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How long, O Lord, shall we hear the sound of the trumpet and the clang of arms? Thou didst bring this war upon us, and Thou canst deliver us from it. May it please thee in thy merciful goodness, O Lord, who makest wars to cease to the ends of the earth, to ordain peace for us. Grant unto us speedily, we beseech thee, peace; a righteous, honorable, and propitious peace. Give unto us, thou Sovereign disposer of all events, this peace in our time, before we are cut off from the land of the living and go hence to be no more.

O Lord God, to whom belongeth righteousness, and mercies, and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against thee-who hast brought thy people forth with thy right hand, and hast gotten thee renown as at this day-let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from us, and cause thy face to shine upon our land which is desolate, for the Lord's sake. Send now peace and prosperity. Save us from our enemies, and from the hands of all that hate us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve thee without fear. O our God, incline thine ear and hear, and open thine eyes and behold our desolations. For we do not present our supplications before thee for our rigtheousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord hear, O Lord forgive, O Lord hearken and do; defer not for thine own sake, O my God. Thy people are called by thy name.

*[Look down from heaven upon thy desolate sanctuaries; upon thy people dispersed and persecuted; and upon the lambs of thy flock scattered upon the mountains, and far from thy pastures and their Shepherd's care. We pray, O Lord, for the peace and prosperity of Zion, that peace may again dwell within her gates, and prosperity within her palaces. Bring forth her exiled bands, restore her waste places, heal her breaches, rebuild her broken walls, and add to her multitudes of such as shall be saved. Pour out thy spirit upon her sons and her daughters, upon her old men and mothers, and upon her servants. And may our children be seen flocking as doves to their windows, numerous as the drops of dew in the womb of the morning. May those that have been panting in desert places like the hart for the water brooks, again appear before thee, the living God, and again flourish in the courts of the Lord, and bring forth fruit unto old age. And may thy people again be glad in going up to the house of God in company with multitudes who attend upon thy solemn feasts.

Look upon our families, O thou who placest the solitary in families and lovest all the dwellings of thine Israel, and again reunite them around their own hearths, under their own vine and fig tree, none daring to make them afraid; that the incense of prayer may ascend up to thee continually from every family altar and from the altar of many hearts.

Look down upon our schools, colleges, and seminaries of theological learning which are now languishing or disbanded, and speedily reopen their closed gates of knowledge; and fill them with numerous aspirants after public usefulness in thy vineyard and in their country's service, who shall become eminent for wisdom, statesmanship, and piety, and exalt the fame of our country and the glory of thy Church.

Look upon our cities now silent, burnt with fire, and ravaged with the sword, and may they again become populous, and commerce be revived, and prosperity abound, and may all our streets say hallelujah and praise Thee, saying: Blessed be God, who hath redeemed them for ever.

Look upon our fields laid waste, our gardens converted into deserts, and our barns empty; and may the earth again bring forth abundantly, and the wilderness blossom as the rose, and our barns be filled with plenty of the finest of the wheat. Look, O God of pitiful compassion and tender sympathy, upon bereaved families and broken hearts, and be thou the husband of the widow and the father of the fatherless. Take up, O Lord,

*The part within brackets may be omitted or used at pleasure.

those who are forsaken and forlorn, and give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.]

Merciful God, who didst proclaim peace on earth, who art thyself the God of peace, and of hope, and consolation, O do thou now impart peace to thy distressed people. Almighty Saviour, who art the Prince of peace, who camest to bring peace on earth and good will to men, and to reunite in bonds of peace God with man, and man with man, do thou command these raging waves of war to be at peace, and there shall be a great calm. O holy and ever blessed Spirit, the Comforter, whose fruits within the soul are peace, gentleness, brotherly kindness, and tender compassion, send peace into the hearts of our enemies, and so work in them to will and to do that they shall seek the things that make for peace, and be glad to be at peace with us. O God, who art over all and blessed for ever, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Fill our mouth with laughter and our tongue with singing, that it may be said among the nations, the Lord hath done great things for us. Help, Lord, and save us for thy mercies' sake. O Lord God of Hosts, hear our prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob. Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine Anointed. According unto the multitude of thy mercies-according to the riches of thy grace, for thine own sake, O Lord, and for thy Christ's sake, be merciful unto us sinners, to the glory of thy rich and sovereign mercy in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, etc.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.

No. XII.

Prayer for a Thanksgiving for Peace.

THOU, O Lord, art Governor among the nations. Thou judgest the world in righteousness, and ministerest judgment to the people in uprightness. Surely, O God, thou hast beheld the affliction of thy people, and heard their cry, and known their sorrow. For the misery of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, for the prayer of the widow and the fatherless; for the cry of innocent blood, shed by wicked and ruthless hands in every part of our blood-stained soil, thou hast arisen, O Lord; and He that is higher than the highest has avenged us on these, our adversaries, and recompensed their own way upon their heads. Because they have warred against thy people by taking vengeance, and have greatly offended because they have avenged themselves upon us with despiteful hearts, and have shed the blood of thy children by force in the time of our calamity, Thou hast prepared them unto blood, and made blood pursue them, that they may know that thou art the Lord. When thy hand was lifted up, O Lord, they would not see; but they have seen and are made ashamed for their envy at thy people; yea, the fire of thine anger has devoured them. Righteous art thou, O Lord, when thou judgest! Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, and doth according to the counsel of his will, to the praise of his own glory.

O God, whose name alone is Jehovah, and who art the most high over all the earth; thou art our God, and we will praise thee, our fathers' God; and we will exalt thee, the Rock of ages, with whom is everlasting strength, and the memorial of whose goodness is unto all generations. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, has dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against us. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. O God, who art the God of peace, thou hast ordained peace for us. Lord, thou hast been favorable unto thy land. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people; thou hast covered all

their sins. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people whom thou hast redeemed; thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation; thou hast increased the nation, O Lord; thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified. Thou hast brought them in, and planted them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. May we trust in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty nation he layeth it low even to the ground, he bringeth it even to the dust. In the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Now, O Lord, that thou hast turned again our captivity, we are like those that dream. The night season of terrible calamity and frightful apprehensions has passed, and we awake to see the sunshine of peace, prosperity, and plenty shine all around us. Thy voice of mercy speaketh peace unto thy people. Thou makest assured peace in our borders and feedest us with the finest of the wheat. Thou hast filled our mouths with laughter and our tongues with singing. Thou hast wiped away all tears from off all faces.

We would remember, O Lord, the days that are past, the years in which we have seen evil; when thou didst feed thy people on the bread of adversity, and give them wormwood and gall to drink; and didst fill our land with the wail of sorrow. We sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We would not forget all Thy mercies toward us, and thy gracious benefits then so freely conferred upon us in sustaining, succoring, and comforting us. We would recount them over and over, and call upon our souls and all within us to be stirred up worthily to magnify and bless thy name. We give thanks unto the Lord, who has remembered us in our low estate, and has redeemed us from our enemies, for thy mercy endureth for ever. We praise thee with our whole heart for thy loving kindness and for thy truth. In the day when we cried unto thee thou answeredst us and strengthenedst us with strength in our soul. Though we walked in the midst of trouble, thou didst revive us. Thou didst stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of our enemies, and thy right hand saved us. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion. In the midst of thy temple we will think of all thy loving kindness. From the uttermost parts of our land thou shalt hear songs of rejoicing. With our wives and our little ones, and with our heroic dead, who art still ours to love and honor them in the blessed and holy communion of all saints in heaven, we unite this day in descriptions of glory. We thank thee for these our martyred sons who are now to become our fathers, and live in everlasting remembrance in the annals of our war and in the hearts of a generous and grateful country. May their bereaved families find in thee a covenant-keeping God, and in our people nursing fathers and nursing mothers.

And now, O God, who by thy Word and Spirit hast created this United Confederacy, and hast now established its independence, and sent it forth in the career of political existence, baptized by the blood of thousands of the best and bravest of her sons, and cemented into one body by the common loss of prosperity and property, and the common endurance of a great fight of affliction, wilt thou not become our guardian, guide, and governor. Set up in our midst thy throne of justice and righteousness. Come and reign over us. Rule in our minds and hearts by thy Word, will, and providence. Make thy glory our chief end, and thy Word our infallible standard of right and wrong, of truth, and duty. Most merciful God, who hast done so great things for us, let us not be satisfied with triumphant success of arms, political and military glory, or with agricultural, com

mercial, and social prosperity. Save us, save us, O God, from vainglorious pride and self-reliance, and from all worldliness and ungodliness. Leave, O leave us not to ourselves, to carnal reason, selfish policy, or mere material aggrandizement. Go up with us, and keep near to us, and dwell among us, and be not as a wayfaring man or as a stranger in the land. Pour out upon us thy Spirit. Revive among us thy work. Diffuse throughout our land pure and undefiled religion. Exalt our nation by righteousness, and make it Emmanuel's land, and may we be that happy people whose God is the Lord.

Preserve us, O God, from international jealousy and strife; from party spirit, sectional rivalry, and political ambition. O God, who art the ruler of heaven and earth, be thou our pilot through the storm-tossed deep, covered as it is with the wrecks of so many foundered nations. Guide us securely through the rocks and quicksands on which they perished; and may heavenly wisdom direct our people in the safe course which will lead to permanent prosperity and peace.

Rule Thou in the hearts of our rulers; counsel our counsellors; and give to our Senators, our Congressional and State Legislatures, and to all Judges, Governors, and Magistrates, and to all who have influence or authority over us, the spirit of power and of a sound mind, the spirit of counsel and of might, and of the fear of the Lord. Make them able men, and men of truth, fearing God and hating covetousness, that judgment may run down like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream. Give grace to all citizens to live quiet and peaceful lives in all goodness and honesty, dwelling in peace and unity, that the Lord may command a blessing upon us, and life for evermore.

Let our schools, colleges, and seminaries be replenished with every good and perfect gift from the Father of lights. Cast the salt of thy grace into these fountains, that the streams thereof may make glad the city of our God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. Bless all classes and conditions of men among us-the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the learned and unlearned, the free and the bond, the servant and the master.

We pray, O Lord our God, for the peace and prosperity of Zion. May she arise out of all these troubles and shine, the glory of the Lord having risen upon her. May the blood of her martyrs prove the seed of the Church. Having gone forth weeping, may she now come again rejoicing and bearing her sheaves with her. May a spirit of humility, penitence, and unfeigned faith be poured out upon all our disbanded soldiers. May thy goodness toward them during all their dangers and distresses lead them to a grateful consecration of their spared lives unto the Lord, so that in return for all His benefits they may take the cup of salvation and pay their vows unto him who loved them and gave Himself for them.

And now the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. Let him not leave us nor forsake us, that he may incline our hearts unto him to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, that our hearts may be perfect with the Lord our God all our days. We present these our imperfect prayers and most unworthy services in the all-prevailing name of Jesus, who died for our sins and rose again for our justification, and who ever liveth to make intercession for us, to whom be honor and dominion everlasting. Amen.

Our Father, who art in Heaven, etc.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.

PERSONAL AND PRIVATE PRAYERS.

No. I.

For One who is a Professor of Religion.

THY vows, O God, are upon me. I have subscribed my name unto the Lord, and entered into covenant with thee. I have taken the cup of salvation into my hand, and paid my vows unto thee in the presence of the great congregation. I have given myself unto thee, O Lord, and then to thy Church, according to the will of God. I have taken thy yoke upon me, and have felt it to be easy. glorying in thy cross, and rejoicing to be counted worthy to be thy disciple and follower. I would remember with gratitude and praise the time when first I found thee, O Lord-the time of my espousals, when I said unto my soul, "Thou art my portion, O Lord, truly I am thy servant," and when thou didst say uto me, "I am thy God and Saviour, I have loved thee, and chosen thee, and united thee to myself, and have put my Name upon thee, and my Spirit within thee, and sealed thee unto the day of redemption, and I will never leave nor forsake thee." How sweet, O Lord, the memory of those transporting hours, when thou didst bring me into thy banqueting house and thy banner over me was love; when I felt no longer as a stranger, or a guest, but as a child at home, and did eat and drink in thy presence, and partake of the feast of fat things thy mercy has prepared for them that love thee.

O most merciful God and Father, it is with shame, and confusion of face, and with an aching void in my cold, careless, worldly heart I now come before thee. The thoughts of thy loving kindness, thy tender mercy, and thy forgiving love bring tears to my eyes and sorrow to my heart when I consider how ungrateful I have been, how prone to wander forgetful of my highest love, my best friend, and my most satisfying joy. And now, O Lord, I am in circumstances of peculiar difficulty and danger to my soul. Away from home, separated from christian friends, deprived of the accustomed means of grace, surrounded by temptations; exposed to evil example and corrupt communications, to all the devices of Satan, the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life, I am greatly tempted to restrain prayer before God, and to forget and forsake Thee utterly.

Forsake me not, O God of my salvation. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Make thy grace sufficient for me, and perfect strength in my weakness. Restore my soul. Revive my love and affections toward thee. Rekindle the flame of my first, happy, heavenly love. Reanimate my faith, and hope, and peace, and joy. Inspire me with courage, confidence, and affection. Fill me with zeal for thine honor and glory, and for the salvation of souls. Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Deliver me from the spirit of unmanly fear and shame in confessing thee before men, and let not the praise of men or the honor that cometh from men deprive me of Thy favor, which is life, and of that honor that cometh from thee, which is better than life. Restore unto me the joys of thy salvation, and satisfy me with thy mercy, that I may rejoice and be glad before thee. As I have received the Lord Jesus, do thou enable and dispose me to esteem it my interest, privilege, happiness, and duty to walk and to live with Him. Enable me, O Lord, to hold fast mine integrity, and to keep myself unspotted from the world. Keep me from falling, and uphold me by thy free Spirit; that by a holy, consistent, humble walk and conversation I may prove the gospel to be all divine, adorn the doctrine of God my Saviour, and glorify him who bought me with his precious blood, in my body, soul, and spirit, which are his. Strengthen me with all might in the inner man that I may contend earnestly

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