge before thee, with godly sorrow, that I have neglected many duties, and abused many privileges, during the past year. My heart, and my lips, and my hands, have often been the agents of transgression. Many of thy mercies have been ungratefully perverted or for- gotten ; and thy chastenings have often been de- spised or unheeded. O, my tongue would grow weary, and my heart would sicken, if I should un- dertake to recite all my iniquities before thee. Help me, I pray thee, for the sake of our Great Advocate, to repent over them, to loathe and forsake them, and to look to thee for strength, that the time past of my life may suffice to have wrought the deeds of the flesh, and that henceforth I may live to the will of God. O Lord, I desire to enter the coming year, feeling the solemn responsibilities of human life. I know not what a day may bring forth, nor what the ap- proaching months may reveal respecting me : ex- cept that they will bring me so much nearer eternity, and be full of records of my growth in grace, or of my backslidings from thy holy law. Yet I thank thee that my span of life is still lengthened out, and that I am still permitted to enjoy the precious op- portunities that have been vouchsafed to me in days past. O God, assist me, 1 beseech thee, to dis- charge aright all the duties that lie before me. Make me understand the uncertainty of time, the worth of my soul, the multiplied interests of my fellow- travellers to eternity, and the righteous claims of thy service. Make me watchful against the many dangers to which I am exposed. Strengthen my 195 love to thee; deepen my convictions of sin; ani- mate my desires after holiness ; increase my spirit of prayer ; enlarge my benevolence ; and lead me in thine own way, for thy name's sake. Protect me by thy care ; supply me by thy bounty ; and grant me an increasing meetness for that state, where these changing seasons will give place to an endless life. Lord, make this opening year, a year of the right hand of the Most High. Pour the healing balm of peace on all the bleeding wounds of thy church. Spread over her the spotless mantle of purity. In- vigorate her by the reviving power of truth. Awaken her to renewed efforts in doing good. O may these months stand forth in the history of redemption, as precious seasons of refreshing from thy holy and life-giving presence. NIGHT. Great God, I thank thee for the light, the com- forts, and the duties of this day. Assist my thoughts now in meditating on its transactions. Bless what- ever thou hast seen in me, which has been agreea- ble to thy will. Grant me repentance and forgiveness for whatever has been sinful in thy sight ; and pre- pare me by godly sorrow, and renewing grace, for better conformity in time to come. As my allotted span of life grows shorter every day, may I make daily some progress in the way to heaven. O Lord, take me into thy keeping during the watches of the night. The darkness and the light are both alike to thee. May thine eye that never slumbers, keep guard over me ; and thine arm that is never weary, protect me. May I lie down, having my thoughts directed to thee, and the things that 196 belong to my peace. Teach me to look on sleep as the emblem of death ; and to seek that prepara- tion of heart with which T should desire to meet the king of terrors. May the close of each day remind me of that night of death in which no man can work, and urge me to finish every work thou hast given me to do. Preserve me, I pray thee, from fear, from accident, from sickness, and from death. Make my sleep quiet and refreshing. And grant that when I awake in the morning, my thoughts may be full of thankfulness to thee for thy protect- ing and satisfying goodness. OBEDIENCE. Adorable Jehovah, bestow on me, for the merits of thy Son, the spirit of unreserved and fullhearted obedience to thy law. Thou art entitled to the ser- vice of all thy creatures. Thou didst form man out of the dust of the ground, and didst give him the breath of life, that he should honour and obey thee. Thou hast preserved his being, and gathered around him the comforts of life, that he should show forth thy praise. And he owes thee allegiance, because thou art the Governor of the universe, having a right to do thy pleasure among the army of heaven and the inhabitants of earth ; none of whom can resist thy will, but at the risk of thy sore displea- sure. But thou hast strengthened, infinitely, all these claims on his service, by the offer of salvation to a perishing world. Without this there had been no hope of escape from the fruits of disobedience, which had treasured up wrath against the day of wrath. Blessed be thy mercy, that with this pre- cious gift, thou hast not only infinitely increased our obligations, but thou hast actually redeemed unto 197 thyself, a peculiar people, who are zealous of good works. Though thy righteous claims of creation, preservation, and benefaction, have been disregarded, thou hast overcome the rebellion of many of thy creatures, by the controlling influence of a Saviour's love ; so that they no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them. Lord, enable me to present myself to thee, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is my most reasonable service. Aid me to do thy will in the things which thou hast commanded, and in those which thou hast forbidden. May I fulfil thy com- mandment out of a pure heart, and of a good con- science, and of faith unfeigned. Teach me that whoso keepeth thy word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. O let me not confer with flesh and blood, in reference to the claims of duty. Give me courage to hold forth the word of life in evil report, and in good report. O let my obedience have that symmetry and that fulness, which are found in add- ing to faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly-kindness and charity. Give me patient continuance in well-doing ; and cheer me by the hope, that in due season, if I faint not, I shall reap eternal blessedness. Blessed Sovereign, may thy chosen generation adorn the doctrine of God, their Saviour, in all things. Enable them, by a holy walk, to be the light of the world, and to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Make their consciences void of of- fence toward God and man. May they find that thy yoke is easy and thy burden light. Make them fruitful of every good work ; for thou hast ordained them, that they should go and bring forth fruit ; and herein is our Father glorified, that they should bear 17* 198 much fruit. Grant that they may walk worthy of thee, in holiness and righteousness before thee, all the days of their lives. Make them willing, if needs be, to lose life for thy sake and the gospel's ; for then they shall find it in life everlasting. And the praise of their service, sanctified by Christ's merits, and accepted through his pleadings, shall be thine forever. OLD AGE. Eternal Jehovah, the days of our years are three- score and ten ; and if by reason of strength, they be fourscore, yet is their strength labour and sorrow ! Lord, regard, in great mercy, those whose age warns them that thou wilt come quickly, and bring thy reward with thee. Especially let thy compassions be kindled towards those who are bowed down under the weight of years and guilt to whom gray hairs have brought no true wisdom, and to whom length of days has given no experience of eternal life. Do thou show them the accumulated wrath which they have treasured up by their long delay. Teach them that there is but a step between them and death. Arouse them to a knowledge of the fearful crisis in which they stand. Let them know that the destinies of heaven and hell hang on every fleeting breath, and every moving muscle. And if consistent with thy will, give them repentance unto life. But O how little ground of hope is there, in- deed, when we reflect on their enfeebled judgment, and decreasing affections, their rigid habits, and ag- gravated sins ! In the multitude of thy promises, there is none to the aged sinner. Alas, how few are brought into thy vineyard at the eleventh hour ! But because there are some, we would not despair 199 of thy mercy. Lord, glorify thyself in plucking many as brands from the burning. Gracious God, let thy precious favour rest on those whose hoary head is a crown of glory, be- cause it is found in the ways of righteousness. Make them the objects of the respect, affection, and care, of all around them. Let their example be a blessing on all that witness it. Temper thy providence to their declining strength, and suit thy grace to their approaching death. And when thou bringest them to the grave, as a shock of corn cometh in his season, fully ripe, soothe their pains, allay their fears, strengthen their hopes, and bid them welcome to thy courts of glory. Lord, let me not be anxious for long life. May I learn that honourable age is not that which stand- eth in length of time, nor that which is measured by number of years : for wisdom is the gray hair unto men ; and unspotted life is old age. OMNIPOTENCE. Lord, thou art God Almighty. The thunder of thy power, who can understand ? Thou hast made, and controlled, and sustained the mighty fabric of nature, by the strength of thy word. The firma- ment, with all its shining garniture of countless worlds, showeth thy handiwork ; the earth, with all its furniture of hills and valleys, rivers and seas, proclaims thy greatness : and in thee all creatures live, and move, and have their being. O Lord, give me a realizing sense of the greatness of thy power. Show it to me in the rich and varied works of nature ; and unfold it to me in that crea- tion in the soul of man, in which old things are passed away, and all things are become new. I 200 would adore thee for the strength of thy grace, which breaks the stony heart, and bends the stub- born will, and quickens those that were dead in tres- passes and sins, into newness of life. Thy gospel is the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth. O God, I would bless thee that thou hast pledged thy might for the increase of thy kingdom in the world, and hast promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. O help me to cry, " Alleluia ; for the Lord God Omnipotent reign- eth ?" Most High and Mighty, incline me to fear thee, who art able to destroy both body and soul in hell forever. Induce me to put my trust in thee ; for if thou art with me, who can be against me ? May I experience in my heart that working whereby thou art able to subdue all things unto thyself. Grant me the succour of him, who is mighty to save, unto the uttermost, those who come unto thee by him. Keep me by thy power, through faith, unto salvation, Teady to be revealed in the last time. OMNIPRESENCE. O God, whither shall I go from thy Spirit ; or where shall I flee from thy presence ? If I ascend tip into heaven, thou art there : if I make my bed in hell, thou art there : if I take the wings of the morn- ing, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me ! Thou fillest and exceedest the vast amplitude of the universe. Lord, help me to understand the purposes of thy universal presence. Thou art bestowing the bless- ings of thy providence, and exerting the righteous- ness of thy government, over all thy creatures. 201 Thou art comforting", protecting, and sanctifying the hearts of thy saints, and bestowing mingled mercy and justice on the earthly probation of the wicked. Thou art pervading heaven with the bliss of eternal life, and filling hell with the anguish of everlasting death. O Lord, assist me to profit by the truth, that thou art everywhere present, at all times. Teach me by it, that in the infinite contrast with thee, I am but a grain of dust, a point, an atom, or as nothing ! O that it might lead me to be vigilant in doing thy will, and in trusting to thy protecting providence, and redeeming goodness. Lord, grant me here, I beseech thee, a foretaste of that fulness of joy, which is in thy heavenly presence for evermore. OMN I S CIE NC E. Great Fountain of Knowledge, thine understand- ing is infinite. Thou knowest all things ; even the end from the beginning. There is no creature that is not manifest in thy sight. Thou rememberest every thing that has occurred in the history of the wide universe : thou knowest all the open and secret workings of matter and mind, throughout thine un- measured dominion : even a sparr*w cannot fall to the ground without thy notice, and the very hairs of our heads are all numbered : and there is nothing in the countless revolutions of eternity, that is not as visible to thine eye as the light of day ! Lord, thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising ; thou art acquainted with all my ways ; and thou understandest even my thoughts afar off. If I say, " Surely the darkness shall cover me" even the night shall be light about me. O grant me the solemn influence of the truth, that thou knowest 202 the hearts of all men : thou hast indeed searched and known me. May it lead me to worship thee in spirit and in truth ; for thou art not deceived, and canst not be mocked. May it restrain me from sin ; because there is no darkness nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. And, O, may it be a source of comfort and blessing to me ; for thou knowest all my wants, and canst supply them out of thine abundant fulness. OR P H A N A GE. Lord, thou art the Helper of the fatherless. Look, I pray thee, in thy tenderest compassion, on those from whom thou hast taken away the natural guides and comforters of their life. Heal the wounded hearts of those who are bleeding under these keen bereavements. Assure them that when their father and mother forsake them, then, if they put their trust in thee, the Lord will take them up. O God, open fountains of compassion in the hearts of mankind, towards orphans. Raise up for them friends, who shall take the places, and dis- charge the offices, of those whom thou hast, in thy wise purposes, taken away from them. Make it the business of Christian love, to soothe their sor- rows, to minister to their wants, and to guide their steps amid the wanderings of earth. Protect them from the dangers which accompany their exposed condition. Screen them from the oppressions with which the selfish so often scourge the destitute. Guard them from the temptations which gather in fearful number and strength around the defenceless. Save them from those indulgences in sin, into which the unrestrained are so prone to fall. Gracious Lord, smooth for them the pathways of life. Even 203 as a tender shepherd carries the lambs of his flock in his bosom, so do thou shelter them in the covert of thy wings. Above every other blessing, grant them that of regarding thee as their reconciled God and Father, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Though thou hast hid the desire of their eyes, and the hope of their hearts, in the silence of the grave, yet thou wilt be unto them, if they confide in thee, a present help and an eternal portion. Lead them to look up unto thee, in their destitution, as their Heavenly Fa- ther ; and to feel that the most cherished pleasures of earthly parentage, fall infinitely below the privi- leges of being in the adoption of the sons of God. OSTENTATION. O thou that dwellest in the contrite heart, preserve me, for the Redeemer's sake, from the folly and sin of ostentation, both in the common duties of life, and in my religious actions. Teach me that I have nothing that I have not received ; and that thou hast commanded that nothing be done through vain- glory. Lord, let me not do my works before men, to be seen of them. Make my path of life like the course of the humble rivulet, which is not denoted by noise and glare, but by the verdure and plenty that attend its borders. Grant that whenever I desire to catch the applause of man, or seek to be thought of others what I am not, I may reflect that all I am and all I do, are naked and open to thine eyes. Let it be a very small thing with me that I should be judged of man's judgment; for though I may lawfully desire the good opinion of my fellow- creatures, I must hold it subordinate to the esteem of God : thou art the only true and final umpire of conduct and character. Heavenly Father, do thou 204 so raise me above the fear and love of man, that I may be in all things, and at all times, a servant of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, as unto the Lord, and not unto men. PARDON. Great God, I have sinned against thee, times and ways beyond number. If thou shouldst lay righte- ousness to the line, and judgment to the plummet, I should be driven from thy presence. Yea, if thou shouldst deal with me for one of a thousand of my transgressions, I could not appear before thee. Yet I praise thee that there is forgiveness with thee, and that thou blottest out the transgressions of thy peo- ple. O give me the blessedness of him to whom thou imputest no iniquity ; whose sins, though they be as scarlet, shall be as white as snow ; and though they be red like crimson, shall be as wool. Lord, teach me the nature and condition of that pardon which thou art willing and ready to bestow on thy sinful creatures. O, it is sufficient to stay the wrath of thy condemnation, and to take away forever, the sentence which was written against us. Yet it is not procured by our own works of right- eousness ; but we have this redemption through the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Grant me, I beseech thee, such a conviction of sin, and such a reliance on the atonement of Jesus, as will make it consist- ent with thy love of justice, and with the security of thy moral government, to remember my trans- gressions no more against me. Keep me from every effort to bring thee a price in my hand, for this precious boon. O may I seek it as the gift of thy 205 mercy, purchased by the death of thy Son, and made effectual by the application of the Holy Ghost. Merciful God, grant me the fruits of thy forgiving love, in peace of conscience, a sense of thy favour, a tender penitence for sin, a feeling of deep and lasting gratitude, and a holy, humble, and confiding access to thy throne of grace. Lord, lead multitudes of the impenitent to seek thy forgiving mercy. May they learn the infinite value of that sacrifice by which it was procured, and the tender solicitude and strivings of thy Spirit, that they should embrace it. Show them from what guilt and punishment it redeems, and to what purity and happiness it leads. Enter not now into judg- ment with them, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. O do thou excite many to call on thee whilst thou art waiting to be gracious ; and do thou make peace with them through the blood of the cross, and present them holy and unblameable in thy sight. Blot out their iniquities from the book of thy remembrance, and write their names in the Lamb's book of life. PARENTS. See Fathers, Mothers. PASSIONS. Lord, preserve me from the dominion of my pas- sions. Thou hast given me, in thy wisdom and goodness, the affections of human nature ; but thou hast put them under laws of usefulness and of sub- jection to thy will. Lead me, I pray thee, to con- sult diligently those laws ; and help me to bring my feelings into submission to them. O let not the things that are sensual and carnal, attract and absorb my desires. Teach me to abstain from fleshly lusts 18 206 that destroy the body, that war against the soul, and which bring down the displeasure of God. Lord, keep me from the undue and unholy exercise of my mental passions. Enable me to control and direct them, that they may be the servants of grace, and not the instruments of unrighteousness. PATIENCE. Lord, I would draw nigh, in the prevailing name of Jesus, to ask thee to cause patience to have its perfect work m my heart, in all the various trials of life. May it possess my soul, and suffer no in- trusion there of fretful complaint, nor anxious fear. In sickness, in bereavement, in crosses, in provoca- tions, in persecutions, in every thing that clashes with my desires, grant, I beseech thee, that I may secure and preserve serenity of mind. Instruct me that every discontented and peevish feeling is re- bellion against thee ; and that I may glorify thy name by the meek endurance of trial, as well as by the active performance of duty. What is man, that he should complain ? Lo ! thou Jehovah art long- suffering, even towards the contradiction of sinners. May I remember that there is One who was tempted in all points as I am ; and yet never incurred the sin of an impatient spirit who when he was re- viled, reviled not again ; who when he suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Teach me that this grace will protect me from much that is evil, and strengthen me in all that is good ; and that it will secure thy favour for thou hast said that when we do well, and suffer for it, yet take it patiently, this is accept- able with God. Enable me to run with patience, the race that is set before me. Put my heart at rest 207 in thee ; for he who hath delivered, will yet deliver. May the thought that the Lord will provide, quell every restless and fearful emotion. O God, make me a steadfast follower of them that through faith and patience, inherit the promises. Heavenly Father, grant me peace of conscience towards thee, through the atoning hlood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Give me, I pray thee, that holy se- renity of mind, which the world can neither give nor take away, and which results from receiving thy love, and from knowing and doing thy will continu- ally. Enable me to live peaceably with all men respecting with justice their rights, and not seeking with pertinacity my own giving place to wrath, and refraining from an evil tongue, and every thing that stirs up strife. Lord, give thy churches rest from unholy divisions within, and from wicked as- saults without. May the household of faith dwell together in unity ; and then the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. O God, promote and esta- blish peace between man and man, and between na- tion and nation, throughout the world. Supplant, by the influence of the gospel, that selfishness which is the fruitful source of every form of contention : and in its place implant that holy love which work- eth no ill to its neighbour, and which leadeth man to regard every human being as a neighbour and a brother. Then shall individuals cease from strife nations shall learn war no more and Jesus, the Prince of Peace, shall reign over a dominion where there shall be none to hurt nor destroy where heart shall beat in harmony with heart where eye shall 208 speak peace to eye and where hand shall be to hand the exchange of good-will to man. PERSECUTION. Shepherd of Israel, I would praise thy name for that comparative exemption from persecution, which we enjoy in this highly favoured land. Yet perhaps we owe our peaceful security to our conformity with the world. It becomes us to inquire, whether the world arrays itself not against us, because we have not fearlessly borne our testimony against it, that its deeds are evil ; or because we have not re- buked its practices by a high standard of holy liv- ing. Lord, let me not desire exemption from the enmity of the wicked, at the expense of duty. Make me willing to suffer persecution for righteous- ness' sake : yea, thou hast said that they shall suffer it, who live godly, in Christ Jesus. If our Blessed Lord was reviled, scourged, and persecuted, and his noble cloud of witnesses, of whom the world was not worthy, had trial of cruel Blockings, and bonds, and death, why should I hope to escape ? Lord, enable me so to act, that whether men may devise evil or good concerning me, my conscience shall be free from guilt towards thee and all mankind. O thou who art a very present help in trouble, remember those who fall into persecution. Over- rule the trial of their faith and patience, for their good and thy glory. Abate its severity, or open a door of deliverance from it, or enable them to bear it as good soldiers of Christ. While they suffer according to thy will, may they commit the keep- ing of their souls to thee. in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. Let them not wonder nor com- plain, as though some strange thing had happened 209 unto them ; but rejoice inasmuch as they are par- takers of Christ's sufferings ; that when his glory shall be revealed, they may be glad also with ex- ceeding joy. PE RSE V E RAN C E. God of Salvation, let me not be of those that draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe unto the saving of the soul. Make me steadfast in the pursuit of knowledge, and performance of duty. Teach me that the race is not to the swift, but to them who cast aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset them ; and who look to Jesus, as the Author and Finisher of faith. Blessed be God, the way I am called to run in, is not an un- beaten path ; for thy people on earth are now walk- ing in it as the highway to heaven ; the saints in glory have followed it unto life eternal ; yea, even the High Priest of our profession, Christ the Right- eous, hath made it smooth by his glorious footsteps. Lord, give me a warmer zeal, and a holier strength, to run that heavenly road. O God, set clearly and strongly before my mind, that exceeding and eternal weight of glory, which is laid up for those that endure unto the end. May I so run, that I shall obtain it. Enable me to con- tinue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them. O teach me the duty of per- severance, by a conviction of the uncertainty of life. Those servants only shall be blessed, whom when the Lord cometh, he shall find watching. Give me, I beseech thee, such views of the foes that are with- in and around me, as shall lead me to continual de- pendence on thy grace, and unremitted diligence in thy will. Imbue me with courage of mind and 18* 210 strength of heart, to overcome all the hinderances which Satan, or the world, or my own passions, may cast in my way. Heavenly Father, let nothing be able to separate me from thy love in Christ Je- sus. O, love me with an everlasting love. May he that is the Ransom of sinners, save me unto the uttermost. May thy Holy Spirit seal me unto the day of redemption, and be my Comforter, to abide with me forever. And then, in that inheritance which is incorruptible, and that fadeth not away, I will praise thee for the power of thy grace, by which I shall have been kept, through faith, unto salvation. PIETY. God of Salvation, vouchsafe unto me a spirit of intelligent and devoted piety. Make rne a Chris- tian, not only in name, but in truth. May I watch diligently, lest while I have the form of godliness, I may be destitute of its power. Lead me, I pray thee, into the constant exercise of repentance to- wards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Fill rny heart with love to thee, thine ordinances, thy service, thy people, and all mankind. Give that love such strength and purity, that it shall fulfil thy law. Make it abound more and more, in know- ledge and judgment, until I am filled with the fruits of righteousness, unto the glory and praise of God. Cleanse thou my heart from evil thoughts, and my life from wicked ways ; and enable me to die unto sin, and to live unto righteousness. Make me meek and forgiving, sincere and humble. Let consistency, self-denial, and gratitude, pervade all my actions. Make me earnest in prayer, unwavering in faith, and joyful in hope. Prepare me for the quiet en- 211 durance of every trial, and for the zealous perform- ance of every duty. If I suffer as a Christian, let me not be ashamed, but glorify God on this behalf. Lord, make me a follower of them who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. Permit me not to put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in my brother's way : but cause me to follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. May I so act before the world, that men may take knowledge of me, and be led to glorify our Father in heaven. May the same mind which was in Christ be also in me. As I have borne the image of the earthly, so let me bear the image of the heavenly ; and of his fulness receive, and grace for grace. Blessed Lord, grant that by patient continuance in well-doing, I may seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, where the righteous shall shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. PITY. Merciful Father, make my heart sensible to every object of pity. Blessed Jesus, thou hadst compas- sion on every subject of distress and misfortune. Thou didst mourn with them that mourned, and weep with them that wept. It was indeed the tenderness of thy love which brought thee to this world of wo, that thou mightest bless and save those who were ready to perish. O may the same mind be in me which was in Christ Jesus. Let no form of self- ishness so harden my heart, that I shall fail to ex- ercise compassion for the wants and woes of thy creatures. Let me not stop my ears to the cry of the needy, nor turn away my eyes from them that are stricken with misery. And let me not pity only 212 in word and in tongue ; but in deed and in truth : for so shall I know that I am of the truth, and as- sure my heart before thee, whose compassions fail not, else I should be consumed in thy presence. Lord, grant that my deepest feelings of pity, my strongest yearnings of soul, may be over those who are living heedlessly, under the wrath of God. Let my heart's desire and prayer to thee be, that they might be saved. O magnify thy goodness in bring- ing them from the rebellion of sin, into the obedi- ence of faith. POPERY. God of Truth, destroy the power of popery. Let not the Man of sin, the Son of perdition, continue to rule the nations with his rod of iron. Lord, hovr long shall men concede to weak mortals, like them- selves, the claims of infallibility and absolution ? How long shall sinful men be permitted to keep the consciences of their fellow-men to dispense vain indulgences for sin to blot out the commandments of God to make thy law void by vain traditions to prohibit the bread of life and to exalt the wor- ship of superstition over the services of simplicity and truth ? How long, O Lord, shall they impiously arrogate to change a corruptible thing into the in- corruptible body of Christ ; and to dishonour the atonement of Jesus, by claiming for any that have been redeemed by his blood, an excess of obedience beyond the requirements of thy law ? O redeem the victims of these delusions. May they learn that thou only art the object of worship ; that thou only canst forgive sin ; and that the Scriptures of truth are the only and all-sufficient rule which thou hast given us, to know how we may glorify and enjoy thee forever. 213 Lord, cause thy word, thy Spirit, thy providence, and thy people, to concur mightily in overthrowing this great bulwark of Satan. May the spirit of love govern all thy saints in their efforts to recover the world from papal power. Transform all its temples into sanctuaries of righteousness ; and into every heart that has been a shrine of its corruptions, put thou an altar consecrated to the pure service of the living God. POVERTY. Merciful Father, if it be thy will, preserve me from poverty. Let not my mind be harassed by fears as to what I, or those who may be dependent on me, shall eat or drink, or wherewithal we shall be clothed. Bestow on me a moderate competence of the means of support, and grant me thy favour in the enjoyment of it. Make me grateful to thee for thy past and present bounties. But, O Lord, if it be thy pleasure to strip me of my worldly comforts, and to bring me into deep and distressing need, let me not rebel against thee, nor complain of thy right- eous providence. May I find more joy in trusting to thee, in the midst of adversity? than in all the pleasures which unsanctified wealth could bestow. Even though darkness should gather with forbidding gloom over all my expectations of worldly comfort, throughout all the remainder of my life, let the con- solations of thy Spirit be more than enough to satisfy my soul. Make me rich in the hope of a better and a heavenly substance, which corrupts not in the enjoyment, perishes not in the using, but endures forever. Lord, pity the poor. Soothe and relieve their wants. Protect them from oppression, and deliver 214 them from him that spoileth them. Save them from the vices which so often accompany their lot. Raise up friends who shall feel for their wants, and supply their necessities. Lord, let it be a prominent duty with Christians, to minister to those that are in need. May they remember that their Lord and Master had not where to lay his head, and that these stricken ones are his representatives on the earth. Show them that he who hath pity on the poor, lendeth to the Lord, who will pay him again : while he that oppresseth them reproacheth his Maker, and he that stoppeth his ears at their cry, shall also cry himself, and shall not be heard. Enable them to devise such employment for the needy, as shall at once confer on them the blessings of industry and self-support. May those who have no silver nor gold to give, bestow their sympathies and counsels, which are often worth more than money. And above all, may they seek, through thy Spirit, to con- fer on them that godliness which is profitable unto all things. Lord, bless those public charities which are de- signed to relieve the distresses of the destitute. Give minds of discretion, and hearts of pity, to those who control them. As these works of mercy are the fruits of the gospel, so may they be conducted in its spirit, and result in its choicest blessings. Though thou hast said that the poor shall never cease out of the land, yet do thou abate the sorrows, and re- move the evils, of their condition ; and make multi- tudes of them rich in faith toward God, and in the hope of salvation. PRAISE. O thou Most High, I would praise thee for thine excellent greatness. The heaven of heavens cannot 215 contain thee. From everlasting to everlasting thou art God. With thee there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Thou art infinitely more exalted above us, than we are above the smallest insect of creation. Lord, thou knovvest all things : thou art the only wise God, wonderful in counsel, and infi- nite in knowledge. Thou art able to do, exceeding abundantly, above all that we can think. Thou art of purer eyes, than to behold evil. Justice and judgment nre the habitation of thy throne. The works of nature, the movements of providence, and the plan of redemption are full of thy goodness. Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. Lo, all thy ways are perfect ! Lord, grant me such adoring views of thy cha- racter, as shall be delightful foretastes of that praise which is the incense of thy worship in heaven. May I rejoice that the government of the world, and of the universe, is in the hands of a perfect being, who will do all things well. Make me esteem thy favour as the highest honour, and the most glorious privi- lege, which men or angels can enjoy. O may I often set my feeble and corrupt powers in contrast with thine infinite and spotless perfections, that I may thus at once take my place in the dust before thee, and magnify thy great and glorious name. [_See THE VARIOUS ATTRIBUTES.] PRAYER. Heavenly Father, teach me to pray, and quicken me by thy Spirit, that I may worship thee in spirit and in truth. Give me clear and abiding views of the nature of this solemn act of worship. Grant me a proper estimate of thy character, as infinitely able and willing to bless all who would approach the throne of grace, according to thy will. Enable me 216 to make thy glory the ruling object of my desires ; and to present them only in the name of the heaven- ly Mediator ; whom thou always hearest, for in him thou art ever well-pleased. May every supplication be offered in the wish and hope that Jesus will pre- sent it, with his prevailing intercession, at the throne of grace. Lord, make me feel my entire and con- tinual dependance on thee for all the blessings I possess, or hope to enjoy. O do thou give me such a craving sense of want, such a conviction that there is no other source of relief, and such confi- dence in thy promises, that supplication shall be the language of my tongue, the thought of my heart, and the food of my soul. Great God, thou art, indeed, not worshipped as though thou needest any thing ; for thou givest to all, life, and breath, and all things. It is in mercy to us that thou art willing to hear and answer the prayer of penitence and faith. Thou hast more- over commanded it, as our imperative duty thus making our privilege and our obligation one and in- separable. Infinite Fountain of Blessing, grant me the influ- ences of thy Spirit, to show me what I should pray for, and the way in which I should draw nigh to the mercy-seat. Teach me, I pray thee, the various and numerous wants of my dependent nature, until my thoughts shall grow familiar with them, in all their number, and my heart shall be absorbed by con- victions of their importance. Lord, dispose me to submit every object of hope and every pursuit of desire, by prayer, to the control of thy will : and do thou turn me away from continuing or completing any thing, which has not the sanction of thy favour, and upon which I cannot invoke thy blessing. O 217 Lord, suffer me not to confine my supplications to my own wants ; but do thou give me a spirit of prayer on behalf of others. Make me feelingly alive to all the interests of thy church, and abundant in intercession for her knowledge, purity, and in- crease. O burden my heart with anxious solicitude for the impenitent ; and lead my feelings out in earnest and importunate pleadings for their salva- tion. Lord, suffer me not to approach thee, on any subject, with thoughtlessness or insincerity. Re- strain me from a wandering and corrupted mind. May every petition be the expression of true and anxious feeling. Suffer me not to forget my sup- plications, with the passing breath that utters them ; but do thou cause my memory to retain them, and my hope to pursue them ; and if I receive not, may I be assured that it is because I ask amiss. Father of Mercy, assist me to bring my desires into conformity to thy will. Let me not ask thee for any thing inconsistent with thy holy and sove- reign pleasure. Help me to come in the humble boldness of faith to thy throne, that I may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Thou art indeed more ready to hear than I am to pray ; and more willing to give than I am to ask. Enable me, I pray thee, to come to thee in the con- fidence with which I would approach an earthly parent : for if such an one knows how to give good gifts to his children, much more will our heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. Lord, help thou mine unbelief, and enable me to believe that thou art the rewarder of them that dili- gently seek thee. Teach me that if I regard ini- quity in my heart, thou wilt not hear me. Do thou therefore cleanse my heart, that my desires may go 19 218 forth unspotted by sin, and find acceptance in thy sight. Lord, lead me to the thankful acknowledg- ment of past mercies ; and dispose me to hope from them for the bestowment of future good. Bring me to thee, O Searcher of hearts, with humble con- fession of sins ; for it becomes me to say, that in- stead of having any claim to thine audience and favour, I have only deserved thy displeasure. It is of thy grace that I am even permitted to plead for mercy. Heavenly Father, dispose me to fulfil every suita- ble occasion of devotional duty. May I love the public and social supplications of thy saints. Let me not withhold the incense from the family altar. May I delight to hold converse with thee, where there is no other eye to watch, and no other ear to hear, and where I shall feel that I am alone with God. And give me, Blessed Master, that spirit of ejaculatory prayer, which will purify every current of my thoughts, and sanctify every business of my life. O Lord, enable me, in all the vicissitudes of life, to watch unto prayer, and to find that it is good for me to draw nigh to God. May I wrestle, as did thy servant of old, who had power with thee, and prevailed. And may my soul ascribe, in sincerity and love, the praise of all the mercies I derive from thee, to thy matchless grace in the Redeemer, both now and forever. Amen. PRESS. God of Wisdom, I thank thee for the invention of the art of printing, by which temporal know- ledge and heavenly wisdom have been scattered, in copious pro fusion, over the face of society. I desire to regard it as a noble instrumentality for imbuing 219 every mind with useful learning, and every heart with saving truth. Yet do thou teach me that its capacity to do good, is often fearfully perverted to * UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY