against thee. To thee the darkness shineth as the day, and thou keepest watch round about our pillow. We sleep in thee, and when we awake we are still with thee.

Graciously guard us and our dwelling this night from all manner of harm, and open upon us the light of another day, if it be thy pleasure, in peace and safety. While we here this night wait on the Lord, wilt thou strengthen our hearts, and give us to see yet more of the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And when we sleep the sleep of death, may it be in the full and sustaining hope of our resurrection from the night of death, and our entrance into the light of the everlasting day. Through him who loved us and gave himself for us, our Lord and Master, we give thee all praise and glory forever. Amen.

X.

Safety in God.

The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.

There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

ETERNAL GOD, whose gracious hand has led us to the close of another day, before we shut our eyes upon the world, and lose the sense of ourselves and thee, we would acknowledge thy love, and confide ourselves to thy care. We come to offer thee nightly sacrifice, and to put our trust in the Lord.

We bless the goodness that has crowned this day, and gratefully recognize in its events the boundless extent of thy providence. How manifold the experiences, how numerous the teachers, how varied the blessings, of our human lot! Whether thou sendest joy or sorrow, health or sickness, we desire to submit our souls to thee as to a faithful Creator, who knowest all thy children's wants, and art ever studying their highest good.

With the thought of thy daily goodness we would join the remembrance of our neglects and sins. O God, subdue the wilfulness, scatter the blindness, and correct the levity, of our hearts. And as with every setting sun our time of probation draws towards its close, deepen our sense of accountability, and prepare us for the judgment-seat of thy Son. O, how shall we appear! We implore thy grace to wash away our sins, thy Holy Spirit to touch and heal our hearts. O Lord, hear the voice of our complaint.

Have compassion on our weakness, and suffer us not to waste our fleeting lives in folly, or to meet our approaching fate without preparation.

We commend ourselves as a family to thy protection and blessing, praying that thou wouldst make us to dwell in safety. Increase our love to each other and to thee. Forgive our offences against the law of kindness; our parental negligence; our filial disobedience; our weaknesses of temper, deviations from truth, or lack of love. Make our home the threshold of heaven, and grant that our love towards those we have seen may grow into a perfect love for Him who is invisible.

Heavenly Father, watch our slumbers; renew our lives; put the gladness of a new day into our hearts, and from day to day lift upon us the light of thy countenance, till we shall see thee face to face, when suns shall no more go down. And to thy holy name be all glory. Amen.

XI.

The Shadow of the Almighty.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my God; in him will I trust.

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Surely he will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

He will cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day.

Because thou hast made the Lord who is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he will give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

ALMIGHTY and ever-blessed Father, guided by thy gentle hand, we have reached the close of another day. May all that is within us praise and magnify thine holy name. Thanks be unto thee for this new experience of life, for all the light which thou hast poured upon our various paths, and for that patience which hath borne with our great unfaithfulness. cannot number up the mercies which have made these hours profitable and glad; yet would we strive to feel and confess that thou hast been a father unto us. In all our successes and in all our trials, in all our joys and in all our sorrows, thou hast blessed us;

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for in all ways thou hast sought to save our souls alive, and establish us in the heavenly dwelling-places.

Unto every open heart thou hast drawn very near this day in the Gospel of thy Son; and if at any time we have been weary and heavily-laden, his cross hath spoken to us his sweet and comfortable words. It is of thy goodness that we are still gathered in this earthly household, for thine is the breath of every living thing. O Lord, when we examine ourselves whether we be in the faith and love of the Gospel, we must confess our short-comings. How far we are from thee! How often we forget the Master! Blessed be thy name for the covenant of forgiveness in his precious blood. Fill us with a godly sorrow and a saving hope. Forgive us through him who died, and let us be renewed in the spirit and temper of our minds.

O Lord, who through thy Son hast bound us anew together, and appointed for us a new law of brotherly love, may we be indeed a Christian household, and may our prayers go up unto thee for kindred and brethren. Be very near unto those for whom the watches of this night shall be hours of pain. May their thought be of thee, and of him who was a man of sorrows, and of that rest which remaineth for the children of God.

O thou everlasting Friend, enlighten our darkness; let the close of each day find us nearer to thee, and in more perfect fellowship with those holy ones who,