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AND I WOULD FRAME A KIND OF FAITHFUL PRAYER
FOR ALL ESTATES WITHIN THE STATE OF GRACE;
THAT CAREFUL LOVE MIGHT NEVER KNOW DESPAIR,
NOR SERVILE FEAR MIGHT FAITHFUL LOVE DEFACE:
AND THIS I WOULD BOTH DAY AND NIGHT DEVISE
TO BE MY HUMBLE SPIRIT'S EXERCISE.

NICHOLAS BRITON. 1614.

FAMILY PRAYERS.

SUNDAY MORNING.

ALMIGHTY and ever blessed God, source of all being, and fountain of all good; we, thy children, come before thee this morning, to express our sense of thy goodness to us, to acknowledge our dependence upon thee, to adore thy greatness, and commend ourselves to thy

care.

Glory be to thy name that thou hast made us capable of holding communion with thee, the Father of our spirits, and of receiving the revelations of thy word and will. Glory be to thy name for the heavenly doctrines, precepts, and promises of the gospel of thy Son. We make it our earnest prayer to thee, that our hearts may be touched by

its holy influences, that our characters may be formed by its spirit, that our lives may be governed by its laws. O guide us, we beseech thee, in the ways of its truth to the everlasting home which it promises to the righteous.

Let our attendance this day on thy public worship, and the services and instructions of thy house, conduce to our spiritual improvement and our eternal good. Let us enter thy gates with thanksgiving, and thy courts with praise, and take with us. our best affections and resolutions to the temple of the Lord. Let not our thoughts, which ought to be engaged in the holiest offices, be still returning to the cares, pleasures, and follies of a transitory world; neither let us take

thy name upon our lips when our hearts are far from thee. But let our prayers and meditations exalt and purify us, and assist us to discharge our duties in this life, and contribute to prepare us for that eternal world to which we are rapidly hastening.

Bless all who call upon thy name this day. May they approach thee in sincerity, humility, and love. May all denominations of Christians, however divided in opinion, be joined together in the bond of peace, and an earnest regard for the interests of true religion and virtue. And O let the name and the gospel of thy Son be known and glorified more and more, till the whole world shall come to the perfect light, and embrace the truth as it is in Jesus. In his worthy name, and as his disciples, we offer these our petitions; ascribing to thee, the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, all glory and honor, might, majesty, and do

minion, now and for evermore. Amen.

SUNDAY EVENING.

OUR Father who art in heaven; accept, we beseech thee, our grateful acknowledgments for all thy goodness to us this day; and especially for the privileges of holy rest, worship, and instruction. We fervently pray that whatever good impressions may have been made upon us may be durable; that whatever good resolutions we may have formed may be steadfastly kept; that every devout aspiration we may have breathed in the sanctuary may be remembered in the world, to guard us against temptation, and preserve us holy and undefiled. Help us to set our affections on things above. May we constantly live as in thy world, in thy sight, as thy children. Let it be our study at home and abroad, by day and by night, to love and fear thee as we ought, and to do those things

which are well pleasing in thy sight.

We acknowledge, O thou Father and judge of men, that we have sinned against thee; that notwithstanding we have been continued in the world from day to day, and thy mercies have been borne to us on the wings of every hour, we have been undutiful and unthankful; we have often forgotten, and often disobeyed thee. O Father, pardon and reclaim us, and give us that repentance which needeth not to be repented of. Cleanse us from our secret faults, and let sin have no dominion over us. Enable us to become true followers of thy Son Jesus Christ in all things; to clothe ourselves with his humility, purity, and benevolence. Let thy will, as it was his, be ours also. Like him, may we go about doing good. May the contemplation of his character, and imitation of his example, bring us constantly nearer to his own perfection, and to those mansions of ever

lasting happiness which he has promised to his disciples, and gone before to prepare for them.

Take us, Almighty God, under thy sovereign protection. Make us in soul and body wholly thine. mestic

Sanctify our dorelations; bless our friends, and strengthen and purify the bonds of love which join thy servants together. May the blessings, which we receive from thee, excite our gratitude and animate our obedience. May those sorrows, and privations, and pains, with which in thy wisdom thou mayest afflict us, be endured with fortitude and resignation, and improved to our eternal peace.

Watch over us during the darkness of this night, and the defenceless hours of sleep; preserve us from all dangers; and bring us to the light of another morning more inclined to love thee, and resolved serve thee, than we ever have been. Accept our evening sacrifice of prayer

to

and praise, which we offer in the name of Jesus Christ our most blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

MONDAY MORNING.

GREAT and glorious Lord our God; we, thy servants, whom thou hast brought to see the light of another morning, humbly acknowledge thee as the God of our lives and the giver of all good. It is thou who sustainest us in the defenceless hours of sleep, and when we awake we are still with thee. Encompassed by the same care which guarded us by night, we begin the occupations of the day. O God, our trust is in thee. Give us grace to perform our duty faithfully; to use this world as not abusing it; to hold fast our integrity as long as we live; to remember that thou seest us always, and that we must render a final account of all that we do to thee, the witness and judge of men.

We thank thee, O most

merciful Father, for our domestic ties and family blessings. May we, the members of this household, mutually endeavor to discharge our several duties to each other with tenderness and fidelity. Let the gentle and pure spirit of the blessed Jesus possess our hearts, and influence our conduct. Let tranquillity, harmony, and love abide in our dwelling, and the voice of health and cheerfulness be continually heard in it. Extend thy loving kindness to all our friends. Delight in their happiness here, and make them heirs of the inheritance of the saints in the future and eternal world.

O thou, whose blessing is on the habitation of the just, let us be the joyful objects of that blessing, now and for evermore. Let thy mercy encompass our abode, and follow us in all our ways. Throughout our earthly pilgrimage, be thou our guide and comforter; let thy rod and thy staff be our support in the valley of the shadow

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