gard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the opera tion of his hand. Thou has stricken them, but they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction; they have made their faces. harder than the rock; they have refused to return.

In the way of thy judgments, O Lord, may we wait for Thee. Thou hast said, Is any afflicted? Let him pray. Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Fulfil the word unto thy servants, upon which Thou hast caused us to hope. And O let not the calamity be removed only, but above all, sanctified; let it appear that we have heard the rod, and Him that appointeth it; and be able to say, It is good for us that we have been afflicted.

For which purpose, bless, we beseech Thee, the word of thy grace, which has been spoken; and grant that the professed humiliation of the day may be real-for Thou lookest to the heart. And let it also be universal; may it extend from the highest to the lowest; may it pervade the court and the country; may it enter every church and every family-let none of us lose sight of ourselves in the public calamity. May each individual retire and ask What have I done?-and what wilt Thou have me to do? And though other lords have had dominion over us, henceforth by Thee only may we make mention of thy name. Regard the government under which we live. the President of these United States; the representatives of the people; and the magistracy of the land—may all be wise in counsel, exemplary in conduct, and faithful to their trusts.

Bless

And thus may we be reformed, and not destroyed. Thus may we be a holy, that we may be a happy people, whose God is the Lord. Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent Thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all

our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish T'hou it.

And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be rendered the kingdom, power, and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

FOR A DAY OF THANKSGIVING-MORNING,

O GOD, Thou art very great, Thou art clothed with honor and majesty; Thou coverest thyself with light as with a garment; Thou walkest upon the wings of the wind. When we reflect on the glory of thy majesty, we are filled with wonder at the vastness of thy condescension. For Thou condescendest even to behold things that are in heaven. What then is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him!

We rejoice that we are under the governance of a Being, who is not only almighty, but perfectly righteous, and wise, and good; that all things in our world are appointed and arranged by thy paternal agency; that thy providence numbers the very hairs of our head, and that a sparrow falleth not to the ground without our heavenly Father.

Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. We bless Thee for personal mercies. If we are called, it is by thy word. If we are renewed, it is by thy Spirit. If we are justified, it is freely by thy grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. It is in Thee we live and move and have our being. Thy goodness has been always near us, to hear our com

plaints, to soothe our sorrow, and to command deliverance for us. And numberless are the instances of loving-kindness that now, from ignorance or inattention, elude our notice; the discovery of which will awaken our songs, when we mingle with those who dwell in thy house above and are still praising Thee.

We thank Thee for relative benefits; for blessings on our families, blessings on our churches, and blessings on our country. We confess that we are not worthy of the least of all thy mercies, and of all the truth which Thou hast showed unto thy servants. Sins of every kind and of every degree have reigned among us; have spread through all ranks and orders; and continued notwithstanding all warnings and corrections; and if Thou hadst dealt with us after our sins, or rewarded us according to our iniquities, we should long ago have had no name nor place among the nations of the globe.

But to the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. All thy dispensations towards us have said, with a tenderness that ought to penetrate our hearts, How shall I give thee up! Our privileges, never properly improved, and forfeited times without number, have been continued. We still behold our sabbaths, and our ears still hear the joyful sound. Our constitution, liberties, and laws, have not been subverted or impaired. Thou hast given us rains and fruitful seasons; Thou hast filled us with the finest of the wheat; our garners have been affording all manner of store; our oxen have been strong to labor; our sheep have brought forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets Thou hast spread thy wing, and sheltered us from the pestilence that walketh in darkness, and the destruction that wasteth at noon day. Civil discord has not raged in our land; our shores have not been invaded; we have not heard the confused noise of warriors, nor seen garments

rolled in blood-it has not come nigh us Our enemies have often threatened to swallow us up, but the Lord has been on our side, and they have not prevailed against us. We are this day called upon to acknowledge thy goodness in (-)*

God is the Lord who hath showed us light; bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar. May we never convert our blessings into instruments of provo cation, by making them the means of nourishing pride and presumption, wantonness and intemperance; and compe Thee to complain, Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people, and unwise? Is not He thy Father that hath bought thee? Hath He not made thee and established thee?

For this purpose meet with us in thy house; and may the goings of our God and our King be seen in the sanctuary. Be with the preacher and with the hearers; and let the words of his mouth, and the meditation of their hearts, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. May public instruction awaken the ardor of our feelings. May our gratitude not only be lively, but practical and permanent. And by all thy mercies may we present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable anto Thee, which is our reasonable service.

Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength that do his commandments, heartening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye minis ters of his that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O rny soul. Amen.

* Here let the particular causes for thankfulness be expressed.

FOR A DAY OF THANKSGIVING—EVENING.

O GOD, Thou art good, and Thou doest good. Thou art good to all, and thy tender mercies are over all thy works.

We have thought of thy loving-kindness this day, in the midst of thy temple; and are again surrounding this domestic altar to exclaim, O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.

We lament to think that a world so filled with thy boun ty, should be so alienated from thy service and glory. We mourn over the vileness of our ingratitude, and abhor ourselves, repenting in dust and ashes.

O Thou God of all grace, make us more thankful. In order that we may be more thankful, may we be more humble; impress us with a deep sense of our unworthiness, arising from the depravity of our nature, and count less instances of unimproved advantages, omitted duties, and violated commands. May we compare our condition with our desert, and with the far less indulged circumstances of others. May we never be inattentive to any of thy interpositions on our behalf; but be wise and observe these things, that we may understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.

How many blessings, temporal and spiritual, public and private, hast Thou conferred upon us. Thy mercies have been new every morning and every moment.

Our afflictions have been few and alleviated, often short in their continuance, and always founded in a regard to our profit. Thy secret has been upon our tabernacle; and we have known Thee in thy palaces for a refuge. The lines have indeed fallen to us in pleasant places, yea, we have a goodly heritage. Thou hast not dealt so with