From cursing and swearing, from uncharitable chiding, and easiness to believe evil, from the evil spirit that walketh at noon, and the arrow that flieth in darkness,—from the angel of wrath, and perishing in popular diseases: Good Lord, deliver, &c. From the want of a spiritual guide, from a famine of the word and sacraments, from hurtful persecution, and from taking part with persecutors: Good Lord, deliver, &c. From drowning or being burnt alive, from sleepless nights and contentious days, from a melancholy and a confused spirit, from violent fears and the loss of reason, from a vicious life, and a sudden and unprovided death: Good Lord, deliver, &c. From relying upon vain fancies and false foundations, from an evil and an amazed conscience, from sinning near the end of our life, and from despairing in the day of our death: Good Lord, deliver, &c. From hypocrisy and wilfulness, from self-love and vain ambition, from curiosity and carelessness, from being tempted in the days of our weakness, from the prevailing of the flesh, and grieving the Spirit, from all thy wrath, and from all our sins: Good Lord, deliver, &c. III. For Gifts and Graces. Hear our prayer, O Lord, and consider our desire; hearken unto us for thy truth and righteousness' sake: O hide not thy face from us, neither cast away thy servants in displeasure. Give unto us the spirit of prayer, frequent and fervent, holy and persevering, an unreprovable faith, a just and an humble hope, and a never-failing charity. Hear our prayers, O Lord, and consider our desire. Give unto us true humility, a meek and a quiet spirit, a loving and a friendly, a holy and a useful conversation, bearing the burdens of our neighbours, denying ourselves, and studying to benefit others, and to please thee in all things. Hear our prayers, &c. Give us a prudent and a sober, a just and a sincere, a temperate and a religious spirit; a great contempt of the world, a love of holy things, and a longing after heaven, and the instruments and paths that lead thither. Hear our prayers, &c. Grant us to be thankful to our benefactors, righteous in performing promises, loving to our relatives, careful of our charges, to be gentle and easy to be entreated, slow to anger, and fully instructed and readily prepared for every good work. Hear our prayers, &c. Give us a peaceable spirit, and a peaceable life, free from debt and deadly sin, grace to abstain from all appearances of evil, and to do nothing but what is of good report, to confess Christ and his holy religion, by a holy and obedient life,—and a mind ready to die for him when he shall call us and assist us. Hear our prayers, &c. Give to thy servants a watchful and an observing spirit, diligent in doing our duty, inflexible to evil, obedient to thy word, inquisitive after thy will,-pure and holy thoughts, strong and religious purposes, and thy grace to perform faithfully what we have promised in the day of our duty, or in the day of our calamity. Hear our prayers, &c. O teach us to despise all vanity, to fight the battles of the Lord manfully against the flesh, the world, and the devil, to spend our time religiously and usefully, to speak gracious words, to walk always as in thy presence, to preserve our souls and bodies in holiness, fit for the habitation of the Holy Spirit of God. Hear our prayers, &c. Give us a holy and a perfect repentance, a well instructed understanding, regular affections, a constant and a wise heart, a good name, a fear of thy majesty, and a love of all thy glories above all the things in the world for ever. Hear our prayers, &c. Give us a healthful body and a clear understanding, the love of our neighbours, and the peace of the church, the public use and comfort of thy holy word and sacraments, a great love to all Christians, and obedience to our superiors, ecclesiastical and civil, all the days of our life. Hear our prayers, &c. Give us spiritual wisdom, that we may discern what is pleasing to thee, and follow what belongs unto our peace; and let the knowledge and love of God, and of Jesus Christ our Lord, be our guide and our portion all our days. Hear our prayers, &c. Give unto us holy dispositions, and an active industry in thy service, to redeem the time mispent in vanity; for thy pity sake take not vengeance of us for our sins, but sanctify our souls and bodies in this life, and glorify them hereafter. Hear our prayers, &c. Our Father, &c. IV. TO BE ADDED TO THE FORMER LITANIES, ACCORDING: AS OUR DEVOTIONS AND TIME WILL SUFFER. For all States of Men and Women, especially in the Christian Church. O BLESSED God, in mercy remember thine inheritance, and forget not the congregation of the poor for ever; pity poor mankind, whose portion is misery and folly, shame and death: but thou art our Redeemer, and the lifter up of our head, and under the shadow of thy wings shall be our help, until this tyranny be overpast. Have mercy upon us, O God, and hide not thyself from our petition. Preserve, O God, the catholic church in holiness and truth, in unity and peace, free from persecution, or glorious under it, that she may for ever advance the honour of her Lord Jesus, for ever represent his sacrifice, and glorify his person, and advance his religion, and be accepted of thee in her blessed Lord, that being filled with his Spirit, she may partake of his glory. Have mercy upon us, &c. Give the spirit of government and holiness to all Christian kings, princes, and governors; grant that their people may obey them, and they may obey thee, and live in honesty and peace, justice, and holy religion; being nursing fathers to the church, advocates for the oppressed, patrons for the widows, and a sanctuary for the miserable and the fatherless, that they may reign with thee for ever in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. Have mercy upon us, &c. Give to thy servants the bishops, and all the clergy, the spirit of holiness and courage, of patience and humility, of prudence and diligence, to preach and declare thy will by a holy life, and wise discourses, that they may minister to the good of souls, and find a glorious reward in the day of the Lord Jesus. Have mercy upon us, &c. Give to our relatives [our wives and children, our friends and benefactors, our charges, our family, &c.] pardon and support, comfort in all their sorrows, strength in all their temptations, the guard of angels to preserve them from evil, and the conduct of thy Holy Spirit to lead them into all good; that they, doing their duty, may feel thy mercies here, and partake of thy glories hereafter. Have mercy upon us, &c. Give to all Christian kingdoms and commonwealths peace and plenty, health and holy religion; to all families of religion, and nurseries of piety, zeal and holiness, prudence and unity, peace and contentedness; to all schools of learning, quietness, and industry, freedom from wars and violence, factions and envy. Have mercy upon us, &c. Give to all married pairs faith and love, charitable and wise compliances, sweetness of society, and innocence of conversation; to all virgins and widows, great love of religion, a sober and a contented spirit, an unwearied attendance to devotion, and the offices of holiness; protection to the fatherless, comfort to the disconsolate, patience and submission, health and spiritual advantages to the sick; that they may feel thy comforts for the days wherein they have suffered adversity. Have mercy upon us, &c. Be thou a star and a guide to them that travel by land or sea, the confidence and comfort of them that are in storms and shipwrecks, the strength of them that toil in the mines, and row in the galleys, an instructor to the ignorant; to them that are condemned to die, be thou a guide unto death; give cheerfulness to every sad heart, spiritual strength, and proportionable comfort, to them that are afflicted by evil spirits; pity the lunatics; give life and salvation to all to whom thou hast given no understanding; accept the stupid and the fools to mercy, give liberty to prisoners, redemption to captives, maintenance to the poor, patronage and defence to the oppressed; and put a period to the iniquity and to the 'miseries of all mankind. Have mercy upon us, &c. Give unto our enemies grace and pardon, charity to us, and love to thee; take away all anger from them, and all mistakes from us, all misinterpretations and jealousies; bring all sinners to repentance and holiness, and to all thy saints and servants give an increasing love, and a persevering duty ; bring all Turks, Jews, and infidels, to the knowledge and confession of the Lord Jesus, and a participation of all the promises of the Gospel, all the benefits of his passion; to all heretics give humility and ingenuity, repentance of their errors, and grace and power to make amends to the church and truth, and a public acknowledgment of a holy faith, to the glory of the Lord Jesus. Have mercy upon us, &c. Give to all merchants faithfulness and truth; to the labouring husbandman health, and fair seasons of the year, and reward his toil with the dew of heaven, and the blessings of the earth; to all artizans give diligence in their callings, and a blessing on their labours, and on their families; to old men, piety and perfect repentance, a liberal heart, and an open hand, great religion, and desires after heaven; to young men give sobriety and chastity, health and usefulness, an early piety, and a persevering duty; to all families, visited with the rod of God, give consolation, and a holy use of the affliction, and a speedy deliverance; to us all pardon and holiness, and life eternal, through Jesus Christ. Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communication of the Holy Spirit, be with us all for ever. Amen. |