O ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, who so loved the world, that Thou gavest Thy only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life, grant unto us, Thy weak and sinful servants, we most humbly beseech Thee, sincere repentance and lively faith; that coming to our blessed Lord, as the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, we may, through His infinite and most precious merits, obtain pardon and peace. We are sensible, O Lord, of our natural corruption and hardness of heart, of the number and heinousness of our offences, and yet we are little acquainted with the extent of that corruption and guilt; for who knoweth the deceitfulness of his wicked heart, or who can tell how oft he offendeth? We deserve at Thy hand, O God, nothing but condemnation; and should utterly despair, were it not for the gracious assurance given in Thy Holy Scriptures, that Thou, O Lord, waitest to be gracious, and that the blood of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, cleanseth us from all sin. We know that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but that our sufficiency is of Thee, who workest in us both to will and to do, of Thy good pleasure. We beseech Thee, therefore, O God, to be graciously pleased, for Christ’s sake, to enlighten, by Thy heavenly grace, the natural darkness of our understandings, to rectify the perversion of our wills, and to sanctify the unholiness of our affections. We deplore, O Lord, our deadness to spiritual things: oh! of Thy great goodness, strengthen, we pray Thee, our faith, quicken our zeal, increase our love, and improve our obedience. Oh! grant us, according to the riches of Thy glory, to be strengthened with might by Thy Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we being rooted and grounded in love, may be filled with the fruits of the Spirit, may adorn in all things the doctrine of God our Saviour, and may know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. That, having received the adoption of sons, the Spirit may bear witness with our spirit, that we are Thy children, O gracious God, to whom looking as unto a reconciled Father in Christ Jesus, we may cry, Abba, Father. And we may have our conversation in Heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working, whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.