THE LORD'S PRAYER

ACCORDING TO

The Received Text of St. Matthew's Gospel, with slight alterations from St. Luke's.

OUR FATHER who art in heaven! Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we also forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

DAILY DEVOTIONS

FOR THE CLOSET.

A PRAYER

FOR SUNDAY MORNING.

O GREAT and blessed God! the Maker and Lord of heaven and earth! Thou art possessed of all power, wisdom, and goodness. All riches, majesty, and dominion are thine; and thou art worthy to be revered and honoured, loved and obeyed, by all on earth, and all in heaven. I adore thee as the fountain of all being, of all happiness, and all perfection; and particularly as the God of my life, the author of all my past and present mercies, and the foundation of all my future hopes.

My times, O Lord, are in thy hand. On thee do I constantly depend for the continuance of that life, which I at first received from thee, and which I am under the strongest obligations to devote entirely to thy service. But more especially am I bound to honour thee with that portion of my time, which thou hast in a peculiar manner conse

crated to thyself. I thank thee for the institution of a sabbath as a day of sacred rest, set apart from worldly cares and labours, to thy more immediate service. May it ever be regarded by me with delight, holy to the Lord, and honourable.-Many seasons of mercy, and means of grace, have I foolishly wasted, or sinfully abused. Yet, blessed be thy name, thou hast now brought me to see another of the days of the Son of Man. Oh let not this sabbath be added to the number of my lost sabbaths: but help me to spend it in thy fear; to employ it in holy acts, and devout exercises, and to improve it to my spiritual edification, and to my increase in divine knowledge, grace, and comfort.

This is the day in which the great Redeemer of the world broke the bonds of death, and rose triumphant from the grave. Oh that, being quickened together with him, and raised from the death of sin to a life of righteousness, I may be engaged to seek those things which are above, where he now sits at thy right hand. Help me to chase away carnal and worldly affections from my heart; and to raise my thoughts and views to spiritual and heavenly objects. And may all my sentiments, words, and actions, from

the beginning to the end of this thy day, be holy and unreprovable in thy sight!

Give me, O Lord, such worthy apprehensions of thine adorable nature and attributes; such exalted views of thy creating power and wisdom, of thy providential care, and of thy redeeming love and grace; as shall excite in my soul all suitable affections towards thee, the deepest veneration, the purest love, the liveliest hope, and the sublimest joy. Form my soul to a resemblance of thyself; and grant that, by the influence of thy good spirit, I may be renewed in the spirit of my mind; and may be enabled to put on that new man which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness. May the great work of religion, in all its various exercises, be considered by me as the most honourable, the most important, and the most delightful employment in which I can be engaged and in this business let me be never slothful or negligent, but always prepared to serve thee with cheerfulness, fidelity, and zeal.

I would this morning, with all possible seriousness and solemnity, renew the dedication of myself to thee, my God. Thine I am, by the strongest ties of duty, interest,

and gratitude; and thine I would for ever be. Take, I beseech thee, the full possession of my heart, which thou hast formed for thyself: and help me to make an unfeigned surrender of all that I am, and all that I have, to thee, the great proprietor of all. With pure fervour would I cleave unto thee. Oh preserve me to thyself; and let nothing be able to separate me from thy love.

Help me, O Lord, to live under a constant sense of thy presence; and to maintain an habitual communion with thee, my Heavenly Father, as the disciple of Christ Jesus. May I find it good for me to draw near unto thee, from time to time, in the exercises of private and public devotion; and be in the happy number of those whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee with acceptance; of those whom thou satisfiest with the goodness of thy house, and cheerest with the hope of worshiping and serving thee more perfectly in thy heavenly temple.

Grant, O thou most beneficent of beings, that, in a humble imitation of thy diffusive goodness, I may cherish in my heart a sincere good will and fervent charity to all my fellow-creatures, as thy offspring. Let me not think it enough, merely to wish them