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mind.

Preserve us from those prejudices, which pervert the judgment; from those passions which debase the understanding; from those mistakes which weaken the principles of christian virtue, and from those superstitious fears which betray men into unworthy conceptions of thee.

Holy Father! assist us to know thee more and more continually; to understand thy will and our exalted destination; to make thee the object of our highest confidence and joy; to love thee with all our souls, and to walk according to all thy holy commandments.

May we also learn more of that Saviour, who was meek and lowly in heart; take his yoke upon us, and find his promised rest and peace. May our faith in him grow stronger and more efficacious, and that same mind be in us which was in him. O may his gospel be completely successful in correcting our errors; in forming within us the amiable graces of the christian character; in supporting us under the afflictions of this transitory life, and in preparing us for the glory which is about to be revealed. Having lived as his true followers, may the remembrance of his crucifixion and triumph banish every fear from our bosoms in the hour of death. And in the day of judgment, may thy grace give

us the portion of those to whom the Saviour will say come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

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O thou, our Great Preserver! We would, at the close of another day, call on thee with sentiments of gratitude, and the confidence of hope. Keep us this night under thy watchful eye, and if consistent with thy will and our best good, permit us to see the light of another day; and to thee, the Author of our condition, shall be the glory, honour and dominion forever. Amen.

FRIDAY MORNING.

O THOU who said-Let there be light; and there was light! Infinite Jehovah! thy hand laid the foundations of the earth, and stretched forth the expanse of heaven. How beautiful and grand are the exhibitions of thy power! But how infinitely superior art thou, the great Creator of all things. Thou rulest with an uncontroulable sway; and all things are

open to thine inspection and subject to thy will. Thou increasest the nations, and thou destroyest them. Thou killest and thou makest alive. Thou woundest and thou healest. Thou bringest low and raisest up. Thou art God alone. Thou makest spirits thine angels, and flames of fire thy ministers. By thine appointment, seed-time and harvest, summer and winter, day and night do not cease. The laws of nature are thy continued agency and all their effects are the dispensations of thy providence.

With the opening day we would come to present to our heavenly Protector, the tribute of thanksgiving. During the defenceless hours of sleep, thine eye hath watched us as steadily as though we were the only objects of thy care. Thy presence hath been the presence of a Father.

While we rejoice in the light which renews the face of nature, what thanks, what ardent thanks do we owe thee, the God of nature and grace, that the day-spring from on high hath visited us! that the sun of righteousness hath risen upon us, with healing under his wings, to give light to them that sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Heavenly Father! we lament the many unworthy returns we have made for thy great, and undeserved goodness. When we calmly review our past lives, and compare our conduct with the requisitions of thy holy laws, we find abundant cause for humiliation. We lament the wanderings of our minds, the coldness of our affections, and the languor of our devotions. We deeply lament that we know so little of religion and feel so little of its power. O God! give us the comfort of thy pardoning love, that we may have hope; and may we hereafter have the true love of thee in our souls, a lively faith in thy Son, and a for our fellow men.

pure christian benevolence O may we exemplify in all our actions, the spirit of that law, which requires doing to others as we should wish others should do to us.

In our daily intercourse with each other, may we obey the laws of equity and kindness. May we be honest and just in our dealings; true and sincere, innocent and useful, courteous and gentle in our conversation; tender of the reputation of our neighbour; candid to each other's frailties and infirmities; kind and compassionate to the needy and the afflicted; grateful to our friends and benefactors; generous and

forgiving to our enemies; and charitable to all

men.

Grant, O God, that we may be discreet in ordering our affairs; industrious in performing the business of our stations; moderate in our desires, and temperate in our pleasures, and, at all times, heartily disposed to every good word and work; that by a patient continuance in well doing, we may look for glory, honour and immortality.

Bless this family and each one of us now before thee; and let the voice of joy, health and safety be heard in our dwelling: make our walls salvation, and our gates praise. Enable us to distinguish things that differ and to approve such as are most excellent. Let neither poverty nor riches estrange our hearts from thee. What we need wilt thou grant us, and what we possess wilt thou aid us to use aright. Let not praise fill us with pride, or censure with discontent. Impious would it be for us to pretend to prescribe to thee, the manner in which thou shouldst regulate our lot. But, O God, however thou shalt deal with us, give us, we beseech thee, that holiness, without which no man can see the Lord. Let our lives be useful, and our last days tranquil; and by death, wilt

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