DURING A TIME OF PREVAILING SICKNESS.

OUR times, O Lord, are in thy hands. Save us, if it please thee, from the pestilence that walketh in darkness, and from the destruction that wasteth at noonday. Thy judgments are very terrible. Oh that men may learn wisdom. Help us to humble ourselves; may every family mourn apart and pray apart, and let the calamity be speedily removed. We pray thee forgive our sin and heal our land. Dispose us to the duties which such a time as this calls for, and teach all to return to thee. Should the plague come into our dwelling and lay any of us low, may our spirits find repose in the Saviour, on whom our hope rests for time and for eternity.

THANKS FOR THE REMOVAL OF PREVAILING SICKNESS.

WE sought thee, O Lord, in our sorrows, and thou hast heard us. Fill our hearts, and the hearts of all around us, with thankfulness. May thy visitations teach us wisdom. Comfort such as have been bereaved. Provide for the orphan and the widow. Accept of grateful praise for exemption from the ravages of disease, and let those whom thou hast healed give thanks unto thy name. O Lord, we praise thee, though thou wast angry with us, thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest us. Oh that all may seek and obtain thy salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord; and may thy providence and thy word unite to teach us how to live, so that at last we may be accepted through his infinite merits.

AFTER A STORMY NIGHT.

THOU, O Lord, hast preserved us during the windy storm and tempest, and we give thee thanks. None of us could deliver himself, but thou art our deliverer and protector. Terrible majesty is thine. Thou touchest the mountains, and they smoke—the God of glory thundereth. We rejoice to know that all nature is under thy control, and that we are safe beneath thy care. O Lord, if to any the storm has been the messenger of sorrow, let that sorrow work for good. May men who tremble at thy power betake themselves to the Rock of ages for shelter from the final storm which shall destroy the world thou hast made, and may we always find protection and everlasting life there, for thy mercy's sake, O Lord.

WHEN A FRIEND IS PRESENT.

FATHER of all, we commend to thee our friend, who now worships with us at our family altar. Grant him thy salvation. We would be grateful for the earthly friendships we are permitted to form. May they be formed and maintained on principles that will render them lasting as eternity. Surround this our friend with thine ever present protection. Grant him in all circumstances thy guidance. Supply his every want. Endear to him thy truth. Grant him an interest in the salvation of Jesus Christ our Lord; and bestow on him abundantly the blessings of that salvation. Bless with similar favours all that appertain to him and to us; and may we all be prepared to meet in an everlasting association at our Father's house above.

ECCLESIASTICAL.

ILLNESS OF THE PASTOR OF THE FAMILY.

O THOU, who walkest in the midst of the golden candlesticks, thy ministers are in thy hands, and thou workest by them, or layest them aside as it pleaseth thee. We thank thee that we have been favoured with a faithful ministry. Thine hand is laid upon our pastor. Sustain him by the truths he has preached. Grant him thy presence. If it please thee, bring him forth to us again, to comfort us with the comfort wherewith he himself has been comforted of God; or, if he be removed hence to be no more seen, give him a welcome to thy house above to enjoy a large reward.

DEATH OF THE PASTOR OF THE FAMILY.

SOVEREIGN and gracious Lord, thou hast been pleased to remove our beloved pastor. We thank thee for all the good of which he was the instrument. May his death be more useful to many than his life was. Heal the breach in the church. Give us to follow the faith of our beloved pastor, considering the end of his conversation, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. Send us, in thy mercy, another teacher who shall lead our souls to Christ; and provide in succession for thy churches pastors after thine own heart, that thy name may be glorified, and the salvation of Christ may be known and enjoyed, for his name's sake.

ANTICIPATING A MISSIONARY MEETING.

WE esteem it a privilege, O Lord, that we may labour for the advancement of thy cause. Of ourselves we can do nothing, but thou canst command success on the feeblest efforts. Be present in the meeting we anticipate. Stir us up to zeal and prayer.

Grant, O God, unto thy church a pentecostal season. Pour out upon us thy good Spirit from on high, and make the wilderness become a fruitful field. May he again convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. May there be speedily and widely a shaking among the dry bones. May a holy interest respecting eternal things take the place of indifference. May the cry be heard from every quarter-Men and brethren, what shall we do? May men look to him whom they have pierced, and mourn. May they flee for refuge to the hope which the gospel reveals. May they believe with the heart unto righteousness, and with the mouth make confession unto salvation. May they cleave unto the Lord with full purpose of heart, and follow the Lamb, treading in the footmarks which he left during his sojourn upon our earth.

Take

Acknowledge, O Lord, and honour thine own truth before the sons of men. Vindicate thy cause. unto thyself thy great power and reign. Claim the nations for thine own. Let the earth be filled with thy knowledge as the waters cover the seas. And to Father, Son, and Spirit, one God, be all the glory, now and for ever.

JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BUNGAY.