Before Divine Service.

GRACIOUS GOD, let thy Holy Spirit help my infirmities; teach me to think of Thee, and to pray to Thee, as I ought; and make me attentive and obedient unto thy word, through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. Amen.

After Divine Service.

O HEAVENLY FATHER! pardon the distraction, the superstition, and all the imperfections of these my services; and mercifully hear me and help me, for the sake of JESUS CHRIST. Amen.

END OF

HARTLEY'S PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS.

SEVERAL PRAYERS FOR A FAMILY.

[Selected.]

MORNING.

ALMIGHTY and ever blessed GOD, source of all being, and fountain of all good; we thy children, created by Thee, continually preserved by Thee, and indebted to Thee for all that we possess and all that we enjoy, would come before Thee this morning, to express our sense of thy goodness to us, to acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, to adore thy greatness, and commend ourselves to thy care.

Give us

O GOD, our trust is in Thee. grace to perform our duty faithfully; to use this world as not abusing it; to hold fast our integrity as long as we live; to remember that Thou seest us always, and that we must render a final account of all that we do to Thée, the witness and the judge of men.

We thank Thee, O most merciful Father, for our domestic ties and family blessings,

May we, the members of this household, mutually endeavour to discharge our several duties to each other with tenderness and fidelity. Let the gentle and pure spirit of the blessed Jesus possess our hearts, and influence our conduct. Let tranquillity, harmony, and love abide in our dwelling, and the voice of health and cheerfulness be continually heard in it. Do Thou extend thy loving-kindness to all our friends. Delight in their happiness here, and make them heirs of the inheritance of the saints in the future and eternal world.

O Thou, whose blessing is on the habitation of the just, let us be the joyful objects of that blessing, now and for evermore. Let thy mercy encompass our abode, and follow us in all our ways. Throughout our earthly pilgrimage, be Thou our guide and comforter; let thy rod and thy staff be our support in the valley of the shadow of death; and lift up the light of thy countenance upon us in the regions of eternal day. O GOD, hear us in thy great mercy; pity our infirmities; pardon our sins; and from our united hearts accept this tribute of devotion, through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. Amen.

EVENING.

OUR Father who art in heaven; accept, we beseech Thee, our grateful acknowledgments for thy goodness to us this day; for preserving our lives; for shielding us from danger; and for supplying our daily bread.

We acknowledge, O thou Father and Judge of men, that we have sinned against Thee; that notwithstanding we have been continued in the world from day to day, and thy mercies to us have never failed, we have been undutiful and unthankful; we have often forgotten, and often disobeyed Thee. O Father, pardon and reclaim us, and give us that repentance which needeth not to be repented of. Cleanse us from our secret faults, and let sin have no dominion over us. Enable us to become true followers of thy Son JESUS CHRIST in all things; to clothe ourselves with his humility, purity,, and benevolence. Let thy will, as it was his, be ours also. May the contemplation of his character, and imitation of his example, bring us constantly nearer to his perfection, and to those mansions of everlasting happiness which He has promis

ed to his disciples and gone before to prepare for them.

Take us, Almighty God, under thy sovereign protection. Make us in soul and body wholly thine. Sanctify our domestic relations; and strengthen and purify the bonds of love which join thy servants together. May the blessings which we receive from Thee excite our gratitude and animate our obedience. May those sorrows, and privations, and pains, with which in thy wisdom Thou mayest afflict us, be endured with fortitude and resignation, and improved to our eternal peace. Watch over us during the darkness of this night, and the defenceless hours of sleep; preserve us from all dangers; and bring us to the light of another morning more inclined to love Thee, and resolved to serve Thee, than we ever have been. Accept our evening sacrifice of prayer and praise, which we offer in the name of JESUS CHRIST, our most blessed Amen,

Lord and Saviour.