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BODILY SUFFERING.

O God of all mercy, in whose hands are the issues of life and death, look down with compassion upon [ 1, and relieve [him or her, or myself] from this present illness, and in Thine own good time restore [him] to health. I humbly beseech Thee to mitigate [his] sufferings, and to enable [him] to bear whatever Thou, in Thy wisdom and mercy, mayest appoint for [him] with Christian patience and resignation to Thy holy will. Grant these things for the sake of Thy blessed Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

CONFIRMATION OF CHILDREN.

Almighty God, I humbly beseech Thee to pour out Thy Holy Spirit in increased measure upon my child at this solemn period, when he has taken upon himself the baptismal vows in the rite of Confirmation, that he may feel the importance of this dedication of himself to Thee, O heavenly Father; and that he may be enabled to take up his cross daily, and follow the blessed steps of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Give him a due sense of the solemn nature of the blessed Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and incline him to prepare his heart, by prayer and serious self-examination, so to approach this holy ordinance as to obtain the blessings of spiritual strength and nourishment which Thou hast graciously promised to all faithful communicants. Grant these things for the sake of Thy blessed Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

FOR CHILDREN.

O God, whose nature and property is ever to have mercy and to forgive, look down upon my children and pardon their sins and offences against Thee. Grant them, I humbly beseech Thee, the grace of Thy Holy Spirit, to enable them to resist the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and to follow in honesty, sobriety, and godliness, the path of life which Thou hast graciously opened to them. Let Thy blessing and protection rest upon them [during their abode at a distance from their home]. Grant these things for the sake of Thy blessed Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

ON THE ORDINATION OF A SON.

O Lord, I beseech Thee to grant Thy blessing and favour to my son upon his entrance into the ministry of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to pour out abundantly upon him the grace of Thy Holy Spirit, to enable him to fulfil the duties of his sacred profession, as a preacher of righteousness, and a good soldier of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I humbly beseech Thee, O Lord, to preserve him from all erroneous doctrine, and to give him a right judgment in all things, for the sake of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

A

FORM OF SELF-EXAMINATION.

Do I endeavour to love God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength ?

Am I thankful for all His daily blessings and mercies ?

Have I constant sense of His overruling Providence in all things; of His omnipresence; and His great goodness and mercy towards us?

Do I put my whole trust in Him?

Have I a thankful remembrance of the death and sufferings of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?

Have I a lively faith in His merits and atonement for all our sins, upon our sincere repent

ance

?

Have I constant sense of the obligation which His revelation upon earth has laid upon me and all His followers to the most strenuous and unceasing exertions after Christian perfection ?

Have I a sense of my natural imperfection and great sinfulness, and of my utter inability to please God or to lead a holy life by my own unaided exertions ?

Have I a grateful and comfortable belief in the operation of the Holy Spirit which God sheds upon the hearts of all to pray to Him for this Divine assistance, as the only efficient means of stedfast continuance in well-doing?

Am I, whilst endeavouring to discharge to the best of my power every Christian duty, filled with humility, and thoroughly convinced that when I have done all, I am but an unprofitable servant, and can plead alone the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?

Do I feel the importance of a holy life as the necessary qualification for a participation in those merits, and for an entrance into the heavenly kingdom and presence of a God of infinite holiness?

Do I pray continually and fervently to God for grace to do His will?

Do I study the Holy Scriptures with attention and interest, with reverence and thankfulness, as the blessed revelation of Divine truth, and the source from which we derive all our knowledge of the invisible spiritual world, and of our duty as Christians?

Do I endeavour to regulate my whole conduct of will, understanding, affection, and conversation, by this Divine rule?

Am I thankful, contented, humble, meek, patient, sober, temperate, pure in thought, word, and deed, charitable, benevolent, industrious, zealous ?

Do I love my neighbour as myself?

Do I aid the cause of the Gospel, and exercise Christian charity by a conscientious disposal of my worldly goods?

Am I cultivating my mental endowments or all other talents entrusted to my care, with a view to the service and glory of God?

Do I give any portion of my leisure to works of benevolence?

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A FORM OF SELF-EXAMINATION.

Am I useful to others?

Can I benefit any persons by my influence?
Do I encourage them in works of piety?
Do I console others with my sympathy?
Do I try to reconcile estranged friends1?

1 The last eight questions are from a valuable work, entitled " Thoughts on Personal Religion," by Edward Meyrick Goulburn, D.D,

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