Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub

be formed in us, and we are changed into the same image from glory to glory.

Be with us through the day on which we have entered. Aid us in the discharge of its duties. Keep us from all evil. Help us to remember that thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, and that evil shall not dwell with thee. Continue to us the blessings of thy parental providence; and bring us to the close of this day laden with renewed experience of thy never-failing kindness and mercy.

May our absent relatives and friends, wherever they may be, share with us in the bounty and protection of thy omnipresent love, and become heirs together with us of the grace of life.

We look to thee for a blessing upon the inhabitants of this town, and all our towns. May every family be a nursery of virtue and piety, and every house and every heart be consecrated to religion and to God. May all know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, and whom to know aright is life eternal.

Smile, we beseech thee, upon all the efforts that are made, and the means employed, and the instruments that are raised up, to correct the errors, to purge away the corruptions and wrongs of mankind, and to spread the pure light of Christian knowledge, Christian truth, Christian liberty, and Christian peace, throughout the world; that thy kingdom may come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And unto thee, the infinite Father, through Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son and our Saviour, would we ascribe all the glory. Amen.

IV.

Grateful Confidence.

O come, let us sing unto the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the God of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

O GOD, whose light again shines upon us, we desire to unite with thy whole family in heaven and on earth to offer up to thee, the eternal Fountain of light, our morning adoration, and pay our tribute of gratitude and praise to thee, our Preserver. We would come into thy presence with thanksgiving, and bow before thee, the Lord our Maker, grateful for the new-born light of this day. O shine into our hearts

with the light of truth, and disperse the shades of error, and prejudice, and sin. Inspire us with the hopes and comforts of true religion, and implant within us thy likeness, the image of our Creator, in righteousness and true holiness. Give us clear and consoling views of thy providence which so mercifully regards us, the people of thy pasture, and sheep of thy hand. Warm our hearts with love to thee; with the love of goodness, of purity, and of all thy moral perfections; that by these our faith and trust in thee may be increased and strengthened; and 'that we may rejoice that all the different dispensations of our lives are in thy hand, the hand of our heavenly Father.

Encourage us in the faithful discharge of our duties. Guide us by thy counsel; support us in our journey by thy strength; hold us up by thy promises. Animate us with the patience and perseverance of our blessed Lord and Master, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. In his name we offer our prayers, and in his words conclude them. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; but deliver us from

and lead us not into temptation;

evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

[ocr errors][merged small]

I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise to thee.

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

In the day when I cried thou didst answer me, and strengthen me with strength in my soul.

All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth.

Verily, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.

Though the Lord is high, yet hath he respect to the lowly : but the proud he knoweth afar off.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me; thou wilt stretch forth thy hand against the wrath of my enemies, and thy right hand will save me.

The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever; forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Who but thee

PRAISE be unto thee, O God our Father, that we are again around our family altar. was our protector during the night; and what but thy love has opened our eyes on the morning of another day? Thou hast enrobed thyself in glory and majesty amid this wondrous universe. We rejoice that thou hast made us capable of seeing thee in every event and scene of life; of recognizing thee in every change; of hearing thy voice in thy provi

dence, and in our own consciences; and of feeling thy loving-kindness towards us in the minutest blessings of our daily lot. More than all we rejoice that we may see a still brighter manifestation of thyself in thy dearly-beloved Son, whom in the fulness of time thou didst send to seek and to save the lost, and through whom we may look to thee for forgiveness of our sins, and life everlasting.

Before we go forth this day in the fresh strength of mind and body which thou hast infused into us by sleep, we would consecrate ourselves anew, by the prayer of faith, for life's daily duties, enjoyments, and trials. Help us to fulfil our course this day acceptably to thee. May we rightly understand and faithfully discharge the responsibility which belongs to our several domestic relations; work within us by thy Holy Spirit, both to will and to do of thine own good pleasure. May we be affectionate one to another. May we bear each other's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. May we govern our tempers, restrain our angry passions, be sober-minded and temperate, humble and self-denying. May we speak the truth and live in peace. May our hearts ever be turned towards thee, that they may be ever open to receive thy gracious aid.

Lord and Giver of life, of our purest joys, of our richest comforts, of our immortal hopes, to thee we owe ourselves, and all that we possess. And while thou art the all-bountiful source of all the good in

« FöregåendeFortsätt »