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self his portion. Neither after he had left his first estate didst thou utterly withdraw thy mercy from him; but in every succeeding generation, didst save, deliver, assist, and protect him. Thou hast instructed us by thy laws, and enlightened us by thy statutes. Thou hast redeemed us by the blood of thy Son, and sanctifiest us by the grace of thy Holy Spirit. For these and all thy other mercies, how can I ever sufficiently love thee, or worthily magnify thy great and glorious name? All the powers of my soul are too few to conceive the thanks that are due to thee, even for vouchsafing me the honour of now appearing before thee and conversing with thee.

But thou hast declared thou wilt accept the sacrifice of thanksgiving, in return for thy goodness. For ever therefore will I bless thee, will I adore thy power, and magnify thy goodness: "My tongue shall sing of thy righteousness, and be telling of thy salvation from day to day." I will give thanks unto thee for ever and ever; I will praise my God while I have my being. O that I had the heart of the seraphim, that I might burn with love like their's! But though I am upon earth, yet will I praise, as I can, the King of heaven; though I am a feeble, mortal creature, yet will I join my song with those that excel in strength, with the immortal hosts of angels and archangels, thrones, dominions, and powers, while they laud and magnify thy glorious name, and sing with incessant shouts of praise.

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts! Heaven and earth are full of his glory! Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High. Amen. Hallelujah. Accept, O merciful FATHER, my most humble thanks, for thy preservation of me this day (-). O continue thy loving-kindness towards me, and take me into thy protection this night. Let thy holy angels watch over me to defend me from the attempts of evil men and evil spirits. Let me rest in peace, and not sleep in sin, and grant that I may rise more fit for thy service.

O thou, whose kingdom ruleth over all, rule in the hearts of all the men whom thou hast made reform the corruptions, and heal the breaches of thy holy Church, and establish her in truth and peace. Be gracious unto all Priests and Deacons, and give them rightly to divide the word of truth. Forgive the sins of this nation, and turn our hearts, that iniquity may not be our ruin. Bless King George and all the Royal Family, with all those blessings which thou seest to be most expedient for them; and 'give to his Council, and to the Nobility and Magistracy, grace, truly to serve thee in their several stations. Bless our Universities, that they may be the great bulwarks of thy faith and love, against all the assaults of vice and infidelity may the Gentry and Commons of this realm, live in constant communion with thy Church, in obedience to the King, and in love one towards another.

Be gracious to all who are near and dear to me. Thou knowest their names and art acquainted with their wants. Of thy goodness, be pleased to proportion thy blessings to their necessities. Pardon my enemies, and give them repentance and charity, and me grace to

overcome evil with good. Have compassion on all who are distrest in mind, body, or estate; give them steady patience and timely deliverance.

"O Lord, thou God of spirits and of all flesh, be mindful of thy faithful, from Abel the just even unto this day."* And for thy Son's sake give to them and us, in thy due time, a happy resurrection, and a glorious rest at thy right hand for evermore!

Now, to God the Father, who first loved us, and made us accepted in the Beloved to God the Son, who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood: to God the Holy Ghost, who sheddeth the love of God abroad in our hearts, be all love and all glory in time and to all eternity. Amen.

A COLLECTION OF PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES.

SUNDAY MORNING.

ALMIGHTY and ETERNAL GOD, we desire to praise thy holy Name, for so graciously raising us up, in soundness of body and mind, to see the light of this day.

We bless thee in behalf of all thy creatures; "the eyes of all look unto thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season." But above all, we acknowledge thy inestimable benefits bestowed upon mankind in Christ Jesus. We thank thee for his miraculous birth, for his most holy life, his bitter agony and bloody death, for his glorious resurrection on this day, his ascension into heaven, his triumph over all the powers of darkness, and his sitting at thy right hand for

evermore.

O Gon, how great was thy love to the sinful sons of men, to give "thy only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, might not perish, but have everlasting life!" How great was that love, which hath committed our souls to one so 66 mighty to save!" Which hath chosen us to be thy sons and heirs together with Christ Jesus, and set such a High Priest over thy house and family, to make intercession for us, to pour thy blessings upon us, and to send forth his angels "to minister unto them who shall be heirs of salvation !" O the riches of thy grace, in sending the Holy Spirit, to make us "abound in hope," that we shall one day rise from the dead, and after our short labours here, rest with thee in thy eternal glory.

O that we could begin this day in devout meditations, in joy unspeakable, and in blessing and praising thee, who hast given us such good hope and everlasting consolation! Lift up our minds above all these little things below, which are apt to distract our thoughts; and keep them above till our hearts are fully bent to seek thee every

*The words of the ancient LITURGY, commonly called St. Mark's.

day, in the way wherein Jesus hath gone before us, though it should be with the loss of all we here possess.

We are ashamed, O LORD, to think that ever we have disobeyed thee, who hast redeemed us by the precious blood of thine own Son. O that we may agree with thy Will in all things for the time to come! And that all the powers of our souls and bodies may be wholly dedicated to thy service! We desire unfeignedly that all the thoughts and designs of our minds, all the affections and tempers of our life, may be pure, holy, and unreprovable in thy sight.

"Search us, O LORD, and prove us; try out our reins and our heart. Look well if there be any way of wickedness in us, and lead us in the way everlasting. Let thy favour be better to us than life itself: that so in all things we may approve our hearts before thee, and feel the sense of thy acceptance of us, giving us a joy which the world cannot give.

Make it our delight to praise thee, to call to mind thy loving kindRess, and to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Help us to take "heed to ourselves, lest at any time our hearts be overcharged with surfeiting or drunkenness, or the cares of this life: to have our conversation without covetousness, and to be content with such things as we have to possess our bodies in sanctification and honour: to love our neighbour as ourselves; and as we would that others should do unto us, to do even so to them: to live peaceably as much as lieth in us, with all men: to put on the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit and to take those who have spoken in the name of our Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience; and when we suffer as Christians, not to be ashamed, but to glorify thee our God on this behalf."

And accept, good Lord, of all the praises of all thy people met together this day. O that "thy ways were known upon all the earth, and thy saving health among all nations!" And that all Christian kings, especially, may be filled with thy Holy Spirit, and be faithful subjects of the Lord Jesus, "the King of kings, and Lord of lords." O that thy "priests may be clothed with righteousness, and thy saints rejoice and sing :" That all who are in distress may trust in thee, the "health of their countenance and their God." O Lord, hear us, and make thy face to shine upon thy servants, that we may "enter into thy gates with thanksgiving, and into thy courts with praise;" that we may be thankful unto thee, and bless thy name, Amen, for Jesus Christ's sake, in whose words we conclude our imperfect prayers, saying, "Our Father," &c,

SUNDAY EVENING.

O THOU "High and Holy One, that inhabitest Eternity," thou art to be feared and loved by all thy servants. "All thy works praise thee, O God;" and we especially give thanks unto thee, for thy marvellous love in Christ Jesus, by whom thou hast "reconciled the world to thyself." Thou hast "given us exceeding great and VOL. 8.-L

precious promises." Thou hast sealed them with his blood. Thou hast confirmed them by his resurrection and ascension, and the coming of the Holy Ghost. We thank thee, that thou hast given us so many happy opportunities of knowing "the truth as it is in Jesus," even the mystery which was hid from ages and generations, but is now revealed to them that believe.

Blessed be thy goodness for that great consolation, and for the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Blessed be thy goodness, that we have felt it so often in our heart, inspiring us with holy thoughts, filling us with love, and joy, and comfortable expectations of "the glory that shall be revealed." We thank thee, that thou hast suffered us this day to attend on thee in thy public service, and that we have begun in any measure that eternal "rest which remaineth for the people of God."

We offer up again our souls and bodies to thee, to be governed, not by our own will, but thine. O let it be ever the ease and joy of our heart, to be under the conduct of thy unerring wisdom, to follow thy counsels, and to be ruled in all things by thy holy will. And let us never distrust thy abundant kindness and tender care over us, whatsoever it is thou wouldst have us to do or to suffer in this world.

O God, purify our hearts, that we may entirely love thee, and rejoice in being loved of thee; that we may confide in thee, and absolutely resign ourselves to thee, and be filled with constant devotion toward thee. O that we may never sink into a base love of any thing here below, nor be oppressed with the cares of this life: but assist us to "abhor that which is evil, and cleave to that which is good." Let us use this world as not abusing it." Give us true humility of spirit, that we may "not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think." Keep us from "being wise in our own conceits. Let our moderation be known to all men." Make us "kindly-affectioned one to another;" to delight in doing good; to "show all meekness to all men; to render unto all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour;" and to "owe no man any thing, but to love one another." Make us so happy, that we may be able to "love our enemies, to bless those that curse us, to do good to them that hate us; to rejoice with them that do rejoice, and to weep with them that weep." Compose our spirits to a quiet and steady dependence on thy good providence, that we may "take no thought for our life, nor be careful for any thing, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, still make known our request to thee our God."-And help us to "pray always and not faint; in every thing to give thanks, and offer up the sacrifice of praise continually; to rejoice in hope of thy glory: to possess our souls in patience and to learn in whatsoever state we are, there with to be content." Make us "know both how to be abased, and how to abound; every where, and in all things," instruct us both "to abound and suffer want," being enabled "to do all things through Christ who strengtheneth us.”

"O that the light of all Christians did so "shine before men," that others might "glorify thee our Father which art in heaven; and send forth thy light and thy truth, (into all the dark corners of the earth,) that all kings may fall down before thee, and all nations do thee service!" Bless these kingdoms, and give us grace at length to "bring forth fruits meet for repentance." O Lord, save the King, and establish his throne in righteousness." Prosper the endeavours of all those who faithfully feed thy people, and increase the number of them. O that the seed which hath been sown this day, may take deep root in all our hearts: that being "not forgetful hearers, but doers of the word, we may be blessed in our deeds." Help us in all this week following, to "set a watch before our mouth, and keep the door of our lips." And let not our hearts incline to any evil thing, or to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity." But as we have received how we ought to walk and to please thee, so we may abound more and more."

Protect us, we beseech thee, and all our friends every where, this night, and awaken in the morning those good thoughts in our hearts, that the "words of our Saviour may abide in us, and we in him;" who hath taught us when we pray, to say, " Our Father," &c.

MONDAY MORNING.

WE humble ourselves, O LORD of heaven and earth, before thy glorious Majesty. We acknowledge thy eternal power, wisdom, goodness, and truth: and desire to render thee most unfeigned thanks, for all the benefits which thou pourest upon us. But above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world, by our Lord Jesus Christ.

We implore thy tender mercies, in the forgiveness of all our sins, whereby we have offended either in thought, word, or deed. We desire to be truly sorry for all our misdoings, and utterly to renounce whatsoever is contrary to thy will. We desire to devote our whole man, body, soul, and spirit, to thee. And as thou dost inspire us with these desires, so accompany them always with thy grace, that we may, every day, with our whole hearts, give ourselves up to thy service.

We desire to be so holy and undefiled as our blessed Master was. And we trust thou wilt fulfil all the gracious promises which he hath made to us. Let them be dearer to us than thousands of gold and silver; let them be the comfort and joy of our hearts. We ask nothing, but that it may be unto thy servants according to his word.

Thou hast mercifully kept us the last night: blessed be thy continued goodness. Receive us likewise into thy protection this day. Guide and assist us in all our thoughts, words, and actions. Make us willing to do and suffer what thou pleasest: waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto eternal life.

Blessed be thy goodness, which hast not suffered us to wander, without instruction, after the foolish desires of our own hearts; but

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