our bounden duty, when we rest from the service and joy of the day, to come into thy gracious presence, and meditate at the feet of the blessed Lord. Let this be peace and refreshment unto us as we journey through the world.

Thanks be unto thee, O thou who leadest us like a flock. Thou hast heard our prayers, thou hast supplied our wants, and even when we have forgotten thee thou hast not forgotten us. We have labored and enjoyed under thy blessing. If we have been patient in tribulation, if we have followed after charity, if we have obeyed the Master in any good measure, it was thy Spirit in our hearts. Thou hast opened the door of the everlasting life unto all who knocked. Father, we thank thee; make us more thankful.

O Lord, we need to be forgiven; let thy mercies abound towards us. Let us not say we were tempted of thee, but may we take unto ourselves guilt and shame, and in all sorrow of heart confide only in that great love wherewith thou dost love us in the dying Lord. Purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. May we henceforth so strive against evil that we shall make each new day better than the past. As our day passes into night, we would call to mind the night of death and the morning of resurrection.

Father, station thine holy angels about the sick and the dying; turn the wicked from his purpose; be with the tempted, the friendless, the disconsolate; raise up guides for poor wanderers. Shield us all this night

from harm. May our rest prepare us for new faithfulness in our various stations; and when for us this sun in the heavens shall be clouded, and these stars shall withdraw their shining, may we pass out into an unclouded day, through the riches of thy grace in Christ Jesus our Lord. So we thy people, and the sheep of thy pasture, will give thee thanks forever, and show forth thy loving-kindness to all generations. Amen.

XV.

Pardon and Protection.

Be merciful to me, O Lord: for I cry to thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for to thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and abundant in mercy to all them that call upon thee.

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

Among the gods there is none like thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like thy works.

All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart and I will glorify thy name forevermore.

O THOU who art the Father of mercies and the Giver of all good, the day is thine, with its powers of action and its opportunities of good: the night also is thine, with its welcome rest to the body and the soul. Thanks be unto thee for the ever-varied, daily-multiplied gifts of thy paternal love. O, that we might be more worthy of thy care; more alive to thy goodness; more faithful to thy law; more diligent in the right use of the time and the talents committed to our trust!

Lord, thou knowest how the hours of this day, given us by thee, have been spent; how its duties have been done; how its temptations have been met; how its trials have been borne. If in aught we have failed or fallen, God of mercy, forgive us; and grant that wherein we have done wrong we may do so no more; but with a holy steadfastness of purpose may we choose and follow that which is good, and make the future redeem the past.

Be merciful unto us, O God; for unto thee do we cry. Help us in our weakness. Help us to do thy will, and to be what thou lovest, followers of thy dear Son. May we be fellow-workers with him and with thee in doing good, as we have opportunity, unto all. And may it be our joy and crown to promote the happiness and peace, the present and the eternal

good, of those who are near and dear to us. If it please thee, O God, who alone knowest what is best, we beseech thee long to preserve their lives to be the blessings of ours; and may we be ever faithful both to them and thee; and may the blessed memory of those who have gone before us to their rest abide in our souls, and be as a light shining from heaven to lead us onward and upward in the way of duty and the way of peace.

Father, into thy hands we commend ourselves, our friends, our kindred, our country. We pray for the sick, the suffering, the needy, and the distressed. We pray for all who are in danger, by land or by sea. We would pray more fervently for them that have fallen, or are falling, into the bondage of sin. Save them, O God, and as far as in us lieth help us also to save them, by the word of truth, and the labor of love, and the patience of hope. May thy kingdom come; may the Gospel of thy Son prosper in the thing for which it was sent. We pray for the triumph of freedom, temperance, peace, and every good cause, in our country and the world; that thy will may be done on earth as it is done in heaven, and all nations may come and worship thee, and glorify thy name, forever.

O Thou whose unslumbering eye watches over thy people by night and by day, in time and through eternity, preserve us by thy good providence from all evil, and bring us to the light and the duties of

another morning refreshed in body and in mind, rejoicing in thy love, and prepared for thy service; which we ask as disciples of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

XVI.

The Divine Shelter.

Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer.

From the end of the earth will I cry to thee, when my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in thy tabernacle forever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings.

For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

So will I sing praise to thy name forever, that I may daily perform my vows.

FATHER of all the families of the earth, and in whom all are ever blessed, we come again to thee, delighting to gather around the domestic altar, and offer the evening sacrifice. May it ascend as fragrant and holy incense, and draw down thy best blessing. In the stillness of this hour we would be still and know that thou art God, the God of the universe,