lasting benefit of it in thy heavenly kingdom, and bless and praise thee for it to all eternity. Amen.

I

S

A General Thanksgiving.

O MOST glorious and eternal Lord God, who art the great Creator of heaven and earth, and the source and fountain of all good, look graciously upon thy servant, who am come into thy presence, to offer up the humble tribute of my unfeigned praises to thy Divine Majesty, from a heart truly moved with a sense of thy infinite and unspeakable goodness.

I bless thee, O Lord, for creating me at first out of nothing, for causing me to be born of Christian parents, and for admitting me by holy baptism into the communion of thy church; for all the helps and assistances of thy grace, which I have since had, to enable me in any measure to perform the engagements that were then made in my behalf; for implanting in my mind an early fear of offending thee, and a great desire of pleasing thee; for whatever sin I have at any time escaped, and whatever good I have done through the whole course of my life.

I bless thee, O Lord, for all thy patience and forbearance towards me, for sparing me so

pentance; for all the motions of thy good spirit; and the checks and restraints of my own conscience; for the many opportunities thou hast given me of serving thee, and calling upon thy name, particularly, O Lord, for those of this day, and for all other the means of grace, and for the hopes of glory; but above all, I magnify, I bless, I adore thy great and glorious name, for sending thy Son into the world, to die for the redemption of me and all mankind.

I bless thee likewise, O Lord, for all the temporal mercies which I have received from thy most bountiful hand; for that measure of health I have enjoyed; for the many friends and relations thou hast given me ; for delivering me from the great calamities I have justly deserved, and with which many of thy best and dearest servants have been visited. It is to thy goodness I ascribe it, that I have the use of my senses and of my reason; that I am not languishing upon a bed of sickness, nor groaning under the sharpest pains; that I am not pining with want, nor forced to beg my daily

This is to be varied

according to every per- bread, but am competently

son's condition.

provided for, and see my dear wife and children, and many

other comforts round about me. It is by thee alone, O Lord, my affairs do in any measure

prosper, or any the least of my undertakings succeed; it is thy wisdom that directs me, thy truth that instructs me, and thy power that at all times preserves me.

More particularly, O Lord, I desire to bless and praise thy holy name, for [here may be mentioned any other particulars, mercies, or deliverances.]

And now, O Lord, what returns shall I, that am a poor sinner, make for all these marvellous instances of thy mercy and lovingkindness? O let my tongue be daily sounding forth thy praises; and grant that I may manifest the sincerity of those praises by a holy life and conversation; by walking before thee in all godliness and honesty; by serving thee faithfully, and making a right use of all those blessings thou bestowest on me; by studying to please thee in all things, and doing every thing that becomes the servant of so kind and bountiful a master.

O let me never behave myself in so ungrateful a manner as to provoke thee to withdraw thy mercies from me; but give me such a lively sense of thy loving kindness, as may excite my thankfulness, and engage me to pay a willing and cheerful obedience to thy commandments; that devoting myself entirely

t

a

thy favour; that so these blessings here, may
be an earnest of thy future mercies, which I
beseech thee to grant me, for the sake of thy
beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom,
with thee, O Father, and the Holy Ghost, be
ascribed, as is most due, all honour, glory,
power, thanksgiving, and praise, both now
and for evermore.
Amen.

A concluding Prayer.

BLESSED be thy name, O Lord, for the opportunity thou hast this day vouchsafed me, of humbling myself before thee. Pardon, I most humbly beseech thee, all my failings and de

fects at this time, the wanderings of my prayers, the coldness of my affections, and the disproportion of my repentance to the heinousness of those sins which I have committed. O let thy mercy and goodness supply what is wanting in me, and be thou graciously pleased to pity my weaknesses, and forgive my infirmities, through the merits and for the sake of thy beloved Son, and my alone Saviour, Jesus Christ the righteous; to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory ascribed, now and for evermore. Amen.

AN OFFICE FOR THE SICK.

tro

and

wi

des

for

Sickness,

A Prayer at the Beginning of any
which may also be used during its Con-

tinuance.

O ALMIGHTY God and merciful Father,
whose never-failing providence ordereth all
things, both in heaven and earth; I desire,
with the profoundest reverence, to humble
myself before thee, acknowledging that thou,
even in thy severest dispensations, hast kind
intentions and gracious designs, towards me;
behold me, thy poor servant, upon whom thou
hast been pleased to lay thine afflicting hand;
sanctify, I beseech thee, this thy fatherly cor-
rection to me, and grant that I may receive it
with all the patience and submission of a du-
tiful child. Suffer me not, O Lord, to mur-
mur or repine under any dispensations of thy
providence; but let all that is afflictive to me
be a means to wean me from the world, to
bring me nearer to thyself, and to purge
away
all that dross and defilement which my
soul has contracted in this sinful life. I know,
O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and
that thou of thy goodness hast caused me to be

w

lo of

m

fo

P

t

t

0