Monday; Series 2
Morning
O LORD OUR GOD, who hast ordained times and seasons, and appointed one day of each week for rest, and six days for labor, we bless Thee that Thou dost permit us to enter upon another week under circumstances of mercy and peace. We offer ourselves anew to Thy holy service, which is perfect freedom. We are not our own, but belong both in body and soul, in life and in death, to Thee, our Maker, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. May our whole life and conversation be a song of gratitude and praise to Thine infinite goodness and mercy.
We humbly confess, O Lord, that we are poor, miserable sinners, unable by nature to keep Thy holy laws and precepts. Thou must work in us both to will and to do according to Thy good pleasure. Grant us, we humbly beseech Thee, the powerful aid of Thy Holy Spirit, that He may lead us into all truth and holiness; and so fit us, by Thy heavenly grace, for the duties of this day and week, that we may begin, continue, and end all our works in Thee. Control our thoughts, words, and actions, that they may all be instruments of righteousness to Thy praise.
Give us, we beseech Thee, the power of faith, which overcometh the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Fill our hearts with supreme love to God, and charity to our fellow-men. Inspire us with wisdom and cousel in all our doings. Make us humble in prosperity, and patient in adversity. Keep before our eyes continually the Cross of Christ, as the true source of strength, and our only safeguard against evil thoughts and desires.
Direct our minds, in the midst of our earthly labors, to the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness. Suffer not our affections to dwell below, and to be set upon the vanities of this present evil world. Give us contentment of heart, and childlike trust in Thee, who rulest the universe, and clothest the lilies of the field; who providest for angels, and feedest the young ravens; who art allsufficient in Thyself, and allsufficient to us. Give us a heart compassionate to the poor, and liberal to the needy. May we enjoy more and more the blessedness of doing good to others, and relieving those who are in need, after the example of Jesus Christ, who gave His own life as a ransom for a fallen race.
Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named; who hast said that thou wilt be the God of all the families of Israel, and that they shall be Thy people; reign and rule in this house; dispense Thy spiritual blessings to all its members; give wisdom to the parents, obedience to the children; and so to unite us more and more in the holy bonds of love to Thee and to one another, that living in Thy service, and dying in Thy peace, we may enter at last as an unbroken family into the unspeakable joys of Thine everlasting kingdom in heaven.
Evening
ALMIGHTY, most merciful, and everlasting God, hear us, the creatures of a day. Of old hast Thou laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment, and as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed; but Thou art the same, and of Thy years there shall be no end. Show to us, Lord, the end and measure of our days, that we may know how frail we are; and so teach us to number our few and uncertain years, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
And, now that another day is gone, and another night arrived, may we have wisdom to consider that we are another day nearer to death, to judgment, and to eternity. O that we were wise! That we understood this – that we might consider our latter end! Lord, grant us grace to live waiting and watching for Thy call. And whether it come by day, at midnight, or in the morning, may we all be found ready.
And now, O Lord, so long as our years are lengthened out, teach us to walk circumspectly; not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Give us grace to employ our time in seeking to learn more of God; in seeking more conformity to His will; in mortifying the deeds of the body, that we may live; and in bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit in all holiness, that our heavenly Father may be glorified in the world.
Yet, Lord, we must confess that we have been very unprofitable servants. We have wasted our precious time on vanities. We have been as men spending their money for that which is not bread, and their labor for that which satisfieth not. But, blessed be Thy holy name, O God, Thou desirest not the death of a sinner; but rather it is Thy desire that he should return unto Thee and live. O turn us and we shall be turned; draw us and we shall run after Thee.
Raise our affections from the earth, and set them upon things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. By the cross of Christ may we now be crucified to the world, and the world to us; and may the life we shall henceforth live in the flesh, be by the faith of the Son of God. Let Christ be our Life; and unworthy in ourselves though we be, when Christ, who is our Life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.
Remember in Thy mercy, O Lord, all our dear friends and kind benefactors; and, if we have enemies, forgive them, and teach us from the heart to forgive them likewise.
Remember in Thy mercy all that voyage on the seas, and protect and deliver them in the hour of danger.
Remember for good all sick and afflicted persons. Fit the living for life, and the dying for death. Bless the word of instruction and comfort, when addressed to their ear. Make it better than a medicine for their sickness, or oil and wine for their wounds. Open the ears of men, O Lord, that they may everywhere hear and obey Thy word.
Take away in Thy mercy the blindness from the eyes of men, and in truth and holiness uphold Thy church. Rule in the hearts of our rulers, and let righteousness exalt the nation. Let Thy salvation be nigh to them that fear Thee, that Thy glory may dwell in our land.
Keep us through the night, and if, in Thy providence, we are spared till another day, may we go forth again to serve Thee in newness of life. And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the everlasting God, be glory forever.
A Liturgy, or Order of Christian Worship Prepared and Published by the German Reformed Church in the United States of America (Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston, 1857) pp. 316-320. Copyright Public Domain. alt.