As thou hast blessed us, then, O our God, grant us also a right use of our blessings. Make us more disposed to do thy will, because thou hast been to us a kind and indulgent parent. May we all be united in the bonds of a purer love to each other, because we have been jointly favoured with thy great loving-kindness. May our charity to all men be increased; and if there be any who have offended us, O help us now, from the heart, not only to forgive them, but to wish them well.

And amidst all our present blessings, help us, O Lord, to keep in mind, that there is nothing permanent beneath the sun; but that thou, who coverest the heavens with alternate sunshine and cloud,-who raisest the billows of the sea, and stillest them again, hast also decreed that the heart of man shall be tried by a succession of prosperous and of adverse events. May we now, therefore, check all unbecoming joy, by remembering that there is a day of sorrow and of darkness yet to arrive. And O help us so to conduct ourselves, that the evil which is to come may not be caused by any undutiful conduct on our part, but that we may ever have the testimony of our own hearts, that in simplicity and

godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world.

Bless to us, we beseech thee, all the ordinances of thy grace; may we delight in thy word and in thy Sabbaths; and may we grow daily in the wisdom that is from above, which is pure, gentle, and peaceable, full of mercy and of good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Bless us, O Lord, in the enjoyment of the temporal goods with which thou hast favoured us. May we eat our bread with cheerfulness, because thou hast accepted our vows; and never, O Lord, never let us darken our spirits, or cause thee to hide thy countenance from us, by a presumptuous indulgence in any kind of sin.

Be very gracious to the young and inexperienced. O imbue them early with thy fear,—take them all their life long into thy gracious keeping,-and endow them with all good and excellent gifts,-with thy favour, and with the love of men,—that at last they may be partakers of the happiness of thy heavenly kingdom.

Bless, also, and guide those whom thy providence has placed in subordinate circumstances. May they

do the work appointed them as to the Lord, and not unto men; and may we all consider ourselves as servants of one Master, who is in heaven, and who will at last reward every man according to his works. And, oh! grant that we may all meet at last in thy presence,—in that blessed land where all the distinctions of this earth shall be done away, and where every man shall find his place according to the purity and charity he has displayed in time.

Bless us with all heavenly and spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus; and may our Sabbath services, whether in thy house of prayer, or in the communion of this our common home, prepare us for doing all duty with more zeal and fidelity during the time that may yet be granted to us.

Heavenly Father, into thy hands we commit our spirits; and to thy blessed name, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be ascribed all glory and honour, dominion and praise, world without end. Amen.

PRAYER

TO BE SAID BY A FAMILY IN DISTRESSED

CIRCUMSTANCES.

JOB ii. 10. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?

O GOD, in whose hands are all the ways of the children of men, we humbly prostrate ourselves at the footstool of thy throne, beseeching thee, with united hearts, to grant us, according to thy promise, mercy to pardon, and grace to help us in time of need.

Behold, O our God, we are greatly afflicted; sorrow hath dried up our spirits, our heads are bowed down to the dust; for thou hast seen fit, in thy wisdom and righteousness, to subject us to trouble, and wearisome days and nights are appointed to us.

In this season of sorrow and of humiliation, it becomes us, O Lord, to review our ways before thee,to search out the secret faults that have caused thee to afflict us, and humbly and penitently to confess all our sins, that thou mayest blot out our iniquities, according to thy gracious promise which thou hast given unto men, in Jesus Christ thy son; in which promise thou permittest and invitest us also to trust.

O Lord, we are verily guilty in thy sight. For we have not acknowledged, as we ought to have done, thy wise and good providence in all the events that have befallen us. We have not been careful to purify our hearts by prayer and supplication. We have not kept thy Sabbaths as we ought to have kept them, nor been duly attentive to thy blessed word. We have cherished guile and enmity in our hearts. We have said, our mountain standeth strong, and we shall never be moved. We have neglected the cry of the destitute, and have turned the needy from our gate. And when we have been injured and calumniated we have not forgiven our enemies, but have secretly wished evil upon them.

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