Page:The Book of Family Worship.pdf/105

 stone, representative of Thy truth, inscribed upon by the wonder working power of Thy omnipotence, represented pure truth filled with the life of Thy love; so that if a man keep Thy sayings he shall even live by them.

O may we worship and adore no other God than Thee, the Lord Jesus Christ, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, the Almighty, the only wise God our Saviour. Preserve us, O Lord, that we may not only never fall into the worship of senseless idols, but that we may never presume in our fallible states to canonize men, or worship the creature instead of the Creator. O Lord, we beseech Thee, keep us free from idolatry. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

THOU from whom cometh our help, we humbly lift up our hearts with our hands to Thee in the heavens. As the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, until Thou have mercy upon us. We have trodden the precincts of Thy house this day. Our feet have stood within thy walls, O Jerusalem. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.

And now, O Lord, we approach Thy mercy-seat in our family temple; and on the evening of Thy day of rest, we implore Thy blessing upon what we have heard. O may Thy truth have fallen upon our understandings as upon a fruitful land, and enable us to bring forth fruit, according to our state, some thirty, some sixty, some an hundred fold. As the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so let Thy Word be that has this day gone forth out of Thy mouth. Let it not return unto Thee void, but let it prosper in the thing whereunto Thou hast sent it. As the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so, O Lord, may Thy Word bud in us, and may we be fruitful trees fit to grow in the garden of the Lord.

O Lord, aid us in the important work of self-examination, so that we may discern whether we have duly honoured Thee this day. For when Thy divine precept enjoineth honour to our father and mother, unto Thee, O Lord, it is first our duty to render homage, for Thou art the Father and Friend of Thy people, and no good thing wilt Thou withhold from them that fear Thee. And by honouring Thee we shall be careful to render a willing obedience to Thy divine precepts, and gratefully surrender all our thoughts and affections to Thy wise directions. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

LORD our Saviour, the Sabbath is past, and our week of labour commences; but before we commence our duties this morning, help us to examine ourselves. We would in all things submit to Thy divine