I was brought low, and He helped me.-Ps. 31: 23. WE E thank Thee, O God, that we can call Thee Father, for no parent ever loves as deeply as Thou. We acknowledge with sorrow that we have grieved Thee time and again, for even when we would do good, evil is present. But, praise God, when we sincerely confess our sins, Thou art faithful to forgive. We thank Thee for the daily blessings of life, seen and unseen. We thank Thee that Thou art mindful of us when we least think, and dost tenderly care for us. We pray Thee to write over the door of our home, "Peace be unto this household." Help us daily to create such an atmosphere in our home as will the better tend to bring all up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Keep us from temptation. Make us happy and blessed Christians, and help us in all we do, think, and say, that we may prove a blessing unto others. When sorrow comes into our lives, may we yet praise God and trust Him. And if we should be imprisoned in grief, may the hand of God open for us the iron gate, as when Peter was liberated. And when our work is finished, take us to Thyself in Heaven, for Jesus' sake. Amen. L. M. ZIMMERMAN, D.D., Let those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee. -Ps. 70: 4. OUR UR FATHER in Heaven: We come to Thee with our deepest gratitude and love. Thou hast been a kind Father and a faithful Friend. We thank Thee for daily provision, for care and guidance and help in business affairs and in our home, for those "common mercies" which come to us so regularly that we get to receiving them thoughtlessly and we forget who gives them to us. Most of all, we thank Thee that Thou dost love us, that Thy pity and compassion are never withheld from us, that this day and every day Thy "goodness flows around our incompleteness, round our restlessness Thy rest." In Thy mercy forgive us. We are so weak and sin so easily that we must daily cast ourselves upon Thy strength and daily renew our prayer for pardon. Make us strong to resist sin and to overcome every temptation. All through this day may we be true to all that is pure and holy and Christ-like. May Thy Kingdom come! Cheer our hearts with new displays of Thy saving power, with signs and wonders as of old time, with new miracles of conversion and sanctification. We long to see Christ recognized and honored by men and by society. Heal our friends who are sick. Comfort all who are in sorrow. Where heavy burdens are to be borne, give the courage and the strength to bear them. And keep us all in the love of Jesus, and in conscious fellowship with Thee. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen. W. I. WISHART, D.D., Pittsburgh, Penna. Whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions. SHE HELTERED as we are in the peace of our own home, we pray to-day for the homeless and the lonely. The wayward souls who have broken away and are wandering restless and unsatisfied, may their hearts be turned again towards their father's house. The children, orphaned and dependent, who miss a mother's comforting touch and her good-night kiss, may they have a compensation in tender friendliness. The men and women in great cities, workers with hand or brain, separated by distance from their families; may they escape or overcome the temptations that surround them. The selfish and the cruel who have wrecked their own and others' happiness; may they be changed to a better mind. For all to whom home is only a dream, or a regret, or to whom it means remorse; we pray, O Thou God of infinite compassion, that to each may come a message from Thy love that shall be an impulse to a new and higher life. It is Thy will that we be carriers of such messages! Then fit us for this service by a broader sympathy and a readier helpfulness. This we ask in the Name of Christ. Amen. REV. A. J. BONSALL, LITT. D., Pittsburgh, Penna. 1 He forgetteth not the cry of the humble.-Ps. 9: 12. OUR Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the watch care that was over us while we slept, and that Thou hast brought us in health and strength to see the light of this new day. But we need Thee more in the daylight than we do at midnight. Open our eyes to the opportunities and privileges of this day. As a servant would come to his master in the early morning to receive directions for the day, so we come to Thee, seeking divine guidance. Strengthen our bodies, clear our heads and warm our hearts, that we may live this day in accordance with Thy Holy Will, and that we may do nothing displeasing in Thy sight. Bless us in our home life, that by precept and example we may lead our children in the good and right way, and help us to make the atmosphere of our households so much like Heaven that it will be the natural thing for them to grow up in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord." Go with us into the larger and outer circles of life's relationships, and everywhere enable us to help and not to hinder. Bless with us all those who cry to Thee for help, and hasten the day when all mankind will join in crowning Christ "Lord of all." We offer our thanksgivings and render our petitions in the Name of Jesus. Amen. FORNEY HUTCHINSON, D.D., Deliver me, for I do not forget Thy law.-Ps. 119: 153. OUR UR Heavenly Father, with gratitude and confidence we bow together before Thee this morning after the rest of the night. We face the day, with its untried experiences, in courage and hope, claiming Thy promise, "I will in no wise fail thee nor forsake thee." We humbly place ourselves at Thy merciful disposal; forgive us, protect us, guide us, use us, and keep us in the thought of Thee all the day. Reveal Thyself to them that are dear to us, and lead them into Thy peace. Those who are in any temptation, deliver; or in any sorrow or affliction, sustain and comfort; supply every need of theirs, according to Thy riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Give our rulers, we beseech Thee, wisdom and power to administer righteous government; save us from the covetous and proud; unite our people in the bonds of love, constraining them to justice, and mercy, and pity, that those who have may help those who have not, that oppression and poverty may cease from among us. And may we as a nation understand and fulfil our mission to the world. Spread abroad everywhere the knowledge of Thy salvation, and bring in speedily the day of Jesus Christ, in Whose Name we ask all. Amen. REV. GEORGE WELLS ELY, Columbia, Penna. |