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INTRODUCTORY PRAYER.

March 25, 1756.

O GOD, who desirest not the death of a sinner, look down with mercy upon me, now daring to call upon Thee. Let thy Holy Spirit so purify my affections, and exalt my desires, that my prayer may be acceptable in thy sight, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

March 28, about two in the morning. ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, whose judgments terminate in mercy, grant, I beseech Thee, that the remem brance of my wife, whom Thou hast taken from me, may not load my soul with unprofitable sorrow, but may excite in me true repentance of my sins and negligences; and, by the co-operation of thy grace, may

produce in me a new life, pleasing to Thee. Grant, that the loss of my wife may teach me the true use of the blessings which are yet left me; and that, however bereft of worldly comforts, I may find peace and refuge in thy service, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

1757.

Jan. 1, at two in the morning.

ALMIGHTY God, who hast brought me to the beginning of another year, and by prolonging my life, invitest to repentance, forgive me that I have mispent the time past; enable me, from this instant, to amend my life according to thy holy word; grant me thy Holy Spirit, that I may so pass through things temporal, as not finally to lose the things eternal. O God, hear my prayer for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.

EASTER EVE.

ALMIGHTY God, heavenly Father, who desirest not the death of a sinner, look down with mercy upon me, depraved with vain imaginations, and entangled in long habits of sin. Grant me that grace, without which I can neither will nor do what is acceptable to Thee. Pardon my sins; remove the impediments that hinder my obedience; enable me to shake off sloth, and to redeem the time mispent in idleness and sin, by a diligent application of the days yet remaining, to the duties which thy providence shall allot me. O God, grant me thy Holy Spirit, that I may repent and amend my life; grant me contrition, grant me resolution, for the sake of Jesus Christ, to whose covenant I now implore admission, of the benefits of whose death I implore participation. For his sake have mercy on me, O God; for his sake, O God, pardon and receive me. Amen,

Sept. 18, 1757.

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father, by whose providence my life has been prolonged, and who hast granted me now to begin another year of probation, vouchsafe me such assistance of thy Holy Spirit, that the continuance of my life may not add to the measure of my guilt; but that I may so repent of the days and years passed in neglect of the duties which Thou hast set before me, in vain thoughts, in sloth, and in folly, that I may apply my heart to true wisdom, by diligence redeem the time lost, and by repentance obtain pardon, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.

1758.

EASTER DAY.

March 26.

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father,

who hast created me to love and to serve

Thee, enable me so to partake of the sacrament in which the death of Jesus Christ is commemorated, that I may henceforward lead a new life in thy faith and fear. Thou, who knowest my frailties and infirmities, strengthen and support me; grant me thy Holy Spirit, that, after all my lapses, I may now continue stedfast in obedience, that, after long habits of negligence and sin, I may, at last, work out my salvation. with diligence and constancy; purify my thoughts from pollutions, and fix my affections on things eternal. Much of my time past has been lost in sloth; let not what remains, O Lord, be given me in vain; but let me, from this time, lead a better life, and serve Thee with a quiet mind, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

March 28, 1758.

ALMIGHTY and eternal God, who givest life and takest it away, grant, that while

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