digest what we have this day heard or read, that by patience and comfort of thy holy word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Assist us, we beseech thee, in the week upon which we have entered, to live according to our profession and our prayers; according to the instructions and exhortations which we have received out of thy holy word; that our conversation may be such as becometh the gospel of Christ. Let us not abuse the means of grace by resting in them, but may they bring forth in us the peaceable fruits of righteousness; that we may love the things which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; so that among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found. Let thy good providence, O Lord, we humbly beseech thee, be with us this night; keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls. Extend thy goodness, O Lord, to the whole race of mankind have mercy upon all that err and are deceived, and bring them into the way of truth. Let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church, and preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness. Bless those whom thou hast set over us both in Church and State; that in their several stations they may be duly serviceable to thy glory and the public good. Let thy blessing be upon all our benefactors, friends, and relations, and also our enemies; let thy fatherly hand be ever over them, and thy Holy Spirit with them, to guide them, through the knowledge and obedience of thy word, to everlasting life. We bless and praise thy holy name, O Lord, for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men for our preservation during the day past, and for all the other blessings of this life: but above all we praise and adore thy goodness in the redemption of the world by the death and passion of our Saviour Christ, both God and man; who did humble Himself, even to the death upon the cross, for us miserable sinners, that He might exalt us to everlasting life. Oh! teach us to express our thankfulness, by submitting ourselves entirely to His holy will and pleasure, and by studying to serve Him in true righteousness and holiness all the days of our life. Accept, we beseech thee, O Lord, these our prayers and praises, through the mediation of Jesus Christ, our blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Our Father, &c. The grace of our Lord, &c. MONDAY MORNING. Let us Pray. O God, the giver of all good gifts, and the Father of mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, desire to praise thy holy name for all thy goodness, and every instance of thy bounty to us. Blessed be thy love in giving thine only Son to die for our sins, for the covenant of mercy in His most precious blood, for the means of grace instituted by Him here, and for the hope of glory through His merits hereafter. We bless thee, also, for that, after all our neglect of thy grace, thou still hast patience with us, and addest another day to those we have mis-spent already, that we may finish the work which thou hast given us to do, and renew and perfect our repentance. Pardon, good Lord, for Jesus Christ's sake, all our former sins, and all our abuses of thy forbearance; make us truly penitent; and give us grace to lead more holy lives, and to be more careful in improving all future opportunities. Be thou alway present to our minds; and let thy love and fear rule in our souls in all those places and companies where our occasions shall lead us this day. Keep us chaste in all our thoughts, and temperate in all our enjoyments; humble in ourselves, and charitable toward others; meek and peaceable under all provocations; sincere and faithful in all our professions; and so just and right in all our dealings, that no necessity may lead us, nor any opportunity in any kind allure us, to defraud our neighbour. When thou bestowest good on others, let us not envy, but rejoice in it; and when thou addest any to ourselves, may we acknowledge thy mercy with humble thankfulness. Give us, we beseech thee, convenient supplies in all our reasonable necessities, and protect us against all dangers. Make us diligent in our business; and give such success to our honest endeavours as thou seest most expedient for us: and teach us contentedly to submit ourselves to thee, and not to repine at anything which may befal us by the allotment of thy wise Providence. In all our passage through this world, and our manifold concerns therein, suffer not our hearts to be too much set upon it, but may we alway fix our eyes upon the blessed hope of everlasting life, so that we may make all the things of this world minister to it; and be careful, above all things, to fit our souls for that pure and perfect bliss which thou hast prepared for them who love and fear thee, in the glories of thy kingdom. Extend, also, O Lord, we humbly beseech thee, thy grace to all men in all places, both high and low, rich and poor: more particularly, bless and defend our sovereign lord the King; give a double portion of thy Spirit to the ministers of thy holy word and sacraments; bless our relations, friends, and benefactors; pardon and convert our enemies; and bring us all to thine everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our Father, &c. The grace of our Lord, &c. |