and O Lord, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, lead me in the way everlasting. Let my sins lead me cordially and gratefully to accept my Saviour's gracious invitations, and to come weary, and heavy laden unto him. May I go to thy table mourning for sin, and hungering and thirsting after righteousness, believing in Christ as my only hope and refuge, grateful for all thy mercies, and with a heart full of love to thee and all mankind. nance. Lord, I implore thy special grace at this solemn ordiIn the breaking of bread, help me by a lively faith, to view Christ's body broken for me; and in the pouring out of the wine, his blood shed for me. May I thus learn to feel more of the evil of sin, and more of the love of Christ. Help me wisely, believingly, and gratefully to discern the Lord's body; and may it be as living food to my soul, so that now, resting on the atonement of Christ, my Lord, I may rejoice and be glad in his great salvation. May he thus be evidently set forth crucified before me, and may I enjoy the communion of his body and his blood. Gracious Lord, I beseech thee, enable me, when I receive the bread, by a lively faith to realize the blessed truth, that Christ died for sinners, even for me; and when I drink the wine, to believe according to his own word, that his blood was shed for many, for the remission of sins. May I then afresh give myself wholly to thee, to be entirely thine, in life, in death, and through eternity; renewing all my solemn vows of obedience, and receiving fresh strength to carry them into effect. Grant also unto all that shall meet with me around thy table the same blessings. Let our hearts be drawn near to each other. Give us to enter into the privilege of the communion of saints; and may we know that, though many, we are one body, and all partakers of that one bread, the living and true bread that came down from heaven. O Lord, may we and all thy people thus assembling in thine earthly courts, be made more and more meet for thy heavenly mansions, and at length come to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; may we meet again there, where faith shall be lost in sight, and hope in full enjoyment, and love for ever fill our souls, through Jesus Christ, our strength and and our Redeemer. Amen. PRAYER AFTER THE LORD'S SUPPER. BLESSED be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Help me, holy Lord, coming now to thee in secret, gratefully to pour out my soul before thee. O thou who dwellest in the high and holy place, whose name is holy, I feel that I infinitely need pardon for the sins of my holiest services. If thou, Lord, be extreme to mark what has been amiss, I cannot stand before thee; I have cause to mourn the wanderings of my heart, the dullness of my affections, the weakness of my faith, and the slightness of my repentance, even at thy table, with all the solemnities of the memorials of my Saviour's death around me, and amid the assembly of thy Saints. But while I mourn my own sinfulness, yet still help me to magnify thy wonderful grace. Blessed be thou who put it into my heart to assemble with thy people. Great is the privilege, thus to meet among them here below, to participate in their prayers, and to join their praises. Thanks be unto thee for that manifestation of thy love which this ordinance brought before me. O how consoling the truth to such a sinner as I am, that Jesus died for the ungodly, that he receiveth sinners and eateth with them! Giver of all grace, if I enjoyed any feelings of love to thee, any desires after thy salvation, any thing of communion with thee; if my hope were at all enlivened, my faith at all strengthened, my heart at all enlarged, all praise and glory be to thee. I would not deny thy answers to my prayer; I would not refuse to acknowledge the work of thy Spirit in my soul; but rather, in this thy goodness, find fresh motives to love and to serve thee. Forgive me all that was wrong. Accept, through the mediation of Jesus, all that thy grace enabled me to do according to thy will. Teach me to feel that I am under fresh obligations to all holy obedience. May the solid and delightful joys of peace with God, the pardon of sins, free justification, and the hope of glory, make the sinful pleasures of the world for ever insipid and vain. Having seen and tasted how good the Lord is, may I never turn back again to folly. O Lord, now it is I need thy strength. Now grant me thy Holy Spirit, continually to bring to my remembrance the solemn transactions of this day. May the recollection of them long remain, filling me with a holy fear of offending thee, an ardent love to my Saviour, and influencing me to devote my body, soul, and substance, all I am, and all I have, wholly to thee. Lord, now grant that my evil tempers may at length be subdued; that the flesh with its affections and lusts may, through thy Spirit, at length be mortified; that Christ may now dwell in my heart by faith; and that, strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, I may fulfil in my life all the solemn vows and resolutions that have been afresh renewed this day in thy presence. Yes, gracious God, let me never cease striving to serve thee; let me never, while the world tempts, and sin dwells in me, and Satan opposes, give over the contest; let me never rest short of thy great salvation. O thou good Shepherd, who laid down thy life for thy sheep, let me never perish, neither let any pluck me out of thy hand; till at length, with all thine elect, I come to occupy thy fold above. Hear me, gracious Father; hear and answer for Christ's sake. Amen. MORNING FAMILY PRAYER. ALMIGHTY God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, who hast said that thou wilt be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be thy people; dispose our hearts by the gracious influence of thy Holy Spirit, to worship thee through one Mediator Jesus Christ our Lord. Adoration. [* Thou art God, and there is none beside thee; the Creator of heaven and earth, the Lord of glory, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgressions, and sins, and that will by no means clear the guilty. We bow and worship at thy footstool; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.] Thanksgiving. Accept, through thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, our *The parts in brackets can be left out, if it is wished to shorten the prayers, unfeigned thanksgivings for the mercies of another day. Thou gavest us our being, and thou preservest us from day to day. Through the defenceless hours of the night thou hast kept us in safety. Thou hast given us a soul capable of knowing and rejoicing in thee, and a body by which we may serve thee. We bless thee for the seeing eye and the hearing ear, for the free use of our limbs and of our senses, for the powers of the mind, and the affections of the heart. But, O Lord, we thank thee most of all for thy spiritual blessings. We bless thee that we were not born in Heathen lands, but in this favoured Country, where the light of thy truth clearly shines. We thank thee for the comfort of the Holy Scriptures, for the labours of faithful ministers, and for all the means of grace. O how great has been thy love to us! Thou sparedst not thine own Son, but delivered him up for us all, and with him thou hast freely given us all things. We are invited to come to thee; though we be guilty and sinful, we are freely offered pardon, peace, and salvation; and thou givest us a hope full of immortality in Christ Jesus our Saviour. Dedication. [And what reward for all his benefits? ourselves to thy service. whole selves unto thee. wholly. God of our life, grant that our whole spirit, and soul, and body, may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.] shall we render unto the Lord We give up ourselves, our Confession. But with shame and confusion of face we would confess, that we have been rebellious and disobedient. Thou art holy, but we are unholy. Thou art merciful, but we have often been selfish and unkind. Thou |