WHEN A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY IS ILL.

O LORD, we ask thy mindfulness of the sick member of our household. May the purpose of this visitation be accomplished in him. Give him patience and submission. Prepare him for all thy will respecting him. We beseech thee, O Lord, spare him in thy mercy, and give success to the means employed for his recovery. May his future life be holier and more devoted to thee on account of this visitation. May he neither despise the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when he is rebuked of him. And let the affliction be useful to us all in weaning our hearts from earthly things and exciting our diligence in the things of God. Hear our cry, we humbly beseech thee, and save us, O God of our mercy.

FOR RECOVERY FROM FAMILY AFFLICTION.

WE gratefully acknowledge thy goodness in permitting us all to meet in health around our domestic altar, to present our prayers and our praises. We have sought thee in sorrow; now that the cloud has dispersed we will praise thee. We found trouble and heaviness, and we called upon the name of the Lord. Gracious is the Lord and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. Oh enable us to pay our vows in the presence of all thy people, and let renewed mercy awaken new gratitude and devotion. May the renewed health of the afflicted members of our household be consecrated to the Lord; and let us all feel that we are thine, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

ON THE DEATH OF A CHILD.

How wonderful are thy ways, O Lord! how terrible are thy judgments! yet does mercy pervade and mingle with them all. Oh that our afflictions may burst the bonds by which we are tied to earth. Having our treasure in heaven, may our hearts be there also. May we, by whatever means, be brought to regard thee as the sovereign director of all that pertains to us. "Thy will be done." Thou knewest best what to do with the child that was lent to us. O our God, be thou our consoler, and comfort us, not with the joys of this life, but with faith, love, obedience, patience, and resignation. Let not these trials pass away without leaving a durable impression on our hearts; and though the seed be sown in sorrow, let the fruit be reaped in holiness and joy.

DEATH OF A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY.

WE bow to thy will under the bereavement with which, O our God, thou hast been pleased to visit us. May the removal of one from us inspire us with fresh diligence. The time is short; oh help us to improve it. Let our hearts be withdrawn from earthly things. Let heaven be more attractive to us; and henceforth may our loins be girded, our lamps trimmed, and may we have oil in our vessels, and be waiting for the summons to the marriage festival. Blessed be thy name, though we die, thou changest not. May we live on thee, sustained by thine arm, sanctified by thy grace, and daily becoming meet for the world where there shall be no more sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more death.

DEATH OF A GODLY RELATIVE.

THOU, O Lord, hast taken away, and we weep, yet we sorrow not without hope. We thank thee through our tears for the mercy vouchsafed to our beloved relative, even while he was sinking into the arms of death. We are grateful for the belief that he has arrived where Jesus is. Oh may we reach the same blessed heaven. Work in us what is well-pleasing in thy sight. Teach us to subdue the flesh, to resist the devil, to live wholly to thee; and may our confidence ever be in him who died to redeem us from death, and who rose again to take possession of eternal life as our forerunner. May we live unto God. When we die may we die unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

WHEN A PARENT IS ILL.

WE come to thee, O God, on behalf of him, on whose counsel and care thou hast made this family dependent. We know that thy will is right and good, yet suffer us, O Lord, to plead with thee. Spare thy servant, we beseech thee; or if thy will determine otherwise, help us to submit; and give to him, as his days shorten, a calm, joyful anticipation of the world where there is no more death. O Lord, be thou our refuge and strength. We come to thee in this our distress; our hope is in thee. Grant us, if it please thee, the life we ask, and permit us, with our beloved parent at our family altar, again to sing of the loving-kindness of the Lord.

DEATH OF A PARENT.

O OUR GOD, thou hast smitten us. We will not complain. Thanks to thy name that our beloved parent, now laid low, was spared so long. We will look up to thee, for thou hast said, When thy father and thy mother forsake thee, then the Lord will take thee up. We have always needed thy care, but now especially we need it. Leave us not, neither forsake us, O God of our salvation. Let thy wisdom give us counsel; let thy tenderness and thy gentleness soothe and sustain us in place of that which we shall no more experience; and help us, O our God, to follow the beloved departed so far as he followed Christ, till, like him, we shall, through faith and patience, inherit the promises.

DAY OF ATTENDING A FUNERAL.

O God of life, to-day we are surrounded by the emblems of mortality. Teach us, as we bury our friend, to be mindful of our own latter end. May every day see us doing, and hoping, and watching, as thou biddest. We thank thee, as friends are committed to the tomb, that there is a world beyond the present, where the love which thy Spirit awakens shall survive. May the thoughts of that world comfort us in our mourning. May it awaken joy in the bosoms of the bereaved. May it stimulate us all to diligence, patience, and watchful perseverance. Oh help us always to be looking for the mercy of God unto everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

BIRTHDAY OF ANY IN THE FAMILY.

EVERY returning day, O Lord, reminds us of thy kindness, and there are special memorials that we would not forget. This day tells of mercy. May the life, whose commencement is gratefully remembered to-day, be truly consecrated to thee. Let no more of it run to waste. May the value of hours be felt, and each one be employed in something right, and useful, and holy. Spare to us our opportunities of Christian instruction, and may we advance in knowledge as years roll by. Let each returning birthday find us actively employed for thee, that when our years close on earth, we may be recognised as thy servants for ever, through the allgracious Mediator.

ANNIVERSARY OF FAMILY MERCY.

WE would not let this day pass, O Lord, without solemn and grateful thanks for the gracious visitation which it brings to mind. May we never lose the benefit which that visitation was designed to confer. We thank thee for even sharp antidotes to our moral and spiritual evil. We thank thee that thou didst have mercy on our household. Oh grant us that we may ever have a deep sense of thy goodness, that we may love thee in the remembrance of it with all our hearts, and whenever we call to remembrance thy sparing goodness may we be mindful of our latter end, of the approaching day of final account, and may we daily prepare to meet the Judge at his coming, even the Lord Jesus, in whom now we hope.