GREAT God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ere we enter upon the business of this week, we come into thy presence and pour out our prayer before thee. Graciously teach us how to pray, and what to pray for, and do thou fulfil our supplications, for thy name and mercy's sake.

We dare not commit ourselves to the scenes and engagements which demand our attention without thee, for we are weak; our hearts are treacherous, and we are but too likely to wander out of the path we should keep. Oh! to be guided by thy counsel, to be watched over in all our way by our Father who is in heaven. Oh for tenderness of conscience, for holy resolve, and for the love of Christ shed abroad in our heart, through the power of the Holy Ghost! Let thy Spirit be with us. In the business of life may we maintain our integrity; in the house may we walk before one another with a perfect heart; and in our closets may we draw nigh to thee, and do thou draw nigh unto us. We feel that many a former day has been embittered by our folly. Pride and passion, worldliness and self-seeking, have made us forgetful of God. We confess our sin in these things. We implore forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord, and may the remembrance of these errors and sins make us doubly watchful for the time to come. We hate sin; let it gain no dominion over us. We love the Saviour; help us, blessed God, to tread in his steps, to imbibe his spirit, and to serve him continually. Prepare us for all that this day and

this week may disclose. We know not what is before

us,

but our way is known to thee. No event can occur without thee. If our path be pleasant during the week on which we have entered, help us to acknowledge thee, and offer praise for every mercy; if it be painful, make us submissive and cheerful still; let not our confidence in thee fail. As the eyes of servants look unto the hands of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes up unto thee. O God, make us diligent in business; keep us humble, devout, affectionate one to another, and kind toward all men. May we imitate the example of the great Redeemer. Depending on his righteousness for acceptance with thee, may we love him supremely, and in all things obey his will. Enlighten our understandings when we read thy word. Grant to us habitually the spirit of grace and of supplication, and may we gird up the loins of our mind, be watchful, and hope unto the end for the grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Let a blessing accompany the remembrance of the services of yesterday; may many give evidence that they were brought to thee. Reclaim backsliders; and in us may thy word dwell richly in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Let thy power be upon us, and thy great might succour us, that we may not be hindered by our sins in running the race set before us. Wherein we have been hindered in time past, O Lord, let thy bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; make us watchful, and grant us forgiveness through the satisfaction of thy Son our Lord; to whom, with thee, and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

O THOU great and glorious God, who takest pleasure in those that approach thee. Look down, we beseech thee, in compassion upon us, falling low at thy footstool to offer our supplications and praises in the name of our great and glorious Advocate. We have to thank thee for the mercies of another day. We have been permitted to engage in our usual avocations, and have been preserved in our going out and coming in: great is thy goodness. Thou hast kept our bodies in health; our minds retain their faculties, and we have been watched over so as to have escaped the evils which have befallen some around us. We bless thee for thy care. We have not deserved it, but, thanks to thy name, thou hast not shut up thy tender mercies from us. O Lord, forgive the short-comings and imperfections of this day. May we feel that we are reconciled to thee through Jesus Christ thy Son, and that, at all times, we may approach thee in his precious name. Thou art more ready to hear than we are to pray. Oh help us to avail ourselves of the privilege of drawing nigh to thee, through the blood of the cross, and let thy mercy rest upon us.

Give success to our undertakings to-day, if it please thee, and help us in our future way to acknowledge thee and depend on thy guidance and help. In the business of life, may integrity and uprightness preserve us. In the associations we enjoy, may the increase of our knowledge of thy truth, and our holiness of cha

racter, with the benefit of others, be the object we seek ; and in the trials which thy providence may appoint for us, may we in patience possess our souls. Help us to derive from every part of the discipline under which we are placed those spiritual benefits, which shall show that we are thine. Merciful God, keep us near to thyself, and may we never indulge in sin, in pride, in worldliness, in any thing that is offensive in thy sight. May we remember the cross and hate sin. Let the thought that we are redeemed by the blood of Christ, excite us always to gratitude and holy love. May we indulge in no vain confidence; let us never forsake thee, the fountain of mercy, and hew out to ourselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can yield us no supply. Oh give to us thine Holy Spirit, to enable us to maintain our diligence to the end, working out our own salvation with fear and trembling; and may we find, that in keeping thy commandments there is great reward. May we pant after conformity to thy will.

Nor let us only have this happiness—may it be the portion of every one of our beloved relatives, and all who appertain to us. May our neighbours taste that thou art gracious; and hasten the day, when, through the instrumentality of thy gospel, the world shall become obedient to the faith.

Soothe the sorrows of the afflicted, and comfort all that mourn. Undertake for the oppressed, and let the sighing of the needy come before thee. Hear us, O our Father, in these our supplications, and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, for the love of thine only Son and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

ACTS XIX.

MORNING HYMN.

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted."

IF good for thee, O man of God,

So far advanced in grace,

The chastenings of thy Father's rod

And hidings of his face;

How much more need that we should taste,

Whose progress is so slow,

The bitter Marah of the waste,

The pilgrim cup of woe!

"Tis good-for we are taught to cleave

More closely to our God;

Our times in his own hand to leave,

And even "kiss the rod."

'Tis good-for we are made to pant,
That "weight" of bliss to know,
For which the sorrows of the saint
Are meetening him below.

If Marah's waves have bitter proved,
The sweetening tree was there;

The Saviour show'd that still he loved,
And made us still his care:

For if 'tis good to weep awhile,
'Tis goodlier now to praise;
To joy in his returning smile,
And triumph in his ways.