2. Have I, in order to be the more sensible of them, seriously and deliberately considered the several circumstances that attended them?

3. Have I considered each of them as an obligation to greater love, and, consequently, to stricter holiness?

O MOST great and glorious GOD, who art mighty in thy power, and wonderful in thy doings towards the sons of men, accept, I beseech thee, my unfeigned thanks and praise, for my creation, preservation, and all the other blessings which, in the riches of thy mercy, thou hast from time to time poured down upon me. Thou, LORD, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hand." Thou createst the sun and moon, the day and night, and makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to praise thee. Thou "formedst man of the dust of the ground, and breathedst into him the breath of life." In thine own image madest thou him, capable of knowing and loving thee eternally. His nature was perfect, thy will was his law, and thy blessed self his portion. Neither after he had left his first estate didst thou utterly withdraw thy mercy from him; but in every succeeding generation, didst save, deliver, assist, and protect him. Thou hast instructed us by thy laws, and enlightened us by thy statutes. Thou hast redeemed us by the blood of thy Son, and sanctifiest us by the grace of thy Holy Spirit. For these and all thy other mercies, how can I ever sufficiently love thee, or worthily magnify thy great and glorious name? All the powers of my soul are too few to conceive the thanks that are due to thee, even for vouchsafing me the honour of now appearing before thee and conversing with thee.

But thou hast declared thou wilt accept the sacrifice of thanksgiving, in return for thy goodness. For ever therefore will I bless thee, will I adore thy power, and magnify thy goodness: "My tongue shall sing of thy righteousness, and be telling of thy salvation from day to day." I will give thanks unto thee for ever and ever; I will praise my

God while I have my being. O that I had the heart of the seraphim, that I might burn with love like their's! But though I am upon earth, yet will I praise, as I can, the King of heaven; though I am a feeble, mortal creature, yet will I join my song with those that excel in strength, with the immortal hosts of angels and archangels, thrones, dominions, and powers, while they laud and magnify thy glorious name, and sing with incessant shouts of praise.

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts! Heaven and earth are full of his glory! Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High. Amen. Hallelujah.

Accept, O merciful FATHER, my most humble thanks, for thy preservation of me this day (-). O continue thy loving-kindness towards me, and take me into thy protection this night. Let thy holy angels watch over me to defend me from the attempts of evil men and evil spirits, Let me rest in peace, and not sleep in sin, and grant that I may rise more fit for thy service.

O thou, whose kingdom ruleth over all, rule in the hearts of all the men whom thou hast made: reform the corruptions, and heal the breaches of thy holy Church, and establish her in truth and peace. Be gracious unto all Priests and Deacons, and give them rightly to divide the word of truth. Forgive the sins of this nation, and turn our hearts, that iniquity may not be our ruin. Bless King George and all the Royal Family, with all those blessings which thou seest to be most expedient for them; and give to his Council, and to the Nobility and Magistracy, grace, truly to serve thee in their several stations. Bless our Universities, that they may be the great bulwarks of thy faith and love, against all the assaults of vice and infidelity : may the Gentry and Commons of this realm, live in constant communion with thy Church, in obedience to the King, and in love one towards another..

Be gracious to all who are near and dear to me. Thou knowest their names and art acquainted with their wants. Of thy goodness, be pleased to proportion thy blessings to their necessities. Pardon my enemies, and give them

repentance and charity, and me grace to overcome evil with good. Have compassion on all who are distrest in mind, body, or estate; give them steady patience and timely deliverance.

"O Lord, thou God of spirits and of all flesh, be mindful of thy faithful, from Abel the just even unto this day.' And for thy Son's sake give to them and us, in thy due time, a happy resurrection, and a glorious rest at thy right hand for evermore !

Now, to God the Father, who first loved us, and made us accepted in the Beloved: to God the Son, who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood: to God the Holy Ghost, who sheddeth the love of God abroad in our hearts, be all love and all glory in time and to all eternity. Amen.

* The words of the ancient LITURGY, commonly called St. Mark's.

A

COLLECTION

OF

PRAYERS,

FOR

FAMILIES.

SUNDAY MORNING.

ALMIGHTY and ETERNAL GOD, we desire to praise thy holy Name, for so graciously raising us up, in soundness of body and mind, to see the light of this day.

We bless thee in behalf of all thy creatures; for "the eyes of all look unto thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season." But above all, we acknowledge thy inestimable benefits bestowed upon mankind in Christ Jesus. We thank thee for his miraculous birth, for his most holy life, his bitter agony and bloody death, for his glorious resurrection on this day, his ascension into heaven, his triumph over all the powers of darkness, and his sitting at thy right hand for evermore.

O GOD, how great was thy love to the sinful sons of men, to give "thy only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, might not perish, but have everlasting life!" How great was that love, which hath committed our souls to one so "mighty to save!" Which hath chosen us to be thy sons and heirs together with Christ Jesus, and set such a High Priest over thy house and family, to make intercession for us, to pour thy blessings upon us, and to

send forth his angels "to minister unto them who shall be heirs of salvation!" O the riches of thy grace, in sending the Holy Spirit, to make us "abound in hope," that we shall one day rise from the dead, and after our short labours here, rest with thee in thy eternal glory.

O that we could begin this day in devout meditations, in joy unspeakable, and in blessing and praising thee, who hast given us such good hope and everlasting consolation! Lift up our minds above all these little things below, which are apt to distract our thoughts; and keep them above till our hearts are fully bent to seek thee every day, in the way wherein Jesus hath gone before us, though it should be with the loss of all we here possess.

We are ashamed, O LORD, to think that ever we have disobeyed thee, who hast redeemed us by the precious blood of thine own Son. O that we may agree with thy Will in all things for the time to come! And that all the powers of our souls and bodies may be wholly dedicated to thy service? We desire unfeignedly that all the thoughts and designs of our minds, all the affections and tempers of our life, may be pure, holy, and unreprovable in thy sight.

"Search us, and our heart.

O LORD, and prove us; try out our reins Look well if there be any way of wickedness in us, and lead us in the way everlasting. Let thy favour be better to us than life itself: that so in all things we may approve our hearts before thee, and feel the sense of thy acceptance of us, giving us a joy which the world cannot give.

Make it our delight to praise thee, to call to mind thy loving kindness, and to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Help us to take "heed to ourselves, lest at any time our hearts be overcharged with surfeiting or drunkenness, or the cares of this life: to have our conversation without covetousness, and to be content with such things as we have to possess our bodies in sanctification and honour: to love our neighbour as ourselves; and as we would that others should do unto us, to do even so to them: to live