it as it

may, it is our home, for ever consecrated by Thy presence, and protected by Thy watch

ful care.

Father, we forget Thy laws, and too often wander from Thy way. Evil gains dominion over us and we become slaves to sense, to passion, and to sin. Yet hast Thou such long patience, that Thou lovest us still, even while we disobey Thee and break Thy everlasting laws. Forgive us, Father; and grant that we may be able to forgive ourselves, and with true penitence wash away our sins in the fountain of Thy grace.

We thank Thee for our daily life; for its tasks, to exercise our hands, and for its trials and temptations, which strengthen our hearts, and embolden our spirits. We thank Thee for our neighbours and acquaintance, our relatives and friends, and all whom Thou hast given to love us, and be loved by us in turn. Teach us, O Lord, to use the world wisely and well, that we may find it what Thou didst make it to be, the school wherein Thy children may daily acquire more and more of the spirit of wisdom, and true piety of life. Help us to live at peace, in our own souls, and in such unity with our brethren, that we may love and serve even the unlovely, and those who evil entreat and oppose us. Above all, Father, help us to be at home with Thee, that with all our powers of heart, and mind, and soul, we may identify ourselves with Thee, until Thy truth shall dwell in

our understanding, Thy justice establish our conscience, and Thy holy love, with all its blessed warmth and light, shine out in our daily life, for ever and for evermore. Amen.

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MORNING OR EVENING.

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Heavenly Father, we draw near, not as strangers, but as Thy children, to ask the blessing of Thy love and care. Speak to us, Lord, and manifest Thy presence here. All our needs are known to Thee, and Thou art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give us more than we can either ask or think. We ask for temporal mercies, and Thou givest as well the graces and virtues of Thy Holy Spirit, and pourest Thy benefits upon us, in ways as gentle as the sunshine, and as convenient to our necessities as rain upon the thirsty ground. All our events are in Thy thoughts, all that befals us is under the rule of Thy justice, Thy wisdom, and Thy love. We bow before the wonder of Thy goodness, the beauty of Thy holiness, the glory of Thy power. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord. Our worship of Thee is our honour, the lifting up of our heads, the exaltation of the lowly spirit. Father, draw us nearer to Thy loveliness, and of Thy great goodness lead us to repentance. Help us, in our strivings for a clearer vision of

Thy spirit, and for a more faithful fulfilment of Thy gracious will; and grant us the blessing of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and seek, before all else, Thy eternal kingdom of truth and love.

Draw near, O God, to all who are troubled by doubts and fears and are baffled in their desire to serve Thee. To all who feel themselves forsaken and alone, or helpless, by reason of their sorrow, speak Thou the mighty and reassuring word. Bid them arise, and be of good cheer, that they may once more take up their Cross and follow Thee. Thou knowest all about us, Lord; how much of ignorance and selfishness, how much of folly and conceit, there is in us, so that we scarce know what we should pray for as we ought. Have pity on us, Father. Thou must show us the way, and teach us to do the thing that pleaseth Thee.

We rejoice to know that Thou art our Lord, and to remember that Thou dost rule and govern all things, in heaven and earth, by Thy goodness, and Thy justice; and not by the petty marks of the wants and wishes we propose to Thee. Thy will, alone, is able to devise what is wisest and best for us. Help us to put our whole trust and confidence in Thee, and to say with all our hearts, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. And grant that every day, and everywhere, and in everything, we may accept each duty and accustomed task as a favour from Thy hand, each opportunity and experience, as a fresh revelation of Thy faith

fulness and truth, and a living token of Thy everlasting love and care.

We ask Thy blessing, Father, on the unknown friends who worship with us here today. And may we all feel that neither they nor we can ever more be strangers, if only we live and serve one another as members of one true church, and brothers and sisters in the universal family of Thy love. Give, we pray, to each of us that which Thou knowest to be best for each, and draw us, in sincerity and truth, ever closer, in sympathy and fellowship, to one another and to Thee. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and Thy love, O Heavenly Father, and the Communion of the Holy Spirit, be and abide with us all for ever and evermore. Amen.