Thanks and Praise for fair Weather, or a good Harvest. GRACIOUS GOD, the Eyes of all wait on thee, and thou givest them their Meat in due Season, filling their Hearts with Food and Gladness: I bless and praise thy Name, for this seasonable Weather, by which the Earth is blessed with the Fruits of thy Bounty. Grant, O Lord, that in the Use of those good Things I continually receive from thee, I may glorify thy Name, and henceforth devote myself to thy Glory and Honour, through Jesus Christ. Let all the People praise thee, O God, let all the People praise thee; then shall the Earth yield her Increase, and God, even our own God, shall give us his Blessing. Before you go a Journey. LORD, bless, and preserve me in my going out, and my coming in, from this Time forth for evermore. Amen. O GOD, who art the Way, the Truth, and the Life; who didst guide and protect the Children of Israel, thy People, in the Wilderness; be thou a Guide and Safeguard, I pray thee, to thy unworthy Servant, in the Journey I am about to undertake; preserve me from Thieves and Rob ! Robbers, from broken Bones, or a sudden Death. Preserve me in all Dangers both of Body and Soul. Give thy Holy Angels Charge over me, to keep me in all thy Ways; conduct me Home again in Safety, and at last bring me to thine everlasting Rest, through Jesus Christ. Amen. Upon your safe Return from a Journey. ALL Glory be to thee, O God, who hast preserved and kept me in my Journey, from Perils of Robbers, from broken Bones, and every ill Accident: O fill my Heart with a grateful Sense of thy Goodness and enable me so to pass through all the Changes of this Life, that my Soul may have Peace, and thy Name the Praise through Jesus Christ. Amen. If you are tortured with Gout, Stone, or any sudden Pain, LORD, as thou hast given me this sore Trial, give me also Patience, and Resignation to thy heavenly Will, that the Pains and Sufferings which I endure in this World, may raise my Thoughts to a better, where there is no more Sickness or Pain. And O Father of Mercies, who knowest my weak Frame, abate the Severity of my Pain, if it be thy gracious Will; c2 Will; or enable me to bear it, that I lose not the Crown prepared for all patient and humble Sufferers, for the Sake of Jesus Christ, my blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Amen. You will find it very difficult, amidst the Variety of Business, to maintain that holy Flame, which your Morning Devotions may have happily kindled in your Soul. Even innocent Pleasures may turn your Heart aside Anger may ruffle you: various Objects and Company dissipate your pious Thoughts. Therefore, to quicken your Attention to the Concerns of your Soul, and animate your Mind with fresh Vigour, use this : Prayer at Noon, or at any other convenient Time of Day. Fall on your Knees, and lift up your Eyes towards Heaven. AT Evening, and Morning, and at Noon-Day, I will pray, and that instantly, and God shall hear my Voice. O LORD, who knowest me to be set in the Midst of so many and great Dangers from the Deceits of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, that I cannot always stand upright; mercifully look upon me; and because I cannot continue in Safety without thy Succour, keep me both outwardly in my Body, and inwardly in my Soul, that among the sundry and manifold Changes Changes of the World, my Heart may surely there be fixed, where true Joys are to be found, through Christ our Lord. Blessed God! to how many Dangers is my Life exposed; with how many Temptations am I beset: Temptations in Meat and Drink; Temptations in Company; Temptations in Business; Temptations in Solitude; Temptations in Plenteousness; Temptations in Poverty: all my Ways. are strewed with enticing Snares; [Here pause awhile to reflect upon the manifold Dangers of Life.] To thee, O my God, I fly for Safety in the Midst of so many Dangers. O eternal Wisdom, direct my Steps in the safe Way, and lead me to a happy End. O Lord, I give thee my Body and Soul, my Substance, my Friends, my Life, and all that is dear to me; dispose of me and all that is mine, as it seemeth best to thee and the Glory of thy blessed Name. Amen. Deliver me, O merciful Father, from the Spirit of Pride and Avarice; from the Spirit of Drunkenness and Gluttony; from the Spirit of Lust, Wantonness, and Impurity. Vouchsafe to give me the Spirit of Temperance and Justice, the Spirit of Knowledge and Piety, and the Fear of Thee: C 3 Thee the Spirit of Patience, Kindness and Humility. Shew me the narrow Way that leads to Life, the Way that few do seek, and fewer follow, Lord have Mercy upon me ! Christ have Mercy upon me! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the Beginning, is now and ever shall be, World without End. Amen. Beseech God not to forsake you, but still continue his Fatherly Protection over you, to be your Light and Defence, your Guide and Guard, through all the Temptations of the Day. If you have Time, read a Chapter in the New Testament. Our Saviour, though Lord of all Creatures, yet did not sit down to eat before he looked up to Heaven, and prayed for a Blessing upon them. St. Paul speaks of it as a known Practice of Christians in his Days. You sit down as a Beast to his Fodder, if you take no Notice of the Hand that gives you your daily Bread. Let then your Food be sanctified with Grace before Meat. LORD, pardon all our Sins, sanctify and bless these thy good Creatures to our Use; make them serviceable to the Nourishment of our Bodies, and give unto us thankful Hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord. |