A SOCIAL PRAYER.

[O LORD God Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Lord of Glory, who art greatly to be feared in the assembly of thy saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about thee; who dwellest in heaven, surrounded with Angels and Archangels, with Cherubim and Seraphim, who veil their faces while they praise and worship; we bow down before thee in the name of Jesus Christ. None other name, but the name of Jesus; none other merits, but the merits of Jesus, would we plead in thy sight: but by him, through one Spirit, may we now have access with confidence to the throne of grace.]

O Thou whose name is Holy, who hast required that we confess our faults one to another; we would now confess our many and our great sins. We have often sinned against thee, and against each other, in thought, word, or deed. O forgive our hardness of heart, and our earthly-mindedness; all our want of charity, all our hastiness of spirit, all our bad tempers, and every sinful action.

For thine own name's sake, blot out our transgressions, and remember not our sins. [We put thee in remembrance, and plead together thy gracious promises. We declare them before thee, that we may be justified. May the blood of Jesus purge our consciences from dead works to serve the living God.]

Lord of all grace, help us ever hereafter to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called. May we, with all lowliness and meekness, with long

suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Give us grace so to live, that we may find more and more how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

[Teach us to remember that to us there is one body and one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all; who is above all, and through all, and in all; and thus may we love each other as brethren. Help us to love one another even as Christ hath loved us. Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.]

Give unto each of us grace to fulfil our duties toward each other. As parents, may we bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; and as children, obey our parents in all things as masters, may we give unto our servants that which is just and equal, remembering that we also have a master in heaven; and as servants, be obedient in singleness of heart, as unto Christ; as husbands, loving our wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and dwelling with them according to knowledge; as wives, being in subjection to the husband, and having on the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.

We ask for blessings on our native land. Lord, we would sigh before thee for all the abominations of our country. O how does the swearer, the sabbathbreaker, the covetous, the licentious, and the blasphemer abound on every side! Because of these things the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. Spare us, good Lord, spare us, for thy name's sake. Grant, we beseech thee, that as we

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have been peculiarly distinguished by thy mercies, so it may have to be said of us, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people; for what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for!"

Pour out of thy Spirit on the king, and on all that have the direction of public affairs; on all that minister in holy things; on the magistrates, and on the people; that a general revival of religion may appear among us.

Cause thy church everywhere to flourish and increase. We pray especially for an increase of the zeal, purity and love, the humility and devotion of thy people. Add daily to thy church, in our own country, and in heathen lands, such as shall be saved. Bless every Missionary gone forth to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and may more and more grace be given unto them all, that they may labour zealously, wisely, and abundantly in thy cause. Bless thy people Israel, and graft them again into their own olive-tree, and speedily come, our Redeemer, to Zion.

And now, Lord, accept our unfeigned thanksgivings for all those blessings which we daily so richly enjoy. We thank thee more especially for those many dear ties of relationship, affection, and Christian principles, which bind us together. We bless thee for all that sympathy of feeling and union of heart which thou hast given us; and we pray that we may be more and more knit together in Christian love.

But, beyond all other mercies, we bless thee for the common salvation of Jesus Christ; for his birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection; for all that

he was, and is, and will be. Blessed be God for the gift of his Son Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, our only hope, and our sure refuge.

[We trust that we may say we are one in Christ, members of that body of which he is the head; and we bless and praise thee for this thy unspeakable mercy.] We thank thee for this opportunity of assembling ourselves together; and we pray that however we may be separated here below, or however scattered in different stations, as we have now met together here on earth, we may hereafter all meet in heaven, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

Our Father, &c.

PRAYER FOR THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST.

I.

ALMIGHTY God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the God of the spirits of all flesh, the earth is thine, and the fulness thereof, the round world, and they that dwell therein.

We come, as sinners, but trusting in thy beloved Son our Advocate, and the propitiation for our sins, and looking for the promised Spirit of grace and supplication.

Lord, we confess before thee our own sins, and those of our country. Like thy people of old, while we have been greatly distinguished by privileges, we have also been a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters. We have forsaken the Lord, and have provoked the holy one of Israel. And chiefly, now, we would confess our coldness and indifference in ex

tending the blessings of that glorious Gospel which thou hast entrusted to us. How slothful and unconcerned have we been to communicate to others the privileges which we enjoy, and to use all the means which thou hast given unto us of imparting the knowledge of Christ to distant lands! To us belong shame and confusion of face-to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. But to the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.

We beseech thee to give us a zeal for thy glory.— Fountain of light, and life, and grace, pour upon us thy quickening Spirit, to animate and excite us to devote ourselves to thee. Raise up, we pray thee, those who shall unceasingly pray, and give, and think, and labour, for the spread of thy truth. Revive the days of the primitive church, when thy people, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

O may we dwell in love, and so dwell in thee, and thou in us; and our love be made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because we are in this world as our Redeemer was.

May the true light come more and more to thy Church, and the glory of the Lord rise upon her; and may the Gentiles come to this light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Lord, we plead the glory of thy great name, the faithfulness of thy promises, and the happiness of thine own creation; and with these pleas we ask, that the Heathen may be given to Christ for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession.