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thy name. We praise thee that thou happy commanded us to make, on this day, public confession of our guilt, and of thy hatred of sin; of our disobedience and the riches of thy forbearance towards us; of our weakness, depravity, and need of thy perpetual grace to help us. We praise thee for commanding us to make public intercession for all sorts and conditions of men, in order that our hearts may be the more enlarged towards them, and our hands the more ready to minister to their necessities. We praise thee for this opportunity of hearing thy holy scripture, which is profitable for our reproof, for our correction, and for our instruction in righteousness.
We bless thee that we have our habitation fixed in the land of liberty, under the bright beams of thy glorious gospel; that we can worship thee according to our conscience, no one making as afraid; that we are not required to pay adoration to those who by nature are not gods, nor compelled to bow down at the altar of idols. We praise thee that we are in health and strength to use the sacred opportunity of going with the multitude that keep thy holy day, into the house where thou hast recorded thy name, and pomised to meet and bless us. How amiable are thy dwellings, O Lord of hosts ; one day employed in them is better than a thousand engrossed by the business of the world.
We praise thee also for passing by all the provocations and insults which we have offered unto thee by abusing and profaning this holy day, by our detestable presumption in compassing thee about with deceit and lies. O how often have we rushed into the courts of thy house without meditation, without prayer, without any desire to worship thee with an holy worship! how often have we dissembled
