were created. O thou who at firft didft command the light to fhine out of darknefs, who faidft on the first day of the first week, Let there be light, and there was light; we pray thee fhine this day into our hearts, and give us more and more of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift; and let us be thy workmanship created in Chrift Jefus unto good works, a kind of firft fruits of thy creatures. We likewife fanctify this day to the honour of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the eternal Son of God, and our exalted Redeemer, in remembrance of his refurrection from the dead on the first day of the week, by which he was declared to be the Son of God with power. We bless thee, that having laid down his life to make atonement for fin, he rofe again for our juftification, that he might bring in an everlasting righteoufnefs. That the ftone which the builders refused, the fame is become the head ftone of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. We bless thee, that he is rifen from the dead, as the first-fruits of them that flept, that he might be the refurrection and the life to Now we pray, that while we are celebrating the memorial of his refurrection with joy and triumph, we may experience in our fouls the power and virtue of his refurrection, that we may rife with him, may rife from the death of fin to the life of righteousness, from the duft of this world to a holy, heavenly, fpiritual, and divine life. O that we may be planted together in the likeness of Chrift's refurrection, that as Chrift was railed from the dead by the glory of the Father, fo we alfo may walk in newnefs of life. us. We fanctify this day also to the honour of the eternal Spirit, that bleffed Spirit of grace, the comforter, rejoicing at the remembrance of the defcent of the Spirit upon the apostles on the day of Pentecoft, the first day of the week likewife. We bless thee, that when Jefus was glorified, the Holy Ghoft was given to make up the want of his bodily prefence, to carry on his undertaking, and to ripen things for his fecond coming; and that we have a promise that he shall abide with us forever. And now we pray that the Spirit of him that raifed up Jefus from the dead, may dwell and rule in every one of us to make us partakers of a new and divine nature. Come, O bleffed Spirit of grace, and breathe upon these dry bones, thefe dead hearts of ours, that they may live and be in us a fpirit of faith and love and holiness, a fpirit of power and of a found mind. O Lord, we bless thee for thy holy word, which is a light to our feet, and a lamp to our paths, and which was written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the fcriptures might have hope; that the fcriptures are preferved pure and entire to us, and that we have them in a language that we understand. We beg that we may not receive the grace of God herein in vain. We bless thee, that our eyes fee the joyful light, and our ears hear the joyful found of a Redeemer and a Saviour, and of redemption and falvation by him; that life and immortality are brought to light by the Gofpel. Glory be to God in the higheft, for in and through Jefus Chrift there is on earth peace, and good will towards men. We bless thee for the great gofpel-record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Lord, we receive it as a faithful faying, and well worthy of all acceptation: we will venture our immortal fouls upon it; and we are encouraged by it to come to thee, to beg for an intereft in the mediation of thy Son. O let him be made of God tous wifdom, righteousness, fanctification, and redemption; let us be effectually calledinto fellowship with him, and by faith ce united to him, fo that Chrift may live in us, and we may grow up into him in all things, who is the head; that we may bring forth fruit in him, and whatever we do in word or deed, we may do all in his name. O let us have the fpirit of Chrift, that thereby we may make it appear we are his. through him, we pray that we may have eternal life, that we may none of us come fhort of it, but may all of us have the first fruits and earnests of it abiding in us. We blefs thee for the new covenant made with us in Jefus Chrift; that when the covenant of innocency was irreparably broken, fo that it was become impoflible for us to get to heaven by that covenant, thou waft then pleased to deal with us upon new terms; that we are under grace, and not under the law; that this covenant is established upon better promifes in the hand of a mediator. Lord, we fly for refuge to it, we take hold of it as the hope fet before us. O receive us graciously into the bond of this covenant, and make us accepted in the beloved, according to the tenor of the covenant. Thou hast declared concerning the Lord Jefus, that he is thy beloved Son in whom thou art well pleased, and we humbly profefs that he is our beloved Saviour in whom we are well pleased: Lord, be well pleased with us in him. O that our hearts may be filled this day with pleafing thoughts of Chrift and his love to us, that great love wherewith he loved us. O the admirable dimenfions of that love; the height, and depth, and length, and breadth of the love of Chrift, which paffeth knowledge! Let this love conftrain us to love him, and to live to him, who died for us, and rofe again. O that it may be a pleasure and mighty fatisfaction to us to think that while we are here praying at the footstool of the throne of grace, our bleffed Saviour is fitting at the right hand of the throne of glory, interceding for us. We earneftly beg that through him we may find favour with thee our God, and may be taken into covenant and communion with thee. We humbly pray thee, for his fake, forgive all our fins, known and unknown, in thought, word, and deed: Through him let us be acquitted of the guilt, and accepted as righteous in thy fight: Let us not come into condemnation, as we have deferved: let our iniquity be tak S en away, and our fin covered; and let us be clothed with the fpotlefs robe of Christ's righteousness, that the fhame of our nakedness may not appear. O let there be no cloud of guilt to interpofe between us and our God this day, and to intercept our comfortable communion with him. And let our lufts be mortified and fubdued that our corruptions may not be as a clog to us, to hinder the afcent of our fouls heaven-wards. We pray thee affift us in all the religious fervices of this thine own holy day; Go along with us to the folemn affembly, for if thy prefence go not up with us, wherefore fhould we go up? Give us to draw nigh to thee with a true heart, with a free heart, with a fixed heart, and in full affurance of faith. Meet us with a bleffing: Grace thine own ordinances with thy prefence, that special prefence of thine which thou haft promised there, where two or three are gathered together in thy name. Help us against our manifold infirmities, and the fins that do most easily befet us in our attendance upon thee: Let thy word come with life and power to our fouls, and be as good feed fown in good foil, taking root, and bringing forth fruit to thy praife; and let our prayers and praifes be fpiritual facrifices, acceptable in thy fight, through Chrift Jefus: and let thofe that tarry at home divide the spoil. Let thy prefence be in all the affemblies of good Chriftians this day: Grace be with all them that love the Lord Jefus Chrift in fincerity; let great grace be upon them all. In the chariot of the everlasting gofpel, let the great REDEEMER ride forth triumphantly, conquering and to conquer; and let every thought be brought into obedience to him: Let many be brought to believe the report of the gospel, and to many let the arm of the Lord be revealed: Let finners be converted unto thee, and thy faints edified and built up in faith, holinefs, and comfort, unto falvation: Complete the number of thine elect, and haften thy kingdom. Now the Lord of peace himself give us peace always by all means. The God of hope fill us with joy and peace in believing, for Chrift Jefus fake, our bleffed Saviour and Redeemer, who hath taught us to pray, Our Father which art in heaven, &'c. A Family Prayer for the Lord's Day Evening. Eternal, and for ever bleffed and glorious Lord cy to all that call upon thee, most wife and powerful, holy, just, and good; the King of kings, and Lord of lords; our Lord and our God. Thou art happy without us, and last no need of our fervices, neither can our goodnefs extend unto thee, but we are miserable without thee; we have need of thy favours, and are undone, for ever undone, if thy goodness extend not unto us, and therefore, Lord, we intreat thy favour with our whole hearts: O let thy f vour be towards us in Jefus Chrift, for our happiness is bound up in it, and it is to us better than life. We confefs we have forfeited thy favour, we have rendered ourselves utterly unworthy of it; yet we are humbly bold to pray for it in the name of Jefus Chrift, who loved us, and gave himfelf for us. We bewail it before thee, that by the corruption of our natures we are become odious to thine holiness, and utterly unfit to inherit the kingdom of God, and that by our many actual tranfgreffions we are become obnoxious to thy justice, and liable to thy wrath and curfe. Being by nature children of difobedience, we are children of wrath, and have reafon both to bluth and tremble in all our approaches to the holy and righteous God. Even the iniquity of our holy things would be our ruin, if God fhould deal with us according to the defert of. them. But with thee, O God, there is mercy and plenteous redemption: Thou haft gracioufly provided for all those that repent and believe the gofpel, that the guilt |