most precious Blood: A Subject fo full of Comfort, and fo fruitful in Motives to advance in Holinefs. How many, Lord, who being influenc'd by the Pleasures or Riches of this World, when they are invited to eat of this Bread of Life, and to drink of this Wine of Gladness, obftinately refufe to come? How many pious and devout Souls are deprived of this higheft and moft folemn Act of Religion, either for Want of Opportunity to perform it, or thro' Doubts and Scruples and uneafy Fears? and how many are fuffering for the Sake of a good Conscience under the raging Violence of Perfecution? How happy do I think myself that my Circumftances are fo advantageously different from theirs; that I have both the Will and the Opportunity to approach fafely this holy. Table. I defire to afcribe all the Glory unto thee, knowing that every good and perfect Gift cometh from thee, the Father of Lights, and I bless thee for the fame from the inmoft Receffes of my Heart: 'Yea, Oh Lord, while I live will I praife thee; I will fing Praifes unto my God while I have my Being'; for thou art good, and thy Mercy endureth for ever". O thou who haft been graciously pleafed to admit me to this holy Communion, do thou accompany it with thy Favour and Bleffing: May it make me a real Partaker of thofe Advantages which refult from the Redemption that is in Chrift Fefus; more efpecially the (k) Jam. i, 17. [] Pf. cxlvi, 2. [m] Ib. cxviii, 29. (n) Rom. iii, 24. Graces Graces of thy holy Spirit; that in the StrengthTM of that holy Meat I may walk couragiously and continually in the Way of thy Commandments, notwithstanding all Difficulties and Difcouragements from the World to the con-. trary. Hold thou my Goings in thy Paths, that my Footsteps flip not °°.---O let it never be said, that after having been treated as a familiar Friend, and having eaten of thy Bread, I have lifted up my Heel against thee: But give me Grace, I befeech thee, to make a right Improvement of the repeated Opportunities vouchfafed me of renewing the League of Amity contracted with thee at my Baptifm, and make me mindful always of that Covenant, living no longer unto myfelf, but unto him who was delivered for our Offences, and is rifen again for our Fuftification, Jefus Chrift the Righteous, in whofe moft bleffed Name and Words I beg to be heard.* Our Father, &c. Now the God of Peace, that brought again from the Dead our Lord Jefus, that great Shepherd of the Sheep, thro' the Blood of the everlafting Covenant, make us perfect in every good Work, to do his Will, working in us that which is well-pleafing in his Sight, thro' Jefus Chrift, to whom be Glory for ever and ever, Amen1. (0) 1 Kings xix, 8. (q) 1 Chron. xvi, 5. (00) Pfal. xvii, 5. (p) Pfal. xli, 9. (r) Rom. iv, 25.. *If the Family has communicated, the Master may add the foregoing Prayer to their Evening Devotions, only changing we for I, us for me, our for my or mine, as often as thefe Words occur therein. [f] Heb. xiii, 20, 21. "As "As it is poffible this little Book may fall "into the Hands of those that may be deftitute "of Helps for Family Devotion, I have added "a Morning and Evening Prayer for fuch an "Occafion.” * A Morning Prayer. Almighty God, the great Creator and Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth, of Angels and of Men! Father of Lights, who dwelleft in the Light which no Man can approach unto, accept this our Tribute of Praise for all thy Mercies; for giving us Life and Breath, and all Things that pertain unto Life and Godliness"; for preferving us from Accidents this Night paft; for giving us refreshing Sleep, and for lightening our Eyes that we have not flept in Death". But above all, we defire, O Lord, from the inmoft Receffes of our Souls, to praise and adore thy amazing Goodness, that thou haft begotten us again unto a lively Hope, by the Death and ReJurrection of Jefus Chrift; that instead of leaving us in Darkness and the Shadow of Death, thou haft given us good Tidings of great Joys, and haft tranflated us into the Kingdom of thy dear Son h We thank thee for the frequent Opportunities thou doft afford us to think upon our Duty, and to fit our Souls for eternal *Thefe Prayers (partly taken from Dr Howard's newest Manual of Devotions, p. 116, 124) may, with very little Alteration, be as proper for fingle Perfons to make Ufe of, as for Families. [a] James i, 17. [cc] 2 Pet. i, 3. [f] Pfal. cvii, 10. [b] 1 Tim. vi, 16. [c] Acts xvii, 25. [e] 1 Pet. i, 3. [h] Col. i, 13. Glory; Glory; and that notwithstanding our Abuse of thy Patience, thou haft ftill given us this Day to work out our Salvation with Fear and trembling ---For thefe fignal Favours, for thy exceeding great and precious Promifes, will we give thanks unto thee, thy Praise fhall ever be in our Mouths: We will be glad and rejoice in thee; yea, our Songs will we make of thy Name, O thou most Higheft". We acknowledge, O Lord, that we have rendered ourselves unworthy of thy Favour, by the ungrateful Returns we have made for thy Mercies; but filled with the Senfe of thy Goodness, and Forbearance, and LongSuffering", we are refolved to live no longer to ourfelves, but to him who redeemed us to God by his own Blood: We will lay afide every Weight, and the Sin which doth fo easily befet us, and run with Patience the Race that is fet before us P.-----But who is fufficient for thefe Things? We of ourselves are not fufficient to think any Thing good as of ourselves: Without thee we can do nothing: Our Sufficiency is of thee: Our Help ftandeth in the Name of the Lord, who has made Heaven and Earth ---O Strengthen us with Might by thy holy Spirit in the inner Man to fubdue our evil and corrupt Inclinations, and, denying ourselves", to go on chearfully and without Interruption in the narrow Paths of Virtue and Religion. We know, [i] Phil. ii, 12. [m] Ibid. ix, 2. [p] Heb. xii, I. [6] 1 Cor. iii, 5. Matth. xvi, 24. [k] 2 Pet. i, 4. [1] Pfal. xxxiv, I. [o] Rev. v. 9. [r] John xv, 5. [t] Eph. iii, 16. O Lord, O Lord, that it is good for us to hold ourselves faft by God, and to put cur Truft in the Lord God; nay, that it is our only Happiness.-This we believe, O help thou our Unbelief! Preferve, O Lord, our going out and our coming in, and let thy Bleffing accompany us in whatever we take in Hand. Give us Grace to keep our Tongues from Evil, and our Lips that they speak no Guile; and to put on, as the Elect of God, Bowels of Mercy, Kindness, Humbleness of Mind, Meeknefs, Long-fuffering, forbearing and forgiving one another b. And may the awful Confideration of the great and terrible Day of the Lord, when God ball judge the Secrets of all Men by Jefus Chrift, fo influence our Thoughts, Words, and Actions; fo continually make us take Heed to our Ways, that we may be accounted worthy to and before the Son of Man, and receive that great Reward which he fhall beftow on them that diligently feek him. And may, O Lord, the ravishing Thoughts of that immenfe Happiness referved in Heaven for us induce us to fet our Affections on Things above, and not on Things on the Earth, and may we be thereby encou raged to bear with Patience and Refignation, all thofe Croffes, Difappointments, and Miffortunes, which are more or lefs the infeparable Companions of this prefent miferable Life: Remembering always that we are in thy Hand, nay, rejoicing above all Things that we are fo; [e] [y] Mark ix, 24. [b] Col. iii, 12. Pfal. xxxix, 1. [x] Pfal. Ixxiii, 27. [a] Ib. xxxiv, 13.. [d] Rom. ii, 16. [g] Heb. xi, 6. [h] Pet. i, 4. [z] Pfal. cxxi, 8. [c] Mal. iv, 5. [f] Luke xxi, 36. [i] Col. iii, 1. knowing |