the seed of truth, and produce rich harvests of spiritual good. May they learn the worth of the undying soul; the guilt which sin has brought on them; and the fearful wrath which hangs over them in their impenitency. Show them, O Lord, the way thou hast provided, of escape from their guilt and danger; and do thou persuade and enable them, by the power of the Spirit, to receive Jesus as their Teacher, Saviour, and Ruler. Merciful Father, may it please thee to add to thy church from their number, many of such as shall be saved. Raise up from them many who shall be burning and shining lights-many who shall be abundantly blessed in the work of saving souls. Lord, I offer these entreaties, not in my own merits, which are worthless in thy sight, but in the name of the Beloved-unto whom, with the Father and the Spirit, be sincere and endless praise. - [See TEACHERS, CHILDREN, EARLY PIETY.] SACRAMENT. See Lord's Supper. SACRED MUSIC. Let all that hath breath praise the Lord! Hearken, O my soul: the voice of universal nature is a song of glory unto God: and shalt thou, who hast shared his choicest mercies, keep silence before him? I thank thee, Gracious Maker, for the gift of speech. Incline me, I pray thee, to train and employ it in thy praise. Make me feel the importance of this portion of thy worship, in honouring thy name, in exciting feelings of devotion, and in obtaining thy blessing. Let it be an intelligent, sincere, and holy service. May I sing with the understanding, and with the spirit; making melody with my heart unto the Lord. Lord, redeem the power of music from the foolish and profane uses to which it is so often applied. Let praise wait for thee, O God, in Zion. May thy saints teach and admonish one another, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; singing with grace in their hearts unto the Lord. Dispose thy people to give increased attention to this important service. Reform its abuses, in manner and in spirit. Let it not be profaned by insincerity, nor be made the instrument of vain glory. May all feel it to be their duty to fit themselves to join in it. Give it influence on the piety of the church, and let its words of wisdom fall with conviction on the ears of the ungodly. O may the days of praise of thy servants on earth, prepare them for that nobler worship, where every thought, and every feeling, and every sound, is a voice of melody, which hearts of bliss bring, like holy incense, to thy heavenly throne! SALVATION. Heavenly Father, grant me just and full views of the plan of salvation by a Redeemer. Give me, I pray thee, an understanding to know, and a heart to feel, what thou hast done for the redemption of sinners. In the counsels of eternity, thou didst foresee that estate of sin and misery into which mankind should be brought by the fall; and thou didst not leave them to perish in it; for in thy wisdom and mercy, thou didst devise a scheme, by which they might be delivered from it, and be brought into an estate of salvation, through the atoning blood of thy Son. Thou didst send him, in the fulness of time, to save that which was lost -to ransom those who were under the curse of the law-to redeem them who were subject to the world, the flesh, and the devil; and over whom were hanging the terrors of the second death. And, O, that redemption which he brought, not only saves from these fearful evils, but exalts those who were by nature and practice the heirs of wo, to be the objects of God's favour in this life, and the jointheirs of Christ's inheritance in the world to come! O Lord, give me an ever-present conviction that this salvation is not by human wisdom or power; for it was thy mercy that procured it, and it is thy Spirit that induces and enables me to accept it. Direct all my hopes to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world; and assist me to realize that there is no other name given under heaven, among men, whereby sinners can be saved. Enable me, I beseech thee, to believe in him with my heart unto righteousness, and to make confession of him with my mouth unto salvation. Teach me that it is by grace we are saved for thou wouldst not defile the excellency and glory of thy plan, by making our deliverance the fruit of our works of righteousness, which are indeed, of themselves, as filthy rags. Thou wilt suffer none to glory in redemption, but through the cross of Jesus Christ. Lead me, I pray thee, in that highway of holiness, thy sacred word; which thou hast given us, that the man of God may be perfect, and thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Seal me by thy Spirit of promise; and if thou hast begun a good work in me, perform it unto the day of Christ. O Most High, if the righteous be scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear! For thy great name's sake, show the power and fitness of thy salvation on the wicked. Arouse them from their false and guilty peace, by some bereavement of their comforts, or some disaster of life; by the startling terrors of thy law, or by the clear shining of thy love. Make them feel that the redemption of the soul is precious, and that it ceaseth forever. Persuade them to flee for refuge to a crucified Saviour. Take them from the horrible pit and the miry clay; and set their feet upon the Rock of safety and blessedness; and put a new song into their mouths, even of praise to him, who so loved the world, as to give himself for it, that he might redeem unto himself a peculiar people, who should serve him in newness of life, and enjoy with him the blessings of an everlasting salvation. SANCTUARY. Lord, incline me to love the services of thy sanctuary; for a day in thy courts is better than a thousand spent in worldly pleasures. O that I might desire more to be a doorkeeper in the house of God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.Lord, suffer me not to forsake the assemblies of thy saints. May I remember that Christ loved the synagogue; and that his disciples continued daily with one accord in the temple. There the rich and the poor meet together, and the Lord is the Maker of them all. There thou makest the hearts of thy saints to rejoice, and preparest them to run with renewed strength and increasing diligence, in their Christian race; and there thou makest the souls of thine enemies to tremble and bow before thy sovereign will. It is in thy house, O Lord, that thou showest the riches of thy mercy, and the strength of thy power! Great Master of Assemblies, bring me to thy tabernacle with preparation of heart and with prayer. May I revere and love that gospel which is preached there. Incline me to hear it with close and devout attention, and with personal application. Make thy word to my heart as a fire that melteth, and as a hammer that breaketh the rock. Incline me to hear it with candour and kindness towards him who is its messenger; desiring that the words of his mouth may glorify God, and be used as the means of quickening and saving souls. Strengthen me, I pray thee, to obey, with full purpose of heart, all thy commands. They only are happy, who in knowing these things, are willing to do them; for not every one that saith, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doth the will of our Father in heaven. Make me a doer, as well as a hearer, of thy word. Lord, let not the impressions of thy truth escape with the occasion of its utterance. Dispose me to meditate on it in my heart-to digest it in my thoughts-to make it the subject of prayer-and to show it forth in my life. O let it not be as the seed by the wayside; nor as that on stony ground; nor as that among thorns :but let it be like that which fell on good ground, and brought forth, some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred fold. Grant, I pray thee, that when I call upon thy name in thy house, my prayer may not go out of feigned lips. Make it the homage of the creature to the Creator, and the supplication of a needy child to a rich and liberal Parent. And when I praise thee in the songs of Zion, may I render thee not |