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us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad in thee all our days. May we henceforth redeem the time, and in the midst of evil days busily occupy with our talents till the Lord come.

O gracious and merciful Father, we acknowledge thy kind providence which has been constantly at work all through our past lives to bring about those exact circumstances by which we are now encompassed, with lessons of humbling experience and with blessings and mercies on every side. May we then have more confidence in thee for the coming year, and more warm-hearted, fervent and supreme love to thee. We cannot indeed tell what a year or what a day may bring forth; but thou our best friend, our God and our Father, knowest all from the beginning to the end. O may we then have perfect peace and repose in thy care and love.

And may thy Spirit inspire in us holy resolutions and firm purposes of walking in newness of life. Revive thy work in the midst of the days in our hearts, in our church, in our country, and in all the churches of Christ. As we approach nearer the day of Christ, may thy people be more and more longing and prepared for his appearance. Every where may this solemn season speak with a powerful and quickening voice to all men, and rouse the careless and awaken the slumbering, and lead us all to Jesus, our only and complete Saviour, 'for fresh life and strength in thy ways. Hear us, for his name's sake.

Occasional Seasons.

CXXXI.

PRAYER BEFORE BAPTISM OF A CHILD.

O Lord, our God and Saviour, to whom all power in heaven and earth is given, who didst command thy apostles to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, according to the direction of thy word and thine own gracious invitation, to suffer little children to come unto thee, for of such is the kingdom of heaven-we would bring our child to thy holy baptism. O Lord, give thou thy blessing with the means of thine own appointment. Baptize our child with the Holy Ghost. Give both the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. May we have the full comfort of knowing that our child is holy and dedicated to thee, and give us grace to bring up this child as the Lord's, and in thy nurture and admonition.

We farther beseech thee to make this a time of

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spiritual blessing to our whole household. Let all be now reminded of their baptismal vows, and may each member of our family be brought into the mystical body of thy church, that the name, which was named upon us in our baptism, may be no mere outward form, but a reality felt and enjoyed in our souls. May the name of the Father be to us a seal of adoption, the name of the Son a seal of his living image in our hearts,-the name of the Holy Ghost a seal of his indwelling grace and power, and may we ever be living in the hope of thy glory. Hear us, for our Redeemer's sake. Amen.

CXXXII.

PRAYER AFTER BAPTISM.

Thanks be unto thee, O our Father, for the many precious promises thou hast given in thy word, to those that are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and admitted by covenant into thy church. May we rely upon thy faithfulness; and in dependence upon thy loving-kindness, bring up, in our family, this child now baptized in thy name, for thee in every thing. May we believe thy precious promises to us and to our children. May we view this child as a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, and as such may we train up our child day by day, in faith and prayer, in the way in which [he] should go, in full assurance that when [he] is old, [he] will not depart from it.

O strengthen our resolutions, and give us thy grace to carry them patiently and steadily into effect, not spoiling our children by over-indulgence, not giving way to unholy tempers with them; not misleading them by a bad example; but daily teaching them thy truths, leading them on in the ways of Christ, restraining and checking all that is wrong, and encouraging every thing that is good. Give thy full blessing to our efforts, that there may not only be in this child another member added to our family, but another member trained up in the household of faith, for a heavenly and eternal home, through Jesus our Redeemer.

CXXXIII.

BEFORE CONFIRMATION.

We especially commend unto thee those young persons connected with our family and our neighbourhood, who are now about to be confirmed. O Lord, give them thy Holy Spirit abundantly; make them thoughtful, serious and earnest, in renewing their solemn baptismal promise and vow. May they be truly upright and sincere before thee. May it be a time to be much remembered for thy grace imparted to them; giving them firm decision in thy ways and entire yielding up of themselves to thy service; so that hereafter they may never fall back, or be ashamed to confess thy name. Through Jesus our Redeemer.

CXXXIV.

AFTER CONFIRMATION.

We bless thee, O our God, for the grace given to those young persons connected with us and our neighbourhood, who have been confirmed. O put thy fear into their hearts, that they may never depart from thee. May they, with full purpose of heart, cleave unto thee, O Lord, and do thou thyself keep them by thy power, through faith, unto the salvation, ready to be revealed. O our God, may they cleanse their way amidst the many temptations which will try them, by taking heed to thy word. Remembering that thy vows are now upon them, may they take heed to perform them, and may they be strong in thy strength and more than conquerors through him that loved us. Hear us, for our Redeemer's sake.

CXXXV.

BEFORE COMMUNION.

(On any day in the week previously.)

O gracious Redeemer, who in thy tender love to us, the same night in which thou wast betrayed, didst take both bread and wine, and give them to thy disciples, as showing thine own body broken for us and thine own biood shed for us, and for many, for the remission of sins, and didst command that this should

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