May we yield a suitable attention to its various parts. May we make it, not only our song in the house of our pilgrimage, but the man of our counsel, a light unto our feet, and a lamp unto our paths. May we take it along with us, into all the concerns of life; and whether we are rich or poor, whether we are parents or children, whether we are appointed to govern or serve, may we walk by this rule, that mercy and peace may be upon us.

May we ever be willing that the Lord should choose our inheritance for us, and readily and piously accommodate ourselves to the dispensations of thy providence. May we never lean to our own understanding: may we never take a step, without asking counsel of the Lord, nor be unwilling to take one, at the intimation of thy pleasure. May we never think that thou art less wise, and righteous, and good, in a cloudy and dark day, than in a shining one; when we cannot trace thee, may we trust; and walking by faith, and not by sight, be fully persuaded, that just and right are all thy ways, O thou King of saints.

Regard those, who, under the pressure of affliction, are saying, Brethren pray for us. Be with them in trouble. Thou knowest the anxieties of thy people, lest by any of their temper or carriage in the evil day, they should injure the religion they profess: let thy grace be sufficient for them: let faith and patience have their perfect work: let them glorify thee in all their trials.

Bless all in authority over us, and so rule their hearts and strengthen their hands, that they may punish wickedness and vice, and maintain true religion and virtue.

May all those who are placed above others in condition, go before them in the profession of truth and the practice of holiness, and be examples to all inferior ranks in society.

*We now commit ourselves to thy merciful protection for this night. May we lie down to rest at peace with thee, and with all the world. Forgive, we humbly pray thee, all the sins we may have committed this day. Whatever we have done or said amiss, do thou pardon. If in our intercourse with our friends or foes we have manifested a spirit unlike that of thy dear

Son, do thou be graciously pleased to forgive it. If we have neglected our duty to the poor, or the needy; if we have failed in setting a holy example before each other; if we have had improper feelings towards thee, or our fellow men, we pray thee to forgive us. Sprinkle upon us that blood which cleanseth from all sin; and take us into thy holy care and keeping. Let no plague come nigh our dwelling. Preserve us from sickness and sudden death; from alarm, and from the devouring element; from the pestilence that walketh in darkness, as thou hast done from the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. And raise us in the morning, fitted for all the duties and events of another day. These mercies, and whatever else we need, we humbly ask in the name of thy dear Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ; to whom, with thee, and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and praise, both now and for ever. Amen.*

FRIDAY MORNING.

Jay.

OUR voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord: in the morning will we direct our prayer unto thee, O thou Most High! How does it become us to be thankful! Many, during the past night, have had no place where to lay their head. Many, the victims of disease, have been full of tossing to and fro, until the dawning of the day; so that their bed has not comforted them, nor their couch eased their complaint. Many have been deprived of rest while watching over their connexions in pain and sorrow. How many have slept the sleep of death, and will not wake till the heavens are no more! Others, whose lives are prolonged, have risen to be surrounded with want and wo: and thousands, who have all things richly to enjoy, have risen to enjoy another day without God in the world.

And why is not this the case with us? Thou, O God, hast remembered, and distinguished, and indulged us. Bless the Lord, O our souls, and all that is within us bless his holy name. O magnify the Lord, and let us exalt his name together.

And thy mercies have been new every morning, yea, every moment. All our desires have not been gratified;

others as poor and destitute, as sinful and guilty, as we are: and to remember that thy hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor thy ear heavy that it cannot hear.

Behold a company of guilty suppliants at thy footstool. O, thou God of all grace, work thou in us to will and to do of thy good pleasure; and vile as we are in ourselves, make us an eternal excellency, the joy of many generations. Our understandings are darkened. Our hearts are hearts of stone. Our very conscience also is defiled. Our affections are earthly and sensual. Open thou the eyes of our understanding. Give us hearts of flesh. Purify our consciences from dead works to serve the living God. Set our affections on things that are above: and as he who has called us is holy, so may we also be holy in all manner of conversation and godliness.

Deliver us from the bondage of corruption, and bring us into the glorious liberty of thy children: that being made free from sin, and become servants unto God, we may have our fruit unto holiness, and our end everlasting life.

Preserve us from all self-delusion, especially where our souls are concerned. May we never be flattered by the good opinion of our fellow-creatures, against the convictions of our own consciences; but remember, that if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things. May we never substi tute mere opinions, and outward forms and ceremonies, in the room of that grace, which renews the soul and sanctifies the life. Ever keep alive in our minds the belief, that in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature: and in the examinations of our religious state and character, may we look after that kingdom, which is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Inspire us with a well-grounded hope of being, one day, presented before the presence of thy glory; when we shall see thee without obscurity, approach thee without sin, serve thee without imperfection, and enjoy thee without sorrow. How remote now do we often feel from this exalted state? And how improbable does

it frequently seem that we should ever attain it? We have never yet been better than a bruised reed, and a smoking flax: and thy patience alone could have borne with our imperfections and perverseness. Yet we trust the root of the matter is found in us; and we bless thee, if thy grace-by which alone we are what we are, has caused us to loathe sin, and abhor ourselves, and to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and to place our happiness in serving and enjoying thee.

And we pray, that our path may be as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Complete that which is lacking in our faith. Lead us into all truth; and establish our hearts with grace. Fill our minds with the sublime and elevating objects of revelation, that worldly things may find there no room: and keep near us, all the affecting and awful motives of the gospel, that we may not be able to sin,-the view of thine all-seeing eye, a burning world, a judgment to come, and the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And the Lord make us, also, to increase and abound in love, one towards another, and towards all men. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from us, with all malice; and may we be kind, one towards another, tender hearted; forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven us.

Prepare us for all the duties and trials that lie before us. We bless thee for thy promises, which provide against every want we feel; and for every condition in which we can be found. In God will we praise his word. In God have we put our trust. We will not fear what flesh can do unto us. Thou tellest our wanderings. Put thou our tears into thy bottle. Are they not in thy book?

We commend ourselves with all our relations and friends, this evening, to thy forgiving mercy, and providential care. O Thou, that givest thy beloved sleep, indulge us with refreshing repose; or if thou holdest our eyes waking in the night, may thy song be with us, and our prayer unto the God of our life. Guide us by thy counsel, through life, and afterward receive us to glory.

H