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XXX.

AT CHRISTMAS.

OUR Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name! With the voice of praise do we come to thee, That thou hast visited us in our low estate, And raised up for us a Saviour,

Promised of old by thy holy Prophets,

And declared to be the Son of God with power. Thanks that the song has encircled the earth Which was first heard on Bethlehem's plain: Glory to God in the highest,

Peace on earth, good-will towards men.

May our hearts be attuned to that praise,

And, from the fulness of our joy for a Saviour,
May we take up and repeat the anthem:
Glory to God in the highest!

Thanks that we may bring gifts to thy child Jesus;
That the poorest may open treasures for him.

Assurance that on him thou hast laid our help,

Hearts joyful in the truth he brings from heaven,

Souls longing to possess his divine life,

Father, these are our offerings; if sincere,
More precious to thy pure eyes

Than gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

O God, may every return of this day Witness new triumphs of the kingdom of thy Son. Give it more power in each of our souls; Extend its dominion of truth, peace, and love; Bless all efforts to send it abroad through the world, Till the uttermost parts of the earth shall rejoice, And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Amen.

XXXI.

AT THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR.

ALMIGHTY GOD, who inhabitest eternity, Who art without beginning of years,

And whose days shall have no end;

We, thy children, who are of yesterday, ·
And whose life passes away as a tale,
Lift to thee our lowly prayer.

Ackowledging thy care, we look back
Upon the way in which thou hast led us.
Thy seasons have visited us in turn;
Thy hand hath supplied our wants;

Thy love hath bestowed our enjoyments;

Thy wisdom hath appointed our trials;

And because we have obtained help from thee,

We have continued to this time.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all his benefits,

Who healeth all thy sicknesses,

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction,

Who crownest thy days with goodness.

O God, with thoughtful minds may we remember

That a year of our life is gone,

Its moments never to be recalled,
Its record never to be changed.
If that record tells of our neglect,
Of our disobedience to parents,
Of our unkindness to one another,
Of our misuse of our time,

Of our forgetfulness of God,

May not the last sun of this year go down
On unrepented and unforgiven sins;

For thy mercy's sake, grant us thy pardon.
Father, in this solemn hour,

We remember those, a year since with us,
Whom we shall see on earth no more;
No more shall they join in our prayers,
No more lift their voices in our songs.
We hope their angels are around thy throne.
For their higher worship in heaven
May these fleeting years prepare us,
That we may join their company

When our days on earth are passed.
So teach us to number our days

That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Father, we offer our prayer to thee,

For that spirit of Jesus which is life eternal,
Which lifts us above all changes of time,
And gives us a foretaste of immortality.

With stronger faith, and quickened diligence,
May we seek Him, the Way, the Truth, the Life;
May our life be hid in his,

And be safe and enduring for ever.

To thee be the glory, through him. Amen.

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