dience, his life and death, his resurrection and ascension, his charity and intercession; praying to thee in virtue of our glorious Saviour, to grant unto us all, the graces of an excellent and perfect repentance, an irreconcilable hatred of all sin, a reverential love of Thee, an exact imitation of the holiness of the ever blessed Jesus, the spirit of devotion, a conformable will, and religious affections, an angelical purity, and a seraphic love; thankful hearts, and joy in God; and let all things happen to us all in that order and disposition as may promote thy greatest glory and our duty, our likeness to Christ and the honor of his kingdom. Even so, Father, let it be, because it is best, and hecause thou lovest it should be so; bring it to a real and unalterable event by the miracles of Grace and mercy, and by the Blood of the everlasting Covenant poured forth in the day of the Lord's love, whom I adore, and whom I love, and desire that I may still more and more love, and love for ever, Amen. Amen.

MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS

FOR MONDAY

AFTER THE

SACRAMENT.

A Form of PRAYER by Way of PARAPHRASE expounding the LORD'S PRAYER,

Our Father.

MERCIFUL and gracious; Thou gavest us being, raised us from nothing to be an excellent creation; forming us after thy own image, tenderly feeding us, and conducting and strengthening us all our days thou art our Father by a more excellent mercy, adopting us in a new birth, to become partakers of the inheritance of Jesus: thou hast given us the portion and the food of sons: O make us to do the duty of sons, that we may never lose our title to so glorious an inheritance.

Let this excellent name and title, by which thou hast vouchsafed to be related to us, be our glory and our confidence, our defence and guard, our ornament and strength, our dignity, and the endear

ment

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ment of obedience; the principle of an holy fear to thee our Father, and of love to thee, and to our brethren, partakers of the same hope and dignity.

Unite every member of the Church to thee in holy bands: let there be no more names of division, nor titles and ensigns of error and partiality: let not us, who are brethren, contend, but in giving honor to each other, and glory to thee, contending, earnestly for the faith; but not to the breach of charity, nor the denying of each other's hope. But grant that we may all join in the promotion of the honor of thee, our Father; in celebrating the name, spreading the family, and propagating the laws and institutions, the promises and dignities of our elder brother: that, depising the transitory entertainments of this world, we may labor for, and long after, the inheritance to which thou hast given us a title, by adopting us into the dignity of sons. For ever let thy Spirit witness to our spirit, that we are thy children: enable us to cry, Abba Father.

Which art in Heaven.

Heaven is thy throne, and the earth is thy footstool. From thy throne thou beholdest all the dwellers on earth, and triest out the hearts of men, and nothing is hid from thy sight. And as thy knowlege is infinite, so is thy power uncircumscribed, as the utmost orb of heaven; and thou sittest in thy own essential happiness and tranquility, immovable and eternal. That is our country, and thither thy servants are travelling;

there

there is our Father, and that is our inheritance; there our hearts are, for there our treasure is laid up till the day of recompence.

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy name, O God, is glorious; and in thy name is our hope and confidence. According to thy name, so is thy praise, unto the world's end. They that love thy name shall be joyful in thee; for thy name which thou madest to be proclaimed unto thy people, is, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin; that will by no means clear the guilty. In this glorious name we worship thee, O Lord; and all that know thy name will put their trust in thee. The desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. Thou art worthy, O Lord, of honor and praise, and glory, for ever and ever.

We confess thy glories, we rejoice in thy mercies; we hope in thy name, and thy saints like it well: for thy name is praised unto the end of the world; it is believed by faith, relied upon by an holy hope, and loved by an abundant charity. All thy Church celebrates thee with praises, and offers to thy name the sacrifices of prayer and thanksgiving.

Thou, O God, didst frame our nature by thy own image, and now thou hast imprinted thy name upon us, we are thy servants, the relatives and domestics of thy family and thou hast honored us with the gracious appellation of Christians. O let

us

us never dishonor so excellent a title, nor by un worthy usage, profane thy holy name, but for ever glorify it. Let our life be answerable to our dignity; that our bodies may be chaste, our thoughts clean, our words gracious, our manners holy, and our life useful; that men seeing our good works, may glorify thee, our Father, which art in heaven.

Thy Kingdom come,

Thou reignest in heaven and earth: O do thou rule also in our hearts; advance the interest of Religion, let thy Gospel be placed in all the regions of the earth, and let all nations come and worship thee, laying their proud wills at thy feet, submitting their understandings to the obedience of Jesus, conforming their affections to thy holy laws. Let thy kingdom be set up, gloriously, over us, and do thou reign in our spirits by thy Spirit of grace: subdue every lust and inordinate appetite, trample upon our pride; mortify all rebellion within us, and let all thine and our enemies be brought into captivity, that sin may never reign in our mortal bodies; but that Christ may reign in our understanding by faith, in the will by charity, in the passions by mortification, in all the members by a right and a chaste use of them. And when thy kingdom that is within us hath flourished, and is advanced to that height whither thou hast designed it, grant thy kingdom of glory may, speedily, succeed, and we thy servants be admitted to the peace and purity, the holiness and glories of that state where thou reignest alone, and art all in all,

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