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 old. Thou didst enter the Temple, didst converse with the Jewish doctors, and Thus didst show us the importance of exercising our reason; and in the fulness of manhood, Thou didst show us the effect of gathered and matured knowledge in going about doing good.

And so, O Lord, is progression and order manifest in all Thou doest.

The fructifying shower descends not in floods, but in gentle drops; so let Thy doctrine distil like the rain in us; so let our souls expand to virtue under the softly falling dew of heaven. We cannot become good, or wise, or perfect, at once; but as Thou givest us, day by day, the bread that perisheth with our bodies, so Thou givest us, day by day, state by state, the bread that endureth unto everlasting life. To-day we abhor vice, and Thou instructest us in virtue; to-morrow Thou givest us power and endowest us with strength to practise virtue. It is for Thou, O God, to display omnipotence; but even Thine omnipotence is exercised only by the fixed laws of order. So teach us to remove stumbling-blocks out of our ways, that we may walk wisely and securely.

Endow us, we beseech Thee, with perpetual vigilance and watchfulness, without which all good things will recede and fall away. Aid us to subdue our vicious inclinations; aid us to progress in the knowledge of Thy truth, and in the practice of goodness; aid us in all the trials necessary for the accomplishment of our regeneration. O watch over us for good this day, and perfect us eventually by Thy truth, for Thine own name sake. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

ORD Jesus Christ, we are instructed from Thy word, that though weeping may endure for a night, joy cometh in the morning. In the morning will we look up, we will contemplate Thy divine perfections. We behold them displayed in all that Thou hast made. In Thy beauteous earth we can inhale the freshness and odours, the innocence and loveliness that covers it with verdure and with beauty. And then in the evening to meet with gladness in our home of peace, and show our sense of all Thy mercies by the humble tribute of prayer, praise, and gratitude,—to know that the Majesty of heaven, descending from the palace of divine splendour, will assemble with the poor in their humble cottage, and gladden their souls by His divine presence,—O how refreshing is this to the wearied spirit, how fraught with tranquillity, how fitted to bring all the affections and thoughts into stillness and spiritual repose! The most exalted pleasure the mind is susceptible of, is the contemplation of Thee. O God! and of the works of Thy creative hands. O Lord, our Saviour, we glorify Thee, that Thou accordest unto us this privilege. We feel, O Lord, that were justice and mercy preserved with integrity, earth would be a comparative heaven to live in, and the life of man on earth would only be a little lower than the life of angels in heaven.

O teach us faithfully to pursue the two great duties of a Christian's life,—to shun wrong, and to do what is right; and these form one great united precept, "Eschew evil and do good." May we keep this precept before us continually, and may we in all things commit our way unto the Lord, trust in Him, and do good. Amen.

Our Father, etc.