light to do thy will, O my God, yea thy law is within my heart. May his glory fill our minds; may his love reign in our affections; and at his cross, and at his tomb, may we burn with ardour to live, not to ourselves, but to Him that died for us and rose again.

Let the number of his followers daily increase, and may none of our friends be found among his enemies. Pour thy Spirit upon our seed, and thy blessing upon our offspring. Let our sons be as plants grown up in their youth, and our daughters as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace. May our domestics be the servants of God; may they do his will from the heart; and be prepared for that world, where those who serve, will be as those who are served, and all the distinctions now necessary, will be done away, and none remain, but those which arise from character. And whatever be our conditions in life, may we fill them as christians; may we escape the snares to which they expose us; discharge the duties that grow out of their circumstances; enjoy with moderation and gratitude their advantages; and improve with decision and diligence, their opportunities and resources of usefulness. May every place and every company, in which we are found, be benefited by us.

And whatever may be the opinion of our fellow creatures concerning us, may we be satisfied and happy, in having the testimony that we please God.

We are now going forth into the concerns of another day. Take us under thy protection and influence. Guide us in all our steps. Enable us to realize thy presence and thy providence. Succeed us, in all our lawful endeavours, or prepare us for disappointment; and assure us that we are in the number of those to whom all things are working together for good; and who will for ever acknowledge-marvellous are thy works, Lord God Al

mighty, just and true are all thy ways, O thou King of saints.

Amen.

WEDNESDAY EVENING.

GOD over all, blessed for evermore. We desire to acknowledge thy Being and agency; to adore thy perfections, and to admire the works of thy hands. Thou hast made summer and winter. Thou hast appointed the moon for seasons, and the sun knoweth his going down. The day is thine; the night also is thine: and thou makest the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice. To that throne, from which none were ever repulsed or sent away empty, we again approach for mercy and grace to help in time of need. Let our prayer come before Thee as incense, and the lifting up of our hands as the evening sacrifice. Preserve us from formality, in those exercises in which we so daily engage; and alarm our fears, lest we should provoke Thee to say, in vain do they worship me.

For this purpose, enable us to realize thine all seeing eye, to remember with whom we have to do, and what we have to do with Him: may we deeply feel the guilt of the sins we confess, and hunger and thirst after the blessings we implore. And while we review the numberless blessings we have received from thy hands, may we be more than ever sensible of our unworthiness, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we may be disposed to show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to thy service, and walking before he in holiness and righteousness all our days.

He that is our God is the God of salvation, and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death. We bless Thee this evening, as the Preserver of Another day has been added, by thy good

men.

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providence, to the season of thy long suffering, and the time of our preparation for eternity. We lament that the design of our being placed and continued here, has been so imperfectly subserved; that in so many things we have offended, and in all, come short of the glory of God. If, where much is given, much will be required, and the servant who knew his Lord's will, and did it not, shall be beaten with many stripes-if Thou, Lord should mark our iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? We cannot answer Thee for one of a thousand of our transgressions: the review of a single day is enough to plunge us into despair--our only relief is, that there is forgiveness with Thee; and that with Thee there is plenteous redemption.

But while we hope in thy mercy, we would not abuse it. We would not sin that grace may abound; or be evil, because Thou art good. But since Thou art good, and ready to forgive, we would the more sincerely grieve, that ever we have offended a Being, so worthy of our devotedness; and be the more concerned in future, to walk so as to please Thee.

Create in us a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within us. Set a watch, O God, upon our mouth; keep the door of our lips. And in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by thy grace, may we have our conversation in the world, and in the church, and in the family.

We again commend ourselves to thy care. As Thou hast been through the day, our sun and our shield, be Thou through the night, our shade and our defence. Undisturbed by anxieties, unalarmed by fears, undistressed by pain, or indisposition, may we retire and enjoy repose. Remind us, by putting off our garments, and lying down to sleep, of putting off the body, and sleeping in the grave, the house appointed for all living. Prepare us for the night of death, the morning of the resurrection, and the day of judgment.

And all we implore, is through the Mediation of Him, who bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors, to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be endless praises. Amen.

THURSDAY MORNING.

WE would address Thee, O God, in the language of the publican, which so well becomes us, and say, from our hearts, God be merciful to me a sinner. Sinners we are by nature and practice; sinners thy word proclaims us to be; sinners, we hope we feel ourselves to be; and acknowledge that Thou art justified when Thou speakest, and clear when Thou judgest.

Yet Thou hast not left us to despair; nor have we a mere peradventure to encourage us-who can tell if God will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him that we perish not? We have all the assurance we could desire, that with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him, plenteous redemption. Conscious of the number and heinousness of our offences, we could not have approached thee with confidence, without a previous token for good. But thou hast stretched forth the golden sceptre, and said-" touch and live; I will be merciful to thy unrighteousness, and thy sins and iniquities will I remember no more May we encourage ourselves, by a sense of thy all-sufficiency, by faith in thy promises, and by views of the experience of others, and ask and receive, that our joy may be full. To that dear refuge, in which so many have been sheltered from every storm, may we repair; and in that fountain for sin, always open, and free for all, may we be cleansed from all our defilements.

Lord, we believe--help thou our unbelief; that sin is exceeding sinful; it is the abominable thing

which thy soul hateth; and this, and this alone, separates between thee and us. Thou canst not

contradict the essential perfections of thy nature ; and thou canst not make us happy with thyself, till thou hast made us holy, like thyself. O thou holy God, deliver us from all our iniquities, and make us such creatures as thou canst take pleasure in, and such creatures as can take pleasure in thee. While many are asking, Who will show us any good? may the cry of our heart be, Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. May we consent to the law of God, that it is good; may we delight in thy law, after the inner man. May we never complain of the strictness of thy demands, but mourn over our want of conformity to them. May we esteem all thy commandments, concerning all things to be right, and hate every false way. Put thy Spirit within us, that our practice may spring from principle, and our dispositions be congenial with duty, so that we may resemble him who could say, 67 my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish his work.

We live in a world of changes: but with thee there is no variableness,nor shadow of turning. May we know that Thou, the eternal God, art our refuge, and that underneath us are thine everlasting arms. Creatures die; friends and relations die; the fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live for ever? But the Lord liveth, and blessed be our rock, and let the God of our salvation be exalted.

May we never forget that we are mortal ourselves. May we never put the evil day far off. May we frequently and seriously think of a dying hour; may we faithfully inquire, What will be its issue with regard to us, and what preparation we have for it. And may we never rest satisfied, till we are enabled to view it, as the period of our release, and the end of our conflict; till we can