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Well is it with them, and blessed are they whom thou teachest to walk in thy ways, and with whom thou dealest patiently, to bring them to thee, in whose bosom thou shewest by thy Spirit that thou art working for them. O if we could entertain thee into our hearts, that so thou mightest not be a stranger to us! Now, for Jesus Christ’s sake, thou who hast sent the gospel into our land, still dwell among us, as the master doth into his own family, to reign and rule there; and, Lord, teach us by thy Spirit, and give gifts and graces to those whom thou sendest out to teach thy people; and rule every one of us, and strengthen us to walk in thy ways. And because there are great things done for us, and none hath done them but thou, Lord, save us that we be not as the heathen who know not God, and so neither glorify God as the doer of anything, nor are thankful to him for that which he doth; for, certainly, if we knew thee to be the doer of everything for us, we would glorify thee as a great God, and we would be thankful to thee. Lord, let us not be strangers to the joys of thy people, or to rejoice in anything but thee, for that is idolatry and adultery; but, Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance upon us, and make us to rejoice in that. And let us see, when we rejoice, that our joy is not carnal, but it is a sanctified joy, coming from the sense of thy goodness; at least make us to think and know that all things in the world beside thee are but beggarly. And, Lord, give us some beginnings of thy favor here, that so we may look for more hereafter. Lord, as thou hast begun to work among us, and to bring back our captivity, whereof we rejoice, so cease not till the work be ended. Lord, return the captivity of thy Zion here; our desire is this, to have a full and a free liberty to thy Zion, that all things may be done in thy house according to thy will:1 Lord, make us to gape and to long for this, and not to rest till we get it. And when it comes, Lord, make us to accept it; and these whom thou hast returned, Lord, let them not be reduced again. And give us grace to learn and to know that all which we do now for thy cause is a sowing of seed, after which there shall be a plentiful harvest; even an expectation of better things than are here; and this will refresh us more than all. Thou canst recompense anything that is done for thee even in this life, but thou wilt not fail to do it afterwards, and, therefore, Lord, give us grace still to be sowing, and to wait for that harvest. Lord, forget not thine own people throughout the world, but be merciful to them. Thy kirk, O Lord, has suffered many grievous things of the enemies this time bygone; grant, Lord, that her suffering may be as sowing, and recompense it with a fruitful harvest; and return to them again, and dwell among them, that they may bring forth fruits worthy of amendment of life. Lord, give us grace to make the right use of the great things that thou hast bestowed upon us; and make us still to be earnest with thee till thou findest out such ways whereby our captivity may be brought to an end. Lord, touch our king’s heart, incline it the right way, that he may authorize thy truth; O but there would be great cause of rejoicing if this were! It is possible to thee, and the averseness is only because of our sins; therefore give us grace to turn to thee by repentance and amendment, and then turn thou his heart, that so he may be blessed of thee, and all that he has to do with, and his posterity after him. Bless his queen, and turn her from idolatry, and the love of it, to the love of thy truth. And bless their children, especially the young prince; put thy fear in his heart now in his tender years, and in their hearts who have the care of bringing him up, that so he, being well brought up now, may in his own time be a profitable instrument both for kirk and state. Bless the nobility, etc.; Lord, thou who hast all their hearts into thy hand, work upon them, that every one of them may add their power for setting up of religion in this land, in the former liberty thereof. And those who have not spared to sow their seed plentifully for thy truth, Lord, fill their souls with faith to believe, and hope to wait on, and assure them that they shall get a good and plentiful harvest; and, Lord, bless them, and all they have ado with, with thy best blessings—themselves, their worries, their families, and their posterity after them. We entreat thee, O Lord, for a blessing upon all the congregations of thy people this day; and, Lord, let thy blessing be upon us who are here before thee; and because thy kindness has been special to us this day, give us grace now to devote ourselves only to thee. And, Lord, let not this day’s exercise that we have been about be a witness against us: we may indeed forget what we have been doing this day, but it remains in thy book of remembrance. Therefore, O Lord, keep us from building up Jericho again after this, seeing thou hast pronounced so sore a curse against it; but, Lord, give us grace now to set to to build up Jerusalem. And we entreat thee, Lord, whatever is necessary for us, and for our direction afterward, furnish it to us, that so thy grace may be manifested in us, and we may be bettered by this day’s exercise that we have been about, and we may now learn to watch better over our ways. For we do ofttimes cast ourselves loose, and care not what we do or speak, and we have a licentious nature that wants to break out; and therefore give us grace to watch over our own sly and subtle hearts, and to beware of Satan, that wily fox, and of the allurements or terrors of the world. And, Lord, give us grace evermore to be trying ourselves, and see what escapes us; for there is evermore something that is wrong that escapes the best of us, and therefore give us grace still to try our ways, that so when we have found that we have done anything amiss, we may purge ourselves thereof again by repentance, and so may be clean. And this, indeed, will be exceeding good for us, if we will learn to watch over ourselves, to try ourselves what is amiss, and then purge ourselves of it; for then we will be ready to receive comfort when thou offerest it; and when thou enjoinest us to do a duty we will be ready to perform it; and when thou shalt be pleased to call upon us, and cut the thread of our life, then we will be ready to lay down our tabernacle, and thou to receive us in thy everlasting mansions. Lord, let thy blessing be upon this poor congregation. We acknowledge, O Lord, that a great part of us are strangers to thee, and know not what thou requirest of us; we sin many times of ignorance and of infirmity, but keep all of us from presumptuous sins. Lord, guide and direct every one of us by thy counsel, and grant that we may have a happy and a joyful meeting again; that so still we may have new cause to praise thee while we are here, till at last we be brought to the heavens, where our praising of thee shall never be ended. To thee, O Father, etc.