Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

A Prayer for Monday Morning.

Ponder my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

O hearken thou unto the voice of my calling, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I make my prayer.

My voice shalt thou hear betimes, O Lord; early in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art the God that hast no pleasure in wickedness; neither shall any evil dwell with thee.

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee.

My soul thirsteth for thee; my flesh also longeth after thee, in a barren and dry land where no water is.

Thus have I looked for thee in holiness, that I might behold thy power and glory;

For thy loving-kindness is better than life itself: my lips shall praise thee.

As long as I live will I magnify thee in this manner, lift up my hands in thy name.

and

My soul shall be satisfied, even as it were with marrow and fatness, when my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lips. Have I not remembered thee in my bed, and thought upon thee when I was waking?

Because thou hast been my helper; therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

FATHER of mercies, and God of all comfort, who art the solace of our souls, and the constant preserver and support of our bodies: by thee have I been holden up ever since I was born; and by thy goodness it is, that I have been preserved the night past from all dangers, and that my frail body has been refreshed with quiet and comfortable rest. Great and numberless have been thy mercies to me, O God; for which I desire with an humble

and thankful heart, to bless and praise thy holy

name.

O that a sense of thy goodness may be always present to my mind, and may beget in me such an humble reliance on thy fatherly care and good pro vidence, that I may perfectly resign myself to thy disposal in all things, cheerfully submitting to all thy dispensations towards me. I am not worthy, O Lord, of the least of all thy benefits: but, O Thou! whose property is mercy and love, be not extreme to mark what I have done amiss; but for thy dear Son's sake, pardon all my sins, and receive me to thy favor, without which, I am most miserable. Let me never abuse thy patience, nor despise thy goodness; but let thy fear be always before my eyes, that I may not sin against thee; but giving up myself entirely to thy service, I may endeavor in all things to keep a conscience void of offence towards thee, and towards men.

To this end, O Lord, vouchsafe me the assistance of thy Holy Spirit, for of myself I am not able to please thee. Prone to what is evil, I am every way beset with temptations, and sad experience teaches me how easily I am drawn away by the deceitful tempter. Be thou my strong hold whereunto I may always resort, and evermore mightily defend me. Lead me, I beseech thee, in the way wherein I should go; and conduct me safely through the snares and temptations of this deceitful world; or shouldst thou permit me to fall into trials, suffer

me not to be tempted above what I am able to bear. Let no calamity ever drive me from thee, nor any prosperity cause me to forget thee; but grant that all thy providences towards me may work together for my good, to bring me to thyself, and to an entire dependence upon thee: believing assuredly, that all my concerns are in the safest hands, when they are under the care and disposal of thy infinite wisdom and goodness. O Lord! let not the world get possession of my heart, which has been so often dedicated to thy service. Let not those pomps and vanities which I have so solemnly renounced, be again the object of my desires: but be thou, O God, my joy and support, my trust, and comfort in this world, and my eternal bliss in that which is to come.

O Lord, I humbly beg thy blessing this day upon all my honest designs and undertakings; direct me in all my ways, that I may take nothing in hand but what is agreeable to thy blessed will. Let no worldly interest or advantage ever prevail upon me to depart from my integrity; but amidst the various affairs of this life, give me grace to set thee always before my eyes, that I may not sin against thee. Let thy Holy Spirit powerfully restrain me from those sins that are most apt to betray and ensnare me: particularly (Here mention the sins you are most prone to.) Preserve me in my going out and coming in, that no evil accident may befal me.

Take all belonging to me, also into thy

fatherly care and protection: keep us in health and safety, in innocence and charity; and grant, that whilst we are passing through things temporal, we may be daily preparing for those better things that are eternal, through Jesus Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour.

Our Father, &c.

A Prayer for Monday Evening.

Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God.

My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God. When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?

Hear my crying, O God, give ear unto my prayer.

From the ends of the earth will I call upon thee, when my heart is in heaviness.

O set me up upon the rock that is higher than I; for thou hast been my hope, and a strong tower for me against the enemy.

I will dwell in thy tabernacle for ever, and my trust shall be under the covering of thy wings.

My soul truly waiteth still upon God; for of him cometh my salvation.

He verily is my strength and my salvation; he is my defence, so that I shall not greatly fall.

In God is my health and my glory, the rock of my might; and in God is my trust.

One deep calleth another, because of the noise of the water-pipes; all thy waves and storms are gone over me.

The Lord hath granted his loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night-season did I sing of him, and made my prayer unto the God of my life.

I will say unto the God of my strength, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I thus heavily, while the enemy oppresseth me?

Why art thou so vexed, O my soul? and why art thou so disquieted within me?

O put thy trust in God; for I will yet thank him, which is the help of my countenance.

O THOU great and glorious God, who takest pleasure in those that come unto thee with faith; look with compassion upon me, who fall low on my knees before thee, confessing that all my life has been very provoking to thy divine Majesty. O let the infinite merits of my Redeemer make satisfaction for me; and, for his sake, I beseech thee, to be merciful unto me in the pardon of all my sins. Lay not to my charge, O Lord, the sins of which I have this day been guilty; but let those, and all the other follies of my life past, be for ever blotted out of thy remembrance. Give me a lively sense. of the folly and danger of sin, that I may sincerely abhor that which is evil, and with unwearied diligence follow after the things which make for my everlasting peace. Keep me, I beseech thee, under the conduct of thy good Providence, and make me to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy name, that I may never dare to do any thing that will offend thee. Let no difficulties in my Christian warfare, affright me from my duty; but give me such resolution as will support me under all discouragements, carry me through all trials, and

« AnteriorContinuar »