grant that I may be able to say, with exulting joy, "For me to die is gain!"

BIGOTRY.

God of Truth, preserve my understanding and heart from the influence of bigotry. While I am not permitted to tolerate dangerous error, nor connive at heresy, keep me from ignorant perversity and blind obstinacy in defending my own opinions; and from unkindness and intolerance towards those from whom I differ in sentiment. Suffer me not to mistake prejudice for the love of truth, nor malice for true zeal. Lord, if this root of bitterness be in my spirit, (and who among the children of men is free from it?) O, do thou take it utterly away and in its place implant a vine whose branches will cling in love, and whose fruits will hang in plenty, on every object in its reach. May I sincerely desire the success of all who labour for the glory of God and the welfare of souls. Restore, O Lord, the spirit of harmony in all the divisions of the household of faith; so that thy watchmen may see eye to eye, and thy saints, of every name, dwell in the unity of the Spirit.

BLESSING OF GOD.

Great God, I desire to feel that without thy blessing, which maketh rich, and addeth no sorrow with it, all that I now possess, and all I hope to enjoy, will be barren and worthless. Thou only canst make my possessions and pursuits answer the purposes of wisdom and goodness. Lord, bless thou my waking and sleeping hours; my seasons of retirement and intercourse; my daily food and daily duties; my joys and sorrows; my prosperity and

adversity; my rest and labour; my praises and prayers; my thoughts, words, and actions; my hopes; my all. Whatsoever thou mayest deny me, grant me thy favour which is life, and thy lovingkindness which is better than life. Let me not undertake nor prosecute any thing on which I cannot ask thee to set the seal of thine approbation. May I turn away from every thing which I may judge to be repugnant to thy will. Especially may I feel, in my religious duties, that neither is he that planteth any thing, nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. If thou vouchsafe not thy favour, the heaven that is over my head shall be as brass, and the earth that is under my feet shall be as iron. Without thee I can do nothing; for in myself my strength is weakness, my wisdom is folly, and my goodness is as the morning cloud and the early dew. But I praise thee that my sufficiency is of God, and that I can do all things through Christ strengthening me. Endue me, I beseech thee, with power from on high; and make thy strength perfect in my weakness.

O Lord, bestow thine abiding sanction and thy richest blessing upon the various efforts of thy church. Give them abundant success. Make them all works of faith and labours of love. Let "Glory to God in the highest, on earth, peace and good-will to men," be inscribed on every motive and every exertion of Christian zeal. Cast down every obstacle, and subdue every enemy. O, do thou remove all the woes and vices that afflict humanity and in their stead, bring thou the peace and purity of the precious gospel, which are the sure and satis. fying tokens of that holy blessedness which fills the courts of thine upper sanctuary. Lord, give thes

petitions gracious audience through Christ the Saviour; and dispose me to ascribe unto the King, immortal, eternal, and invisible, all the praise and dominion, now, henceforth, and forever.

BLIND.

O thou, who hast formed the eye to be the light of the body, look mercifully on the blind; in whom thou hast sealed up, in rayless darkness, one of man's chief avenues of knowledge and pleasure. Lord, I would acknowledge my ingratitude to thee for the blessing of eyesight; and my indifference towards those, from whom, in thine inscrutable wisdom, thou hast withheld it. I pray thee that when I look upon the cheerful scenes of nature, and share in the pleasant fellowship of social life, and drink in precious knowledge from the leaves of human and holy writ, that then I may remember thee, the giver of these perfect gifts, and those also, whom thou hast deprived of them.

Lord, I thank thee that whilst thou hast denied to them the light of the eye, thou hast bestowed on them an increased and wonderful sense of touch: and that the ingenuity and benevolence of men have taken advantage of this provision of thy mercy, to restore, in part, the priceless boons of intelligence and joy. I pray thee so to improve the healing art, that many, very many, of these children of darkness may be brought into the open light of day but do thou put within the reach and use of those whose sight no skill can restore, the means that are now employed for giving them, in the mysterious language of the fingers, the pages of intellectual and saving wisdom.

:

But O, let thy chief compassion to them be, to

shine into their hearts, to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ in whom, though now they see him not, neither the works of his hands, yet believing, may they rejoice with a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of faith, even the salvation of their souls.

Lord, regard with pity those blind, who have eyes that will not see; and who love darkness, because their deeds are evil; and who will not come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. Unscale, I beseech thee, their inward sight; remove every film of vice; and grant that in thy light they may see light!

BROTHERLY LOVE.

O thou, who art the fountain of love, fill my heart with strong affections for all that are of the household of faith. May I keep that message that we had from the beginning-that we should love one another. He who doeth this abideth in light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him; but he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen? May I regard thy people as lively stones of thy spiritual house; as partners with me in the trials of life, and in the grace of God; as members of thy family on earth, and of thy heritage in heaven. Lord, grant me that testimony of having passed from death unto life, which flows from love to the brethren.

Lord of Hosts, may all thy saints love each other, not in word nor in tongue only, but in deed and in truth. Show them how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. May they be

kind one to another, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven them. May brotherly love continue, through evil report, as well as good report. Dispose them to suffer long, to hope all things, to believe all things. May they bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Show them, O Lord, that the success of thy kingdom among the ungodly, the peace and joy of the fold of Christ, and the enduring favour of Jehovah, depend on their loving one another, out of pure hearts, fervently. Let this grace be as the dew of heaven, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion; where the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

BUSINESS.

Lord, dispose me to act according to thy will, and in reference to thy glory, in all my worldly business. I thank thee for that law of my nature, by which thou hast connected my happiness and usefulness, with the employment of my body and mind in the duties of life. Let all my avocations be lawful in thy sight. Give me a calm mind and moderate prosperity in the pursuit of them; or grant me patience under disappointed efforts. O let not mere selfishness be the motive nor end of my labour. May I desire to fulfil in myself the benevolent purposes of thy providence, in giving me an active nature; and to make my employments promote the temporal and spiritual interests of mankind. Make me diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord so that whether I eat, or drink, or whatever I do, I may do it for thy glory.