Continue thy fatherly care over us this night. O preserve and defend, and bless and keep us, that no evil may befal us, nor any plague come nigh our dwelling. Give us comfortable sleep to strengthen us for thy service. And whenever thou callest us to the sleep of death, let us chearfully resign our spirits into thy hands, through the riches of thy grace, and the worthiness of thy Son, in whose merits and mediation alone we put our trust. And for all that he hath done and suffered for us, to thy name, O blessed God of our salvation, be the praise, and honour, and glory, given by us and all thy people, now and for evermore. “Our Father, &c.”
SATURDAY MORNING.
WE present ourselves before thee, O Lord our God, to pay our tribute of prayer and thanksgiving; desiring thee mercifully to accept us and our services, at the hands of Jesus Christ. In his great name we come to beg thy pardon and peace, the increase of thy grace, and the tokens of thy love. For we are not worthy of the least of thy mercies. But worthy is the Lamb that was slain to take away the sin of the world; for whose sake thou wilt give us all things. For he hath fulfilled those holy laws which we had broken, and perfectly satisfied for our offences. And in him thou art a God gracious and merciful to those who deserve nothing but punishment.
O merciful Father, regard not what we have done against thee: but what our blessed Saviour hath done for us. Regard not what we have made ourselves; but what he is made unto us of thee our God. O that Christ may be to every one of our souls, wisdom and righteousness, sanctification, and redemption! That his precious blood may cleanse us from all our sins; and that thy holy Spirit may renew and sanctify our souls. May he crucify our flesh with its affections and lusts, and mortify all our members which are upon earth. O let not sin reign in our mortal bodies, that we should obey it in the lusts thereof; but being made free from sin, let us be the servants of righteousness. Let us approve our hearts to thee, and let all our ways be pleasing in thy sight.
O teach us to know thee our God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent: and enable us to do thy will on earth, as it is done in heaven. Give us to fear thee and to love thee, to trust and delight in thee, and to cleave to thee with full purpose of heart, that no temptations may draw us or drive us from thee; but that all thy dispensations to us and thy dealings with us may be the messengers of thy love to our souls. Quicken us, O Lord, in our dulness, that we may not serve thee in a lifeless and listless manner: but may abound in thy work, and be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. And make us faithful in all our intercourse with our neighbour, that we may be ready to do good and bear evil, that we may be just and kind, merciful and meek, peaceable and patient, sober and temperate, humble and self-denying, inoffensive and useful in the world; that so glorifying thee here, we may be glorified with thee in thy heavenly kingdom.
Day by day we magnify thee, O Lord, who makest every day an addition to thy mercies. We bless thee for preserving us the night past, and for the rest thou gavest us therein. O cause us to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do we trust. Cause us to know the way wherein we shall go, for we lift up our souls unto thee. O take not thy holy Spirit from us: but direct all our ways to please thee our God. Help us to see thy power, to own thy presence, to admire thy wisdom, and to love thy goodness in all thy creatures: and by all, draw our hearts still nearer to thee. Such thy mercy and grace we beg for ourselves, and all ours and thine every where, in our great Mediator’s blessed words.
“Our Father, &c.”
SATURDAY EVENING.