Produce in us that brokenness of heart, and that self-despair, which will render the faithful saying worthy of all acceptation; and make the Saviour precious to us as He is to all them that believe. May He be delightful to us in all his offices; may we love Him in his commands, as well as in his promises; may we wear his yoke and carry his burden; and find his yoke easy and his burden light. Make us in our views, principles, and dispositions, new creatures; may we shine in all the beauties of holiness; and reflect the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light. Explain to us thy secret which is with them that fear Thee; and show us thy covenant in its provisions and stability; and in every distress may this be all our salvation and all our de sire. With affections weaned from the world, and with evidences bright for heaven, all the days of our appointed time may we wait till our change comes: may we die supported by the consolations of the gospel, and surrounded with the glory of God; and have an entrance ministered unto us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour. Prepare us for our passage as well as for our end. While we are here may we fulfil the duties, and bear with firmness the trials of our respective stations; may we glorify our Father who is in heaven, and serve our generation according to his will. Continue thy goodness to us as a family. Remember our absent friends. Let thy ministers enjoy thy presence, and thy churches be filled with thy glory. Let the British empire be under thy care, and ever prove the seat of learning and science; of civil and religious freedom; of social blessedness; and of gospel privileges; and be the source of usefulness to the ends of the earth. May princes come out of Egypt. May Ethiopia stretch forth her hands unto God. And may all nations whom Thou hast made come and worship before Thee. For thine, O God, is the power; and thine shall be the glory, through our Lord and Saviour. Amen. TUESDAY MORNING. O LORD GOD of hosts, hear our prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob: behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine Anointed. It is in his dear and all-prevailing name we come. We have nothing of our own to plead; no works, no worthiness, no promises. We have all like sheep gone astray. We have been transgressors from the womb. We have knowingly opposed thine authority, and abused thy goodness. We have been un grateful under thy indulgences, incorrigible under thy rebukes, and have improved none of our religious advantages. We stand before Thee in our trespass, and are condemned by our own consciences as well as by thy word. Yet in the way of thine appointment Thou art waiting to be gracious, and hast said, that whatsoever we ask, believing in his name, we shall receive. Through Him display thyself in our experience, as a God pardoning and subduing iniquity. Justify us freely from all things; and sanctify us wholly, body, soul, and spirit. May we be thy workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, and prepared unto every good work. We groan within ourselves, longing not only for deliverance from the wrath to come, but from the sin that dwelleth in us; and praying not only for an interest in thy favour, but a participation of thy image. If thou hast begun the good work in us, carry it on unto the perfect day. Assure us of present assistance and final success, whatever difficulties or oppositions we meet with; that we may go on our way rejoicing, and be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. If we feel little-and O how little do we feel!of the joys of thy salvation, uphold us by thy free spirit; and enable us to persevere in the path of obedience, and in the use of the means which Thou hast appointed, assured that none of those shall be ever ashamed that wait for Thee. And should we walk in darkness and have no light, may we trust in the Lord and stay upon our God-Yet suffer us to implore that Thou wilt make Thy face to shine upon us, and give us the full assurance of hope-which hope may we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast in all the storms of life. We bless Thee for all that is past. Unless the Lord had been our help, our souls had almost dwelt in silence; but when we said, My feet slipped, thy mercy, O Lord, held us up. But we are still in the body and in the wilderness. We need thine aid as much as ever. We have a growing sense of our ignorance, weakness, and danger. Withdraw not thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from us. Whether we are called to do thy will or to bear it, may we feel that our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. If our course conducts us through rough and trying scenes, say to us, Thy shoes shall be iron and brass, and as thy days so shall thy strength be. In view of our encounter with our spiritual foes, clothe us Iwith the whole armour of God; teach our hands to war, and our fingers to fight; and in the midst of the conflict tell our hearts that we shall be more than conquerors through him that loved us. And may we be concerned that the blessings we ask for ourselves may be imparted to others. Teach us to love our neighbour as ourselves; and may we often examine our | be seen in our future alarm and endeavours, conditions in life, our offices, our talents, and our opportunities, to see how we may be serviceable in our day and generation. Comfort those that mourn in Zion. Let all the afflicted find Thee a very present and an all-sufficient help in the day of trouble. Provide for the poor and needy. Guide those that need instruction; and may integrity and uprightness preserve them while they wait upon Thee. Sanctify and continue to us, and to our latest posterity after us, all our national blessings, civil and religious; and may our country, by its institutions, character, and usefulness, continue to be a praise in the whole earth. These are great blessings for such sinful creatures as we are to ask; but Thou hast given us a Name to plead which is above every name. Behold not our guilt, but that blood which cleanseth from all sin; not our unworthiness, but that righteousness with which Thou art well pleased. And accept us in the beloved. Our Father, &c. Amen. TUESDAY EVENING. O GOD, we are Thine, and Thee we are bound to worship. We grieve to think how many there are who cast off fear, and restrain prayer before Thee. But whatever be the determination of others, our purpose by thy grace is taken; and as for us and our house, we will serve the Lord. We would not live a day or an hour without Thee in the world, careless of thy favour or regardless of thy glory. Impress us individually and deeply with a sense of thine omniscience; that Thou art about our path and our lying down, and acquainted with all our ways. Especially may we feel it when we enter thy more immediate presence, and engage in the exercises of devotion. Then may we remember that thine eyes are upon us; that thou requirest truth in the inward part; and that nothing can screen even our motives and principles from thy penetration. Too little we acknowledge has this been our experience in former engagements; we have often been careless, where we should have been full of reverence: we have been strangers to the powers of godliness, while familiar with its forms. Thou hast been nigh in our mouths, but far from our reins. Much of our guilt has originated from our religious means and privileges; from the low estimation in which we have holden them, the slight improvements we have made of them, the little they have contributed to our growth in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. Over all this may we sorrow after a godly sort; and may the sincerity of our repentance and especially in our self-renunciation and dependence upon another-for when we are weak, then and then alone we are strong. May we every moment feel how necessary it is to be more intimate with Him who came, not only that we might have life, but that we might have it more abundantly; whose grace is sufficient for us; whose Spirit helps our infirmities, and can strengthen in us the things that remain, that are ready to die. We bless Thee for an advocate with the Father, for a propitiation of infinite value; for a fulness that filleth all in all. In Him believing may we rejoice with joy unspeak able and full of glory. And may we know how to obtain relief for a guilty conscience, without feeling reconciled to our imperfections. May we abhor the thought of turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, or sinning that grace may abound. Because we are not under the law but under grace, may we reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord-by thy mercies presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, and asking, What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? Through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, may our affections be set on things that are above; and may this be the growing desire of our souls; O that my feet were directed to keep thy precepts! We would not seek great things for ourselves, but be content with such things as we have. Deliver us, O Lord, from the love of money which is the root of all evil. May we value our substance, not as the medium of pride and luxury, but as affording us the means of support and usefulness; and may we guide our affairs with discretion, that we may owe no man any thing, and be able to give to him that needeth. Establish in us the royal law: may we love our neighbour as ourselves; and feel it not only our duty but our pleasure, as we have opportunity, to do good unto all men, especially unto them that are of the household of faith. Bless all the churches of the faithful. Thou hast given them rest; may they walk in the fear of the Lord, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and be edified and multiplied. Display thy power and thy glory in the sanctuary. Be with thy servants who show unto men the way of salvation. Make them wise to win souls: may they speak the things only that become sound doctrine; may they never expect success as the result of their eloquence and reasonings, but from the excellency of the power that is of God. Let the king live before Thee; and our highly favoured country be safe and flourishing under the shadow of the Almighty. Regard our friends and relations. Those that are absent from us, we commend to the care and direction of an ever-present God. | thy name. They are happy now, and are inLet those that know Thee not be made wise viting and encouraging us to taste and see unto salvation: let not those who are endear- that the Lord is good. May a vital union be ed by so many ties, be separated from us for immediately established between Him and us ever-How can we endure to see the des--He the head, and we the members; He the truction of our kindred? vine, and we the branches; He the shepherd, and we the sheep of his pasture; He the chief corner-stone, and we also as lively stones built up a spiritual house, an habitation of God through the spirit. Keep us in all places and circumstances. Hide us this night in the secret of thy pavilion, and in the morning encompass us with songs of deliverance. And now, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things; and blessed be his glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen. WEDNESDAY MORNING. O THOU that hearest prayer, and inhabitest the praises of Israel! with Moses and Aaron among thy priests, and Samuel among them that call upon thy name, we would this morning exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool, for He is holy. We thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for all thy inexpressible and inconceivable goodness to the children of men, of which our own history and experience afford such numberless proofs. In thy works of creation we read thy name the Lord God Almighty; in the dispensations of thy providence we acknowledge Thee as the only wise God; but in the gospel of thy grace we behold Thee as the God of love, and so loving the world as to give thine only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. In Him Thou hast provided for our deliverance from all the effects of sin; for the justification of our persons, the sanctification of our natures, and our perseverance in the path of life, till we receive the end of our faith-the salvation of our souls. Let us not walk as other gentiles, in the vanity of our minds, and having our understandings darkened; but may we estimate things according to the testimony of thy word, and feel a persuasion that to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, is a concern in comparison with which every other interest is a shadow and a dream. And O Lord save us from presumption. Keep us from suspending our attention to the things of eternity on a more convenient season, or any future period which may never arrive; but reflecting upon the shortness and uncertainties of life, and knowing how frail we are, may we seek the Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near. May we immediately begin to live the life of the righteous, that we may die the death of the righteous, and that our last end may be like his. And O save us from the delusion of those who go far, but not far enough in religion; who are convinced but not converted; who have another heart, but not a new one; and who with all their light and zeal and confidence, have not the spirit of Christ, and therefore are none of his. May we judge of our Christianity not only by our dependence upon Christ, but our love to Christ, and by our conformity to Christ. May we know that He dwelleth in us and we in Him, because He hath given us of his Spirit. Let our religion not only be real but proWe bless Thee, that exposed as we are to gressive; let us not only hold on our way, but the terrors of thy law which we have so often wax stronger and stronger. May we live transgressed, here we have a refuge from the and may we walk in the Spirit. May we storm; and learn that there is no condemna-profit by every correction, and be injured by tion to them that are in Christ Jesus. We no indulgence. bless Thee, that while we are compelled to exclaim, Unclean, unclean! here is an open fountain, the efficacy of which-for it has often been tried-cleanseth from all sin. We bless Thee, that while in us dwelleth no good thing, and all creatures are cells of emptiness, there is a fulness accessible to all, and incapable of reduction, from which we can receive and grace for grace. O Lord, we ask not for worldly riches or honours, but pray that we may be blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. We envy not those whom the multitude admire; they will soon be cut down as the grass, and wither as the green herb; but look Thou upon us, and be merciful to us, as Thou usest to do unto those that fear Accept of our personal and combined acknowledgments, that Thou hast been our salvation in the night watches; and that we are not only the living to praise Thee this morning, but have all things richly to enjoy. Bless the word which we have been reading. Let not the cares of this life, or the deceitfulness of sin render it unfruitful. May thy word abide in us and operate. May it attend us in all the businesses of the day, that we may not sin against Thee; and that whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we may do all to the glory of God To whom be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. WEDNESDAY EVENING. O THOU that inhabitest eternity, and with whom a thousand years are as one day. If we were angels we should veil our faces as we approach Thee, and exclaim, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. With what emotions then should we enter thy presence, who are but sinful dust and ashes! Give us grace whereby we may serve Thee acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. May we always combine thy majesty with thy mercy, that we may not trifle before Thee, or incur the reproach of the hypocrite and the formalist, who draw nigh unto Thee with their mouth, and honour Thee with their lips, while their heart is far from Thee. And may we always connect thy goodness with thy greatness, that we may draw near in full assurance of faith. May our consciences at this moment believe that Thou art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon Thee. And do Thou have mercy upon us, O God, according to thy lovingkindness, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. Thou art under no obligation to save us! we lie as guilty at thy sovereign disposal. Thou hast a right to exercise thy mercy in thine own way; and Thou hast sent thine own Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Thou hast made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. We bow, O God, to thine appointment; and gratefully comply with thy command, for this is thy commandment, that we believe on the name of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. We would flee to no other refuge; we would wash in no other fountain; we would build on no other foundation; we would receive from no other fulness. May the life that we henceforth shall live in the flesh, be by the faith of Him who loved us and gave himself for us. In his name may we rejoice all the day, and in his righteousness may we be exalted. May we feel a growing conformity to the image of thy Son, and like Him, learn obedience to the things we suffer. May the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus make us free from the law of sin and death. O how great is the goodness which in thy promises and in thy kingdom Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee!-Number us with them; and enable us to say, Thou hast given me the heritage of them that fear thy name. This assurance, O God, we want, to animate us in duty; to support us under our trials; and to raise us above the fear of death and the dread of eternity. For we know that we are not to live here always, nor to live here long. Dangers surround us; within us are sown the seeds of disease; our breath is in our nostrils; and there is but a step How soon is another day gone! and how solemnly does it between us and the grave. remind us, That all our days are as a shadow! Great God, so teach us to number wisdom. Amidst all the uncertainties of time, our days, that we may apply our hearts unto may we know in ourselves that in heaven we have a better and an enduring substance; and when the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolving, may we see prepared to receive us a building of God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. We feel our weakness and our wants. We depend on all the elements for our subsistence, and there is no creature but can be our help or our hurt. We need day by day our supplies of food. We labour for a few hours, and we feel ourselves exhausted, and require weary nature's sweet restorer balmy sleep. We would not say to Him that made Thee for a season of repose and refreshment; us, Why hast thou made me thus ? but bless for the promise we have that when we lie down, Thou wilt make us to dwell in safety; and for a state where we shall feel no languor and need no rest; where there shall be no night, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them Receive and bless us in the name and for light, and they shall reign for ever and ever. the sake of our adorable Redeemer. Amen. THURSDAY MORNING. O THOU, who wast, and art, and art to come, the Almighty. Thou art the creator In all our dealings with our fellow-crea- of all the ends of the earth. Thou art our tures, may we do justly; in all cases requir-maker, and not only the framer of our bodies, ing relief and compassion, may we show that we love mercy; and with regard to all the dispensations of thy providence and grace, may we walk humbly with our God. May we be strong and of good courage to to follow our convictions, regardless of the opinions of others, and obey God rather than man. Having obtained the knowledge of thy will from thy word, may we go forth and be steadfast, unmoveable, always abound but the former of our souls. For there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding. May we remember that Thou madest us upright, but that we have sought out many inventions. Let us not forget what we are, what we deserve, and what we want in our present state. Nor let us be ignorant of the provisions of thy mercy and grace; nor of Him in whom it hath pleased Thee that all fulness should dwell. In all our outward troubles, and in all our spiritual distress, He is the hope and the consolation of Israel. May we receive the record, that Thou hast given to us eternal life, and that this life is in thy Son. To Him may we always look for relief, and to Him only; persuaded that there is none other name given under heaven among men, whereby we must be saved. We know from thy word, that he came by water and by blood; as these were not served in their effusion from the cross, may they never be separated in our creed and our experience. May we be equally convinced of the guilt and the pollution of sin; may we alike feel our need of the Prince and the Saviour, and implore of Him repentance as well as forgiveness. May we love holiness and be pure in heart. O that our feet were directed to keep thy statutes! O that we had the same mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus, and were enabled to tread in his steps, who has gone before us in every path of duty and trial! As long as we are in the world, keep us from the evil; and may we be always alive and awake to discharge every obligation resulting from our condition in life and the particular events of thy providence. We would not be at our own disposal, but rejoice to think we are under the care of one who is too wise to err, and too kind to injure. However ignorant of the future, we will trust and not be afraid; and begin even in this vale of tears, the song we hope for ever to sing-Marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are all thy ways, O Thou King of saints. Thou hast been pleased again to renew our time and our strength and our comforts, help us to renew our purposes and resolutions to obey and serve Thee. In all our ways may we this day acknowledge Thee, and do Thou direct our paths. Let thy presence go with us, and thy free spirit uphold us. May we scandalize none by our temper or conduct, but recommend and endear the religion we profess to all around us. May we decline no opportunity of usefulness that our circumstances may present. May we not withhold good from him to whom it is due, when it is in the power of our hand to do it. May we dread the sentence, Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself and not be heard. May we therefore be merciful, ready to communicate, feeling the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who when rich for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. Let those who are advanced in years be anxious to bring forth fruit in old age. Let those who are in the midst of life abide with God in their calling; and while they are not slothful in business, may they be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. And O preserve the young from the snares and temptations of youth. May they be sober-minded. If sinners entice them, let them not consent. With the infidel and the vicious, and the despiser of the sabbath, may they not go, lest they learn of their ways, and get a snare to their souls. Let them say, I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, and choose that good part which shall not be taken away from them. Bless us as a nation, in our sovereign, senators, and magistrates; in all the dependencies and interests of the country; in all its civil and sacred institutions. Let glory dwell in our land, and upon all the glory may there be a defence. We rejoice that Thou wilt have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth; and that Jesus Christ gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. Call in the Jews with the fulness of the Gentiles. Say to the north, give up, and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Bless all those who by their exertions and sacrifices are proving the sincerity of their prayers for the spread of the Redemer's cause; and let many run to and fro, and knowledge be increased, till all shall know Thee, from the least even to the greatest. Our Father, &c. Amen. THURSDAY EVENING. GIVE ear to our words, O Lord; consider our meditation; and enable us to approach Thee with becoming conceptions of thy nature, relations, and designs. Thou inhabitest eternity; but our age is as nothing before Thee. Thou dwellest in the heaven of heavens, and this cannot contain Thee; but we dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust. Thy power is almighty; but we are crushed before the moth. Thy understanding is infinite, but we know nothing as we ought to know. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon iniquity; but we are vile-What shall we answer Thee? We cannot answer Thee for one of a thousand of our iniquities; and had we listened to the language of our guilty consciences alone, we could not have entered thy sacred presence. But Thou hast called us to thy footstool; Thou hast shown us a new and living way into the holiest by the blood of Jesus; and we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him. We therefore draw nigh in full assurance of faith, believing that we are as welcome as we are unworthy, and that the blessings we are come to implore are as free as they are great and numberless. O re |