A Word to Sinners and a Word to Saints, Prayer 2
An Evening Prayer for a Family.
O Most great, and glorious Lord God, and in Jesus Christ a loving and a gracious Father. We thy poor and unworthy Servants, being by thy good providence brought to the end of this day, desire to conclude the same with an Evening spiritual Sacrifice of Prayer and Thanksgiving. Lord we do here profess, we come not in our own names, nor in our own strength, we are unable of our selves to perform any spiritual duty after an acceptable manner. But we come in the alone name, and strength of thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ: beseeching thee for his sake to pass by our unworthiness, to quicken our dead hearts, and to carry us forth with life and vigour in the duty we are now going about.
Blessed Lord God, we do acknowledge our selves to be vile, wretched sinners: Sinners by nature, sinners by birth, sinners in the whole course of our lives, having sinned as if we had come into the World for no other end but to sin against thee. Though thou hast been pleased to restrain us from many hainous, scandalous sins; yet Lord, thou knowest what evil thoughts do lodge in our hearts, and what Lusts bear rule and sway there. Blessed Lord God, though we are in some measure convinced of the need and necessity that we have of Jesus Christ, that we are undone for ever without an interest in him: yet how have we slighted and rejected the tenders and offers of him in the Ministry of the Gospel, and preferred our lusts, and the pleasures of this World before him. We have indeed outwardly made profession of the Gospel, yet have we disgraced the prof…ssion thereof by our carnal and sinfull conversation. Lord, we cannot but acknowledge, our desires, cares, and endeavours have run out more after the things of this life, than after the things of a better life. We have slighted thy judgements, abused thy mercies, prophaned thy Sabbaths, and polluted all thy holy Ordinances. When we have drawn near unto thee with our bodies, and honoured thee with our lips, then have our hearts been far removed from thee; when we have had communion with thine Ordinances, we have oftentimes had little communion with thee our God therein. Blessed Lord, our sins are many and hainous, yea there seemeth a kind of infiniteness in our sins: but we know and believe there is indeed an infiniteness in the mercies of thee our God, and in the merits of Jesus Christ: and therefore with an utter disclaiming of all righteousness of our own, as filthy rags, we place our whole confidence for life and salvation upon thy mercies in Christ. As thou hast laid our help upon him, so on him will we lay our hope for the pardon of our sins here, and for eternal salvation hereafter. Lord, be pleased to accept of his all sufficient Sacrifice, and perfect satisfaction thereby made to thy justice for all our sins. Pardon us, we pray thee, and free us as from the guilt and punishment, so from the power and dominion of all our sins, that we be no longer the servants of sin, but may be henceforth the servants of God. Lay hold on all our souls, and bring us in effectually to Jesus Christ. Subdu… our reb…llion, take away our unw…llingness, answer all our objections and excuses, and work our hearts to a resolved adventuring upon him, an hearty acceptance of him, and a total resignation of our selves for ever to him, to his gover…ent and dominion. Lord, we beseech thee, not only to j…stifie us by thy grace, but likewise to sanctifie us by thy Spirit, that we may be an holy people, serving thee in holiness and righteousness all the dayes of our lives. Mortifie our flesh with the affections and lusts: let us be proud no longer, nor covetous, nor envious, nor froward, nor m…litious. Let thy grace be sufficient for us both for the killing of our dearest lusts, and strongest corruptions; and for the quickning of us on in a conscionable discharge of the Duties of our places, callings, and relations; by which grace let us be carryed on throughout our whole course, in an holy, humble, and sincere conversation. Lord, let it suffice us, that we have spent so much of our precious time in seeking after earthly things: help us now in earnest to seek after spiritual and heavenly things, after spiritual grace and heavenly glory. We pray thee convince us thorowly, that upon the little inch of time in this life, depends the length and breadth of all Eternity: and that as we live here, we shall fare everlastingly hereafter. And O let the consideration thereof stir us up to a fruitfull improvement of our short time to the best advantage for the spiritual and eternal good of our poor souls. Help us to keep alwayes upon our hearts a deep sense as of the certainty of our death, so of the uncertainty of the time thereof, that we may live as those who believe we must shortly dye. Lord take us into thy keeping and protection this night. Grant we may lodge in the arms of Jesus, that we may rest in his bosome. Give unto us such sweet and comfortable rest and sleep, that our bodies may be refreshed, and we the better enabled to serve thee the next day in our several places and callings.
In mercy remember thine all the World over. And in special we pray thee for this sinfull Land and Nation. Pardon our sins, be reconciled to us in Jesus Christ. Let thy Gospel have a free passage therein. Pour the choicest of thy blessings upon the head of our King, that he may be a blessing unto us. Bless all our Magistrates, with the Ministers of thy Word and Sacraments. P…tty the afflicted members of Jesus Christ. Bless all Christian Families, this in particular, giving unto every member thereof all needfull, saving, sanctifying graces.
And now accept our Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving which we offer unto thee for thy manifold favours and mercies conferred on our souls and bodies: especially and above all, for that great gift of thine the Lord Jesus Christ, and for all those great things he hath done and suffered for our redemption. We bless thy name as for the enjoyment of the Gospel, so for any spiritual good we have received thereby: that any of us have fiducially and cordially closed with the tenders and offers of Jesus Christ. We bless thy name that thou hast withheld us from the company and wayes of those, who live without God in the World, giving themselves up to work all wickedness with greediness; and hast set our hearts to seek the Lord, and wait for thy Salvation. For every other good thing whether temporal or spiritual, concerning this life or a better, blessed and praised be thy great and glorious name. And now, O Lord, we beseech thee in mercy to overlook all the weaknesses and infirmities which have accompanied this holy duty. Sprinkle both our Persons and our Services with the blood of that immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus. To whom with thee, O Father, and the holy Spirit, be rendred, as is most due, all honour, and praise and glory, both now and for evermore, Amen.