ple; that a general revival of religion may ap.pear among us. Cause thy Church every where to flourish and increase. We pray especially for an increase of the zeal, purity and love, humility and devotion, of thy people. Let Zion break forth on the right hand and on the left. Add daily to thy Church, in our own country, and in heathen lands, such as shall be saved. Bless every Missionary gone forth to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and may more and more grace be given unto them all, that they may labor zealously, wisely, and abundantly in thy cause. And now, Lord, accept our unfeigned thanksgivings, for all those blessings which we daily so richly enjoy. We thank thee more especially for those many dear ties of relationship, affection, and Christian principles, which bind us together. We bless thee for all that sympathy of feeling and union of heart which thou hast given us; and we pray that we may be more and more knit together in Christian love. But, beyond all other mercies, we bless thee for the common salvation of Jesus Christ; for his birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection; for all that he was, and is, and will be. Blessed be God for the gift of his Son Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, our only hope, and our sure refuge. Amen. PRAYER FOR THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE KINGDOM Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the God of the spirits of all flesh, the earth is thine, and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. We come, as sinners, but trusting in thy beloved Son, our Advocate and the Propitiation for our sins, and looking for the promised Spirit of grace and supplication. Lord, we confess before thee our own sins, and those of our country. Like thy people of old, while we have been greatly distinguished by privileges, we have also been a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters. We have forsaken the Lord, and have provoked the Holy One of Israel. And chiefly now we would confess our coldness and indifference in extending the blessings of that glorious Gospel which thou hast entrusted to us. How slothful and unconcerned have we been to communicate to others the privileges which we enjoy, and to use all the means which thou hast given unto us of imparting the knowledge of Christ to distant lands! To us belong shame and confusion of face, because we have sinned against thee. But to the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him. We beseech thee give us a zeal for thy glory. Fountain of light and life, and grace, pour upon us thy quickening Spirit, to animate and excite us to devote ourselves to thee. Raise up, we pray thee, those who shall unceasingly pray, and give, and think, and labor, for the spread of thy truth. Revive the days of the primitive church, when thy people, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied May the true light come more and more to thy Church, and the glory of the Lord rise upon her; and may the Gentiles come to this light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lord, we plead the glory of thy great name, the faithfulness of thy promises, and the happiness of thine own creation; and with these pleas we ask, that the heathen may be given to Christ for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. II. O Lord, hast thou not said, "It shall come to pass in the last days that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh?" Behold, in these last days: give now to us that ask. With thee is the residue of the Spirit; and the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear. Have respect unto the Covenant, for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. May the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings, on those people now sitting in darkness and the shadow of death. We pray thee to hasten the coming on of that time, when it shall not be asked, Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? but it shall be said, The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the sight of all nations, and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. And grant, gracious Lord, that while the fulness of the Gentiles is come in, all Israel may al so be saved. May the veil which remains upon their hearts when Moses is read, be taken away by their turning to the Lord. May this branch which has so long been broken off, at length be grafted into its own Olive-tree. O let the Deliverer come out of Zion: and turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And while we thus pray, we thank thee, good and gracious Lord, for all the blessed signs of the times in which we live. We bless thee for the beginning of a general desire to spread thy truth through the world, and that societies have been raised in these latter days, among all denominations of thy servants, for evangelizing the heathen, and for their conversion from dumb idols to the living God. We thank thee for any success given to these efforts, and would thereby be encouraged to persevere in more zealous labors, and more fervent prayers. Amen. EJACULATORY PRAYERS FROM THE SCRIPTURES. On rising in the morning. I laid me down and slept; I awaked, for thou, Lord sustained me. Ps. iii. 5. At noon. At evening, and at morning, and at noon-day will I pray, and thou wilt hear. Ps. lv. 17. On going to bed. I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest, for it is thou, Lord, only that makest me to dwell Lord, bless my going out, and from this time forth for evermore. In conversation. my coming in Ps. cxxi. 8. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep thou the door of my lips. Ps. cxli. 3. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer. Ps. xix. 14. When evil entreated. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Luke xxiii. 34. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Acts vii. 60. On any loss. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. blessed be the name of the Lord. Job i. 21. In temptation. How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? Gen. xxxix. 9. Lord, cleanse thou me from secret faults: keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Ps. xix. 12, 13. |
