COLLECTS AND PRAYERS, TO BE USED BEFORE OR AFTER SERMON. The following Collects and Prayers are adapted to various subjects of discourse, and are arranged, for the sake of convenience, under several heads. The Minister is at liberty to use, instead of these Forms, Extemporary Prayer. GENERAL COLLECTS. O GOD, the eternal source of wisdom and purity, from whom all good counsels, all holy desires, and all just works do proceed; we offer up our humble prayers unto thee, beseeching thee to enlighten our minds, and sanctify our hearts by thy heavenly truth. What we know not, teach thou us; whatever is amiss in us, dispose us to reform; whatever in us is good, assist us to carry forwards to perfection; which we ask in the name and as disciples of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. ASSIST us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ALMIGHTY God, the fountain of all wisdom, who knowest our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in asking; we beseech thee to have compassion upon our infirmities; and those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask, vouchsafe to give us, for the sake of thine infinite mercy in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ASSIST us mercifully, O Lord, in these our supplications and prayers, and dispose the way of thy servants toward the attain WE offer these our prayers unto thee, O God of mercy, with a humble confidence in thine unerring wisdom and perfect goodness. We beseech thee to overlook the imperfection, and to accept the sincerity of our devotions. of thy great mercy, grant unto us such things as shall be good for us, though we may neglect to pray for them; and deny us such things as would be hurtful to us, though we should earnestly desire them. Order all things for us, as seemeth right in thy sight; and do us good, both now and for evermore, according to thy promises declared unto us by Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ALMIGHTY God, who hast promised to hear the petitions of those who ask in thy Son's name; we beseech thee mercifully to incline thine ears to us who have made now our prayers and supplications unto thee; and grant that those things which have faithfully asked ac we to magnify thee as we ought; to worship thee in spirit and in truth, to bend our whole soul and our every thought in adoration, before the throne of thine unspeakable majesty. And grant, O God, that by worshipping thee aright on earth, we may be prepared to worship thee in heaven with all the true disciples of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. WE acknowledge and praise thee, O God, as the high and holy One who cording to thy will, may inhabiteth eternity. Thou effectually be obtained, to the relief of our necessity, and to the setting forth of thy glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. PRAISE AND THANKSGIV ING. ALMIGHTY God, Maker of all worlds, and Father of all men; we adore thee as the first cause and constant disposer of all things, as our Creator, our Preserver, and our final Judge. We praise thee for all the manifestations of thy power, wisdom, and goodness, and for thy wonderful works to the children of men. Teach us art God from everlasting to everlasting, and there is none other God beside thee. Let us make thee our refuge and trust, our confidence and joy. Let us rest our hearts and our hopes upon thee, through all the scenes and trials of this our short and uncertain life; that, when heaven and earth shall pass away, we may be found in thine eternal dwellingplace, rendering to thee all power, and glory, and praise, through Jesus Christ, for ever and ever. Amen. OTHOU, who alone art We praise and bless thy glorious name, O Lord, for thou art good, and doest good continually, and thy mercy is over all thy works. We thank thee for all the endowments, privileges and opportunities of our nature and condition; for the instructions and consolations of thy holy word; and for the blessed hope of everlasting life. Grant that we may always look up to thee as our protector, and Father, and best friend; that we may be ever studi ous to serve thee, and anxious to please thee; and that at last we may be received to thy presence and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. O THOU, who art the only living and true God, unchangeable in thy nature, universal in thy presence, and uncontrollable in thy dominion, we adore and magnify thee as the greatest, the wisest, and the best of beings, from whom all blessings proceed, and to whom all gratitude is due. We pray that we may have worthy conceptions of thy greatness; that we may entertain a deep and lasting sense of thy goodness; that we may fear thee as our Master, and honour thee as our Father; and that when we meet thee as our Judge, we may be accepted and pardoned, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. God of wisdom and truth, from whom proceed all the treasures of knowledge, and who by thy Spirit hast given us under standing; we thank thee that thou hast enabled us to know thee in thy works, to study thy word, and to hold communion with thee, the Father of our spirits. May we at all times be sensible of our connexion with thee, and above all things fear to degrade the nature which thou hast given us. Let us not fall from thy favour, by abusing our privileges and perverting our powers. Mercifully assist our weakness; reclaim us from our errors; enlighten our minds; purify our hearts, and give us true repentance for our sins, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. WE look up unto thee, O infinite Jehovah, beseeching thee to open the eyes of our minds, that we may discern spiritual things. May we have worthy apprehensions of thy nature and providence, and a right understanding of the gospel of thy Son. Under the influence of the great truths of religion, may we correct the vices of our minds, and amend the disorders of our lives; that by purity and righteousness, we may become proper objects of thine approbation, and the rewards of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. we O GOD, the Father o light, and of wisdom; let our minds be enlightened with true knowledge. From a steadfast faith in thy perfections, may maintain a constant regard to thine administration; submit with cheerfulness to thine appointments; live in thy fear, abstain from every appearance of evil, and order our whole conversation as in thy sight. May the expectation of a happy immortality sustain our virtue in the midst of the most powerful temptations, and establish souls in peace and joy; for the sake of thine infinite mercy in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. our O GOD, the Author of nature, whose energy sustains, whose presence animates, and whose gracious influence blesses the universe; assist us, we beseech thee, to form worthy apprehensions of thy nature and character, and, as far as our faculties will |