PRAYERS. I. (For Sunday Morning only.) HOLY, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory. Thou dwellest on high, and there is none like unto thee; and yet thou humblest thyself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth. Although thou art the Most High and Most Holy, yet dost thou permit us, thy feeble and sinful creatures, to approach unto thee in worship, and to address thee as 66 Our Father." O what tenderness do we behold in the manifestations of thy paternal care! How merci fully dost thou protect us day by day! And now we behold the dawn of another Sabbath, which, while it reminds us of the swift passage of time, recals to our remembrance thy constant goodness, thy loving-kindness, thy forbearance and compassion, through all the days that are past. Especially do we mark thy goodness each returning day of rest, in providing the hallowed means which it affords of our spiritual illumination, and the elevation of our hearts and minds towards thee, in the contemplation of the great realities, the unfading glories, of thy heavenly kingdom. Frepare us, O Lord, we beseech thee, to engage profitably in the all-important exercises of this sacred day. Soothe our worldly cares. Abate our worldly desires. Suspend the activity of our lower affections and passions. With draw us from the contemplation of all objects dear to our selfish nature. Enable us to call upon our souls, and say, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in!" Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy strength! We desire to come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercies, and in thy fear to worship toward thy holy temple. We would lift up our eyes toward thy holy abode in heaven, and meet thee in the inmost of our souls. We would enter into thy gates with thanksgiving, and into thy courts with praise; we would be thankful unto thee, and bless thy name; for thou, O Lord, art good; thy mercy is everlasting; and thy truth to all generations. Enable us, while we bow down and kneel before thee, O Lord our Maker, to lift up our hearts, together with our hands, to thee in the heavens. Let no wandering thoughts intrude upon our devotions. Let our songs of praise be acceptable before thee. Let us sing to thy glory with the spirit, and with the understanding also, maintaining the ascendancy of our devotional feelings above the sense of natural delight. And while our admiration is attracted by the beauty of divine truth, and our judgment is engaged by its reasonableness, guard us against being captivated and satisfied with the emotions of merely intellectual pleasure; let our first desires be directed to that improvement of the heart and life which thy truth is designed to effect. Give unto us a deep sense of our spiritual responsibility, as possessors of a right knowledge of thy truth, and lead us inwardly to exclaim, "What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness!"* * All between the brackets [-] may be omitted in Family reading, when brevity is desired. [We pray likewise, O Father of mercies, that this day may prove abundant in spiritual blessings to all professors of the Christian name. May they be led by thy Word to entertain just and exalted views of thy nature, thy person, thy character, and thy works. May they be enlightened to perceive that the great end and design of all thy commandments, whether preceptive or doctrinal; whether relating to belief or practice; is the attainment by thy creatures of heavenly charity,-the growth of a pure love to thee and of love to their neighbour; and the dominion of those heavenly principles over the defiled affections of the love of self, and the love of the world. More especially we pray, that the congregations of thy New Jerusalem may experience thy presence and blessing. May they truly assemble in thy name, and find thee present in the midst of them. May they cherish an earnest desire to devote their hearts and lives to thy service, and to acquire in their souls the image and likeness of thy love and wisdom. While engaged in the outward ordinances of worship, may they experience inward states of self-renunciation, and an humble adoration of thy Great and Holy Name. May they be led to worship thee in spirit and in truth, and find in thee abundant supplies of patience, consolation, illumination, and peace! May the society of thy Church with which we are connected be united, not only in the performance of the externals of worship, but in unity of sentiment and purpose, and in the bands of mutual love and peace. May the exercises of this, and of each returning sabbath, be effectual to produce, and to confirm, this happy state of unity and mutual confidence in all the congregations of thy Church. Let thy sabbaths be honoured, and be accounted a delight, both by ministers and people. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints sing aloud for joy. Let love be in the hearts of thy ministers, and let wisdom dwell upon their lips. Grant unto them to minister in simplicity and singleness of heart; in lowly dependance upon thee; and with a sincere desire to promote thy glory; and in no wise to magnify themselves. Let the ministration of thy Word be as the dew that descendeth on the mountains of Zion; and the reception thereof as the springs which thou sendest into the valleys, and which run among the hills: so shall the pastures of the wilderness be clothed with flocks; the valleys shall be covered with corn, they shall shout for joy, they shall also sing. In this glorious day of the manifestation of thy new kingdom, let the citizens of the Holy City, in the grateful view of their blessings and privileges, unite and say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord, for he hath done excellent things; this is known in all the earth. Cry out, and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion for great is the HOLY ONE of Israel in the midst of thee.] Amen. II. (For Sunday Morning only.) O LORD, who art the Most High and Most Holy God, we approach thine adorable Majesty with humble reverence, exclaiming in the language of thy Word, Who in the heavens can be compared unto the Lord ? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are round about him. We rejoice in the return of this sacred day of rest; we rejoice with thankfulness in an institution of thy divine mercy, so abundant in blessings to thy creatures. May we experience during the seasons of public worship, an elevation of our affections and thoughts towards thee, and the riches of thy kingdom! May we see thy power and thy glory, so as we have seen thee in the sanctuary. May we so delight ourselves in thee, that thou mayest give unto us the desires of our hearts. O let us taste and see that the Lord is good, and experience the blessedness of those who put their trust in him. Assist us, O Lord, to put our shoes from off our feet while we stand on holy ground; and while in thy more immediate presence, we hold communion with thee, make us sensible of thy adorable perfections! Poor, indeed, and infinitely short of thy transcendent excellence, are our best conceptions of the glories of thy nature! but we rejoice with thankfulness at the prospect before us, of a continually increasing acquaintance with the great subjects of divine knowledge, in the realms of peace and purity above. Unfathomable are the depths, and inexhaustible are the treasures of thy wisdom, by which thou wilt eternally reveal Thyself to thy creatures! Yet never shall finite beings find out to perfection the Infinite; nor cease to feel the insufficiency of their faculties, adequately to contemplate the glories of "The Sun of righteousness!" Still, Gracious Lord, although our capacities be thus limited, the revelations of Thyself which thou hast already vouchsafed unto us, inspire our minds with astonishment at the greatness of thy majesty, equalled, as it is, only by the greatness of thy mercy, loving-kindness, and tender compassion! Great and infinitely glorious as thou art, thou art ever accessible to the prayers of thy feeble and erring children! O give unto us deeply to |