Page:The Book of Family Worship.pdf/193

 greater fervency. O teach us how much more worthy is Thy service than the service of this changeable world.

Lord, we go forth to labour, help us that we may perform it without slackening our zeal for Thy service, and with increased usefulness to our fellow-creatures. Amen.

Oar Father, etc.

LORD Jesus Christ, while we confess our sins before Thee, help us to repent. We confess we have laboured after the mammon of unrighteousness, and neither cares nor exertions nor artitices have been spared to acquire it. We have seen luxury and magnificence, and have envied those who enjoyed them. We have been envious of tho workers of iniquity, and have involved ourselves, in our efforts to compete with them, in worldly show and spleudour. Thus "have we followed the multitude to do evil," and in sowing the wind, we have, alus! reaped the whirlwind. We confess our sins, O Lord, in Thy presence; we abhor ourselves, and acknowledge our utter unworthiness. Pardon our evils, O Lord, we beseech Thee, and give unto us the true penitence which may lead to the practice of every virtue, whereby our salvation may be secured.

Lord, give unto us a desire to secure the true, the imperishable riches of Thy kingdom, and while the world calls for our labour, and that labour, besides ministering to our bodily necessities, aids in the great work of charity and usefulness to our fellow-creatnres, may the labour of the spirit be for the meat which endureth unto eternal life. May our souls delight themselves in the truths of Thy word. May the principle of conscience be formed permanently within us; and as we profess to love Thee, may we hate the thing that is evil. From this moment may we, in the spirit and power of Thy truth, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, knowing that all needful things shall be added unto us. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

LORD Jesus Christ, we confess that even in the things of eternity we do not make use of the reason with which Thou hast endowed us; and while multitudes pervert Thy truth, and we see the perversion, we yet want that principle of upright courage and honest conscience, which should at once lead us to abandon the pernicious example of the multitude; we are disobedient to that powerful precept which teaches, we ought to obey God rather than man. The talents and abilities Thou hast given us we too frequently use against the teachings of Thy own pure truth.

Great God! we humbly ask to what purpose are great abilities in the conduct of projects that will perish with us. We have reasons and arguments in the support of vanity, and we are mere children with regard to the truth. We pride ourselves on our wisdom in the affairs of the world, and, alas! in the business of our eternal salvation we think it no disgrace to be ignorant and foolish.