TWELFTH WEEK.—FRIDAY. — Morning

O LORD, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, we would begin this day with Thee, and ask that we may have Thee with us through the day. Lord, cause thy face to shine upon us, and thereby make our faces to shine, and fill us with strength for all the duties and burdens of the day. We give Thee hearty thanks, O God, for the sleep which has refreshed and recruited us, after the labours of yesterday; for the sweet morning light which raises us again to our toil. Thou hast blessed us, and we are blessed; no pestilence walking in the darkness has smitten us, no evil thing has come nigh our dwelling; we laid ourselves down and slept; we awoke, for Thou didst sustain us. Accept, we beseech Thee, through thy Son Jesus Christ, our morning sacrifice of praise.

And now, O Lord, do thou go forth with us to our work; let not our hands lose their cunning, nor our minds their intelligence; make us diligent in business, and grant us comfort and success in all we undertake; prepare us for whatever thy fatherly goodness may have in store for us to day, whether of joy or sorrow, and help us both to suffer and to do thy will. O God, we are sadly prone to go astray from thy commandments, and many temptations will beset our path; but may the thought that Thou hatest all workers of iniquity restrain us. Moved with fear, may we shrink from vexing thy love and incurring thy displeasure. Do Thou keep our lips that they speak no falsehood, but may truth characterise and hallow all our communications. Do Thou lead us in thy righteousness, that we may not be beguiled, by the enemy of souls, into any sin. Let us not listen to his seductions, nor lend an ear to his promises, for there is no faithfulness in his mouth; but give us grace to trust only in Thee, and under the shadow of thy wing may we abide all the day long. Defend us, we beseech Thee, with the shield of thy power. Make our hearts glad with the sunshine of thy favour. Look in mercy on the world which lieth in wickedness. Day by day snatch many souls as brands from the burning. Arouse slumbering and lukewarm Christians. May thy Church serve Thee, and seek thy glory with a warmer zeal. Endue thy ministers with the wisdom which cometh from above, and encourage them by the manifest tokens of thy blessing.

These mercies we entreat, according to thy will and our several necessities, not only for ourselves, but for every one whom we love, and for all men, in the great name of our blessed Advocate and Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom, with Thyself and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory for ever. Amen.