So shall I rest in perfect peace,

From every anxious thought made free :
No evil has the soul to fear,

That puts its trust, O God, in Thee.

[EAR me when I call, O God of my

HEAR

righteousness: Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for Thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High:

To show forth Thy loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night. Let my prayer come before Thee : incline Thine ear unto my cry.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer.

Make a hedge about us and about our house, and around all that we have round about. Let the angel of God encamp round about us to deliver us; that we may lie down, and none may make us afraid. So shall our sleep be sweet to us.

"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice."- Ps. lv. 17.

SAVIOUR, let the evening hours

Dear to us, Thy children, be;

With clasped hands, as folded flowers,
Praying earnestly to Thee,

Let our vesper worship rise,

Incense-like, before Thine eyes : -

Then when that dark even tide
Closes in our life's long day,
And, like some steep mountain side,
Frowns the last and lonesome way,

Bright to us that path shall be,

Found alone, O Lord, with Thee.

"He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him."-DAN. ii. 22.

THE day is past and over,

All thanks, O Lord, to Thee!
I pray Thee now that sinless
The hours of dark may be.
Be Thou my soul's Preserver,
O God! for Thou dost know
How many are the perils

Through which I have to go:
O Jesu keep me in Thy sight,

And save me through the coming night.

"The darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee."- Ps. cxxxix. 12.

HEAR my prayer, O Heavenly Father,

Ere I lay me down to sleep:

Bid the Angels, pure and holy,
Round my bed their vigils keep.
Pardon all my past transgressions,

Give me strength for days to come:
Guide and guard me with Thy blessing,
Till Thine angels bid me home.

66

My sleep was sweet unto me."— JER. XXXI. 26.

N darkness let me strength regain

IN

To serve Thee, Lord, in light;

And may the day's best thoughts retain
Sweet influence on the night.

"Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."― LUKE Xxiv. 29.

UN of my soul, Thou Saviour dear,

SUN

It is not night if Thou be near:
Oh, may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes.

When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My wearied eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
For ever on my Saviour's breast.

Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.

If some poor wandering child of Thine
Have spurned to-day the voice divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin :
Let him no more lie down in sin.

Watch by the sick; enrich the poor
With blessings from Thy boundless store;
Be every mourner's sleep to-night,
Like infant's slumbers, pure and light.

Come near and bless us when we wake,
Ere through the world our way we take;
Till in the ocean of Thy love

We lose ourselves in Heaven above.

"The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him. AL his saints are in Thy hand." - DEUT. xxxiii. 12, 3.

UNDER Thy wings, my God, I rest!

Under Thy shadow safely lie,

By Thine own strength in peace possessed,
While dreaded evils pass me by!

My place of lowly service, too,

Beneath Thy sheltering wings I see;

For all the work I have to do,

Is done through strengthening rest in Thee.