01.02. Week 2

SECOND WEEK

Sunday morning

O blessed Lord God, our Father and our God, we draw near to You once more at the beginning of Your own day. We come to You with thankful hearts. We would lift up our souls to You, and praise You with joyful lips. Early this day would we seek You. Our souls thirst for You, as the deer pants after the water-brooks. O give us more and more of this holy desire. Though our souls cleave to the dust, quicken us according to Your Word. Turn us again O Lord God Almighty, show us the light of Your countenance and we shall be whole. May we this day esteem the words of Your mouth more than our necessary food.

Direct the message spoken by Your servants, so as to reach every heart and every conscience. Make Your arrows sharp in the hearts of the King’s enemies. Awaken the careless from the sleep of death, and bring home to every transgressor the conviction of his guilt and danger. Give to every mourning soul, the sense of Your Fatherly pity, and bind up the broken-hearted with the oil and wine of Your grace and mercy in Christ Jesus. Let none be sent empty away from Your courts, but grant to all the blessing and the help which they need.

Pour out Your Spirit very richly on all who are engaged in Your service. Especially be present to bless all the ministers of Your Word. May they hold fast Your faithful Word, and preach its blessed truths with wisdom and with power. Teach them to lift up Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Give them grace to exalt Him in His Work and Office as the only Hope of the lost sinner. Reveal to them the exceeding greatness of His love, that He may be the joy and strength of their own souls.

We beseech You also, most merciful Father, send down a plentiful rain of grace and blessing upon Your whole Church. Heal our divisions, forgive our iniquities, and bind together the hearts of all Your children in the bond of love and truth.

Extend far and wide the borders of Your kingdom. Take away from heathen and Muslim nations all prejudice against the name of Jesus, and lead them in humble submission to His footstool.

Turn to Yourself, the multitudes in our own land who are living without the knowledge of Your love. Touch the hearts of those who live by their daily toil, that they may seek first Your kingdom and righteousness. And grant that those to whom You have given largely of this world’s goods, may rejoice to give freely and liberally for the promotion of true religion and the welfare of others. Hear us, Father, and be with us throughout this day for the sake of Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate.

Sunday evening

O most gracious and merciful Father, we would hear Your voice speaking to us at the close of this Your day. O speak to us by Your Spirit words of comfort and peace and hope. You know all the iniquities of our holy things, and all the coldness and deadness of our hearts toward You. But we plead Your mercy, and beseech You to put away all our sins through the blood of Christ. Assure us this night that we are indeed Your own accepted children. Fill us with joy and peace in believing. Draw near to us in loving-kindness, and may we delight ourselves in the abundance of Your goodness.

We have heard Your Word this day, and have been reminded of the Savior’s love to us. Help us henceforth to live more in the power of Your truth. Enable us to carry the message of Your love to others. Help us to teach the young, and instruct the ignorant. Help us to speak words of comfort to those who are cast down. May we despise no work however lowly, if by any means we can save a soul from death, or strengthen such as are weak and ready to faint. Show us, Lord, the work You have for us to do, and give us grace to do it for Your glory.

O Lord, we beseech You, reveal Your mighty arm in the conversion and salvation of sinners. May Your Gospel this day proclaimed, make a lasting impression on many hearts. O that You would rend the heavens, and come down in the power of the Holy Spirit. Turn to Yourself very many of those who are now treading the broad road to destruction. We bless You for every good wrought by the efforts of Your servants. We bless You for every soul brought to know and love You. But we plead for yet greater things. Come from the four winds, O mighty Spirit, and breathe upon the slain, that they may live! Manifest Your quickening power and raise up many faithful witnesses to Yourself in a world of sin and evil.

We beg You, Father, take us and all whom we love under Your care this night. May we lie down in peace and take our rest, knowing that You alone O Lord, make us to dwell in safety. Prepare us for that eternal rest which awaits Your redeemed people. In this world we expect tribulation, but an hour in Your presence will outweigh all the sorrows and trials of earth. O bring us safely to the land of Everlasting life, where every tear shall be wiped away, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Monday morning

O eternal God, the Creator and Preserver of mankind, the Giver of all grace — we come to seek Your blessing this morning. We are again about to enter upon the various duties of our daily life, and we need Your presence and Your help continually. Strengthen us to act with a single eye to Your glory.

Give us a true estimate of the value of life — as a precious talent to be used for You — a season in which we may lay up treasures in Heaven. If we use it aright, we shall have blessings from You, both here and hereafter. If we waste and squander it, we shall be indeed poor and lost and undone forever.

O Lord, we beseech You to teach us to walk wisely, redeeming the time. Much of our life has already been spent, and we know not how short a time may yet remain to us. Help us to live each day as if it were our last. While we have the light, may we walk in the light, lest darkness overtake us. The night of death will soon come — and there is no work in the grave where we are going. Keep this ever before us, and so teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. May we this day sow to the Spirit, and not to the flesh. May we sow the seed of holy thoughts, kind and loving words, and just and righteous actions. Keep us from all sin, sloth, and self-indulgence. Whatever our hand finds to do — may we do it with all our might. May we honor You by diligence in our appointed work. May we seize every opportunity to learn more of You and of Your Word. May we watch for occasions of doing good to those around us.

O gracious Redeemer, who is the All-wise Counselor of Your redeemed people, guide us in all the difficulties which befall us. We are often burdened with cares which we cannot escape. We know not the path we ought to take, nor the thing You would have us to do. O make our way straight before our eyes. May we desire only to know Your will, and may we readily follow the path in which You lead us. May we cast all our care on You, knowing that You care for us. Whatever trials You may appoint, make them work together for our highest good.

Accept, we beseech You, these our prayers and supplications. Receive our hearty praises for all Your mercies and loving-kindnesses. Pardon our many sins, negligences and ignorances. Do for us better then we can ask or think — through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our precious Lord. Amen.

Monday evening

O Lord God Almighty, the King of kings and Lord of lords, You are our Father in Christ Jesus. Even as a Father pities his children — so do You pity those who fear You. As one whom his mother comforts — so do You comfort each of Your own. You give us all needful blessings. Lord, we bless You with grateful hearts for all Your goodness to us.

Especially are we bound to praise You for the throne of grace to which You have invited us. We bless You that we are invited to bring to You all our needs and necessities. You have bidden us not to worry about anything — but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, to make known our requests unto You. Help us to delight in thus drawing near to You. May we come and pour out our hearts before You. At morning and evening, and oftentimes throughout each day — may we lift up our hearts unto You. May we ever come to You in full reliance on the name of Your dear Son. Look not upon us in our sinfulness and unworthiness — but look upon Him, our Righteous Advocate. Have respect to the All-sufficient Sacrifice which He has offered.

O grant unto us the spirit of prayer. Open our hearts that we may long for Your grace above all things. May we open our mouth wide to ask You for all we need. Give unto us the spirit of filial confidence in Your love, and in Your readiness to hear our prayers.

Give us likewise a ready ear to hearken to all Your precepts, and a heart to obey Your will when we know it. May no willful transgression make a separation between us — or hide Your face from us. May we more and more walk in the light of Your Word.

Make this home to be a home of love, and may we all have peace with You through Christ, and peace one with the other. Subdue all angry tempers within us, and everything that would grieve Your Spirit to withdraw from us.

Look down in mercy on all whom we desire to commend to Your Fatherly care. Be near to all who are dear to any of us. Bestow upon them Your saving grace, and make them partakers of Your favor on earth and of Your glory in Heaven. Have compassion upon our fallen world. Stay by Your mighty hand, the wars and contentions that bring desolation to so many lands. Send far and wide the Gospel of peace, and dispose the hearts of many to welcome the joyful sound. Restrain the flood of vice and ungodliness that threatens to overwhelm our land, and raise up many true and faithful ministers to proclaim Your Word.

Accept, Lord, these our prayers and praises, freely forgive us the sins we have done this day, and keep us beneath Your sheltering wing, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

Tuesday morning

O merciful God, our Creator and our Benefactor, our Father in Christ Jesus — we come to You this morning to thank and praise You for all Your manifold mercies. We thank You for the proofs of Your goodness which day by day we receive at Your hands. You have given us all things richly to enjoy. You have given to us home and friends, food and clothing — and You have preserved us in life and health. For all this we adore and praise Your holy name. But we would bless You most of all, for Your inestimable love in our redemption. You have given Your Son Jesus Christ to be a sacrifice for our sins. Fill us with sincere gratitude, and teach us to praise You both with our lips and in our lives.

O God of love, circumcise our hearts that we may love You as we ought. You are worthy that we should love You far above all else. But we are carnal, and our affections cling too much to the things of the world. May Your Holy Spirit break the chains which bind us so closely to earth, and draw us nearer to Yourself. Shed abroad Your love in our hearts, that we may desire Your presence above all things. Kindle within each of us the heavenly flame, and may it burn ever more and more brightly.

Most gracious Father, we beg You to teach us to love one another with a pure heart fervently. May we show to the world around that we are indeed the children of a God of love. You have taught us that all our doings without charity are worth nothing. Without this, all our words and works are but as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Breathe into our souls this heaven-born grace of charity. Take from us all envy and malice and unkind suspicion. Help us to put away all bitterness and evil speakings one against another. May we charitably judge of the actions and motives of others. Make us gentle and forbearing towards those who wrong us, or wound us by cross and angry words.

We beg You, O Father, pour down Your Spirit upon Your whole Church, weakened and distracted by manifold evils. Preserve among us the purity of the faith. Raise up a standard for Your truth. May Your Word ever be the light to guide and direct us, and may Christ alone be the resting-place of every heart. Deliver us from all bitterness and hatred, and whatever may hinder our godly union and concord. Hear us, O God, and preserve us evermore by Your help and goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Tuesday evening

O Lord, our God, how excellent is Your name in all the earth. You are the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity. You are righteous in all Your ways and holy in all Your works. Help us to adore and magnify Your name. Help us to come before You this night in the spirit of humble reverence, and may we worship You acceptably through Your dear Son.

O Lord, You have promised to make Your dwelling-place with the humble and the contrite. Give us true humility. Give us grace to know ourselves, and to feel deeply our ignorance, our sinfulness, and our helpless, and lost condition apart from You. We have continually broken Your law, which is holy, just, and good. We have not walked after the example of Your Son Jesus Christ. Most grievously have we provoked Your anger and indignation against us. O Father, we blush to lift up our eyes to You, for our iniquities have increased over our heads, and our trespasses are grown up unto the heavens. But look down from Heaven. Your dwelling-place, and when You hear, forgive. While yet a great way off from You, by reason of our sin and unbelief — draw near to us. Embrace us with the arms of Your mercy, and grant unto us a full reconciliation. We bless You that Christ was made an atoning sacrifice for us, when He suffered and died upon the cross. May we be regarded as righteous in Him, and cast all transgressions into the depths of the sea! May we thus look up to You as our Merciful Friend — yes, as our most Pitiful and Loving Father.

O Lord, we beg You this night revive the hearts of Your contrite ones. Refresh them with the dew of Your grace, and comfort them with the assurance of Your Presence. Dwell within us by Your Holy Spirit, and make us a temple worthy of You.

O God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, three Persons in one Glorious Godhead — come and make Your abode with us, and fill us with all the fullness of Divine grace and consolation.

We beseech You, O God, mercifully to regard all those who claim an interest in our prayers. You know those who are dear to each of us now before You. O let Your favorable kindness be upon them. Take away all pride and hardness of heart from any who may yet be in the far country of sin. Guide the footsteps of any who may be seeking their way to Zion. Lift up those who may be depressed and sorrowful by reason of life’s trials and afflictions. Speak peace to any who may be near to their latter end. May their feet stand firm on the Rock of Ages, and may they have no trust but in the blood and righteousness of Christ.

We commit ourselves now to Your merciful care. May our last thoughts be of You, and may we rise in the morning with a fresh desire to yield ourselves to Your service. Forgive us all our sins, and mercifully fulfill all our petitions, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

Wednesday morning

O Lord God, our Heavenly Father in Christ Jesus, we lift up our hearts to You this day in thankfulness for all Your undeserved mercies. We praise You, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness and truth. We would not forget Your countless benefits bestowed upon us. You forgive all our iniquities, and heal all our infirmities and backslidings. You redeem our life from destruction, and preserve us from dangers on the right hand and on the left. You give us the bread that comes down from Heaven, and have promised to fill us with Your Holy Spirit.

We bless Your holy name for all Your goodness toward us. Help us, O Lord, to show forth our gratitude, by living to Your glory. We gladly accept the gift of Your salvation offered to us through the mediation of Your only begotten Son. May we humbly rely on Your free promises made to us in Him.

O blessed Savior, the Good Shepherd of Your flock — may Your holy life be the pattern which we daily strive to copy. Teach us so to walk as You walked when sojourning here below. May our constant aim be to do the will of our Father in Heaven. May we be gentle and meek and forbearing towards all men. May we never willfully yield to the very least sin. May we give ourselves unto prayer, and make Your Word the rule of our life. May we go about doing good, and watch for occasions of comforting those in distress or anxiety. Fill our hearts with zeal and love, with patience and kindness, with humility, and hatred of all evil. May we daily fix our eye on You as revealed in Your Word, and may we be changed into Your holy image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of our God.

O Lord God, who hates nothing that You have made, be merciful to all those that are walking in the way that leads to destruction. Turn their hearts to Yourself. Stir up the hearts of Your faithful people that they may speak words in season to save the perishing. Bless the labors of Your ministering servants, and make them useful in the salvation of souls.

O Lord of the harvest — the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Send forth a great company of true and devoted messengers of Your Word into all the world and crown their labors with abundant success. Prosper all Societies for spreading Your truth. Give unto those who manage their affairs, the spirit of counsel and wisdom — and give unto those who support them the grace of cheerful liberality. May Your Church never lack faithful ministers to proclaim Your truth at home and abroad, nor the gold and silver needful to supply their needs.

Finally, we beseech You to receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before You for all estates of men in Your holy Church, that every Christian in his vocation and ministry may truly and humbly serve You, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Wednesday evening

O God, our Refuge and our strength — once more we approach You in your own appointed way. We come to You, trusting only in the merits of Your Son Jesus Christ. We beseech You, for His sake, favorably to hear our petitions, and to send us an answer of peace.

O Shepherd of Israel, look down upon us in tender love this night. We have gone astray like lost sheep, but seek after us and restore us to Your fold. Leave us not to perish in the wilderness of sin, nor on the mountains of vanity. Gather us with Your arm, and carry us on Your shoulder, for of ourselves we are unable to return to You. You are mighty to rescue and to save. None can pluck Your redeemed people out of Your hand. O keep us every moment, lest we fall before the snares of the Wicked one.

We bless You for the pledge that You have given of Your love to us. You have laid down Your life for Your sheep. You have bought them with Your own Precious blood. O forsake not those whom You have redeemed at such a price. You care for us far more than we can imagine. You love us with an everlasting and unchanging love. Manifest to us Your love more and more, and may we love You with our whole heart.

We beseech You to feed and nourish our souls with Your grace. Make us to lie down in green pastures, and lead us beside the still waters. Let our souls be daily fed from the rich treasury of Your Word. May we delight in coming to You in secret prayer. May we be strengthened by the provisions of Your house. Give us day by day the Heavenly manna, and may we thus grow in grace, and abound in all the fruits of the Spirit. Be very gracious to the weak and the burdened ones. Carry the lambs of Your flock in Your bosom — and gently lead all that are weary and heavy laden. Deal tenderly with the suffering, the sorrow-stricken and the aged. Bear them along in the arms of Your mercy, and uphold them lest they faint along the rugged way. If there are any such that know You not, may they now learn the things that belong to their peace. May they know the time of their visitation, lest their light go out in darkness and they stumble and fall forever!

We beseech You, O Lord, lead all Your true and faithful children in the ways of righteousness. Be their Counselor and Guide even unto death. Bring them at last to that blessed fold above, where there shall be no more sin and no more temptation. May we behold Your face in Your kingdom, and forever share Your glory.

Hear us, O Good Shepherd, keep us this night from all harm, and raise us up on the morrow that we may follow in Your footsteps. We ask all for Your name’s sake. Amen.

Thursday morning

O Lord, our God, You have set Your glory above the heavens — and yet You have invited sinful men to draw near to You. We bless You for the open door which You have set before us. We come to You through Your beloved Son in whom You are ever well pleased.

O Lord, our sins testify against us, for we have sinned against Heaven and before You. We are no more worthy to be called Your children. But in Jesus have we righteousness and strength. Accept us in Him, and impute not unto us our old sins. May His death remove all our transgressions, and may we be clothed in His perfect righteousness. Through Him, may we appear before You this morning as having no spot or stain of iniquity.

We beseech You, heavenly Father, to make us as holy as Christ is holy. Search every secret chamber of our hearts. Show us the evil that is there, and help us to cast it out. Expel every unholy thought and every sinful passion. Cleanse us from all selfishness and self-will. Deliver us from the bondage of evil habits. Take from us the spirit of envy and discontent, and may we never distrust Your Word or Your Providence.

O blessed Savior, for our sake You bore Your heavy cross, that we might have eternal life. Help us daily to deny ourselves, and take up our cross and follow You. Make us willing to sacrifice our own pleasure, that we may the better do Your will. May we choose rather a little with You — than to gain the whole world and lose the comfort of Your love. Make us ready to part with all we possess, and even to lay down our lives — rather than willfully dishonor Your name. May we in all things follow the footsteps of Your most holy life, until we lay down the cross and receive the crown which You have promised to those who love You!

We beseech You, gracious Savior, let Your richest blessing rest on the younger members of this family. Guide their feet into the way of peace. Gather them with Your arm, and carry them in Your bosom. Teach them to remember You now in the days of their youth. Teach them to seek You early, that they may find You. May they never reckon it too soon to enjoy Your love, or to choose Your happy service.

O Lord God, we beg You to bless all estates of men in Your holy Church. Bless our civil leaders. Rule their hearts in Your faith, fear and love, and may they evermore trust in Your mercy. Endue with heavenly wisdom those placed in authority over this land. Give grace to all civil leaders, that they may maintain Your truth, and promote the true welfare of our country. Keep and defend us from all enemies within and without. Make us to be a people fearing You and working righteousness, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

Thursday evening

O merciful and gracious Father, this night we venture once more to approach Your mercy-seat. You have opened for us a new and living way through the mediation of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. May we come boldly to Your throne of grace, and pour out our hearts before You. Bow down Your ear, Lord, and hearken to the prayers of Your servants.

O Lord, we are unworthy of all the mercy and truth which You have shown toward us. We have served our idols, and have wearied You with our iniquities.

We confess before You the sins of our country. You behold on every side a contempt for Your law, and a rejection of Your blessed Gospel. Your Sabbaths are profaned and Your name is dishonored. We cannot count the sins which prevail among us, nor worthily lament the evils which defile our land. But we praise You for Your patience and forbearance. Do not deal with us after our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities. To You belong mercies and forgivenesses. In spite of all our provocations, continue Your mercy toward us.

We bless You for the rich provision which You have made for our necessities. You make Your sun to shine upon the evil and the good, and send rain on the just and the unjust. You are kind to the unthankful and to the evil.

We bless You for Your special goodness to our nation. You have shielded us for many years from the bitter curse of the sword. You have given us liberty and freedom to worship You according to our conscience. You have made life and property sacred among us.

We would bless You also for our family and domestic mercies. You have given to us a quiet and peaceful abode — while Christ had nowhere to lay His head. Your hand, Father, provides us day by day with food necessary for us. Your wing covers our dwelling-place and guards us from danger continually.

We bless You above all for our spiritual mercies. We would thank You with all our hearts for Your salvation in Jesus Christ. We thank You for Your Word which points to Him. We thank You for the Comforter whom You have sent to teach and sanctify us. We thank You for Christian Pastors to assist us in our heavenly course. We thank You for Christian friends with whom we can take counsel along the way. We would praise You without ceasing for all the help and consolation You give us through Your dear Son, and for the everlasting kingdom promised to those who love You.

O gracious Father, let Your mercies be the loadstone to draw our rebellious hearts to You. May Your goodness lead us to repentance. May Your constant love fill us with the longing desire to yield ourselves wholly to Your service. Be pleased to forgive all that has been amiss in our prayers and praises, and accept and bless us this night, for the sake of Jesus Christ our only Lord and Savior. Amen.

Friday morning

O God, Merciful and Gracious, Long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth — we draw near to You this morning in the name of Your dear Son. Draw near to us according to Your faithful Word, and fill us with true and sincere gratitude for all Your benefits towards us. We have laid down and risen up in peace and safety — for You have watched over us. O Guardian of Your people, keep us evermore by Your help and goodness. Preserve our souls from all evil. Preserve our going out and our coming in from this time forth and for evermore.

We would confess before You, our unworthiness of Your help and favors toward us. We have forgotten You days without number, and have grieved and provoked You by our backslidings against You. We have justly forfeited all claim to Your protection, and have deserved only Your wrath and displeasure.

O God, we flee to the refuge of Your mercy. Have mercy upon us according to Your loving kindness, and according to the multitude of Your tender mercies blot out our transgressions. Sprinkle us with the most precious blood of Your dear Son, and may we be wholly cleansed from all the guilt and defilement of our sins. Grant us the blessedness of those whose transgressions are forgiven and put away forever out of Your sight. Embrace us with the arms of Your mercy; give unto us the kiss of reconciling love. Upbraid us not, nor chide us for the days which we have spent in the far country — but clothe us with the best robe, adorn and beautify us with the garments of salvation, and give us grace henceforth to serve You with joyfulness for all the goodness You have shown unto us.

O Lord Jesus Christ, You have bought us for Yourself, not with silver or gold, but with Your own precious blood. Make us wholly Yours. As we beg You for Your pardoning mercy, so we beseech You to grant us also grace to live henceforth wholly for Your glory. As You have forgiven us much — may we love You much, and strive to manifest our love in our daily walk and conduct. Give unto us a sincere heart. Deliver us from all falseness and hypocrisy. May our words be spoken as before You, and be free from all taint and leaven of deceit.

Make us honest and sincere in all our dealings with our fellow-men. May we rather suffer any loss, than dishonor You or wound our own conscience. Make us also to forgive others as You have forgiven us. Subdue any rising spirit of revenge when others may wrong us, or speak harshly to us. May we conquer by love. May we overcome evil with good. May we ever give the soft answer that turns away wrath, and thus follow the holy example of Your well-beloved Son, who was ever meek and patient towards all men.

Accept, we beseech You, these our prayers and supplications, and fulfill all petitions through the mediation of Jesus Christ our only Savior and Redeemer. Amen.

Friday evening

O almighty Father, the God of mercy, love and peace — receive us graciously as we kneel before You at the close of this day. Every day we have to thank You for fresh mercies, and to confess before You our perpetual backslidings. But Your heart is ever ready to have mercy and to forgive. Remember not against us our old sins, but show to us the abundance of Your grace in Christ Jesus.

We thank You for the Gospel of Your Salvation. The carnal mind is enmity against You, and we have been enemies to You in our minds through wicked works. We have provoked You to displeasure by our sins, and an evil conscience has made us afraid of Your presence. But we bless You that You have sent us a message of peace. You have offered to us a full reconciliation through Christ, for He has made peace for us through the blood of His cross. You have invited us to draw very near to You in His name. O receive us according to Your Word.

O blessed Savior, You have promised to Your people that peace which the world cannot give or take away. O grant us to enjoy Your peace in our hearts at all times. Though we may have tribulation, You can support and sustain us. In every hour of sorrow, enable us to lean on You and trust Your faithful care. When buffeted by the waves of this troublesome world, may we hide ourselves in You, our Strong Habitation. When oppressed and wearied in the conflict of life, O refresh our souls with the assurance of Your love. O God of hope, fill us with all joy and peace in believing, that we may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We beseech You also, O Father, to bind together all the members of this household in the spirit of mutual forbearance and love. May we endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Make us to walk in love as Christ has loved us. Help us to cast aside all bitterness and anger and evil speaking — and to put on, as Your elect children, affections of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. May we ever be ready to forgive one another, even as You for Christ’s sake have forgiven us.

O Lord God Almighty, the Author of peace, give unto all nations unity, peace, and concord. Make wars to cease unto the ends of the earth.

O Prince of peace, set up speedily Your kingdom, and make Your Word to spread far and wide. Let those who have hitherto dwelt in darkness, behold Your light and rejoice in it. Reign in every bosom, and set up that kingdom which is righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.

Watch over our dwelling this night. Keep us safe beneath Your care, and refresh us with quiet rest that we may be enabled the better to serve You on the morrow. We ask all, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

Saturday morning

O Lord of all power and might, Author and Giver of all good things, it is our blessed privilege to draw near to You in the name of Christ. Give us true joy in worshiping You. We adore and praise You for the daily mercies we have received through this week, and through our whole lives. Make us indeed thankful for all Your benefits, and may we show forth Your praise by living to Your glory. As week by week rolls by, teach us to see more clearly the shortness of time, and the nearness of eternity. Our joys and sorrows are but for a moment — but You have promised an eternal weight of glory to Your children. Help us, Father, to seek those things which are above. If any here before You have neglected to seek Your favor hitherto, may we seek You at once through Your Well-beloved Son. O draw us to Yourself, and open our eyes to see the vanity of things below. Keep us from making the pursuit of wealth our chief aim in life. Keep us from seeking too eagerly the success we desire.

If riches increase, teach us to use them for You. May we thus make Friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. If anxiety or want of any kind be our portion — bear our burden for us. In all our labors and sorrows, may we glorify You. May we so pass through temporal things, that we lose not the eternal things. May we seek first Your kingdom and righteousness, and may we be assured that all other needful things shall be added unto us.

O Merciful Redeemer, be ever by our side. In our daily conflicts stand by us and help us. Uphold us with Your right hand — and then we shall not fall. Make us in all things, to follow in Your footsteps and to keep Your commandments. Teach us to count all things but loss, for the excellence of the knowledge of Your love; and may we reckon a little with Yourself far better than every earthly blessing without Your Presence.

We entreat You, O Father, draw us closer to Yourself by the cords of Your love. Bless the members of this household, present or absent, with all spiritual blessings in Christ. Bind us together in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and love. Prepare us for the great day of Christ’s appearing.

We commend likewise to Your faithful care our relations and friends. Watch over them for good continually, and number them among Your believing people. Comfort any who may be in trouble, and restore to Your fold any who may have gone astray from You. When life is over, and You shall make up Your jewels, may none whom we love be found missing among Your saints. Receive these our prayers, we humbly beseech You, and forgive us all our sins through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saturday evening

Almighty and everlasting God, we would call upon Your Holy name at the close of another day and of another week. With You is no variableness nor shadow of turning. As our days and years roll on, You are ever Merciful and Gracious, and ready to hear the cry of Your redeemed children. Your sure and faithful promises are ever the same, and we know that You, Lord, have never failed those who seek You.

O Lord, remind us at the close of this week of the strict and solemn account which we must one day render before the judgment seat of Christ. To You all hearts are open, and before You no secrets are hid. You have declared that You will bring every work into judgment and every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. May we often remember the issues of that Great Day.

We freely confess all the sin and iniquity that Your all-searching eye has seen in us. We acknowledge our willful transgressions and our continual shortcomings. Search us, O Lord, and try our hearts — and wherever we have offended against You, graciously forgive us. Our hope is in Jesus. Look upon the All-sufficient Sacrifice which He has offered for our sins. We plead before You, the blood shed for us upon the tree. O cleanse us in that blood from all iniquity. Lead us to rely wholly on the finished work of Christ, and assure us that there is no condemnation for us in Him.

O Lord, You have bidden us to make supplications and prayers for all men. O give us the spirit of true charity. Quicken our hearts in this blessed privilege of intercession. Have mercy, we beseech You, on all the members of Your Church. Let the dew of Your heavenly blessing descend on all who love the name of Christ, and lean only on the hope of His grace. Strengthen by Your mighty Spirit, all those who are laboring for You, and prosper all the work to which You have called them.

Pour water upon every thirsty soul, and satisfy every longing heart. Let Your people everywhere be filled with Your Spirit. May they be harmless and blameless, living as Your children in the midst of a perverse and crooked generation. May they hold forth the lamp of Your truth, and by a consistent and holy life, let their light shine before men.

Raise up all those that are bowed down either by temptation or by sorrow. Give unto the rich the spirit of meekness and humility, and may they be rich in faith and in good works. Give unto the poor the grace of true contentment, and may they have treasure in Heaven where neither rust nor moth does corrupt.

Prepare each of us now before You for the coming day of rest. May each returning Sabbath prove a blessed foretaste of our rest above. We commit ourselves now into Your Fatherly keeping. Be with us and guard us from all danger, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.