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THANKSGIVING AFTER A JOURNEY.

we are absent one from the other. May we often meet in spirit before the throne of grace, and when remote from each other feel that we are not far from thee. Preserve his going out and his coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Grant him a prosperous journey according to thy will, and when we again meet may it be in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. O may we appear at last in that world of unbroken friendships, where the tears and pangs of separation are unknown.

THANKSGIVING AFTER A JOURNEY.

It is of thy mercy that we are privileged again to meet in peace and safety around our domestic altar. We might have been overwhelmed with tidings of evil, and have met in broken ranks, and with wounded spirits, to lament the bitterness of our lot. But we thank thee that the voice of rejoicing is heard in our tabernacle. Thou hast fulfilled our petitions, and made prosperous the way of thy servant before him. Now help us to improve thy kindness, and let the expressions of our gratitude come up with acceptance in thy sight. May we not forget that we are journeying to the invisible world, so that we may act as those who seek a better country than earth. When the pilgrimage of life shall cease, may we assemble in the mansions of our Father's house, to go no more out.

ON VISITING A WATERING PLACE.

Thou crownest us with loving-kindness and tender mercy. Our lives are made thy constant care, and daily we receive tokens of thy condescending goodness. We thank thee that we have been brought to this place in safety, and are privileged to enjoy a partial exemption from the wearying cares and business of the world. While seeking the invigoration of health, may we be duly anxious for our souls' prosperity. Suffer us not to forget thee, or to throw off any portion of that seriousness of mind and devotion of habit which should ever mark us as strangers and pilgrims on the earth. May we not mix in those gaieties and sinful pleasures which perish in the using. By the objects which surround us may our minds be instructed. In the wide sea, in the countless sands, and the enduring rocks, may we read illustrations of thy goodness, which is everflowing, infinite, and abiding. And in these works of thy hand may we find emblems of our inconstancy and hardness of heart, and repair, by faith, to the fountain of atonement, and wash and be clean. When we depart from this place may we leave behind us a savour of the knowledge of Christ, and be enabled to look back on this season of repose as a little reviving in our bondage.

FOR A FRIEND AT SEA.

O Thou who art the confidence of the ends of the earth, and of them that dwell afar off on the sea, hear our prayers for our brethren who obtain their bread by the peril of their lives, and bless especially our dear friend who is now on the mighty waters. May he see thy works and wonders in the deep, and remember that thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the trackless ocean. Encompass him with thy presence, and grant that he may be happily conscious of thy nearness to him. Let thy fear dwell in his heart, and may he acknowledge thee to be God, on the sea, as on the dry land. Give him grace to serve thee acceptably day by day, and in the night watches to look for thee, as they who look for the morning. Give the winds and the waves commandment concerning him, that he, and those who sail with him, may be conducted in safety to their desired haven.

THE SAME.

In this night of darkness and tempest, look down, in compassion, on our beloved friend who is now on the mighty deep. O Thou who sittest above the water-floods and stillest the waves, be a present help to him, if in the storm. Let not

the floods of great waters come nigh to him. Care for him that he do not perish. May an angel stand by him. May he who walked on the

RETURN OF A FRIEND FROM SEA. 227

sea and rebuked the winds and the waves, again produce a calm. And let the uncertainty and danger which encompass the lives of seamen lead them to repentance and faith, and call forth the prayers of thy people that these may be saved, in the day of the Lord Jesus.

ON THE RETURN OF A FRIEND
FROM SEA.

We acknowledge thee to be the preserver of men, and thank thee on the behalf of thy servant, whose life thou hast made thy care. While many have fallen beneath the power of disease and death, in a foreign clime, thou hast upheld him, and brought him back to his country and to his home. Though others have sunk like lead in the mighty waters, and repose in the caverns of ocean, till the voice of the archangel shall wake the dead, thou hast saved him from danger, and he is still written in the book of the living. While some families are mourning over their friends and relatives, we are called upon to rejoice in thy goodness. Fill our souls with gratitude, and help him, who has seen thy wonders in the deep, to return unto thee as to the rest of his soul. Conduct us all in safety across the troubled ocean of life, and give us, through Jesus Christ, an abundant entrance into thine everlasting kingdom and glory.

BEFORE THE LORD'S SUPPER.

Be with those of us who to day may surround the table of the Lord to commemorate his dying love. Help us to examine ourselves, and so to eat of that bread and drink of that cup, as to discern the Lord's body. May we not go in our own strength, or trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. Help us to keep the feast of the Christian Passover, with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. May we have fellowship with all thy people, at the sacramental board, and may Jesus reveal himself to us in the breaking of bread.

AFTER THE SAME.

We thank thee that thou hast spread the table, and inclined any of us to remember Jesus Christ, and to show forth his death till he come. May the solemnities connected with these acts of worship have a cheering and hallowed influence on our minds. Help us to remember what manner of persons we have professed to be, and to walk as becometh the gospel. Prepare us for the end of life, and then receive our spirits to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Our fathers worshipped thee in this mountain, and they now eat and drink in thy presence. When we fail on earth may they welcome us to everlasting habitations, so that the communion of time may be perfected in heaven.