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A Prayer for a Family in Affliction.

Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Amen.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.

A Prayer for a Family in Affliction.

O MOST mighty God and merciful Father, who hast compassion upon all men, and hatest nothing that thou hast made; who despisest not the humble desires of those who fly to thee for succor, behold our afflictions, and mercifully hear our prayers. Encompassed as we are by sorrows, pains and death, to whom can we look for succor but unto thee, O God, whom we are daily offending by our manifold sins, and who art of purer eyes than to behold evil. Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we may truly repent of our sins, and obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness.

Righteous art thou, O God, and just in all thy dealings; equity and judgment are the habitation of thy seat; goodness and mercy are in all thy dealings with the children of men. We acknowledge, O Lord, that our sufferings are less than our sins deserve; that it is of thy mercy, and because thy compassion faileth not, that we are not consumed. But thou knowest, O Lord, the weakness of our nature, and how little it is that we can bear. That our strength fail not, and for thy mercy's sake,

A Prayer for a Family in Affliction.

behold us with compassion, and turn from us those evils which we too justly have deserved.

We are unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto thee any sacrifice; yet, we beseech thee to hear these our supplications and prayers, not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offences. May we be thankful that there is a merciful God, to whom the afflicted and the weak may look for comfort and support. Confiding in thy mercy and thy gracious promises, we implore, O heavenly Father, thy compassionate favor upon this family, who desire, in humble supplication, to look to thee for aid. To thee, O Lord, it seemeth fitting to visit them with sorrow and distress. [The particular affliction may here be mentioned.] Thou knowest, O Lord, their fears, their sorrows, and what they need. Wilt thou relieve, comfort and support them, according to the necessities of their case. Forsake them not, we humbly beseech thee; forsake not the souls whom thy hand correcteth. Thou art able to turn mourning into gladness, and to give songs of joy for the heaviness of sorrow. O remember them in mercy; relieve them from distress, and sanctify their fears and their sorrows to the benefit of their souls. Prepare them, O Lord, for every event of thy providence: turn from them the evils of life, and sustain them under those trials of their faith and patience, to which it may seem to thee good to call them. In all the changes and disappointments of life, help them, with becoming resignation, and a deep sense of thy righteous dealings, to submit to thy will, and to say in their hearts, Thy will be done. Help them, O Lord, to see love in thy dealings, and to know that temporal afflictions, through thy blessing, tend to spiritual good. Help them to say with thy servant Job, Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? O may this evil, this

A Prayer for a Prisoner, or Prisoners, under Sentence of Death.

weight of sorrow, which rests so hard upon them, through thy blessing, be turned to good; and may they know and feel from happy experience, that all things work together for good, to those who love and fear thee.

Do thou, O God, who art the fountain of all wisdom, mercy and grace, who knowest our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in asking, have compassion upon our infirmities; pardon us wherein we ask amiss; grant the petitions which we have now offered; and all those good things which, through blindness or neglect, we do not ask for, vouchsafe to give us, for the worthiness of thy Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prayer for a Prisoner, or Prisoners, under Sentence of Death.

O FATHER of mercies, and God of all comfort, the only hope of all the ends of the earth, we, thy sinful, unworthy creatures, desire, with great and reverential awe, to bow before thee, and to look unto thee for succor, in behalf of this thy servant, under sentence of condemnation. According to human appearance, his days on earth are numbered, and the time of his departure is at hand. Remember not, Lord, his offences, but thy mercy to mankind in Jesus Christ. In the midst of life we are in death; to whom can sinful, dying mortals look for aid, but unto thee, O God, who, for our sins, art justly displeased. Yet, O Lord God, most holy, thou worthy Judge eternal, deliver him not into the bitter pains of eternal death. O holy and merciful Savior, accept his tears and supplications. Grant him sincere and true repentance for all the sins and transgressions of his life past, that he may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission

A Prayer for a Prisoner, or Prisoners, under Sentence of Death.

and forgiveness, and his pardon be sealed in heaven, before he go hence, and be no more seen. Do thou, who of thine infinite goodness didst accept the penitential prayer of a sinner on the cross, extend thy mercy to this thy servant; accept him, O thou Savior of men, for thy mercy's sake, and wash away his guilt by thy most precious blood. Support him, O Lord, in this momentous trial, by the comforts of thy Holy Spirit. May he look, with a true faith and sure confidence, to Him who, while we were yet sinners, died for us. Grant him such a view of thy mercy in Jesus Christ, that he may not fear the approach of death; but, looking beyond the grave, to the high and holy place where the Savior reigns, may he rejoice in the hope of eternal life. May he depart this life in a religious and holy hope, in favor with thee our God, and in perfect charity with all mankind.

Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of his heart: shut not thy merciful ears to our prayers on his behalf. Spare him, O Lord God most holy, and help him in his last hour to trust in thee. To thee, O heavenly Father, with whom do live the spirits of those who depart this life in thy faith and fear, we humbly commend the soul of this our brother, as into the hands of a faithful Creator and merciful Savior, praying that it may be washed in the blood of that Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.

And grant, O Lord, that the ministrations of justice may awaken men to righteousness, and be instrumental, through thy blessing, in turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. May all remember that their precious hours are swiftly wasting; and that every passing moment shortens our scanty span. Help us, O Lord, to be prepared to die the death of the righteous, and that our last end may be like his.

A Prayer for Courts of Justice.

These our supplications, O heavenly Father, we humbly offer in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, who taught us, when we pray, to say, Our Father, who art, &c. Amen.

A Prayer for Courts of Justice.

ADORABLE and everlasting God, the high and mighty Ruler of the universe, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon the earth, and who canst order the wills and control the affections of sinful men, with reverence and humility we would present ourselves before thee, sensible that thou art in heaven, and we upon the earth. Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of thy throne. To thee all hearts are open, and all desires known. Thou knowest, O God, our need before we ask; our hearts are in thy hands, and our sins are not hid from thee. Wilt thou pardon our sins, sanctify our hearts, and hear our prayers. Behold, we beseech thee, with thy favor and blessing, the people and government of these United States; and of this state, especially, in which we live. Bless all those who are in authority; endue them with wisdom, and so guide their counsels, and strengthen their hands, that the hearts of the disobedient may be turned to the wisdom of the just; that peace and happiness, truth and justice, holiness and piety, may be established in our land; and that thy people, secured by the protection of equal laws and the administration of impartial justice, may serve thee in quietness and godliness of living.

More particularly do we offer our prayers to thee, the only wise God, in behalf of this court, by the permission of thy good providence here assembled, for the administration of justice to thy people.

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