renewal of our hearts, whereby we may be transformed into that blessed image wherein thou didst create us. O make us all meet to be partakers of the inheritance of thy saints in light.

And teach us, O God, to use this world without abusing it; and to receive the things needful for the body, without losing our part in thy love, which is better than life itself. Whatever we have of this world,

O may we have the same with thy leave and love; sanctified to us by the word of God and by prayer; and by the right improvement thereof to thy glory. And whatever we want of worldly things, leave us not destitute of the "things that accompany salvation;" but adorn our souls with all such graces of thy Holy Spirit, that we may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

And now that thou hast renewed our lives and thy mercies to us this morning, help us to renew our desires and resolutions, and endeavours to live in obedience to thy holy will. O restrain us from the sins into

which we are most prone to fall, and quicken us to the duties we are most averse to perform; and grant that we may think and speak, and will and do, the things becoming the children of our heavenly Father; and so find the strong consolation of thy gracious acceptance in Jesus Christ our Saviour, who, when we pray, hath taught us to say, "Our Father," &c.

FRIDAY EVENING.

O LORD, thou wast before all, thou art above all, and thy years shall not fail. Thou art the Searcher of our hearts; thou knowest the dulness and hardness, the vanity and deceitfulness, of them: we were born sinners, and so have we lived. We have added sin to sin; we have abused thy great and manifold mercies, tempted thy patience, and despised thy goodness; and justly mightest thou have cast us into outer darkness, where is wailing and gnashing of teeth.

But of thy loving-kindnesses there is no number. Thou still callest us to return to thee; and "whosoever cometh to thee, thou wilt in nowise cast out." O meet us with thy heavenly grace, that we may be able to come to thee. Be thou graciously pleased to stretch forth thy hand, and loose the chains wherewith our souls are entangled. O free us from every weight of sin, from every yoke of bondage. O help us to feel, and bewail, and forsake all our sins; and let us never want the comfortable assurance of thy forgiveness of them, thy acceptance of us, and thy love to us, in the blessed Son of thy eternal love.

Thou art never weary, O Lord, of doing us good: let us never be weary of doing thee service. But, as thou hast pleasure in the prosperity of thy servants, so let us take pleasure in the service of our Lord, and abound in thy work, and in thy love and praise evermore. O fill up all that is wanting, reform whatever is amiss, in us, and perfect the thing that concerneth us. Let the witness of thy pardoning love ever abide in all our hearts. O speak into every one of our souls the peace which passeth all understanding; and let us always look upon thee as our Father, reconciled to us in Jesus Christ.

In his great name we cry unto thee in the behalf of the whole race of mankind. Ọ that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our

God. Continue thy mercies to this sinful land; teach us at length to know thy will concerning us; and O turn thou all our hearts unto thee, as the heart of one man. Bless the king; O Lord, prolong his days and prosper his government; make him always a "terror to evil doers, and a praise to them that do well :" and grant unto all magistrates and ministers of thy word, a continual supply of all the needful gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. Be thou a Father to the fatherless, a Husband to the widow, a Refuge to the oppressed, a Physician to the sick, a Helper of the friendless, a God of consolation to the sorrowful and distressed. Bless to us whatsoever thou art pleased to allot us, and every thing that befalls us. Make all work for our good, to build us up in thy grace, and o help us on to thy glory.

Continue thy fatherly care over us this night. O preserve and defend, and bless and keep us, that no evil may befall us, "nor any plague come nigh our dwelling." Give us comfortable sleep to strengthen us for thy service; and whenever thou callest us to the sleep of death, let us cheerfully resign our spirits into thy hands, through the riches of thy grace, and the worthiness of thy Son, in whose merits and mediation alone we put our trust. And for all that he hath done and suffered for us, to thy name, O blessed God of our salvation, be the praise, and honour, and glory, given by us and all thy people, now and for evermore. “Our Father," &c.

SATURDAY MORNING.

We present ourselves before thee, O Lord our God, to pay our tribute of prayer and thanksgiving; desiring thee mercifully to accept us and our services at the hands of Jesus Christ. In his great name we come to beg thy pardon and peace, the increase of thy grace, and the tokens of thy love; for we are not worthy of the least of thy mercies: but worthy is the Lamb that was slain to take away the sin of the world; for whose sake thou wilt give us all things; for he hath fulfilled those holy laws which we had broken, and perfectly satisfied for our offences; and in him thou art a God gracious and merciful to those who deserve nothing but punishment.

O merciful Father, regard not what we have done against thee; but what our blessed Saviour hath done for us. Regard not what we have made ourselves, but what He is made unto us of thee our God. O that Christ may be to every one of our souls, "wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption;" that his precious blood may cleanse us from all our sins; and that thy Holy Spirit may renew and sanctify our souls. May He crucify our flesh with its affections and lusts, and mortify all our members which are upon earth. O let not "sin reign in our mortal bodies, that we should obey it in the lusts thereof;" but, "being made free from sin, let us be the servants of righteousness." Let us approve our hearts to thee, and let all our ways be pleasing in thy sight.

O teach us to know thee our God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent; and enable us to do thy will on earth, as it is done in heaven. Give us to fear thee and to love thee, to trust and delight in thee, and to cleave to thee with full purpose of heart, that no temptations may draw

us or drive us from thee; but that all thy dispensations to us, and thy dealings with us, may be the messengers of thy love to our souls. Quicken us, O Lord, in our dulness, that we may not serve thee in a lifeless and listless manner; but may abound in thy work, and be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. And make us faithful in all our intercourse with our neighbour, that we may be ready to do good and bear evil, that we may be just and kind, merciful and meek, peaceable and patient, sober and temperate, humble and self-denying, inoffensive and useful in the world; that so glorifying thee here, we may be glorified with thee in thy heavenly kingdom.

Day by day we magnify thee, O Lord, who makest every day an addition to thy mercies. We bless thee for preserving us the night past, and for the rest thou gavest us therein. O cause us to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do we trust. Cause us to know the way wherein we shall go, for we lift up our souls unto thee. O take not thy Holy Spirit from us; but direct all our ways to please thee our God. Help us to see thy power, to own thy presence, to admire thy wisdom, and to love thy goodness in all thy creatures; and by all, draw our hearts still nearer to thee. Such thy mercy and grace we beg for ourselves, and all ours and thine every where in our great Mediator's blessed words :-" Our Father," &c.

SATURDAY EVENING.

O LORD our God, thou art infinitely good, and thou hast showed us what is good. Thou sendest out thy light and thy truth, that they may guide us, and makest plain thy way before our face. Thou givest us many opportunities and advantages, to quicken and farther us in thy service. We have "line upon line," and "precept upon precept;" thy messengers early and late to open and apply thy word, to call and warn, to direct and exhort us, with all long suffering. But how little have we improved all the precious talents, which thou hast put into our hands!

O Lord, thou mightest justly take away the Gospel of thy kingdom from us, and give it unto another people, who would bring forth the fruits thereof. Because thou hast called, and we refused; thou hast stretched forth thy hands, and we have not regarded; thou mightest leave us to our own perverseness and impenitence, till our iniquities became our ruin.

But, O Lord God, enter not thus into judgment with thy servants. Pardon all our contempt of thy word, and our not profiting thereby. And help us for the time to come better to improve the blessed opportunities set before us. "As the rain descends from heaven and returns not thither, but waters the earth and maketh it fruitful; so let not thy word return unto thee void, but prosper in the work whereunto thou sendest it." O make it effectual to build us all up, in the true fear and love of God, and in the right knowledge and faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.

O gracious God, may thy Spirit cause thy word to work thoroughly and successfully in all our hearts. And as we daily receive how we ought to walk and to please thee our God; so help us to "walk worthy

of the Lord unto all well-pleasing;" increasing in the knowledge and love of thee, and abounding more and more in every good work which is pleasing in thy sight through Jesus Christ.

At his hands, O Lord our God, we beg thy gracious acceptance of our humble praise and thanksgiving for all thy blessings, spiritual and temporal, so freely conferred upon us. We praise thee for all the comforts and conveniences of this life, and for all the means and hopes of a better; particularly for what we have received this day; the food of our souls set before us, the word of salvation sounding in our ears, and the Spirit of God striving with our hearts. O withdraw not thy tender mercies from us, but still continue thy accustomed goodness, and increase thy grace and heavenly blessings upon us, and rejoice over us to do us good.

In mercy pass by all which thy most pure and holy eyes have seen amiss in us this day. Forgive the iniquities of our holy things; overlook all our sins and failings through our great Mediator and Redeemer, who ever lives at thy right hand to make intercession for us. And for Jesus Christ, and all which thou art pleased to give us together with him, "not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name" be all the praise, and honour, and glory, humbly ascribed by us, and all thy Church, now and for evermore! Our Father," &c.

PRAYERS FOR CHILDREN.

PREFACE.

MY DEAR CHILD,-A lover of your soul has here drawn up a few prayers, in order to assist you in that great duty. Be sure that you do not omit, at least morning and evening, to present yourself upon your knees before God.. You have mercies to pray for, and blessings to praise God for. But take care that you do not mock God, drawing near with your lips, while your heart is far from him. God sees you, and knows your thoughts; therefore, see that you not only speak with your lips, but pray with your heart. And that you may not ask in vain, see that you forsake sin, and make it your endeavour to do what God has shown you ought; because God says, "The prayers of the wicked are an abomination unto the Lord." Ask then of God for the blessings you want, in the name, and for the sake, of Jesus Christ, and God will hear and aswer you, and do more for you than you can either ask or think.

JOHN WESLEY.

LORD'S DAY MORNING.

O ALMIGHTY Gon, Maker of all mankind, in whom we live, and move, and have our being, who makest the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice, suffer me now to approach thy divine Majesty with all reverence and godly fear. I desire to adore thy sacred name, who hast in thy goodness brought me in safety to behold the beginning of a new day and another Sabbath. I bless thee, who hast in love to my soul, and for the glory of thy name, set apart this day for holy uses, to engage me in thy service, wherein consists my honour and happiness. This is thy day: O Lord, enable me to rejoice and be glad in it. May VOL. VI.

27

I ever remember to keep it holy, not doing my own works, nor finding my own pleasure, nor speaking my own words; but so delight in thee, that thou mayest give me my heart's desire. Bless to me thy word, Q my heavenly Father, and all the means of grace, that I may not use them in vain or to my own hurt, but for the instructing my mind, reforming my life, and the saving my soul. Save me from all hardness of heart and contempt of thy word; increase my love to it, and enable me to hear it meekly, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth fruit unto good living. Open my understanding to receive thy truth in the love thereof. Set it so powerfully upon my heart, and root it so deep in my soul, that the fruits thereof may be seen in my life, to thy glory and praise. May I always so hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest thy word, that it may be a savour of life to my soul. O let me not offer vain oblations unto the Lord, drawing nigh with my lips, while my heart is far from thee. But do thou enable me to worship thee with holy worship, with joy and delight, with profit and pleasure. Fill me with a comfortable sense of thy presence, that I may serve thee with reverence and godly fear, to the comfort of my soul and the glory of thy name. O Lord God, do thou clothe thy priests with righteousness, and let thy saints rejoice and sing. Break the bread of life to all our souls, that we may eat and live for ever. O Lord, hear my prayers, and let my cry come unto thee. Do more and better for me than I can either desire or deserve, for the sake of my blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Jesus Christ; to whom, with thee, and the Holy Ghost, be all praise and glory, now and for ever.

Amen.

"Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them 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, for ever and ever. Amen."

LORD'S DAY EVENING.

MERCIFUL God, permit me to pay thee, now, my evening sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, for all the blessings and favours to my body and soul, so freely bestowed, and so long continued unto me. Thou hast dealt graciously with me, O Lord God, and hast been exceedingly good and kind to me, beyond all that I had reason to expect, or am able to express. I bless thee, O Lord, for every help which I enjoy to the promoting my present and eternal good. I desire to ascribe all praise and glory to thee, to whom alone it is due. O Lord, I bless thee that thy house is open to me, the bread of life offered me, the word of salvation preached, and thy Spirit striving with me. O suffer me not to receive thy grace in vain, nor let thy word be lost upon me. Do thou apply it to my heart, and fix it in my memory, that it may prove a blessing to my soul. In mercy, O Lord, pass by all things which in thy pure and holy eyes have been amiss this day past; pardon my neglects, and the guilt of my misdoings. And as I have heard how to walk and to please thee, O my God, help me to walk more worthy of the Lord unto all wellpleasing, that I may be built up in thy true fear and love, and in the right