Page:The Book of Family Worship.pdf/289

 benefits we have received at Thy hands, as our Creator, Redeemer, and Regenerator, we are constrained to wonder at the immensity of Thy goodness, while we adore Thee for the continuance of all Thy bounties.

We praise Thee for the powers of liberty and rationality with which Thou hast endowed us, and for the wonderful arrangement of our minds into the three degrees of celestial, spiritual, and natural, whereby there is power given us of loving Thee above all things, of obeying Thy divine commandments, of loving our neighbour as ourself, and of being the constant recipients of the heavenly influences of Thy love and truth; and from these are we enabled to keep in subjection the loves of self and the world. May Thy holy Name be magnified. May we say continually. The Lord Jesus Christ, our God, be praised. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

EAVENLY Lord our Saviour, our tender and beneficent Parent, again has time revolved and brought us to the conclusion of another week; and with the cessation of bodily toil we now draw near to Thy footstool, and around our family altar we kneel in humble gratitude, that we may express our thankfulness for the mercies of the past week, and prepare ourselves for the enjoyments and privileges of the coming Sabbath. O how wonderfully hast Thou adapted all created objects to our necessities, so that there is nothing we behold but that either contributes to support our bodily frames or to delight and recreate us by their various qualities. For us the world and all it contains has been created, and the dominion thereof is delivered into our hands. The glorious orb of day, as it now sinks in the west, having run its course.of use, brings into being the various: products which afford seed for the sower and bread for the eater; and all the multiplied forms of beauty which Thou hast created, reflect but the glories of that luminary which Thou hast made to rule the day, while his own sublime appearance is but a faint image of Thee, the glorious Sun of righteousness. O God, we render thanks to Thee, the Fountain of eternal love. Make us grateful, we beseech Thee, for every act of Thy divine love and mercy. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

ERCIFUL Father, bestow upon us, we beseech Thee, willing and obedient spirits, that we may strive against our corruptions, and walk with that uprightness which shall enable us to acquire a good conscience. Help us to do justly; help us constantly to look to Thee for aid, and as constantly watch the seducing tendency of our own corruptions, under a full conviction that our greatest enemies are those of our own household. Assist us to contend against our enemies within; be Thou unto us as our spiritual Gideon. Constantly may we hear Thee speaking to our souls, "The Lord is with thee." As temptations to evil increase, and our besetting sins plead earnestly for gratification, still may we turn to Thee; still find Thee present; still hear Thine encouraging words, "The Lord is with Thee." Even under