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him peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Or this.

O GOD, gracious and merciful, who bindest up the broken heart, and pitiest the sorrows of those who fear thee, fulfil to thy servant, for whom our prayers are now desired, the promises of thy word. Sanctify to him, we beseech thee, thy correcting hand. Suffer him not to faint under thy rebuke. Let not his faith fail, nor his fortitude be overcome, nor his patience nor his hope depart from him. Enlighten the darkness which covers him, by the cheering truths of religion. Let the remembrance of thy goodness comfort his heart. Let the conviction of thy wisdom fortify his soul. Enable him to resign unto thee the object of his affections, in the assurance that as thou hast appointed unto all men once to die, so after death will be a joyful resurrection, when they who sleep in Jesus shall awake to everlasting life, and friends shall meet again, to separate no more. Amen.

FOR A PERSON AT SEA,

OR GOING TO SEA.

O ETERNAL Lord God, who alone spreadest out the heavens, and rulest the raging of the sea; be pleased to receive into thine almighty and most gracious protection the person of thy servant, for whom our prayers are desired. Preserve him from the dangers of the sea, from sickness, from the violence of enemies, and from every evil to which he may be exposed. posed. Conduct him in

safety to the desired haven, with a grateful sense of thy mercies, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

FOR MALEFACTORS AFTER CONDEMNATION.

O MOST gracious and merciful God, we earnestly beseech thee to look down upon those persons recommended to our prayers, who now lie under the sentence of the law, and are appointed to die. Visit them, O Lord, with thy compassion; make them sensible of the miserable condition to which their wickedness has reduced them, and give them true and unfeigned

repentance. O God, in A COLLECT FOR SPRING.

judgment remember mercy, and whatever sufferings they are to endure in this world, deliver them from the bitter pains of eternal death. Pardon their sins, and save their souls, for the sake of thine infinite goodness, in Jesus Christ our Amen.

Lord.

O LORD, the Creator and Preserver of all things, who with unerring wisdom maintainest the beauty and order of thy works; we look up with joy and confidence unto thy gracious power, which causes the returning seasons to know their place. Bless, we be

FOR THE GENERALCOURT, seech thee, the springing

TO BE READ DURING THEIR

SESSION.

MOST gracious God, we humbly beseech thee, for the Legislature of this Commonwealth, at this time assembled, that thou wouldst be pleased to direct and prosper all their consultations, to the advancement of thy glory, and the safety, honour, and welfare of thy people; that all things may be so ordered and settled, by their endeavours, upon the best and surest foundations, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety may be established among us for all generations. These and all other necessaries for them, and for us, we humbly beg, in the name of Jesus Christ, our most blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

of the year, and enrich the earth with the rain of heaven. May grass grow for the cattle, and herbs and fruits for the service of man. May our pastures be clothed with flocks, our valleys covered with corn, and the year crowned with thy goodness; and may we so improve the various blessings of thy providence in this world, as to be prepared for the unchangeable felicities of thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. FOR SEASONABLE WEATH

ER.

Amen.

O GOD, our heavenly Father, whose gift it is that the earth is fruitful and bringeth forth its increase for Our sustenance and comfort; we humbly beseech thee to send us in

this our necessity such seasonable weather, that we may receive the fruits thereof in due time; and grant that we may show forth our thankfulness to thee for all thy mercies, by a sincere obedience to thy holy laws, which thou hast taught us by Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

IN TIME OF GREAT

SCARCITY.

O GOD, our heavenly Father, who hast mercifully given us life, and on whom we depend for its support and preservation; mercifully behold, we beseech thee, the present afflictions of thy people; alleviate the distresses of the miserable, and may the cries of the poor come unto thee; increase the fruits of the earth by thy heavenly benediction; may our scarcity be turned into plenty, and grant that we may improve the bounties of thy providence to thy praise, by relieving the distresses of others, and by thankfully acknowledging thee the giver of every good and perfect gift, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

IN TIME OF SICKNESS.

ALMIGHTY and most wise God, whose neverfailing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and on earth; we humbly direct our addresses unto thee, in this time of our calamity, beseeching thee in behalf of our fellow creatures and friends, who are suffering under the grievous sickness with which thou art pleased to visit us. May the everlasting arm of thy mercy support them, in this time of their distress. Sanctify this general affliction to the reformation of our manners, and the improvement of our virtue; and cause us to rejoice in the humble hope that every thing shall work together for good. In the midst of life we are in death; of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O God. Restrain the progress of this disorder, if it be agreeable to thy blessed will. May those lives which are yet spared, be devoted to thy service, and may we, and all thy servants, be prepared for every event of thy providence, that whether we live, we

may live unto the Lord, or whether we die, we may die unto the Lord, and whether living or dying, may have an interest in thy mercies unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

IN TIME OF War.

O ALMIGHTY God, to whom it justly belongeth to punish sinful nations, and to be merciful to those who repent; we humbly beseech thee, in this time of our danger, to be the defender of our country. Give us not up into the hands of our enemies ; save us from the edge of the sword, and preserve our land from the desolations of war. Have mercy upon us, O God; have mercy upon thy people. Send forth a spirit of reformation amongst us; avert the evils we have deserved; continue thy favour and protection to us; save and deliver us, O our God; for in thee do we put our trust. Restore tranquillity and peace to contending nations ; unite the hearts of mankind in the bonds of humanity and love; and may the happy time come,

when the calamities of war 'shall cease for ever, and peace and righteousness universally prevail. And this we humbly beg, for thy mercy's sake, declared unto mankind by Jesus Christ our Lo rd. Amen. IN A THUNDER STORM.

O THOU most high and mighty Lord our God, the voice of whose thunder is in the heaven, and whose lightnings lighten the world, we, thy frail and feeble creatures do cry unto thee, beseeching thee to inspire our hearts with faith, confidence and love, and to teach us to look up unto thee both in the storm and in the calm, as our wise and merciful Father and Sovereign, who rulest all things well, in heaven and on earth. By all the many voices of nature, and events of providence, and whisperings of grace, may we hear ourselves called to reverence, adore and trust in thee, so that when this world shall pass away, and these heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, we may stand secure in thine eternal dwelling place, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

FOR RECOVERY FROM

SICKNESS.

O LORD, our heavenly Father, who redeemest the lives of thy servants from destruction, and givest health, and life, and blessing; accept the sincere and humble thanksgivings of thy servant, whom thou hast raised from a bed of sickness, and restored to some good measure of health and strength. We praise thee for this gracious instance of thy goodness; may the remembrance of thy late mercy to him, have a happy and lasting influence upon his mind, and establish the good resolutions he may have formed; and may that life, which thy mercy prolongs, be devoted to thy service, in a constant obedience to thy holy commandments, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

safed to them. May their hearts be filled with unfeigned thankfulness to thee their benefactor; and may they spend the remainder of their days in a course of obedience to thy commandments, that at last they may be partakers of eternal glory and happiness in the world to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ON THE BIRTH OF A CHILD.

GRACIOUS God, we thank thee that thou hast given to thy servants a new object of affection and concern. Let them receive their child as from thee, and in gratitude dedicate it to thee. Will it please thee to watch over its life and health, to unfold its faculties, to make it a blessing to them and an instrument of good to society, wherever its lot may be cast. Help them to feel

FOR MERCIES RECEIVED. their obligations to it as

ALMIGHTY God, our most gracious preserver, we offer up to thee our united thanksgivings for thy great goodness to thy servants in the mercies which thou hast vouch

christian parents. Above all, wilt thou early sanctify it in all its faculties and affections, and let it become a child of God. And whether earlier or later thou shalt take it from this scene of discipline, may it

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