Page:The Book of Family Worship.pdf/220

 208 TWENTY-NINTH WEEE.

SATURDAY EVENING.

(Pao. O Lord Jesus Christ, hast declared, through the medium of Thy holy Word, that whosoever's name wae not written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Our actions are inseribed on the interiors of our minds$ and this is the book from whence we shall be judged. Alas! we are constrained to say that in our hot pursuit of the things of this world we have not really loved our neighbour aa ourself, for his good has scarcely entered our thoughts. Our present absence from the world, and entering into the closets of our inner man, we perceive we have done wickedly, ie truth. Lord, we have greatly erred from 'Thy ways; our thoughts and affections have been disorderly, and from the inmost of our affections to the extreme external of our thoughts we have no aoundness in us, we fear we have not advanced, but have gone backwards; not one of us hath wrought righteousness, no, not one. © merciful Lord our Saviour, we implore Thy gracious pardon. Enter not into jadgment with as. From Thy high and holy place look mercifally upon our imperfections, and grant unto us the necessary strength to resist evil for the future. Afford us. O Lord, the consolations of Thy good Spirit, and suffer us fiot to sink under the weight of our evils, but make Thy strength manifest in our weakness, and give unto us such a portion of the influences of Thy Spirit as shall erable us to come unto Thee, so that we may be filled with Thy love, and guided by Thy trath, and strengthened by Thy grace, to be more zealous in onr duty, and to repent and do the first works. Amen. Our Father, etc,

LMIGHTY Lord God and Saviour, we acknowledge and worship Thee as the Lord of the Sabbath, and we would humbly approach Thee and devote the first moments of the day unto Thee, that the afterpart may be blessed as well to the rest of our souls as our bodies.

O God, Thou art our God, early will we seek Thee. We feel our need of Thy bounteous providence. Open Thine hand, O Lord, and feed us with Thy heavenly goodness. Refresh our understandings by Thy truth, which, without Thee, are as a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. But Thou canst pour out Thy Spirit upon us. Thou canst open springs in the desert of our minds, and make them to flourish as the garden of the Lord. O let the river of the water of life flow forth this morning into our souls. Make this day unto us as a day of rejoicing, and help us so to prepare ourselves that every truth we hear may find an abiding place within us, until the solitary places of our souls shall be gladdened with the light of Thy countenance, and all our affections and thoughts unite in the song of the good king of old: "Thou art our God, we will praise Thee; we will exalt Thee for ever and ever." Amen.

Our Father, etc.

LORD, we acknowledge with shame that Thy lessons of wisdom are too easily effaced from our remembrance. Truly we are often like