FORMS OF PRAYER.

AT THE OPENING OF DIVINE SERVICE.

PRAYER 1.

ALMIGHTY GOD! vouchsafe, we beseech thee, deeply to convince us of thine infinite excellence and our own unworthiness, that we may appear in thy presence with lowly, contrite, and devout hearts. Grant us the assistance of the Holy Spirit in offering up our united worship before the throne of the heavenly grace; mercifully hear us in every part of our accustomed services, for Jesus Christ's sake; and let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord! our strength and our Redeemer.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven; give us day by day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.-AMEN.

Almighty and most gracious God! who dwellest in light inaccessible and full of glory; regard not, we beseech thee, the multitude of our sins, nor let our unworthiness separate between thee and us. Deal mercifully with us, and bless us. and lift upon us the light of thy countenance. Enable us to come into thy courts with thanksgiving, and in fear to worship before thee. Enlighterf our minds with the know

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ledge of thy truth. Inspire our hearts with thy love. Open thou our lips and our mouths shall shew forth thy praise; and vouchsafe to accept every part of our holy services, through the merits and intercession of thy well-beloved Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.-Our Father, &c.

Almighty and most merciful Father, who hast commanded us to offer unto thee thanksgivings, and to pay our vows unto thee; and who hast never said to thy children, seek ye my face in vain: give ear this day, we beseech thee, to the confessions, the supplications, the adorations and thanksgivings, which shall ascend to thy throne from all parts of thy universal church, and more especially from this place, where we are assembled to speak of thy glory. Assist us to pray. Enable us to praise thee with understanding. Let thy grace accompany the reading and preaching of thy word. And cause that every part of the sacred services may be performed to our edification, and to the glory of thy great name in Jesus Christ.-Our Father, &c.

4.

Praise waiteth for thee, O God! in Zion, and unto thee shall the vow be performed. O thou that hearest prayer! unto thee shall all flesh come. Our waiting eyes are to thee, God of our salvation, from whom cometh our help. Bow the Heavens, and come down, and fill this temple with thy glory, and our hearts with thy grace. Give ear to the confession of our sins, the cry of our necessities, and the voice of our thanksgivings. Dispose us to receive with meekness and teachableness the grafted word. And vouchsafe both now and evermore to regard us in mercy through

the intercession of our only mediator and advocate, Jesus Christ thy Son.-Our Father, &c.

5.

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel! thou that leadest Joseph like a flock, thou who of old didst dwell between the Cherubim, shine forth. Shine into the souls of all here assembled, that in simplicity and godly sincerity we may shew forth thy praises. Pour down upon us the auspicious influences of thy Holy Spirit, that we may be enabled to lift up to thy throne pure hearts and holy hands; and to hear thy word with pious, faithful, and charitable dispositions. Open thou our hearts that we may receive the truth in the love of it. Sanctify our affections, and assist us to devote all our faculties of soul and body to thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord.Our Father, &c.

6.

Almighty and everlasting God; who by thy holy apostle hath commanded us not to forsake the assembling of our selves together, and by thy Son Jesus Christ hath promised that where two or three are met together in thy name there thou wilt be in the midst of them; meet with us, we beseech thee, and let thy heavenly benediction rest upon us, that our prayer may be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of our hands, as the morning or the evening sacrifice. Send down thy Holy Spirit to banish all wandering thoughts and carnal desires, and to inspire us with faith, repentance, and all Christian graces. Enlighten our minds, that we may know the truth. Persuade our wills, that we may obey it. The Lord bless us, and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace.-Our Father, &c.

GENERAL PRAYERS.

PRAYER 1.

ALMIGHTY GOD! and most merciful Father! Holy, blessed, and glorious majesty! who alone art worthy to be feared and to be had in reverence; we adore thy perfections as they are made known to us by thy works of creation, by thine all-governing providence, and by the clear and full revelation which thou hast given of thyself in thy written word. We render thee unfeigned thanks for all thy mercies of every kind; general and particular; spiritual and temporal; common and special; and above all, for Jesus Christ, thine unspeakable gift, and the hope of eternal life through him. We make humble and penitent confession of our sins, lamenting that deep corruption and perverse disposition of heart from which proceed sins against God, our neighbour, and ourselves-sins in thought, word, and deed; sins secret and presumptuous; sins accidental and habitual; and we acknowledge the aggravation of our manifold offences, in that they have been committed against better knowledge, in the face of thy most merciful condescension and forbearance, and in despite of the holy vows by which we are devoted to thee. But thou, O Lord! have mercy upon us miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God! who confess their faults; restore thou those who are penitent, according to thy promises declared unto mankind, in Christ. Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of thy holy name.

In the name of this, our most worthy and compassionate Redeemer, we beseech thee that it may please thee by thy Holy Spirit, to renew us in the spirit of our minds; to strengthen us for the performance of duty; to support and comfort us under all the trials to which we are liable as sin

ful and mortal creatures; and to bestow on us all temporal goods that may be necessary in our passage through this vain world; and we do most earnestly pray that whatever mercies may attend our earthly probation, may be so overruled, directed, and sanctified, as to advance the life of religion in our souls; to the end that when we shall depart this life, and be absent from this body, we may be present with thee in thine everlasting kingdom.

By all our wants; by all thy compassions; by the grace of the covenant; and by the merits and atonement of our Saviour, we sinners do beseech thee to hear us in these our prayers. And further, that it may please thee to visit all men with thy salvation; sending forth thy light to lead the ignorant into truth; refreshing thy church universal with the dews of thy reviving grace; converting sinners, and building up thine own true and pious children in their most holy faith. That it may please thee to clothe the naked; to feed the famished; to heal the sick; to relieve the oppressed; to visit the widows and fatherless children, and them that are in prison; to protect all who travel with lawful views by land or water; and to succour, with thine ever present and ready help, all who are in any circumstances of need, peril, or distress. That it may please thee to bless and defend all of tender age, and to make of the children of thy people a seed to serve thee when their fathers shall sleep in peace.. That it may please thee, to pour thy benedictions on the ministers of the everlasting gospel, giving them grace to be honest, faithful, impartial, and undaunted, in the instruction and government of the church, and to commend themselves and their doctrine by the testimony of a godly, blameless, and Christian life. And, finally, that it may please thee to bless the president of the United States of America, and all subordinate constituted authorities, directing them so to administer the government, as shall be most for thy honour, and the peace, freedom, and security of the republick.

These, our unworthy services, we offer thee through the intercession of Jesus Christ, our only mediator and advocate.