me to trust in the living God. In the hour of prosperity, let me not forget that thou art the giver of every good and perfect gift: and in the season of affliction, show me that thou canst comfort me on every side-canst make my wilderness as Eden, and my desert as the garden of the Lord. Make me realize that in all my efforts to do good, either to myself or others, I must depend on thee. Thou only givest the increase. But blessed be thy name, thy Spirit helpeth my infirmities; and thy strength is made perfect in my weakness.

Assist me by thy grace, in all the vicissitudes of life, to feel that thou art a present help in every hour of need. When toil and care, fears and trials encompass me, lead me to thee, with whom alone dwelleth that peace which passeth understanding: and do thou guide me into green pastures and beside still waters; and let thy banner over me be love. And grant, O Lord, through the merits of Jesus Christ, that when I am called to struggle with the king of terrors, thy grace may be sufficient for me, and that I may be made glad in the hope of eternal life.

DEPRAVITY.-See Human Depravity.

DILIGENCE.

Make me

Lord, quicken thou me in thy way. diligent in thy work, continuing instant in prayer, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Grant, that in every duty I may be active, watchful and persevering; for no man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Let not mine be the doom of that servant who hid his master's talent in the earth.

Let me not be slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Suffer me not to rely on the memory of past experience, nor on the hope of future obedience; but whatsoever my hand findeth to do, give me zeal to do it with my might. O give me the spirit of diligence in every work of faith and labour of love; remembering my accountability to thee, the importance of the trusts thou hast reposed in me, the shortness of human life, and the abundant rewards thou hast promised to them who are faithful in thy service. Lord, enable me to lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset me, and run with patience the race that is set before me; looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, and pressing toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

Lord, rebuke the sloth of thy covenant-people. Give them a spirit of active energy in all that relates to the sanctification of their own hearts, the saving health of thy church, and the conversion of sinners. Yet do thou make them feel that while they strive with all their vigour in the obedience of faith, it is thou that workest all in all.

DOUBTS.

Merciful Father, preserve me from a doubtful mind. Let not disease of body, nor affliction of mind, disquiet my soul within me. Let not ignorance nor error intrude on my comfort in the hope of the gospel. Let not Satan unsettle my trust in thy covenant of mercy. And O, suffer not sin, in any form, to bring a cloud over the light of thy countenance, and the joys of thy salvation.—O thou that givest rest to the weary and heavy-laden, show

me that thy mercy endureth forever. Teach me that thou art merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness. Lead me, I pray thee, in every feeling of despondency, to that throne from which thou givest grace to help in every season of trial. Say unto me, when accused by a guilty conscience-"Come, let us reason together: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they be red, like crimson, they shall be as wool." Dissipate my fears, and give me an assurance of an interest in thy favour, and of acceptance in thy sight, through the righteousness of Christ. Grant me thy blessed Comforter, that I may have joy in the Holy Ghost. Cheer me by thy gracious promises, which are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus. Give me, O Lord, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Let my light rise in my obscurity, and my darkness be as the noonday. Cause thy righteousness to go before me, and thy glory to be my rere-ward!

DUELING.

Lord, I would mourn before thee that man still imbrues, in single combat, his hand in the blood of his fellow-man. O, thou seest that many hearts, which were cherished in the social and family circle; many lives, which were valuable in the public service; and many souls, whose redemption was precious-have been periled and cast away in these barbarous rencounters.-Lord, wilt thou not utterly subvert that merciless code of honour, which combines folly and cowardice, madness and malice, suicide and murder? Do thou bring against this presumptuous and heaven-daring sin, a flood-tide

of public opinion. Let the pulpit, the press, the forum, and every circle of influence, speak out with a condemning voice. Cause the blood that has been spilt in this unrighteousness, to cry from the ground against it. May every principal and every accessory to it, be regarded in society, and treated in law, as murderers. Let the terrors of an avenging Jehovah startle the fears and quell the violence of every one that would lift up his hand against his brother.

Lord, make the statutes of the land and the law of God the umpires in all the collisions between man and man. Let humility, forbearance, and love, supplant pride, insult, and revenge. And grant, I pray thee, that the balmy atmosphere of peace may encircle the whole earth.

DUTY.

Eternal God, O may my daily and hourly inquiry be, "What wilt thou have me to do?" Instruct me that the duty which thou requirest of me, is obedience to thy revealed will. Help me, I pray thee, to discharge all my obligations to thee, to myself, and to my fellow-creatures.

May I love thee with all my soul, and mind, and strength, and heart. Dispose me to submit to thy will; to love thy character; to trust in thy name; and to fear thine excellent greatness. May I regard thee as, through Christ, the object of prayer, and the rewarder of them who diligently seek thee. Help me, I pray thee, to worship thee, who art a Spirit, in spirit and in truth.

Lord, enable me, by thy Spirit, to do my duty to myself. May I exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and repentance unto life; and make a dili

gent use of all the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates unto us the benefits of redemption. May I work out my salvation with. fear and trembling, knowing that it is God that worketh in me, to will and to do of his own good pleasure.

Assist me, O Lord, to perform all the duties, social, civil, and religious, which I owe to my fellow-creatures. May my conduct to them be governed by that spirit of charity which excludes anger, revenge, censoriousness, prejudice, injury, and oppression. Make me averse to injure the feelings, persons, property and character of any. May I delight in the happiness of others. Make my heart a well-spring of sympathy, compassion, and liberality; and lead me to spend cheerfully my property, my time, and, if needs be, my life, in works of mercy and justice. Enable me to fulfil all my relations as a superior, an inferior, and an equal.

Lord, I thank thee for the encouragements thou art giving, in the course of thy providence, to religious effort, by making rich with thy blessing those who are diligent in thy cause. Yet, I would feel that while these things are to be remembered with thankfulness, they increase my obligation to labour, that I may return thine own to thee with abundant usury. Strengthen me, I pray thee, to do thy will, while it is called to-day-to do it with my might, and with perseverance therein to the end-even as thine angels do it in heaven.

Lord, I would offer these and all other petitions through him who is the Prophet, Priest, and King of the whole Israel of God; and without whose merits and intercessions, all my services would be without hope or profit.-[See OBEDIENCE.]