FOR THE LAST DAY IN THE YEAR. 133 we desire to unite with all thy rational offspring in praising thee, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, and good-will towards men." And as Jesus was born to this end, and for this cause came into the world, that he might bear witness to the truth, we humbly beseech thee to incline our hearts to receive his divine doctrines and obey all his commandments. By thus approving ourselves his faithful disciples here on earth, may we be prepared to meet him when he shall come the second time in glory to judge the world in righteousness; and may we have a joyful and abundant entrance into thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

FOR THE LAST DAY IN THE YEAR OR WEEK.

Accept, O God, our unfeigned thanksgiving for the many mercies of the (year), which this day closes. When we call to mind our manifold omissions of duty, and transgressions of thy Holy Law and Commandments, our wonder is, that thy great mercy hath hitherto spared us. Thy mer

cies, O God, far transcend our deserts. We acknowledge our unworthiness, and beseech thee to forgive our sins, and to accept of our sincere and humble penitence, through Jesus Christ our Lord. And we desire to commend ourselves, and all that are dear to us, to the care of thy kind and gracious Providence, through the years and days that are yet to come. Defend us, O God, from all evil. Guide us in all our ways. Bestow upon us every needful blessing; above all, we beseech thee to bless us with thy favour, which is better than life.

We thank thee, O God, for the enjoyments peculiar to the various seasons of human life; for the innocent pleasures of youth, and for the calm and tranquil joys of age: and we pray that in whatever season of life we be, we may be found in the way of righteousness. May the young remember their Creator in the days of their youth. To the aged, may the hoary head be a crown of glory. May we all be daily more and more meet to become partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light. Ever may we remember the shortness and uncertainty of human life, and so number our days, that

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we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. youth may thy servants prepare for age; in time may we provide for eternity. May we daily add to our store of knowledge, and virtue, and piety; that if thou shalt please to prolong our life, we may adorn our age with all that is venerable and praiseworthy. And, finally, having finished our course and been faithful unto death, may we obtain a crown of life and glory everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

FOR THE Afflicted.

O Merciful Father, who art the God of the spirits of all flesh, the great hearer of prayer, hear, we beseech thee, our humble and earnest supplications in behalf of the afflicted. Let it please Thee to lighten their affliction-to visit them with thy all-consoling presenceto dwell in their hearts by love-to draw them nearer unto thyself, and by all the trials of this mortal life, to fit them for higher and more enduring felicity in the world to come.

Enable thy servants, for whom we address our prayers to the throne of thy mercy, to rest all their care upon Thee, to possess their

souls in patience, to be meekly and calmly resigned to thy will, to look to the glorious example and follow in the divine footsteps of the Redeemer of men, whose meat and whose drink it was, to do and to bear thy whole will through whose mediation we humbly approach the throne of thy Grace, for whose intercession in our behalf we are truly thankful, and through whom we would ascribe to thy Divine Majesty, the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever.

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UNDER AFFLICTION.

Amen.

Merciful God, we bow before thee with deep humiliation of spirit. We acknowledge our dependence upon thee for life and breath, and all things; for every power of our bodies, and every faculty of our minds; for every social and family blessing; for every thing that can render this life desirable, or enable us to cherish the hope of a better. O God, how little have we merited these great blessings! How ill have we requited all thy goodness! Merciful God, pardon, we beseech thee, the manifold instances of our ingratitude to Thee, and our culpable indifference to our

everlasting interests; and enable us to discern in the visitations of thy Providence, thy kind and gracious design to draw us nearer to thyself, to wean us from this unsatisfying world, and to fix our affections upon that better world which is revealed in thy Holy Word by the Lord Jesus Christ, the messenger of thy heavenly grace. Particularly, we beseech thee, to be merciful to thy servants of this family, whom thou hast seen fit to visit with affliction.

Enable us to direct our thoughts to Thee, and to tranquillize and sustain our spirits by the contemplation of thine infinite goodness, and by the assurance of thy mercy unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Let it please thee, O God, to lighten the affliction of thy servants, and grant that this visitation of thy Providence may have its due effect upon all our hearts. May it be good for us that we have been afflicted. May we be less and less attached to the vain and perishing pursuits of this transitory world, and continually more disposed to fix our thoughts and hearts upon those blessings eternal in the heavens, which are reserved for them that love and fear Thee.