power thou hast again raised us from the temporary death of sleep, and opened our eyes upon the world, fresh and beautiful as on the first morn of creation. Now, also, do the morning stars sing together, and the sons of God shout for joy. Now, as then, thy wisdom, power and glory, are displayed, showing that thou art the same yesterday, to-day and forever.

But in the Gospel, far more clearly and tenderly than in nature, are revealed thy paternal character and providences. We thank thee for the work which Christ has wrought in the world. Especially do we thank thee for that richest fruit of his mission on earth, Christian homes. We bless thee for the spirit which has hallowed the union of husband and wife, parent and child, brother and sister, and made it like the union of Christ and the church. We pray that the spirit of thy holy Son may dwell richly in our hearts this day, and make ours a home of peace, of contentment, of mutual love. Help us to watch over our tempers, that no hasty or unkind word may escape our lips. Give us, we beseech thee, so much of the spirit of our Master, that we may feel it to be more blessed to give than to receive mutual aid and sympathy. Sanctify to us our domestic comforts, duties and affections, that our home may be a school of Christ, to prepare us for our everlasting home in

heaven.

O thou Guardian of our lives, as we go forth this day, to the duties, temptations and perils of life, we

cast ourselves on thy almighty protection. Dangers may await us which no human wisdom can foresee, changes which no skill of ours can avert. We find comfort in the thought of thy guardian providence over us; we rest in the assurance of thy fatherly protection and love. We may again meet temptations which have so often overcome us. Not in our own strength would we again venture into the scenes of the world. Do thou go with us, upholding us, and providing under every temptation a way of escape. We are again to be brought into relations with our fellow-beings by which we may influence their future course. Give us grace to watch for ways to do them good, to turn their feet to thy testimonies, that they may glorify thy name. We are again to be intrusted, in thy service, with opportunities that may not return. We may this day receive impressions that will give a bias to our whole future lives. Give us grace so to improve these opportunities, and direct these impressions, that the coming evening may find us advanced a day's journey heavenward.

Father of Mercies, we supplicate thy blessing on all classes and conditions of our fellow-beings. Remember in great mercy the poor and destitute, the sick and sorrowful, the tempted and tried, the aged and infirm. Give them all grace to hear and accept the gracious invitation of the Saviour, Come unto me, all ye labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

that

Finally, we commit ourselves and all that are dear

to us into thy merciful hands, beseeching thee to guard, guide, sustain, and sanctify us, this day and all our days; and unto thee shall be all the praise, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

XXIII.

Joy in God's Compassion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thy iniquities; who healeth all thy dis

eases;

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies;

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy.

He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever.

He hath not dealt with us according to our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

OUR FATHER, who art in heaven. Hallowed be

thy name. With the light of another day our hearts would ascend in prayer and in praise unto thee, who in the beginning saidst "Let there be light," and who still in thine eternal providence and thy boundless mercy makest the sun to shine on the evil and the good, on the thankful and the unthankful. The heavens declare thy glory. The earth is full of thy goodness. Summer and winter, seed-time and harvest, night and day, speak unto us, each in its turn, of thee, their Maker and Lord. Daily thou crownest us with thy loving-kindness and tender mercies. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name!

As a Christian family do we now bow down together before thee, believing what thou hast taught us in Jesus Christ thy Son, believing in thy providential care, believing in thy paternal compassion, believing in the higher life to come, when this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal immortality, and when they that have served or forsaken thee on earth shall pass to their account. As a Christian family, O God, may we begin and may we spend this new day on which we are now entering; being in all things true to our discipleship, and proving by our words and acts, at home and abroad, in the manifold relations of life, that we have a living and not a dead and barren faith in thee and in thy Son. O, help us to finish the work which thou hast given us to do for ourselves. for each other, and for all whom

we can serve; remembering the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death.

Father, we commend our bodies and our souls unto thee, confiding in the assurance that thou art gracious and abundant in mercy. Watch over us in every danger, and give us the needed strength for every duty. Make us conquerors over the evil passions that would betray our virtue and our peace, and over the sins of thought, of temper, and of life, which do most easily beset us; and if through the weakness of our nature we at any time fall, deal not with us according to our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquity.

Let this and all our days upon earth be spent in thy fear; and may we live in daily and happy preparation for the last. May the thought of that future life cheer us onward in our earthly pilgrimage, giving purity to our motives and elevation to our aims, and enabling us to bear with serene peace and trust all the allotments of thy holy hand. And having dwelt together in pleasantness and peace during the brief term of our sojourning in these mortal bodies, having been faithful helpers to one another in all the chances and changes of the world, may we at length, in thine infinite grace, be permitted to meet again in a still happier union in thy presence, and in the presence of thy Son, with whom is fulness of joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.