hold, to commence, or, if it be already commenced, to continue, amidst all difficulties and drawbacks, the practice of family devotion.

Evening Prayer for a Family.

Almighty and most merciful Father, in whom we live and mové and have our being: to thy tender compassion are we indebted for all the comforts of the present life, and for the hopes of that which is to come. We bless thy great goodness, for the measure of health which we have this day enjoyed; for our food and raiment; for our peace and safety; for our domestic and social enjoyments; for the use of our reason; and for the opportunities of religious improvement with which we have been favoured. But above all, we acknowledge, with thankful adoration, thine inestimable love, in sending thy Son Jesus Christ into the world, to die for our sins, and to rise again for our justification. To this love we owe thy forbearance with us; thine unwearied patience towards us; the gracious invitations of thy Word; thy promises of pardon, reconciliation, and eternal life; and the gift of thy Holy Spirit, to renew our fallen nature, and to enable us to perform thy righteous will.

Here, O Lord, in thy presence, would we bewail our carelessness and inconsideration in time past, and the innumerable sins whereby we have provoked thee to withdraw thy tender mercies from us, and to abandon us to the natural blindness and hardness of our hearts. Our lives, even during the day which is now drawing to a close, have little corresponded with those obligations which our Christian profession lays upon us, and which we have solemnly promised to fulfil. We have loved the world more than God; and we have been pursuing its vain and worthless objects, far more eagerly than the glory and the treasures of thy kingdom. How little, O Lord, have we felt the force of gratitude to thee, and to Christ, as the animating spring of our obedience! How little have we been restrained by thy fear, and by the recollection of thy presence, from transgressing thy commands! How little has it been in our thoughts and intentions to please thee, and to do thy will!

"O Lord, lay not our sins to our charge. Be merciful, we beseech thee, to our unrighteousness, through the blood of the Lamb of God, which was shed for the sins of the world. Remember not against us, O Lord, the vanity of our thoughts, the errors of our judgment, the pride of our spirit, the inordinateness of

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our desires, the violence of our passions, the inconstancy of our resolutions, the selfishness of our motives, or the unworthiness of our ends. Let not the time we have wasted, the talents we have misapplied, or the grace we have abused; let not our unkindness to others, or our ingratitude to thee, rise up in judg ment against us. But grant unto us thy gracious pardon for the past, and bestow on us the grace of thy Holy Spirit, to renew us in body, soul, and spirit, and to enable us to amend our lives, according to thy holy word. Inspire us, O Lord, with such an affecting sense of thy love to us, as may powerfully excite our love to thee, and produce in us a greater earnestness, zeal, and diligence, in all our duty. May thy favour be the great object of our desire and pursuit; and by thy grace may we be restored to such a lively image of thyself, in all righteousness, purity, goodness, and truth, that we may have an abiding testimony of thy love. May the holy dispositions of Jesus Christ be formed within us, that we may walk in all humility, meekness, patience, contentedness, and self-denial, and make an entire surrender of our souls and bodies to thy holy will and pleasure. May Christ reign in our hearts, that we may no longer live to ourselves, but to Him; and that the life we live in the flesh may be by the faith of the Son of

"

God, who loved us, and gave himself for us. And the same mercies which we implore for ourselves, we desire also for the rest of mankind, especially for all who are called by the name of Christ. Put an end to all strife, discord, and war, and cause the Gospel of Peace to extend its influence from the rising to the setting sun. Avert from this nation the evils which we feel or fear. May our King reign in the hearts of his subjects; may they be dutiful and obedient; and may both live to thy glory. May the ministers of Christ guide their flock with true wisdom and fidelity: and may the people follow their godly counsels. May the rich have compassion on the poor; and learn to trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God. May the poor in this world be rich in faith and a contented spirit, and heirs of thy kingdom. Give thy grace to husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants; that in their several relations, they may so behave themselves, as to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. May all who are endeared to us, by whatever ties, be dear to thee, and have their final portion with the saints, in thy glorious kingdom.

And now, that we are about to lay ourselves down to rest, receive us, O Lord, into thy gracious protection. Refresh us with

comfortable sleep: and when we awake in the morning, may our first thoughts be directed to thee, our merciful Preserver. Defend us from the powers of darkness, and from all evil accidents: and may our minds enjoy such delightful views of thee, and of thy glory, and be so weaned from this world, that we may be willing, at thy call, to depart hence, and to be with Christ.

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'Hear, O Lord, these our imperfect prayers, which we present unto thee, in the name, and through the mediation, of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."*

* See Christian Observer, Sept. 1804.