MONDAY MORNING.
ALMIGHTY God, we Thine unworthy servants approach Thy divine person this morning, and desire humbly to adore Thee for Thy protection of us in the night season, and for the invigoration of our budies by sleep, by which we are prepared to enter again on onr duties in the world.
We praise Thee for the wonderful frame Thou hast bestowed upon us, and for its constant renewal, so that day after day sees no diminution of our strength; for though the labour of the day wearies us, the repose of the night restores the balance of our existence, and enables us to go forth to our work and to our labour till the evening. O Lord, help us to be grateful for this renewal of strength, and help us to use it for the benefit of ourselves and of our brethren, so that it may tend to the glory of Thy holy name.
But not only would we praise Thee for the strength wherewith Thou hast endowed us; but we would humbly adore Thee, that Thou hast created us in Thine image, after Thy likeness. Our strength is indeed but weakness,—below many, yea, most, of the creatures Thou hast made; but the power of our souls is great, and by it Thou hast placed all things beneath our feet, and given into our hands and subjected to our dominion tho wide-world creation. O Lord, help us to keep before our eyes Thy divine and glorious person, that we may direct and order our lives and conversation by Thy divine example. Amen.
Our Father, etc.
MONDAY EVENING.
ADORABLE Lord, our Saviour and Redeemer, at the close of this day we would humbly approach Thee in thanksgiving and praise.
We praise Thee for all the mercies which in our past lives we have received at Thy glorious hands. We praise Thee for this day's blessings, and for the privilege of being able to unite with our family and at our family altar to offer our prayers. Thou art the hearer of prayer. How often, with joyful emotions of soul, have we experienced the fulfilment of our petitions; O how often has the truth been realized by us: "whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Through the knowledge of Thy divine beneficence we are made happy ourselves, and from the insect in the dust to the seraph nearest Thy throne, all the various degrees of happiness are so dispensed as to cause the delight of every living thing; and each object that we behold in the enjoyment of its own particular delights is but the reflex of Thy beneficence. Praised be Thy name, O God of love! the earth in its course, the sun and moon whose beams enliven it, the man whom thou leadest on his way, the beasts who feed upon Thy bounty, making glad the pastures, the birds who wing the air, pouring forth their little lives in musical songs of gratitude,—all declare how great Thy goodness is, all join in the universal song to Thee who art good to all, whose tender mercies are over all Thy works. Amen.
Our Father, etc.
