and yet didst comfort the weeping women, and didst more pity thy persecutors than thyself, and wert grieved for the miseries of Jerusalem to come forty years after, more than for thy present passion.

'Lord, what is man,' &c.

Blessed be thy name, O holy Jesus, and blessed be that incomparable sweetness and holy sorrow which thou sufferedst, when thy holy hands and feet were nailed on the cross, and the cross, being set in a hollowness of the earth, did in the fall rend the wounds wider, and there naked and bleeding, sick and faint, wounded and despised, didst hang on the weight of thy wounds three long hours, praying for thy persecutors, satisfying thy Father's wrath, reconciling the penitent thief, providing for thy holy and afflicted mother, tasting vinegar and gall; and when the fulness of thy suffering was accomplished, didst give thy soul into the hands of God, and didst descend to the regions of longing souls, who waited for the revelation of this thy day in their prisons of hope: and then thy body was transfixed with a spear, and issued forth two sacraments, water and blood and thy body was composed to burial, and dwelt in darkness three days and three nights,

Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him; and the son of man, that thou thus visitest him?'

The prayer.

Thus, O blessed Jesu, thou didst finish thy holy passion with pain and anguish so great, that nothing could be greater than it, except thyself and thy own infinite mercy; and all this for man, even for me, than whom nothing could be more miserable, thyself only excepted, who becamest so by undertaking our guilt and our punishment. And now, Lord, who hast done so much for me, be pleased only to make it effectual to me, that it may not be useless and lost as to my particular, lest I become eternally miserable, and lost to all hopes and possibilities of comfort. All this deserves more love than I have to give: but, Lord, do thou turn me all into love, and all my love into obedience, and let my obedience be without interruption, and then, I hope, thou wilt accept such a return as I can make. Make me to be something that thou delightest in, and thou shalt have all that I am or have from thee, even whatsoever

thou makest fit for thyself. Teach me to live wholly for my Saviour Jesus, and to be ready to die for Jesus, and to be conformable to his life and sufferings, and to be united to him by inseparable unions, and to own no passions but what may be servants to Jesus, and disciples of his institution. O sweetest Saviour, clothe my soul with thy holy robe; hide my sins in thy wounds, and bury them in thy grave; and let me rise in the life of grace, and abide and grow in it, till I arrive at the kingdom of glory. Amen.

"Our Father,' &c.

Ad Sect. 7, 8.-A form of prayer or intercession for all estates of people in the Christian church; the parts of which may be added to any other forms; and the whole office, intirely as it lies, is proper to be said in our preparation to the holy sacrament, or on the day of celebration.

1. For ourselves.

O thou gracious Father of mercy, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on thy servants, who bow our heads, and our knees, and our hearts to thee: pardon and forgive us all our sins: give us the grace of holy repentance, and a strict obedience to thy holy word: strengthen us in the inner man with the power of the Holy Ghost for all the parts and duties of our calling and holy living: preserve us for ever in the unity of the holy catholic church, and in the integrity of the Christian faith, and in the love of God and of our neighbors, and in hope of life eternal. Amen.

2. For the whole catholic church.

O holy Jesus, king of the saints, and prince of the catholic church, preserve thy spouse, whom thou hast purchased with thy right hand, and redeemed and cleansed with thy blood; the whole catholic church from one end of the earth to the other; she is founded on a rock, but planted in the sea. O preserve her safe from schism, heresy, and sacrilege. Unite all her members with the bands of faith, hope, and charity, and an external communion, when it shall seem good in thine eyes. Let the daily sacrifice of prayer and sacramental thanksgiving never cease, but be for ever presented to thee, and for ever united to the intercession of her dearest Lord, and for ever pre

vail for the obtaining for every of its members grace and blessing, pardon and salvation. Amen.

3. For all Christian kings, princes, and governors.

O King of kings, and Prince of all the rulers of the earth, give thy grace and spirit to all Christian princes, the spirit of wisdom and counsel, the spirit of government and godly fear. Grant unto them to live in peace and honor, that their people may love and fear them, and they may love and fear God. Speak good unto their hearts concerning the church, that they may be nursing fathers to it, fathers to the fatherless, judges and avengers of the cause of widows; that they may be compassionate to the wants of the poor, and the groans of the oppressed; that they may not vex or kill the Lord's people with unjust or ambitious wars, but may feed the flock of God, and may inquire after and do all things which may promote peace, public honesty, and holy religion; so administering things present, that they may not fail of the everlasting glories of the world to come, where all thy faithful people shall reign kings for ever.

Amen.

4. For all the orders of them that minister about holy things. O thou great shepherd and bishop of our souls, holy and eternal Jesus, give unto thy servants, the ministers of the mysteries of Christian religion, the spirit of prudence and sanctity, faith and charity, confidence and zeal, diligence and watchfulness, that they may declare thy will unto the people faithfully, and dispense thy sacraments rightly, and intercede with thee graciously and acceptably for thy servants. Grant, O Lord, that by a holy life and a true belief, by well doing and patient suffering (when thou shalt call them to it), they may glorify thee the great lover of souls, and, after a plentiful conversion of sinners from the error of their ways, they may shine like the stars in glory. Amen.

Give unto thy servants, the bishops, a discerning spirit, that they may lay hands suddenly on no man, but may depute such persons to the ministries of religion, who may adorn the gospel of God, and whose lips may preserve knowlege, and such who, by their good preaching and holy living, may advance the service of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

5. For our nearest relatives, as husband, wife, children,

family, &c.

O God of infinite mercy, let thy loving mercy and compassion descend on the head of thy servants, [my wife, or husband, children, and family ;] be pleased to give them health of body and of spirit, a competent portion of temporals, so as may with comfort support them in their journey to heaven : preserve them from all evil and sad accidents, defend them in all assaults of their enemies, direct their persons and their actions, sanctify their hearts, and words, and purposes; that we all may, by the bands of obedience and charity, be united to our Lord Jesus; and, always feeling thee our merciful and gracious Father, may become a holy family, discharging our whole duty in all our relations; that we, in this life, being thy children by adoption and grace, may be admitted into thy holy family hereafter, for ever to sing praises to thee in the church of the first-born, in the family of thy redeemed ones. Amen.

6. For our parents, our kindred in the flesh, our friends and

benefactors.

O God, merciful and gracious, who hast made [my parents,] my friends and my benefactors ministers of thy mercy and instruments of Providence to thy servant, I humbly beg a blessing to descend on the heads of [name the persons, or the relations.] Depute thy holy angels to guard their persons, thy Holy Spirit to guide their souls, thy providence to minister to their necessities; and let thy grace and mercy preserve them from the bitter pains of eternal death, and bring them to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

7. For all that lie under the rod of war, famine, pestilence: to be said in the time of plague, or war, &c.

:

O Lord God Almighty, thou art our Father, we are thy children thou art our Redeemer, we thy people purchased with the price of thy most precious blood: be pleased to moderate thy anger towards thy servants; let not thy whole displeasure arise, lest we be consumed and brought to nothing. Let health and peace be within our dwellings; let righteousness and holiness dwell for ever in our hearts, and be expressed in all our actions, and the light of thy countenance be on us in all our

sufferings, that we may delight in the service and in the mercies of God for ever. Amen.

O gracious Father and merciful God, if it be thy will, say unto the destroying angel, It is enough:' and though we are not better than our brethren, who are smitten with the rod of God, but much worse, yet may it please thee, even because thou art good, and because we are timorous and sinful, not yet fitted for our appearance, to set thy mark on our foreheads, that thy angel, the minister of thy justice, may pass over us and hurt us not let thy hand cover thy servants and hide us in the clefts of the rock, in the wounds of the holy Jesus, from the present anger that is gone out against us; that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we may fear no evil, and suffer none: and those, whom thou hast smitten with thy rod, support with thy staff, and visit them with thy mercies and salvation, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

8. For all women with child, and for unborn children.

O Lord God, who art the father of them that trust in thee, and showest mercy to a thousand generations of them that fear thee; have mercy on all women great with child; be pleased to give them a joyful and safe deliverance: and let thy grace preserve the fruit of their wombs, and conduct them to the holy sacrament of baptism; that they, being regenerated by thy Spirit, and adopted into thy family, and the portion and duty of sons, may live to the glory of God, to the comfort of their parents and friends, to the edification of the Christian commonwealth, and the salvation of their own souls, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

9. For all estates of men and women in the Christian church.

O holy God, King eternal, out of the infinite storehouses of thy grace and mercy, give unto all virgins chastity, and a religious spirit; to all persons dedicated to thee and to religion, continence and meekness, an active zeal and an unwearied spirit; to all married pairs, faith and holiness; to widows and fatherless, and all that are oppressed, thy patronage, comfort, and defence; to all Christian women, simplicity and modesty, humility and chastity, patience and charity: give unto the poor, to all that are robbed and spoiled of their goods, a com