of the Lord unto all well-pleasing;" increasing in the knowledge and love of thee, and abounding more and more in every good work which is pleasing in thy sight through Jesus Christ.

At his hands, O Lord our God, we beg thy gracious acceptance of our humble praise and thanksgiving for all thy blessings, spiritual and temporal, so freely conferred upon us. We praise thee for all the comforts and conveniences of this life, and for all the means and hopes of a better; particularly for what we have received this day; the food of our souls set before us, the word of salvation sounding in our ears, and the Spirit of God striving with our hearts. O withdraw not thy tender mercies from us, but still continue thy accustomed goodness, and increase thy grace and heavenly blessings upon us, and rejoice over us to do us good.

In mercy pass by all which thy most pure and holy eyes have seen amiss in us this day. Forgive the iniquities of our holy things; overlook all our sins and failings through our great Mediator and Redeemer, who ever lives at thy right hand to make intercession for us. And for Jesus Christ, and all which thou art pleased to give us together with him, "not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name" be all the praise, and honour, and glory, humbly ascribed by us, and all thy Church, now and for evermore! "Our Father," &c.

PRAYERS FOR CHILDREN.

PREFACE.

MY DEAR CHILD,-A lover of your soul has here drawn up a few prayers, in order to assist you in that great duty. Be sure that you do not omit, at least morning and evening, to present yourself upon your knees before God. You have mercies to pray for, and blessings to praise God for. But take care that you do not mock God, drawing near with your lips, while your heart is far from him. God sees you, and knows your thoughts; therefore, see that you not only speak with your lips, but pray with your heart. And that you may not ask in vain, see that you forsake sin, and make it your endeavour to do what God has shown you ought; because God says, "The prayers of the wicked are an abomination unto the Lord." Ask then of God for the blessings you want, in the name, and for the sake, of Jesus Christ, and God will hear and aswer you, and do more for you than you can either ask or think. JOHN WESLEY.

LORD'S DAY MORNING.

O ALMIGHTY Gon, Maker of all mankind, in whom we live, and move, and have our being, who makest the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice, suffer me now to approach thy divine Majesty with all reverence and godly fear. I desire to adore thy sacred name, who hast in thy goodness brought me in safety to behold the beginning of a new day and another Sabbath. I bless thee, who hast in love to my soul, and for the glory of thy name, set apart this day for holy uses, to engage me in thy service, wherein consists my honour and happiness. This is thy day: O Lord, enable me to rejoice and be glad in it. May VOL. VI.

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I ever remember to keep it holy, not doing my own works, nor finding my own pleasure, nor speaking my own words; but so delight in thee, that thou mayest give me my heart's desire. Bless to me thy word, O my heavenly Father, and all the means of grace, that I may not use them in vain or to my own hurt, but for the instructing my mind, reforming my life, and the saving my soul. Save me from all hardness of heart and contempt of thy word; increase my love to it, and enable me to hear it meekly, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth fruit unto good living. Open my understanding to receive thy truth in the love thereof. Set it so powerfully upon my heart, and root it so deep in my soul, that the fruits thereof may be seen in my life, to thy glory and praise. May I always so hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest thy word, that it may be a savour of life to my soul. O let me not offer vain oblations unto the Lord, drawing nigh with my lips, while my heart is far from thee. But do thou enable me to worship thee with holy worship, with joy and delight, with profit and pleasure. Fill me with a comfortable sense of thy presence, that I may serve thee with reverence and godly fear, to the comfort of my soul and the glory of thy name. O Lord God, do thou clothe thy priests with righteousness, and let thy saints rejoice and sing. Break the bread of life to all our souls, that we may eat and live for ever. O Lord, hear my prayers, and let iny cry come unto thee. Do more and better for me than I can either desire or deserve, for the sake of my blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Jesus Christ; to whom, with thee, and the Holy Ghost, be all praise and glory, now and for ever.

Amen.

"Our 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."

LORD'S DAY EVENING.

MERCIFUL God, permit me to pay thee, now, my evening sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, for all the blessings and favours to my body and soul, so freely bestowed, and so long continued unto me. Thou hast dealt graciously with me, O Lord God, and hast been exceedingly good and kind to me, beyond all that I had reason to expect, or am able to express. I bless thee, O Lord, for every help which I enjoy to the promoting my present and eternal good. I desire to ascribe all praise and glory to thee, to whom alone it is due. O Lord, I bless thee that thy house is open to me, the bread of life offered me, the word of salvation, preached, and thy Spirit striving with me. O suffer me not to receive

thy grace in vain, nor let thy word be lost upon me. Do thou apply it to my heart, and fix it in my memory, that it may prove a blessing to my soul. In mercy, O Lord, pass by all things which in thy pure and holy eyes have been amiss this day past; pardon my neglects, and the guilt of my misdoings. And as I have heard how to walk and to please thee, O my God, help me to walk more worthy of the Lord unto all wellpleasing, that I may be built up in thy true fear and love, and in the right

knowledge and faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be thou pleased to second every word of instruction that I have received with the power of thy grace and Holy Spirit; and above all, O blessed God, do thou give me a heart filled with thy love, and lifted up in thy praise, and devoted to thy honour and glory all the days of my life. Take me, O Lord God, my Saviour, into thy gracious care and protection. Preserve me from all dangers in the night season. Let me lay down and sleep in thy arms, and when the trumpet shall sound, and at last call me from the sleep of death, let me be caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so for ever be with the Lord. All these mercies, O my God, I most humbly ask, for the alone sake of Jesus Christ my Redeemer. Amen. "Our Father," &c.

MONDAY MORNING.

O LORD God Almighty, Father of angels and men, I praise and bless thy holy name for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to me and all mankind. I bless thee for my creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thy great love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ. I bless thee for preserving me in the night past, and bringing me safe to the beginning of a new day. Defend me in the same with thy mighty power, and grant that this day I'fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but let all my doings be so ordered by thy governance, that I may do always that which is righteous in thy sight, through Jesus Christ my Redeemer. Grant me such grace, that I may be able to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with a pure heart and mind to follow the steps of my gracious Redeemer. Keep me, I beseech thee, O Lord, from all things hurtful to my soul or body, and grant me thy pardon and peace, that, being cleansed from all my sins, I may serve thee with a quiet mind, bring forth plenteously the fruit of good works, and continue in the same unto my life's end, through Jesus Christ my Saviour and Redeemer. Amen. "Our Father," &c.

MONDAY EVENING.

ALMIGHTY GOD, who art the gracious Preserver of all mankind, I desire now to offer unto thee my praise and thanksgivings, for all the blessings thou hast this day bestowed upon me. I confess, O my God, that I am unworthy of the least of all thy mercies; for I have gone astray like a lost sheep. I have followed too much the devices and desires of my own heart. I have offended against thy holy laws. I have left undone those things which I ought to have done, and have done those things which I ought not to have done; and there is no health in me: But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon me, a miserable offender. Spare me, O Lord, who now confess my faults unto thee. Enable me to bewail my manifold sins and offences, which I have from time to time most grievously committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy divine Majesty. Have mercy upon me, have mercy upon me, most merciful Father; for my Saviour Jesus Christ's sake, forgive me all that is past, and grant me thy grace, that I may ever hereafter serve and

please thee, in newness of life, to the honour and glory of thy name, through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour. Take me under thy gracious care and keeping this night; save and defend me from all dangers. Grant unto my body rest in my bed, and unto my soul rest in thyself; and be thou my God and my guide, my hope and my help, my joy and my comfort, now and for evermore, through Jesus Christ my Redeemer. Amen. "Our Father," &c.

TUESDAY MORNING.

O THOU Father of all mercies, and God of all goodness, I praise and bless thy name for thy mercies and favours unto me in the night past, and for bringing me safe to behold the light of a new day. Send down thy heavenly grace into my soul, that I may be enabled to worship thee and serve thee as I ought to do. Enable me to believe in thee, to fear thee, and to love thee with all my heart, and mind, and soul, and strength; that I may honour thy holy name and word, and serve thee truly, this, and all the days of my life. Give me thy grace, that I may love all mankind as myself, and do unto all, as I would they should do unto me. Enable me to love and honour my parents, obey my superiors, and submit to all my teachers. Suffer me not to hurt any body by word or deed. Make me just and honest in all my dealings. Let me not bear any malice or hatred in my heart. Keep my hands from picking and stealing, my tongue from evil speaking, lying, and slandering; keep my body in temperance, soberness, and chastity; that I may not covet any person's goods, but learn and labour to get my own living, and to do my duty in the state of life wherein it shall please thee to place me. Direct me so to pass through things temporal, that I may not finally lose the things which are eternal, but at last be received into thy presence, where is fulness of joy, and be seated at thy right hand, where are pleasures for evermore, through Jesus Christ my Saviour. "Our Father," &c.

Amen.

TUESDAY EVENING.

O LORD God, the gracious Giver of all good things, I praise and adore thee for thy goodness, which has been so plentiful toward me an unworthy child of man. Thou hast, in thy mercy, not only preserved me this day from all dangers, but bestowed upon me all things needful, for which I desire entirely to praise thy fatherly goodness, and with angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven, to laud and magnify thy holy name. Bless, then, the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, praise his holy name; for the Lord is gracious, and his mercy is everlasting toward them that fear him. And now, Lord, I most humbly implore thy fatherly goodness to forgive me whatever has this day, in my heart or life, offended the eyes of thy glory. O Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, receive my prayer. Prevent me, O Lord, in all my doings for the time to come, and farther me with thy continual help, that, in all my thoughts, words, and works, I may continually glorify thy holy name. Grant me thy grace, that I may follow thy blessed saints in all righteousness and holy living, that I may at last come to be a partaker with them of glory ever

lasting. Do thou enable me, gracious Lord, to adorn thy Gospel in alı holy conversation, and to do whatever I do to the glory of thy name. Cleanse the thoughts of my heart, by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that I may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name. Let thy fatherly hand be ever over me, and thy Holy Spirit be ever with me; and do thou so lead me in the knowledge and obedience of thy word, that, in the end, I may obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ my Lord. And now, O Lord, as the night is come upon me, and as I am ready to betake myself to rest, I desire to commit myself to thy protection, who neither slumberest nor sleepest, but hast still a watchfu! eye over me: O watch over me for good, that none of the evils I deserve may fall upon me. Preserve me from all terrors and dangers in the night. Remove my sin out of thy sight, and show me the light of thy countenance, and refresh me with the sense of thy favour, through Jesus Christ my Redeemer; to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and praise for ever and ever. Amen. "Our Father," &c.

WEDNESDAY MORNING.

O LORD God Almighty, Fountain of all goodness, and Father of all mercies, I desire again to bow my knee before thy holy Majesty, humbly beseeching thee to accept my praise and thanksgivings for thy mercies to me in the night season. I laid me down and slept, and rose up again in, safety; for it was thou only, O Lord, that sustainedst me. And now, O my soul, return unto thy rest. Look upon me, O Lord, in thy rich mercy, and, for thy dear Son's sake, be gracious unto my soul. Lighten my darkness, I beseech thee, O Lord, and let the dayspring from on high visit me. Enable me to cast away all the works of darkness, and to put upon me the armour of light, that I may be able to renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil; to keep thy holy will and commandments, and to walk in the same all the days of my life. Give me, O Lord, wisdom to know the things that belong to my peace, before I go hence, and am no more seen. Graft in my heart the love of thy name, increase in me true religion, and nourish me with all goodness. Give me the spirit to think and do always such things as be rightful. Teach me to ask and seek only such things as shall please thee and profit my soul. Give me such a measure of thy grace, that I may run the way of thy commandments, obtain thy gracious promises, and be made a partaker of thy heavenly treasures. Pour down upon me the abundance of thy mercy. Give me more than I can either desire or deserve. O give me the increase of faith, hope, and love; and keep me ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead me to all things useful. Let thy grace always prevent and follow me, that I may be continually given to all good works, and may always glorify my Father which is in heaven. These, and every other blessing, for me, and for thy whole Church, I humbly beg in the name, and for the sake of the merits, of Jesus Christ my Redeemer; to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, &c. "Our Father," &c.

WEDNESDAY EVENING.

O GOD, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, I most humbly beseech thee now to accept my sincere praise and thanksgiving for all