FRIDAY MORNING. Let us Pray. O ETERNAL God, and most merciful Father, look down upon us thy unworthy creatures, through the mediation of thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and be pleased to accept our unfeigned praises for thy many and undeserved favours bestowed upon us; for creating us reasonable creatures, and for the continuance of our lives; for protecting us during the night past, and bringing us safe to the beginning of this day. But more especially we glorify thy name for thine infinite love in the redemption of the world by thy beloved Son Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. O Lord, give us grace to praise thee, not only with our lips, but by living in obedience to all thy commands all the days of our life. Good Lord, make us truly sensible of, and penitent for, all the sins that we have committed against thy divine Majesty, in thought, word, or deed. Wash away our guilt with the precious blood of thy dear Son; be reconciled to us for His sake, and save us from the wrath to come. Draw our minds from the love of this world, and teach us to use it with temperance, sobriety, and moderation; with an entire trust and dependence on thy fatherly care and good providence, and with a perfect submission to thy blessed will in all things. O Lord, root out of our hearts all pride and envy, hatred and ill-will; put away from us all lying and slandering, and all uncharitableness, and whatever is contrary to a truly Christian Spirit; and endue us, we most humbly pray thee, with the meekness and humility which is in thy sight of so great value, and with all those holy and Christian dispositions which thou lovest. Instruct us, we humbly beseech thee, in all the particulars of our duty which we owe to thee, our neighbour, and ourselves. Guide and conduct us, by thy good Spirit, through all the business and affairs of this life. Teach us to act with faithfulness and honesty in everything that we take in hand; and give us such a dread of thy displeasure, and such a sense of thy continual presence with us, as may secure us, by thy grace, against all the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. O Lord, assist us this day, with the gracious motions of thy Holy Spirit, that we may continually arise from the death of sin unto a life of righteousness; preserve us from the dangers of evil company, and from the deceitfulness of our own hearts; and defend us more especially from those sins that are most apt to betray and insnare us. Let thy blessing accompany all our honest labours and endeavours; and vouchsafe to us such a measure of health, and other temporal mercies, as thou seest best and most fitting for us. We desire, O Lord, to leave ourselves, and all our affairs, in thy hands; humbly beseeching thee to take us, and all that belong to us, under the protection of thy good providence; and so to bless, direct, and guide us, in this life, that we may at last obtain the greatest of all blessings, the eternal salvation of our immortal souls, through the merits, and for the sake of thy dear Son our Saviour Jesus Christ: for whom we praise theé, and in whose most holy name and words, we sum up all our wants, and those of all mankind. Our Father, &c. The grace of our Lord, &c. FRIDAY EVENING. Let us Pray. O holy, blessed, and glorious God, have mercy upon us miserable sinners; and let the prayers and supplications of thy servants be acceptable unto thee, through Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Ad vocate. O Almighty God, and gracious Father, who hast established the heavens and the earth in wonderful order, making day and night to succeed each other, for the comfort and refreshment of mankind, we make our humble supplications to thy Divine Majesty, begging of thee mercy and protection this night and for ever. O Lord, pardon all our sins, in thought, word, and deed, whatever we have done amiss this day, or at any time before; be fully reconciled to us in the blood of thy dear Son. O Lord God of Mercy, we earnestly beseech thee to give us true repentance; and so to assist us with thy Holy Spirit, that we may mortify all our sinful inclinations, and wholly devote ourselves to thy service in holiness of life. Convince us truly, O Lord, of the folly and danger of sin; and teach us ever to value thy love above all things, and to esteem thy favour more than life itself; and grant that we may pass through all the temptations of this world with peace, and innocence, and safety. Suffer us not, O merciful God, to be led away by the vain and foolish customs of the world, nor seduced from our duty by the company and example of wicked men: but grant that we may make thy laws the rule of all our actions; and may it be our constant and most zealous endeavour to please thee in all things, and faithfully to discharge our duty in the several places and stations wherein thy providence hath placed us. Teach us, O Lord, so to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom: make us duly mindful that thou art present everywhere, and privy to our most secret thoughts, that we may never dare to do anything but what thou approvest, and of which we may give a comfortable account, at the great day of the Lord Jesus. Oh! fit and prepare us for the solemn time by a virtuous and holy life; that when we come to appear before the great Judge of all the world, we may be found of the number of those happy souls whom He shall then pronounce blessed. Extend thy goodness O Lord, to all mankind; have mercy upon all who know not, or do not acknowledge thy truth, and bring them to the light |