A Prayer for a Mafter or Mistress.

GOD, make me, I beseech thee, a kind and gentle Mafter, forbearing all cruel and fevere Ufage towards those thou haft placed in Subjection under me, as knowing I have a Master in Heaven with whom is no Refpect of Perfons. Let me never be fo wicked as to put my Servants upon Cheating or Lying, or any other bafe or unworthy Practices; but give me a tender Care and Concern for their Souls, that they may never perish through any Neglect or Fault of mine.

Let me imitate the Example of thy Servant Joshua, and refolve that both 1 and my House will ferve thee. To which End, give us Grace daily to offer up our joint Prayers, and Praifes, to thy Divine Majefty, and to be frequent in attending upon the Public Offices of Religion, and to spend fome Part of the Lord's Day together in Prayer and other holy Duties. Grant this for the Sake of Jefus Chrift. Amen.

A Prayer for a Perfon in Private, upon any Day of Publick Fasting and Humiliation; which may be ufed after the Morning Service of the Day is over.

Moft great and mighty God! Thou art a confuming Fire to all difobedient and impenitent Sinners, but a most tender and compaffionate Father to fuch as truly repent and turn unto thee: Thou art a God of infinite Power, Holiness, and Purity: Thou loveft Righteousness, and hatest Iniquity, and who can stand in thy Sight when thou art angry? O Lord, when I confider the Greatnefs of thy Majesty, and reflect upon my own Nothingness and Vileness, I am afraid to speak unto thee. But, O bleffed God, thou haft vouchsafed to declare thyfelf a God gracious and merciful, forgiving Iniquity, Tranfgreffion, aud Sin.

Hear me therefore, O moft merciful Father, and look with Pity upon me, who, in the Behalf of myfelf, and of the finful People of this Land, fall low on my Knees before thee, begging for Mercy and Pardon at the Throne of Grace.

O Lord, I do moft forrowfully confefs,

that

that we are a wicked and rebellious People, notwithstanding the manifold, and often repeated Mercies, which thou haft vouchfafed us. Thou haft fhewn us wonderful Things in thy Goodnefs, O God of our Salvation, and haft hitherto protected both our Church and Nation from fecret Treachery and open Violence. Thou haft continued to us the Light of thy glorious Gospel, the Benefit of thy Word and Sacraments; thou haft preferved to us our holy Religion, reformed from thofe Errors and Corruptions which prevail in many other Nations; and haft bleffed us with Liberty; Safety, and Plenty; whilft fo many of our Brethren Abroad are perfecuted and enflaved, and whilft other Countries have groaned under the Miseries and Calamities of Tyranny, Bloodfhed, and Ruin. Thou haft given us fruitful Seafons, and many other great and invaluable Bleffings; and for many Years haft preserved us from Famine, Peftilence, and Earthquakes, and from Civil and Inteftine Wars; and when thou haft corrected us, it has been like a kind and tender Father, in Mercy and Gentleness, letting us fee, that not our Ruin, but our Amendment was intended thereby.

Day Part III. And now, O Lord, after all these Obligations, all thefe Bleffings, what Manner of Perfons ought we to have been in all holy Converfation and Godliness? But, alas! to our Shame and Confufion it must be confeffed, that we have fhewn ourfelves very unworthy of these thy Mercies; and instead of making fuitable Returns for thy Goodness and Loving-Kindness, have by a long Courfe of Sin and Rebellion, greatly provoked thy Wrath and Indignation against us. We have blafphemed that holy Name whereby we are called, and by our enormous Practices, have made our Lives as notorious for Vice, as they fhould have been eminent for Virtue and Piety.

We have abused our Plenty, by Riot and Luxury; our Liberty, by Licentieufnefs; our Eafe and Safety, by Strife, and Envying, and Divifions amongst ourselves. We have not expreffed a due Senfe of the ineftimable Benefits of the Gofpel, nor brought forth Fruits worthy of it; but while we call ourfelves Chriftians, commit fuch Things as ought not fo much as to be named among us. Nay, O Lord, fo lit tle do we retain of the Power of Godliness, that many among us have now caft off the

very

very Form thereof, denying the Lord that bought them, and all the Revelations that he has made of his Will; trampling upon all that is facred, and not only think, but say, There is no God.

This, O Lord, is the fad and deplorable State of this finful Nation; which I unfeignedly grieve for, and lament before thee; and the more, because my own Sins (with Sorrow I confefs it) have contributed to fill up the Measure of our Iniquities.

I confefs, O God, that I have grievously offended thee by [Here you may name your particular Sins.]

It is of thy Mercy, O God, that we are not confumed, and because thy Compaffions fail not: For fhouldeft thou have dealt with us after our Sins, and rewarded us according to our Iniquities, we had long before this been like as Sodom and Gomorrah, or fwept away by fome other fudden and fevere Destruction.

But, O merciful Father, thou haft fhewn thyfelf to be a God gracious and merciful, flow to Anger, and of great Kindness, not willing that any fhould perish, but that all fhould come to Repentance: thou haft fpared us when we deferved Punishment,

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