22nd.

Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto Thee. For Thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt not Thou deliver my feet from falling? Psa. Ivi. 12, 13.

Oh Thou Most High, from whom alone cometh help, and hope, and salvation; Thine infinite mercy has, we trust, delivered our souls from death: and now we need, and supplicate that same mercy, to deliver our feet from falling, and to keep us ever walking before Thee in the light of the living. Oh may we remember the solemn vows that are upon us; and though it is but of Thine own that we can ever bring to Thee, yet may we daily render Thee heartfelt praise, through Christ Jesus. Amen.

23rd.

When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. Isa. lix. 19.

Oh thou Spirit of all power and might, who alone canst lift up an effectual standard against the many and mighty foes that beset us round; leave us not to contend with any of them in our own strength; but when temptation, or affliction, or death, is permitted to come in like a flood, do Thou bear us safely through it, and at last make us more than conquerors over every enemy, through Him who hath loved us. Amen.

24th.

Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matt. xix. 23.

Oh Thou who becamest poor to make many rich, not towards men, but towards God; make us thankful if in this world thou hast given us neither poverty nor riches. Keep us from inordinately desiring any of the good things of this transitory life, and make it our supreme desire to use them all as not abusing them, that so we may in Thy good time, not hardly but surely enter the kingdom of heaven, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

25th.

I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeydst not my voice. Jer. xxii. 21.

Oh Lord our God, remember not against us, we beseech Thee, the sins of our manner in our youth, nor the times when Thou spakest unto us in our prosperity, and we would neither hear nor obey thy voice. Oh that henceforth, whether Thou speak by the thunder of Thy judgments, or by the still small voice of love and mercy through thy Son, the humble reply of our souls may ever be, " Speak Lord, for Thy servant heareth." Grant it, we pray Thee, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

C

26th.

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, &c. Matt. xxvi. 39.

Heavenly Father, who for our sakes, didst give to Thy beloved and only begotten Son, a cup of agony more bitter than man's heart can conceive, Oh grant that we may both copy His life, and live by His death. May every sorrow stir us up to greater earnestness of prayer to Thee, with whom all things are possible; and in the utmost extremity, though the promised deliverance tarry, give us grace still to say, Nevertheless, not as we will, but as Thou wilt. Hear us for his sake, whom Thou hearest always. Amen.

27th.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, &c. John viii. 31, 32.

Oh Thou in whom we trust we do believe, may we prove ourselves Thy disciples indeed, by stedfast continuance in Thy word, by increasing knowledge of Thy truth, and by a growing sense of the privilege of being by it made free from the bondage of sin, and brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Thus may we be approved to Thee, to our fellow-creatures, and to our own consciences, now and for ever. Amen.

28th.

What think ye of Christ? Matt. xxii. 42.

Oh Lord, who seest about how many things we are often careful and troubled; grant that henceforth, in the multitude of our thoughts within us, Christ and His salvation may be the subject nearest to our hearts: that we may think of Him, as our only and all-sufficient Saviour, our perfect example, and as the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely, for whom we bless Thee, and to whom, with Thyself, oh holy Father, and the Spirit of all grace, be endless praises. Amen.

29th.

Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. John vi. 67, 68.

Gracious Saviour, who alone hast the words of eternal life, we feel and confess ourselves prone to wander, and bent to backslide, even as others. Oh grant that the same grace which first found us afar off, and brought us nigh, may so bind our wandering hearts, that we never more, either in thought or life, go away, or seem to do so but may follow Thee fully now, and be found complete in Thee at last, for Thy great name and mercy's sake. Amen.

30th.

Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Rom. xv. 4.

Blessed Lord, who didst inspire and hast preserved to us all those things that were written afore time for our learning in Thy sacred Scriptures; open, we pray Thee, our understandings and our hearts fully and rightly to receive them. Give us patience to continue in all Thy word, to endure all Thy will, and to wait for all Thy promises: and so doing, may we find present and abiding comfort in Thy revelation of Thyself to poor sinners, and derive from it a hope that can never make ashamed, but is full of immmortality, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

31st.

Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, &c. Eph. v. 22, 24.

We bless Thee, oh Lord, that Thou hast shewn us so much of the corruption and deceitfulness of our former conversation, as to make us desire altogether to put it off: and we pray Thee, by the indwelling of Thy Spirit, so to renew us in the whole spirit of our mind, that we may prove ourselves to have been born of God, by the righteousness and true holiness that belong to those who are made new creatures in Christ Jesus. We ask it for His sake. Amen.