SPEAK

PEAK unto the children of Israel that they go forward.

Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify.

I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

BREAK, new born year, on glad eyes break!

Melodious voices move;

On, rolling time! thou canst not make

The Father cease to love.

Lord, from this year more service win,
More glory, more delight!

O make its hours less sad with sin,
Its days with thee more bright.

Then we may bless its precious things,
If earthly cheer should come;
Or gladsome mount on angel wings,
If thou shouldst take us home.
O golden then the hours must be,
The year must needs be sweet;
Yes, Lord, with happy melody

Thine opening grace we greet.

E bow ourselves before thee, O thou God of our lives, and seek thy blessing. May the coming year prove a new year indeed, bringing new thoughts and better resolutions. Happy, thrice happy, will it be for us if it lead us into a new and divine life. Should it bring trial and sorrow, and take from us health and friends, still happy will it be, if, through thy grace, we are enabled to use it well. O let not this year be marked by broken vows, by a sinful surrender of our souls to the tyranny of wicked passions, by indolence, and deadness of heart. But may it prove for ever memorable as a year rich in generous purposes and Christian deeds. By the divine power of a true spirit may we convert all the changes of life into opportunities of grace; and so may we be raised above the power of time, and breathe the air of an eternal world, even while we sojourn in this vale of shadows. Amen.

THE Lord thee,on thee, and be gracious unto

HE Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make

thee; the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Be strong, and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Choose you this day whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

our God will we serve, and his voice will we

OUR Father, through the coming year

We know not what shall be;

But we would leave without a fear
Its ordering all to thee.

It may be we shall toil in vain

For what the world holds fair,
And all its good, we thought to gain,
Deceive, and prove but care.

It may be it shall bring us days
And nights of lingering pain,
And bid us take our farewell gaze
Of these loved haunts of men.
But calmly, Lord, on thee we rest;
No fears our trust shall move :
Thou knowest what for each is best,
And thou art perfect love.

The Lord

obey.

ALMIGHTY Father, vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to

direct, sanctify, and govern both our hearts and bodies in the ways of thy laws and in the works of thy commandments, that through thy most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul. O God, our hearts as well as our times are in thy hands help us, we beseech thee, with this new year to form new resolutions of serving thee faithfully in the spirit of thy Son Jesus Christ; that we may finish the work which thou hast given us to do, and that our earthly life may be the beginning of a blessed eternity. Amen.

BLESSED are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the king

heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

A

OH! timely happy, timely wise,

Hearts that with rising morn arise !
Eyes that the beam celestial view,
Which evermore makes all things new!

LMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but, above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace and for the hope of glory. And we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we may show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

N those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the

In those days of Judea,

And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

STERN daughter of the voice of God!
O Duty! If that name thou love,
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring, and reprove :

I myself commend

Unto thy guidance from this hour;
Oh! let my weakness have an end!
Give unto me, made lowly wise,

The spirit of self-sacrifice;

The confidence of reason give;

And, in the light of Truth, thy bondman let me live!

GOD, who in times past didst speak to our fathers by the prophets, and in these last days to us by thy Son, we thank thee for the volume of thy Holy Word; for the plain and ample directions it contains; for the sublime instructions it affords; for the consolations and hopes it presents to the penitent, the afflicted, and the dying; for the immortal life it reveals to man; for the eternal glory and happiness it promises to those who love and strive to obey thee. By the light and assistance which it gives to our ignorance and frailty, may we be enabled to order our steps aright, to keep thy laws and ordinances, and steadily to pursue that path of virtue and true holiness which leads to everlasting life. Amen.

B

LESSED be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

FATHER, Source of every blessing,
Tune my heart to grateful lays;
Streams of mercy, never-ceasing,
Call for ceaseless songs of praise.

By thy hand restored, defended,

Safe thus far through life I've come;
Safe, O Lord, when life is ended,
Bring me to my heavenly home.

LORD, merciful and gracious, we, thy dependent offspring, would now humbly and sincerely thank thee, because thou hast given us life, and by thy bountiful providence hast always nourished, directed, and governed us. For our reason, education, and religion; for all the gifts of nature and of grace; for our Saviour, Christ; for our redemption, and instruction in the truth; for thy repeated calls to us; for all the patience which has waited for us, and all the mercy which has spared us; for all the enjoyments of this present life, and for all thy promises, and all our hopes of a better life to come, we bless and magnify thy holy name. And grant, O Lord, that thy mercies may be followed by our obedience; and that we may so walk in the light of thy favor, and in the paths of thy commandments, that, living here to thy praise, we may at last be received to thyself, to rejoice for ever in thy presence; which we ask in the name, and as disciples, of him who died that we might live; through whom to thee be ascribed all thanksgiving and praise, both now and for ever. Amen.