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may our first thoughts be consecrated to God, and may the sabbath be to us a day of sacred rest and joy, and a prelude to an everlasting sabbath in thy kingdom of glory. Now unto him, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father; to him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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A prayer for a day of public Fasting, in the Spring.

O, thou justly offended Sovereign! we desire to bow before thee, on this day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, with the deepest self-abasement. May we offer unto thee the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart, which, O God! thou wilt not despise. We are ashamed and blush to lift up our faces to thee our God; for our iniquities are increased over our heads, and our trespasses are grown up unto the heavens. We confess, that we are by nature children of wrath even as others, and are under the curse of a broken law. We have wickedly and ungratefully revolted from thee, the living God, and practically said, Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. We have hated and despised reproof, and disregarded thy warnings and instructions, abused thy goodness, and slighted thy mercies. Thou hast nourished and brought us up as children, but we have rebelled against thee. It is of the Lord's mercies, that we are not consumed, because thy compassions fail not.-Look down, O God! in mercy upon us miserable sinners. Pardon us through the mediation of Christ. Blot out all our transgressions, and be at peace with us. Wash us and we shall be clean; purify us and we shall be whiter than snow. Help us to keep such a fast this day, as thou hast chosen, and to rend our hearts and not our garments, and turn unto the

Lord our God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. We acknowledge, O Lord! that iniquity abounds, and the love of many waxes cold. We lament the profanation of thy holy name, and thy holy day; the disregard of thine authority, and the disobedience of thy sacred laws, and that such multitudes cast off fear and restrain prayer before thee. Pour, we beseech thee, upon thy people a spirit of repentance and reformation. Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just. May temperance and sobriety, industry and good habits, universally prevail. Behold thy people prostrate at the throne of grace, and hear their prayers, whether offered in the sanctuary, in the family, or in the closet. Spare thy people, O Lord! and give not thine heritage to reproach. We deserve all thy rebukes and chastisements. Thou wouldst be just, shouldst thou cast us off forever. Return, O Lord! how long? and let it repent thee concerning us thy servants. O! satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice, and be glad all our days.We thank thee, O Lord! that thou hast carried us through the inclement season of the winter, and hast brought us to the return of spring. Mercifully regard us in respect to the succeeding seasons of the year. May there be a favorable seed time, a fruitful season, and a plentiful harvest. Grant us those alternate shinings of the sun, and showers of rain, which are necessary to bring forward and ripen the fruits of the earth. Give us the rain of our land in due season, the former rain, and the latter rain, that the land may yield her increase and the trees of the field yield their fruits. Let not the heaven, that is over our heads, be brass, and the earth that is under us, be iron, and make not the rain of our land, powder and dust. Save us from destructive frosts, devouring insects, blasts and mildews. Reserve unto us the appointed weeks of harvest, and crown the year with thy goodness. Preserve us from the pestilence, that walketh in darkness, and the destruction, that wasteth at noon day. Save us from the ravages of tempests and earthquakes, fire and water, persecution and the sword. Continue the health and happiness of thy people. Prosper our agriculture, our manufactures, our commerce and our fisheries, and make us rejoice in the midst of

plenty. Bless the people of this nation in all their interests and concerns. Ever may we remember, that righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Propitiously regard the President of the United States, all heads of department, and all in subordinate authority. Give them that wisdom, which is from above, and is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. May they ever desire to promote the glory of God, and the highest interests of this people. Bless the Governor and Council of this State, and the legislative and judicial branches of the government. Mercifully regard all the ministers of religion. May they not shun to declare all the counsel of God, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear. Make them burning and shining lights in thy golden candlesticks, and instrumental of great good to Zion. May all our colleges, academies and schools of learning, be nurseries of useful knowledge, and of piety. Bless all the institutions of true religion, humanity, and benevolence. Graciously succeed all efforts to spread a knowledge of the gospel of Christ among the great family of man. Compassionate the circumstances of all people, and fill the earth with thy glory. Now unto him, that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all, that we ask or think, according to the power, that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the Church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

A prayer for a day of public Thanksgiving, in Autumn.

O thou great Author of our being, and blessings! help us on this day of praise, thanksgiving and prayer, to approach thee with hearts overflowing with gratitude and joy. We adore thee as God over all blessed for evermore. We praise thee, and magnify thy name with thanksgiving, for thou art good, and doest good continually. Thy goodness is boundless as the universe, and endless as eternity. The earth is thine and the fulness thereof; the

world, and they that dwell therein. Thou makest thy sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendest rain on the just, and on the unjust. Thou waterest the hills from thy chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. Thou causest the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that thou mayest bring forth food out of the earth. All eyes wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou givest to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. Thy rich beneficence is every where discovered; in the fruitful valley, the verdant hill, and the limpid stream. O that kings of the earth, and all people, princes, and all judges of the earth; both young men, and maidens, old men, and children, would praise the name of the Lord; for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and the heavens.- -We thank thee, O Lord! for all our blessings, temporal and spiritual. The lines are fallen to us in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage. Thou hast not left thyself without witness, in that thou hast done good, and given us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. We bless thee that we live in a land where churches are planted, the means of grace abound, and the blessings of religious and civil liberty are enjoyed. We have heard with our ears, O God! our fathers have told us; what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old; how thou didst drive out the Heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favor unto them. O Lord! we acknowledge thou hast not dealt so with any nation. Bless the Lord, O our souls! and forget not all his benefits.We praise thee, especially at this time, for thy goodness to us the year past; that thou hast protracted our forfeited lives, favored us with a good measure of health, and continued to us our religious, civil, and literary advantages. We bless thee for thy goodness to us in regard to the seasons of the year. Thou didst give unto us the former and the latter rain in his season, and didst reserve for us the

appointed weeks of the harvest. Thou hast crowned the year with thy goodness; and thy paths have dropped fatness. The promise, that while the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest shall not cease, thou hast hitherto fulfilled. The earth has yielded her increase, and God, even our God, has blessed us. We thank thee for the bounties of this year, and that we are enabled, at the close of it, to come before thee with a meat and a drink offering. Help us, we pray thee, to keep this day such a thanksgiving as the Lord our God shall be pleased to accept and to bless. Fill our hearts with gratitude for the many benefactions we have received. Continue to bless us in future; and may the streams of thy goodness lead us to thee the fountain.-May thy blessings be extended to all around us. Be the Guardian and Benefactor of our beloved country. Graciously regard the Chief Magistrate of these United States, and all our Senators and Representatives. Bless the civil rulers of this State. Make our officers peace, and our exactors righteousness. Let violence no more be heard in our land, wasting nor destruction within our borders; but let our walls be salvation and our gates praise. May all our privileges, civil and religious, be preserved unto us, and be transmitted from us down to the latest posterity. Bless all useful arts and sciences, our agriculture, manufactures, fisheries, and commerce. Bless the ministers of the Gospel. May their bow abide in strength, and the arms of their hands be made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. May utterance be given them, that they may open their mouths boldly, and make known the mystery of the gospel, and may their preaching be as the words of the wise, and as nails fastened by the Master of assemblies. Bless all the nations of the earth. May they be under the administration of wise and equitable laws. May the wants of all men be supplied, and the whole earth be filled with thy glory. These our petitions, we are encouraged to offer in hope of thy gracious acceptance through the Son of thy love; to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be unceasing praises. Amen.

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