Crown with success the commendable attempts of those who, from a zeal for thy glory and the welfare of mankind, are labouring to banish all false doctrines, idolatrous worship, and criminal practices from among christians; and cause the truth, as it is in Jesus, to be finally triumphant over every thing by which its purity is sullied, its influence counteracted, and its progress retarded.

Reform and bless all the people of the land in which I dwell. May thy bounty supply our wants, and the light of thy heavenly truth be the guide of our consciences, the rule of our lives, and the consolation and joy of our hearts. May the rich be rich in good works, ready to distribute, and willing to communicate of their treasures to others; the poor be sober, honest, industrious, and frugal; and all, of every age, rank, and condition, be careful to fill their stations with honour and usefulness, that thou, our God, mayest delight to do us good.

If it be consistent with the views of thy unerring wisdom, restore health to the sick, and ease to those who are in pain. Conduct my relations and friends through the dangers, trou

bles, and trials of this mortal life, in safety, innocence, and comfort, and fit them for life eternal Reward my benefactors both here and hereafter, and forgive my enemies. Be a father to the fatherless, a friend to the friendless, a protector to the widow, and a helper to all in every time of need..

And now, O gracious Father, into thy hands I cheerfully commend myself and all my concerns, satisfied that I can receive no treatment from thee but what will be dictated by perfect wisdom and disinterested benevolence. Το thee, O God, I render my most ardent thanksgiving and praise. Amen.

WEDNESDAY MORNING.

INFINITELY wise, and good, and powerful God! I adore thee as my father, and rejoice in the privilege of being allowed to address thee under that endearing name. All thy perfections, contemplated as belonging to the author of my being, assume an amiable and engaging aspect. While countless myriads of

living creatures around me are evincing, by unequivocal marks of enjoyment, their happy experience of thy goodness and care, I desire to unite my testimony with theirs, and to praise thee, with the liveliest gratitude, for the numberless favours which I have received from thy liberal and unceasing bounty.

I thank thee, the maker and guardian of my frame, for the gift and continuance of life, accompanied by the various capacities with which thou hast endowed me. My bodily and mental constitution is thy contrivance and workmanship, and is ever holding up to my admiring view a gracious display of thy adorable perfections. Through the whole of my existence, from the time of its commencement unto this hour, thou hast bestowed on me every good I have enjoyed, saved me from every evil I have escaped, and supported me under every affliction with which I have been tried. The means and instruments, whatever they have been, by which these favours have been communicated, were provided by thee, and derived from thee their capacity of promoting my welfare. The laws, by which animate and inanimate nature is governed,

were ordered and settled by thee; to thee, therefore, I esteem myself indebted for all the health, ease, and safety-all the means of subsistence and pleasure-all the accommodations and conveniencies and all the social advantages and comforts, which I have hitherto enjoyed. To thee also I owe whatever prospect I can rationally entertain of future good, either in this life or another. I especially praise thee for the assurance of the pardon of sin repented of and forsaken, and the promise of a future life of everlasting happiness to the righteous, confirmed to mankind by the mission of Jesus Christ. O gracious Father! how great is thy goodness to me-how vast, beyond my ability to calculate, are the sum and value of thy favours!

But what has been my conduct towards thee in return? My mind has not been duly impressed with a sense of thy loving kindness. and tender mercy. I have been too apt to overlook the hand that has dispensed these blessings, or to receive them without that warm sense of gratitude which they ought to have excited. I have not made such proficiency in cultivating virtuous, or in subduing corrupt

affections and habits, as I might have done by a diligent and steady use of means, with which I have been furnished for these important purposes. As I have been deficient in doing what thou hast commanded, so have I frequently done what thou hast forbidden. lament my folly, ingratitude, and disobedience, and earnestly implore thy pardon.

I

I am aware, O holy Father, that thou requirest me not only to refrain from sin, but also to grow in grace. That I may comply with thy just demand, may I be frequently employed in surveying the duties enjoined on me by the gospel, in all their variety and extent, and by reading, meditation, and prayer, endeavour to fix in my mind a deep sense and constant remembrance of the obligation I am under to discharge them. May the motives to virtue, and dissuasives from vice, be often so seriously recollected and duly considered, become so interwoven with the general train of my thoughts, that they may readily present themselves to my mind in all their importance, whenever I shall need their aid to render me superior to a temptation, or to determine me to the performance of a difficult or dangerous duty.