at the end of this life be received into thy glory. All of which we beg in the name and for the sake of our only Redeemer; for whom we thank thee; and to whom, with thyself, O Father, and the Holy Ghost our Comforter, in the unity of the ever blessed Trinity be all praise, and honour, and glory ascribed by us, and by all the Israel of God, now and for evermore. Amen.

A SEVENTH EVENING PRAYER.

O LORD, thou great and glorious God, infinite in power, wisdom, and goodness! Thou hast created all things by thine almighty hand! thou sustainest and orderest all things by thy wise and righteous providence; and thy mercy is everlasting, and over all thy works. O who is able to express, who is able to conceive, the exceeding riches of thy grace and goodness! In what a plentiful measure have thy bounties been poured out upon us thy sinful creatures, who deserve nothing from thee, but to be forsaken and abhorred by thee! This day, and every day of our lives, O Lord, we have tasted largely of thy mercy, and been altogether preserved by thy fatherly care.

But, notwithstanding all thy patience, and gracious dealings with us, and all the repeated pledges of thy favour towards us, O how ill have we requited thy love! And what unsuitable returns have we made for all thy great and continued goodness that we have experienced! Beside the guilt of our inbred corruption, which as a sore burthen, hangs heavy upon us, we are amazed at the greatness and

multitude of all our sins that we have committed against thee; against the light and teachings of thy gospel; against the dictates and strivings of thy Spirit; against the love and sufferings of thy Son; against all the patience and forbearance which thou hast exercised towards us. O Lord, we have given thee so great provocation, that we have reason to fear lest thou shouldst forsake us utterly, and cause the day of thy patience to end. Well may we be afraid that thou wilt grant us no more of that grace which we have so greatly abused, nor any supplies of that holy Spirit whom we have so often resisted. And what have we now to expect from thee, O Lord! what but judgement, if it were not that thy mercy rejoices over judgement! Thy word assures us, that thou delightest not in the death of sinners, but rather that they should turn to thee and live : and therefore it is that thou still leavest us these opportunities to plead with thee for the life of our souls. But what have we to plead? Nothing, Lord, in ourselves: our hope is only in thee: we plead therefore thine own gracious nature, thy merciful inclinations, thine exceedingly great and precious promises, which thou hast freely made to returning sinners. Thou hast sent thine only Son to be our almighty Saviour: and he that did no sin, was manifested to take away our sins. O then for his sake be pleased to pity us, to spare us, to forgive us. Turn away thy wrath from us; receive us to thy blessed favour; and comfort us with the sure persuasion, that our iniquities are forgiven.

And because such is the infirmity of our nature, that without thy grace we have not the least power to keep ourselves even from the greatest sins, O grant us the increase of thy grace, and the help of

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thy good Spirit; that we may be fortified against all temptation, and be made thy willing and faithful servants. And be pleased, O Lord, yet further to discover and manifest thyself to our souls, that we may know aright thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. And give us power from on high that we may be able to live according to that light which thou art pleased to impart unto us; that we may not hold the truth in unrighteousness, but may walk in the light, as children of the light. O let us not only be almost, but altogether Christians let us be true penitents, sincere converts, and sound believers. And O thou, that workest all in all, finish in us the work of thy grace, that we may have cause to give thee praise and glory to all eternity.

These things, Lord, we beg, not only for ourselves, but for all who partake of our nature, for all whom thou hast made capable of eternal happiness. More especially we pray for thy whole church, wheresoever or howsoever disposed of throughout all the earth for the Queen's majesty; and all our rulers and counsellors; for our ministers and teachers; for our relations and neighbours; our friends and benefactors: and for all thy afflicted, whatsoever be their trials and troubles. O supply all their wants, and fulfil all their desires, in such a manner as thy wisdom sees best, for thy own mercy's sake in Christ Jesus.

Thou, Lord, art the great preserver of men, who hast kept and blest us this day, and all our days. Praised be thy name for all thy goodness, which we have so long and largely experienced. O make us sensible of thy kindness, and thankful for it as we ought to be. Take care of us, O Lord, and be

MORNING PRAYER FOR THE LORD'S DAY. 41 gracious to us this night. Give us not only bodily rest in our beds, but rest for our souls in thy blessed self: and be thou our God and guide, our hope and help, our joy and comfort, our ALL IN ALL, this night and for evermore. Amen.

MORNING PRAYER FOR THE LORD'S DAY.

O MOST blessed and gracious Lord God, whose almighty hand has brought us out of nothing, to enjoy the comforts of life; and whose free grace has called us out of a state worse than nothing to the hope of thy heavenly glory! We bless thy name, that thou hast conducted us safe through all states and conditions of our lives, to see the comfortable light of this day; and we glorify thee that we have yet a day of grace wherein to seek the things belonging to our peace. We adore thee for having so far consulted the good of our souls, as to set apart this day for holy uses, that we might engage in a solemn attendance upon thee, in whose service consists all our honour and happiness. O how much higher might we have been in thy favour, how much nearer to thee our God, and fitter for thy heavenly kingdom, had we rightly used, and conscientiously improved, those means of grace, which thou hast been pleased to afford us!

But we have been cruel to our own souls, as well as disobedient to thee, our Lord; many times losing the opportunities of appearing before thee; and shunning as a task what was our highest privilege and even when we have set ourselves to seek thy face, it has been with such coldness and

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dulness, such wanderings and distractions, that thou mightest justly abhor our souls, and despise our services.

But be thou pleased to look upon us in the Son of thy love, who is the Lord our peace and our righteousness; and forgive us all that is past, wherein we have neglected thy work or performed it amiss, or done what was inconsistent with it. Help us, O God of our salvation, and deliver us both from the bands and burden of our guilt; and purge away all our sins, for the glory of thy name : O let them not stand as a partition-wall, to hinder the ascent of our prayers to thee, or the descent of thy blessings upon us. But let thy peace and love shine into our souls; that we may see the felicity of thy chosen, and draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation.

O let us not rest in any forms of godliness, denying the power thereof: let us not take up with the name and profession of Christianity; but be swayed with its life and power. And let the gospel of our Lord, and the graces of thy good Spirit shine forth in our lives, to the glory of thee our heavenly Father. O, gracious God, be with us, and with all the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries, who are this day to speak in thy name: furnish them with abilities necessary for their great work; and enable them to suit themselves to the capacities and necessities of their several hearers. And grant, Lord, unto us, and unto all the hearers of thy holy word, humble and teachable spirits; that we may receive thy truth in the love of it, so as to profit and grow by it. O do thou remove all the hinderances of our spiritual improvement, that thy word may have free course and be glorified amongst us. And let us this