Grant that I may begin this new year with new resolutions of serving thee more faithfully; and if, through infidelity or negligence, I forget these good purposes, the good Lord awaken in me a sense of my danger. My heart is in thy hands, O God, as well as my time; O make me wise unto salvation; that I may consider in this my day the things that belong unto my peace; and that I may pass this, and all the years I have yet to live, in the comfortable hope of a blessed eternity, for the Lord Jesus' sake. Amen. Our Father, &c. PRAYER IL Birth-Day. [Bp. Wilson. BLESSED be God for my creation and birth; for giving me a being from honest parents fearing God, and in a Christian and Protestant country;-for the means of grace, the assistance of the Holy Spirit, and for the hopes of glory;-for all the known or unobserved favours, providences, and deliverances, by which my life has hitherto been preserved; most hum- › bly beseeching thee, my God and Father, to pardon my neglect or abuse of any of thy favours, and that I have so very much forgotten thee, in whom I live, and move. and have my being. Good Lord, forgive me the great waste of my precious time, the many days and years of health, and the many opportunities of doing good, which I have lost; and give me grace, that for the time to come I may be truly wise, that I may consider my latter end, and work out my salvation with fear and trembling, ever remembering that the night cometh when no man can work; and that the day of my death may be better to me than the day of my birth. O gracious God, grant that before thou takest from me that breath which thou gavest me, I may truly repent of the errors of my past life; that my sins may be forgiven. and my pardon sealed in Heaven: when the good Lord shall vouchsafe me a may die in me, and that all things belonging to the Spirit may live and grow in me; and that, being continually refreshed and strengthened by thy grace, I may persevere in all godliness unto my life's end, and finally receive an everlasting recompense, through the merits of Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Father, &c. PRAYER IV. Before receiving the Sacrament. (2.) [Mrs. Cornwallis ALMIGHTY God, merciful Father, by whose protection I have been preserved, and by whose clemency I have been spared, grant that the life thou hast prolonged may never be wasted in idleness, nor corrupted by wickedness: let my future purposes be good, and let not my good purposes be vain. Take not from me thy Holy Spirit, but enable me so to comine morate the death of thy dear Son, that I may be made partaker of his merits, and finally for his sake attain everlasting happiness. Grant that this awful remembrance may strengthen my faith; enliven my hope; increase my charity; that I may trust in thee with my whole heart; that I may do thy will with diligence, and suffer it with humble patience; so that, when thou shalt call me to judgment, I may obtain forgiveness and acceptance, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen. Our Father, &c. PRAYER V. Confession of Sin. Í ACKNOWLEDGE, dear God, that I have deserved the greatest of thine indignation; that, if thou hadst dealt with me according to my deserts, I should now be bewailing my miseries in a sad eternity; but thy mercy and thy justice triumphing over my sins, thou hast still continued to me time for repentance. Thou hast |