O MOST great and mighty Lord, the possessor of heaven and earth, all the angels rejoice in blessing and praising thee, the Father of spirits: for _thou hast created all things, and in wisdom hast thou made them all_, and spread thy tender mercies over all thy works. We desire thankfuly to acknowledge thy bounty to us, among the rest of thy creatures, and thy particular grace and favour to us, in Jesus Christ, our merciful Redeemer. O give us a deep sense of that love which gave him to die for us, that he might be _the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him_.
And hast thou not said, that thou wilt _give thy holy Spirit to them that ask it_? O Father of mercies, let it be unto us, according to thy word. Cherish whatever thou hast already given us, which is acceptable in thy sight. And since at the best we are unprofitable servants, and can do no more than it is our duty to do, enable us to do every thing which thou hast commanded us heartily, with good will, and true love to thy service.
O that we might ever approach thee with delight, and feel it the joy of our hearts, to think of thee, to praise thee, to give thee thanks, and to offer ourselves with absolute resignation to thee. O that mercy may always please us, as it pleaseth thee! That we may be strictly just and righteous! May chearfully pass by injuries, freely deny ourselves whatever is not for thy glory; willingly submit to thy fatherly corrections, and perform the duties of our several relations, with singleness of heart. Render us so mindful of the great love of our Lord, that we may be zealously concerned for his glory, and use our utmost diligence to promote his religion in the world; delighting to commemorate his death and passion, making a joyful sacrifice of our souls and bodies to him, and ♦earnestly desiring that his kingdom may come over all the earth.
♦ “eatnestly” replaced with “earnestly”
Fulfil, most merciful Lord all our petitions; and as thou hast graciously protected us this night, so accompany us all this day with thy blessing, that we may please thee in body and soul, and be safe under thy defence, who art ever nigh unto all those that call upon thee.
And O that all men may be awakened into a lively and thankful sense of all thy benefits. Stir up especially the minds of all Christian people, to follow _the truth as it is in Jesus_, and _exercise_ themselves _to have a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man_. Bless these kingdoms, and endue our sovereign with such excellent wisdom and holy zeal, that we may see many good days under his government. O that true religion, justice, mercy, brotherly-kindness, and all things else that are praise-worthy, may so flourish among us, that we may enjoy the blessings of peace and plenty, and there may be no complaining in our streets.
We recommend to thee all our friends and neighbours, all the poor, the sick, and the afflicted, desiring those mercies for them, which we should ask for ourselves, were we in their condition. _O God, whose never failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth, keep them and us, we beseech thee, from all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us, according to thine abundant mercy in our_ Lord Jesus; in whose words we conclude our supplication unto thee, saying, “Our Father, &c.”
* * * * *