Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him, all creatures here below!
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host!

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High: to shew forth Thy loving kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night.". Ps. xcii. 1, 2.

LORD, the shades of night surround us,

Homeward come Thy wandering sheep,

Throw thy sheltering arms around us,
Safe from every danger keep:

Poor and needy,

Oh, protect us while we sleep!

Praise we bring for every blessing
O'er us, like the dew-drops, shed;
May we, Thy rich grace possessing,
Rest in peace the weary head:
Holy angels,

Fold your pinions round our bed.

When this day of life is ended,
When its hopes and fears are o'er,
By a Saviour's love befriended,
Guide us to the heavenly shore:
Oh, receive us,

Where the light shall fade no more!

"Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still."- Ps. iv. 4.

'TIS Nature's time for prayer :

The silent praises of the glorious sky,

And the earth's orisons profound and high,
To heaven their breathings bear.

Softly the moonbeams shine

On the still branches of the shadowy trees,

While all sweet sounds of evening on the breeze Steal through the slumbering vine.

Father, my soul would be

Pure as the drops of eve's unsullied dew;
And as the stars, whose nightly course is true,
So would I be to Thee.

"The Lord God is a sun and shield." - Ps. lxxxiv. 11.

F Thou, Lord, art my shield and sun,
The night is no darkness to me;

And fast as my moments roll on,
They bring me but nearer to Thee.

A sovereign Protector I have,
Unseen, yet for ever at hand;
Unchangeably faithful to save,
Almighty to rule and command.

From evil secure, and its dread,
I rest, if my Saviour be nigh;
And songs his kind presence, indeed,
Shall in the night season supply.

His smiles and his comforts abound,
His grace as the dew shall descend;
And walls of salvation surround
The soul He delights to defend.

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day-dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts." - 2 PETER i. 12.

HE star that heralds in the morn

THE

Is fading in the skies;

The darkness melts: O Thou true Light!
Upon our souls arise.

Steep all our senses in Thy beam,
The world's false light expel;
Purge each defilement from the soul,
And in our bosoms dwell.

Come, early Faith! fix in our hearts

Thy root immovably;

Come, smiling Hope! and last, not least,
Immortal Charity!

THOU who dost never slumber nor sleep, whose vigilance is eternal! grant me Thy care and Thy love during the silent watches of this night. Filled with heavenly contemplations, may my

moments of watching be pleasant. Blessed with Thy divine presence and favor, may my sleep be refreshing, and may my very dreams bring me "nearer, my God, to Thee." Amen.

BLESSED God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest! take us into Thy gracious keeping for this night, and make us mindful of that night when the noise of this busy world shall be heard by us no more. O Lord, in whom we trust! preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which Thou hast manifested unto us in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Grant that we may so live, that at last, as now, our evening song may be: I will lay me down in peace and sleep; for Thou, Lord, makest me dwell in safety. Amen.

OUR Father, &c.

T