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TUESDAY MORNING.

spised of men, engross our chief solicitude. thee. Guide us by thy counsel, and afterMay we labour for that meat which endureth ward receive us to glory. We implore it in unto everlasting life; may we lay up treasure the name of our only Lord and Saviour. in heaven; may we seek the honour that Amen. cometh from God only. O remember us with the favour thou bearest unto thy people, and visit us with thy salvation. Deliver us from the condemnation of the law, and the bondage of corruption, and bring us into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Justify us freely from all things, and renew us in the spirit of our minds. Produce in us in those principles and dispositions which will render thy service perfect freedom, and make it our meat to do the will of our heavenly Father, and to finish his work.

Expel from our minds all sinful fear and shame, and with firmness and courage may we confess the Redeemer before men, and go forth to Him without the camp bearing his reproach. And may our zeal be according to knowledge. Fill us with all wisdom and spiritual understanding. May we walk circumspectly. May we never take a wrong course or a wrong step. May we venture on nothing without asking counsel of God. Without prejudice may we repair to the scriptures, and kneeling before the divine oracles ask, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? May we faithfully study our conditions and connexions in life, and observe every dispensation of thy providence, that we may see how we can honour Thee in our body and spirit, and serve our generation according to the will of God.

Thou hast commanded us to be pitiful and to pray for all men. We would remember that every moment of pleasure to us is a moment of anguish to some; and that while our health and our relative comforts are continued, many are confined to beds of languishing; or sighing, Lover and friend hast Thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness. In the multitude of their thoughts within them, may thy comforts delight their souls. If not in the suffering, yet in the review of their trials, may they be able to say, It is good for me that I have been afflicted. Let not the prosperity of the successful destroy them; nor the table of the indulged prove a snare. In every state may the voice be heard and obeyed, Arise and depart hence, for this is not your rest.

We know not what a day may bring forth; yet we would not be anxious in prospect of the future, nor perplex ourselves with that care about events, which it is our duty and privilege to cast upon Him who careth for us. We would keep our minds in perfect peace, being stayed upon Thee. Only assure us that nothing can befall us without thy permission, appointment, and administration; only assure us that Thou hast engaged to make all things work together for our good-only say to our hearts, I will never leave thee nor forsake

O THOU God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; the God of all the righteous, and of all that bunger and thirst after righteousness: blessed are the people that are in such a case, yea happy is the people whose God is the Lord. May we be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of thy promise in Christ by the gospel.

We hope in thy word. There we see Thee, not on a throne of judgment, whose terror would make us afraid, but on a throne of grace, waiting to be gracious, and exalted to have mercy. There we hear Thee saying, not-Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, butLook unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else. They that know thy name will put their trust in Thee, for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee. How many glorified in heaven, and what numbers now living on earth, are thy witnesses, O God, exemplifying in their recovery from the ruins of the fall, the freeness and riches and efficacy of thy grace. All that were ever saved were saved by Thee, and will through eternity exclaim, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. And after all thy communications, Thou art the same Lord over all, and rich unto all, that call upon Thee. Thou hast the same ear to hear, the same heart to pity, the same hand to deliver.

But thou hast chosen to transact all thy concerns with us through a Mediator. In Him it hath pleased Thee that all fulness should dwell. Him Thou hast exalted at thy own right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel and remission of sins.

To Him therefore may we look; on Him may we entirely depend; and in Him with all the seed of Israel may we be justified and glory. May we know how to derive relief from his sufferings, without losing any of our abhorrence of sin or longing after holiness. May we feel the double efficiency of his blood, in tranquillizing our consciences and cleansing them: may we delight in his service as well as his sacrifice; and under the constrainings of a love that passeth knowledge, may we live not to ourselves, but to Him that died for us and rose again.

In all our approaches to Thee, may we have boldness and access, with confidence by the faith of Him. Give us much of the spirit

of grace and of supplication. By a constant | lead us to ask according to thy will, and then readiness for the duty, and a frequent per- we know Thou hearest us. formance of it, may we pray without ceasing; and by guarding against every discouragement, may we pray and not faint.

May we cherish a grateful and cheerful disposition; not murmuring and repining because all our wishes are not indulged, or because some trials are blended with our enjoyments; but sensible of our desert, and impressed with the number and greatness of thy benefits, may we bless the Lord at all times, and may his praise continually be in our mouth. And may our gratitude be real and practical, and increasing with our obligations. Enable us to inquire-Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Enable us to resolve-I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living; enable us to pray-O that my ways were directed to keep thy

statutes.

We commend to thy pity and thy power all those who are any way afflicted in mind, body, or estate. May the young find it good to bear the yoke in their youth; may they that know Thee not, be chosen in the furnace of affliction; and may thy own people find Thee a very present help in trouble. Be favourable to our land. Bless the king as supreme, and all the branches of the royal family. Let those that are at the helm of public affairs be men of understanding, and know what Israel ought to do. May our magistrates be men fearing God and hating covetous ness: make our officers peace, and our exactors righteousness. Let not oppression be ever seen on the side of judgment, nor a perverse spirit be mingled in the midst of the people. Let glory dwell in our land, and upon all the glory may there be a defence. May the grace of, &c. Amen.

TUESDAY EVENING.

O THOU that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come. Lord, teach us to pray. We have reason to fear that the language of our lips and the feelings of our hearts, in our religious exercises have not always agreed. We have frequently taken carelessly upon our tongues a name never pronounced above without the deepest reverence and humility. We have often desired things which would have proved our injury; and we have deprecated things which have proved some of our chief mercies. We have erred, both on the side of our hopes and fears; we are unfit to choose for ourselves; we are convinced that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. We know not what to pray for as we ought-Let thy Spirit help our infirmities; and produce in us those views and dispositions which will

With regard to temporal blessings, may we never be importunate; may we always refer them to thy fatherly goodness; for Thou knowest that we have need of these things before we ask Thee-But may we seek first, in time and attention, thy kingdom and righteousness. May we value things by their relation to eternity. May we never think we prosper, unless our souls prosper; that we are rich, unless we are rich towards God; that we are wise, unless we are made wise unto salvation. May our spiritual and everlasting welfare be our chief solicitude, and may we be conscious to ourselves, that we would rather be poor and afflicted, and despised-if blessed with much of the life of God in our souls, than to be admired by our fellow men, and be successful in our enterprises, and have more than heart can wish-if these things should prove the means of our forgetfulness of God.

Having found this world to be dreams and lies, vanity and vexation of spirit, may we arise and depart from it; may we seek our happiness in thy favour and image and presence and service. And though we are unworthy to be regarded by Thee, especially after we have so often refused Thee, receive us graciously; justify our persons; renovate our nature, and put thy laws into our minds, and write them in our hearts: and be Thou to us a God, and may we be to Thee a people. Endear to us that Saviour whose unexampled love led him to suffer the just for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God. May we never dare to think of coming to Thee in any other way; but may we always have boldness and access with confidence, by the faith of Him: yea may we joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement: and not only so, but may we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.

For blessed be thy name, we live not in a fatherless world; nor are our minutest affairs forgotten before God. The hairs of our head are all numbered. Our losses and trials are not the effects of chance, but events in which thy wisdom and mercy are now concerned and will be hereafter displayed. We know that all things work together for good to them that love Thee; may our character therefore, and not our condition, be the object of our anxiety. May we ascertain that our heart is right with Thee, and be careful for nothing Having given ourselves unto the Lord, may we remember that we have a right from thy holy word to depend upon Thee to provide for us and to manage all our concerns even to the end.

Discharged from the toil and the torment of care, may we feel ourselves at liberty to

enjoy the advantages and comforts of our condition in life, and above all to pursue our work as Christians. May we be attentive to duty; may we inquire how we can best promote the welfare of the human race, and glorify Thee in our body and spirit. May holiness to the Lord be inscribed upon all our time and talents and substance. May the inquiry of our grateful hearts every moment be, What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me?

Thou hast made the outgoings of another morning and evening to rejoice. Thou hast crowned the day with thy goodness. Let the night witness thy care and kindness; and may we enter on another portion of our time, not only under fresh obligations, but with new desires and resolutions to be for ever thine. Our Father, &c. Amen.

WEDNESDAY MORNING.

abandon every other refuge to hide in, and every other foundation to build upon; and make him our only hope and our only confidence. And while we depend on his death, and make mention of his righteousness only, we admire his example, and desire to be conformed to his image. May we put on the Lord Jesus Christ by holy and accurate imitations, and increasingly resemble Him whose life was beneficence, whose soul was meekness and humility, who pleased not himself; and who, of obedience the most trying and difficult, could say, I delight 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 blessing upon our seed, and thy spirit upon our offspring. O THOU Most High! enable us to feel and Let our sons be as plants grown up in their to express becoming regards towards Thee youth, and our daughters as corner stones as the creator of the ends of the earth, the polished after the similitude of a palace. May preserver of men, the governor of the uni- our domestics be the servants of God; may verse, the judge of all, the Saviour of sinners. they do his will from the heart, and be preThy greatness is unsearchable, but thy good-pared for that world where those who serve ness also is infinite. It is because thy compassions fail not that we are not consumed. Thou hast not only prolonged our unworthy lives under numberless provocations, but Thou hast afforded us every needful supply and indulgence. Thy mercies have been new every morning and every moment. Through thy good hand upon us, we have been rescued from the perils of another night; our repose has been unterrified and undisturbed; sleep has refreshed our bodies and renewed our strength; and we find ourselves surrounded at the commencement of another day with all our accustomed privileges.

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.

But O God, we can never be sufficiently thankful, that we have our existence in a Christian country, and where we can hear words by which we may be saved. O how We are now going forth into the concerns important, how suitable, how encouraging of another day. Take us under thy protecare the discoveries, the doctrines, the pro- tion and influence. Guide us in all our steps. mises, the invitations of the gospel of peace! Enable us to realize thy presence and thy We are lost; but here is presented to us a providence. Succeed us in all our lawful free, full, and everlasting salvation. We are endeavours, or prepare us for disappointment, left without strength; but here we learn that and assure us, that we are in the number of help is laid on One that is mighty. We are those to whom all things are working together poor and needy; but here we behold the un- for good; and who will for ever acknowledge searchable riches of Christ. We are blind-Marvellous are thy works, Lord God Aland ignorant; but in him are hid all the trea- mighty; just and true are all thy ways, O sures of wisdom and knowledge. We thank Thou King of saints! Amen. Thee, O God, for thine unspeakable gift, and we cordially accept of thy mercy extended to us through the mediation of thy dear Son. We rejoice that He has been delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification; God over all, blessed for evermore! We and that He is now exalted at thy own right desire to acknowledge thy Being and agency, hand to be a Prince and a Saviour. We to adore thy perfections, and to admire the

WEDNESDAY EVENING,

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 evening to rejoice. To that throne, from which none were ever repulsed or sent empty away, 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 these 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 in our lives, by giving up ourselves to thy service, and walking before Thee in holiness and righteousness all our days.

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 shield. 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.

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 men. Another day has been Yet Thou hast not left us to despair: nor added, by thy good providence, to the season have we a mere peradventure to encourage of thy long-suffering, and the time of our pre-us-who can tell if God will return and reparation for eternity. We lament that the pent, and leave a blessing behind him that design of our being placed and continued we perish not? We have all the assurance here has been so imperfectly subserved, that we could desire, that with the Lord there is in so many things we have offended, and in mercy, and with him plenteous redemption. all come short of the glory of God. If where Conscious of the number and heinousness of much is given, much will be required, and our offences, we could not have approached the servant who knew his Lord's will and did Thee with confidence without a previous it not, shall be beaten with many stripes-O token for good. But Thou hast stretched Lord, if Thou shouldst mark our iniquities, forth the golden sceptre, and said-Touch O Lord, who shall stand? We cannot an- and live: I will be merciful to thy unrightswer Thee for one of a thousand of our trans-eousness, and thy sins and iniquities will I gressions: 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 ingenuously 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.

remember no more. May we encourage ourselves by a sense of thy all-sufficiency, by faith in thy promises, 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 opon and free for all, may we be cleansed from every defilement.

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, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish his work.

thy grace alone can enable us to render. For we know from thy word, and from our own experience we know, that without Thee we can do nothing. All our sufficiency is of thee; do Thou work in us to will and to do of thy good pleasure.

We would call to remembrance our true character and condition before Thee. We would not go about to establish our own righteousness, or seek to deny or extenuate our guilt. We are not only unprofitable servants, but condemned criminals: we confess the number and offensiveness of our transgressions, and acknowledge that we deserve to perish. But we bless Thee for the everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, which the gospel affords; for the news of a Mediator between Thee and us; of a High Priest who has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself; of an Advocate with the Father who ever lives to make intercession for us; and of a Saviour in whom it has pleased Thee that all fulness should dwell.

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 under- Produce in us all the feelings of those who neath us are thine everlasting arms. Crea- are blessed with repentance unto life. Give tures die; friends and relations die. The us that faith by which we can be justified fathers where are they? And the prophets from all things, and have peace with God do they live for ever? But the Lord liveth, through our Lord Jesus Christ. To the and blessed be our rock, and let the God of shadow of the Redeemer's cross may we reour salvation be exalted. treat, and there find security and relief, reMay we never forget that we are mortal-freshment and delight. Assure us of an inourselves. May we never put the evil day terest in thy favour, which is life; and clothe far off. May we frequently and seriously us with thine image, which is the beauty and think of a dying hour: may we faithfully in- dignity of the soul. quire, What will be its issue with regard to us, and what preparation have we 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 say with Paul, Thanks be unto God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Take us this day under thy protection; and make use of us for thy glory. Let thy presence go with us; and do Thou give us rest. Let thy love sweeten our comforts, and thy grace sanctify all our trials. We consecrate ourselves to Thee, body, soul, and spirit. Accept of our persons and services; and enable us to ascribe blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen.

THURSDAY EVENING.

O GOD, all thy works praise Thee, and thy saints bless Thee. By thy mercies we again surround this family altar, and engage in the exercises of devotion. May we be concerned to worship Thee, a holy God, in the beauty of holiness; and to worship Thee, who art a Spirit, in spirit and in truth. Such worship alone thy word requires; but such worship

We bless Thee for thy Word which we have been reading. May it dwell in us richly in all wisdom. May we yield a suitable attention to its various parts. May we make it, not only our song in the house of our pilgrimage, but the man of our counsel, a light unto our feet, and a lamp unto our paths. May we take it along with us into all the concerns of life; and whether we are rich or poor, whether we are parents or children, whether we are appointed to govern or serve, may we walk by this rule, that mercy and peace may be upon us.

May we ever be willing that the Lord should choose our inheritance for us, and readily and piously accommodate ourselves to the dispensations of thy providence. May we never lean to our own understanding. May we never take a step without asking counsel of the Lord, nor be unwilling to take one at the intimation of thy pleasure. May we never think that Thou art less wise and righteous and good in a cloudy and dark day, than in a shining one; when we cannot trace Thee, may we trust; and walking by faith and not by sight, be fully persuaded that just and right are all thy ways, O thou King of Saints.

Regard those who, under the pressure of affliction, are saying, Brethren, pray for us. Be with them in trouble. Thou knowest the

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