Page:The Book of Family Worship.pdf/359



OLY, beneficent, and righteous God, another Sabbath having dawned upon us, we come into Thy presence with heartfelt gratitude, and pray for Thy blessing upon the duties of the day, while we praise Thee for its mercies and ite benefits.

O may the earthly Sabbath remind us of the heavenly and eternal one, upon which we shall enter at our bodily decease, and so prepare us for that momentous day, that it may be indeed unto us as the dawn of rest and blessedness divine.

O teach us to to reflect upon that important period which, while it places before us our true state and condition, shall yet in humble confidence enable us to stand before Thee. While here, help us to keep that day so continually in our memories, that, when the interiors of our minds are laid open before us, and the whole course of our life on earth is seen at once, divested of all deception and in its actual condition, there may yet be found our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life. So teach us, and help us to live, most merciful Father, that the period of our passage from time into eternity, may not find us clogged with vices, and beholding our inevitable entrance into the eternal world as the most frightful period of all the epochs which in this life have befallen us; but rather, though we have indeed grievously sinned, and are altogether unworthy of the least of all Thy mercies, yet there may be found in us "some good thing," which may help us to honour Thee aright, and enable us to ascend upward into Thy heavenly kingdom. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

GOD, Thou art our Father, our Saviour, our Friend; we praise Thee for the blessings of this day. It has been unto us a day of rest and of inward happiness; Thou hast made it, by the messages of Thy love, "the joy and rejoicing of our hearts, the glory and the lifting up of our heads." We have heard Thee speaking in Thy Word, and have been instructed that an infinite Wisdom, by an infinite and all-wise providence, is the guide of our affairs. We are not left to chance, nor to the mercy of men, but we enjoy the protection of an omnipotent and merciful God. If rightly guided by Thy Word in our supplications; if whatsoever we ask for, is asked for in Thy name, what can hinder our reception of it? Thou art able to give us all that is needful, and no good thing wilt Thou withhold from them that fear Thee. What difficulty can assail us, that is too great for omnipotence to free us from, or over-rule for our good? Thou, who seest the whole of the universe of worlds at a glance, and arrangest the order of existence, that the greatest amount of happiness, consistent with future blessedness, may be enjoyed by all; Thou canst surely bring us through all our trials, and this Thou wilt do, if we look to Thee for help; yea. Thy Word gives us the assurance that our very troubles shall work out our eternal glory, if, when we are tempted, we look to Thee for help and purification. To Thee, then, O Lord, we look for help in every time of need. Amen.

Our Father, etc.