Page:The Book of Family Worship.pdf/197

 of the Lord in the deep;" and they that traverse the earth in its vast extent behold new marvels at every step they take. Truly, O God, Thou art great, and greatly to be praised, and to be had in reverence of them that fear Thee. Thou hast opened unto us, through the medium of Thy holy Word, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. O keep us humble, and still, as our understandings expand, may we learn of Thee and be meek and lowly, that while some trust in their doctrines, as on chariots, and some trust in the knowledge they have acquired, as in horses, we may remember the name of the Lord our God, and feel that there is not a talent or faculty we possess that has been the means of doing good, but has its origin in Thee, O Lord, the source of all good. To Thee, therefore, be ascribed all the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

LORD Jesus Christ, impress upon us the necessity of bringing all the affections of our will under the government of Thy divine love. Thy Word assures us that in the same proportion as we reduce to practice the good which by Thy truth we acquire, so do we approach nearer to Thy divine likeness. Love for the whole human race is Thy distinguishing quality. In Thy love and in Thy pity Thou didst redeem us and hast become our Saviour. May Thy love, then, be the model of our lives. "Thy nature and Thy name is Love!" May this be our constant effort to secure, so that Thy new name may be inscribed upon us, "Thy new, best name of Love." Oh help us, that all the distinguishing qualities of Thy divine nature may be finitely imaged by us. Teach us to subdue every unholy lust. Assist us to remove pride, anger, revenge, and dissimulation from our minds. Remove the image of the earthy, and supply its place with that of the heavenly. And when we are tempted to do evil, or to indulge in vain and sinful gratifications, may a recollection of the name we bear cause us to pause, and to implore Thine aid to resist evil; so shall we become more and more transformed into the image of the heavenly, until prepared to enter into heaven itself. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

H teach us, heavenly Father, to set eternal things before us; help us to labour from the purified affections of genuine love, that we may thus devote our lives in sincerity to Thy service, and show by our love and usefulness to the brethren how much we love and reverence Thee, for by this alone can we be distinguished as belonging to the number of Thy disciples.

Help us, O Lord, to live constantly under the influence of Thy fear, and in the exercise of true repentance; to fear doing that which is evil; to pause whenever our appetites would hurry us into sin; to keep our inclinations under constant restraint, as we would exercise vigilance in the expectation of meeting an enemy whose enmity nothing can appease or weaken; and to remember that our greatest enemy is within our own household.