Forms of Prayer for Every Day in the Week, Prayer 1
Lord's Day Morning.
ALmighty, moſt high and holy, Lord God, who art the glorious Creator, Preſerver, and Governour of all things in Heaven and in Earth, and moſt worthy to be praiſed, and honoured by all Creatures; And with infinite kindneſs and compaſſion haſt redeemed loſt, and undone Sinners, by thine only beloved Rom. 4. ult.Son, whom thou haſt delivered to death for their offences, and raiſed again for their juſtification, and ſo thou art forever to be loved, and delighted in, obeyed, and worſhipped, praiſed and honoured by thy redeemed ones. We thy poor Creatures and Children are here before thee this Morning, humbly ſenſible of this our great and bounden duty, and of our own inability, without the aſſiſtance of thy Grace to perform it. And in a deep ſenſe both of our duty and inſufficiency, we deſire to offer up our ſacrifice of praiſe and thankſgiving to thy Divine Majeſty, our mighty Creator, and moſt merciful Redeemer, and humbly deſire that thou wouldeſt ſanctifie and prepare both our Souls and Bodies by the Grace of thy Holy Spirit, that we may preſent unto thee acceptable thank-offerings.
We acknowledge, O Lord, that beſides the ſins of our Callings & common Imployments, and even thoſe of the Week laſt paſt, whereby we have greatly offended thee, the ſins of our holy duties, and our profanation of this thy holy day, have given thee a juſt provocation to withdraw the grace of thy good Spirit from us, and leave us to the ignorance and vanity of our own minds, the wandrings and diſtractions of our thoughts, the earthlineſs and ſenſuality of our affections, the hardneſs, impenitency and unbelief of our hearts: And then by all the duties of thy Worſhip and Service we ſhould diſhonour thee, and by offering the Sacrifices of Fools, increaſe our own guilt before thee. duplicate page duplicate page
But we humbly beſeech thee, moſt merciful Father, forgive us all our paſt offences, that they may not ſtand as a partition Wall between thy Majeſty and us to hinder either thy Grace from coming down upon us as Rain upon the tender Herb, or our Prayers from coming up before thee as Incenſe.
Fill every one of our hearts with awful thoughts of thee, as a God that ſearcheſt hearts, and art throughly acquainted with our moſt ſecret imaginations, diſpoſitions and purpoſes; and becauſe thou art a God of purer Eyes than to behold iniquity, Let us worſhip thee with an holy worſhip; ſo as to fear thy Goodneſs, and love thy Juſtice, to delight in thy Mercy, truſt and rely upon thy Power andFaithfulneſs, to admire, praiſe and imitate thy Holineſs.
In the publick Duties and Services of this thy Day, help us ſo to joyn with the Aſſembly of thy Servants, that our hearts may be inflamed with a love of thee, and delight in thee, and in the vigour and fervency of devout affections, we may together glorifie thy holy and great Name, ſet forward our own edification, and comfort, and advance in thoſe ways of holineſs that lead to everlaſting happineſs: And ſeeing in great mercy and compaſſion to our Souls thou art pleaſed to continue to us thy Sabbaths, and the uſe of thine ordinances, which by our many and great ſins we have long ſince forfeited, Let us not, like Children ſitting in Mat. 11. 16.the Market-place, trifle away the precious opportunities and means of Grace and Salvation.
Help us ſeriouſly to conſider, when we are in thine Houſe, the Habitation of thine Holineſs, Pſal. 26. 8.and the place where thine Honour dwelleth, the glorious Majeſty, and ſpotleſs perfect purity of that God with whom we have to do, and let us behave our ſelves in thy ſacred and dreadful preſence, with that reverence, and holy fear, that humility, and lowlineſs of mind, that ſimplicity, and godly ſincerity, that heavenly mindedneſs, and purity of affection, that firm conſtancy of reſolution to devote our ſelves to thee, by our hearty obedience to thy Laws, as it becomes duſt and aſhes, vile Creatures that dwell in houſes of Clay, when they worſhip and do homage to that Sovereign Majeſty, the Throne of whoſe Glory is in the higheſt heavens.
Let us hear thy holy Word, that ſhall be read and preached to us, as the Oracles of God, and thoſe Divine Meſſages which thou haſt ſent us from Heaven to guide us in the ways that lead thither. Let us hearken to it with diligent attention, imbrace it with holy and heavenly affections, rejoycing in the Promiſes, dreading the threatnings, loving and practiſing the commands of it, let us receive it with meekneſs and mix it with Jam. 1. 21.Faith, that it may be an ingrafted Heb. 4. 2.word to the ſalvation of our Souls. And as the Rain Iſa. 55. 10, 11.cometh down, & the Snow fromHeaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the Earth, and maketh it bring forth Fruit, and bud, that it may give ſeed to the Sower, and bread to the eater; So let not thy Word, that goeth forth out of thy mouth, return to thee void, but accompliſh that which thou pleaſeſt, and proſper in the thing whereto thou haſt ſent it.
Help us to pray in faith and fervency, let all our petitions be addreſſed to the Throne of thy Grace, in the prevailing name of thy dear Son, and by the efficacy of thy holy Spirit, the Spirit of Supplication: And that the Prayers that we ſhall this day ſend up to Heaven may find a gracious acceptance with thee, Let the holy Ghoſt make interceſſion Rom. 8. 26.in our hearts, by exciting holy, humble, earneſt and hearty deſires, and let our bleſſed Redeemer make interceſſion in Heaven, and ſweeten all the diſpleaſing unſavorineſs of our Fleſh, with the Perfume Rev. 8. 3.of his Incenſe.
Let us give thanks unto thee with our whole hearts, and let all that is within us magnifie and praiſe thy Name, as for all thy mercies to our Souls and Bodies, for this Life and a better, ſo eſpecially for our Redemption, by the precious death and Sufferings of thy Son, and finiſhing that glorious work, by the raiſing him from the Dead. Raiſe up our Souls, O Lord, to the higheſt pitch of hearty thankfulneſs in the remembrance and ſenſe of thoſe ineſtimable benefits, that redoundto us and thy whole Church from this great and alſufficient Redeemer. And help us ſo to ſing praiſes to thee and to the Lamb that ſits with thee upon thy Throne, that by praiſing thee on Earth, we may tune and prepare our hearts for thoſe glorious and triumphant Praiſes, that in Heaven will be the buſineſs and happineſs of thy Saints, to all Eternity.
Let us ſo carry our ſelves this whole day, as remembring thou haſt ſeparated and ſanctified it to thine own ſervice, and made Religion, which is the great Work of every day, the more proper and peculiar imployment of this.
Let us therefore make a difference betwixt the thoughts, the words, the practiſes of otherdays, and this which thou haſt ſet apart to different purpoſes, and ſo ſanctifie this day of holy Reſt, and make it our delight, that we may be ſanctified and fitted for that perpetual Reſt that remains for thy People, and ſatisfied with thoſe Rivers of Pſa. 16. ult.Pleaſures, that are at thy Right Hand for evermore.
Bleſs, we beſeech thee, thy whole Church, and that part of it eſpecially which thou haſt planted in theſe Kingdoms. Pardon our many Sins, and remove far away from us whatever may provoke thy diſpleaſure, unſettle our foundations or diſturb our peace. Let thy Servant, our Sovereign Lord the King, find favour in thine Eyes, So bleſs Him in His Perſon, in His Counſels and Enterprizes,that upon his Head His Crown may long flouriſh, and His Government be a publick Bleſſing to theſe Kingdoms. Govern thoſe that govern under Him in Church and State, and let all His Subjects in their ſeveral Orders and Stations, do what lies in them, to the healing of our wide Breaches, the reſtoring of Chriſtian Love and Charity, the eſtabliſhment of Truth and Eph. 4. 3.Righteouſneſs, and keeping the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace.
Let all afflicted ones in what kind ſoever, find thy gracious hand ready for their relief and ſuccour, and by the more immediate working of thy holy Spirit, ſupply the want of thy publick ordinances to all that deſire them, and are by Impriſonment,Baniſhment, Sickneſs or any other hinderance deprived of them, & let us that by thy ſpecial favour, are bleſſed with the rich and in eſtimable priviledge injoying them, carefully improve them to a growth in Grace, and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt, to an increaſe of Faith and all godlineſs, till we come to the full and perfect happineſs of an immediate injoying thee without them in thy heavenly and everlaſting Kingdom, by thy dear Son Jeſus Chriſt our ever bleſſed Redeemer, through whoſe Merit and Mediation, and in whoſe Form of Words, we are bold to call thee Father, ſaying,
OƲr Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done in Earth, As it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily Bread. And forgive us our Treſpaſſes, As we forgive them that Treſpaſs againſt us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from Evil: For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, And the Glory, For ever and ever. Amen.