thou bring thy children from labour to repose, from combat to victory, from youth to manhood. * Aid us, Holy Father, in the duties of this day. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and glory forever. Amen. FRIDAY EVENING. SUPREMELY great and glorious Lord our God! Thou makest darkness thy pavillion round about thee. Thou art a Being whom no mortal eye can see, and live. O O may it be our happiness to have right views of thine existence, agency and perfections; knowing that no distance of place can remove us from thy presence, no length of time erase us from thy memory, no clouds of darkness veil us from thy view. O may the solemn thought, that thou art with us wherever we are, sink deep into our minds and have a practical influence on our lives. Having daily united to partake of thy bounty, we would now unite to render to thee our thanks. Blessed be God who daily loadeth us with his benefits and giveth us all things richly to enjoy. We thank thee that the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places, and we enjoy a goodly heritage. Thou hast admitted us to the privileges of children; and while we live, we would celebrate thy praise. We would do thy will with fidelity, and hear thy whole will with resignation. O God of wisdom! teach us the knowlege of ourselves. May we keep our hearts with all diligence, and, amidst the trials of this world, maintain a constant habit of self-government. In prosperity may we be humble, temperate and charitable, remembering we are men; in adversity, may we be patient, and wholly resigned to thine unerring providence. Save us, O gracious God, from anger and malice; from pride and presumption; and from the fatal influence of seductive examples. Give us prudence to direct our affairs; resolution to preserve our innocence; and wisdom to retain our integrity. But especially we pray thee to revive among us the spirit of true religion. O revive an ardent zeal for thy glory, for the spread of truth and for the practice of righteousness. O may the obedience of our lives praise thee. Fit us for what we are to meet; and when we shall have answered the purposes of thy wisdom and goodness here, grant us admission to that state, where we shall see the sublimity of thy designs, and the wisdom of the means by which they are accomplished. O God of the spirits of all flesh! hear our petitions for our brethren of thy family. As they are beloved and cherished by thee, may they be so by us. May we be enabled to lighten their burdens; to remove from their path the stone of stumbling; to befriend their good undertakings, and do all in our power to unite them more closely to each other. Reform the sad errors of the christian world. Grant that the worship of thee, O Father, in spirit and in truth, established by Jesus Christ, may every where prevail, that thy moral laws may not be rendered ineffectual by false notions of religion, nor the progress of thy gospel be obstructed by the wicked lives of those who profess it. Put an end to all persecution and usurpation over the judgments and consciences of mankind; and give us the gospel charity toward all, who, in sincerity, differ from us in opinion. Bless, O God, the means of education; and strengthen the hand that is extended to support learning. Send forth thy light and truth through the whole earth. O may christian temples be raised to thee in every land, and the incense of pure worship ascend to thee from pious hearts, in every region. Smile upon our land and direct our rulers. Bless the ministers of religion and the people committed to their charge. We would sympathize with those in sorrow and pain; and may the interruption of their temporal enjoyments be abundantly compensated by their spiritual improvement. Comfort those who mourn, and plead the cause of the orphan, the friendless and the widow. Be thou the guide of the young, the support of the aged, and all that, to thy creatures, which their several wants require. Gracious Giver of every good! we thank thee. for the salvation of the day past. Another step is taken in the journey of life; and as our days speed their flight, grant that we may number them so as to apply our hearts unto wisdom. Be thou our guide and defence through all the changes of time and nature; and at last receive us to thyself in glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. SATURDAY MORNING. O THOU, whose name alone is Jehovah! who art the Most High over all the earth. Who is a God like unto thee, glorious in holiness, doing wonders? Who, by searching, can find out God? who can find out the Almighty unto perfection? O God! there is none great but thee! Who shall think to number the ages of thine eternity; to describe the brightness of thy glory; to define the limits of thy power; to enumerate the treasures of thy goodness; to fathom the depths of thy wisdom, or to estimate the riches of thy grace? Such knowledge is too wonderful for us! With profound veneration we would adore the Being we cannot comprehend. From thee, who livest forever and forever, we, who are but of yesterday, would ask protection and guidance. We would rejoice that thy power is constantly directed by unerring wisdom, and exerted in effecting the purposes of thy boundless goodness. We, this moment, stand the monuments of thy sustaining love; for we have again been raised from the death-like insensibility of sleep, to a new existence. We are before thee now, to render our thanksgivings as the disciples of Jesus Christ. To thee our spirits would ascend |