craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. My God and guide! Suffer me not to be led away with the error of the wicked, and to fall from my own steadfastness: but may I ever hold fast the profession of my faith without wavering; and hold the beginning of my confidence steadfast to the end. O give me such an experimental knowledge and love of thy holy truth, as may make me ever faithful in the profession of it: that my mind may not be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ; and that I may never be turned away from that religion, in which I have found so much comfort and advantage. And grant me, good Lord, to feel still more and more the powerful efficacy of it upon my heart; that I may be rooted and grounded in the faith; and take so much pleasure in the way into which thy grace has brought me, that I may never turn from it, nor prove false to it: but, notwithstanding all temptations to seduce or affright me from it, may openly declare for it, and faithfully persist in it to my life's end. Amen.

A PRAYER FOR ZEAL AND ACTIVITY IN THE PRACTICE OF OUR RELIGION.

O LORD, the holy jealous God! thou hast declared how loathsome to thee are the lukewarm; and hast pronounced him cursed that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully and hast told us the dreadful doom of the slothful servant, who was condemned, not for committing gross evils, but for neglecting to improve his talents: Thou didst send us into this world, to provide for the next; and we are a people devoted to the Lord; having vowed and promised

to serve our God with all the powers and faculties that we possess. This is the one thing needful, that we were made for, and that we are all most strictly bound to, and must follow with our whole hearts; as ever we would escape the damnation of hell, and enter into the joy of our Lord. But I am ashamed, O my God, that I have loitered so long in thy vineyard, and trifled so much in thy work; that I have occupied myself about vanities, and slighted my greatest business. And well may I now tremble for fear of thy judgements; when I have so little approved myself, as one of thy redeemed, zealous of good works.

O merciful Lord! forgive me all my sinful omissions, and all my careless performances of the duties of thy service. And quicken me into a greater zeal and diligence to promote thy glory and to work out my salvation. And let me not contend merely for the faith and doctrine of the gospel, but be zealous for the practice of all its duties: that by my good conversation I may win others, and by the light which I cause to shine before them, may constrain them to glorify my heavenly Father.

To glorify thy name, and save our souls, is the greatest of all our concerns in the world: nothing can deserve so much of our care and zeal, and diligence, as to obtain deliverance from thy wrath, and to secure the possession of thy heavenly kingdom. O how much are we concerned to be active in this work, and to give ourselves wholly to it, when upon this moment depends an eternity to come; and all that concerns us for ever, hangs upon this short life, that is so quickly gone, and will never return! O my God! imprint these considerations so deep upon my heart, that I may no more trifle with the

weighty things of eternity: nor show a cold indifference about that which is of such absolute necessity. Make me to act as one that must be a blessed or a damned creature for ever: make me as zealous for my God as ever I have been eager for the world; and as active in the pursuit of things eternal, as ever I have been in those which relate to this present world. Let me give up myself wholly unto thee; and show the sincerity of my professions by that zeal and fervency, which are the very life and soul of Christianity. O thou great Rewarder of them that diligently seek thee! help me seriously to engage in thy service, and unweariedly to go through with it; not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; exercising myself unto godliness; continuing watchful in prayer; keeping my heart with all diligence; ordering my conversation with all usefulness, and running the race set before me with all cheerfulness. O let me be full of life and spirit in thy work, and full of good deeds and fruits to thine honour; ever labouring to be accepted here to thy favour, and hereafter to thy glory.

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Yea, make me more zealous for thine honour, O Lord, than for my own. And whatever is injurious and reproachful to thee, O let me hate it perfectly, and oppose it strenuously and yet with such prudence, and kindness towards men, that I may not betray my own shame, in defending thy glory: nor let my zeal consume, but inflame my charity: and put me upon doing all the good that ever I am able in my generation; that I may serve the interests of my Lord, and help forward the salvation of souls. O make me valiant for thy truth, and discreet in my conduct that I may neither betray thy holy cause

by my fear, nor become a reproach to it by my folly. O let me spend my zeal and spirits, not for earthly, but for heavenly things, not for my own desires and honour, but for thy blessed will and pleasure; not in frivolous contentions about the little appendages and circumstantials of religion, but in pressing after the vital and substantial part, and in a concernment about the great unquestionable duties that are necessary to the saving of the soul. And grant me thy grace, O Lord, to live now so zealously to the glory of thy name; that I may come to live blessedly for ever, in the glories of thy kingdom: not for the sake of my services, but of thy mercies, whose gift is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A PRAYER FOR GRACE TO SERVE THE LORD WITH

GLADNESS.

O MY God! thou art a Lord that hast pleasure in the prosperity of thy servants; and thy servants have the greatest reason to be pleased in the performance of thy commands. It is good for me to draw nigh to God, in whose presence is fulness of joy. Well may the hearts of them rejoice that seek the Lord! For thou dost not employ us, but to oblige us: not for any advantage to thyself, but only for our greatest good, that it may go well with us, both here and for ever. O my Lord, I am full of trouble and confusion, that ever I should be so backward as I have been, to thy blessed work; so lifeless in it, and so soon weary of it; to the dishonour of thy name, and to the reproach of thy vice; as if I had a hard master, and a hateful work.

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TO ACQUIT OURSELVES AS WE OUGHT. O that I should bear as a burthen, that which should be the solace of my life, and the rejoicing of my heart! Forgive me, I beseech thee, good Lord, all this which I bewail before thee: and heal that indisposition of mind which makes thy service a weariness unto me. And so renew my spirit, and draw my heart to thy blessed self, that I may not serve thee as from necessity, but inclination; not as forcing myself, but as delighting in thy work. O rid my mind of that tormenting dread which makes me uneasy in the service of my Lord. And give me a heavenly heart, and such a love to thy law, as may sweeten all my obedience; that I may not account it grievous or tedious, but my soul's satisfaction and exceeding joy. O let me not serve thee, my God, with the spirit of bondage, as a slave; but with the cheerfulness and gladness of an ingenuous child; sitting down with delight under thy shadow, and so pleased with thy work, that my services may also be pleasing in thy sight, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

A PRAYER FOR ABILITY TO ACQUIT OURSELVES AS WE OUGHT, IN OUR SEVERAL PLACES AND RELA

TIONS.

O LORD our Lord! thy word enjoins us whereinsoever we are called, therein to abide with God. Thou hast commanded us, not only to study quietness in that station, and to do our own business, but to provide for ourselves, and for our dependents, and to render unto all their due; and not to be burthensome to any, but rather to be helpful to those around us. O thou that givest skill and ability for the performance of those offices to which thou

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