And all whom we ought to love,

By our kind deeds and gentle words
May be made happy every day.

Save us from being selfish, thoughtless, and unjust :
May our temper be meek, gentle, affectionate;

And, when we have done all that we can
To make our homes happy upon earth,

May we be received, at last, with all we love,
To the mansions of the home in heaven.

For the hope of that heavenly home,
For the memory of loved ones there gathered,
For the welcome they may give to us,
For the guidance of the Shepherd of the flock,
For the great family in heaven and on earth,
We will give thee, now and ever, our thanks.

Amen.

XXIII.

FOR THE POOR AND SUFFERING.

ALMIGHTY GOD, our Heavenly Father, Who hast made of one blood all nations of men, To dwell on the face of the earth;

The high and the humble,

The rich and the poor, are thine:

The Lord is the maker of them all.

We thank thee for all the good things
We are ourselves permitted to enjoy :
For our comfortable and happy homes,
For kind parents, wise and faithful friends.
Help us, O God, that in our abundance
We may remember the poor and suffering:
Hear thou our prayers for their sakes;
Give to them in their needs;

Shield them in their exposures;

Bless the widow and the orphan;

Wipe away the tears from the afflicted:

What thou of thy bounty givest us
May we share with the needy.
In the friendless and the suffering,
May we see the person of Jesus;
And hear his voice say to us,

Because ye did it unto them,

Ye did it unto me.

Father, we pray that his tender spirit May yet more and more, prevail in the world, And be triumphant over human woe. And to thy great name, through him, Be glory and honor for ever. Amen.

XXIV.

FOR A HOPE FULL OF IMMORTALITY.

ALMIGHTY GOD, who livest for ever,
Without beginning of years or end of days;
Though our earthly life be a span,
We have a hope of a life eternal.
Blessed be the Lord our God,

Who has begotten us to this lively hope,

By the resurrection of our Lord from the dead. May the power of the life to come

Be felt in the life that now is.

May we see that the gain of the whole world Shall at last profit us nothing,

If we lose our own soul;

And that nothing can be given
In exchange for the soul.

Beyond things seen and temporal

May we extend the vision of our faith,

And live for interests that shall endure

When the stars of the firmament shall perish.

May we diligently sow the seed
That shall bear fruit to eternal life;
May the thought of the world to come
Lift up and ennoble all our aims,
Giving us patience in our trials,
Making life a sacred discipline,

And death seem but as a new birth.
May we feel that friends departed in Christ
Are not lost, but are in that heavenly home
Which Jesus has gone before to prepare ;
And that, one day, they will there welcome
The loved who shall follow in their steps.
O God, grant that no sins

May darken this precious hope.

Give us that divine spirit.

Which abolishes all thought of death,

And fits us for the company of the pure in heart, Who shall for ever see God.

We offer our prayer in the name of Him

Who is the resurrection and the life,

Who brought life and immortality to light,

For whose salvation we thank thee,

And through whom to thee be the praise for ever.

Amen.