Page:The Book of Family Worship.pdf/123

Rh Arise, O God, the ark of our strength; let our enemies be subdued before us. O strengthen our weakness by Thy Holy Spirit. Teach us the right use of all Thy providential dispensations. Subdue our pride and worldly-mindedness, and aid us to see in all things Thy wonder-working power. In light or darkness, joy or sorrow, prosperity or adversity, life or death, aid us to say "Thy will be done." Into Thy hands we commend our spirits. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

LORD Jesus Christ, the God of all the families of the earth, we desire to adore Thee for all the favourable circumstances attendant upon our providential lot in this world. Thou hast bestowed upon us a goodly heritage: the station Thou has placed us in, give us grace properly to fill; may no opposition drive us from those duties which are ordained of Thee. If by the light of Thy truth the great work of regeneration has been commenced in us, O aid us with the necessary strength, that we may follow in the order of Thy righteous dispensations, and by humility and watchfulness advance continually in the regenerate life; for it is not enough to enter on the path of the regeneration. Thy Word assures us we must continue to walk therein. Aid us to keep our souls unspotted from the world; help us to avoid evil, or even the appearance of it. As one plague-spot may affect a whole nation, so one evil may endanger the safety of the whole soul. O preserve us against the seducing wiles of our besetting sins; they are as the great enemy of our souls, and if once they gain the ascendancy, the multitude of minor evils follow them, and the soul sinks into irrecoverable ruin.

Lord, as we are about to enter upon our daily duties, we implore Thy divine blessing upon them, and upon every member of this family. May we all perceive our responsibility to God and man, and so conduct ourselves in our intercourse with the world, that we bring no stain upon our Christian profession. These things we ask, O Lord, for Thine own name sake. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

O LORD Jesus Christ, assist us to compass Thine altar with innocency, so shall we find shelter from the malignity of evil tongues; and though malice never regards how true any accusation is, but rather how spiteful, still aid us to forgive, to return good for evil, and not further excite the fretfulness of the accuser by exciting a bitter spirit; rather may we look within for 'the causes which lead to all infestation. As the society of wicked men is mortally dangerous, so are the evils which infest the heart, clothed, as they frequently are, with the garments of apparent righteousness. Assist us then. O Lord, we beseech Thee, to remove evil from our hearts, in whatever form it may assume, or with whatever garment it may clothe itself. May pride, hardness of heart, and infidelity find no place within us, but may those virtues which adorn the Christian be manifested in our whole life and conversation.