THIRD.

ALMIGHTY and eternal God, our Creator, Pre

server, and Benefactor, we desire to begin this day with the acknowledgment of thy power and goodness, and of our obligation to love and serve thee; and we beseech thee to grant us grace to pass the whole of it in thy fear, and in the fulfilment of thy commandments.

O Lord, enable us diligently to perform our respective duties. Let us not waste our time, nor be unfaithful to any trust. Let us have the testimony of our consciences, that in simplicity and sincerity we have our conversation in the world. Let truth be ever on our lips. May we perform a kind and Christian part to all who come within our influence.

We also beseech thee to give us patience to bear the several trials and vicissitudes of life, with an equal and contented mind. Let us not be perplexed with the cares of this world, nor overwhelmed with unnecessary fears; but let us ever trust thy gracious Providence, and hope in thy goodness and mercy.

Bless unto us the afflictive circumstances through which we may pass. May we see thy hand in all thy various dispensations, and know that, if we truly love and serve thee, all things shall work together for our good.

We commend to thy kind and fatherly care all our friends and relations. We pray for the rising generation; that thou wouldst be their hope, their refuge, and their strength. Hear the cry of the

sick, and the aged, and the afflicted; and grant help and peace to all thy needy and dependent creatures; and pardon to sinful and sinning men, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Then shall the whole Family together say the Lord's Prayer.

OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be

thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be

done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, For ever and ever.

Amen.

FIRST EVENING SERVICE

FOR A FAMILY.

The following Anthem is to be said by the Reader and Family alternately, as in the preceding Services.

ΤΗ

HE Lord hath commanded his loving-kindness in the day-time; and in the night season also our song shall be of him, and our prayer unto the God of our life.

As long as we live will we magnify thee in this manner, and lift up our hands in thy name.

Let our prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense; and let the lifting up of our hands be an evening sacrifice.

For thou art the portion of our inheritance and of our cup, and thou shalt maintain our lot.

Behold, he who keepeth his people will neither slumber nor sleep. He is about our path, and about our bed, and beholdeth all our ways.

We will lay us down in peace, and take our rest, for it is thou, O Lord, only, who makest us to dwell in safety.

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God;

Be honor and glory, through Jesus Christ, for ever and ever. Amen.

Then shall the Person who conducts the Service say, The Lord be with you ;

Answer. And with thy spirit.

Reader. Let us pray.

Then shall he read either of the following Prayers.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God; for all the blessings which we every day receive from thy bounty; for all the known, and all the unobserved favors, deliverances, visitations, and graces of thy Holy Spirit, we bless thy good providence ; beseeching thee still to continue thy fatherly care over us, for we are weak and ignorant, and need thy constant protection and guidance.

Wilt thou, O God, be merciful unto us, who have broken thy laws, abused thy patience, wasted precious time, sinned against thy light, and resisted thy good Spirit. Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, that we may be able to see the evil and danger

of sin, and shun the snares of temptation, and walk with safety in the paths of pleasantness and peace. Forgive whatever we have done or thought amiss during the past day; and give us grace that we may render ourselves more worthy of thy favor for the time to come. Let us be excited to serve thee, our Heavenly Master, with fidelity, and finish our work with diligence, before that night overtakes us, wherein no man can work.

O thou who never slumberest nor sleepest, but, both by night and by day, dost watch over thy people, keep and defend us, we pray thee, this night. Let the shades which encompass us be as the shadow of thy wings. May our sleep be quiet and refreshing; and may we rise in the morning prepared and invigorated to serve thee in the duties of the day. May all our nights on earth be hallowed by thy blessing, and all our days devoted to thy service; so that when we have slept the sleep of the grave, we may awake to the resurrection of the just.

Hear us, we beseech thee, in thy Son's name, as whose disciples we approach thee, our Father, and ascribe unto thee all honor and glory forever. Amen.

Οι

SECOND.

UR Father in heaven, thy children kneel before the throne of thy mercy, and humbly thank thee for all the blessings of this day, and for the privilege which we now enjoy of holding communion with thee.

O God, if this day we have fallen into any sin;

if we have weakly yielded to any temptation; if we have been angry without cause, or beyond bounds; if we have been uncharitable, unjust, undutiful, or in any way unmindful of thee and thy laws, we beseech thee to forgive us in thy great mercy, and grant us true repentance, that we may lie down this night in peace with the world, with ourselves, and with thee. And we pray thee, O Father, to watch over us this night, and protect us from all evil, and give to our eyes refreshing slumbers, so that we may rise in the morning with renewed power to serve thee. If we are to rise no more in this world, grant that we may wake, in the next, to life immortal, and the light of thy countenance forevermore.

We pray thee, also, to protect the whole sleeping world through the hours of darkness. And be graciously with those, who, by land or by sea, must wake and watch. Soothe the pains of the sick; speak pardon and peace to sleepless consciences; guide the traveller on his way; preserve the mariner from the fury of the tempest, and direct him through the paths of the deep. Be a Father to the fatherless; a Deliverer to the oppressed; a Friend to all who are under neglect or contempt, or in want; and especially to those who are persecuted for conscience' and righteousness' sake. Be kind to all our friends and to all our enemies; to all who have prayed for us, and to all who have desired that we should pray for them. Mercifully, O God, Father Almighty, hear their prayers, and ours, which we offer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.