earth around was without moisture, may be sensibly felt by "all that in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus;" distinguishing them from those prayerless families who live "without God in the world," and lie down and rise up like the herd of the stall, never saying "Where is God our Maker ?"

It would, perhaps, much conduce to the infusing a spirit of piety in a family (and especially among the younger branches of it) if a short Admonition was sometimes made use of by the head of it, before the Prayers were begun. Such, for example, as the following:

"We are going to take upon us, who are but sinful dust and ashes, to speak unto the High and Holy One, who inhabiteth Eternity; who dwelleth in that light which no man can approach to; and to whose mercy-seat we cannot draw nigh but through the merits and intercession of our ever-blessed Redeemer with what reverence and godly fear ought we to approach him! Let our souls be awfully impressed. with becoming sentiments of the lowest humility; and let us beg of God, that such a sense of his divine Majesty may possess every faculty of our nature, that we may never be in danger of "drawing nigh unto him with our mouth, and honouring him with our lips, while our hearts are far from him."

"With every holy disposition of soul, and with a lively faith in God's mercy, through Christ, let us now fall upon our knees, and present our supplications at the footstool of his grace."

MORNING PRAYER FOR A FAMILY.

O LORD God, most high, most holy, and most gracious, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier of our nature, the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the only wise God.

We draw nigh to thee through the prevailing intercession, and atoning merits of Christ!-and as we approach thy awful presence, Lord, quicken us by thy Holy Spirit to call upon thy name! Put words into our mouth, that the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts may be always acceptable in thy sight!

We desire to adore thy divine Majesty, and to worship thee with humble reverence! Thou art infinitely wise, powerful, and gracious,-far above all our highest thoughts, and above all our warmest praises! But we implore grace to present our morning sacrifice of thanksgiving, that thou hast brought us to the light of another day, and raised us from the bed of sleep in peace and safety. Praised be thy goodness, O God, for these and all our other undeserved mercies! Let our souls praise the Lord, and all that is within us bless his holy name!

But when, from considering the greatness and goodness of thy nature, we return to the recollection of ourselves, how utterly unworthy are we to come into thy holy presence! Thou art in Heaven, and we upon earth. Our being is but of yesterday, and our foundation in the dust. Born in sin, and living in transgression, how have we offended from our childhood to this very hour, by thought, word, and deed, against thy divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us!

But, Lord, take away the guilt of our sins by the atoning merits of Christ's blood! Subdue the power of our iniquities by thy holy Spirit. Pity, O heavenly Father, the blindness of our nature, and the corruption of our hearts! Work in us sincere repentance it is thou only that canst give us this gift, or renew a right spirit within us. Form us after thine own image, which was lost by the sin of our first parents, and preserve us from all the dangers to which we are exposed, amidst the several enemies of our salvation!

Let thy providences be all sanctified, whether of affliction or prosperity;-let thy mercies draw us nearer to thyself; and let thy chastisements have this intended effect upon our hearts, to wean us from sin, to mortify us to the world, and to keep us in a constant readiness to depart from it.

If it be thy blessed will, continue to us the mercies of health and prosperity, and give us grace in the midst of all to expect and to be ready for a change; and, as in a day or an hour, our prosperity may be turned into adversity, our health into pining sickness, and our very life into death,-O, merciful Lord, establish us, we pray thee, in Christ Jesus; seal us for thy faithful people; give us the earnest of thy Holy Spirit, and let "holiness to the Lord" be inscribed upon all we are, and all we do or say; Lord, strengthen us this day mightily by thy Spirit in the inner man !—whatever temptations we may meet with from the world, from the powers of darkness, or in ourselves, enable us to overcome !-and do thou keep us by thy grace, both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls!

As we are required, so would we cheerfully testify a true and christian love and charity to the whole race of men, by remembering them in our prayers. O thou Almighty Maker of the spirits of all flesh,

look down and pity a lost, miserable world! Send the light of thy gospel into the dark corners of the earth, until thou hast brought all to the knowledge of the truth, and made every knee to bend to the name of Jesus! Particularly bless the preaching of righteousness in this land, to which we belong! May the purity of our faith be manifested by the piety of our lives! and may we live as the redeemed of the Lord! and while we pray for the people of this land, we would yet more immediately desire a blessing on this our house and family! That thou, who makest men to be of one mind in a house, wouldst inspire all the members of it with a spirit of love and concord; and let this benefit be always produced from our prayers, that we may rise from our knees with such refreshments of grace as may manifest to each other, and to the world, that a true spirit of piety lives in our souls, by that spirit of love and unity with which, as brethren, we dwell together!

Comfort and protect all our absent friends and benefactors! Sanctify to them their condition, whatever it may be; visit and relieve the oppressed; pity, Lord, and in thy own appointed time relieve the sick, and sanctify the afflictions of their bodies to the endless comfort of their souls; instruct the ignorant, reclaim the disobedient, and them that are out of the way, and let sinners be converted unto thee. Bless our enemies, and do good to them that hate us! and bring into the bonds of christian fellowship all that are at variance, that it may be known whose disciples we are by our love to one another!

Finally, Lord, while we thus implore the continuance of mercies, accept all that our cold hearts can offer of thankfulness for those already received; for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of our lives; but, above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus

Christ!

Accept all our petitions through his prevailing name and powerful intercession; to whom, with thee, and the Holy Ghost, we desire to ascribe all praise, and glory, and honour, both now and for ever! Amen. Our Father which art in heaven, &c.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ &c.

MORNING PRAYER FOR THE LORD'S DAY.

BLESSED Lord, who hast graciously set apart this sacred day, which thou hast called by thine own most holy name, as a day of rest and refreshment to man, to call off his attention from those perishing objects around him, and in a more immediate manner to direct his thoughts toward thee and his future state; we praise thy merciful appointment, and acknowledge our sense of thy great goodness in granting to us a return of this holy day for those blessed purposes ! Give us grace to improve it to the everlasting comfort of our souls. Help us to commemorate afresh this day the rising of our blessed Redeemer from the grave! and may our hearts arise from the dead and unprofitable things of this world, to ascend with him in holy contemplation to that glorious place, where he sitteth at the right hand of God! Never can we sufficiently adore the bounties of thy Providence, that thou hast granted to poor sinful creatures, in these regions of darkness, such a day of light and joy, whereby we have an opportunity of imitating the heavenly host, while assembling in thine house of prayer, with one heart and voice to worship God through Jesus Christ.

Banish from our souls, this holy morning, every vain thought and worldly concern, that we may begin this day with God, and go through it under an abiding sense of thy continual presence.