O

FIRST SUNDAY EVENING.

HEAVENLY Father, we desire to close this holy day by once more drawing near to Thee in prayer. We bring to thee all the sins and failings of another Sabbath, and we beseech Thee of Thy great mercy to pardon them. O Lord, when we look back on our best days and our holiest employments, we see that sin has defiled them; and we have need to come to the Saviour's cross with the publican's cry on our lips, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." Forgive, Lord, for Christ's sake, all our sins, and especially those which we have committed on our knees. What coldness has there been in our prayers! What wanderings of thought! What unbelief in our souls! O Saviour, cleanse us from our secret faults.

But, O Lord, while we have reason to be humbled for all that has been amiss, we have also reason to be grateful for our mercies. We praise Thee that Thy word has been set before us, that the way of life has been pointed out to us, that we have again heard of a Saviour's love. Blessed be Thy name, if Christ has seemed in any degree more precious to us, and heaven more welcome. Blessed be Thy name, if our faith has been this day strengthened, our hearts warmed, and our hopes confirmed.

O God, we are living in the midst of a sinful world; help us to avoid its snares, and to live a heavenly life here on earth. Oh that we may know more of Thee, and love Thee with a more perfect love. Quicken us in Thy way, and enable us to run with increased earnestness the race that is set before us. Our time is short: grant, Lord, that we may spend it as those who feel that they must one day give an account.

O heavenly Shepherd, we trust that many sheep have been called this day into Thy fold. Draw them by Thy love. Make them to hear Thy voice, and to follow Thee. Pardon those who have been wilfully absent from Thy worship this day. Show them their exceeding sinfulness, and change their hearts by the power of Thy grace.

Blessed Lord, we confess with shame that we have brought too much of the week with us into Thy Sabbath: grant that we may carry much of the Sabbath into the coming week. And give us grace that we may so spend each day, as we shall wish to have spent it when our term of life is ended.

And now, O gracious God, we commend ourselves and all who are dear to us, to Thy protection for the coming night. Watch over us during the hours of darkness; give Thine angels charge concerning us; and guard us from every evil, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

The grace of our Lord, etc.

AL

SECOND SUNDAY EVENING.

LMIGHTY Father, at the close of this Thine own holy day of rest, we come to offer up once more our united prayers and praises.

We thank Thee for all that we have heard and learnt to-day, for the opportunity which we have had of seeking Thee in Thy house of prayer, and for the message of mercy which Thou hast sent to us by Thy ministers. Write, O Lord, upon our hearts and memories the lessons of truth which this day have been set before us. May Thy Holy Spirit apply the word with power to our consciences, and may we be doers of it and not hearers only.

Forgive, O heavenly Father, in Thy mercy, all that has been imperfect and sinful in our worship. We confess that we have been weak in faith and cold in devotion; that our thoughts have wandered whilst we were engaged in prayer, and whilst we listened to Thy word. Pardon the iniquity of our holy things. Grant, O Lord, that we may prize more highly the means of grace, and do Thou make them more profitable to our souls.

Lord, let Thy love be abundantly shed abroad in our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit. Take away all pride, and ignorance, and unbelief. Make us more humble, more holy, more heavenly-minded. May we grow continually in grace and in the knowledge of our Saviour Christ. May we endeavor more and more to follow our blessed Master's example. May our conduct and conversation be such as becometh the gospel of Christ.

We thank Thee for any comfort we have experienced this day whilst waiting upon Thee. May every earthly Sabbath, as it passes away, leave us holier and better prepared for an eternal Sabbath in heaven.

And if there be any one whom we love amongst us, who is living for this world only, and who is still far from Thee, O Thou good Shepherd, who didst lay down Thy life for the sheep, bring that wanderer into Thy fold. Soften that hard heart, and quicken it by Thy grace. Fill it with deep anxiety for salvation, and then pour in the balm of heavenly comfort.

Water with the dew of Thy blessing, O Lord, the seed sown this day by the ministers of Thy gospel. Lead every penitent to Christ; comfort every mourner; build up Thy people in their most holy faith.

And now, O heavenly Father, grant that peaceful sleep may close this holy day; and whilst we lay our bodies down to rest beneath Thy care, let our souls enjoy that quiet confidence and happy trust which is the portion of Thy children. We ask all in Jesus' name. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

The grace of our Lord, etc.

THIRD SUNDAY EVENING.

GOD, our heavenly Father, we draw near to Thee in the name of Jesus
Christ our Saviour; accept us in mercy for His sake.

We thank Thee for the blessed rest of Thine own day. We thank Thee for the sound of the gospel which we have heard; for the comfort and instruction provided for us in Thy house of prayer. We acknowledge that we are indeed greatly favored above thousands of our fellow-creatures, and we most humbly thank Thee that whilst many have spent this Sabbath in sorrow, suffering, and sin, we have been permitted to enjoy many rich spiritual privileges. O that we may prize them more highly, and profit more in the use of them. We pray Thee in Thy mercy to pardon our slowness to learn, and our readiness to forget, the lessons of Thy word. Pardon the weakness of our faith, and the coldness of our desires.

Graft upon our hearts and memories the truths which we have this day heard. Let us not be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord. May we be strengthened and built up in our most holy faith. May we grow in grace, and may the fruits of the Spirit appear and abound in our daily walk and conversation.

O Lord, under a deep and humbling sense of our weakness and sinfulness we implore Thee to give us the gracious influences of Thy holy Spirit. Though we have too often grieved that blessed Spirit, yet withdraw not from us His renewing and saving grace. May He restore and revive our souls. May He establish, strengthen, settle us. May He guide us into all truth. May He shed abroad within us the love of Christ our Saviour.

Water with the dew of Thy heavenly blessing the seed widely scattered by Thy ministers this day. Let not the Evil One prevail to pluck it from those hearts upon which it has fallen. Cause it to take deep and abiding root. Confirm the wavering, comfort the sorrowful, bind up the brokenhearted; give unto them the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

And now, O Lord, may we lie down once more upon our beds with hearts at peace with Thee. We have one Sabbath less to spend on earth. May the thought of our shortening pilgrimage cause us to run with more diligence our heavenly race. May we live as those whose hearts and hopes are in heaven. May Thy statutes be our songs in the house of our pilgrimage. May Sabbaths on earth, improved and enjoyed, fit us for a better and happier rest above. Hear us, O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Our Father, etc.

The grace of our Lord, etc.

FOURTH SUNDAY EVENING.

LORD, Thou art God alone, and beside Thee there is none other. Thou art our God, and we will praise Thee; Thou art our God, and we will exalt Thee. We thank Thee that Thou hast permitted us this day to attend the ordinances of Thy house, and to worship Thee in the congregation of Thy people, with the voice of joy and praise. We praise Thee for every opportunity which hath been afforded us of becoming wise unto salvation. We bless Thee for casting our lot in a land where the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. We heartily thank Thee, O heavenly Father, for giving us Thy blessed word to direct us in the way of life. Let it not be unto us a sealed book and a dead letter, but open our understandings to understand the Scriptures, that we may believe and obey them to the saving of the soul. But, O gracious Father, we acknowledge our own unworthiness of these great mercies and our manifold abuse of them. We humble ourselves before Thee; beseeching Thee of Thy great goodness to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances. Pardon the iniquity of our most holy things, and wash us in the precious blood of our Lord and Saviour And grant that, however we have fallen short of our duty this day, we may not have attended Thy ordinances altogether in vain. Though we are unprofitable servants, do not forsake us. Though we are dull of hearing and slow of heart to believe, yet mercifully bear with our infirmities, and cast us not away from Thy presence. Grant that every Sabbath may be the means of bringing us nearer to Thyself, and of making us more meet for the enjoyment of Thy glorious kingdom.

We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord, in our prayers and supplication for all men. Prosper the labors of Thy faithful servants who have this day published the glad tidings of salvation. Give Thy blessing to the seed which they have sown, that it may bring forth fruit abundantly. Hear the prayers which have been offered up for all estates of men in Thy holy Church, and answer them in the multitude of Thy tender mercies. Look with an eye of pity and compassion on such as have neglected Thy ordinances and profaned Thy Sabbaths. Turn them from the error of their ways, and give them repentance unto salvation.

We desire now to commend ourselves, and all who are dear unto us, to the protection of Thy good providence. Bless, preserve, and keep us through the perils of the night. And grant us Thy peace all the days of our life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our Father, etc.

The grace of our Lord, etc.

FIFTH SUNDAY EVENING.

LORD our heavenly Father, we beseech Thee to accept the worship which we have rendered unto Thee on this Thy holy day. Give Thy blessing to all the means of grace, and impart unto us a full conviction of those doctrines of Thy gospel which have been delivered to us.

We beseech thee to manifest to all our hearts the abounding grace and love of Christ, that we may be delivered from slavish fears, and may advance with cheerful and willing steps in the way of Thy commandments. Give us that hope which is the anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast. Vouchsafe unto us that most excellent gift of charity, without which we are but as the sounding brass and the tinkling cymbal. May we more plainly perceive and more often reflect on the cause of our having so imperfectly obeyed Thee in times past. O God, we have not loved Thee, and therefore we have not served Thee as we ought. Our hearts have been too cold and insensible; Christ our Saviour hath died for us, but we have remained little affected by all that He did and suffered for us.

O do Thou impress upon us those all-powerful doctrines of Thy word which are able to draw our hearts to Thee, and especially may redeeming love, that great theme of the gospel, be the favorite subject of our meditation. And grant, O Lord, that having learnt to love Thee for Thine unspeakable mercies in Jesus Christ, and having obtained an interest in His salvation, we may have the consolation of trusting that we are safe in life, in death, and in eternity. May we pass through all the future scenes of life secure from the sins by which we have been overcome; and having surmounted some of the trials which once threatened us, may the recollection be an encouragement for us to trust that we shall, in due time, triumph over them all.

Give us such a steadfast hope of immortal life through our blessed Saviour, that no temptations may prevail over us. May we be occupied, whenever we may have seasons of retirement, by the hope of heaven and the love of Christ; and when we are engaged in business in the world, may our love to Thee inspire us with such constant zeal in doing good, that we may be preserved from those snares to which the careless and the profane are ever exposed. And thus may we pass on through life, growing in grace, looking to the Author and Finisher of our faith, and anticipating a happy resurrection. We ask it for Jesus Christ our Saviour's sake.

Our Father, etc.

The grace of our Lord, etc.