Page:The Book of Family Worship.pdf/358

 O Thou all perfect God, we approach Thee this morning, thankful to renew with Thee our covenant, again to praise Thee for Thy watchful and providential care, again to express our gratitude for the renewal of our existence. All that the world possesses is as transient as this day, which closes another week. All that pertains to time speedily reaches its appointed limit; the verdure of spring, the maturity of summer, the abundance of autumn, and apparent sterility and torpor of winter; every beauty which we behold is fragile; one generation passes away, and another generation comes, and hastens onward to give place te a third; and all, like those which have preceded them, pass away, and the place thereof know them no more. But blessed be Thy name, O Lord our God, Thou hast, through Thy Word, given us an insight into eternity. What are the minutes, the hours, the days, the years, we have passed, compared with that eternity—that never-ending enjoyment which awaits the righteous in Thy heavenly kingdom! O prepare us for this state, for Thy name and mercy sake. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

SATURDAY EVENING.

Joh: while we assemble before Thee in humble prayer, acknow ledging the innumerable blessings we receive, while we supplicate 'Thee for their continuance, while, as a family, we acknowledge unitedly Thy protecting providence, and pray thet we may be preserved in the love of Thy truth; we would pray, also, that each may be led to ley bare his heart before Theo, and each arraign himself at the bar of his own conscience. Not only may we inquire of ourselves, as we lay our hends npon our pillows, "What good havo we done during the past-week?" but also in what evil we have indulged. Teach us to examine our souls, and not merely to feel sorry for our more glaring evils, but to enter into the inner parts of our hearis, and search out the causes of evils, the origin of our most secret faults: and as we explore our hearts, and fecl contrition for past offences, praying thet Thy good providence msy preserve us from evil, for the future may the recollection of virtnous actions, which Thou hast enabled us to perform, bring to our hearls humble gratitude, peace, and joy. .

O Lord, grant unto us an assurance that Thy providence ever exercises itself in love towards us for the removal of evil. Impress our souls with the certainty that in afl our calamities nothing can separate us from Thy love; and however we may sniffer for conscience' sake, nothing ean close Thine eyes from beholding as. If we walk uprightly before Thee. Thou wilt assuredly establish the soul in righteousness, however great, in the eyes of the world, may be the appearances of evil against it. Grant us, then. O most merciful Father. Thy gracious assistance, that we may preserve & conscience clear and void of offence before Thee and before our fellow-creatures. Amen.

Our Father, ete.