Let the word of God prevail to the pulling down of ftrong holds, and the cafting down of the imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and let every thought be brought in obedience to Christ ".

2. That where it is begun it may be carried on, and at length perfected, and the foundation that is well laid be happily built upon.

may

Fulfil in us all the good pleasure of thy goodness, and the work of faith with power w.

Let the God that has begun a good work in us, perform it unto the day of Chrift *.

Perfect, O God, that which concerns us: Thy mercy, O Lord, endures for ever; forfake not the work of thine own hands y.

Lord, let thy grace be fufficient for us, and let thy ftrength be made perfect in weakness, that where we are weak, there we may be ftrong, ftrong in the Lord, and the power of his might ".

More particularly we must pray for grace.

1. To teach and inftru&t us, and make us knowing and intelligent in the things of God.

Give us fo to cry after knowledge, and to lift up our voice for understanding, to seek for it as filver, and to fearch for it as for hid treafure, that we may underftand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God a.

Give us all to know thee, from the leaft even to the greateft, and to follow on to know theed; and fo to know thee, the only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom thou haft fent, as may be life eternal to us .

Give us the fpirit of wifdom and revelation in the

2 Cor. x. v. Pfalm cxxxviii. 8, b Prov. ii. 3. 4, 5. e John xvii. 3.

w 2 Theff. i. 11. % 2 Cor. xi. 9, IC.. c Heb. vii. 11.

∞ Phil. i. 6. a Eph. vi. 10. d Hofea vi. 3.

knowledge of Chrift, that the eyes of our understanding being enlightened, we may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the faints, and may experience what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power f. Open thou our eyes, that we may fee the wondrous" things of thy law and gospel 8.

Give us to know the certainty of thofe things wherein we have been inftructed; and let our knowledge. grow up to all riches of the full affurance of underftanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, even of the Father and of Christ h

Deal with thy fervants according to thy mercy, and teach us thy ftatutes;, we are thy fervants, give us underftanding that we may know thy teftimonies.

Let

our cry come before thee, O Lord; give us understand. ing, according to thy word i, that good underftanding which they have that do thy commandments, whole praife endure th for ever *.

2. To lead us into, and keep us in the way of truth; and if in any thing we be in an error, to rectify our mistake.

Let the Spirit of truth guide us into all truth, and caufe us to understand wherein we have erred m..

That which we fee not teach thou us", and enable us to prove all things, as to hold fait that which is, good o. Lord, grant that we may not be as children, toffed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the flight of meir, but fpeaking the truth in love, may grow up into Christ in all things, who is the head P.

Lord, give us fo to do thy wil', as that we may know of the doctrine whether it be of God 9; and fo to know the truth, as that the truth may make us free, may make us free indeed ".

f Eph. i. 17, 18, 19. g Pfalm cxix. 18. i Pfalm cxix. 124, 125, 169. k cx'. 10.

m Job. vi. 24.

p Eph. iv. 14, 15.

n Job xxxiv. 27.

g John vi.
F 3

17.

/ John xvi. 13.

o 1 Theff. v. 21,

Enable us, we pray thee, to hold faft the form of found words, which we have heard in faith and love, which is in Chrift Jefus,, and to continue in the things which we have learned and been affured of '.

2. To help our memories, that the truths of God may be ready to us, whenever we have occafion to use them. ⚫ Lord, let thy Spirit teach us all things, and bring all things to our remembrance, whatsoever thou haft faid that the word of Chrift may dwell richly in us in all wifdom and spiritual understanding ".

unto us v

Lord, grant that we may give a more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, left at any time we let them flip, and may keep in memory what hath been preached to us, and may not believe in vain *.

Lord, make us ready and mighty in the fcriptures that we may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works, and being well inftructed into the kingdom of heaven, may, as the good householder, bring out of our treafure things new and old 2.

4. To direct our confciences, to show us the way of our duty, and to make us wife, knowing, judicious Chriflians.

Lord, give us a wife and an understanding heart 2, that wisdom which in all cafes is profitable to direct ↳ ; that wisdom of the prudent which is to understand his way c.

This we pray, that our love may abound yet more and more in knowledge, and in all judgment, that we may difcern things that differ, and may approve things that, are excellent; that we may be fincere, and without of fence unto the day of Chrift, and may be filled with the fruits of righteoufnefs, which are by Jefus Christ unto the glory and praife of God d.

O that we may be filled with the knowledge of thy will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that we

may walk worthy of God unto all-pleafing, being fruitful in every good work, and increafing in the knowledge of Gode.

Teach us thy way, O God, and lead us in a plain path, because of our obfervers f.

When we know not what to do, our eyes are up unto thee: Then let us hear the Lord behind us, faying, This is the way, walk in it, that we turn not to the right hand nor to the left 1.

Order our fteps in thy word, and let no iniquity have dominion over us i.

5. To fanctify our nature, to plant in us all holy principles and difpofitions, and to increase every grace in us.

The very God of peace fanctify us wholly; and we pray God, our whole fpirit, and foul, and body, may be preferved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift; for faithful is he that calleth, who alfo will do it k.

Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right fpirit within us: and caft us not away from thy prefence, and take not thy Holy Spirit away from us; re-. ftore unto us the joy of thy falvation, and uphold us with thy free Spirit'.

Write thy law in our hearts, and put it in our inward part, that we may be the epiftles of Chrift, written by the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of ftone, but in fleshy tables of the heart ", that the law of our God being in our heart none of our steps may flide o, and we may delight to do thy will, O God P, may delight in the law of God after the inward man 4.

O that we may obey from the heart that form of doctrine into which we defire to be delivered, as into a mould, that our whole fouls may be leavened by it '; and that we may not be conformed to this world, but

e Col. i. 9, 10. f Pfalm xxvii. 11. Ifa. xxx. 21. i Pfalm cxix: 133 / Pfalm li. 10, 11,

Pfalm xxxvii. 31.

n 2 Cor. iii. 3•

12. m Heb. vii. 10.
xl. i. q Rom. vii. 22. r vi. 17.

transformed by the renewing of our minds; may not fashion ourselves after our former lufts in our igno-rance, but as obedient children, may be holy in all manner of conversation, as he who hath called us is holy v. (1.) We must pray for faith.

Unto us (Lord) let it be given to believe"; for the faith by which we are faved is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God x.

Lord, increase our faith, and perfect what is lacking in it, that we may be ftrong in faith, giving glory to God a.

Lord, give us fo to be crucified with Chrift, as thatthe life we may live in the fleth we may live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave him-felf for us; and fo to bear about with us continually the dying of the Lord Jefus, as that the life alfo of Je-fus may be manifefted in our mortal bodies ©.

As we have received Chrift Jefus the Lord enable us fo to walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and establifhed in the faith as we have been taught, abounding, therein with thankfgiving .

Let every word of thine profit us e, being mixed with faith, by which we receive thy teftimony, and fet to our feal that God is true f.

We befeech thee work in us that faith which is the fubftance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not feeng, by which we may look above the things that are feen, that are temporal, and may look at the things that are not feen, that are eternal h,

Enable us by faith to fet the Lord always before us i, and to have cur eyes ever towards him, that we may act in every thing, as feeing him that is invifible, and having a respect to the recompence of reward m.

≈1 Thef

s Matth. xiii. 23. t Rom. xii. 2. v Peter i. 14. w Phil. i. 29. ≈ Eph. ii. 8. y Luke vii. 6. iii. 10. a Rom. iv. 20 b Gal. xii. 20. c 2 Cor. iv. 10. d Col. ii. 6, 7. e Heb. iv. 2. f John iii. 33. g Heb. xi. 1. b 2 Cor. iv. 18. / xxv. 15. m Heb. xi. 26, 27

i Pfalm xvi. 8.