THE

ORDER OF SERVICE

FOR A

DAY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING.

"On days of Thanksgiving, the Minister is to give information respecting the authority and providences which call to the observance of them; and to spend a more than usual part of the time in the giving up of thanks, agreeably to the occasion, and in singing psalms or hymns of praise.

"It is the duty of the people on these days to rejoice with holy gladness of heart; but let trembling be so joined with our mirth, that no excess or unbecoming levity be indulged."

PREFACE.

COME, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make

a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let

us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.

A

INVOCATION.

LMIGHTY God! who hast promised to be pre

sent with Thy people, and to grant their requests in the Name of Thy well-beloved Son: Look down, we beseech Thee, upon us, who have assembled at this time to offer unto Thee our thanksgiving and praise; and for the sake of Him who is our only Saviour and Mediator with Thee, grant us the help of Thy Holy Spirit: that our thoughts being lifted up, and our desires drawn forth unto Thee, we may render Thee an acceptable service, through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

OUR

THE LORD'S PRAYER,

To be said by the Minister and People.

UR Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Then follows the singing of a Psalm or Hymn of Thanksgiving.

Next the reading of Scripture out of the Old and New Testaments.

GOD, infinite in wisdom, power, and goodness!

We acknowledge Thee the Creator of all things in the heavens above, in the earth beneath, and in the paths of the sea. We adore Thee for the greatness and beauty of all Thy works. We adore Thy loving-kindness, that Thou hast made them subservient to the wants and happiness of Thy children. What is man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou visitest him? Thou hast given him dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Thou hast given to him for meat every moving thing that liveth, and every herb yielding seed, and every fruit-tree yielding fruit after its kind. Thou hast crowned us with mercy and lovingkindness.

We praise Thee for Thy gracious promise of old,

that while the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease. Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it. Thou sendest the springs into the valleys which run among the hills. Thou causest the grass to grow for all cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth fruit out of the earth. Thou makest the furrows of the field soft with showers: Thou blessest the springing thereof. The pastures are clothed with flocks: the valleys also are covered over with corn: they shout for joy. Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness: Thy clouds drop fatness they drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side. O Lord! how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all.

We praise Thee, O Lord! not only in the riches of Thy bounty and compassion, but also in Thy righteous judgments. Thou openest Thy hand, and we are filled with good: Thou hidest Thy face, and we are troubled. But we know that in Thy wrath Thou rememberest mercy ; and we acknowledge Thy longsuffering and Thy loving-kindness. Give us grace to believe, that whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth;

and ever enable us to offer unto Thee, in spirit and in truth, the prayer of Thy holy prophet: Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet we will rejoice in the Lord; we will joy in the God of our salvation.

For ourselves and our country, O Gracious God! we thank Thee: that notwithstanding our manifold transgressions of Thy holy laws, Thou hast continued unto us Thy marvellous kindness: that Thou hast given us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. These have been witnesses of Thy great goodness, for they certify of Thee that Thou art the living God. Teach us to believe with a strong faith that Thou art Lord of the seasons: that Thou biddest the earth to bring forth, and it obeyeth Thee. Accept our thanksgivings for all the blessings of the year now drawing to a close : fill our hearts with humility and love, with gratitude and trust continue Thy loving-kindness unto us, and help us to show forth the fruits of grace, in a sincere obedience to His will, through whom all blessings are