with them in the life to come, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. Amen.

For Wisdom from Above.

O Almighty God, the Father and Lord of the whole creation, who hath disposed all things and all events so that they may best glorify thy wisdom, serve the ends of thy justice, and magnify thy mercy; give me, I most humbly beseech thee, true wisdom from above, that I may justly adore thy name, and admire thy ways and footsteps, which are in the great deep, and past finding out. Teach me to submit to thy providence in all things; to be content in all the changes and chances of this life; to be temperate in prosperity, and to read my duty in the lines of thy mercy; to be meek, patient, and resigned in adversity, and to look through the cloud, that I may wait for the consolation of the Lord, and the day of his redemption. Let the influence of thy Holy Spirit dwell with me for ever, and make my soul just and charitable, replete with honesty, abundant in religion, resolute in holy purposes, and inflexible to evil, Teach me to regulate my whole conduct by the tenor of thy Gospel; to be humble and obedient, peaceable and pious; to pay the debt of grati tude which I owe for all thy mercies and lovingkindness, and to dispense, according to my pow. er, a portion of that good which thou hast be stowed upon me to my fellow-creatures; that so, by performing my duty here with an unwearied diligence, and an undisturbed resolution, by hav

ing no fondness for the vanities and pursuits of this world, by laying up my hopes in heaven, and by being strengthened with the Spirit in the inner man, I may make the sacrifice of my heart and the devotion of my soul to the service of heaven, acceptable in thy sight, who art the almighty Ruler of the universe, and the Giver of true wisdom; through the merits and mediation of thy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Against Superstition.

MOST gracious God, who art the Author and Giver of all true wisdom, preserve me, I beseech thee, from the blindness of error, and from the darkness of superstition. Let me learn that this is true religion, to love thee, the only God, with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all my strength; to do as much good as I am able to my fellow creatures; to keep myself pure and unspotted from the world; to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God. Increase in me true religion, and defend me from all the mischiefs of a depraved superstition, and of an ignorant and misguided zeal. Suffer me not to be tossed about with various winds of doctrine, or to be imposed upon by the false reasonings of cunning and subtle men; but grant that, trusting to the Holy Scriptures, as the certain rule and guide of my faith, I may rejoice in the light which they afford, and constantly believe in the truths which they reveal. Let no false interpre tations corrupt the purity of my faith, or pretences to greater illumination ever weaken my steadfast

ness.

Let the watchful eye of thy providence

be my guard and defence; that constantly ad hering to the doctrines which my Saviour taught, and firmly believing those mysteries which he hath made known to men, I may be preserved from all heresies; from those fatal and evil consequences which attend them in this world, and from those punishments which are prepared for them in the next; and may so walk in the light of thy truth here, that I may hereaf ter attain to the light of everlasting life, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ. Amen.

For Patience, founded on a firm Belief of a Future State.

LORD God Almighty, the Father of every mercy, I, thine unworthy servant, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness to the children of men; and, above all, for the hope which thou hast given them of eternal life and glory in that world which is to come. Establish me in this firm belief; increase in me daily these hopes of immortality; and fix this most certain truth so deeply in my mind, that nothing in this life may be able to erase it. Give me the wisdom to learn that even here a life of virtue has infinitely more pleasure than a life of wickedness and vice. But as thou sometimes callest thy servants to labours, to dangers, and to other trials, inspire me always with patience and resolution in all my troubles and adversities, whensoever they oppress me. Let me boldly follow the doctrine and example of the Captain of my salvation, Jesus Christ, who suffered more than ever I can be called upon to endure. Let

me, like him, amid all the changes and chances of this mortal life, and even in death itself, fix my hopes on that state, where only true joys are to be found. Let the thoughts of these eternal rewards, which are prepared for such patient continuance in well-doing, so animate mine endeavours, that I may put on the whole armour of righteousness; and through dangers and labours, through adversity and death, manfully follow the footsteps of my heavenly Master, which lead to life and glory eternal, in another and a better world. Grant this, O God, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Against Hardness of Heart.

BLESSED God, who alone knowest, and who alone canst supply the wants of thy creatures; thou, who art my strong rock to whom I may in Christ Jesus boldly resort, hear the voice of my petition, and be not deaf to my prayer. Preserve me by thy mighty power from all hardness of heart, and impart to me a tender and a feeling spirit. When I hear of the power of thy wrath, let it strike me with awe; when thy great mercies and the fulness of thy grace are mentioned, make me to hunger after them; and when I commit any sin against thee, let my conscience smite me, and let it be a cause of sorrow and of grief. When thy word is preached, make it unto me a word of power, that I may receive it with all meekness and reverence. Let me never shut mine ears against the word of holy advice, nor harden my heart when I am reproved; but rather let me desire to be admonished, weli

knowing that if the righteous smite me friendly, it will prove my greatest good. Make me ever to resist the beginning of sin, remembering how suddenly a hardened heart will creep upon me, if evil be wilfully encouraged. Cause me to make much of thy grace, and labour to increase it, lest I be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Remove far from me the spirit of neglect, and grant that I may stand upon a continual guard for the prevention of this sin; make me to grow more and more in the feeling and bewailing of mine own corruptions, and in the desire and true apprehension of thy heavenly mercies for the sake of Jesus Christ, whose blood is the purger of the conscience, and the softner of the heart. Amen.

For Hope.

MOST gracious God, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that remain in the broad sea; in whom our fathers trusted, and were delivered; in whom they placed their confidence, and were not confounded: O thou, who wast also my hope when I hanged yet upon my mother's breast, and to whose care I have been left ever since I was born; be thou still my hope and my portion in the land of the living. To this hope set before me I have fled for refuge; O let me lay hold upon, and always find it an an chor of the soul both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail. In all temptations give me strength to resist; in all troubles patience to bear, and constancy to persevere in my faith and hope; that the hope of mer