Chapter V INTERCESSION FOR OTHERS

Our Lord Jesus hath taught us to pray, not only with, but for others: And the apostle hath appointed us to make supplication for all saints; and many of his prayers in his epistles are for his friends: And we must not think that when we are in this part of prayer, we may let fall our fervency, and be more indifferent, because we ourselves are not immediately concerned in it, but rather let a holy fire of love both to God and man here, make our devotions yet more warm and lively. Ephesians 6:18.

WE pray, as we are taught, for all men, believing that this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, and of Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom for all. 1 Timothy 2:1, 3, 4, 6.

O look with compassion upon the world that lies in wickedness, and let the prince of this world be cast out, that has blinded their minds. 1 John 5:19. John 12:31. 2 Corinthians 4:4.

O let thy way be known upon earth, that barbarous nations may be civilized, and those that live without God in the world may be brought to the service of the living God; and thus let thy saving health be known unto all nations: Let the people praise thee, O God, yea let all the people praise thee: O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy, for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Psalm 67:2. Ephesians 2:12. Psalm 67:3, 4.

O let thy salvation and thy righteousness be openly shewed in the sight of the heathen, and let all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God. Psalm 98:2, 3.

O give thy Son the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession! For thou hast said, It is a light thing for him to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel, but thou wilt give him for a light to the Gentiles. Psalm 2:8. Isaiah 49:6.

Let all the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ. Revelation 11:15.

O LET the gospel be preached unto every creature; for how shall men believe in him, of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without preachers? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? and who shall send forth labourers, but the Lord of the harvest? Mark 16:15. Romans 10:14, 15. Matthew 9:38.

Let the people which sit in darkness see a great light, and to them which sit in the region and shadow of death, let light spring up. Matthew 4:16.

Add unto thy church daily such as shall be saved; Enlarge the place of its tent, lengthen its cords, and strengthen its stakes. Acts 2 (v. 47). Isaiah 54:2.

Bring thy seed from the east, and gather them from the west; say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back: Bring thy sons from far, and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. Let them come with acceptance to thine altar, and glorify the house of thy glory; Let them fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows. Isaiah 43:5, 6. Isaiah 60:7, 8.

In every place let incense be offered to thy name, and pure offerings; And from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, let thy name be great among the Gentiles; and let the offering up of the Gentiles be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Malachi 1:11. Romans 15:16.

O let the earth be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9.

LET the branches which are broken off not abide still in unbelief, but be graffed in again into their own olivetree. And though blindness is in part happened to Israel, yet let the fulness of the Gentiles come in, and let all Israel be saved. Romans 11:17, 23-26.

Let them be made to look unto him whom they have pierced, and that they may turn to the Lord, let the veil which is upon their hearts be taken away. Zechariah 12:10. 2 Corinthians 3:15, 16.

LET the churches of Asia, that were golden candlesticks, which the Lord Jesus delighted to walk in the midst of, be again made so. Revelation 1:11, 12. Revelation 2:1.

Restore unto them their liberties as at the first, and their privileges as at the beginning; purely purge away their dross, and take away all their tin, and turn again their captivity as the streams in the south. Isaiah 1:26, 25. Psalm 126:4.

BE thou the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of those that are afar off beyond the sea; And let them have the blessing which came upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brethren, even to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. Psalm 65:5. Genesis 49:26.

Create peace to those that are afar off, as well as to those that are nigh. Isaiah 57:19.

And let those that suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand, call the people to the mountain, that they may offer sacrifices of righteousness. Deuteronomy 33:19.

OUR heart’s desire and prayer to God for the gospel Israel, is that it may be saved. Romans 10:1.

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion, build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Peace be within her walls, and prosperity within her palaces; For our brethren and companions sake we will now say, Peace be within her. Psalm 51:18. Psalm 122:7, 8.

O that we may see the good of the gospel Jerusalem, all the days of our life, and peace upon Israel. And that thus we may have reason to answer the messengers of the nations, that the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust to that. Psalm 128:5, 6. Isaiah 14:32.

Save thy people, O Lord, and bless thine heritage: Feed them also, and lift them up for ever. Give strength unto thy people, and bless thy people with peace; with thy favour do thou compass them as with a shield. Psalm 28 (v. 9). Psalm 29 (v. 11). Psalm 5 (v. 12).

Grace be with all them that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity; for thou knowest them that are thine; and give to all that name the name of Christ to depart from iniquity. Ephesians 6:24. 2 Timothy 2:19.

We pray for all that believe in Christ, that they all may be one; And since there is one body, and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, give to all Christians to be of one heart, and one way. John 17:20, 21. Ephesians 4:4, 5, 6. Jeremiah 32:39.

Let the word of the Lord in all places, have a free course, and let it be glorified. 2 Thessalonians 3:1.

O TEACH transgressors thy ways, and let sinners be converted unto thee. Psalm 51:13.

O give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, the truth as it is in Jesus, the truth which is according to godliness, that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. 2 Timothy 2:25. Ephesians 4:21. Titus 1:1. 2 Timothy 2:26.

Let those that are as sheep going astray return to Jesus Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. 1 Peter 2:25.

Shew those fools their folly and misery, that have said in their hearts there is no God, and that are corrupt, and have done abominable work. Psalm 14:1.

Lord, maintain the honour of the scripture, the law and the testimony, and convince those who speak not according to that word, that it is because there is no light in them; magnify that word above all thy name; magnify the law, magnify the gospel, and make both honourable. Isaiah 8:20. Psalm 138:2. Isaiah 42:21.

Let those that will not be won by the word, be won by the conversation of Christians, which we beg may be such in every thing, that they who believe not may be convinced of all, and judged of all, and may be brought to worship God, and to report that God is with them of a truth. 1 Peter 3:1. 1 Corinthians 14:24, 25.

LORD, let thy spirit be poured out upon thy churches from on high, and then the wilderness shall become a fruitful field, then judgment shall return unto righteousness, and all the upright in heart shall follow it. Isaiah 32:15. Psalm 94:15.

Let what is wanting be set in order, and let every plant that is not of our heavenly Father’s planting, be plucked up. Titus 1:5. Matthew 15:13.

Let the Lord whom we seek come to his temple like a refiner’s fire, and fuller’s soap, and let him purify the sons of Levi, and all the seed of Israel, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness, pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years. Malachi 3:1-4.

Let pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father, flourish and prevail every where, that kingdom of God among men, which is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. O revive this work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known, and let our times be times of reformation. James 1 (v. 27). Romans 14:17. Habakkuk 3:2. Hebrews 9:10.

F

LET all that set themselves, and take counsel together against the Lord, and against his anointed, that would break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from them, imagine a vain thing. Let him that sits in heaven laugh at them, and have them in derision; speak unto them in thy wrath, and vex them in thy sore displeasure. Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give them? give them a miscarrying womb, and dry breasts. Psalm 2:15. Hosea 9:14.

O our God, make them like a wheel, and as stubble before the wind; Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O Lord, and that men may know, that thou whose name is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. Psalm 83:13, 16, 18.

Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men, and wherein the proud enemies of thy church deal proudly, make it to appear that thou art above them. Psalm 9:20. Exodus 18:11.

Let them be confounded and turned back that hate Zion, and be as the grass upon the house-tops, which withereth before it groweth up. Psalm 129:5, 6.

Let no weapon formed against thy church prosper, and let every tongue that riseth against it in judgment be condemned. Isaiah 54:17.

Make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people, and let all that burden themselves with it be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth should be gathered together against it; so let all thine enemies perish, O Lord, but let them that love thee be as the sun when he goes forth in his strength. Zechariah 12:3. Judges 5 (v. 31).

Lord, let the man of sin be consumed with the spirit of thy mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of thy coming: And let those be undeceived that have been long under the power of strong delusions to believe a lie, and let them receive the truth in the love of it. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 8, 11, 10.

Let Babylon fall, and sink like a mill-stone into the sea; And let the kings of the earth, that have given their power and honour to the beast, be wrought upon at length to bring it into the new Jerusalem. Revelation 18:2, 21. Revelation 17:17. Revelation 21:24.

WE desire in our prayers to remember them that are in bonds for the testimony of Jesus, as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, as being ourselves also in the body. O send from above, and deliver them from those that hate them, and bring them forth into a large place. Hebrews 13:3. Psalm 18:16, 17, 19.

O let not the rod of the wicked rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. Psalm 125:3.

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of old, and make the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed of the Lord to pass over. Isaiah 51:9, 10.

For the oppression of the poor and the sighing of the needy, now do thou arise, O Lord, and set them in safety from them that puff at them. Psalm 12:5.

O strengthen the patience and faith of thy suffering saints, that they may hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Revelation 13:10. Lamentations 3:26.

O let the year of thy redeemed come, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. Isaiah 63:4. Isaiah 34:8.

O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion; and when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. Psalm 14:7.

O let not the oppressed return ashamed, but let the poor and needy praise thy name. Psalm 74:21.

Lord, arise, and have mercy upon Zion, and let the time to favour her, yea the set time come; yea let the Lord build up Zion, and appear in his glory. Lord, regard the prayer of the destitute, and do not despise their prayer. Psalm 102:13, 16, 17.

O Lord God, cease we beseech thee, by whom shall Jacob arise, for he is small! O cause thy face to shine upon that part of thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. Amos 7:5. Daniel 9:17.

Let the sorrowful sighing of thy prisoners come before thee, and according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that for thy name’s sake are appointed to die. Psalm 79:11.

Let those whose teachers are removed into corners, again see their teachers, though they have the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction. Isaiah 30:20.

THOU, Lord, art the governor among the nations: Who shall not fear thee, O King of nations? Thou sittest in the throne judging right; judge the world therefore in righteousness, and minister judgment to the people in uprightness. Psalm 22:28. Jeremiah 10:7. Psalm 9:4, 8.

Lord, hasten the time when thou wilt make wars to cease to the ends of the earth; when nation shall no more lift up sword against nation, nor kingdom against kingdom, but swords shall be beaten into plow-shares, and spears into pruning-hooks, and they shall not learn war any more. Psalm 46:9. Isaiah 2:4.

Make kings nursing fathers, and their queens nursing mothers to the Israel of God. Isaiah 49:23.

And in the days of these kings let the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, even the kingdom of the Redeemer. And whatever counsels there are in mens hearts, Lord, let thy counsel stand, and do thou fulfil the thoughts of thy heart unto all generations. Daniel 2:44. Proverbs 19:21. Psalm 33:11.

1. We must be thankful to God for His mercies to our land.

WE bless thee that thou hast planted us in a very fruitful hill, and hast not made the wilderness our habitation, or the barren land our dwelling, but our land yields her increase. Isaiah 5:1. Job 39:6. Psalm 85:12.

Lord, thou hast dealt favourably with our land; We have heard with our ears, and our fathers have told us what work thou didst for us in their days, and in the times of old: And as we have heard, so have we seen; for we have thought of thy loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. Psalm 85:1. Psalm 44:1. Psalm 48:8, 9.

Thou hast given us a pleasant land, it is Immanuel’s land, it is a valley of vision, thou hast set up thy tabernacle among us, and thy sanctuary is in the midst of us. Jeremiah 3:19. Isaiah 8:8. Isaiah 22:1. Ezekiel 37:27, 26.

We dwell safely, under our own vines and fig-trees, and there is peace to him that goeth out, and to him that comes in. 1 Kings 4:25. 2 Chronicles 15:5.

And because the Lord loved our people, therefore he hath set a good government over us to do judgment and justice; to be a terror to evil doers, and a protection and praise to them that do well. 1 Kings 10:9. Romans 13:3.

2. We must be humbled before God for our national sins and provocations.

But we are a sinful people, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers; And a great deal of reason we have to sigh and cry for the abominations that are committed among us. Isaiah 1:4. Ezekiel 9:4.

Iniquity abounds among us, and the love of many is waxen cold. Matthew 24:12.

We have not been forsaken nor forgotten of our God, though our land be full of sin against the Holy One of Israel. Jeremiah 51:5.

3. We must pray earnestly for national mercies.

(a) For the favour of God to us, and the tokens of His presence among us, as that in which the happiness of our nation is bound up.

O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, be not thou as a stranger in our land, or a way-faring man that turns aside to tarry but for a night; but be thou always in the midst of us, we are called by thy name, O leave us not: Though our iniquities testify against us, yet do thou it for thy name’s sake; though our backslidings are many, and we have sinned against thee. Jeremiah 14:8, 9, 7.

Turn us to thee, O Lord God of hosts, and then cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. O stir up thy strength, and come and save us. Psalm 80:3, 2.

Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation, yea let that salvation be nigh them that fear thee, that glory may dwell in our land: Let mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other: Let truth spring out of the earth, and righteousness look down from heaven; yea let the Lord give that which is good: Let righteousness go before him, and set us in the way of his steps. Psalm 85:7, 9-13.

(b) For the continuance of the gospel among us, and the means of grace, and a national profession of Christ’s Holy religion.

O let the throne of Christ endure for ever, among us, even the place of thy sanctuary, that glorious high throne from the beginning. Psalm 45:6. Jeremiah 17:12.

Let our candlestick never be removed out of his place, though we have deserved it should, because we have left our first love. Never do to us as thou didst to thy place which was in Shiloh, where thou didst set thy name at the first. Revelation 2:4, 5. Jeremiah 7:12.

Let us never know what a famine of the word means; nor ever be put to wander from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, to seek the word of God. Amos 8:11, 12.

Let wisdom and knowledge be the stability of our times and strength of salvation, and let the fear of the Lord be our treasure: Let the righteous flourish among us, and let there be those that shall fear thee in our land as long as the sun and moon endure throughout all generations, that there may be abundance of peace, and the children which shall be created may praise the Lord. Isaiah 33:6. Psalm 72:5, 7. Psalm 102:18.

(c) For the continuance of our outward peace and tranquillity, our liberty and plenty, for the prosperity of our trade, and a blessing upon the fruits of the earth.

Let God himself be a wall of fire round about us, and the glory in the midst of us, yea let his gospel be our glory, and upon all that glory let there be a defence; and create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Zechariah 2:5. Isaiah 4:5.

Peace be within our borders, and prosperity within our palaces, the prosperity both of merchandize and husbandry, that Zebulun may rejoice in his going out, and Issachar in his tents. Psalm 122:7. Deuteronomy 33:18.

Appoint salvation to us for walls and bulwarks, and in order to that let the gates be opened, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Isaiah 26:1, 2.

Make our officers peace, and our exactors righteousness, let violence never be heard in our gates, wasting or destruction within our borders, but let our walls be called Salvation, and our gates Praise: Never let our land be termed Forsaken and Desolate, but let the Lord delight in us, and let our land be married to him. Isaiah 60:17, 18. Isaiah 62:4.

Let our peace be as a river, and in order to that, our righteousness as the waves of the sea: Let that righteousness abound among us which exalteth a nation, and deliver us from sin, which is a reproach to any people. Isaiah 48:18. Proverbs 14:34.

Never make our heavens as brass, and our earth as iron; nor take away thy corn in the season thereof, and thy wine in the season thereof, but give us rain moderately, the former and the later rain in due season, and reserve unto us the appointed works of harvest, giving us fair weather also in its season: Let our land yield her increase, and the trees their fruit; that we may eat bread to the full, and dwell in our land safely. Deuteronomy 28:23. Hosea 2:9. Joel 2:23. Jeremiah 5:24. Leviticus 26:4, 5.

Abundantly bless our provision, and satisfy our poor with bread, that they which have gathered it may eat and praise the Lord. Blow not thou upon it, for then when we look for much it will come to little, but bless our blessings, that all nations may call us blessed, and a delightsome land. Psalm 132:15. Isaiah 62:9. Haggai 1:9. Malachi 3:10, 12.

(d) For the success of all endeavours for the reformation of manners, the suppression of vice and profaneness, and the support of religion and virtue, and the bringing of them into reputation.

O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just, O thou righteous God that triest the hearts and reins. Spirit many to rise up for thee against the evil doers, and to stand up for thee against the workers of iniquity. Psalm 7:9. Psalm 94:16.

Let the Redeemer come to Zion, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob; And let the filth of Jerusalem be purged from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning. Romans 11:26. Isaiah 4:4.

Let all iniquity stop her mouth, and let the infection of that plague be stayed, by executing judgment. Psalm 107:42. Psalm 106:30.

Let those that are striving against sin never be weary or faint in their minds. Hebrews 12:4, 3.

Cause the unclean spirit to pass out of the land, and turn to the people a pure language, that they may call on the name of the Lord. Zechariah 13:2. Zephaniah 3:9.

Make us high above all nations in praise and in name and in honour, by making us a holy people unto the Lord our God. Deuteronomy 26:19.

(e) For the healing of our unhappy divisions, and the making up of our breaches.

For the divisions that are among us, there are great searchings of heart; for there are three against two, and two against three in a house. But is the breach wide as the sea, which cannot be healed! Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of our people recovered? Lord, heal the breaches of our land, for because of them it shaketh. Judges 5:16. Luke 12:52. Lamentations 2:13. Jeremiah 8 (v. 22). Psalm 60:2.

We beg in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that there may be no divisions among us, but that we may be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10.

Now the God of patience and consolation grant us to be likeminded one towards another, according to Christ Jesus, that we may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and promote the common salvation. Romans 15:5, 6. Jude 3.

Lord, keep us from judging one another, and despising one another, and give us to follow after the things which make for peace,

and things wherewith one may edify another; that living in love and peace, the God of love and peace may be with us. Romans 14:3, 19. 2 Corinthians 13:11.

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but every thing in lowliness of mind, and grant that our moderation may be known unto all men, because the Lord is at hand. Philippians 2:3. Philippians 4:5.

(f) For victory and success against our enemies abroad, that seek our ruin.

Rise, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered, and let those that hate thee flee before thee, but return, O Lord, to the many thousands of thine Israel. Numbers 10:35, 36.

Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man; Through God let our forces do valiantly, yea let God himself tread down our enemies, and give them as dust to our sword, and as driven stubble to our bow. Psalm 60:11, 12. Isaiah 41:2.

Let us be a people saved by the Lord, as the shield of our help and the sword of our excellency; and make our enemies sensible that the Lord fighteth for us against them. Deuteronomy 33 (v. 29). Exodus 14:25.

Those who jeopard their lives for us in the high places of the field, teach their hands to war, and their fingers to fight, give them the shield of thy salvation, and let thy right hand hold them up, and cover their heads in the day of battle. Judges 5:18. Psalm 144:1. Psalm 18:35. Psalm 140:7.

(g) For all orders and degrees of men among us, and all we stand in any relation to.

1) For our sovereign lady the Queen, that God will protect her person, preserve her health, and continue her life and government long a publick blessing.

Give the queen thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness, that she may judge the poor of the people, may save the children of the needy, and may break in pieces the oppressor. Psalm 72:1, 4.

Let her throne be established with righteousness, and upheld with mercy: Give her long life and length of days for ever and ever, and let her glory be great in thy salvation, and make her exceeding glad with thy countenance: Through the mercy of the most High let her not be moved. Proverbs 25:5. Proverbs 20:28. Psalm 21:4-7.

Clothe her enemies with shame, but upon herself let the crown flourish, and continue her long, very long a nursing mother to thine Israel. Psalm 132:18. Isaiah 49:23.

2) For the succession in the Protestant line, that a blessing may attend it, that the entail of the crown may prove a successful expedient for the establishing of peace and truth in our days, the securing of them to posterity, and the extinguishing the hopes of our popish adversaries, and all their aiders and abettors.

Lord, preserve to us the lamp which thou hast ordained for thine anointed, that the generation to come may know thee, even the children which shall be born, that they may set their hope in God, and keep his commandments. Psalm 132:17. Psalm 78:6, 7.

Let the Protestant succession abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth which may preserve it, so will we sing praise unto thy name for ever. Thus let the Lord save Sion, and build the cities of Judah, and the seed of thy servants shall inherit it, and they that love thy name shall dwell therein. Psalm 61:7, 8. Psalm 69:35, 36.

Let their design who would make a captain to return into Egypt, be again defeated, and let not the deadly wound that hath been given to the beast be healed any more. Numbers 14:4. Revelation 13:11, 12.

Let our eyes see Jerusalem, the city of our solemnities, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down: Let none of the stakes thereof be removed, nor any of the cords thereof broken, but let the glorious Lord be unto us a place of broad waters and streams; for the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us. Isaiah 33:20, 21, 22.

3) For the privy counsellors, the ministers of state, the members of parliament, the ambassadors and envoys abroad, and all that are employed in the conduct of publick affairs.

Counsel our counsellors, and teach our senators wisdom: O give them a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, to make them of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. Psalm 105:22. Isaiah 11:2, 3.

O remove not the speech of the trusty, nor take away the understanding of the aged, nor ever let the things that belong to the nation’s peace be hid from the eyes of those that are intrusted with the nation’s counsels. Job 12:20. Luke 19:42.

Make it to appear that thou standest in the congregation of the mighty, and judgest among the gods, and that when the princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham, the God of Abraham himself is among them; And let the shields of the earth belong unto the Lord, that he may be greatly exalted. Psalm 82:1. Psalm 47:9.

Let those that be of us build the old waste places, and raise up the foundations of many generations, that they may be called the repairers of the breaches, and restorers of paths to dwell in. Isaiah 58:12.

4) For the magistrates, the judges and justices of peace in the several counties and corporations.

Make those that rule over us just, ruling in the fear of God; and let those that judge remember that they judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with them in the judgment, that therefore the fear of the Lord may be upon them. 2 Samuel 23:3. 2 Chronicles 19:6, 7.

Make them able men, and men of truth, fearing God, and hating covetousness, that judgment may run down like a river, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Exodus 18:21. Amos 5:24.

Enable our magistrates to defend the poor and fatherless, to do justice for the afflicted and needy, to deliver the poor and needy, and to rid them out of the hand of the wicked; and let rulers never be a terror to good works, but to the evil. Psalm 82:3, 4. Romans 13:3. 1 Peter 2:14.

5) For all the ministers of God’s Holy word and sacraments, the masters of assemblies.

Teach thy ministers how they ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, that they may not preach themselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and may study to shew themselves approved to God, workmen that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 1 Timothy 3:15. 2 Corinthians 4:5. 2 Timothy 2:15.

Make them mighty in the scriptures, that from thence they may be thoroughly furnished for every good work, in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, and sincerity, and sound speech, which cannot be condemned. Acts 18:24. 2 Timothy 3:17. Titus 2:7, 8.

Enable them to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, to meditate upon these things, to give themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word, to give themselves wholly to them; and to continue in them that they may both save themselves, and those that hear them. 1 Timothy 4:13, 15. Acts 6:4. 1 Timothy 4:15, 16.

Let utterance be given to them, that they may open their mouths boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, that thereof they may speak as they ought to speak, as able ministers of the new testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, and let them obtain mercy of the Lord to be faithful. Ephesians 6:19, 20. 2 Corinthians 3:6. 1 Corinthians 7:25.

Let the arms of their hands be made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; and let them be full of power by the spirit of the Lord of hosts, to shew thy people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins. Genesis 49:24. Micah 3:8. Isaiah 58:1.

Make them sound in the faith, and enable them always to speak the things which become sound doctrine, with meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; and let not the servants of the Lord strive, but be gentle to all men, apt to teach. Titus 1:13. Titus 2:1. 2 Timothy 2:25, 24.

Make them good examples to the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity; and let them be clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord, and let HOLINESS TO THE LORD be written upon their foreheads. 1 Timothy 4:12. Isaiah 52:11. Exodus 28:36.

Lord, grant that they may not labour in vain, or spend their strength for nought, and in vain, but let the hand of the Lord be with them, that many may believe, and turn to the Lord. Isaiah 49:4. Acts 11:21.

6) For all the universities, schools, and nurseries of learning.

Let the schools of the prophets be replenished with every good gift and every perfect gift from above from the Father of lights. James 1:17.

Cast salt into those fountains, and heal the waters thereof, that from thence may issue streams which shall make glad the city of our God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 2 Kings 2:21. Psalm 46:4.

7) For the common people of the land.

Give grace to all the subjects of this land, that they may under the government God hath set over us, live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty, dwelling together in unity, that the Lord may command a blessing upon us, even life for evermore. 1 Timothy 2:2. Psalm 133:1, 3.

Let all of every denomination that fear God and work righteousness be accepted of him; yea let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified that hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servants. Acts 10:35. Psalm 35:27.

8) For the several ages and conditions of men, as they stand in need of mercy and grace.

(a) For those that are young, and setting out in the world.

Lord, give to those that are young to remember their Creator in the days of their youth, that thereby they may be kept from the vanity which childhood and youth are subject to, and may be restrained from walking in the way of their heart, and in the sight of their eyes, by considering that for all these things God will bring them into judgment. Ecclesiastes 12:1. Ecclesiastes 11:10, 9.

Lord, make young people sober-minded, and let the word of God abide in them, that they may be strong, and may overcome the wicked one. Titus 2:6. 1 John 2:14.

From the womb of the morning let Christ have the dew of the youth, and let him be formed in the hearts of those that are young. Psalm 110:3. Galatians 4:19.

Keep those that are setting out in the world from the corruption that is in the world through lust; and give to those that have been well educated to hold fast the form of sound words, and to continue in the things which they have learned. 2 Peter 1:4. 2 Timothy 1:13. 2 Timothy 3:14.

(b) For those that are old, and are of long standing in profession.

There are some that are old disciples of Jesus Christ, Lord, give them still to bring forth fruit in old age, to shew that the Lord is upright, that he is their rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Now the evil days are come, and the years of which they say there is no pleasure in them, let thy comforts delight their souls. Acts 21:16. Psalm 92:14, 15. Ecclesiastes 12:1. Psalm 94:19.

Even to their old age be thou he, and to the hoary hairs do thou carry them, thou hast made, we beseech thee bear, yea do thou carry and deliver them. Isaiah 46:4.

Those whom thou hast taught from their youth up, and who have hitherto declared all thy wondrous works, now also when they are old and grey-headed leave them not, cast them not off in their old age, fail them not when their strength fails. Psalm 71:17, 18, 9.

Let every hoary head be a crown of glory to those that have it, being found in the way of righteousness, and give them to know whom they have believed. Proverbs 16:31. 2 Timothy 1:12.

(c) For those that are rich and prosperous in the world, some of whom perhaps need prayers as much as those that request them.

Lord keep those that are rich in the world from being highminded, and trusting in uncertain riches, and give them to trust in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy: That they may do good, and be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, that they may lay up in store for themselves a good security for the time to come. 1 Timothy 6:17, 18, 19.

Though it is hard for those that are rich to enter into the kingdom of heaven, yet with thee this is possible. Matthew 19:23, 26.

(d) For those that are poor and in affliction, for such we have always with us.

Lord, make those that are poor in the world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, and give to them to receive the gospel. James 2:5. Matthew 11:5.

O that the poor of the flock may wait upon thee, and may know the word of the Lord. Zechariah 11:11.

Many are the troubles of the righteous, good Lord, deliver them out of them all, and though no affliction for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous, nevertheless afterward let it yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby. Psalm 34:19. Hebrews 12:11.

(e) For our enemies, and those that hate us.

Lord, give us to love our enemies, to bless them that curse us, and to pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us. Matthew 5:44.

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do; and lay not their malice against us to their charge, and work in us a disposition to forbear and forgive in love, as thou requirest we should when we pray. Luke 23:34. Acts 7:60. Colossians 3:13. Mark 11:25.

And grant that our ways may so please the Lord, that even our enemies may be at peace with us. Let the wolf and the lamb lie down together, and let there be none to hurt or destroy in all the holy mountain; let not Ephraim envy Judah, nor Judah vex Ephraim. Proverbs 16:7. Isaiah 11:6, 9, 13.

(f) For our friends, and those that love us.

And we wish for all those whom we love in the truth, that they may prosper, and be in health, especially that their souls may prosper. 3 John 1, 2.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with their spirits. Philemon (v. 25).

To Be Continued…