on this thy servant, who almost at the entrance of life, has this solemn call to consider the 'uncertainty of his future abode in it. Give him, we pray thee, an early sense of his duty towards thee, as the great end of his being, and the business of his life, and grant him repentance, for the faults and follies of his unripe years. O remember not the sins and offences of his youth, but according to thy mercy, think thou upon him, O Lord, for thy goodness. Give him farther time to work out his Salvation, and give him grace to employ the remainder of it to that purpose. Let his whole desire be to attain thy favor, and in that let him trust with comfort, whether thou shalt please to continue him in life, or to cut him off from it. Accept of such improvement as has been suitable to his years, and whether earlier or later, let his departure from this world convey him to the happiness of the next, through the merits and mediation of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.-(Dodwell.)

For one that is old.

O GOD, the giver of life, and the preserver of it through the many accidents and dangers that surround it; we offer up our prayers for, and with this thy servant, whom thou hast long continued through the changes and chances of it. Direct him to pay his just acknowledgments to thy good providence, for the many deliverances with which he has been favoured, and the many mercies he has received. But principally lead him to reflect on the return he has made for them. He has a long life to account for, and the use or abuse of many favors to spare present with joy or terror before thee: as thou hast hitherto spared him, O him still further for the purpose of Repentance. Let not a former habit of iniquity discourage his attempts at penitence and reformation, but let him finish his course with good resolutions and good deeds, and prepare his heart, as well as his infirmities will permit, to see thee yet

with comfort in thy kingdom. O grant this mercy for the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.-(Dodwell.)

For one that is at the point of Death. BLESSED JESUS, who once representedst thyself visibly to thy dying servant, St. Stephen, to support him in the last act of his probation; look down we beseech thee with mercy and compassion on this our departing brother, the work of thine own hands, and the purchase of thine own blood, and enable him to look up with the eye of faith to thee, and to reap satisfaction in the prospect. Thy sufferings and thy promises, as set forth in the gospel, are at all times the only ground of comfort to miserable sinners, and more especially at this time of trial and distress. We cannot look forward with any degree of hope, to those important seasons, the hour of death, and the day of judgment, but by thy gracious assistance. O grant

it in this time of need, and hear our prayers for this thy servant, who is now hastening to thy tribunal, and who puts his whole confidence only in thy mercy. O suffer him not to fail of that happiness, which thou thyself didst once die to obtain for him. By the merits of thine own agony save him safely through his. By thy cross and passion blot out the remembrance of his offences. By thy precious death and burial, prepare him patiently to submit to his change. By thy glorious Resurrection entitle him to the same hope, and by thy ascension bring him to the same state of glory. In this his distressed state, in which he is incapable of relief from any other power, yet we know that he can, and we pray that he may find thy all-sufficient help, both for his soul and for his body. Grant that the former may depart in peace, and the latter may rest in hope, and both be joined again in endless joy and glory. And bring us all, we beseech thee, in thy own good time,

PRAYERS.

For Forgiveness.

O GRACIOUS GOD, who hast taught us to pray to thee for mercy, and hast promised it to those who apply to thee for it in the name of thy Son; hear our earnest supplications for this thy servant, who now desires to seek for and to obtain it, through the merits of his Saviour Jesus Christ. Open thine eyes, we beseech thee, to his sufferings, and thine ears to his prayers; he confesses that he is unworthy of the grace he asks, and that nothing but thy unbounded goodness could encourage him to apply for it. But without thy mercy he must for ever perish, and as no creature can bear the thought of eternal perdition, so thou hast graciously declared that thou willest not the death of any sinner. Enliven therefore his petitions, and accept them, and grant that