A Morning Prayer, to be Used in Private Families
A MORNING PRAYER:
TO BE USED IN PRIVATE FAMILIES.
O LoED our God, and heavenly Father ! we, thy unworthy children, do here come unto thy most holy and heavenly presence, to give thee praise and glory for all thy great mercies and manifold blessings towards us; especially for that thou hast preserved us this night past from all the dangers and fears thereof—hast given us quiet rest to our bodies, and brought us now safely to the beginning of this day—and dost now afresh renew all thy mercies upon us, as the eagle reneweth her bill, giving us all things abundantly to enjoy—as food, raiment, health, peace, hberty, and freedom from many miseries, diseases, casu^ties, and calamities which we are subject unto in this life every minute of an hour: and not only so, but also for vouchsafing unto us many good things, not only for necessity, but even for delight also.
But, above all, dear Father, we praise thy name for the blessings of a better life; especially for thy most holy word and sacraments, and aU the good we enjoy thereby—for the continuance of the gospel amongst us—for the death of thy Son, and all that happiness which we have thereby ; also, because thou hast chosen us to life before we were, and that of thy mere goodness and undeserved &vour towards us; and hast called us in thine appointed time, justified us by thy grace, sanctified us by thy Spirit, and adopted us to be thine own children, and
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heirs apparent to the great crown.
Lord, open our eyes every day more and more to see and consider of thy great and marvellous love to us in all these things ; that, by the due consideration thereof, our hearts may be drawn yet nearer xmto thee—even more to love thee, fear thee, and obey thee ; that, as thou art enlarged towards us in mercy, so we may be enlarged towards thee in thanksgiving; and as thou dost abound towards us in goodness, so we may abound towards thee in obedience and love.
And since, dear Father, thou art never weary of doing us good, notwithstanding all our unworthiness and naughtiness, therefore let the consideration of thy great mercy and fatherly kindness towards us, even, as it were, force our hearts, and compel us to come into thy most glorious presence with new songs of thanksgiving in our mouths.
We pray thee, most merciful God, to forgive us all our unthankfulness, unkindness, profaneness, and great abusing of all thy mercies, and specially our abuse and contempt of thy gospel, together with all other the sins of our life, which, we confess, are innumerable, and more than can be reckoned up, both in omission of good things and commission of evil. We most humbly entreat thee to set them all over to the reckoning which thy Son Christ hath made up for them upon his cross, and never to lay any of them to our charge, but freely forget all' and forgive all; nail down all our sins and iniquities tothe cross of Christ, bury them in his death, bathe them in his blood, hide them in his wounds, let them never rise up in judgment against us.
Set us free of the miseries that are upon us for sin, and keep back the judgments to come, both of soul, body, goods, and good name.
Be recon-
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filed unto us in thy dear Son, concerning all matters past, not once remembering or repeating unto us our old and abominable iniquities; but accept us as righteous in him, imputing his righteousness to us, and our sins to him.
Let his righteousness satisfy thy justice for aU our unrighteousness, his obeience for our disobedience, his perfection for our imperfection.
Moreover, we humbly beseech thy good Majesty to give us the trae sight and feeling of our manifold sins, that we may not be blinded in them through delight, or hardened in them through custom as the reprobates are; but that we may be even weary of them, and much grieved for them, labouring and striving by all possible means to get out of them.
Good Father, touch our hearts with true repentance for all sin.
Let us not take any delight or pleasure in any sin, but howsoever we fjdl through frailty, as we fall often, yet let us never fall finally, let us never lie down in sin, nor continue in sin; but let us get upon our feet again, and turn to thee with all our hearts; and seek thee whilst thou mayest be found, and whilst thou dost extend grace and mercy unto us.
Lord, increase in us that true and lively faith whereby we may lay sure hold on thy Son
Christ, and rest upon his merits altogether.
Give us faith assiu-edly to believe all the great and precious promises made in the gospel, and strengthen us from above, to walk and abound in all the true and sound fruits of faith.
Let us walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Let us feel the power of thy Son's death killing sin in our mortal bodies, and the power of his resurrection raising us up to newness of Hfe.
Let us grow daily in the sanctification of the
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Spirit, and the mortification of the flesh.
Let us live holily, justly, and soberly, in this present evil world, shewing forth the virtues of thee in all our particular actions; that we may adorn our most holy profession, and shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and froward generation amongst whom we live, being gainful to all by our lives and conversations, and offensive to none.
To this end, we pray thee fill us with thy Spirit and all spiritual grace: as love, wisdom, patience, contentment, meekness, humility, temperance, charity, kindness, and affability; and stir us up to use prayer and watchfulness, reading and meditation in thy law, and all other good means whereby we may grow and abound in all heavenly virtues.
Bless us in the use of the means from day to day; make us such as thou wouldest have us to be, and such as we desire to be, working in us both will and deed, purpose and power; for thou, Lord, art all in all, thou wilt have mercy upon whom thou wilt have mercy, and whom thou wilt thou hardenest.
Have mercy upon us, therefore, dear Father, and never leave us to ourselves, nor to our own wills, lusts, and desires, but assist us with thy good Spirit, that we may continue to the end in a righteous course; that so at length ^we may be received into glory, and be partakers of that immortal crown which thou hast laid up for all that love thee, and truly call upon thee.
Turther, we entreat thee, heavenly Father, to give us all things necessary for this life: as food, raiment, health, peace, liberty, and such freedom from those manifold miseries which we lie open unto every day, as thou seest meet.
Bless unto us all the means which thou hast put into our
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hands for the sustenance of this frail life.
Bless our stock and store, com and cattle, trades and occupations, and all the works of our hands; for thy blessing only maketh rich, and it bringeth no sorrows with it.
Give us, therefore, such a competency and sufficiency of these outward blessings, as thou in thy heavenly wisdom seest most needful for us. Moreover, we humbly beseech thee, most loving Father, in great mercy to look down from heaven upon thy whole church, and every member of it.
Be favourable unto Zion, and build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Behold, with the eye of pity, the great ruins and desolations of thy church.
Heal up the wounds, and make up the breaches thereof in all nations.
R^ard it as thine own flock, tender it as thine family, dress it as thine own vineyard, love it as thine own spouse.
Think thoughts of peace to it, and always look upon it in deep compassion.
Bless it with thy grace, guide it with thy Spirit, anddefendit alwayswiththy mighty power: scatter the devices, confound the counsels, and overthrow the forces ofaU that fight against it.
Specially, we entreat thee, dear Father, to set thyself against that antichrist of Kome, that man of perdition, which setteth himself against thee, and against all thy people.
In thine appointed time we pray thee give him a deadly downfall.
Beat down aU his power and authority daily more and more: g^ve free passage to thy gospel in all kingdoms, that Babylon may fall and never rise up again.
The more the favourites and adherents of Home labour to uphold their idolatrous kingdom, the more let it fell down, even as Dagon before the presence of thine ark.
Pour down the vials of the fulness of thy wrath upon the kingdom of the beast, and let
MOEiriNG PEATEE. their riches, wealth, credit, and authority dry up every day more and more, as the river Euphrates.
Let it pity thee, Father, to see thine own spouse sit as a deformed and forlorn woman here below, weepmg and mourning with her hair about her neck; having lost all her beauty and comeliness: cheer her up dear Father, glad her with the joy of thy countenance, and so deck her and trim her up, that thou mayest delight in her, as a bridegroom in his bride.
Specially we entreat thee to have mercy upon thy chm*ch in this land; intend good unto us and not evil ; give us not over into the hands of the cruel Spaniard, as our sins have deserved.
Scatter, we pray thee, Lord, the devices, and break the plots of all such as have plotted the overthrow and utter subversion of this church and commonwealth.
Bless this church more and more, with the continuance of true religion amongst us.
For thy great name's sake, and infinite mercies' sake, deal graciously and favourably with us, and our posterity.
Turn from us that vengeance which is due to us for our sins.
For thou seest how iniquity prevaileth, and the wicked go away with the goal.
Atheism overspreadeth everywhere, and popery seemeth to get ahead again.
Now, therefore, dgar Father, we most humbly beseech thee to take order speedily for the remedying and repressing of these manifold disorders and grievous enormities that are amongst us. Be entreated of thy poor children to be good to this English nation.
Hear the cries of thine elect: hear the mourning of them that mourn in Sion.
Let the cries of thy children cry down all the cries of the sins of the land, and be reconciled unto us in the multitude of thy compassions, so that thou mayest still continue a most
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merciful protector of this thine English vineyard.
We pray thee, good Father, shew special mercy to our most noble and gracious King James, thine anointed servant: bless him, and keep him in all his ways.
Bless his government mito us.
Let thine angels encamp about him, and let thy holy hand be always over him; keep him from treasons, and deliver him from the treacheries of his enemies: give him to see what belongeth to his peace, and give him a heart earnestly bent to set upon the practice of the same: give him aU graces necessary for his peace, and necessary for his salvation: continue his government peaceable and prosperous amongst us: and as thou hast made him the breath of our nostrils, and a gracious instrument for the saving of many thousand souls, so let his own soul be saved in the day of thy Son
Christ.
Bless his majesty's most honourable privy counsellors, and give such good success unto aU their counsels and policies in matters of state, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Bless all the nobiUty; work in them a care to glorify thy name in their places; make them faithful to thee, and faithful to the land.
Direct with thy good Spirit all such as bear the sword of justice, that they may draw it out to punish the wicked, and to defend the godly, and that they may, with all good care and conscience, discharge the duties of their places.
Increase the number of faithful and zealous ministers in thy church.
Send thy gospel to those places where it is not, and bless it where it is.
Eemember them in thy mercy, Lord, that are under any cross or atfliction whatsoever: be comfortable unto them, heal up their wounds, bind up their sores, put all their tears into thy
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bottle, and make their bed in all tbeir sorrows; and put such a good end to all their troubles that they may redound to thy glory and the furtherance of their own salvation.
In the meantime, give them patience and constancy to bear whatsoever it shall please thy merciful hand to lay upon them.
Last of all, in a word, we pray thee, bless magistracy, ministry, and commonalty.
Bless all thy people; do good to all that are true and upright in their hearts. And so, dear Father, we do commit and commend ourselves, our souls, and bodies into thy hands, for this day, and the rest of our life, praying thee to take care and charge of us; keep us from all evil; watch over us for our good; let thine angels encamp about us; let thy holy hand be over us, and keep us in all our ways, that we may live to thy praise and glory here on earth, keeping faith and a good conscience in all our actions; that after this life we may be crowixed of thee, for ever in thy kingdom.
Grant these things, good Father, to us here present, and to all thine absent; praying thee in special favour to remember our friends and kinsfolks in the flesh, all our good neighbours and well-wishers, and all those for whom we are bound to pray by nature, by deserts, or any duty whatsoever, for Jesus Christ's sake, our only Mediator; to whom with thee, and the Holy Ghost, be given all praise and glory, both now, and for evermore.
Amen.