in blood-it has not come nigh us. Our enemies have often threatened to swallow us up, but the Lord has been on our side, and they have not prevailed against us. We are this day called upon to acknowledge thy goodness in (-) [Here let the particular causes for thankfulness be expressed.] May we never convert our blessings into instruments of provocation, by making them the means of nourishing pride and presumption, wantonness and intemperance; and compel thee to complain-Do ye thus requite the Lord, Ó foolish people, and unwise? Is not he thy Father, that hath bought thee? Hath he not made thee, and established thee? For this purpose meet with us in thy house; and may the goings of our God and our King be seen in the sanctuary. Be with the preacher, and with the hearers; and let the words of his mouth, and the meditation of their hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength, and our Redeemer. May public instruction awaken the ardour of our feelings: May our gratitude not only be lively, but practical and permanent. And by all thy mercies, may we present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto thee, which is our reasonable service. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts: ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion; bless the Lord, O my soul. Amen. FOR A DAY OF THANKSGIVING. EVENING. Jay. O God, thou art good, and doest good. Thou art good to all, and thy tender mercies are over all thy works. We have thought of thy loving kindness this day, in the midst of thy temple; and are again surrounding this domestic altar, to exclaim, O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men. We lament to think, that a world so filled with thy bounty, should be so alienated from thy service and glory. We mourn over the vileness of our ingratitude, and abhor ourselves, repenting in dust and ashes. O thou God of all grace, make us more thankful. In order that we may be more thankful, may we be more humble; impress us with a deep sense of our unworthiness, arising from the depravity of our nature, and countless instances of unimproved advantages, omitted duties, and violated commands. May we compare our condition with our desert, and with the far less indulged circumstances of others. May we never be inattentive to any of thy interpositions on our behalf: but be wise, and observe these things, that we may understand the loving kindness of the Lord. How many blessings, temporal and spiritual, public and private, hast thou conferred upon us. Thy mercies have been new every morning, and every moment. Our afflictions have been few and alleviated, often short in their continuance, and always founded in a regard to our profit. Thy secret has been upon our tabernacle; and we have known thee in thy palaces for a refuge. The lines have indeed fallen to us in pleasant places, yea, we have a goodly heritage. Thou hast not dealt so with any people. It is a good land, which the Lord our God has given us a land distinguished by knowledge; dignified as the abode of civil and religious freedom; endeared by the patriot's zeal, and the ashes of our forefathers; a land the Lord careth for, and upon which his eye has been from the beginning even to the end of the year. Thou hast been a wall of fire round about us, by thy providential protection, and the glory in the midst of us, by the gospel of our salvation, the ordinances of religion, and the presence of thy Holy Spirit. What shall we render unto the Lord, for all his benefits towards us? Because thou hast been our help, therefore under the shadow of thy wing may we rejoice. Because thou hast heard our voice and our supplication, therefore may we call upon thee as long as we live; and in every future difficulty and distress, make thee our refuge and our portion. Enable us to bless thee at all times; may thy praise continually be in our mouth; and may we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives. Being delivered from the peril and calamity of (—) with which we have been exercised, may we serve thee without fear, in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives. We dare not trust our own hearts. We have often resembled thy people of old, who, in the hour of deliverance and indulgence, sang thy praise, and saidAll that the Lord commandeth us, will we do; but soon forgot his works and the wonders which he had showed them. Keep these things for ever in the imagination of our hearts; and not only draw us, but bind us to thyself, with the cords of love, and the bonds of a man. And with all our calls to gratitude and joy, may we remember that we have also reason for sorrow and humiliation. O, give us that repentance which is unto life. Reform, as well as indulge us; and pardon, as well as spare. Let not our prosperity destroy us, nor our table become a snare. Let us not by our perverse returns, provoke thee to, visit us with heavier afflictions; and turn the rod into a scorpion. May our ways please the Lord, that we may hope for continuance of thy favour, and know that all things shall work together for our good. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion. Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. And as the churches have rest, may they walk in the fear of the Lord, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and be multiplied. Preside over our national councils; impart wisdom to those who conduct our public affairs; and may all the various classes in the community, pursue that righteousness which exalteth a nation, and forsake that sin which is a reproach to any people. Regard the services in which we have been engaged with the thousands of our Israel; accept of the poor and imperfect thanksgivings we have offered; and let thy word, which has been dispensed, in aid of the devotion of the day, accomplish all the good pleasure of thy goodness-through Jesus the Lord, our righteousness and strength; and in whose words we address thee as Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. FOR RAIN AFTER A DROUGHT. Jay. THOU hast never left thyself without witness, but hast been continually doing good, even for the unthankful and unworthy, in giving them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, and filling their hearts with joy and gladness. We acknowledge that the heavens over us might have been brass, and the earth under us iron. We have justly deserved the calamity; and thy power, without a miracle, could have inflicted it; but though thou hast tried our patience and awakened our fears, thou hast not forgotten to be gracious. We praise thee for sending us the seasonable and plentiful rain, by which thou hast refreshed and revived the drooping fields, so that the earth promises to yield her increase. FOR FAIR WEATHER AFTER RAIN. Jay. O God, thou art good and doest good. Thou hast again surpassed our deserts, and been better to us than our fears. Thou hast caused the clear shining after rain; so that in the meadows the hay appeareth; and in the fields, thou art preparing of thy goodness for the poor. Thou preservest man and beast. May we feel our entire dépendence upon thee; and by prayer and praise, give thee the glory that is due unto thy holy name. FOR A GOOD HARVEST. Jay. AGAIN thou hast crowned the year with thy goodness. The grain might have perished in the earth, or have failed of maturity, for want of the showers, and of the sunshine; but thou wast pleased to bless the springing thereof; and we saw first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear. We hailed the valleys standing thick with corn, and heard the little hills rejoicing on every side. In due time the mower filled his hands, and the binder of sheaves his bosom; and the appointed weeks of harvest have been afforded us to gather in the precious produce. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with good ness. We have again witnessed thy faithfulness and truth in the promise-while the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease-may we learn to trust thee in all thy engagements. And make us thankful, that, as we have no famine of bread, so we have no famine of hearing the word of the Lord. With regard to the soul, as well as to the body, Thou fillest us with the finest of the wheat. FOR THE RESTORATION OF PLENTY. Jenks. O GOD, the Fountain of all goodness! thou didst threaten with famine to destroy the blessings of the earth, which we have so wickedly abused; but remembering thy own tender mercies, and not our ill deserts, hast raised a new and plentiful supply for us. And now thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatness. Thou hast loaded the earth with the fruits of thy bounty, and sent abundance of all good things for the service and comfort of man. O make us more sensible of the obligation which thy love has laid upon us. And as thou fillest us with thy good things, so fill our hearts with thy love and grace, to use every gift aright to thy glory; that in the use and strength of what we are contiuually receiving from thee, we mry devote ourselves to live unto thee, and to serve thee with gladness and rejoicing for all thy rich mercy to us in Jesus Christ. Jay. FOR A SAFE RETURN FROM A JOURNEY. As the keeper of Israel Thou hast been with us, not only in the house, but by the way. We might have |