May thy goodness lead us to repentance; and thy love constrain us to all holy obedience. May all our churches continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and in fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayer; and may the Lord add daily to their number, such as shall be saved. May the dead hear the voice of the Son of God, and live. May those who are asking the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward, find a teacher that will say to them, This is the way, walk ye in it, when they turn to the right-hand, and when they turn to the left. Let the rich be poor in spirit; and the poor be made rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which Thou hast promised to them that love Thee. Let the ignorant be enlightened; and let those that are wise, become fools, that they may be wise. We bless Thee, for all thy former loving kindnesses to this family, and pray that they may be continued to us and sanctified. May the outgoings of the morning, and evening, of another day be made to rejoice. May we continually live under the shadow of thy wing, and the influence of thy grace; and let the words of our mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. And unto Him that is able to do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. MONDAY EVENING. WHO in the heavens can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? Thy wisdom no difficulty can perplex; thy power no exertion can weaken; thy bounty no communications can exhaust or diminish. Thy goodness waits to be gracious, and is exalted to have mercy. Thou hearest prayer; and to assure our hearts before Thee, Thou hast not only commanded us to seek Thee, but Thou hast furnished us with the petitions we are to offer. Thou, even Thou, hast told us to, Take with you words and turn to the Lord and say unto Him -Take away all iniquity, receive us graciously, so will we offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. : We feel the truth of our character, as drawn in the scriptures; and we acknowledge our desert-and our helplessness too. Thy mercy is our only refuge and reSource. O be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause thy face to shine upon us, that we may be saved. visit us with that salvation, which is present as well as future; which changes, not only our state, but our nature; and which, not only admits us into thy family, but makes us new creatures. As Thou didst in the original creation, command light to shine out of darkness, so do Thou shine in our hearts. Give us the light of the knowledge of thy glory, in the face of Jesus Christ; and may we so know Thee, as to love Thee supremely; serve Thee, as our only Lord; and cleave to Thee, as our portion for ever. Subdue the rebellion of our wills, that we may submit to thy commands, and acquiesce in thy dispensations, without murmurings and disputings. Unite our hearts to fear thy name; and may we be in the fear of the Lord all the day long. Make us Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile. Enable us to maintain a conscience, void of offence, towards God, and towards man: may we be the same, when no eye sees us, as we are in the public walks of life may we enter the closet as well as the temple; and attend to our principles and motives, as well as our actions and pursuits. We mourn over our numberless failures and backslidings; our incorrigibleness under rebukes; our want of profiting under ordinances; the misimprovement of our talents; and our neglect of opportunities of usefulness. Whatever view we take of ourselves, compels us to exclaim, Behold I am vile. Yet while we are humble, may we be grateful; and never be backward to acknowledge what Thou hast done for our souls. If we are not like some of thy people, we bless Thee, that we are not like the rest of the world; if we are not what we ought to be, we are not what we once were and Thou hast made us to differ, and we have nothing which we did not receive from Thee. And if our religion be imperfect, may it appear to be real, and vital, by its activity, and its tending to growth. May it awaken in us an unconquerable desire, to go from strength to strength; and to be renewed day by day. May our religion always attend us, and dignify us in the ordinary scenes of life. May we remember, that greatness consists, not in doing great things, but in doing little things with a great mind. As the events of providence occur, may they always find in us, those dispositions which will keep them from injuring us, and which will convert them all into advantages. In a vale of tears, may we look for a succession of trials and may we also look for the accomplishment of the promise-I will be with Thee in trouble. May the joy of the Lord be our strength: may it keep us from lusting after the vanities of the world; bear up the heart and mind in the loss of every creaturecomfort; and enliven us in the valley of the shadow of death. And before we reach heaven, may we bear the image of the heavenly; possess the earnests of our inheritance; and enjoy the first fruits of the glorious har vest. And to God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, for ever and ever. Amen. -000-000 TUESDAY MORNING. O GOD, Thou art the Creator, the Upholder, and the Proprietor of all things. Thy dominion is everlasting and universal. Thou dost according to thine own will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth none can stay thy hand, or say unto Thee, What dost Thou? : We cannot escape from thy presence, or control; nor do we desire it. It is our privilege, that we are under the agency, not only of omnipotence, but righteousness, wisdom, patience, mercy, and grace. Thou art love. Thou hast loved us with more than parental affection; Thou hast commended thy love towards us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all-how shall He not with Him also, freely give us all things? Here may all our fears drop off from our minds: here may we be filled with everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace. Thou hast not only allowed, but commanded us to believe on the name of thy dear Son. O, let us not refuse to be comforted: let us not reject the counsel of God against ourselves; but, remembering, that we are as welcome as we are guilty, may we drink of the fountain of the water of life, freely. But while we know that we may come to the Redeemer, and ought to come-may we never think ourselves interested in the blessings of his salvation, unless we have come. May there be a real and living union between our souls and Him;-that being quickened together with Christ, we may be raised up, and made to sit with Him in heavenly places. May we live a life of faith in thy promises, mingled with no doubt of thy truth, or suspicion of thy power. May we live a life of hope; expecting that Thou wilt be our sun and our shield; that Thou wilt give grace and glory; and withhold no good thing from us, while we walk uprightly. And may we live a life of love-for he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. O shed abroad thy love in our hearts, the animating and delightful principle, of all obedience. May we love our neighbour as ourselves; and consider every one as our neighbour, who falls within the reach of our knowledge and assistance. We feel, that the work to which we are called, is far above our strength. We have tried our purposes and resolutions, and have found them vain. The least temptation, has been too powerful for us, when we have gone forth in our own strength. O teach us how to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. And at every movement in our journey, and our warfare, say to our heart, Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee, with the right-hand of my righteousness. And may we never depart from Thee, by making flesh our arm; or the creature our portion. With re |