An Evening Prayer, to be Used in Private Families
An Evening Prayer, to be Used in Private Families.
O Eternal God, and our most loving and dear Father, we, your unworthy children, humbly bow down before your great Majesty, acknowledging from our hearts that we are entirely unworthy to approach you or even to look towards you. You are a God of infinite glory, and we are vile and abominable sinners. We were conceived and born in sin and corruption, inheriting the corruptions of our forefathers, and we have willfully transgressed your holy statutes and laws in our thoughts, words, and actions. We have sinned both privately and openly, with ourselves and with others. Our specific sins are numerous, for who truly knows how often we offend? Yet, we must confess against ourselves that our hearts are filled with pride, covetousness, and the love of this world. We are filled with wrath, anger, and impatience. We are filled with lying, hypocrisy, and deceit. We are filled with vanity, hardness of heart, and profanity.
We are filled with unbelief, distrust, and self-love. We are filled with lust, uncleanness, and all abominable desires. Our hearts are the very cesspools of sin, the refuse bins of all filthiness. Furthermore, we fail to do the good we ought to do. We lack faith, love, zeal, patience, contentment, and every good virtue. Therefore, you have just cause to pronounce judgment upon us as damned transgressors of all your holy commandments. We are sunk in rebellion and have committed high treason against your majesty on numerous occasions. You would be justified in casting us all into the fires of hell, to be tormented with Satan and his angels for eternity. We have no defense against your majesty for such action, as it would be just and in accordance with our deserving. Therefore, dear Father, we appeal from your justice to your mercy, humbly entreating you to have mercy on us and freely forgive us all our past sins, both new and old, hidden and open, known and unknown, for the sake of Jesus Christ our only mediator. We ask you to touch our hearts with true sorrow
and genuine repentance for our sins, so that they may continually bring us sorrow and heartfelt remorse. May nothing grieve us more than the fact that we have offended you, our special friend and Father.
Give us, dear Father, a daily increasing awareness and deep understanding of our sins, accompanied by true humility under their weight. Grant us the gift of true and vibrant faith, through which we can firmly grasp your Son Christ and all his merits, applying them to our own souls. Help us firmly believe, O good Father, in all the sweet promises of the Gospel concerning the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, made in your Son Christ. Lord, strengthen our faith so that we may fully rely on your promises, which are all trustworthy and certain. May we place our entire selves and all that we possess upon them: our souls, bodies, possessions, reputation, spouses, children, and our entire state of being. May we acknowledge that all things depend on your promises, power, and providence, and that your
Word upholds and sustains the entire order of nature.
Furthermore, we beseech you, Lord, to strengthen us from above, enabling us to walk in every good path and produce the fruits of true faith in all our actions. Help us strive to please you in all things and be fruitful in good works, so that our conduct may reveal to all people our identity as your children. May we adorn and magnify our most holy profession by walking in a Christian manner, exhibiting the sound fruits and practices of godliness and true religion. To this end, we pray that you sanctify our hearts even more by your Spirit.
Sanctify our souls and bodies, as well as our inherently corrupt faculties such as reason, understanding, will, and affections, so that they may be suited for your worship and service, bringing us joy and satisfaction. Stir us to engage in prayer, vigilance, reading, and meditation on your law, as well as all other beneficial means by which we may grow in grace and goodness day by day. Bless us in the use of these means so that we may daily die to sin and live for righteousness. Draw us even closer to you, aid us in addressing our numerous needs, mend our significant imperfections, renew us
inwardly more and more, restore the brokenness within our hearts, and assist us in overcoming the remnants of sin. Expand our hearts to willingly walk in accordance with your commandments, guide our every step in your Word, and do not allow iniquity to have dominion over us. Support us in overcoming our specific weaknesses and prevailing sins, so that we may gain victory over them all, to the glory of your name and the immense peace and comfort of our own consciences.
Strengthen us, good Father, by your grace and Holy Spirit, against the common corruptions of the world such as pride, immorality, greed, contempt for your Gospel, swearing, lying, hypocrisy, and deception. Dear Father, do not allow us to be overcome by these vile vices or any other sinful pleasures and foolish delights that lead thousands to their downfall. Equip our souls to resist the temptations of this world, the flesh, and the devil, so that with your help, we may overcome them all and remain on the path to life.
Grant us a life lived in reverence to you and a death met with your favour, so that our last days may be our best, and we may find great peace of conscience in the end.
Furthermore, dear Father, we not only pray for ourselves but also for all our fellow believers, your dear children scattered throughout the earth. We humbly beseech you to bless them all, to fill them with joy through the radiance of your presence, both now and forever. Guide them all in your fear and protect them from evil, so that they may praise your name. In these perilous times and declining days, we implore you, O Lord, to raise up nurturing fathers and mothers for your Church. Raise up faithful pastors so that your cause may advance, truth may prevail, religion may prosper, your name alone may be exalted on earth, your Son's kingdom may be advanced, and your will may be accomplished. Oppose all opposing powers, especially those of Rome, Antichrist, idolatry, and atheism. Curse and thwart their plans, scatter their forces, and overthrow their armies. Let them be rendered foolish when they think themselves wise and weakened when they believe themselves strong. May they
know that no wisdom, counsel, power, or strategy can prevail against you, the Lord of hosts. Let them acknowledge that Israel has a God and that you, who are called Jehovah, are the sole ruler over the entire world.
Therefore, arise, O mighty God, and uphold your own cause against all your enemies. Strike at their core and humble them, turning them back who bear ill will towards Zion. May the patient endurance of the righteous bring joy, and may the wicked be disappointed in their hopes. Above all, we implore you, O Lord, to show special mercy to your Church in this Land where we reside. Sustain the presence of your Gospel among us, with even greater success. Purify your house day by day, removing all stumbling blocks.
May this nation continue to be a place where your name is called upon, and a sanctuary for your saints. Show mercy to our future generations, dear Father, and take care of them so that your Gospel may be passed down to them as a sacred inheritance. Protect us from foreign invasions and keep idolatry and Popery away from our midst.
Turn away from us the plagues that our sins cry out for. The sins of this land are exceedingly great, horrendous, and outrageous, giving you just cause to make us examples of your wrath to all nations. By lifting us up in great mercy and long-lasting peace, you should press us down in great anger and prolonged war. Therefore, dear Father, for the sake of your great name and your boundless mercies, we humbly implore you to be reconciled with this land and rid it of all its heinous sins. Submerge them, O Lord, in your infinite mercy through Christ, as if in a bottomless abyss, so that they may never rise up in judgment against us. Although our sins are numerous and fearful, your mercy is far greater. For you are infinite in mercy, while we cannot be infinite in sinning. Do not deliver us into the hands of idolaters, lest they blaspheme your name and say, "Where is their
God in whom they trusted?" Instead, dear Father, take us into your own hands and discipline us according to your wisdom, for with you there is mercy and deep compassion.
Furthermore, we earnestly beseech your gracious Majesty to bless our most noble King James and show him abundant mercy in all things. Guide him in your fear and protect him in all his ways. Work in his soul a genuine sorrow for sin, true faith in your promises, and a strong desire to please you in all things and fulfill the duties of his exalted position with zeal for your glory and faithfulness to your
Majesty. As you have crowned him on earth, may he, spending his days in reverence to you, be crowned by you forever in heaven after this life.
We beseech you also to bless His Majesty's most honourable privy Counsellors. Guide them from above, let them seek advice from you in all matters, so that they may consult and make decisions that are most for your glory, the good of the Church, and the peace of our
Commonwealth. Bless the nobility and all the magistrates in the land, granting them the grace to administer judgment and justice, and to uphold truth and fairness. Bless all the faithful ministers of the Gospel, increase their number, and enhance your gifts within them. Bless their labours in their respective positions and congregations, so that they may all be instruments of your hand to expand your Son's kingdom and bring many people to you. Comfort the afflicted with all necessary consolations. Do not forget any of your children who are in trouble; let the joys and comforts of your
Spirit be with them as their afflictions are, and sanctify their afflictions and troubles for the glory of your name and their own well-being. Give us grateful hearts for all your mercies, both spiritual and physical. You are exceedingly merciful to us in the things of this life, and infinitely more merciful in the things of the eternal life. Let us deeply contemplate and appreciate all your specific favors toward us, so that through proper consideration, our hearts may draw even closer to you. Therefore, may we both love and obey you because of your kindness and love towards us, and may your love for us evoke our love for you. Because mercy is found with you, let you be revered.
Grant these things, dear Father, and all other necessary graces for our souls or bodies, and for all your children throughout the entire world, for the sake of Jesus Christ. In His name, we also call upon