and thy mercies, to this morning, help us, good God, to renew our desires, and resolutions, and endeavours, to live in the obedience of thy holy will, and to the honour of thy blessed name. O restrain us from the evils and follies to which we are prone to fall, and quicken us to the offices and duties which we are averse to perform.And grant that we may think and speak, and will and do, the things becoming the children of our heavenly Father, and so find the strong consolations of thy gracious acceptance in Jesus Christ our Saviour;, who, when we pray, has. taught us to say-Our Father, &c.:. A fourth Morning Prayer. LORD God, that hearest prayers, and art nigh to all that call upon thee in truth, having thy ears open to a world of creatures, that continually depend upon thee! as we are moved by our own necessities, so are we encouraged by the daily experience of thy mercies still to shelter ourselves under the shadow of thy wings, and to continue our suits and supplications at the throne of thy grace. And we beg of thee, who fashionest all the hearts of the sons of men, that thou wilt prepare our hearts to come into thy holy presence, and call upon thy blessed name, in a due and acceptable manner. O! pour upon us the spirit of grace and of supplication; and let thy good Spirit help our infirmities, and teach us to pray, and to ask such things, and in such a way, as shall be most agreeable to thy will, and most advantageous to our souls. We have taken upon us to speak unto thee, the Sovereign Majesty of heaven and earth, who are but poor worms, and sinful dust and ashes; that have too just cause to be afraid, lest our great and manifold sins had provoked thee to hide thy face from us, and to shut up thy loving-kindness in displeasure against us: for we have done foolishly and wickedly, in not hearkening to the calls of thy word, nor yielding to the motions of thy Spirit, to walk in the ways which thou hast set before us. Our iniquities are increased over our heads; our trespass is. grown even up to heaven, and our sins are a sore burden, too grievous and heavy for us to bear. They are infinite debts, and sad accounts; for which if thou, O Lord, shouldst enter into judgment with us, we could not answer thee one of a thousand; but must lay our hands upon our mouths, and plead nothing but guilty, having our whole dependence upon thy mercy. O God be merciful to us, miserable sinners, for his sake whom thou hast exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to thy people, and forgiveness of their sins: be merciful to us, we pray thee, and heal our souls, that have greatly sinned against thee. O heal our backslidings, renew us to repentance, establish our hearts in thy true fear and love, and establish our goings in thy holy ways; that we may not be so wavering and bent to backsliding, nor revolt from thee to return to folly, after thou in mercy hast spoken peace to our souls; but may go on conquering and to conquer all the enemies of our souls, and all the hinderances of our salvation, till Satan be bruised under our feet. O thou God of all grace! bring such thoughts to our minds, and lay such considerations home powerfully upon our hearts, as thou knowest most effectual to prevail with us, to work in us thy will, and to keep us from our iniquity, within the bounds of our duty, till thou receive us into the blessed kingdom of thy glory. And in the mean time, sanctify to us all. thy dealings with us; and bless us in all our undertakings, and in all our conditions, fruitions, and relations: Make us humble in an high estate, contented in a low, and still duly careful of our souls in all: following after the things now which will bring us true comfort at the last. 4 Dispose of us, we beseech thee, our God, and of all that concerns us this day, to the glory of thy name. O keep us at all times, and in all places and companies, from the evil of sin, and from all other evils, to which the greatness of our sins does make us liable. And take thou O heavenly Father, the gracious charge, and guidance, and government of us; and so lead us here in all our ways, with thy counsel, that hereafter thou mayest receive us into thy glory, through thy tender mercies, and our Saviour's abundant merits: in whose own words, we beg all things needful for ourslves and others, at. thy hands. Our Father, &c. A fifth Morning Prayer. lent in all the earth: thou hast set up thy glory above the heavens, and thou art worthy to be celebrated with everlasting praises of men and angels for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure it is that they are and were created. Thy hands, O Lord, have made us and fashioned us, and thou hast breathed into our nostrils the breath of life: yea, still thou holdest our souls in life, and givest us every good thing that makes our lives a blessing and a comfort to us. Thou hast formed us for thyself, that we should shew forth thy praise, and live to thy glory, as we do continually live upon thy bounty. But, O Lord our God! we have not brought thee the glory which thou hast made us capable of, and so many ways obliged us to instead of that, O how greatly have we dishonoured thee our God, in the whole course and conduct of our lives! Time after time, forgetting our gracious Giver of all our good things, who art never unmindful of us : And O how soon have we been weary to do thee service, who art never weary to do us good! Yea, we have not only neglected thy work, but have been disobedient against thy word, and have taken bold liberties to go on after our own foolish and hurtful lusts, in such ways of living as thy laws and our own hearts disallow and condemn us for. And for these things we desire to pour out our hearts, and to humble our sinful selves here before thee; entreating thy gracious favour, for the sake of that mercy of thine in Christ Jesus, which has moved thee to spare us so long, and to do so much for us already, that thou wilt be pleased to give us repentance and pardon for all that is past, wherein we have offended thee; whether in omitting of our duty, or failing in it, or doing contrary to it. However we have transgressed, O humble us duly under the sense of it; and for thy dear Son's sake absolve us thoroughly from the guilt of it. And strengthen us, good Lord, with might by the Spirit in the inner man, to make us more watchful against, and more victorious over the corruption of our nature, the temptations of the devil, and the distractions and allurements of this sinful world wherein we live. O destroy in us every vicious inclination, evil habit, and rebellious motion, that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and against the obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. And increase and confirm in us, still more and more, thy true knowledge and faith, and fear, and love, and every grace of thy holy Spirit, which thou knowest to be most wanting in us, and necessary for us: such as may make our lives still more comfortable to ourselves, more profitable to others, and more to the glory of thy name. And however it goes with us, as to the concerns of this present time, O that we may still be found in the way of our duty, fearing God, and working righteousness; that we may secure our interest in the great Saviour of the world; so that when all here shall fail us, thou mayest take us up, and be the strength of our hearts and our portion for evermore. |