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the apple of thine eye, and hide us under the shadow of thy wing. Be thou our strength in weakness, and our victory in conflict. We dare not say, we never will deny Thee, but O grant that we never may! Establish our hearts with grace, and deliver our feet from falling; and may we be sincere and without offence until the day of Christ.

unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. May we view holiness as the beauty and the dignity of the soul, and long after greater degrees of conformity to the will and the image of God. May our hope purify us; and our religious comforts stimulate as well as relieve. May we never slumber, and like the pilgrim lose our roll; never sleep, and These are great blessings for us to ask-like Saul be robbed of our spear and our but we are undone for ever without them-cruse. May we watch and pray lest we enand Thou hast encouraged us to hope. We ter into temptation. When we grow indoplead thy command and thy promise-Ask lent and careless, awaken us by lively appreand it shall be given you, seek and ye shall hensions of thy presence, and of the eternal find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.' world, on the borders of which we perpetuNo suppliant, however unworthy or guilty, ally move; may we feel the infinite importwas ever rejected or insulted at thy footstool. ance of improving the few transient periods And we come in the name of Him who made intervening between us and death; may we intercession for the transgressors. Him Thou daily and hourly answer some of the grand hearest always—and to Him, with the Fa- purposes of life and religion. May every ther, and the Holy Spirit, be praises for ever place and every company be the better for us. and ever. Amen. May we diffuse knowledge and happiness by our conversation, example, and influence; and, like our Lord and Saviour, go about doing good.

SATURDAY MORNING.

O GOD, Thou art great, and greatly to be feared. And Thou art also merciful and gracious; long-suffering and abundant in goodness and in truth. May we so feel our sinfulness as to be humbled in the dust before thee, and filled with self-condemnation and self-despair; but let us not shrink back from thy presence, and be afraid to place our faith and hope in the God of love. Help us to remember, that if we have no claim on the footing of desert, we can plead thy promise and invitation; and that if the blessings we want are infinitely great, they are dispensed as gifts whose freeness delights in the unworthiness of the receiver.

We therefore would neither deny nor palliate our guilt. We know there is evil enough in one sin to plunge us into perdition; but our offences are more in number than the sand; and they have been attended with every aggravation, derivable from light and love, means and mercies. Thou hast called, and we have refused; Thou hast stretched out thy hand, and we have not regarded. How often hast Thou wooed and awed, blessed and chastised us-and yet we refused to return! O Lord, pardon our iniquity, for it is great. Let the free gift be of many offences unto justification of life; and where sin has abounded may grace much more abound.

Whatever advantages we possess, may we never forget that this is not our rest. May we arise and depart hence, not by quitting our stations, or undervaluing the duties attached to them, but by rising above the world as our portion, setting our affections on things above, and having our conversation in heaven. Expecting a succession of encounters in passing through an enemy's land, may we take to us the whole armour of God; and looking for thorns and briers in our marchings through a wilderness, may our feet be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Fit us for every changing scene: and in all the events that would alarm or perplex us, may our minds be stayed upon God, and our thoughts be established. May we remember that trials from thy hand are blessings in disguise, and that when they come to be unveiled, and we can view them in their designs and effects, they will draw forth our gratitude and praise. Till we can walk by sight, enable us to walk by faith; and may nothing weaken our persuasion, that all thy ways are mercy and truth to thy people, and that all things work together for good to them that love Thee.

We would not forget those that are in affliction-Do not Thou, O God, forget them. Whatever be their losses or distresses, help them to say, Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. May they know, that thy thoughts towards them are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to And as we cannot serve or enjoy Thee, bring them to an expected end; though it unless our nature be changed as well as our may be by a painful passage. Comfort those state, O save us by the washing of regene- who are on beds of languishing. Enter the ration, and by the renewing of the Holy house of mourning. Be the father of the faGhost. Deliver us from the dominion as well therless, and the husband of the widow, and as the curse of sin; and from the love of it as the friend and helper of the poor and needy well as the dominion. May we reckon our--and have mercy upon all men. selves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive Our Father, &c.

SATURDAY EVENING. O GOD-Thou art glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, continually doing wonders. And it is not one of the least of thy wonderful works that we are yet on this side an awful eternity, and not reaping the due reward of our deeds. We look on each other this evening with astonishment, and exclaim, It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Our whole life has been a scene of provocation against thy divine majesty: and if we, with all our ignorance and selflove, can see so much depravity in ourselves, what must have presented itself to thy view -O Thou, who knowest all things, in whose sight the very heavens are not clean, and who seest more pollution even in our duties than we ever found in our sins! There is no health in us. We have no works or worthiness to excite thy regard; and if ever we are saved, it must be according to thy own purpose and grace, given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

We come to Thee in the dear name of Him who loved us and gave himself for us; who magnified the law and made it honourable; who put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and now ever liveth to make intercession for us. This foundation Thou thyself hast laid in Zion, and thy word assures us, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not be confounded. We hope our dependence upon Him is not a vain reliance, because we love his service as well as his sacrifice, and long to wear his image as well as to be justified by his blood. We hope we are willing to deny ourselves, and take up our cross and follow Him-in the regeneration-and whithersoever he goeth.

O make us partakers of that salvation which is designed to deliver us from our sins, and to bring us into the glorious liberty of the children of God! Put thy laws into our minds, and write them in our hearts. Render our obedience to thy will holily natural and delightful to us. Rectify all our principles, and give us clear, and consistent, and influential views of divine truth. May we never undervalue or neglect any part of thy revealed will; but regard the practice the gospel enjoins, as well as the doctrine it exhibits; prize its commands as well as its promises, and cultivate such a disposition as will render every religious duty a spiritual privilege.

Sanctify us in every relation, office, transaction, and condition in life. Keep us if we prosper, from being exalted above measure, and if exercised with adversity, suffer us not to be swallowed up of over-much sorrow. May divine grace preserve the balance of the mind in all our varying circumstances, and teach us, in whatsoever state we are, not only to be content, but to glorify God, and be an edifying example to those around us.

May we always be principally concerned for soul-prosperity, and be willing to submit to any means however trying, that thy wis dom shall judge necessary to promote and secure it. May we so pass through things temporal as not to miss those that are eternal at last, or to lose sight of them for a moment now. Too long have our feet and our hands been in the mire; O disengage us, purify us, elevate us: our souls cleave unto the dust, quicken Thou us according to thy word. May none of thy mercies be lost upon us; but may they prove the means of exciting our gratitude, warming our devotion, and encouraging our confidence. May none of our trials be unimproved; but may they all embitter sin, wean us from the world, and endear to us the scriptures, the throne of grace, and the sympathy of that Almighty friend who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

Let none of our religious opportunities be unsanctified; may we be thankful for the frequency of their recurrence; may we gladly avail ourselves of them, and instead of resting in the mere outward performance, may we be concerned to worship Thee in spirit and in truth, and to obtain from thy word all the benefits it is intended and adapted to afford.

For this purpose, we implore thy blessing on the solemnities of the Sabbath which is so soon to open upon us. May we in the morning awake with Thee; and begin, go through and end the day, in thy faith, fear and love. May we have satisfactory evidence in our own minds, that we do not wait upon Thee in vain; and may our profiting appear unto

all men.

And thus by all the discipline of thy family, and the ordinances of thy house, may we grow in grace, and in our meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light. And when the Saturday evening of life itself shall arrive, and we are called to retreat from every mortal care, may we close the period of toil and trouble by falling asleep in Jesus-and open our eyes on the rest that remains for the people of God-and enter the temple above to go no more out. And may the grace of, &c. Amen.

SECOND WEEK.

SUNDAY MORNING.

O THOU KING eternal, immortal, invisible, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, and whom no man hath seen or can see. Thou art incomprehensible, and the highest Archangel cannot find Thee out unto perfection. Yet Thou hast been pleased to reveal thyself; and by means of

thy words we behold Thee in every charac-| mised to draw near to those who draw near ter and relation that can suit our necessities, to Thee. We rejoice in another of the days or encourage our hope. Thy throne is in the of the Son of man. May we call off our heavens, and thy kingdom ruleth over all; and minds from the cares of the world, and attend all nations before Thee are as nothing; yet upon the Lord without distraction. Quicken Thou condescendest to regard the things and elevate our souls, that rising above the that are done in the earth, and despisest not formality of devotion, we may come even to the prayer even of the destitute. Thou art thy seat, and enjoy a little of the blessedness exalted above all blessing and praise: our of those that have entered the temple above, goodness extendeth not to Thee-but unless and are singing the song of Moses and the thine be extended to us, we are undone for Lamb. We are going to assemble in the Without Thee we can do nothing; house of prayer-pour upon us the spirit we are nothing. In Thee we live and move of grace and of supplication, and rank us in and have our being. The way of man is not the number of those who hunger and thirst in himself; it is not in man that walketh to after righteousness. We are going to the direct his steps. We are universally in-house of praise-awaken in us every gratedigent and dependent: but as Thou art able, so Thou art willing to take the charge of us; and here we are the living to praise Thee, and to acknowledge that goodness and mercy have followed us all the days of our lives.

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ful and cheerful emotion, and may we speak to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts unto the Lord. We are repairing to the house of instruction-enable us to receive the kingdom of God as a little child. Teach us of thy ways. Lead us into all truth. And let us be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

We bless Thee that Thou hast regarded our souls as well as our bodies, and no less provided for our future interests than our present. When there was no eye to pity us, Thou didst remember us in our low estate; For this purpose, let thy presence go with and when there was no arm to rescue, Thou us; and let thy word come to us, not in word wast pleased to lay help on one that is only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, mighty. Thou hast sent thy own Son into and in much assurance. Bless all the churches the world, not to condemn the world, but of the faithful; and the ministers of the everthat the world through Him might be saved. lasting gospel, of every name, and of every To Him may we turn our believing regards, nation. Clothe thy priests with salvation, and and find in Him the wisdom, righteousness, let thy saints shout aloud for joy. Rememsanctification, and redemption, which as pe- ber our country in all its lawful interests, dorishing sinners we need. In all our ap-mestic and foreign. Bless the king as suproaches to Thee, may we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him. May we know that He has borne our grief and carried our sorrow; and be able to rejoice in him as our sacrifice, our sympathizing friend, our almighty helper, and our lovely example. May we drink into his spirit. May we transcribe the excellencies of his character into our own. May we place our feet in the very prints of his steps, and follow him in the regeneration, till we shall be perfectly like him, and see him as he is.

We desire to acknowledge Thee in the dispensations of thy providence; and to own thy agency in all the events that befall us whether pleasing or painful. Thou hast a right to govern us; and thou knowest what will best advance our welfare. May we commit our way unto the Lord, and be able to say at thy foot-stool in unfeigned submission, Here I am, let Him do what seemeth Him good. If darkness veil thy dealings with us, may we trust and not be afraid; believing that what we know not now we shall know hereafter, and that the developement of thy conduct will issue in perfect satisfaction and praise.

We bless Thee for the institutions of religion, in the use of which Thou hast pro

preme, all subordinate rulers, and all ranks and degrees of men among us. Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children, and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea the work of our hands establish Thou it.

Our Father, &c.

SUNDAY EVENING.

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WHEN We consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained; Lord, what is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him? In thy sight the heavens are not clean; and thou chargest thine angels with folly-With what truth therefore may we, and with what humiliation ought we to exclaim, Behold we are vile!

And yet we believe-help Thou our unbelief that Thou waitest to be gracious unto us, and art exalted to have mercy upon us. And Christ also has once suffered for sins,

the just for the unjust, that He might bring | passed these dark and mournful regions; and us unto God. Through his obedience unto then our sun shall no more go down, nor our death, even the death of the cross, it is honour-moon withdraw herself; for God shall be our able in Thee to save all that come unto everlasting light, and the days of our mournThee by Him; and thou art faithful and just, ing shall be ended. as well as gracious and merciful, in forgiving us our sins, and in cleansing us from all unrighteousness.

And till we arrive at heaven our home, may we gratefully avail ourselves of all the advantages afforded us in our journey. We bless Thee for wilderness privileges; for the manna; the streams of the smitten rock; the fiery cloudy pillar; the tabernacle, and the ark. We bless Thee for the sabbath, the sanctuary, and the ministry of the word. We bless Thee for the opportunities we have this day enjoyed in waiting upon thee. Many who love thy salvation, have passed the sacred hours in solitude. Many have had no means of grace to invite their attendance. And many who have been assembled together have not heard the gospel of the grace of God in truth. O let not our privileges increase our guilt, and aggravate our condemnation,

We bless thy holy name, for a foundation on which the guilty, the depraved, and the helpless can build a hope that maketh not ashamed; for a refuge from the curse of a broken law; for a fountain opened for sin and uncleanness; and for a fulness from which we can receive, and grace for grace. We want to appropriate and realize all the representations given of the Saviour in thy word, and to find him to be in our own experience, what thy people have found him to be in all ages of the world. May our persons and our services be accepted in the Beloved. May we be justified freely by thy grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. May so that it shall be more tolerable for Sodom we be saved by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. We are weary and heavy laden-give us rest. We are depraved in all our powers-work in us to will and to do of thy good pleasure. We are ignorant-fill us with the knowledge of thy will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that we may approve things that are excellent, and be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.

Many eyes are upon us-lead us in a plain path because of our enemies. Many watch for our halting-but may we put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, and constrain them, by our good works which they behold, to glorify God in the day of visitation.

Some did run well, but are hindered; they began in the Spirit, but are now walking in the flesh we tremble for them-and we tremble for ourselves: we pray for themand we pray for ourselves. Recover and restore them, and keep us by thy power through faith unto salvation. May we never draw back; never turn aside to the right hand or to the left; never stand still; never look back; never seem to come short through unbelief, but be always abounding in the work of the Lord—and so much the more as we see the day approaching.

Though we are ignorant of the future, and know not what a day may bring forth, keep us from being of a doubtful mind. May we be careful for nothing. May we go on our way rejoicing, persuaded that all thy dispensations are designed and adapted to prove that Thou carest for us.

We can even now see much of thy wisdom, righteousness, and kindness, in events that once perplexed and alarmed us; and what we know not now we shall know hereafter. Soon the mystery of providence will be completed and explained. Soon shall we have

and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for us. Let not the truths we have been hearing visit us only as weekly guests; but may they be residents in our hearts. May the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom. And though the exercises in which we have been engaged are transient, may the effects produced by them be deep and durable; may the sabbath pervade the week, and the spirit of devotion actuate us in the absence of its forms; whether we eat, or drink, or whatever we do, may we do all to the glory of God.

Bless, O bless, the rising generation, the sources of future families and communities. When the clods of the valley shall be sweet about us, may they be found a seed to serve thee. Many of them have had the advantage of religious education; they have seen pious examples; they early kneeled at the domestic altar; from infancy they knew the holy scriptures, and have often been alarmed, often melted under the word preached; and frequently have they been ready to subscribe with their own hand, and surname themselves by the name of Israel. O let not these promising appearances and beginnings be destroyed. O let not the wild beast out of the wood carry off the lambs of the flock, but may the Shepherd of Israel gather them with his arm and carry them in his bosom!

Regard all thy professing churches. Bless them with soundness of doctrine, purity and liberality of discipline, and sanctity and amiableness of character in their members; and the Lord add to his people, how many soever they be, an hundred fold. Yea let a little one become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation; and all the families of the earth be blessed in Him-who is all our salvation and all our desire to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

MONDAY MORNING.

O THOU King of kings and Lord of lords, who only hast immortality, we would adore Thee, and take shame to ourselves; and though allowed to approach thy divine majesty, we would never forget the sentiments of humiliation and contrition which become such creatures as we are. Father, we have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and are not worthy to be called thy children: we are not worthy of the least of all thy mercies. Yea we have merited thy displeasure; and thy righteousness would be completely acquitted in our destruction.

Again thy visitation hath preserved our spirits. Through the dark and silent watches of the night thou hast suffered no evil to befall us, nor any plague to come nigh our dwelling. And we are not only the living to praise Thee this morning, but the distinguished and the indulged. Many who have seen the light of the day as well as ourselves, are encompassed with want, and pain, and wretchedness, but we have all things richly to enjoy.

Thou takest pleasure in the prosperity of thy servants: may we always take pleasure in the advancement of thy glory. Thou art never weary in doing us good; may we never grow weary in well doing. Thy mercies are new every morning; every morning by thy mercies, may we present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is our reasonable service.

And to the God of our salvation, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be ascribed the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

O for hearts of flesh! Lord produce in us that sensibility of soul which will lead us to feel our vileness, to deplore our guilt, and to cast ourselves at thy feet, abhorring ourselves, and repenting in dust and ashes. And impart to us that faith which will enable us to hope in thy word, and derive strong consolation from the invitations and promises of the gospel. We are come to implore the greatest blessings the God of love can give; but our application is not presumption: we are come to call thee, Abba Father! to enter thy house, to sit down at thy table, to lean on thy arm, to walk with God; but we are not come unbidden or uncalled: Thou hast called us by thy grace; and it is thy commandment that we should believe on the name of thy Son Jesus Christ. Lord, we assent, we submit, we depend, we apply. Since He came into the world to save sinners, we take Him as our Saviour; and glory in Him as made of Thee to us wisdom and righteousness, sanc-assured us, that if we regard iniquity in our tification and redemption.

And O, let our minds be fixed and filled with admiring thoughts of his person and of fices; let our hearts be inflamed with a sense of his boundless compassion and love. By the new and living way, which he has not only revealed but consecrated for us, may we come to Thee, and enjoy all the advantages of a state of reconciliation and friendship with God. May the most open and familiar intercourse be maintained between Thee and our souls. To Thee may we commit our way and our works, and in every thing, by prayer and supplication make known our requests unto God. Be Thou always near, to guide us and to defend, to relieve us in trouble, and to help us in duty. And may we walk humbly with our God; wondering at the condescension that deigns to regard our mean affairs, the patience that bears with our manners, and the kindness that employs so many means to advance our everlasting welfare.

We grieve to think that a world so full of thy bounty should be so empty of thy praise. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men. Bless the Lord, all his works; in all places of his dominion, bless the Lord, O my soul. D

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MONDAY EVENING.

O THOU, in whose presence angels bow, and arch-angels veil their faces, enable us to serve Thee with reverence and godly fear. O Thou, who art a spirit, and requirest truth in the inward parts, help us to worship Thee in spirit and in truth. O righteous Father, we would not come to Thee harbouring the love of any sin in our bosoms; for Thou hast

hearts Thou wilt not hear us. We must address Thee as sinners; but we acknowledge our transgression, and our sin is ever before us; we desire to have nothing more to do with idols; we hate every false way; and long to be Israelites indeed in whom is no guile.

Nor would we, O God, appear in thy presence indulging a worldly temper, and seeking after an abundance of those things that afford no satisfaction in the possession, and perish in the using. After all these things do the Gentiles seek, and our heavenly Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask him, and will administer them as our wants and welfare may require. We are hastening towards an hour which will show us the vanity of all earthly pursuits and possessions. When a few more suns have rolled over us, it will be a matter of indifference whether we have been rich or poor; successful or disappointed in our enterprises; admired of our fellow-creatures or despised ! But it will be of eternal moment to us, that we have mourned for sin; that we have hungered and thirsted after righteousness; that we have loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and gloried in his cross.

May these objects therefore, however de

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