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liness, and enable thine unworthy servant, by thy grace, to hold forth the light of a Christian example. O that I may be strong in the Lord, and in the power of thy might; so fighting the good fight of faith that I may lay hold on eternal life. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults! Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. And seeing I am exposed to dangers, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am. May my loins ever be girt and my lamp burning. And if I be called to go through the valley of the shadow of death, be thou with me; let thy rod and thy staff comfort me. Heavenly Father, graciously look upon me, not as I am in myself, for behold I am vile! but as united to Jesus Christ thy Son, for whose sake hear me. And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, be ascribed everlasting praises. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE OUTWARD-BOUND PASSAGE.

ALMIGHTY GOD! Father of all mercies, thy power and goodness far exceed all our knowledge, and thy judgments are past our finding out. To thee it belongeth to order the bounds of our habitation, and to appoint the lot of our inheritance. To thee it belongeth to cut off our days and our expectations at a stroke, or to lengthen them out to distant years. It is to thy overruling providence I owe my present mercies. Thou in thy wisdom settest up one, and in righteousness puttest down another; thou appointest some to dwell on shore, and others, like ourselves, to

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go down to the sea in ships, and to occupy their business in deep waters; all this is the will and work of thee our heavenly Father, and it ought to be good in our eyes. Again hast thou led us forth from our native land, and we are daily proceeding further and further from our country, and from those who are near and dear unto us. We are now shut out, as it were, from the eyes of men, and separated from the kingdoms of the world; but wherever we go we are still present with thee. If I ascend up to heaven, thou art there; and if I go down into hell, thou art there also. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Thou understandest all my thoughts afar off. O! heavenly Father, let the thought of this, thy continual presence, keep my soul in a solemn, watchful, humble frame before thee. While the winds waft our ship and our bodies into distant climates, let thy Holy Spirit stir up our hearts, and raise our desires and affections towards heaven. While the ocean rolls its waters between me and the land of my nativity, and divides me from those I most love on earth, let nothing separate either them or me from thy loving kindness and tender mercy. Wherever we go during this voyage, let us still advance nearer to thy blessed kingdom. Whatever trials yet lie before me, let me be the child of thy providence, and the object of thy love. While I here labour for the meat that perisheth, do thou feed my soul with living bread from heaven. And seeing I am by nature a lost and ruined sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, be pleased to give me the

justifying righteousness of thy Son, received by faith, and the quickening and sanctifying influences of thy Holy Spirit. Do thou bless and preserve all my dear friends and relatives whom I have left behind me. Let them, by faith, in peace and quietness, serve thee our God; and grant that I may, in due time, return in safety, health, and comfort, with the fruits of my labours, and with a thankful remembrance of thy mercies, to unite with them in praising and glorifying thy holy name for ever and ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER FOR A SAILOR,

On leaving the home-port.

Most glorious and gracious God, in whose hands, and under whose control are all the events of our lives, and all the circumstances connected with our lot upon earth; I now approach thee as the God of providence and the God of grace. We have once more loosed from our native land; we are again on the bosom of the great deep, and once more we are directing our course to a distant country. O! let us go forth in thy favour, and be conducted on our way under thy blessing. While we were in port, thou didst refresh and comfort us with many tokens of thy mercy and goodness. Now, O Lord, we beseech thee to keep, direct, and prosper us on the present voyage. Thou only knowest what dangers and difficulties lie in our way; and thou only canst save and deliver us from them. I come, therefore, unto thee,

as unto an almighty and most merciful Father, to commit all my future proceedings into thy hands, entreating thee to direct all my paths. Go with us, O Lord, as our shield and defence against all the dangers of the sea, and every violence of wicked men. Watch over us by day and by night, and return us in due time in peace and safety to our native land, that we may once more enjoy the comforts of our own habitations, and the society of our beloved friends and families; that we may enjoy our former religious privileges, and be favoured with such means of grace as may be commissioned to reveal thy dear Son Jesus Christ unto our souls, and to enable us to rejoice in hope of the glory of God. While far from those who are near and dear to me, O Lord, be thou my father and my friend; comfort them in all their sorrows and afflictions; support them under all their trials; purify and refresh their souls by thy grace and Holy Spirit; and in thine own good time, let us meet and rejoice together in praises to thee as the Author of all our mercies, and the God of all our consolation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Most merciful and gracious Lord God! Thou art the good Shepherd of thy people, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; thou art the eternal Jehovah, who delightest in mercy, and whose tender compas-> sions are over all thy works; as such, I, thy unworthy servant, do now presume to lift up my voice to the throne of thy divine majesty, and to bless and

praise thee for all thy past mercies and unmerited goodness to us as a ship's company. Thou, Lord, hast hitherto borne us, as it were, on eagles' wings. Thou hast been with us for good in our goings out, and thus far on our return home. Hitherto thou hast prospered the work of our hands, and preserved us from all the perils and dangers of the voyage. We are now speeding our way back again to the land from whence we came, and our hearts already rejoice with the cheering hope of once more beholding our native land, and those beloved friends and relations whom we there left behind us. For all these thy mercies, we bless and praise thy holy name. Yet, O Lord God, unless thou continue to us thy loving kindness, our hopes and expectations will surely fail us; unless the same hand that led us forth in safety shall be stretched out to conduct us home again, we shall never behold our native dwellings. Do thou, then, O Lord, continue to go with and bless us through all our homeward-bound passage, until we meet, in safety and peace, all who are near and dear to us. And grant, O Lord, that on our arrival in port, we may be enabled to seek and serve thee, in earnestness, in spirit, and in truth. Stir up my heart to embrace all those precious means of grace which will there offer themselves, and which I, from time to time, have most grievously neglected. Grant, O heavenly Father, that as our voyage is every day shortening, I may bear in mind that my earthly course is shortening also! O keep me mindful, that soon the voyage of life must be completed, and that I must appear before thee in judgment. O Lord, I have hitherto been a prodigal son;

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