Page images
PDF
EPUB

all thy Dealings and Difpenfations towards

me.

I confefs, O Lord, that I am not wor thy of the least of all thy Mercies; and if Thou thouldft deal with me as I have deferved, I could expect nothing from Thee but the feverities of thy Wrath and Dif pleafure: But, O Thou! whofe Property is always to have Mercy, be not extremel I befeech Thee, to mark what I have done amifs; but for thy dear Son's Sake, pardon all my Sins, and receive me to thy Favour, without which, I am of all Creatures the moft miferable. And, O let me never abuse thy Patience, nor defpife thy Goods nefs; but let thy Fear be always before my Eyes, that I may not fin against Thee; but giving up myfelf entirely to thy Service, I may endeavour in all Things to obey thy blessed Will, and to keep a Confcience void of Offence both towards Thee, and towards all Men.

To this End, O Lord, vouchsafe me the Affiftance of thy Holy Spirit, for of my self I am not able to pleafe Thee; my Nature is corrupt, and miferably prone to what is evil; I am every Way, befet with Temptations, and my own Experience fadly teaches me, how eafily I am drawn E 4 away

away by the deceitful Tempter. But, 0 Thou who art the Saviour of all that put their Truft in Thee, deliver me, I befeech Thee, from that cruel Enemy of my Soul, who is daily lying in wait to destroy me; be Thou my ftrong Hold whereunto I may always refort, and evermore mightily defend me; Thou haft been my Succour ever since I was born, Oleave me not to myself, neither forfake me, O God of my Salvation. Lead me, befeech Thee, in the Way wherein I fhould go; guide me with thy right Hand; and conduct me fafely through the dangerous Shares and Temptations of this deceitful World; and tho' thou fhouldst permit me to fall into fevere Trials, yet fuffer me not, I befeech Thee, to be tempted above what I am able to bear.

[ocr errors]

Let no Calamity ever drive me from Thee, nor any Profperity caufe me to forget Thee; but grant that all thy Providences towards me may work together for my Good, and be a powerful. Means to bring me to Thyfelf, and to an entire Dependence upon Thee; affuredly believing, that all my Concernments are in the beft and fafeft Hands, when they are under the Care and Disposal of thy infinite Wisdom and Goodness.

O Lord!

O Lord! let not the World get Poffeffion of my Heart, which has been so often dedicated to thy Service. Let not those Pomps and Vanities which I have fo folemnly renounced, become the Object of my foolish Defires; but be thou, Ó God, my only Joy and my Delight, my Stay and Support, my Hope and my Truft, my Reft and Comfort in this World, and my eternal Bliss and Happiness in that which is

to come.

O Lord, I humbly beg thy Bleffing this Day upon all my honeft Defigns and Undertakings; direct me in all my Ways, that I may take nothing in Hand but what is agreeable to thy bleffed Will. Let no worldly Intereft or Advantage ever prevail upon me to depart from my Integrity; but amidst the various Affairs of this Life, give me Grace to fet Thee always before my Eyes, that I may not fin against Thee. Thou knoweft, Lord, the Weaknefles of my corrupt Nature; O let thy holy Spirit powerfully reftrain me from thofe Sins that are moft apt to betray and enfnare me: [* particularly] preferve me in my Going out and Coming in, and let no Cafualty or evil Accident befal me.

[ocr errors]

*Here may

be named the

Sins you are

most prone to.

Be Thou

gracioufly pleafed to take me, and all belonging to me, into thy fatherly Care and Protection; Keep us in Health and Safety, in Peace and Innocence, in Love and Charity; and grant that whilst we are paffing through Things temporal, we may be daily preparing for thofe better Things that are eternal, through Jefus Chrift our bleffed Lord, and only Saviour; in whofe Name and Words, I commend to thy Mercy and Protection, myself and all Mankind.

Our Father, &c.

A Prayer for Monday Noon, or any Intermediate Time of the Day; for God's Grace to perfevere in a Chriftian Course of Life.

O MOST gracious and bleffed Lord

God! Thou art the Author and Finisher of every good Work; without Thee nothing is ftrong, nothing is holy; without thy preventing and affifting Grace, we are but as Duft before the Wind, carried to and fro, and easily driven away by every flight Temptation.

O Lord, I am thy Servant, dedicated to Theo long ago by holy Baptifm, and deted to thy Obedience by thofe folemn

Engage

Engagements, which were then made on my Behalf, and which I have fince [often] renewed at thy holy Table, from a ferious Senfe and Conviction, that thy Service is the most perfect Freedom, and that without thy Favour and Love, I am of all Creatures the most miserable.

O my God! I am fully perfuaded, that it is my Happiness and Privilege, as well as my Duty, to love, adore, and ferve Thee. I am feriously convinced, that there is no Pleasure like that of a good Confcience; and that the greatest Satisfactions in this World, are not worthy to be compared with that Fulness of Joy, which is in thy Prefence for evermore: But alas! I am fenfible that my Nature is corrupt; and I know by fad Experience, that I am too prone to offend Thee, and too apt to forget the Vows and Refolutions, which I have made to ferve and obey Thee.

I befeech Thee, therefore, O most mer ciful Father, who knoweft whereof we are made, and remembereft that we are but Duft, that thou wouldeft be pleafed, of thy great Goodnefs, to pity the Weaknesses of thy poor Creature, and to vouchsafe me the Affittance of thy Grace and Holy Spirit, that I may not be tempted above what dam

E 6

able

« PreviousContinue »