^tlp0 iox t\}t (Slttiet ^ont 
 
 Pragers . (loUects . \)cxqcb 
 
 COLLATED FROM MANY SOURCES 
 
 WITH A PREFATORY ESSAY ON THE 
 
 Culture of the Devotional Life 
 
 BY 
 
 Jesse Bowman Youngs D«D«^ Litt.D# 
 
 NEW YORK: EATON & MAINS 
 CINCINNATI: JENNINGS & GRAHAM 
 
BV245 
 
 Copyright, 1900, 1909, by 
 EATON & MAINS 
 
 ©CLA253563 
 
PREFATORY ESSAY 
 
 THE CULTURE OF THE DEVOTIONAL 
 LIFE 
 
 A SPIRIT of devotion — vitally associated as 
 it is with the growth of the real life of the 
 soul — needs to be sedulously cultivated. This 
 truth, although a commonplace in religious teach- 
 ing, demands special attention in an age like ours, 
 in which secularism, materialism, indifferentism, 
 and other foes of spirituality are rife. These 
 assailants carry on a subtle, specious, and pecul- 
 iarly perilous warfare against the soul ; they 
 create an atmosphere which tends to stifle and 
 benumb the religious faculties. Hence those who 
 would grow in the grace and in the knowledge 
 of Christ need, in order to be armed in self-de- 
 fense and ward off these hostile assailments, to 
 avail themselves of all possible helps for the 
 nurture of the new life which has been created 
 within them. By the use of such aids the soul 
 may cherish with ever-increasing interest and 
 zest a reverent and worshipful spirit, a grateful 
 sense of the divine presence in the daily life, a 
 gladsome trust in the promises, a keen insight 
 into the provisions of mercy which are enshrined 
 in the Scriptures, and a constant enjoyment of 
 
 3 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 the fellowship which God maintains with those 
 who revere and love him. These rewards may 
 well incite us to seek after some of the secrets 
 of the growth of the soul in the divine life. 
 
 The means whereby a spirit of devotion may be 
 developed and maintained are various. The 
 habit of meditation upon appropriate passages 
 of Scripture ; of imploring light and help from 
 God in prayer; of lifting the soul heavenward 
 on the wings of praise; of summoning noble 
 ideals of conduct and character before the 
 imagination ; of aspiring after a life of integrity, 
 genuineness, usefulness, and piety ; and of trans- 
 lating these aspirations and aims, day by day, 
 into the terms of common life— this habit will 
 occur to almost anyone who thinks on the sub- 
 ject as involving the chief secret of victory over 
 the world, the flesh, and the devil. By the means 
 thus hinted at spiritual growth may be assured. 
 
 One of the most helpful agencies for kindling 
 the fires of devotion in the heart is the custom of 
 pondering the choice devotional utterances of 
 saintly men and women who in various ages have 
 embodied in their lives the graces of the Gospel, 
 and who have left their penitential aspirations, 
 their heart yearnings, their mountain-top visions, 
 their tearful struggles, and their rapturous vic- 
 tories on record for our instruction and encour- 
 agement. A selection from these inspiring and 
 
 4 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 fruitful sources has been gathered into the pres- 
 ent volume in the confident hope that such a com- 
 pilation, used as a handbook of devotion, will 
 prove to those who have it in hand a constant 
 source of quickening, comfort, and spiritual en- 
 lightenment. 
 
 Aside from the collection herein presented it 
 may be suggestive to indicate, particularly to 
 young people who have given but little thought 
 to this theme, that there is a great and precious 
 legacy for devout Christians stored up in what is 
 called Devotional Literature. The range of this 
 inheritance is large, and the treasures to be found 
 therein are of incalculable worth. Let us at least 
 glance at some of the masterpieces. 
 
 The Book of Psalms is, of course, to be 
 reckoned at the head of the list. It occupies the 
 place to-day which it has maintained for more 
 than twenty-five hundred years, as the noblest 
 and most vivifying of all volumes of devotion. 
 This book sounds all the depths, ascends all the 
 heights, reaches all the expanses, and voices all 
 the needs of the soul of man in its struggles to 
 find and know God and walk in the way of his 
 commandments. It touches every note in the 
 gamut of religious experience. No matter what 
 sorrows, sins, temptations, or burdens one may 
 face, he will find in this wonderful book his ex- 
 periences furnished with a tongue, his unutterable 
 
 5 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 longings voiced in prayer or praise, his inner life 
 portrayed in panoramic visions. 
 
 Certain portions of the Gospels, too, are pecul- 
 iarly fitted to enliven the spirit of devotion, and 
 help the believer to maintain *'a closer walk with 
 God." Many of the words spoken by our Lord 
 — such as the Sermon on the Mount, the fifteenth 
 chapter of St. Luke, and the first, fourteenth, 
 fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of 
 St. John — should be memorized with this intent. 
 The soul that lives on such nourishment as these 
 words of Christ afford will not easily become 
 barren or unfruitful. 
 
 Christian Hymnology, also, is full of quick- 
 ening for the spiritual life. A hymn book does 
 not fulfill its functions when it serves as an aid 
 in public worship; it has a far wider scope and 
 ministry than this. Its office as a treasury of 
 devotional thought and of worshipful aspirations, 
 a stimulus to private prayer, a comforter in af- 
 fliction, and a revealer of spiritual truth needs 
 to be realized by the Church. Into it are amassed 
 inestimable treasures which should serve for the 
 enrichment of our spiritual life. Blessed indeed 
 are those who know how to turn to a hymnal in 
 order to get a hopeful view of things when tem- 
 pests are darkening the sky; to discover fresh 
 revelations of the power and rrace and love of 
 the Redeemer ; and to obtain solace in trial, com- 
 
 6 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 fort in bereavement, and helps for uplifting the 
 soul out of dull and dreary routines of toil and 
 suffering. 
 
 Devotional Poetry is another realm which is 
 exceeding rich in its aids for the culture of 
 reverence, gratitude, contrition, and the spirit 
 of worship. The poets — many of them at least 
 — are God's messengers; they reveal ofttimes 
 flashes of the old prophetic fire. Through their 
 rhythmic messages the Almighty speaks to men 
 to-day just as really as he once did by the voice 
 of Isaiah and Ezekiel. There are seasons in 
 human life when the profoundest needs of the 
 heart are met by the song of a poet ; when some 
 chance stanza, a bit of fugitive verse, or perhaps 
 a familiar poem opportunely recalled — some 
 lyric utterance which may have been originally 
 extorted from the singer's lips by loss, or pain, 
 or struggle, or doubt — ministers to the tempted 
 and stricken soul as though the words had been 
 spoken by angelic lips, freshly anointed with fire 
 from God's altar. Those who ignore the min- 
 istry of religious poetry are in danger of living a 
 life one great tract of which is left arid and fruit- 
 less. Those, on the other hand, who have 
 learned to discern and appreciate the higher min- 
 istry of the poets come to know that these seers 
 are rightly named: they see things invisible to 
 other eyes. They interpret to us the meanings 
 
 7 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 and mysteries that are wrapped up in blossom, 
 and rivulet, and bird, and forest; they translate 
 to us God's words as these are written in seas, 
 mountains, and stars; they unfold to us the se- 
 crets of our own hearts ; they give us visions of 
 our better and our worser selves to be found 
 nowhere else; and they reveal to us the signifi- 
 cance and the possibilities which are involved in 
 human life with an insight and an authority 
 which often make them in very deed God's mes- 
 sengers and ministers to the erring, the tempted, 
 and the sorrowing. Happy are they who have 
 made Faber, and Charles Wesley, and Whittier, 
 and Frances Ridley Havergal, and a score of 
 other singers their intimate friends. Such can 
 testify with Keble: 
 
 ** We know them by look and voice and thank them all 
 
 For helping us in thrall, 
 For words of hope and bright examples given, 
 To show through moonless skies that there is light in 
 heaven." 
 
 The Book of Common Prayer, hallowed by its 
 history, its associations, and its devotional fruit- 
 fulness, is another help which needs to be empha- 
 sized. In it are accumulated those forms of pub- 
 lic and private prayer which in the course of the 
 ages have proved profitable and edifying to "all 
 sorts and conditions of men." Translated in part 
 
 8 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 into our language from other tongues, revised, 
 modified, and enlarged, by one generation after 
 another, it belongs to-day not to the ritualistic 
 communions alone, but to all Christian believers 
 of every name. To depend upon its forms of 
 prayer to the exclusion of all effort at ex tempore 
 supplication would, of course, be foolish; but 
 surely there are few thoughtful people, no mat- 
 ter how much peril they may discern in such use 
 of the Prayer Book, who cannot find in it con- 
 stant help as a handbook for the hour of medi- 
 tation and worship in private. The spirit of de- 
 votion which is embodied in its prayers is all 
 athrob with life. Taught by such supplications 
 as it contains, anyone who desires to be devout 
 ought to be able to learn how to pray. 
 
 Apart from those devotional compends which 
 furnish forms of prayer there are certain works 
 which are so well known as aids for the develop- 
 ment of the religious life that we hardly need 
 mention them. Baxter's Sainfs Everlasting 
 Rest and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress will for- 
 ever be cherished by lovers of the word. Among 
 the books of our own time Dean Goulburn's 
 Thoughts on Personal Religion, Austin Phelps's 
 The Still Hour, and the minor works of that 
 wonderful man, the blind preacher of Scotland, 
 Rev. Dr. George Matheson, particularly his 
 Voices of the Spirit and Moments on the Mount, 
 
 9 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 are fraught with spiritual insight and with edi- 
 fying power. 
 
 The Devotional Classics from which we have 
 cited ensamples of prayer in the present volume 
 are known to all students, and yet a word or two 
 in regard to them may be of service. For six 
 hundred years the work known as De Imitatione 
 Christi has been a favorite in many quarters of 
 the universal Church. Whether written by 
 Thomas a Kempis or not, it has approved itself 
 to discerning minds as the work of some great 
 and saintly soul who knew the human heart, and 
 who was acquainted with the Lord Jesus. Its 
 contents sometimes have a monastic and mystical 
 tone characteristic of the age in which it first 
 appeared, but its vivisections of the human heart, 
 its admonitions in behalf of a life of humility, 
 self-denial, and fortitude, and its exaltation of 
 the divine Saviour are features which have made 
 it immortal. 
 
 Another volume which has enriched our pages 
 is Sacra Privata — the record of the private medi- 
 tations, devotions, and prayers of Thomas Wil- 
 son, who for fifty-eight years with singular piety 
 and usefulness glorified the office of a bishop in 
 the Anglican communion. Born in 1663, he 
 lived to be ninety-two years of age; he was a 
 voluminous writer, and a noble type of ministeri- 
 al consecration. His best work, however, is that 
 
 10 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 to which we have called attention. As a handbook 
 for the preacher in his dealings with his own 
 heart, in his struggles after self-conquest, and in 
 his aspirations after communion with the Master, 
 it has never had an equal. 
 
 Two books by the great English bishop 
 Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) — Holy Living, and 
 Holy Dying — have made his name known to 
 the ends of the earth. He was a marvelous 
 man — a prodigious scholar, a noble orator, a 
 philosophic thinker, and a great theologian; his 
 works, fully enumerated, would fill pages of this 
 volume; but his noblest attainment was his saint- 
 liness. He mastered the secret of living a life of 
 unselfish service, heroic self-denial, and inces- 
 sant devotion. A part of this secret — in so far 
 as it can be communicated in language — he has 
 written down in the two books above named. 
 In our time no one can read them without dis- 
 cerning their defects — the cloistered virtues 
 which they emphasize, the mediaeval habits of 
 penance and self-mortification which they inti- 
 mate, and the severe and monastic type of piety 
 which they exalt ; yet they have done wonderful 
 things in the world in the two centuries and a 
 half which have elapsed since they were pub- 
 lished, prompting multitudes to "abhor fleshly 
 lusts, which war against the soul,^' to consider 
 the solemnity of life, the imminence and awful- 
 
 II 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 ness of death, and the greatness of God's mercy 
 to our race. Those who want to know what 
 prayer is, and wish to ponder wise counsels con- 
 cerning patience, contentment, self-control, pu- 
 rity of thought and motive, and other common- 
 place graces, will find their search rewarded in 
 Jeremy Taylor's masterpieces. 
 
 Psalms and Litanies^ is the title of a note- 
 worthy volume of counsels and collects for de- 
 vout persons, in part written and in part com- 
 piled by Rowland Williams, D.D. (1817-1870), 
 who was for years the vicar of the village parish 
 of Broadchalke, England. He had an unmis- 
 takable genius for this sort of work; and he 
 spent a good part of his leisure time in collecting 
 from ancient sources the materials for his book, 
 which was edited and published by his wife after 
 his decease. Among his treasures are many 
 specimens of the prayers and collects written or 
 collected by the great English prelate, Bishop 
 Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626), and the book 
 as a whole is a model of sober, edifying, reverent, 
 and scholarly devotion. 
 
 A glance at our table of contents will show 
 the extent to which we have drawn upon the 
 Works of John Wesley, It will surprise many 
 of his followers to find that he prepared a large 
 
 * New York : E. P. Button & Co. 
 12 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 number of forms of worship — for families, for 
 individuals, aad for children. Methodists who 
 may fancy that there is danger attending the use 
 of printed prayers may find instruction in the 
 example of the great founder of Methodism, 
 who did not hesitate to set before the people to 
 whom he ministered a large variety of forms of 
 supplication, written by himself, and displaying 
 his usual acumen, scriptural insight, evangelical 
 spirit, and literary ability, all mingled with the 
 consecration of a saint. 
 
 Other volumes which need no detailed descrip- 
 tion here, but which deserve a place in any list 
 of books of devotion which may be made, are as 
 follows : 
 
 A Book of Prayer from the Public Ministrations of Henry 
 Ward Beecher, 1892. New York : Fords, Howard & Hul- 
 bert. 
 
 Euchologion : Forms of Prayer of the Church of Scotland. 
 Edited by B. B. Comegys. 1898. Fleming H. Revell 
 Company. 
 
 Prayers: Ancient and Modern, By Mary Wilder Tileston. 
 1897. New York : Doubleday & McClure Company. 
 
 Morning and Evening Devotions for a Month, By Rev. 
 F. B. Meyer. 1894. Fleming H. Revell Company. 
 
 A few religious journals in this country and 
 one in England have for some years followed 
 the wholesome custom of furnishing to their 
 readers, week by week, an original prayer. We 
 
 13 
 
Prefatory Essay 
 
 have ventured to cite in the following pages 
 samples of these from The British Weekly, The 
 Christian Register, and The Congregationalist. 
 
 The verses which at frequent intervals accom- 
 pany the prayers and collects of this volume are 
 chiefly fugitive pieces, but each one will be found, 
 we believe, worthy of a place here. Nearly 
 every one of these poems is a versified prayer, 
 and each seems to us to contain genuine de- 
 votional fire, along with not a little poetical 
 beauty. 
 
 It may be fair to add in conclusion that some 
 of the material herein amassed was used from 
 time to time in the Quiet Hour department of The 
 Central Christian Advocate, during my editorial 
 administration of that paper, 1892-1900. A 
 goodly number of prayers have been added to 
 this material, and the whole is now sent forth 
 with the hope and belief that the spirit of devo- 
 tion embodied in these pages may prove to be a 
 quickener and helper of all to whom the book 
 may come. May those who read these prayers 
 feel the life-giving touch of saintliness through- 
 out the volume, and may each one of us be 
 prompted to use the words of the disciples, 
 spoken to their Master and ours — 
 
 Lord, Teach Us How to Prx\y! 
 
 Jesse Bowman Young. 
 
 Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, O., December, 1900. 
 H 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 I. One of St. Paul's Prayers. 
 
 II. Begin with God — verses Horatius Bonar 
 
 III. Submission Imitatio Christi 
 
 IV. Thanksgiving Edward B, Ptisey 
 
 V. For the Fullness of Love John Wesley 
 
 VI. In Perfect Peace The British Weekly 
 
 VII. On Sabbath Evening F. B. Meyer 
 
 VIII* Lord, Teach Me Jeremy Taylor 
 
 IX. At Eventide John Wesley 
 
 X. The Lord's Appointment \ , , ,Abby C. Labaree 
 
 — verses ) -^ 
 
 XI. Under His Wings St, Augustine 
 
 XII. A Penitent's Plea London Methodist Recorder 
 
 XIII. The Opening Day John Wesley 
 
 XIV. Lux in Tenebris — verses M. A. W. 
 
 XV, A Collect The Christian Register 
 
 XVI. An Evening Litany Rowland Williams 
 
 XVII. In Time of Trouble Sacra Privata 
 
 XVIII. Lord, Deliver Me John Wesley 
 
 XIX. Light — verses Constance Mil??zan 
 
 XX. Open Our Eyes J. B. Y. 
 
 XXL Lord, I Was Blind ) ^.^^.^^^ Tidd Matson 
 
 — verses ) 
 
 XXII. In the Morning Sir Henry Lawrence 
 
 XXI II. The Lord of Life Christina G. Rossetti 
 
 XXIV. The Close of Day John Wesley 
 
 XXV. For Presei*ving Grace Jeremy Taylor 
 
 XXVI. As Thy Day — verses Mary H, Fitzn 
 
 XXVII. Light, Life, Strength St. Augustine 
 
 15 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 XXVIII. A Morning Litany Rowland Williams 
 
 XXIX. Help Us to Praise Thee. The Congregaiionaltsi 
 
 XXX. Cover Me with Thy Shield Jeremy Taylor 
 
 XXXI. The Day that Is before Us J, B. Y. 
 
 XXXII. An Evening Litany Rowland Williams 
 
 XXXIII. L<»;d.^Speak to Me J ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ 
 
 XXXIV. Intercede for Us Johann Jakob Rambach 
 
 XXXV. Fellowship The British Weekly 
 
 XXXVI. For the Grace of Obedience Jeremy Taylor 
 
 XXXVII. A Morning Prayer John Wesley 
 
 XXXVIII. An Ancient Collect Author unknown 
 
 XXXIX. For Deliverance Henry Ward Beecher 
 
 XL. An Intercession Sacra Privata 
 
 XLI. The Plodder's Petition— verses . ,, Helen Gilbert 
 
 XLII. An Invocation to the Saviour. .Jeremy Taylor 
 
 XLIII. God's Workmanship The British Weekly 
 
 XLIV. Faith and Works- ) ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ .^ 
 
 verses J -^ 
 
 XLV. A Morning Prayer Rowland Williams 
 
 XLVI. Ready for All Things Henry Martyn 
 
 XLVII. In the Morning Edward B. Pusey 
 
 XLVIII. In Time of Need Sir Philip Sidney 
 
 XLIX. A Trustful Prayer Sacra Privata 
 
 L. Day by Day Henry Alford 
 
 LI. Just for To-day — verses Author unknown 
 
 LII. For Sabbath Morning .John Wesley 
 
 LIII. For Great Blessings Joseph Parker 
 
 LIV. Out of the Depths Rowland Williams 
 
 LV. An Intercession Henry Ward Beecher 
 
 LVI. Thank God — verses C W, Bronson 
 
 LVII. A Contrite Confession Jeremy Taylor 
 
 LVIII. For Daily Needs , Thomas Arnold 
 
 LIX. The Evening Sacrifice Sacra Privata 
 
 LX. As Little Children The Congregationalist 
 
 LXI. For the Morning. John Wesley 
 
 l6 
 
Jable of Contents 
 
 LXII. 
 
 LXIII. 
 
 LXIV. 
 
 LXV. 
 
 LXVI. 
 
 LXVII. 
 
 LXVIIL 
 
 LXIX. 
 
 LXX. 
 
 LXXI. 
 
 LXXII. 
 
 LXXIIL 
 
 LXXIV. 
 
 LXXV. 
 
 LXXVI. 
 
 LXXVII. 
 
 LXXVIII. 
 
 LXXIX. 
 
 LXXX. 
 
 LXXXI. 
 
 LXXXII. 
 
 LXXXIII. 
 
 LXXX IV. 
 
 LXXXV. 
 
 LXXXVI, 
 
 LXXXVII. 
 
 LXXXVIII. 
 
 LXXXIX. 
 
 XC. 
 
 XCI. 
 
 XCII. 
 
 XCIII. 
 
 XCIV. 
 
 Abide With Me — verses. . . ,Emma G, Dietrich 
 
 A Collect yeremy Taylor 
 
 For Enlightenment Imitaiio Christi 
 
 At Eventide F. B. Meyer 
 
 Be Thou Our Guide Rowland Williams 
 
 Up To the Hills— verses Mrs, M. A. Holt 
 
 Our Life Is Thine The British Weekly 
 
 The Good Shepherd George Dawson 
 
 The Spiritual Life J r>' l j rr d 
 
 ^ y Ktcnara //. Barroivs 
 
 — verses ) 
 
 The Sacredness of Life yames Martineau 
 
 A Thanksgiving yeremy Taylor 
 
 A Cry for Rest Imitatio Christi 
 
 On the Mount — verses. . .Frederick L, Hosmer 
 
 Fullness in Christ yohn Wesley 
 
 A Confession The British Weekly 
 
 For the Sick and Dying Sacra Privata 
 
 Deliverance from Despair Sacra Privata 
 
 In Distress George Dawson 
 
 Divine Companionship — ) . ., 7 
 
 ^ ^ > , .A Minor unknown 
 verses ) 
 
 The Early Year Author unknown 
 
 Deliver Me, O God yohn Wesley 
 
 Before a Journey Rowland Willia7ns 
 
 At Evening Time — verses. ... - .... 6*. Rawson 
 
 Nearer to Thee Edward B. Pusey 
 
 Our All in All George Datvson 
 
 Lord, Succor Us Henry Alford 
 
 My World Within — verses., .yohn G. Whittier 
 
 In Time of Storm George Dawson 
 
 The Giver of All Good yohn Wesley 
 
 For the Disconsolate . . . .Henry Ward Beecher 
 
 For Discernment Imitatio Christi 
 
 Longing and Listening ) ^Samuel W. Duffield 
 — verses ) -" 
 
 Guard and Give Rowland Williams 
 
 17 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 XCV. Beginning the Day y. B. V. 
 
 XCVI. Lord, I Give Thanks — verses. . . Susie M, Best 
 
 XCVII. An Evening Supplication Jeremy Taylor 
 
 XCVIII. Speak to Me, Lord — wqx?>q?>. Henry W, Hawkes 
 
 XCIX. Lead Us Not into Temptation... ^Vz^m? Privata 
 
 C. Lift Up My Soul Edward B. Fusey 
 
 CI. Inwardly Renewed — verses R. C, Trench 
 
 CII. A Birthday Prayer Sacra Privata 
 
 cm. For Constancy Jeremy Taylor 
 
 CIV. His Way Is Best— verses. . The British Weekly 
 
 CV. A Fruit-bearing Day. . . .The Congregationalist 
 
 CVI. Before Studying the Word Sacra Privata 
 
 CVII. Watch over Us for Good John Wesley 
 
 CVIII. O Mother-Heart— verses G. Tersteegen 
 
 CIX. The Night Also Is Thine John Wesley 
 
 ex. Prayer of a Penitent Jeremy Taylor 
 
 CXI. In the Sanctuary Rowland Williams 
 
 CXII. Thy Will Is Best — verses. . . .Author tinknown 
 
 CXIII. A Child's Prayer The Congregationalist 
 
 CXIV. A Fresh Beginning Sacra Privata 
 
 CXV. An Abundant Entrance. . . The British Weekly 
 
 CXVI. Evening Invocation John Wesley 
 
 CXVII. At Eventide Rowland Williams 
 
 CXVIII. Glorify Thy Name Jeremy Taylor 
 
 CXIX. Send Me— -verses Edward E. Hale 
 
 CXX. At Thy Feet ..J. J. Rambach 
 
 CXXI. With a Resigned Will Sacra Privata 
 
 CXXII. Lord of the Living James Martineau 
 
 CXXIII. A Litany Rowland Williams 
 
 CXXIV. Teach and Quicken Us John Wesley 
 
 CXXV. Faith— verses : . . .Anna C. Lynch Botta 
 
 CXXVI. For Christian Rulers Jeremy Taylor 
 
 CXX VI I. Renunciation Sacra Privata 
 
 CXXVIII. A Meek and Quiet Spirit George Dawson 
 
 CXXIX. A Child's Morning Prayer John Wesley 
 
 l8 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 CXXX. In the Evening The Congregationalisl 
 
 CXXXI. Just for To -day — verses. . Myra Goodwin Plantz 
 
 CXXXII. A Child's Evening Prayer John Wesley 
 
 CXXXIII. By Day and by Night Rowland Williams 
 
 CXXXIV. Lord, We Need Thee J, B. Y. 
 
 CXXXV. God's Mercy The British Weekly 
 
 CXXXVI. Over It All — verses. . . ,Anna Wilson Simmons 
 
 CXXXVII. A Child's Devotions John Wesley 
 
 CXXXVIII. A Morning Collect The Prayer Book 
 
 CXXXIX. For Patience Sacra Privata 
 
 CXL. A Child's Prayer John Wesley 
 
 CXLL The Things to Come Sacra Privata 
 
 CXLII. An Evening Prayer John Wesley 
 
 CXLIII. Strength for the Day— verses . .i?^r/^^/ G, Alsop 
 
 CXLIV. The Healer of Sorrow Joseph Parker 
 
 CXLV. An Upward XaOO^, ,* .Christian World Pulpit 
 
 CXLVL A Collect St. Chrysostom 
 
 CXLVII. Keep Me, Lord Jeremy Taylor 
 
 CXLVIII. The Larger Prayer — verses. > Edna Dean Cheney 
 
 CXLIX. Lo. I Come John Wesley 
 
 CL. Thou Fillest All Things. .. r>5^ British Weekly 
 
 CLL Help Us to Believe Author unknown 
 
 CLII. Let None of Us Be Lost J. J, Rambach 
 
 CLIII. Sabbath Invocation Henry Ward Beec her 
 
 CLIV. For the Spirit of Devotion. . . ,Imitatio Christi 
 
 CLV. Life's Answer — verses Henry Alford 
 
 CLVI. For Missions Lancelot Andrewes 
 
 CLVII. For India Lancelot Andrewes 
 
 CLVIII. Needed Blessings — ^verses. William H. Burleigh 
 
 CLIX. Prayer of Motherhood. ..Kate Douglas Wiggin 
 
 CLX. On New Year's Day JB. Y, 
 
 CLXI. A ^^^^^ of I p..,,r Book 
 
 CLXIL At the Age of \ c^ ^t, a^j- ai j 
 Twenty-one. . . \ ^^'^^^ Addison Alexander 
 
 CLXIII. For the Advent Season The Prayer Book 
 
 19 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 CLXIV. Reveal Thyself to Us- ) ^^ ^ ^^^„^^^ 
 
 verses J 
 
 CLXV. For Easter Sunday y, B. V. 
 
 CLXVI. For Eastertide. Church of Scotland Prayer Book 
 
 CLXVII. After Easter . . Church of Scotland Prayer Book 
 
 CLXVIII. A Child's Morning Petition John Wesley 
 
 CLXIX. The Spirit's Help Alexander McLaren 
 
 CLXX. The Answer — v^x^^h^ Elizabeth Perry Howland 
 
 CLXXL Before Taking the Lord's \ ^ r^ j 
 
 Supper...^ \^^-7^remy Taylor 
 
 CLXXII. The End of the Year Charles How 
 
 CLXXIII. The Hour of Death Sacra Privata 
 
 CLXXIV. My Times Are in Thy l^zxiA, Author unknown 
 
 CLXXV. Send Forth Thy Light ) . .i- i: ^ r • .. 
 
 , ^ ' \ Archbishop LetFhton 
 
 and Thy Truth ) ^ ^ 
 
 CLXXVI. A Pastor's Prayer Norman Macleod 
 
 CLXXVII. Quicken Our Gratitude— ) ur n H II 
 
 verses ) 
 
 CLXXVIII. For Humility Joseph Addison Alexander 
 
 CLXXIX. Welcome, Eternal Spring Adam Clarke 
 
 CLXXX. Make Me a Helper George Matheson 
 
 CLXXXL The Beatific Vision— verses. ,. 6^^^r^r/ Thring 
 
 CLXXXII. For the Broken-Hearted. . The British Weekly 
 
 CLXXXIII. The Rest that Remaineth.^^wry Ward Beecher 
 
 CLXXXIV. Fret Not Thyself— verses Phillips Brooks 
 
 CLXXXV. Amid Many Infirmities ,, .Jeremy Taylor 
 
 CLXXXVI. Confession and Adora- ) Church of Scotland 
 
 tion ) Prayer Book 
 
 CLXXXVII. Be Present in My Studies. Z>r. Samuel Johnson 
 
 CLXXXVIII. The Pathway— verses Clinton ScoUard 
 
 CLXXXIX. More Likeness to Thee Henry Alford 
 
 CXC. Gloria Patri. 
 
 20 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 One of St* PauPs Prayers 
 
 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Fa- 
 ther of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the 
 whole family in heaven and earth is named, that 
 he would grant you, according to the riches of his 
 glory, to be strengthened with might by his 
 Spirit in the inner man ; that Christ may dwell 
 in your hearts by faith ; that ye, being rooted and 
 grounded in love, may be able to comprehend 
 with all saints what is the breadth, and length, 
 and depth, and height; and to know the love of 
 Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might 
 be filled with all the fullness of God. — Eph. iii, 
 14-19. 
 
 II 
 
 Begfin with God 
 
 Begin the day with God! He is thy sun and day; 
 He is the radiance of thy dawn, to him address thy lay. 
 Sing a new song at morn, join the glad woods and 
 
 hills; 
 Join the fresh winds, and seas, and plains; join the 
 
 bright flowers and rills. 
 Awake, cold lips, and sing! Arise, dull knees, and 
 
 pray ! 
 Lift up, O man, thy heart and eyes, brush slothfulness 
 
 away. 
 
 21 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Look up beyond these clouds; thither thy pathway lies. 
 Mount up, away, and linger not; thy goal is yonder 
 skies. 
 
 Cast every weight aside! Do battle with each sin; 
 Fight with the faithless world without, the faithless 
 
 heart within. 
 Take thy first meal with God ; he is thy heavenly 
 
 food; 
 Feed with and on him; he with thee will feast in 
 
 brotherhood. 
 Take thy first walk with God ! Let him go forth with 
 
 thee; 
 By stream, or sea, or mountain path, seek still his 
 
 company. 
 Thy first transaction be with God himself above; 
 So shall thy business prosper well, and all the day be 
 
 love. —Horatius Bonar, 
 
 III 
 
 Submission 
 
 LoRD^ I will willingly bear for thee whatso- 
 ever thou wilt have to come upon me. Without 
 choice I will receive from thy hand good and evil, 
 sweet and bitter, joy and sadness, and will give 
 thee thanks for all things which shall happen 
 unto me. Keep me from all sin, and I will not 
 fear death nor hell. Only cast me not away for- 
 ever, nor blot me out of the book of life. Then 
 no tribulation which shall come upon me shall 
 do me hurt. Amen. — Imitatio ChrisfL 
 
 22 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 IV 
 
 Thanksgiving 
 
 May my whole being, O God, be one thanks- 
 giving unto thee ; may all within me praise thee 
 and love thee — for all which thou hast forgiven, 
 and for all which thou hast given ; for thine un- 
 known hidden blessings, and for those which, in 
 my negligence or thoughtlessness, I passed over ; 
 for any and every gift of nature or of grace; 
 for my power of loving ; for all blessings within 
 and without ; and for all which thou hast yet in 
 store for me; for everything whereby thou hast 
 drawn me to thyself, whether joy or sorrow; for 
 all whereby thou wiliest to make me thine own 
 forever. Amen. — Rev, Dr, Edward B, Pusey. 
 
 For the Fullness of Love 
 
 I KNOW^ O Lord, that thou hast commanded 
 me, and therefore it is my duty to love thee with 
 all my heart, and with all my strength. I know 
 thou art infinitely holy and overflowing in all 
 perfection ; and therefore it is my duty so to love 
 thee. 
 
 I know thou hast created me, and that I have 
 neither being nor blessing but what is the effect 
 of thy power and goodness. I know thou art the 
 
 23 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 end for which I was created, and that I can ex- 
 pect no happiness but in thee. I know that in 
 love to me, being lost in sin, thou didst send 
 thy only Son, and that he, being the Lord of 
 glory, did humble himself to the death upon the 
 cross, that I might be raised to glory. 
 
 I know thou hast provided me with all neces- 
 sary helps for carrying me through this life to 
 that eternal glory, and this out of the excess of 
 thy pure mercy to me, unworthy of all mercies. 
 I know thou hast promised to be thyself my 
 "exceeding great reward;" though it is thou 
 alone who thyself "workest in me, both to will 
 and to do of thy good pleasure." 
 
 Upon these, and many other titles, I confess it 
 is my duty to love thee, my God, with all my 
 heart. Give thy strength unto thy servant, that 
 thy love may fill my heart, and be the motive 
 of all the use I make of my understanding, my 
 affections, my senses, my health, my time, and 
 whatever other talents I have received from thee. 
 Let this, O God, rule my heart without a rival; 
 let it dispose all my thoughts, words, and works ; 
 and thus only can I fulfill my duty and thy com- 
 mand, of loving thee "with all my heart, and 
 mind, and soul, and strength." 
 
 O thou infinite Goodness, confirm thy past 
 mercies to me, by enabling me, for what remains 
 of my life, to be more faithful than I have hither- 
 
 24 
 
Helps FOR the Quiet Hour 
 
 to been to this thy great command. For the time 
 I have yet to sojourn upon earth, O let me fulfill 
 this great duty. Permit me not to be in any 
 delusion here ; let me not trust in words, or sighs, 
 or tears, but love thee even as thou hast com- 
 manded. Let me feel, and then I shall know, 
 what it is to love thee with all my heart. Amen. 
 — John Wesley. 
 
 VI 
 
 In Perfect Peace 
 
 O GoD^ help us to listen for thy voice amid the 
 din of earthly things. Help us in our busiest 
 hours to see thy hand in everything that shall 
 befall us or be done around us. Help us to read 
 great lessons in even the commonest things. 
 Nothing is too insignificant for thy use in teach- 
 ing and perfecting us. May our hearts and 
 tempers bear the test of little things ; let no eager- 
 ness of business beguile us into forgetfulness of 
 thee ; let no fret, or worry, or provocation irritate 
 or make us impatient. May our souls be kept 
 in perfect peace, stayed upon thee. May we 
 offer to thee as service and sacrifice everything 
 we do, even the least and most commonplace. 
 Amen. — The British Weekly. 
 
 25 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 VII 
 
 On Sabbath Evening 
 
 O wonderful and adorable Saviour! Thy 
 heart is a fountain from which heaHng streams 
 never cease to flow! Thy voice has not lost its 
 ancient power! Thy hand still thrills with the 
 might of omnipotence! And thou art not 
 wearied with all that thou hast done amid the 
 great, sorrowful family of man. Myriads have 
 pressed and crowded thee, thousands have 
 touched thee ; many have drawn heavily upon thy 
 patience, pity, and help. But thou art unworn, 
 unspent. As on the morning of thy resurrection, 
 so now, as the night settles down, thou art going 
 forward to new ministries of love. The angels 
 bless thee; thy saints adore thee; the hearts 
 whom thou hast redeemed love thee! Glory be 
 to thee, O Lamb of God, Son of God, Light of 
 light. Very God of very God! Amen. — From 
 F. B. Meyer's Morning and Evening Devotions. 
 
 VIII 
 
 Lotd, Teach Me 
 
 Fix my thoughts, my hopes, and my desires 
 upon heaven and heavenly things; teach me to 
 despise the world, to repent me deeply for my 
 sins; give me holy purposes of amendment, and 
 
 26 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 spiritual strength and assistance to perform 
 faithfully whatsoever I shall intend piously. En- 
 rich my understanding with an eternal treasure 
 of divine truths, that I may know thy will ; and 
 thou, who workest in us to will and to do of thy 
 good pleasure, teach me to obey all thy com- 
 mandments, to believe all thy revelations, and 
 make me partaker of all thy gracious promises. 
 Teach me to watch over all my ways, that I may 
 never be surprised by sudden temptations or a 
 careless spirit, nor ever return to folly and vanity. 
 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and 
 keep the door of my lips, that I offend not in my 
 tongue, neither against piety nor charity. Teach 
 me to do nothing but what becomes thy servant, 
 whom thy infinite mercy, by the graces of the 
 Holy Spirit, hath sealed unto the day of redemp- 
 tion. Amen. — Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 IX 
 
 At Eventide 
 
 Almighty and everlasting God, the sovereign 
 Lord of all creatures in heaven and earth, we 
 acknowledge that our beings, and all the comforts 
 of them, depend on thee, the Fountain of all 
 good. We have nothing but what is owing en- 
 tirely to thy free and bounteous love, O most 
 
 27 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 blessed Creator, and to the riches of thy grace, 
 O most blessed Redeemer. 
 
 To thee, therefore, be given, by us and by all 
 creatures whom thou hast made to know how 
 great and good thou art, all honor and praise, 
 all love and obedience, as long as we have any 
 being. "It is but meet, right, and our bounden 
 duty, that we should, at all times and in all places, 
 give thanks unto thee, O Lord,'' and devoutly 
 resign both soul and body to thee, to be absolutely 
 governed and ruled according to thy holy will. 
 
 Father, we pray thee, increase every good 
 desire which we feel already in our hearts; let 
 us always live as becomes thy creatures, as be- 
 comes the disciples of Jesus Christ. Incline us 
 to be more and more in love with thy laws, till 
 they are written upon our hearts. Stir up our 
 wills to love them exceedingly, and to cleave unto 
 them as our very life. Amen. — John Wesley. 
 
 X 
 The Lord^s Appointment 
 
 I SAY it over and over, and yet again to-day- 
 It rests my heart as surely as it did yesterday: 
 It is the Lord's appointment; 
 Whatever my work may be, 
 I am sure in my heart of hearts 
 He has ordered it for me. 
 28 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 I must say it over and over, and again to-day — 
 For my work is different from that of yesterday: 
 It is the Lord's appointment; 
 
 It quiets my restless will 
 Like the voice of tender mother, 
 And my heart and will are still. 
 
 I will say it over and over, this, and every day: 
 Whatsoever the Master orders, come what may, 
 It is the Lord's appointment; 
 
 For only his love can see 
 What is wisest, best, and right, 
 What is truly good for me. 
 
 — Abby C, Labaree. 
 
 XI 
 
 Under His Wingfs 
 
 O Lord our God, under the shadow of thy 
 v^ings let us hope. Thou wilt support us, both 
 when little, and even to gray hairs. When our 
 strength is of thee, it is strength; but when our 
 own, it is feebleness. We return unto thee, O 
 Lord, that from their weariness our souls may 
 rise toward thee, leaning on the things which 
 thou hast created, and passing on to thyself, who. 
 hast wonderfully made them; for with thee is 
 refreshment and true strength. Amen. — St. 
 Augustine (A. D. 354-430). 
 
 29 
 
Helps FOR THE Quiet Hour 
 
 XII 
 
 A Penitenf s Plea 
 
 Lord Jesus, here I am, a poor captive exile, 
 a lost creature, an enemy to God, under his wrath 
 and curse. Wilt thou. Lord, undertake for me, 
 reconcile me to God, and save my soul ? Art not 
 thou he, and he alone, whom God the Father hath 
 sealed, the Saviour of sinners? The Lord God 
 hath sent me to thee, hath bid me come ; he hath 
 commanded me to believe, and cast myself upon 
 thee. Lord Jesus, wilt thou refuse to help a dis- 
 tressed creature, whom the Father hath sent to 
 thee for help? If I had come in my own name, 
 thou mightest well have put me back; but since 
 I come at the command of the Father, reject me 
 not. Lord, help me ! Lord, save me ! Art thou 
 not he concerning whom the Father hath prom- 
 ised, "He that believeth on him shall not be con- 
 founded?'' I come. Lord; I believe, Lord; I 
 throw myself upon thy grace and mercy. I have 
 not whither else to go. Here I will stay, I will 
 not stir from thy door ; on thee will I trust, and 
 rest, and venture myself. God hath laid my help 
 on thee, and on thee I lay my hope for pardon, 
 for life, for salvation. If I perish, I perish on 
 thy shoulder ; if I sink, I sink in thy vessel ; if I 
 die, I die at thy door. Amen. — London Metho- 
 disf Recorder. 
 
 30 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 XIII 
 The Openingf Day 
 
 Almighty and everlasting God, I bless thee 
 from my heart, that of thy infinite goodness thou 
 hast preserved me this night past, and hast, with 
 the impregnable defense of thy providence, pro- 
 tected me from the power and malice of the devil. 
 Withdraw not, I humbly entreat thee, thy protec- 
 tion from me, but mercifully this day watch over 
 me with the eyes of thy mercy. Direct my soul 
 and body according to the rule of thy will, and 
 fill my heart with thy Holy Spirit, that I may 
 pass this day, and all the rest of my days, to thy 
 glory. 
 
 O Saviour of the world, God of gods, Light of 
 light, thou that art the brightness of thy Father's 
 glory, the express image of his person ; thou that 
 hast destroyed the power of the devil, that hast 
 overcome death, that sittest at the right hand of 
 the Father, thou wilt speedily come down in thy 
 Father's glory to judge all men according to 
 their works ; be thou my light and my peace ; 
 destroy the power of the devil in me, and make 
 me a new creature. O thou who didst cast seven 
 devils out of Mary Magdalene, cast out of my 
 heart all corrupt aflfections. O thou who didst 
 raise Lazarus from the dead, raise me from the 
 death of sin. Thou who didst cleanse the lepers, 
 heal the sick, and give sight to the blind, heal the 
 
 31 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 diseases of my soul ; open my eyes, and fix them 
 singly on the prize of my high calling, and 
 cleanse my heart from every desire but that of 
 advancing thy glory. Amen. — John Wesley. 
 
 XIV 
 Lux in Tcnebfis 
 
 Though thy way be dark and dreary, 
 
 God is near; 
 Near to bless, and guide, and keep thee, 
 
 Do not fear. 
 'Tis a sweet thought, comfort-giving, 
 
 What betide, 
 He is present, ever-living 
 
 At thy side. 
 
 What though cloud and storm overtake thee 
 
 In the night? 
 He'll not leave thee nor forsake thee, 
 
 He is Light! 
 Like a child, thyself confiding 
 
 In his care. 
 Follow him, in him abiding 
 
 All is cheer. 
 
 Give thyself entirely to him. 
 
 Do his will; 
 And thy life the highest mission 
 Will fulfill. 
 Then pursue thy journey onward 
 At his call. 
 'Tis the path that leads thee homeward 
 After all ! 
 --M. A, W., in Christian Intelligencer, 
 32 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 XV 
 
 A Collect 
 
 O God, the Father everlasting, whom patri- 
 archs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, with all the 
 spirits of the just made perfect, continually do 
 serve and glorify: fix the eye of our faith, we 
 beseech thee, with clear and full vision, on the 
 great cloud of witnesses wherewith we are thus 
 compassed about, that, laying aside every v/eight, 
 and the sin that doth so easily beset us, we may 
 run with patience the race that is set before us, 
 and receive from thee the crown of life. Amen. 
 — Christian Register. 
 
 XVI 
 
 An Eveningf Litany 
 
 O Keeper of all good spirits, who neithei 
 slumberest nor sleepest, lighten our eyes with th); 
 light, that we sleep not in death. Keep us frora 
 all terror by night, and from the pestilence that 
 walketh in darkness, as from the destruction at 
 noonday. Give us rest, as from toil, so from 
 every evil thought; and visit us with visions of 
 wisdom, or with quiet of refreshment. From all 
 illusion of fond fancy or terror, from evil re- 
 membrance and evil designing, keep us, good 
 Lord. Thou in whose book all our members are 
 
 33 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 written, grant us wholesome rest, free from ter- 
 ror and burden, with holy trust and peace. Thou 
 art our Maker and our Judge, but also our Fa- 
 ther, Saviour, and Friend ; deny not the comfort 
 of thy Holy Spirit to thy children. Shelter our 
 slumber with the wing of thy pity ; let our awak- 
 ening be in good time, a time of blessing and of 
 prayer. Early in the morning will we seek thee, 
 with thanksgiving and zeal for thy service. Into 
 thy hands, O Lord, we commend ourselves, our 
 spirits, souls, and bodies, to our Maker, Pre- 
 server, Life-giver. Bless with us every friend, 
 benefactor, and connection, whom thou hast 
 granted to us in goodness, and bound us to with 
 duty. Guard our lying down and our rising up, 
 henceforth. Lord, and forever. Amen. — From 
 Psalms and Litanies, by Rowland Williams, 
 D.D. 
 
 XVII 
 
 In Time of Trouble 
 
 O merciful God, who, in thy wise providence, 
 dost so order even natural events that they serve 
 both for the good of the universe and for the 
 conviction of particular sinners, so that men shall 
 have reason to acknowledge thy glorious attri- 
 butes ; I do with great sorrow of heart, but with 
 all submission to thy good pleasure, confess thy 
 
 34 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 mercy as well as justice to me in the judgments, 
 afflictions, sorrows of this day. I acknowledge 
 thy voice, O merciful God ; I acknowledge my 
 own transgressions, which have provoked thee to 
 speak to me after this manner, and at this very 
 time. O Lord, give me true repentance for all 
 the errors of my life, and particularly for that 
 which was, in all probability, the occasion of this 
 affliction. Blessed be God, that my punishment 
 was not as great as my sin. Blessed be God, 
 that he has given me time to repent of the sin that 
 provoked him to deal with me after this manner. 
 Blessed be God, that when he spake to me once, 
 yea, twice, that I regarded it at last. 
 
 Good God of mercy, give me grace that I may 
 not provoke thee any more to repeat this word 
 to me, but that I ma}^ faithfully perform these 
 vows which are upon me. This I cannot do 
 without thy gracious assistance, which I most 
 humbly beseech thee to vouchsafe me, for Jesus 
 Christ's sake, who by his merits has purchased 
 this grace for all that faithfully ask it of thee; 
 for his sake, O merciful God, grant me this grace. 
 I do, in all humility, accept of the punishment 
 of mine iniquities. I will hold my peace, and not 
 open my mouth, because it is thy doing and my 
 deservings. I know, O Lord, that it is good for 
 me to be in trouble, or thou wouldest not suffer 
 it so to be. Let thy merciful kindness be my 
 
 35 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 comfort, according to thy promise to all that love 
 and serve thee. Amen. — From Wilson's Sacra 
 Privata. 
 
 XVIII 
 Lotd, Deliver Me 
 
 MY Father, my God, I am in thy hand ; and 
 may I rejoice above all things in being so. Do 
 with me what seemeth good in thy sight; only 
 let me love thee with all my mind, soul, and 
 strength. 
 
 1 magnify thee for granting me to be born in 
 thy Church, and of religious parents ; for wash- 
 ing me in thy baptism, and instructing me in 
 thy doctrine of truth and holiness; for sustain- 
 ing me by thy gracious providence, and guiding 
 me by thy blessed Spirit ; for admitting me, with 
 the rest of my Christian brethren, to wait on 
 thee at thy public worship ; and for so often feed- 
 ing my soul with thy most precious body and 
 blood, those pledges of love, and sure convey- 
 ances of strength and comfort. O be gracious 
 unto all of us, whom thou hast this day (or at 
 any time) admitted to thy holy table. Strengthen 
 our hearts in thy ways against all our tempta- 
 tions, and make us more than conquerors in 
 thy love. 
 
 O my Father, my God, deliver me, I beseech 
 thee, from all violent passions; I know how 
 
 2>6 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 greatly obstructive these are both of the knowl- 
 edge and love of thee. O let none of them find 
 a way into my heart, but let me ever possess my 
 soul in meekness. O my God, I desire to fear 
 them more than death; let me not serve these 
 cruel tyrants, but do thou reign in my breast ; 
 let me ever be thy servant, and love thee with all 
 my heart. Amen. — John Wesley. 
 
 XIX 
 Light 
 
 LoRD^ send thy light. 
 Not only in the darkest night, 
 But in the shadowy, dim twilight. 
 Wherein my strained and aching sight, 
 Can scarce distinguish wrong from right — 
 Then send thy light. 
 
 Teach me to pray. 
 Not only in the morning gray, 
 Or when the moonbeam's silver ray 
 Falls on me — but at high noonday 
 When pleasure beckons me away. 
 Teach me to pray. 
 
 — Constance Milman, in the Spectator. 
 
 XX 
 
 Open Our Eyes 
 
 O Lord our God, thou dwellest in light unap- 
 proachable; in thee there is no darkness at all. 
 
 Z7 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Thou coverest thyself with Hght as with a gar- 
 ment; thou art the Light of the world. Have 
 mercy on us, O Lord, for we are blind, and 
 we walk in darkness, groping amid sins, and 
 doubts, and fears. Even the fancy that we see 
 may be a delusion and a snare. The glitter of 
 this world, the selfishness of our lives, the errors 
 of our evil imaginations, the wiles of the devil — 
 by these, again and again, we have been led 
 astray. Our Father, open our eyes to see our 
 real estate of helplessness, of misery, of guilt, 
 of danger, of doom. Suffer us not to push on 
 gropingly and recklessly into perdition, but grant 
 us that blessing which thy Son, our Lord, so 
 often bestowed upon needy and appealing men 
 and women when he was here on earth — the res- 
 toration of sight. O Lord, open our eyes that 
 we may see wondrous things out of thy law ; that 
 we may discern thy presence in our daily life, 
 thy hand in the providential government of the 
 world, thy help awaiting us in trying times of 
 trouble, thy hand stretched out in the darkness to 
 guide us to our home ! O Lord, open our eyes, 
 and all things shall be transfigured into celestial 
 beauty — even the clouds and the nighttime shall 
 be radiant with thy presence! We would see 
 Jesus, discerning in him the Light of the world, 
 seeing his grace, his tenderness, his sympathy, 
 his power to save, even unto the uttermost. For 
 
 3S 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 his sake, O Lord, open our eyes, and grant unto 
 us the power of vision. Amen. — J. B. Y. 
 
 XXI 
 
 Lord, I Was Blind 
 
 LoRD^ I was blind : I could not see 
 
 In thy marred visage any grace; 
 
 But now the beauty of thy face 
 In radiant vision dawns on me. 
 
 Lord, I was deaf: I could not hear 
 
 The thrilling music of thy voice; 
 
 But now I hear thee and rejoice, 
 And all thy uttered words are dear. 
 
 Lord, I was dumb : I could not speak 
 The grace and glory of thy name; 
 But now, as touched with living flame, 
 
 My lips thine eager praises wake. 
 
 Lord, I was dead : I could not stir 
 
 My lifeless soul to come to thee; 
 
 But now, since thou hast quickened me, 
 I rise from sin's dark sepulcher. 
 
 Lord, thou hast made the bhnd to see, 
 The deaf to hear, the dumb to speak. 
 The dead to live; and lo, I break 
 
 The chains of my captivity. 
 
 — William Tidd Mats on. 
 39 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 XXII 
 
 In the Momingf 
 
 O Lord, give me grace and strength to do thy 
 will, to begin the day and end it with prayer and 
 searching of my own heart, with reading of thy 
 word. Make me to understand it, to understand 
 thee, to bring home to my heart the reality of 
 thy perfect Godhead and perfect humanity, and 
 above all of my entire need of a Saviour, of my 
 utter inability to do aught that is right in my 
 own strength. Make me humble, reasonable, 
 contented, thankful, just, and considerate. Re- 
 strain my tongue and my thoughts ; may I act as 
 ever in thy sight, as if I may die this day. May 
 I not fear man or men's opinion, but remember 
 that thou knowest my motives and my thoughts, 
 and that thou wilt be my judge. It is not in me 
 to be regular ; let me be so as much as I can — so 
 living in humility, contentment, thankfulness. 
 Amen. — Sir Henry Lawrence. 
 
 XXIII 
 
 The Lord of Life 
 
 O LoRD^ with whom is the fountain of life, 
 give us all, we entreat thee, grace and good will 
 to follow the leadings of thy most Holy Spirit. 
 Let the dew of thy grace descend and abide upon 
 
 40 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 us, refreshing that which droops, reviving that 
 which is ready to perish ; until the day when all 
 thy faithful people shall drink of the river of thy 
 pleasures. Amen. — Christina G. Rossetti. 
 
 XXIV 
 The Close of Day 
 
 O Lord our God, thou art infinitely good, and 
 thou hast showed us what is good. Thou send- 
 est out thy light and thy truth, that they may 
 guide us, and makest plain thy way before our 
 face. Thou givest us many opportunities and 
 advantages, to quicken and farther us in thy 
 service. We have ''line upon line'' and ''pre- 
 cept upon precept ;" thy messengers early and 
 late to open and apply thy word, to call and warn, 
 to direct and exhort us, with all long-sufifering. 
 But how little have we improved all the precious 
 talents which thou hast put into our hands ! 
 
 O Lord, thou mightest justly take away the 
 Gospel of thy kingdom from us, and give it unto 
 another people, w^ho would bring forth the fruits 
 thereof. Because thou hast called, and we re- 
 fused; thou hast stretched forth thy hands, and 
 we have not regarded ; thou mightest leave us to 
 our own perverseness and impenitence, till our 
 iniquities became our ruin. 
 
 But, O Lord God, enter not thus into judg- 
 41 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 ment with thy servants. Pardon all our con- 
 tempt of thy word, and our not profiting there- 
 by. And help us for the time to come better to 
 improve the blessed opportunities set before us. 
 As the rain descends from heaven and returns 
 not thither, but waters the earth and maketh it 
 fruitful; so let not thy word return unto thee 
 void, but prosper in the work whereunto thou 
 sendest it. O make it effectual to build us all 
 up, in the true fear and love of God, and in the 
 right knowledge and faith of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Amen. — John Wesley, 
 
 XXV 
 For Preserving* Grace 
 
 Keep me, O Lord, from the destroying angel 
 and from the wrath of God ; let thy anger never 
 rise against me, but thy rod gently correct my 
 follies, and guide me in thy ways, and thy staff 
 support me in all sufferings and changes. Pre- 
 serve me from fracture of bones, from noi- 
 some, infectious, and sharp sickness, from great 
 violences of fortune and sudden surprises ; keep 
 all my senses entire till the day of my death, and 
 let my death be neither sudden, untimely, nor 
 unprovided; let it be after the common manner 
 of men, having in it nothing extraordinary but an 
 extraordinary piety, and the manifestation of thy 
 great and miraculous mercy. 
 
 42 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Let no riches make me ever forget myself, no 
 poverty ever make me to forget thee ; let no hope 
 or fear, no pleasure or pain, no accident without, 
 no weakness within, hinder or discompose my 
 duty, or turn me from the ways of thy command- 
 ments. O let thy Spirit dwell with me forever, 
 and make my soul just and charitable, full of 
 honesty, full of religion, resolute and constant in 
 holy purposes, but inflexible to evil. Make me 
 humble and obedient, peaceable and pious; let 
 me never envy any man's good, nor deserve to 
 be despised myself ; and if I be, teach me to bear 
 it with meekness and charity. Amen. — Jeremy 
 Taylor. 
 
 XXVI 
 As Thy Day 
 
 As this my day ! O promise blest ! 
 Sweet words of comfort, words of rest ! 
 No more with boding fear I wait 
 To read to-morrow's hidden fate. 
 Whate'er its toil, whate'er its tears, 
 Whate'er its perils, pains, and fears, 
 While sun and stars and worlds endure 
 The old, sweet promise standeth sure. 
 
 The hand that holds the world upbears 
 My weary heart, with all its cares. 
 The eye that slumbers not has seen 
 IMy graveyard mounds, with grasses green. 
 43 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 My Father's pitying love has read 
 The pain behind the tears I shed. 
 How comforting his words to me — 
 "Child, as thy day thy strength shall be." 
 
 As this my day! my little day! 
 My broken, troubled, thwarted day; 
 The day whose roseate morning bloom 
 Was quenched and darkened into gloom. 
 The morn of gifts ! The noon of loss ! 
 The lengthened shadow of the cross ! 
 Once more, my Father, say to me, 
 "Child, as thy day thy strength shall be." 
 
 — Mrs. Mary IL Finn, in The Watchman. 
 
 XXVII 
 
 Light, Life, Strengfth 
 
 O GoD^ the Light of every heart that sees thee, 
 the Life of every soul that loves thee, the 
 Strength of every mind that seeks thee, grant me 
 ever to continue steadfast in thy holy love. Be 
 thou the joy of my heart, take it all to thyself, 
 and therein abide. The house of my soul is, I 
 confess, too narrow for thee ; do thou enlarge it, 
 that thou mayest enter it ; it is ruinous, but do 
 thou repair it. It has that within which must 
 offend thine eyes ; I confess and know it ; but 
 whose help shall I implore in cleansing it but 
 thine alone? To thee, therefore, I cry urgently, 
 begging that thou wilt cleanse me from my 
 
 44 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 secret faults and keep thy servant from presump- 
 tuous sins, that they never get dominion over me. 
 Amen. — St. Augustine (A. D. 354-430). 
 
 XXVIII 
 A Momingf Litany 
 
 Glory to thee, O Lord, who givest sleep to re- 
 cruit our weakness, and to refresh this feeble 
 frame. So now grant to this day and all days 
 a holy, peaceful, and healthy course, for thy 
 name's sake, O Lord. Let thy mysterious provi- 
 dence be a faithful guidance, sending angels of 
 peace as guardians of soul and body, to encamp 
 around us, and ever prompt what is wholesome, 
 for thy m.ercy's sake, O Lord. Grant us free 
 pardon and remission of all sins and offenses, 
 since thou art merciful, O Lord. Though we 
 know not what is best, give to us, O Lord, that 
 thou seest fit ; only fit us for what thou givest, 
 and let it bring to our souls health and peace, 
 with some good to our neighbor and the world, 
 for thy loving goodness' sake, O Lord. Amen. 
 — From Psalms and Litanies, by Rozvland Wil- 
 liams, D.D. 
 
 XXIX 
 Help Us to Praise Thee 
 
 O GoD^ help us ever to praise thee with the 
 praise that none else can offer ; the praise that 
 
 45 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 angels cannot give; the praise of man saved, 
 man redeemed, man brought home to God; the 
 cry of the sheep come back to the fold ; the song 
 of the prodigal son returning to the father's love 
 and the mother's kiss. So, great Lover of man, 
 may we, sin-stained, travel-worn, and wretched, 
 yet bring to thee a praise to which our sadness 
 shall lend sweetness. And if there be times when 
 our voice is too broken by grief to lift itself to 
 thee, still let us sing unto thee the song that 
 hath no words, the inward song that needeth not 
 to be expressed; that so of all thy children not 
 one may miss thy praise. Bring us all at last, 
 O Father, into the life where we shall sing thy 
 praise more fully, into the land where our 
 trembling voice shall shake no more. Give us 
 now some words of the eternal song, and take us 
 to thyself that we may be thine for evermore. 
 Amen. — The Congregationalist. 
 
 XXX 
 
 Cover Me with Thy Shield 
 
 O ETERNAL Purity! Thou art brighter than 
 the sun, purer than the angels, and the heavens 
 are not clean in thy sight ; with mercy behold thy 
 servant, apt to be tempted with every object, and 
 to be overcome by every enemy. I cannot, O 
 God, stand in the day of battle and danger, un- 
 
 46 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 less thou coverest me with thy shield, and hidest 
 me under thy wings. Thou didst make me after 
 thine image; be pleased to preserve me so pure 
 and spotless, that my body may be a holy temple, 
 and my soul a sanctuary to entertain thy divinest 
 Spirit, the Spirit of love and holiness. Amen. 
 — Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 XXXI 
 
 The Day That Is Before Us 
 
 O LoRD^ our Father, we come to thee, refreshed 
 by sleep and preserved by thy care during the 
 night. Teach us and help us by thy grace to ap- 
 preciate thy bounty, to depend on thee for guid- 
 ance and strength, to heed thy voice, and to obey 
 thy commandments. Through the day that is 
 before us guard us from evil, preserve our im- 
 aginations from the taint of sin ; may our inmost 
 thoughts be pure. Amid danger, temptation, 
 labor, or sorrow, have us in thy keeping, and 
 may we be conscious of safety under the shadow 
 of thy wing. Let the light shine from thy word 
 into our hearts, and may the light of thy counte- 
 nance illuminate our pathway. Save us from 
 heedlessness, from ingratitude, from perverse- 
 ness, and from despair. May we ever walk in 
 that path which shines more and more unto the 
 perfect day. Whatever experiences await us 
 
 47 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 this day, amid them all be thou our help aiiH 
 shield, our stay and comfort. Crown all temporal 
 blessings with thy favor, and fill our hearts with 
 thy peace. And evermore may we ascribe, from 
 our deepest heart, thanksgiving and praise to the 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen. — 
 /. B. F. 
 
 XXXII 
 
 An Eveningf Litany 
 
 O LoRD^ as we add day to day, let us not add - 
 sin to sin. Behold, I turn with sighing from 
 every evil way, and search out my heart, and 
 with all my heart turn to thee, God of penitents 
 and Saviour of sinners. Evening by evening I 
 will breathe out my heart in returning, and out 
 of the deep my soul in silence cries unto thee. 
 In whatsoever I have sinned, let me repent truly ; 
 Lord, help thou my unrepenting. Let thy mercy 
 be greater than all my offenses, and beyond thy 
 knowledge of my guilt let thy love abound. Heal, 
 O Life-giver, every wound of the past, blot out 
 every stain, take away the shame, .and rescue 
 from the dominion. Cleanse thou thy servant 
 from secret faults, and keep' me back from every 
 presumptuous transgression. My wandering of 
 thought, and foolish speech, my idle glance, and 
 acting idly, lay not, O Lord, to my charge. When 
 
 48 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 we go astray from thee, we destroy ourselves; 
 bring us back to thy. refuge, and heal us. Amen. 
 — From Psalms and Litanies, by Rowland Wil- 
 liams ^ D.D. 
 
 XXXIII 
 Lotd, Speak to Me 
 
 " Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." — i Sam. ill, 9. 
 
 Lord, speak to me, that I may speak 
 
 In living echoes of thy tone; 
 As thou hast sought, so let me seek 
 
 Thy erring children, lost and lone. 
 
 O lead me, Lord, that I may lead 
 The wandering and the wavering feet; 
 
 O feed me, Lord, that I may feed 
 
 Thy hungering ones with manna sweet. 
 
 strengthen me, that while I stand 
 Firm on the rock, and strong in thee, 
 
 1 may stretch out a loving hand 
 
 To w^restlers with the troubled sea. 
 
 O teach me. Lord, that I may teach 
 The precious things thou dost impart; 
 
 And wing my words, that they may reach 
 The hidden depths of many a heart. 
 
 O use me. Lord, use even me 
 
 Just as thou wilt, and when, and where, 
 Until thy blessed face I see, 
 
 Thy rest, thy joy, thy glory share. 
 
 — Frances Ridley Haver gal. 
 49 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 XXXIV 
 
 Intercede for Us 
 
 O MOST faithful Saviour! unfeigned thanks- 
 giving and endless praise be ascribed to thee, 
 that by thy prayer, as High Priest, thou hast 
 sanctified prayer, and hast imparted to it an ef- 
 ficacy whereby we shall be able to overcome the 
 assaults of our spiritual enemy. Grant that thy 
 Holy Spirit may powerfully incite us to prayer 
 when the evil hour approaches, that we may not 
 be indolent in arming ourselves with this power- 
 ful weapon, when the enemy is preparing to 
 make an efifort on our souls. And do thou, 
 blessed Jesus, come to our assistance with thy 
 prevailing intercession, that our weak, imperfect 
 prayer may be sanctified and rendered accept- 
 able to thy Father, for the sake of thy love. 
 Amen. — From Meditations, by /. /. Ramhach, 
 D.D. (1693-1735.) 
 
 XXXV 
 
 Fellowship 
 
 O Lord God, our heavenly Father, thou dost 
 invite us sinful men to come to thee that we 
 may be cleansed from our sin, and made holy 
 like thyself. Thou wouldst make us partakers 
 of thy divine nature, and thus deliver us from our 
 sins and sorrows. May we thus be children of 
 
 50 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 God by faith in Christ Jesus. Thou wouldst 
 gather us to thyself that we may no longer feel 
 the helplessness and sorrow of alienation. Thou 
 wouldst gladden us with the light and warmth 
 of thy love, and with the constant strength and 
 blessing which thy love will minister. O help 
 us to come to thee as children come to a father, 
 as those who are needy come to the source of 
 abundant blessing. Amen. — British Weekly, 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 For the Grace of Obedience 
 
 O ETERNAL God, great ruler of men and angels, 
 who hast constituted all things in a wonderful 
 order, making all the creatures subject to man, 
 and one man to another, and all to thee, the last 
 link of this admirable chain being fastened to 
 the foot of thy throne ; teach me to obey all those 
 whom thou hast set over me, reverencing their 
 persons, submitting indifferently to all their law- 
 ful commands, cheerfully undergoing those bur- 
 dens which the public wisdom and necessity shall 
 impose upon me ; at no hand murmuring against 
 government, lest the spirit of pride and mutiny, 
 of murmur and disorder enter into me, and con- 
 sign me to the portion of the disobedient and 
 rebellious, of the despisers of dominion, and 
 revilers of dignity. Grant this, O holy God, for 
 
 51 
 
H^LPS FOR THE QuiET HoUR 
 
 his sake who, for his obedience to the Father, 
 hath obtained the glorification of eternal ages, 
 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. — 
 From Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living, 
 
 XXXVII 
 A Morningf Prayer 
 
 O Lord, the God of our salvation, ^^thou art 
 the hope of all the ends of the earth." Upon thee 
 the eyes of all do wait; for thou givest unto all 
 life and breath and all things. Thou still watch- 
 est over us for good; thou daily renewest to us 
 our lives and thy mercies; and thou hast given 
 us the assurance of thy word, that if we commit 
 our affairs to thee, if we acknowledge thee in all 
 our ways, thou wilt direct our paths. We desire, 
 O Lord, to be still under thy gracious conduct 
 and fatherly protection. We beg the guidance 
 and help of thy good Spirit, to choose our in- 
 heritance for us, and to dispose of us, and all that 
 concerns us, to the glory of thy name. 
 
 O Lord, withdraw not thy tender mercies from 
 us, nor the comforts of thy presence. Never 
 punish our past sins, by giving us over to the 
 power of our sins ; but pardon all our sins, and 
 save us from all our iniquities. And grant us, 
 O good God, the continual sense of thy graciou3 
 acceptance of us, in the Son of thy love, that our 
 
 52 
 
Helps for the QuIet Hour 
 
 souls may bless thee, and ''all that is within us 
 may praise thy holy name." Amen. — John 
 Wesley. 
 
 XXXVIII 
 An Ancient Collect 
 
 Almighty Lord our God, direct our steps 
 into the way of peace, and strengthen our hearts 
 to obey thy commands ; may the Dayspring visit 
 us from on high, and give light to those who sit 
 in darkness and the shadow of death; that they 
 may adore thee for thy mercy, follow thee for 
 thy truth, desire thee for thy sweetness, who art 
 the blessed Lord God of Israel. Amen. 
 
 XXXIX 
 For Deliverance 
 
 Lord, we pray for the forgiveness of our sins. 
 We pray for strength to resist temptation and 
 sorrow. We pray for thy sympathy and com- 
 passion upon all our infirmities. We pray for 
 thy heart's healing of our griefs. Deliver us 
 from the thrall of selfishness. Deliver us from 
 undue pride. Deliver us from all things that are 
 not leavened with a true kindness. We pray that 
 thou wilt lift us into such a relation to thee, and 
 interpret to us such an understanding of divine 
 life, that we shall ourselves be conscious of our 
 dignity and of our privileges; that we may not 
 
 53 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 walk as other men, bent and bowed down by 
 every storm that sweeps by, but stand steadfast, 
 immovable, always abounding in the work of the 
 Lord. Amen. — From A Book of Prayer^ by H. 
 W. Beecher. 
 
 XL 
 
 An Intercession 
 
 O Lord, I pray thee to bless all persons and 
 places to which thy providence has made me a 
 debtor; all who have been instrumental to my 
 good, by their assistance, advice, example, or 
 writings ; and make me in my turn useful to 
 others. 
 
 Let none of those who cannot pray for them- 
 selves, and desire my prayers, want thy mercy; 
 but defend, and comfort, and conduct them 
 through this dangerous world, that we may meet 
 in paradise, to praise our God forever and ever. 
 
 Enlighten the minds, and pardon the sin, of all 
 that err through simplicity. Let the wickedness 
 of the wicked come to an end, but guide thou the 
 just. Relieve and comfort all that are troubled 
 in mind or conscience ; all that are in danger of 
 falling into despair ; all that are in any dangerous 
 error ; all that are in prison, in slavery, or under 
 persecution for a righteous cause ; all that are in 
 any distress whatever, that all may improve 
 
 under their sufferings. 
 
 54 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Have mercy upon and reclaim all that are en- 
 gaged in sinful courses, in youthful lusts, in 
 unchristian quarrels, and in unrighteous lawsuits. 
 Direct all that are in doubt, all that seek the 
 truth. O God^ the Creator and Redeemer of all, 
 have mercy upon all whom thou hast made and 
 redeemed. Amen. — From Bishop Wilson's Sacra 
 Privata. 
 
 XLI 
 The Plodder's Petition 
 
 LoRD^ let me not be too content 
 With life in trifling service spent — 
 
 Make me aspire ! 
 When days with petty cares are filled, 
 Let me with fleeting thoughts be thrilled 
 
 Of something higher! 
 
 Help me to long for mental grace 
 To struggle with the commonplace 
 
 I daily find. 
 May little deeds not bring to fruit 
 A crop of little thought to suit 
 
 A shriveled mind. 
 
 I do not ask for place among 
 
 Great thinkers who have taught and sung, 
 
 And scorned to bend 
 Under the trifles of the hour — 
 I only would not lose the power 
 To comprehend. 
 — Helen Gilbert, in The Independent. 
 55 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 XLII 
 
 An Invocation to the Saviour 
 
 O BLESSED Jesus, tliou hast used many arts to 
 save me, thou hast given thy Hfe to redeem me, 
 thy Holy Spirit to sanctify me, thyself for my 
 example, thy word for my rule, thy grace for 
 my guide, the fruit of thy body hanging on the 
 tree of the cross for the sin of my soul ; and after 
 all this thou hast sent thy apostles and ministers 
 of salvation to call me, to importune me, to con- 
 strain me, to holiness, and peace, and felicity. O 
 now come, Lord Jesus, come quickly ; my heart is 
 desirous of thy presence, and thirsty of thy grace, 
 and would fain entertain thee, not as a guest, but 
 as an inhabitant, as the Lord of all my faculties. 
 Enter in and take possession, and dwell with me 
 forever ; that I also may dwell in the heart of my 
 dearest Lord, which was opened for me with a 
 spear and love. Amen. — Jeremy Taylor, 
 
 XLIII 
 God's Workmanship 
 
 Almighty God, we are thy workmanship; we 
 are thy husbandry. We are not the accidents of 
 the time or the occasion ; we express the foreor- 
 dination and the sovereignty of God. We will 
 look upon ourselves highly; we will rejoice in 
 our princedom. We are not of the earth, earthy, 
 
 56 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 when we are accepted in the Beloved ; we are then 
 heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. So we 
 will not look downward and see the grave; we 
 will look upward and see the immortality. We 
 will think of the radiant heaven, pure angels, 
 sanctified spirits, the one throne, the infinite 
 light, the ineffable purity; and so filling our 
 minds with things divine, we shall triumph over 
 present pain and necessity and trouble, and 
 death itself. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of 
 the Father, that takest away the sins of the 
 world, have mercy upon us. Amen. — The Brit- 
 ish Weekly. 
 
 XLIV 
 Faith and Works 
 
 There be some who pray in the shades of life; 
 
 There be those who toil in the sun ; 
 And both are watching the reddening west 
 
 Till the long, long day is done — 
 For prayer and labor are all of life, 
 
 And labor and prayer are one. 
 
 — Grace DitMeld Goodwin. 
 
 XLV 
 
 A Morning Prayer 
 
 Blessed be God, through whom I laid me 
 down and slept, and rose up again, because he 
 
 57 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 sustained me. Give me, O heavenly Father, a 
 spirit of modest and cheerful thankfulness ; with 
 love to all my kindred, neighbors, and fellow- 
 creatures, who are brother-pensioners with me 
 upon thy bounty, and members of one body, thy 
 household of souls. Continue to me, and all 
 whom I ought to pray for, thy compassions every 
 morning, so long as may be thy holy will, and 
 for the good of our weakness ; and whenever thou 
 sendest bereavement among us, strengthen us to 
 intrust our beloved into thy hands. Amen. — 
 From Psalms and Litanies, by Rowland Wil- 
 liams, D.D. 
 
 XLVI 
 
 Ready for All Thingfs 
 
 O send thy light and thy truth, that I may 
 always live near to thee, my God. O let me feel 
 thy love, that I may be, as it were, already in 
 heaven, that I may do all my work as the angels 
 do theirs ; and O let me be ready for every work ! 
 be ready to go out or go in, to stay or depart, 
 just as thou shalt appoint. Lord, let me have no 
 will of my own; or consider my true happiness 
 as depending, in the smallest degree, on anything 
 that can befall me outwardly, but as consisting 
 altogether in conformity to thy will. Amen. — 
 Henry Marty n (1781-1812). 
 
 58 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 XLVII 
 In the Morningf 
 
 I desire, O God, this day most earnestly to 
 please thee ; to do thy will in each several thing 
 which thou shalt give me to do; to bear each 
 thing which thou shalt allow to befall me con- 
 trary to my will, meekly, humbly, patiently, as a 
 gift from thee to subdue self-will in me; and to 
 make thy will wholly mine. What I do, make me 
 do, simply as thy child; let me be, throughout 
 the day, as a child in his loving father's presence, 
 ever looking up to thee. May I love thee for all 
 thy love. May I thank thee, if not in words, yet 
 in my heart, for each gift of thy love, for each 
 comfort which thou allowest me day by day. 
 Amen. — Dr, E, B. Pusey. 
 
 XLVIII 
 In Time of Need 
 
 All-seeing Light and eternal Life of all 
 things, look upon my misery with thine eye of 
 mercy, and let thine infinite power vouchsafe to 
 limit out some portion of deliverance unto me, 
 as unto thee shall seem most convenient. But 
 yet, O my God, I yield unto thy will, and joyfully 
 embrace what sorrow thou wilt have me sufifer. 
 Only thus much let me crave of thee (let my 
 
 59 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 craving, O Lord, be accepted of thee, since even 
 that proceeds from thee) — let me crave, even by 
 the noblest title which in my greatest affliction I 
 may give myself, that I am thy creature, and by 
 thy goodness that thou wilt suffer some beam of 
 thy Majesty so to shine into my mind that it 
 may still depend confidently on thee. Amen. — 
 Sir Philip Sidney, 
 
 XLIX 
 
 A Trustful Prayer 
 
 With all my heart and soul, O God, I thank 
 thee, that in all the changes and chances of this 
 mortal life I can look up to thee, and cheerfully 
 resign my will to thine. It is the desire of my 
 soul, and my humble petition, that I may always 
 be ready and willing to submit to thy providence, 
 that thou mayest order what thou judgest to be 
 most convenient for me. I have trusted thee, O 
 Father, with myself; my soul is in thy hand, 
 which I verily believe thou wilt preserve to 
 eternal happiness ; my body, and all that belongs 
 to it, are of much less value. I do, therefore, 
 with as great security and satisfaction, trust all 
 I have to thee, hoping thou wilt preserve me 
 from all things hurtful, and lead me to all things 
 profitable to my salvation. Amen. — From Bishop 
 Wilson's Sacra Privata. 
 
 60 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Day by Day 
 
 O GoD^ who hast commanded us to be perfect, 
 as thou our Father in heaven art perfect, put 
 into our hearts, we pray thee, a continual desire 
 to obey thy holy will. Teach us day by day what 
 thou wouldest have us do, and give us grace and 
 power to fulfill the same. May we never from 
 love of ease decline the path which thou pointest 
 out, nor for fear of shame turn away from it. 
 Amen. — Dean Henry Alford, 
 
 LI 
 Just for To-day 
 
 Lord, for to-morrow and its needs 
 
 I do not pray ; 
 Keep me, my God, from stain of sin, 
 
 Just for to-day. 
 Let me both diligently work 
 
 And duly pray; 
 Let me be kind in word and deed, 
 
 Just for to-day. 
 Let me be slow to do my will. 
 
 Prompt to obey; 
 Help me to overcome my flesh, 
 
 Just for to-day. 
 Let me no wrong or idle word 
 
 Unthinking say; 
 Set thou a seal upon my lips. 
 
 Just for to-day. 
 6i 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Let me in season, Lord, be grave, 
 
 In season gay; 
 Let me be faithful to thy grace, 
 
 Just for to-day. 
 So for to-morrow and its needs 
 
 I do not pray; 
 But keep me, guide me, love me, Lord, 
 
 Just for to-day. 
 
 — Author unknown, 
 
 LII 
 
 For Sabbath Momingf 
 
 Let the prayers and sacrifices of thy holy 
 Church, offered unto thee this day, be graciously 
 accepted. ''Clothe thy priests with righteousness, 
 and pardon all thy people who are not prepared 
 according to the preparation of the sanctuary." 
 Prosper all those who are sincerely engaged in 
 propagating or promoting thy faith and love: 
 Give thy Son the heathen for his inheritance, 
 and the utmost parts of the earth for his posses- 
 sion; that from the rising up of the sun unto 
 the going down of the same thy name may be 
 great among the Gentiles. Enable us of this 
 nation, and especially those whom thou hast set 
 over us in Church and State, in our several sta- 
 tions, to serve thee in all holiness, and to ''know 
 the love of Christ which passeth knowledge/' 
 Continue to us the means of grace, and grant we 
 may never provoke thee, by our nonimprovement, 
 
 62^ 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 to deprive us of them. Pour down thy blessing 
 upon our universities, that they may ever promote 
 true rehgion and sound learning. Show mercy, 
 O Lord, to my father and mother, my brothers 
 and sisters, to all my friends, relations, and 
 enemies, and to all that are in affliction. Let thy 
 fatherly hand be over them, and thy Holy Spirit 
 ever with them; that, submitting themselves en- 
 tirely to thy will, and directing all their thoughts, 
 words, and works to thy glory, they, and those 
 that are already dead in the Lord, may at length 
 enjoy thee, in the glories of thy kingdom, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth 
 with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed 
 forever. Amen. — John Wesley. 
 
 LIII 
 
 For Great Blessing's 
 
 Almighty God, thou hast done great things 
 for us, whereof we are glad. We would enthrone 
 thee upon the circle of the earth, and set thee 
 above the floods. We would see thee in the 
 peaceful morning, in the fiery noontide, and 
 amid the stars of night. We would see thy go- 
 ing in all the way of our lives, and humbly de- 
 sire to follow thee whithersoever thou goest. We 
 would not be content with any ordinary manifes- 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 tation ot thy care; to-day we would ask for an 
 overflowing cup, for a multiplication and redun- 
 dancy of blessing — for shower upon shower of 
 blessings. We make humble confession of our 
 sin. We have left undone those things Vv^hich 
 we ought to have done ; and we have done those 
 things which we ought not to have done. Thy 
 cross, O Christ, is the open way to forgiveness 
 and peace. May we this day seize all the bless- 
 ings of the cross, and make ourselves rich with 
 them through God the Holy Ghost. Amen. — 
 Joseph Parker, D.D, 
 
 LIV 
 Out of the Depths 
 
 O PITIFUL and long-suffering Lord, against 
 whom we have so sinned, we conceal nothing, 
 and excuse nothing, but seek thy forgiveness. 
 When we perverted that which was right, it ad- 
 vantaged us not; and we are without defense 
 when we destroy ourselves. Unto thee, O God, 
 belongs righteousness, when thou judgest; but 
 to us confusion of face, when we make answer. 
 And now. Lord, what is our hope, if any hope re- 
 main to us? Our hope is in thy goodness, that 
 thou wilt blot out our iniquities. 
 
 Thou knowest whereof we are made ; thou re- 
 64 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 memberest that we are but dust. We are the off- 
 spring of thy will, on whom thou hast stamped 
 the forecast of thy Hkeness. We are sheep of thy 
 pasture, whom thou hast led along, and taught to 
 trust in thee. Destroy not, O Lord, the work of 
 thine own hands; let not haters of good rejoice 
 in our falling. 
 
 Look upon the face of thy children, and, in the 
 abundance of thy compassion, find a propitiation 
 for the sins of the w^orld. For thine own holy 
 name's sake, beside which none other under 
 heaven is given, w^hereby we may be saved. 
 Father, be merciful. By the tender mercies of 
 him who is from everlasting, and by the strong 
 crying of mankind out of perplexity, by the un- 
 utterable plaints of thy own mind within us, 
 striving with us, pleading for us, make thyself 
 known to us as our Saviour. Amen. — From 
 Psalms and Litanies, by Rowland Williams, D,D. 
 
 LV 
 
 An Intercession 
 
 At thy feet, O Lord, the rich and the poor 
 meet together, and thou art Maker of us all, the 
 poor in spirit who are rich in this world's goods, 
 and the happy ones whose life consisteth not in 
 the abundance of the things they possess. Great 
 as are the outward differences between us, thou 
 
 65 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 seest even greater — yet are "we all the work of 
 thy hand;'' "we the clay and thou our potter.'' 
 Mold us into vessels fit for thy use. Cleanse us 
 from the mire of selfishness and let us be bearers 
 of living water to thirsty souls. Nor do we pray 
 only for ourselves and our little intersecting, 
 overlapping circles of interest and influence, but 
 we pray for the whole world of mankind troubled 
 here with wars and raidings, there with famine 
 and pestilence, and everywhere blotted and 
 blurred by sin. Wherever an innocent heart suf- 
 fers for another's guilt, wherever secret sorrow 
 gnaws like a canker, wherever remorse for past 
 sins consumes, or pride hardens into impeni- 
 tence, there, O omnipresent Father, send com- 
 fort, send pity, send love, send light, send 
 strength ! And yet the things we would ask for 
 earth's neediest child do not differ widely from 
 the things we ask for ourselves. We are all alike 
 naked except thou clothe us, hungry except thou 
 feed us, in darkness unless thou enlighten us, in 
 storm unless thou sayest, "Peace, be still." Feed 
 us then with the bread of heaven whether we be 
 in prosperous or famine-stricken lands ; clothe us 
 with robes of righteousness here in America or 
 under tropic suns; lift upon us, thy children, 
 everywhere, the light of thy countenance; teach 
 us how to walk in that light, and grant to us 
 every one to be found of thee in peace at last. 
 
 66 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 We ask it in the name of One dear to thee, 
 whom even the winds and the sea obeyed. Amen. 
 — Henry Ward Beecher. 
 
 LVI 
 Thanfc God 
 
 Thank God for joy! 
 
 For glad, sweet thoughts that flood the soul and spring 
 
 Lark-like into the sky to soar and sing; 
 
 For kindly airs that woo to bud and flower, 
 
 Thy dormant being, and awake new power 
 
 With each new morn; new purposes that bring 
 
 To heart and soul their full and just employ. 
 
 Thank God for joy! • 
 
 And O, thank him for pain! 
 That shuts thee in in silence! Wait and know 
 The rain that breaks the blossom, and lays low 
 The fair green stalk, doth nourish e'en in grief 
 The being's root, of future bud and leaf 
 The guaranty; so shalt thou surely grow 
 To fairer heights; to nobler powers attain. 
 Thank God for pain! 
 
 — C. W. Bronson, in New York Observer, 
 
 LVII 
 A Q)nttite Q)nfcssion 
 
 O Lord, I have abused thy mercy, despised 
 thy judgments, turned thy grace into wanton- 
 ness. I have been unthankful for thy infinite 
 loving-kindness. I have sinned and repented, 
 
 67 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 and then sinned again, and resolved against it, 
 and presently broke it ; and then I tied myself up 
 with vows, and then was tempted, and then I 
 yielded by little and little, till I was willingly lost 
 again, and my vows fell off like cords of vanity. 
 My secret sins, O Lord, are innumerable: sins I 
 noted not, sins that I willingly neglected, sins 
 that I acted upon willful ignorance and voluntary 
 mispersuasion, sins that I have forgot, and sins 
 which a diligent and a watchful spirit might have 
 prevented, but I would not. Lord, I am con- 
 founded with the multitude of them, and the 
 horror of their remembrance. O give me a deep 
 contrition for my sins, a hearty detestation and 
 loathing of them, hating them worse than death 
 with torments. Give me grace entirely, presently, 
 and forever to forsake them; to walk with care 
 and prudence, with fear and watchfulness, all my 
 days ; to do all my duty with diligence and 
 charity, with zeal and a never- fainting spirit; to 
 redeem the time, to trust upon thy mercies, to 
 make use of all the instruments of grace, to work 
 out my salvation with fear and trembling; that 
 thou mayest have the glory of pardoning all my 
 sins, and I may reap the fruit of all thy mercies 
 and all thy graces, of thy patience and long 
 suffering, even to live a holy life here, and to 
 reign with thee forever, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. — Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 68 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 LVIII 
 
 For Daily Needs 
 
 O GRACIOUS Father, keep me through thy Holy 
 Spirit; keep my heart soft and tender now in 
 health and amidst the bustle of the world ; keep 
 the thought of thyself present to me as my Fa- 
 ther in Jesus Christ; and keep alive in me a 
 spirit of love and meekness to all men, that I may 
 be at once gentle and active and firm. O strength- 
 en me to bear pain, or sickness, or danger, or 
 whatever thou shalt be pleased to lay upon me, 
 as Christ's soldier and servant; and let my faith 
 overcome the world daily. Perfect and bless the 
 work of thy Spirit in the hearts of all thy people, 
 and may thy kingdom come, and thy will be done 
 in earth as in heaven. I pray for this, and for all 
 that thou seest me to need, for Jesus Christ's 
 sake. Amen. — Thomas Arnold (1795-1842). 
 
 LIX 
 
 The Eveningf SacHfice 
 
 O LoRD^ let my prayer be set forth in thy sight 
 as the incense ; and let the lifting up of my hands 
 be as an evening sacrifice. That it hath pleased 
 God to add another day to the years of my life ; 
 that none of his judgments, to which for my sins 
 I am justly liable, have fallen upon me; that by 
 
 69 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 his grace he hath kept me from all scandalous 
 sins and from the dangers of an evil world ; that 
 he has given me occasions of doing good, and 
 grace to make use of them ; that he hath supplied 
 me with the necessaries of this life, and with 
 the means of attaining a better — accept, O God, 
 of my unfeigned thanks for these, and for all thy 
 mercies from day to day bestowed upon me. Add 
 this to all thy favors, I beseech thee, that I may 
 never forget to be thankful. Amen. — From 
 Bishop Wilson's Sacra Privata. 
 
 LX 
 
 As Little Children 
 
 Our Father in heaven, give us the hearts of 
 little children. When trouble comes may we be 
 able to meet it in the spirit of Jesus. May we 
 know that all things are in the hands of the 
 Lord. May we rest in the Lord and wait for him. 
 We would pray for others as well as for our- 
 selves ; for masters and servants, for teachers 
 and scholars, for rich and poor, for those who 
 sit in heathen darkness, and for those who are 
 enriched with Christian privileges. Thou wilt 
 not put away from thy blessing any who humbly 
 desire to know the sweetness and the power of 
 thy love. We leave ourselves in the hands of 
 God, trusting to the blessed Saviour alone for 
 
 70 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 pardon, for daily grace, and for heaven when our 
 work on earth is done. Amen. — The Congrega- 
 tionalist. 
 
 LXI 
 
 For the Momingf 
 
 O Lord, thou hast mercifully kept us the last 
 night; blessed be thy continued goodness. Re- 
 ceive us likewise into thy protection this day. 
 Guide and assist us in all our thoughts, words, 
 and actions. Make us willing to do and suffer 
 what thou pleasest ; waiting for the mercy of our 
 Lord, Christ Jesus, unto eternal life. 
 
 Blessed be thy goodness, which hath not suf- 
 fered us to wander without instruction after the 
 foolish desires of our own hearts ; but hath clearly 
 shown us where our happiness lies. O may we 
 receive, wath all thankfulness, those holy words 
 which teach us the blessedness of poverty of 
 spirit, of mourning after thee, of meekness and 
 gentleness, of hungering and thirsting after 
 righteousness, of mercifulness and purity of 
 heart, of doing good unto all, and patiently suffer- 
 ing for doing the will of our Lord Christ. 
 
 O may we always be in the number of those 
 blessed souls. May we ever feel ourselves happy 
 in having the kingdom of God within us, in the 
 comforts of the Holy One, in being filled with 
 all the fruits of righteousness, in being made the 
 
 71 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 children of the Highest, and, above all, in seeing 
 thee, our God. Let us abound in thy love more 
 and more; and in continual prayers and praises 
 to thee, the Father of mercies and God of all 
 consolation, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — 
 John Wesley. 
 
 LXII 
 Abide with Mc 
 
 Abide with me, I need Thee every day 
 To lead me on through all the weary way. 
 When storms surround, and only clouds I see, 
 Lord, be my comfort and abide with me! 
 
 Be with me, Lord, where'er my path may lead, 
 Fulfill thy word, supply my every need; 
 Help me to live each day more close to thee, 
 And O, dear Lord, I pray, abide with me ! 
 
 Abide with me, my Lord, and when at last 
 This earth and all its weary cares are past, 
 ril pray no more that thou abide with me, 
 For then, at last, I shall abide with thee ! 
 
 — Emma G, Dietrich, in Christian Work, 
 
 LXIII 
 
 A Collect 
 
 O THOU gracious Father of mercy. Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon thy 
 servants who bow our heads, and our knees, and 
 
 72 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 our hearts to thee; pardon and forgive us al! 
 our sins ; give us the grace of holy repentance, 
 and a strict obedience to thy holy word ; strength- 
 en us in the inner man with the power of the 
 Holy Ghost for all the parts and duties of our 
 calling and holy living; preserve us forever in 
 the unity of the Church, and in the integrity of 
 the Christian faith, and in the love of God and 
 of our neighbors, and in hope of life eternal. 
 Amen. — Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 LXIV 
 
 For Enlightenment 
 
 Enlighten me, blessed Jesus, with the bright- 
 ness of thy inner light, and cast forth all dark- 
 ness from the habitation of my heart. Restrain 
 my many wandering thoughts, and carry away 
 the temptations which strive to do me hurt. 
 Fight thou mightily for me, and drive forth the 
 evil beasts, so call I alluring lusts, that peace 
 may be within thy walls and plenteousness of 
 praise within thy palace, even in my pure con- 
 science. Command thou the winds and the 
 storms ; say unto the sea, ''Be still f say unto 
 the stormy wind, ''Hold thy peace ;" so shall there 
 be a great calm. O send forth thy light and thy 
 truth, that they may shine upon the earth ; for I 
 am but earth; for I am but earth without form 
 
 7^ 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 and void until thou give me light. Pour forth 
 thy grace from above; water my heart with the 
 dew of heaven; give the waters of devotion to 
 water the face of the earth, and cause it to bring 
 forth good and perfect fruit. Lift up my mind, 
 which is oppressed with the weight of sins, and 
 raise my whole desire to heavenly things; that 
 having tasted the sweetness of the happiness 
 which is from above, it may take no pleasure in 
 thinking of things of earth. 
 
 Draw me and deliver me from every unstable 
 comfort of creatures, for no created thing is able 
 to satisfy my desire and to give me comfort. Join 
 me to thyself by the inseparable bond of love, for 
 thou alone art sufficient to him that loveth thee, 
 and without thee all things are vain toys. — From 
 Kempis's Imitatio Christi. 
 
 LXV 
 
 At Eventide 
 
 Our Lord, our God, thou art very wonderful 
 in the works of nature, very good in providence, 
 just and true in thy government of men, strong 
 on the behalf of them that walk uprightly, but 
 to us thy loveliest attributes are thy long-suffer- 
 ing patience, thine abundant pardon, in the cross 
 and mediation of our High Priest. There we 
 rest. Encircle us with thy care. Be a wall of 
 
 74 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 fire around our home. Surround us with the 
 hosts of guardian angels. May we sleep peace- 
 fully and safely the sleep of little children. Bless, 
 and defend, and save all whom we love, and may 
 we all be partakers of thy heavenly benediction ; 
 and bring us at last by thy grace to thy glory. 
 We ask it in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. — From Morning and Evening Devotions, 
 by F, B, Meyer. 
 
 LXVI 
 Be Thou Our Guide 
 
 Mercifully regard, O Lord, the prayers of 
 thy family; and while they submit themselves 
 to thee with their whole heart, do thou prosper 
 them with support, and encompass them with 
 blessings, that, relying on thee as their guide, 
 they may be entangled in no evils, but filled with 
 all good. 
 
 We beseech thee, O Lord, in thy loving-kind- 
 ness, set in order our life and conversation, that 
 no adversities may prevail against us, and no 
 kind of health be wanting to us. 
 
 Make us, we beseech thee, O Lord, obedient 
 to thy commandments ; so that all things may go 
 prosperously with us in following the author of 
 our life and only guardian of our souls. 
 
 Grant to thy servants, O Lord, the pardon of 
 75 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 their sins, comfort in life, and perpetual guid- 
 ance; whereby they may faithfully serve thee, 
 and be always enabled to attain thy mercy, for 
 thy holy name's sake. Amen. — From Psalms 
 and Litanies, by Rowland Williams, D.D. 
 
 LXVII 
 ^'Up to the Hills ^ 
 
 I OFTEN turn my eyes up to the hills, 
 That sometimes seem so many leagues away, 
 
 And then a longing wish my spirit fills, 
 That I may reach them some fair, happy day. 
 
 And then again so near to me they seem 
 That I can almost hear the music grand 
 
 Come floating sweetly o'er the narrow stream 
 That flows between me and that peaceful land. 
 
 And often when my eyes are dim with tears, 
 And I am weary in life's lonely way, 
 
 I look beyond to those calm, blessed years 
 That crown the fair old mountains all the day. 
 
 And ever when my soul is filled with pain. 
 And I am crushed to earth with nameless grief, 
 
 I look up to the hills, and hope again 
 Brings to my wounded soul a sweet relief. 
 
 O blessed hills ! beyond the creeping years 
 
 That come to me like milestones one by one, 
 When God shall wipe away my bitter tears, 
 Your sun-crowned heights shall be forever won. 
 — Mrs. M. A. Holt, in Zion's Herald. 
 76 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 LXVIII 
 
 Our Life Is Thine 
 
 O Lord, thou knowest our life with all its mys- 
 tery and tragedy, all its pain and joy. It is thy 
 life; it belongs to thee. It is not cut off from 
 thy sovereignty, and especially it is not cut off 
 from the grace of Christ, which is the center of 
 thy glory and thy majesty. May we realize the 
 power of the cross, believe in the Priest Victim of 
 the cross, and see the meaning of his blood. De- 
 liver us from the power of folly. Make us large- 
 hearted, noble-minded, childlike, mighty in all 
 power, but mightiest in tenderness, in sympathy, 
 in the spirit of humanity, so that we can go far 
 down and tell those who are in the valley how 
 high heaven is and what is the way to its glory. 
 Amen. — British Weekly. 
 
 LXIX 
 The Good Shepherd 
 
 O Shepherd of the sheep, who didst promise 
 to carry the lambs in thine arms, and to lead us 
 by the still waters, help us to know the peace 
 which passeth understanding. Give us to drink 
 that heavenly draught which is life, the calm 
 patience which is content to bear what God 
 giveth. Have mercy upon us, and hear our 
 prayers. Lead us gently when we pass through 
 
 77 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 the valley of the shadow of death. Guide us, 
 till at last, in the assembly of thy saints, we may 
 find rest for evermore. Amen. — George Dazv- 
 son, 
 
 LXX 
 The Spiritual Life 
 
 Sing, O my soul ! The radiant day- 
 Sweeps the shades of night away. 
 When, dear Lord, I think on thee 
 All my doubting shadows flee. 
 
 Sing, O my soul, exalt the theme ! 
 Thou, O Lord, art love supreme. 
 With me, Lord, forever be; 
 All I need I find in thee. 
 
 — Richard H, Barrows, 
 
 LXXI 
 The Sacredness of Life 
 
 Eternal God, who committest to us the swift 
 and solemn trust of life, since we know not what 
 a day may bring forth, but only that the hour for 
 serving thee is always present, may we wake to 
 the instant claims of thy holy will ; not waiting 
 for to-morrow, but yielding to-day. Lay to rest, 
 by the persuasion of thy Spirit, the resistance of 
 our passion, indolence, or fear. Consecrate with 
 thy presence the way our feet may go ; and the 
 humblest work will shine, and the roughest 
 places be made plain. Lift us above unright- 
 
 78 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 eous anger and mistrust into faith and hope and 
 charity by a simple and steadfast rehance on thy 
 sure will. In all things draw us to the mind of 
 Christ, that thy lost image may be traced again, 
 and thou mayest own us as at one with him and 
 thee. Amen. — James Martineau. 
 
 LXXII 
 
 A Thanksgiving' 
 
 O MOST merciful and gracious God, thou foun- 
 tain of all mercy and blessing, thou hast opened 
 the hand of thy mercy to fill me with blessings, 
 and the sweet effects of thy loving-kindness; 
 thou feedest us like a shepherd, thou governest 
 us as a king, thou bearest us in thy arms like a 
 nurse, thou dost cover us under the shadow of 
 thy wings, and shelter us like a hen; thou, O 
 dearest Lord, wakest for us as a watchman, thou 
 providest for us like a husband, thou lovest us as 
 a friend, and thinkest on us perpetually, as a 
 careful mother on her helpless babe, and art ex- 
 ceeding merciful to all that fear thee. Unto thee, 
 O Lord, I ascribe the praise and honor of my 
 redemption. I will be glad and rejoice in thy 
 mercy, for thou hast considered my trouble, and 
 hast known my soul in adversity. As thou hast 
 spread thy hand upon me for a covering, so also 
 enlarge my heart with thankfulness, and fill my 
 
 79 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 mouth with praises, that my duty and returns to 
 thee may be great as my needs of mercy are ; and 
 let thy gracious favors and loving-kindness en- 
 dure forever and ever upon thy servant; and 
 grant that what thou hast sown in mercy may 
 spring up in duty ; and let thy grace so strengthen 
 my purposes that I may sin no more, lest thy 
 threatening return upon me in anger, and thy 
 anger break me into pieces; but let me walk in 
 the light of thy favor, and in the paths of thy 
 commandments; that I, living here to the glory 
 of thy name, may at last enter into the glory of 
 my Lord, to spend a whole eternity in giving 
 praise to thy exalted and ever-glorious name. 
 Amen. — From Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living. 
 
 LXXIII 
 A Cry for Rest 
 
 Above all things and in all things thou shalt 
 rest alway in the Lord, O my soul, for he him- 
 self is the eternal rest of the saints. Grant me, 
 most sweet and loving Jesus, to rest in thee above 
 every creature, above all health and beauty, above 
 all glory and honor, above all power and dignity, 
 above all knowledge and skillfulness, above all 
 riches and arts, above all joy and exultation, 
 above all fame and praise, above all hope and 
 promise, above all merit and desire, above all 
 gifts and reward which thou canst give and pour 
 
 80 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 forth, above all joy and jubilation which the mind 
 is able to receive and feel ; in a word, above angels 
 and archangels and all the army of heaven, above 
 all things visible and above everything which 
 thou, O my God, art not. 
 
 For thou, O Lord my God, art best above all 
 things; thou art the Most High; thou only the 
 Almighty; thou only the All-Sufficient, and the 
 fullness of all things ; thou only the All-Delight- 
 some and the All-Comforting ; thou alone the al- 
 together lovely and altogether loving ; thou alone 
 the Most Exalted and Most Glorious above all 
 things ; in whom all things are, and were, and 
 ever shall be, altogether and all perfect. And 
 thus it falleth short and is insufficient whatsoever 
 thou givest to me without thyself, or whatsoever 
 thou revealest or dost promise concerning thy- 
 self, whilst thou art not seen or fully possessed ; 
 since verily my heart cannot truly rest nor be 
 entirely content, except it rest in thee, and go 
 beyond all gifts and every creature. — From 
 Kempis's Imitatio Christi 
 
 LXXIV 
 On the Mount 
 
 Not always on the mount may we 
 Rapt in the heavenly vision be; 
 The shores of thought and feeling know 
 The Spirit's tidal ebb and flow. 
 8i 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 ''Lord, it is good abiding here" — 
 We cry, the heavenly Presence near; 
 The vision vanishes, our eyes 
 Are lifted into vacant skies ! 
 
 Yet hath one such exalted hour 
 Upon the soul redeeming power. 
 And in its strength through after days 
 We travel our appointed ways; 
 
 Till all the lowly vale grows bright, 
 Transfigured in remembered light. 
 And in untiring souls we bear 
 The freshness of the upper air. 
 
 The mount for vision — but below 
 The paths of daily duty go, 
 And nobler life therein shall own 
 The pattern on the mountain shown. 
 
 — Frederick Lucian Hosmer, 
 
 LXXV 
 Fullness in Chrfst 
 
 O Lord, seeing there is in Christ Jesus an in- 
 finite fullness of all that we can want or wish, 
 O that we may all receive of his fullness, grace 
 upon grace ; grace to pardon our sins and subdue 
 our iniquities ; to justify our persons and to sanc- 
 tify our souls ; and to complete that holy change, 
 that renewal of our hearts, whereby we may be 
 transformed into that blessed image wherein thou 
 didst create us. O make us all meet to be pan 
 takers to the inheritance of thy saints in light. 
 
 82 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 And teach us, O God, to use this world without 
 abusing it ; and to receive the things needful for 
 the body, without losing our part in thy love, 
 which is better than life itself. Whatever we 
 have of this world, O may we have the same 
 with thy leave and love; sanctified to us by the 
 word of God and by prayer; and by the right 
 improvement thereof to thy glory. And what- 
 ever we want of worldly things, leave us not 
 destitute of the ''things that accompany salva- 
 tion;'' but adorn our souls with all such graces 
 of thy Holy Spirit, that we may adorn the doc- 
 trine of God our Saviour in all things. 
 
 And now that thou hast renewed our lives and 
 thy mercies to us this morning, help us to renew 
 our desires and resolutions and endeavors to live 
 in obedience to thy holy will. O restrain us from 
 the sins into which we are most prone to fall, 
 and quicken us to the duties we are most averse 
 to perform; and grant that we may think and 
 speak, and will and do, the things becoming the 
 children of our heavenly Father ; and so find the 
 strong consolation of thy gracious acceptance in 
 Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. — John Wesley, 
 
 LXXVI 
 A Confession 
 
 Enter not into judgment with thy servants, 
 O Lord, for in thy sight shall no flesh living be 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 justified. We desire to make confession of our 
 sin, to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of 
 the same. Forgive us our selfishness, our vanity, 
 our pride, our confidence and self-assertion. 
 Blot out our sins from the book of thy remem- 
 brance and grant us the peace which passeth un- 
 derstanding. Grant us thy grace, that we may 
 be able so to apply our lives, so to feel the power 
 of our Master's love, so to be quickened with 
 zeal and devotion in his service that we may be 
 able, each in his own sphere and according to 
 the power which thou hast granted to us, to 
 present unto the world the image of Christ, to 
 suggest God to men, and to lead others to him. 
 Grant us day by day an ever-deepening and 
 fuller knowledge of thy truth which saves. 
 Amen. — British Weekly. 
 
 LXXVII 
 
 For the Sick and Dying: 
 
 O Lord of life and death, have mercy upon all 
 those who are visited with sickness; sanctify 
 this thy fatherly correction, that they may search 
 their ways, and see whence this visitation cometh. 
 Have mercy upon all that are appointed to die, 
 and grant that they omit nothing that is neces- 
 sary to make their peace with thee, and that they 
 may be delivered from death eternal. And God 
 
 84 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 grant that we may apply our hearts to that holy 
 and heavenly wisdom, while we live here, which 
 may in the end bring us to life everlasting, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — From 
 Bishop Wilson's Sacra Privata, 
 
 LXXVIII 
 
 Deliverance from Despair 
 
 Grant, O God, that, amidst all the discourage- 
 ments, difficulties, dangers, distress, and dark- 
 ness of this mortal life, I may depend upon thy 
 mercy, and on this build my hopes, as on a sure 
 foundation. Let thine infinite mercy in Christ 
 Jesus deliver me from despair, both now and 
 at the hour of death. Amen. — From Bishop 
 Wilson's Sacra Privata, 
 
 LXXIX 
 
 In Distress 
 
 Grant unto us. Almighty God, in all time of 
 sore distress, the comfort of the forgiveness of 
 our sins. In time of darkness give us blessed 
 hope, in time of sickness of body give us quiet 
 courage; and when the heart is bowed down, 
 and the soul is very heavy, and life is a burden, 
 
 85 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 and pleasure a weariness, and the sun is too 
 bright, and life too mirthful, then may that Spirit, 
 the Spirit of the Comforter, come upon us, and 
 after darkness may there be the clear shining of 
 the heavenly light; that so, being uplifted again 
 by thy mercy, we may pass on through this our 
 mortal life with quiet courage, patient hope, and 
 unshaken trust, hoping through thy loving-kind- 
 ness and tender mercy to be delivered from death 
 into the large life of the eternal years. Hear us 
 of thy mercy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. — George Dawson. 
 
 LXXX 
 Divine Companionship 
 
 If I could only surely know 
 
 That all these things that tire me so 
 
 Were noticed by my Lord, 
 The pang that cuts me like a knife, 
 The lesser pains of daily life, 
 The noise, the weariness, the strife; 
 
 What peace it would afford ! 
 
 I wonder if he really shares 
 In all my little human cares — 
 
 This mighty King of kings? 
 If he who. guides through endless space 
 Each blazing planet in its place 
 Can have the condescending grace 
 
 To mind these petty things? 
 86 
 
Helps for the Ouiet Hour 
 
 It seems to me if sure of this, 
 
 Blerxt with each ill would come such bliss 
 
 That I might covet pain, 
 And deem whatever brought to me 
 The loving thought of deit}^ 
 And sense of Christ's sweet sympathy 
 
 Not loss, but richest gain. 
 
 Dear Lord ! my heart hath not a doubt 
 That thou dost compass me about 
 
 With sympathy divine ! 
 The love for me once crucified 
 Is not the love to leave my side 
 But waiteth ever to divide 
 
 Each smallest care of mine. 
 
 — Author unknown. 
 
 LXXXI 
 The Early Year 
 
 O God, the Creator of both summer and win- 
 ter, who causest light to shine out of the thick 
 gloom, and bringest good out of evil : give us 
 grace so to flee what thou forbiddest, that we 
 may cast aside the works of darkness, and so 
 to choose what thou commandest, that we may 
 be children of light; but, since darkness and 
 light obey thee, give all the messengers of thy 
 providence charge over us, that, serving thee in 
 peace and thankfulness, v/e may be brought 
 through humility to serve thee in glory. Grant 
 this prayer, O Lord. Am.en. — Anonymous, 
 
 87 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 LXXXII 
 Deliver Me, O God 
 
 Deliver me, O God, from too intense an appli- 
 cation to even necessary business. I know how 
 this dissipates my thoughts from the one end of 
 all my business, and impairs that lively perception 
 I would ever retain of thee standing at my right 
 hand. I know the narrowness of my heart, and 
 that an eager attention to earthly things leaves 
 it no room for the things of heaven. O teach 
 me to go through all my employments with so 
 truly disengaged a heart, that I may still see thee 
 in all things, and see thee therein as continually 
 looking upon me, and searching my reins; and 
 that I may never impair that liberty of spirit 
 which is necessary for the love of thee. 
 
 Deliver me, O God, from a slothful mind, from 
 all lukewarmness, and all dejection of spirit. I 
 know these cannot but deaden my love to thee; 
 mercifully free my heart from them, and give 
 me a lively, zealous, active, and cheerful spirit; 
 that I may vigorously perform whatever thou 
 commandest, thankfully suffer whatever thou 
 choosest for me, and be ever ardent to obey in 
 all things thy holy love. 
 
 Above all, deliver me, O my God, from all 
 idolatrous self-love. I know, O God (blessed be 
 thy infinite mercy for giving me this knowledge), 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 that this is the root of all evil. I know thou 
 madest me, not to do my own will, but thine. I 
 know that the very corruption of the devil is 
 the having a will contrary to thine. O be thou 
 my helper against this most dangerous of all 
 idols, that I may both discern all its subtleties, 
 and withstand all its force. O thou who hast 
 commanded me to renounce myself, give me 
 strength, and I will obey thy command. My 
 choice and desire is to love myself, as all other 
 creatures, in and for thee. O let thy almighty 
 arm so stablish, strengthen, and settle me, that 
 thou mayest ever be the ground and pillar of 
 all my love. Amen. — John Wesley. 
 
 LXXXIII 
 
 Befote a Journey 
 
 Lord, go before thy servant this day, and let 
 me not go forth unless thou go forth with me — 
 thou who guidest pilgrims and emigrants, the 
 God of wanderers and of strangers, who art both 
 God near and God afar. Be with me, O Lord, 
 and guide me, and dispose my way ; bless me in 
 all good ends, and keep me in innocence, and 
 bring me home in safety, w^ith thanksgiving. So 
 be it, O Lord. Amen. — From Psalms and Lit- 
 anies, by Rozdand Williams, D.D, 
 
 89 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 LXXXIV 
 At Eveningf Time 
 
 At evening time, when day is done, 
 Life's little day is near its close, 
 
 And all the glare and heat are gone, 
 And gentle dews foretell repose; 
 
 To crown my faith before the night, 
 
 At evening time let there be light ! 
 
 God doth send light at evening time. 
 And bids the fears and doubtings flee; 
 
 I trust his promises sublime; 
 His glory now is risen on me; 
 
 His full salvation is in sight — 
 
 At evening time there now is light ! 
 
 — G. Raw son, 
 
 LXXXV 
 
 Nearer to Thee 
 
 O God, my God, I am all weakness, but thou 
 art my strength; I am ever anew bowed down 
 by any trial, but thou canst and wiliest to lift me 
 up. Let me not fail, O God, my strength ; let me 
 not be discouraged, O God, my hope. Draw 
 me, each day, if it be but a little nearer unto thee ; 
 make me, each day, if it be but a little less unlike 
 thee ; let me do or bear each day something, for 
 love of thee, whereby I may be fitter for thee. Let 
 no day pass without my having done something 
 pleasing unto thee. Thus alone would I livej 
 
 90 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 that I may live more unto thee ; thus would I 
 die, longing to love thee more. Amen. — £. 5. 
 Piisey, 
 
 LXXXVI 
 
 Our All in All 
 
 Almighty God, our light in darkness, our 
 strength in weakness, our hope in sinfulness, and 
 our eternal home, be unto us merciful, long- 
 suffering, and patient; that we, who be slow of 
 growth, may hope to come at last to thy likeness ; 
 and, being upheld by thee, may by thy mercy go 
 from strength to strength, until, through the 
 waste and dreariness, through the joy and duty 
 of this earthly life having safely passed, we 
 through the fullness of thy mercy may come 
 into the land of the eternal peace. Amen. — 
 George Dawson. 
 
 LXXXVII 
 
 Lord, Succor Us 
 
 O LoRD^ succor, we beseech thee, us who are 
 tempted. May nothing induce us to distrust thy 
 care over us, nor to use thy gifts to the denial 
 of thee, their Giver. May w^e never presume 
 upon thy protection when we are forsaking thy 
 paths, and tempting thee. May we never, for 
 the sake of any supposed gain or advancement, 
 
 91 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 quench the testimony of thy Spirit, or prove dis- 
 loyal to thy service. Do thou so support us in all 
 temptations that, when we have been tried, we 
 may receive the crown of life, which thou hast 
 prepared for them that love thee. Amen. — 
 Henry Alford. 
 
 LXXXVIII 
 My World Within 
 
 As Thou hast made thy world without, 
 Make thou more fair my world within ; 
 
 Shine through its lingering clouds of doubt, 
 Rebuke its haunting shapes of sin. 
 
 Fill, brief or long, my granted span 
 
 Of life with love to thee and man; 
 
 Strike when thou wilt the hour of rest, 
 
 But let my last days be my best! 
 
 — /. G, Whittier. 
 
 LXXXIX 
 In Time of Stomi 
 Almighty God, Lord of the storm and of the 
 calm, the vexed sea and the quiet haven, of day 
 and of night, of life and of death, grant unto us 
 so to have our hearts stayed upon thy faithful- 
 ness, thine unchangingness and love, that, what- 
 soever betide us, however black the cloud or dark 
 the night, with quiet faith trusting in thee, we 
 may look upon thee with untroubled eye, and 
 walking in lowliness toward thee, and in loving- 
 
 92 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 ness toward one another, abide all storms and 
 troubles of this mortal life, beseeching thee that 
 they may turn to the soul's true good. We ask 
 it for thy mercy's sake, shown in Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. — George Dawson. 
 
 XC 
 
 The Giver of AD Good 
 
 O GoD^ who art the Giver of all good gifts, I 
 thy unworthy servant entirely desire to praise 
 thy name for all the expressions of thy bounty 
 toward me. Blessed be thy love for giving thy 
 Son to die for our sins, for the means of grace, 
 and for the hope of glory. Blessed be thy love 
 for all the temporal benefits which thou hast with 
 a liberal hand poured out upon me ; for my health 
 and strength, food and raiment, and all other 
 necessaries with which thou hast provided thy 
 sinful servant. I also bless thee that, after all 
 my refusal of thy grace, thou still hast patience 
 with me, hast preserved me through this night, 
 and given me yet another day to renew and per- 
 fect my repentance. Pardon, good Lord, all my 
 former sins, and make me every day more 
 zealous and diligent to improve every opportu- 
 nity of building up my soul in thy faith, and 
 love, and obedience. Make thyself always pres- 
 
 93 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 ent to my mind, and let thy love fill and rule my 
 soul, in all those places and companies and em- 
 ployments to which thou callest me this day. In 
 all my passage through this world suffer not my 
 heart to be set upon it ; but always fix my single 
 eye and my undivided affections on ''the prize of 
 my high calling." This one thing let me do ; let 
 me so press toward this, as to make all things else 
 minister unto it ; and be careful so to use them, 
 as thereby to fit my soul for that pure bliss which 
 thou hast prepared for those that love thee. 
 Amen. — John Wesley, 
 
 XCI 
 
 For the Disconsolate 
 
 O Lord, have compassion, we beseech of thee, 
 upon those that are in darkness and trouble; 
 upon those that are bound hand and foot. Thou 
 that dost deliver the prisoners, break the doors 
 and the chains that hold them, whatever they 
 may be, within or without ; and bring them forth 
 into liberty and light and jo}^ Grant, we pray 
 thee, that if there be those who sit in the valley 
 and the shadow of death, they may find in thy 
 word comfort and consolation, and may discern 
 the rising of the sun of a better day. Amen. — 
 Henry Ward Beecher, 
 
 94 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 XCII 
 For Discernment 
 
 Grant me, O Lord, to know that which ought 
 to be known; to love that which ought to be 
 loved; to praise that which pleaseth thee most, 
 to esteem that which is precious in thy sight, to 
 blame that which is vile in thine eyes. Suffer 
 me not to judge according to the sight of bodily 
 eyes, nor to give sentence according to the hear- 
 ing of the ears of ignorant men ; but to discern in 
 true judgment between visible and spiritual 
 things, and above all things to be ever seeking 
 after the will of thy good pleasure. — Imitatio 
 Christi. 
 
 XCIII 
 Longfing* and Listening" 
 
 To stretch my hand and touch Him, 
 
 Though he be far away; 
 To raise my eyes and see him 
 
 Through darkness as through day; 
 To lift my voice and call him — 
 This is to pray ! 
 
 To feel a hand extended 
 
 By One who standeth near; 
 To view the love that shineth 
 
 In eyes serene and clear; 
 
 To know that he is calling — 
 
 This is to hear! 
 
 — The late Samuel W. DufHeld, D.D. 
 95 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 XCIV 
 
 Guard and Give 
 
 O heavenly Father, we need thy love and thy 
 calm breath shed abroad in our souls to be a foun- 
 tain of strength ; we know not without thee what 
 may befall us this day, either of peril or of temp- 
 tation or sorrow. But thou canst put a guard 
 about our path, and canst fence all our senses 
 from temptation by sobering them with thy holy 
 fear. Thou canst recall us from vain imagin- 
 ings, and calm the passionate or useless reverie. 
 Give us, then, we pray thee, a right sense of duty, 
 to shield us in all conflict, and guard us against 
 sin and death. Lead us not into temptation; or 
 when we are tempted, deliver us by humble 
 watchfulness from all power of evil. Amen. — 
 From Psalms and LitanieSj by Rowland Wil- 
 liams, D.D. 
 
 XCV 
 
 Bcgfinning the Day 
 
 O LoRD^ our strength and our Redeemer, send 
 thy light and thy truth into our hearts this day. 
 Help us to give thy Spirit the right of way into 
 every avenue and chamber of our natures. In- 
 vigorate and clarify our judgments; cleanse our 
 imaginations; make our wills resolute and firm 
 in the path of obedience; renew our aflfections 
 
 96 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 and fix them upon thee. Make our hearts the 
 habitation of thy grace, and teach us to regard 
 our bodies as the temples of the Holy Ghost. 
 May we commune with thee in our inmost 
 thoughts, love thee with all our strength, and 
 devote ourselves to thy service forever. Grant 
 this for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 — /. B. Y. 
 
 XCVI 
 Lotdf I Give Thanks 
 
 Lord, I give thanks ! 
 Last year, thou knowest, my best ambitions failed; 
 My back with scourgings of defeat was flailed ; 
 My eyes felt oft the sharp salt wash of tears; 
 No guerdon blessed the tireless toil of years; 
 Fast in the snares my helpless feet were tied. 
 Yet in my woes thou didst with me abide. 
 
 Lord, I give thanks ! 
 
 Lord, I give thanks ! 
 Last year my one lone ship came back to me, 
 A ruined wreck of what she used to be, 
 No cargo in her hold, storm-stained and scarred. 
 O Lord, thou knowest that it was hard, was hard, 
 To watch her drifting bulk with hopeless eye. 
 Yet in my desolation thou wert nigh. 
 
 Lord, I give thanks ! 
 
 Lord, I give thanks ! 
 Last year the one I loved the dearest died, 
 And like a desert waste became the wide 
 97 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 And weary world. Love's last sweet star went out: 
 Blackness of darkness wrapped me round about. 
 Yet, in the midst of my mad misery, 
 Thou lent' St thy rod and staff to comfort me. 
 Lord, I give thanks ! 
 
 — Susie M. Best, in Lippincott's. 
 
 XCVII 
 
 An Evening: Supplication 
 
 Into thy hands, most blessed Jesus, I commend 
 my soul and body, for thou hast redeemed both 
 with thy most precious blood. So bless and 
 sanctify my sleep unto me that it may be temper- 
 ate, holy, and safe, a refreshment to my wearied 
 body, to enable it to serve my soul, that both 
 may serve thee with a never-failing duty. O 
 let me never sleep in sin or death eternal, but 
 give me a watchful and a prudent spirit, that I 
 may omit no opportunity of serving thee; that 
 whether I sleep or wake, live or die, I may be 
 thy servant and thy child; that when the work 
 of my life is done, I may rest in the bosom of my 
 Lord, till by the voice of the archangel, the trump 
 of God, I shall be awakened and called to sit 
 down and feast in the eternal supper of the 
 Lamb. Grant this, O Lamb of God, for the 
 honor of thy mercies, and the glory of thy name, 
 O most merciful Saviour and Redeemer Jesus. 
 Amen. — From Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living, 
 
 98 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 XCVIII 
 Speak to Me^ Lord 
 
 Speak to me, Lord ! Thy word of consolation 
 Steals like sweet dew to freshen every hour: 
 
 Speak, I implore, a message of salvation 
 To shield my heart from keen temptation's power. 
 
 Thou art my life, my strength ! Good Lord, remember 
 How weak I am, how prone to faint and fall ! 
 
 When Love burns low breathe on each dying ember, 
 And with thy breath its fervent glow recall. 
 
 Thou art my hope I How could I reach thy heaven. 
 If thou no helping hand didst lay on me? 
 
 Thy mercy oft my wanderings has forgiven: 
 Forgive once more, and bid me live in thee ! 
 
 — Henry W. Hawkes. 
 
 XCIX 
 
 Lead Us Not into Temptation 
 
 LoRD^ thou knowest our infirmities, and the 
 power and malice of our enemies. Thou know- 
 est how to deliver the godly out of temptation. 
 Grant, O God, that I may never run into those 
 temptations, which in my prayers I desire to 
 avoid! Vouchsafe me the gift of perseverance, 
 on which my eternal happiness depends. Lord, 
 never permit my trials to be above my strength. 
 O Holy Spirit of grace, be not wanting to me in 
 the hour of temptation. And in all temptations, 
 
 99 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 give us power to resist and overcome. Leave 
 us not in the power of evil spirits to ruin us. 
 Support us under all our saving trials and 
 troubles. Amen. — From Bishop Wilson's Sacra 
 Privata. 
 
 C 
 
 Lift Up My Sotil 
 
 Let me not seek out of thee what I can find 
 only in thee, O Lord, peace and rest and joy and 
 bliss, which abide only in thine abiding joy. Lift 
 up my soul above the weary round of harassing 
 thoughts to thy eternal presence. Lift up my 
 soul to the pure, bright, serene, radiant atmos- 
 phere of thy presence, that there I may breathe 
 freely, there repose in thy love, there be at rest 
 from myself, and from all things that weary me ; 
 and thence return, arrayed with thy peace, to do 
 and bear what shall please thee. Amen. — Rev. 
 Dr. E. B. Pusey. 
 
 CI 
 Inwardly Renewed 
 
 Lord, what a change within us one short hour 
 Spent in thy presence will prevail to make! 
 What heavy burden from our bosoms take, 
 What parched grounds revive, as with a shower? 
 We kneel, and all around us seems to lower; 
 We rise, and all, the distant and the near, 
 Stands forth a sunny outline brave and clear. 
 
 100 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 We kneel, how weak! We rise, how full of power! 
 Why, wherefore, should we do ourselves this wrong, 
 Or others, that we are not always strong; 
 That we are ever overborne with care ; 
 That we should ever weak or heartless be, 
 Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer, 
 And joy and strength and courage are with thee? 
 
 — R, C. Trench, 
 
 CII 
 A Bifthday Pfaycr 
 
 Blessed be God for my creation and birth ; 
 for giving me a being from honest parents, fear- 
 ing God, and in a Christian and Protestant 
 country; for giving me perfect members and 
 senses, a sound reason, and a healthful consti- 
 tution ; for the means of grace, the assistances of 
 the Holy Spirit, and for the hope of glory; for 
 my good education; for all the known and un- 
 observed favors, providences, and deliverances, 
 by which my life has hitherto been preserved ; 
 most humbly beseeching thee, my God and Fa- 
 ther, to pardon my neglect or abuse of thy favors, 
 and that I have so very much forgotten thee, 
 in whom I live, and move, and have my being. 
 
 Good Lord, forgive me the great w^aste of my 
 precious time; the many days and years of 
 health, and the many opportunities of doing good, 
 which I have lost; and give me grace, that for 
 the time to come I may be truly wise, that I may 
 
 lOI 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 consider my latter end, and work out my salva- 
 tion with fear and trembling, ever remembering 
 ''that the night cometh when no man can work f ' 
 and that the day of my death may be better to me 
 than the day of my birth. 
 
 O gracious God, grant that before thou takest 
 from me that breath which thou gavest me, I 
 may truly repent of the errors of my life past; 
 that my sins may be forgiven, and my pardon 
 sealed in heaven; so that I may have a place of 
 rest in paradise with thy faithful servants, till 
 the general resurrection; when the good Lord 
 vouchsafe me a better and an everlasting life, 
 through Jesus Christ. Amen. — From Bishop 
 Wilson's Sacra Privata, 
 
 cm 
 
 For Constancy 
 
 Lord God of mercy, give to thy martyrs, con- 
 fessors, and all thy persecuted, constancy and 
 prudence, boldness and hope, a full faith, and a 
 never-failing charity. To all who are condemned 
 to death do thou minister comfort, a strong, a 
 quiet, and a resigned spirit; take from them the 
 fear of death, and all remaining affections to sin, 
 and all imperfections of duty, and cause them to 
 die full of grace, full of hope. And give to all 
 faithful, and particularly to them who have rec- 
 
 102 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 ommended themselves to the prayers of thy un- 
 worthy servant, a supply of all their needs, tem- 
 poral and spiritual, and, according to their several 
 states and necessities, rest and peace, pardon 
 and refreshment ; and show us all a mercy in the 
 day of judgment. Amen. — Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 CIV 
 
 His Way Is Best 
 
 God lets us go our way alone, till we are homesick and 
 
 distressed, 
 And humbly, then, come back to own his way is best. 
 
 He lets us thirst by Horeb's rock, and hunger in the 
 
 wilderness ; 
 Yet, at our feeblest, faintest knock, he waits to bless. 
 
 He lets us faint in far-off lands, and feed on husks, 
 
 and feel the smart, 
 Till we come home with empty hands and swelling 
 
 heart. 
 
 But then for us the robe and ring, the Father's welcome 
 
 and the feast. 
 While over us the angels sing — though last and least. 
 
 — British Weekly, 
 
 CV 
 A Fruit-bearing Day 
 
 Glorify thy holy name, O God, through us in 
 a fruit-bearing day. Help us to abide in Christ 
 that we may share his life and do his work. If 
 
 103 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 the channels of our thought and our desire are 
 checked with sin, purge us that we may bring 
 forth more fruit. In the morning hours of toil, 
 in noontime rest, in the work that draws to an 
 end with the sun setting, and in our evening 
 thoughts or cares abide thou with us and make 
 our hearts glad in thee. The night's rest and 
 the new strength the morning brings for soul 
 and body are from thee, and thine shall be our 
 praise in every gain and effort, in every joy and 
 grief, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — 
 The Congregationalist. 
 
 CVl 
 
 Before Studying the Word 
 
 Give me, O God, a love for thy Scriptures, and 
 a true understanding of them. O Jesus, open my 
 understanding, cause me to love thy word, and 
 to order my faith and life according to it. May 
 I, O Jesus, love thy word, make thy Gospel my 
 delight, and continue in the practice of thy law 
 unto my life's end. O Holy Spirit, make me to 
 understand, embrace, and love the truths of the 
 Gospel. Give, O God, thy blessing unto thy 
 word, that it may become effectual to my conver- 
 sion and salvation, and to the salvation of all that 
 read or hear it. Let thy gracious promises, O 
 God, contained in thy word, quicken my obedi- 
 
 104 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 ence. Let thy dreadful threatenings and judg- 
 ments upon sinners fright me from sin, and 
 obHge me to a speedy repentance, for Jesus 
 Christ's sake. Cause me, O God, to believe thy 
 word, to obey thy commands, to fear thy judg- 
 ments, and to hope in, and depend upon, thy 
 gracious promises, contained in thy holy word, 
 for Jesus Christ's sake. — From Sacra Privata, 
 by Bishop Wilson. 
 
 CVII 
 
 Watch over Us fot Good 
 
 O Lord our God, thy glory is above all our 
 thoughts, and thy mercy is over all thy works. 
 We are still living monuments of thy mercy ; for 
 thou hast not cut us off in our sins, but still 
 givest us a good hope and strong consolation 
 through grace. Thou hast sent thy only Son 
 into the world, ''that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish" in his sins, ''but have everlast- 
 ing life." O Lord, we believe ; help our unbelief, 
 and give us the true "repentance toward God, 
 and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," that we may 
 be in the number of those who do indeed repent 
 and "believe to the saving of the soul." "Being 
 justified by faith," let us "have peace with God, 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ;" let us "rejoice 
 in him through whom we have now redemption 
 
 105 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 in his blood;'' and let ''the love of God be shed 
 abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which 
 is given unto us." 
 
 And we pray that thou wilt be to us a Father of 
 mercies and a God of consolation, so that thou 
 wilt make us ''followers of God as dear children," 
 ever jealous over our hearts, and watchful over 
 our ways ; continually fearing to offend, and en- 
 deavoring to please thee. Thou knowest, O Lord, 
 all our temptations, and the sin that doth so easily 
 beset us. Thou knowest the devices of the 
 enemy, and the deceitfulness of our own hearts. 
 We pray thee, good Lord, that thou wilt arm us 
 with the whole armor of God. Uphold us with 
 thy free spirit, and watch over us for good 
 evermore. Amen. — John Wesley. 
 
 CVIII 
 O Mother-Heart, to thee I turn — 
 Comfort thy child, for thee I yearn: 
 Like a parched field my soul doth lie 
 Pining beneath a sultry sky; 
 O heavenly Dew, O gentle Rain, 
 Descend and bid it bloom again. 
 
 — G. Tersteegen. 
 
 CIX 
 The Night Also is Thine 
 
 ''O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in 
 wisdom hast thou made them all. The day is 
 
 1 06 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 thine, the night also is thine ; thou hast prepared 
 the Hght and the sun/' We render thee thanks 
 for all the benefits which thou hast bestowed on 
 the whole world; especially on us, whom thou 
 hast called to the knowledge of thy grace in 
 Christ Jesus. It is a marvelous love wherewith 
 thou hast loved us. Thou hast not dealt so with 
 all people; and as for thy great and precious 
 promises, they have not known them. 
 
 Accept, O merciful Father, the good resolu- 
 tions which thou hast inspired us with by thy 
 Spirit. Strengthen them, we beseech thee, with thy 
 continued grace, that no sudden desires, vehement 
 inclinations, ineffectual purposes, no, nor partial 
 performances, may lead us into a false opinion 
 of ourselves ; but that we may bring forth actu- 
 ally, and with a constant spirit, all the fruits of 
 righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus. 
 
 Deny not, O Lord, the desires of those souls 
 who would offer up themselves entirely to thy 
 service. But preserve us always in seriousness 
 of spirit. Let the sense of our weakness make 
 us watchful and diligent, the sense of our for- 
 mer negligence excite us to be fervent in spirit, 
 and the goodness of thy commands render us 
 fruitful and abundant in the work of the Lord. 
 O that all our pious affections may be turned into 
 actions of piety and holiness ; and may all our 
 actions be spirited with zeal, and all our zeal 
 
 107 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 regulated with prudence, and our prudence void 
 of all guile, and joined with perfect integrity of 
 heart; that, adorning our most holy faith here, 
 by an upright, charitable, and discreet conversa- 
 tion, we may receive praise in the day of the 
 Lord, and be numbered with thy saints in glory 
 everlasting. Amen. — John Wesley, 
 
 CX 
 
 Prayer of a Penitent 
 
 For, as for me, I am not worthy to be called 
 thy servant, much less am I worthy to be thy son ; 
 for I am the vilest of sinners and the worst of 
 men, a lover of the things of the world, and a 
 despiser of the things of God (proud and envi- 
 ous, lustful and intemperate), greedy of sin and 
 impatient of reproof, desirous to seem holy and 
 negligent of being so, transported with interest, 
 fooled with presumption and false principles, dis- 
 turbed with anger, with a peevish and unmortified 
 spirit, and disordered by a whole body of sin and 
 death. Lord, pardon all my sins for my Saviour's 
 sake ; thou who didst die for me, holy Jesus, save 
 me and deliver me; reserve not my sins to be 
 punished in the day of wrath and eternal venge- 
 ance ; but wash away my sins, and blot them out 
 of thy remembrance, and purify my soul with 
 the waters of repentance and the blood of the 
 
 io8 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 cross; that for what is past thy wrath may not 
 come out against me, and for the time to come I 
 may never provoke thee to anger or jealousy. O 
 just and dear God, be pitiful and gracious to thy 
 servant. Amen. — Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 CXI 
 
 In the Sanctuary 
 
 We beseech thee, Lord, open the heavens from 
 whence thy gifts descend to us, and from hence 
 may our hearts look back to thee. Grant that 
 while we receive the benefits which we implore, 
 we may render the service enjoined to us. Look 
 down from heaven, O Lord, behold and visit 
 this vine which thy right hand hath planted. 
 Strengthen the weak, relieve the contrite, confirm 
 the strong. Build them up in love, cleanse them 
 with purity, enlighten them with wisdom, keep 
 them with mercy. Thou who art the eternal 
 Shepherd of men, feed the hungry, give drink to 
 the thirsty, seek for the lost, convert the wander- 
 ing, bind up that which is broken ; may they feel 
 the touch of thy hand, and receive the joy of the 
 Holy Spirit, that they may remain blessed for 
 evermore. Almighty God, who fillest earth, and 
 air, and sea, and sky with thy infinite presence, 
 but bringest chiefly thy thought to life in the 
 house of prayer and the minds of men, give us 
 
 109 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 grace always to enter thy church with awe, and 
 so to call on thee in common devotion, that we 
 may go forth with a blessing, for thy goodness' 
 sake. — From Rowland Williams's Psalms and 
 Litanies. 
 
 CXII 
 Thy Will Is Best 
 
 I WOULD have climbed at early dawn 
 Up the steep hillside, toiling where 
 The paths led on through sun and shade, 
 Till I had won its summit fair; 
 I would have kept mine own rash will, 
 When, lo! He whispered me, 
 ^'Be still." 
 
 I would have rested, at the hush 
 Of eventide, by some calm stream, 
 And there, with folded hands, content. 
 Lived o'er again life's checkered dream; 
 But, ah ! through twilight's deepest ray 
 His clear voice thrilled me. 
 Whispering, ''Nay." 
 
 O God ! I thank thee, I have learned 
 That thine unerring will is best; 
 At thy command, that rest is toil. 
 That, with thy presence, toil is rest; 
 Content, through bright or shadowed way, 
 At thy sweet will to go 
 Or stay. 
 
 — Author unknown, 
 no 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CXIII 
 A Child's Pf ayer 
 
 O Lord, my most loving Saviour and merciful 
 Redeemer, who commandest that little children 
 should come unto thee, and didst take them up 
 in thine arms, lay thy hands upon and bless 
 them, look graciously upon me, who am one 
 of thy children devoted to thy service. Have 
 compassion on the weakness of my tender years, 
 and keep me from all evil and danger both in 
 body and soul. Make me always mindful of my 
 Creator in the days of my youth, and of that bap- 
 tismal vow that was made in my name. Make 
 me dutiful to my parents, loving to my associ- 
 ates, obedient to my governors and instructors, 
 and courteous and humble to all, that as I grow in 
 years I may grow m grace and wisdom and be in 
 favor with God and man. Guide and sanctify 
 me by thy Holy Spirit, that the longer I live the 
 better I may be, to the comfort of my parents, the 
 honor and glory of thee, my God, and my own 
 happiness both here and hereafter; and this I 
 beg for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen. — The 
 Congregationalist. 
 
 CXIV 
 A Ffcsh Begfinningf 
 
 Whom have I in heaven but thee, O Lord? 
 and there is none on earth that I will desire be- 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 sides thee. Thou art my God, and I will thank 
 thee; thou art my God, and I will serve thee. 
 Be thou my only Ruler and Governor. They that 
 have a convenient place to sleep in, and they 
 that have the comfort of sleep, have both great 
 reason to be thankful. And even they that want 
 these mercies ought to bless God, if in the midst 
 of their afflictions he is pleased to refresh them 
 with the comforts of grace. Therefore, O gra- 
 cious God, continue to me these favors so long, 
 and in such a measure, as shall most contribute 
 to thy honor, and my salvation. And in great 
 mercy support and relieve all that want these 
 blessings. Lord, make me ever mindful of my 
 infirmities and backslidings, that I may be more 
 watchful, and more importunate for grace for 
 the time to come. O Lord, grant that the ad- 
 versity of our souls may never find me off my 
 guard, or from under thy protection. O Lord, 
 obtain for me the spirit of mortification and self- 
 denial, that I may follow thee, as I hope to live 
 with thee forever. Amen. — From Bishop Wil- 
 son's Sacra Privata. 
 
 cxv 
 An Abundant Entrance 
 
 O LoRD^ we pray that we may be mindful of 
 what thou commandest us to do. May we not 
 be content with the mere attainment of life 
 
 112 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord, precious as this 
 is in the last degree, but may we seek to have it 
 more abundantly. May we be stimulated by the 
 exhortations of thy word, and the examples which 
 it holds up for our imitation, to strive after every 
 grace of the Christian character. May w^e add 
 to our faith, virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; 
 and to knowledge, temperance ; and to temper- 
 ance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and 
 to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly 
 kindness, charity; that so an entrance may be 
 ministered to us abundantly into the everlasting 
 kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 Amen. — British Weekly. 
 
 CXVI 
 
 Evening: Invocation 
 
 O MY God, let thy glorious name be duly 
 honored and loved by all the creatures which thou 
 hast made. Let thy infinite goodness and great- 
 ness be ever adored by all angels and men. May 
 thy Church be protected from all the powers of 
 darkness. O vouchsafe to all who call them- 
 selves by thy name one short glimpse of thy 
 goodness. May they once taste and see how 
 gracious thou art, that all things else may be 
 tasteless to them ; that their desires may be al- 
 ways flying up toward thee ; that they may render 
 
 113 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 thee love, and praise, and obedience, pure and 
 cheerful, constant and zealous, universal and uni- 
 form, like that the holy angels render thee in 
 heaven. 
 
 O thou Shepherd of Israel, vouchsafe to re- 
 ceive me this night and ever into thy protection ; 
 accept my poor services, and pardon the sinful- 
 ness of these and all my holy duties. O let it be 
 thy good pleasure shortly to put a period to sin 
 and misery, to infirmity and death, to complete 
 the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy king- 
 dom ; that we, and all that wait for thy salvation, 
 may eternally love and praise thee, O God the 
 Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, 
 throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. 
 — John Wesley, 
 
 CXVII 
 
 At Eventide 
 
 Almighty and everlasting God, at evening, 
 and morning, and at noonday, we humbly be- 
 seech thee, that thou wouldest drive from our 
 hearts the darkness of sin, and let us walk in the 
 true light, which shineth out from thy will for- 
 ever. Thine is the day, O Lord, and the night is 
 thine; grant that the Sun of Righteousness may 
 abide in our hearts, to drive away dark and 
 wicked thoughts ; through thy holy breathing 
 
 114 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 whereby thou puttest strength in us. We give 
 thee thanks, O Lord, who hast preserved us 
 through the day. We give thee thanks, who wilt 
 preserve us through the night. Bring us, we be- 
 seech thee, O Lord, in safety to the morning 
 hours, that thou mayest receive our praise at all 
 times, and we be thy people, and thou our God. 
 Amen. — From Psalms and Litanies, by Rowland 
 Williams, D,D. 
 
 CXVIII 
 
 Glorify Thy Name 
 
 O ETERNAL God, who hast made all things for 
 man, and man for thy glory, sanctify my body 
 and soul, my thoughts and my intentions, my 
 words and actions, that whatsoever I shall think, 
 or speak, or do, may be by me designed to the 
 glorification of thy name, and by thy blessing it 
 may be effective and successful in the work of 
 God, according as it can be capable. Lord, turn 
 my necessities into virtue, the works of nature 
 into the works of grace, by making them orderly, 
 regular, temperate, subordinate, and profitable to 
 ends beyond their own proper efficacy ; and let no 
 pride or self-seeking, no covetousness or revenge, 
 no impure mixture of unhandsome purposes, no 
 little ends and low imaginations pollute my spirit 
 and unhallow any of my words and actions ; but 
 
 115 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 let my body be a servant of my spirit, and both 
 body and spirit servants of Jesus ; that doing all 
 things for thy glory here, I may be partaker of 
 thy glory hereafter, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. — Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 CXIX 
 Send Me 
 
 Not mine to mount to courts where seraphs sing, 
 
 Or glad archangels soar on outstretched wing; 
 
 Not mine, in union with celestial choirs. 
 
 To sound heaven's trump or strike the gentler wires; 
 
 Not mine to stand enrolled at crystal gates. 
 
 Where Michael thunders or where Uriel waits. 
 
 But lesser worlds a Father's kindness know. 
 Be mine some simple service here below — 
 To weep with those who weep, their joy to share, 
 Their pains to solace or their burdens bear; 
 Some widow in her agony to meet, 
 Some exile in his new-found home to greet; 
 To serve some child of thine, and so serve thee. 
 Lo, here am I : to such a work send me. 
 
 —Dr. E. E, Hale, 
 
 cxx 
 
 At Thy Feet 
 
 Almighty Saviour, before whom all the 
 wicked are scattered as chaff before the wind, 
 may our hearts be so thoroughly convinced of thy 
 
 ii6 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 transcendent power and greatness, that we may 
 willingly lay ourselves at thy feet and worship 
 thee, lest thou destroy us by the blasting of the 
 breath of thy lips. Thou here rulest among thine 
 enemies ; come and rule also in our hearts ; and 
 may that carnal mind, which is enmity against 
 thee, be made thy footstool. Grant that thy 
 sacred word may not be unto us a savor of death 
 unto death, but a savor of life unto life, for the 
 sake of thine infinite love. Amen. — From Medi- 
 tations and Contemplations J by /. /. Rambach, 
 D.D. 
 
 CXXI 
 
 With a Resigned Will 
 
 I WILL love thee, O God; being satisfied that 
 all things, however strange and irksome they 
 appear, shall work together for good to those 
 that do so. I know in whom I have believed; I 
 have a Saviour at thy right hand, full of kind- 
 ness, full of care, full of power; he has prayed 
 for me, that this faith fail me not; and by this 
 faith I am persuaded, that neither tribulation, 
 nor anguish, nor persecution, nor famine, nor 
 nakedness, nor peril, nor sword, nor death which 
 I may fear, nor life which I may hope for, nor 
 things present which I feel, nor things to come 
 which I may apprehend, shall ever prevail so 
 
 117 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 far over me, as to make me not to resign my will 
 entirely to thee. In a humble, quiet, and duti- 
 ful submission, let me faithfully run the race that 
 is set before me, looking unto Jesus, the author 
 and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that 
 was set before him, despised the shame, endured 
 the cross, and is now seated at the right hand 
 of God ; to whom I most humbly beseech thee to 
 bring me in thy good time; and for whatever 
 shall fall out in the meanwhile, thy will be done. 
 Amen. — From Bishop Wilson's Sacra Privata. 
 
 CXXII 
 
 Lord of the Livingf 
 
 O THOU Eternal, in whose appointment our 
 life standeth, thou hast committed our work to us, 
 and we would commit our cares to thee. May we 
 feel that we are not our own, and that thou wilt 
 heed our wants, while we are intent upon thy 
 will. May we never dwell carelessly or say in our 
 hearts : "I am here, and there is none over me ;" 
 nor anxiously, as though our path were hid; 
 but with a mind simply fixed upon our trust, and 
 choosing nothing but the dispositions of thy 
 providence. More and more fill us with that pity 
 for others' troubles which comes from forgetful- 
 ness of our own; and the glad hope of the chil- 
 dren of eternity. And unto thee, the Beginning 
 
 ii8 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 and the End, Lord of the Hving, Refuge of the 
 dying, be thanks and praise forever! Amen. — 
 Rev, Dr. James Martineau. 
 
 CXXIII 
 
 A Litany 
 
 O THOU hope of all the ends of the earth, and 
 of them that remain in the broad sea; thou on 
 whom our fathers hoped, and were delivered ; 
 waited, and were not confounded ; my own hope 
 from my youth, and from my mother's breasts: 
 be thou my portion in the land of the living. In 
 thy nature and thy names, and in the experience 
 of those who sought thee, we find strength to lay 
 hold upon. O Lord, thou who art a rock and a 
 refuge, let us not be disappointed in our trust in 
 thee. Thou who knowest whereof we are made, 
 and whereby our shortcoming, have pity on all, 
 O Lord. Lord both of the dead and the living, 
 live we or die we, be thou our hope; have pity 
 on both living and dead. O Helper of the help- 
 less, and stronger than the strong, remember all 
 who are in distress of mind, body, or estate ; suc- 
 cor them according to their need. God of all 
 grace and truth, establish all who stand, and lift 
 up the fallen out of delusion or sin. Defender of 
 all on whom thou pourest out thy gifts, let thy 
 love be a perpetual ransom to the captive and 
 
 119 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 distressed. Grant that all thy children calling 
 upon thee may be joined in the fellowship of one 
 Holy Spirit. Remove not our candlestick, with 
 its imperfect light, out of its place, until thou 
 givest us better light. Amen. — From Psalms 
 and Litanies, by Rowland Williams, D,D. 
 
 CXXIV 
 
 Teach and Quicken Us 
 
 O Lord, our Father, teach us to know thee our 
 God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent; 
 and enable us to do thy will on earth, as it is done 
 in heaven. Give us to fear thee and to love thee, 
 to trust and delight in thee, and to cleave to thee 
 with full purpose of heart, that no temptations 
 may draw us or drive us from thee ; but that all 
 thy dispensations to us, and thy dealings with us, 
 may be the messengers of thy love to our souls. 
 Quicken us, O Lord, in our dullness, that we may 
 not serve thee in a lifeless and listless manner; 
 but may abound in thy work, and be fervent in 
 spirit, serving the Lord. And make us faithful 
 in all our intercourse with our neighbors, that we 
 may be ready to do good and bear evil, that we 
 may be just and kind, merciful and meek, peace- 
 able and patient, sober and temperate, humble 
 and self-denying, inoffensive and useful in the 
 
 120 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 world; that so glorifying thee here, we may be 
 glorified with thee in thy heavenly kingdom. 
 
 Day by day we magnify thee, O Lord, who 
 makest every day an addition to thy mercies. 
 We bless thee for preserving us the night past, 
 and for the rest thou gavest us therein. O cause 
 us to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; 
 for in thee do we trust. Cause us to know the way 
 wherein we should go, for we lift up our souls 
 unto thee. O take not thy Holy Spirit from us ; 
 but direct all our ways to please thee, our God. 
 Help us to see thy power, to own thy presence, 
 to admire thy wisdom, and to love thy goodness 
 in all thy creatures ; and by all, draw our hearts 
 still nearer to thee. Such thy mercy and grace 
 we beg for ourselves, and all ours and thine 
 everywhere in our great Mediator's name. Amen. 
 — John Wesley. 
 
 cxxv 
 Faith 
 
 Securely cabined in the ship below, 
 
 Through darkness and through storm I cross the sea, 
 
 A pathless wilderness of waves to me. 
 
 But yet I do not fear, because I know 
 
 That he who guided the good ship o'er that waste 
 
 Sees in the stars her shining pathway traced. 
 
 Blindfold I walk this life's bewildering maze: 
 Up flinty steep, through frozen mountain pass, 
 Through thorn-set barren and through deep morass; 
 
 121 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 But strong in faith I tread the uneven ways, 
 And bare my head unshrinking to the blast, 
 Because my Father's arm is round me cast; 
 And if the way seems rough, I only clasp 
 The hand that leads me with a firmer grasp. 
 
 — Anna C. Lynch Botta, 
 
 CXXVI 
 For Christian Rulers 
 
 O King of kings, and Prince of all the rulers 
 of the earth, give thy grace and spirit to all 
 Christian princes, the spirit of wisdom and 
 counsel, the spirit of government and godly fear. 
 Grant unto them to live in peace and honor, that 
 their people may love and fear them, and they 
 may love and fear God. Speak good unto their 
 hearts concerning the Church, that they may be 
 nursing fathers to it, fathers to the fatherless, 
 judges and avengers of the cause of widows; 
 that they may be compassionate to the wants of 
 the poor, and the groans of the oppressed; that 
 they may not vex or kill the Lord's people with 
 unjust or ambitious wars, but may feed the flock 
 of God, and may inquire after and do all things 
 which may promote peace, public honesty, and 
 holy religion; so administering things present, 
 that they may not fail of the everlasting glories 
 of the world to come, where all thy faithful 
 people shall reign kings forever. Amen. — 
 Jeremy Taylor, 
 
 122 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CXXVII 
 
 Renunciation 
 
 Great and glorious God, who alone art worthy 
 of our love and service, cure me of, and preserve 
 me from, the sin and vanity of admiring this 
 world. Give me grace to renounce all covetous 
 desires, all love of riches and pleasures ; to de- 
 sire only what is necessary, and to be content with 
 what thou, O Lord, thinkest so; not to be 
 troubled at the loss or want of anything besides 
 thy favor; that no business, no pleasures, may 
 divert me from the thoughts of the world to 
 come ; that I may cheerfully part with all these 
 things when thou requirest it of me; and that I 
 may ever be prepared to do so, dispose me to a 
 temperance in all things, and to lay up my treas- 
 ure in heaven, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. — 
 From Bishop Wilson s Sacra Privata. 
 
 CXXVIII 
 
 A Meek and Quiet Spirit 
 
 Grant unto us. Almighty God, of thy good 
 Spirit, that quiet heart, and that patient lowliness 
 to which thy comforting Spirit comes; that we, 
 being humbled toward thee, and loving toward 
 one another, may have our hearts prepared for 
 that peace of thine which passeth understand- 
 
 123 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 ing; which, if we have, the storms of Hfe can 
 hurt us but Httle, and the cares of Hfe vex us not 
 at all; in presence of which death shall lose its 
 sting, and the grave its terror; and we, in calm 
 joy, walk all the days of our appointed time, 
 until our great change shall come. Amen. — 
 George Dawson. 
 
 CXXIX 
 
 A Child^s Morningf Prayer 
 
 O THOU eternal Fountain of all wisdom, whom 
 I cannot see or know but by the means of thy 
 own light, vouchsafe to manifest thyself to my 
 soul, and teach me to know aright thee the only 
 true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. 
 
 blessed Sun of Righteousness, arise upon me 
 with healing in thy wings, to scatter all the clouds 
 of folly and ignorance that overspread my soul. 
 Open my eyes to see the wondrous things thy 
 love has wrought. Suffer me not to remain in 
 darkness concerning anything that is needful for 
 me to know in order to my present peace and my 
 eternal glory. O Lord, incline mine ears to 
 wisdom, and my heart to understanding, that 
 
 1 may follow on to know the Lord, and increase 
 in the knowledge and love of God. Give me, O 
 Lord, that highest learning, to know thee; and 
 that best wisdom, to know myself. Command 
 
 124 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 a blessing on my studies and endeavors ; and bless 
 me, and help me, Lord, in my learning all such 
 things as shall stand me in stead, and do me 
 good. Let my soul and body, and all their 
 powers, be under thy conduct, and employed to 
 thy glory. Show me thy ways, O Lord, and 
 lead me into truth; and whatever I am ignorant 
 of, unto me let it be given to know the mysteries 
 of thy kingdom ; and let me count all things but 
 dross for the excellency of the knowledge of 
 Christ Jesus my Lord; to whom, with thee and 
 the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory forever 
 and ever. Amen. — From John Wesley's Prayers 
 for Children, 
 
 cxxx 
 
 In the Eveningf 
 
 Forgive us, O Lord, if we have this day said 
 or done anything to increase the pain of the 
 world. Pardon the unkind word, the impatient 
 gesture, the hard and selfish deed, the failure to 
 show sympathy and kindly help where we had 
 opportunity, but missed it ; and enable us to live 
 that we may daily do something to lessen the 
 tide of human sorrow and add to the sum of 
 human happiness. We have our own sorrows, 
 O Father; we wait for footsteps that do not 
 come ; we yearn for sympathy which is not given ; 
 we knock at doors that do not open ; we think of 
 
 125 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 graves that hide our dearest treasures; we fear 
 the loneHness, the changes and chances of this 
 mortal Hfe and the mystery of that unknown 
 future that stretches away in the dark Hke a 
 moor beyond the Hght of home. But thou art 
 ours, and we are thine ; nothing can ever separate 
 us from thee. Do not leave us orphans, but come 
 to us by thy Son and by thy Spirit. Only let us 
 not miss the lesson of pain and sorrow and long 
 waiting, but may we be made perfect through 
 suffering. Amen. — The Congregationalist. 
 
 CXXXI 
 Just fof To-day 
 
 Just for to-day; to-morrow is not mine, 
 
 And may be spent where days unclouded shine. 
 
 This cross is heavy for an upward way, 
 
 My weak hands tremble; give me strength to-day. 
 
 Just for to-day; the poorest child am I 
 That heavenward looks, yet ravens when they cry 
 Receive Thy bounty, though despised are they; 
 Remember, then, this lowly heart to-day. 
 
 Just for to-day; thy manna food I ask 
 
 That I may go rejoicing to my task. 
 
 And if from cooling streams my feet should stray, 
 
 Let some rock prove a fountain for to-day. 
 
 Just for to-day; it is much better so; 
 I might grow arrogant did I not know 
 
 126 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 My poverty, yet find it sweet to say, 
 "It is thy gift, the blessing of to-day." 
 
 Just for to-day ; what more can heart demand 
 From one who will each longing understand? 
 Thy love withholds no treasure, so I pray: 
 *'Choose what may come, but give me strength to-day." 
 
 — Myra Goodwin Plants. 
 
 CXXXII 
 
 A Child^s Evening Ptaycr 
 
 Almighty God, who art the gracious preserver 
 of all mankind, I desire now to offer unto thee 
 my praise and thanksgivings for all the blessings 
 thou hast this day bestowed upon me. I confess, 
 O my God, that I am unworthy of the least of all 
 thy mercies; for I have gone astray like a lost 
 sheep. I have followed too much the devices and 
 desires of my own heart. I have offended against 
 thy holy laws. I have left undone those things 
 which I ought to have done, and have done those 
 things which I ought not to have done ; and there 
 is no health in me. But thou, O Lord, have 
 mercy upon me, a miserable offender. Spare me, 
 O Lord, who now confess my faults unto thee. 
 Enable me to bewail my manifold sins and of- 
 fenses, which I have from time to time most 
 grievously committed, by thought, word, and 
 deed, against thy divine majesty. Have mercy 
 
 127 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 upon me, have mercy upon me, most merciful 
 Father; for my Saviour Jesus Christ's sake, 
 forgive me all that is past, and grant me thy 
 grace, that I may ever hereafter serve and please 
 thee, in newness of life, to the honor and glory 
 of thy name, through Jesus Christ my Lord and 
 Saviour. Take me under thy gracious care and 
 keeping this night ; save and defend me from all 
 dangers. Grant unto my body rest in my bed, 
 and unto my soul rest in thyself ; and be thou my 
 God and my guide, my hope and my help, my 
 joy and my comfort, now and for evermore, 
 through Jesus Christ my Redeemer. Amen. — 
 From John Wesley's Prayers for Children. 
 
 CXXXIII 
 
 By Day and by Nigfht 
 
 O Lord our God, who art the eternal Shep- 
 herd and Guardian of the souls of men, look upon 
 thy servants and thine inheritance. For to thee 
 thy servants bow the head, and lift up their 
 voice, waiting for thy pardon and salvation. 
 Guard them at all times, and this evening and 
 the ensuing night, from every adverse working 
 of any enemy, and from idle thoughts and wicked 
 imaginations. O Lord our God, refresh us with 
 quiet sleep when we are wearied with the day's 
 labor; that being assisted with the help which 
 
 128 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 our weakness needs, we may be devoted to thee 
 in body and in mind. Be present, O Lord, to our 
 prayers, and protect us by day and night ; that in 
 all successive changes of time we may be 
 strengthened by thine unchangeableness, who 
 art our Father forever. Amen. — From Psalms 
 and Litanies, by Rowland Williams, D.D, 
 
 CXXXIV 
 
 Lord, We Need Thee 
 
 O Lord, our Father, thou hast promised to 
 satisfy the longing soul, and to fill the hungry 
 soul with goodness. Thou hast declared that they 
 who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall 
 be filled. We come to thee pleading the promises 
 of thy word, and crying out to thee in our con- 
 scious need. Our burdens, our sins, our sor- 
 rows, and our wants are more than can be 
 numbered. We need a deeper knowledge of our- 
 selves, a penitential sorrow in view of our trans- 
 gressions, a vivid sense of our danger, a larger 
 vision of thy compassion. Beyond all else, O 
 Lord, we need thee — thy love, thy renewing 
 Spirit, thy cleansing grace, thine abundant mercy. 
 Waken within us a new longing for thyself. 
 May our souls cry out after the living God, and 
 in thy help and grace may we be blessed and 
 satisfied. Amen. — /. B, Y. 
 
 129 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 cxxxv 
 
 God^s Mercy 
 
 O GoD^ we look back with amazement at thy 
 mercy. Truly, hadst thou dealt with us after our 
 sins, thou wouldst have forsaken such rebellious 
 creatures as we are, and cast us off forever. We 
 have been indifferent to thy claims upon us. We 
 have not kept thy commandments. We have 
 accepted and enjoyed thy mercies, unmindful of 
 the loving hand which daily dispenses them. We 
 have permitted the world, with its vanities, to 
 drive thee away from our thoughts, and to usurp 
 that place in our hearts which should be thine, 
 O Lord. We have followed the devices and de- 
 sires of our own evil hearts, instead of adoring 
 and loving and serving thee. And yet thou art 
 with us still. Our peaceful home, our numerous 
 domestic comforts, our health and strength, our 
 bonds of family love, our precious friendships, 
 our pleasant relationship to many around us, 
 and the sources of gratification thou dost open 
 before us, all declare thy forbearance, long-suffer- 
 ing, bountifulness, and patient fatherly love. 
 Forgive us, guide us, vSave us. For Christ's 
 sake. Amen. — British Weekly, 
 
 130 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CXXXVI 
 Over It All 
 
 Over it all — the care and the fret, 
 
 The mixture of joy and sad regret, 
 
 The anxious thought and the burdened heart, 
 
 The bitter loss and the cruel smart — 
 
 Over it all — this puzzling dream — 
 
 His glad love shines with holy beam. 
 
 Over it all — the hope and the fear, 
 
 The struggle for right when wrong is near, 
 
 The kind intent, though the words be cold, 
 
 The prayer for patience and love's sweet hold — 
 
 Over it all his justice lies 
 
 Unchanged by sudden or dark surprise. 
 
 Over it all — the day and the night — 
 The hours of dark, the seasons of light, 
 Mistakes and blunders and faults and all 
 The pitiful cries from those who fall — 
 His kindness waits to help and bless 
 With a Father's touch of tenderness. 
 
 And he sees it all and reads aright 
 As we cannot do with blinded sight. 
 And we dare not blame, we dare not chide 
 When others falter or turn aside; 
 We see in part, we know but in part, 
 The human thought and the human heart; 
 And 'tis well to leave to his own care 
 The open judgment — it must be fair — 
 And give him thanks that over it all 
 His mercy answers his children's call. 
 
 — Anna Wilson Simmons. 
 131 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CXXXVII 
 
 A Child's Devotions 
 
 O Lord God Almighty, Fountain of all good- 
 ness, and Father of all mercies, I desire again to 
 bow my knee before thy holy majesty, humbly 
 beseeching thee to accept my praise and thanks- 
 giving for thy mercies to me in the night season. 
 I laid me down and slept, and rose up again in 
 safety; for it was thou only, O Lord, that sus- 
 tainedst me. And now, O my soul, return unto 
 thy rest. Look upon me, O Lord, in thy rich 
 mercy, and, for thy dear Son's sake, be gracious 
 unto my soul. Lighten my darkness, I beseech 
 thee, O Lord, and let the Dayspring from on high 
 visit me. Enable me to cast away all the works 
 of darkness, and to put upon me the armor of 
 light, that I may be able to renounce the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil ; to keep thy holy will and 
 commandments, and to walk in the same all the 
 days of my life. Give me, O Lord, wisdom to 
 know the things that belong to my peace, before I 
 go hence, and am no more seen. Graft in my 
 heart the love of thy name, increase in me true 
 religion, and nourish me with all goodness. Give 
 me the spirit to think and do always such things 
 as be rightful. Teach me to ask and seek only 
 such things as shall please thee and profit my 
 soul. Give me such a measure of thy grace, that 
 
 132 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 I may run the way of thy commandments, obtain 
 thy gracious promises, and be made a partaker of 
 thy heavenly treasures. Pour down upon me the 
 abundance of thy mercy. Give me more than I 
 can either desire or deserve. O give me the in- 
 crease of faith, hope, and love ; and keep me ever 
 by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead me 
 to all things useful. Let thy grace always pre- 
 cede and follow me, that I may be continually 
 given to all good works, and may always glorify 
 my Father which is in heaven. These, and every 
 other blessing, for me, and for thy whole Church, 
 I humbly beg in the name and for the sake of 
 the merits of Jesus Christ my Redeemer. Amen. 
 — From John Wesley's Prayers for Children, 
 
 CXXXVIII 
 
 A Morning: G)Ucct 
 
 O Lord our heavenly Father, Almighty and 
 Everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to 
 the beginning of this day ; defend us in the same 
 with thy mighty power ; and grant that this day 
 we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of 
 danger; but that all our doings, being ordered 
 by thy governance, may be righteous in thy sight ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — The 
 Prayer Book, 
 
 133 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CXXXIX 
 
 For Patience 
 
 O Lord Jesus, grant me patience, after thine 
 own example, to bear thy holy will in all things. 
 Where shall we take our pattern but from thee? 
 Thou callest thy followers thy friends. Thou 
 didst stoop down to wash their feet who were 
 not worthy to untie thy shoe. Thou didst forgive 
 and restore Peter, when he had abjured thee. 
 Thou didst vouchsafe to satisfy Thomas, who 
 would not believe but upon his own terms. Thou 
 didst forgive and pray for thy bloody persecu- 
 tors. O thou Fountain and Pattern of love, 
 grant that I may love thee above all things, and 
 my neighbor as myself. Amen. — From Bishop 
 Wilson's Sacra Privata. 
 
 CXL 
 A Child^s Ptayer 
 O Lord God Almighty, Father of angels and 
 men, I praise and bless thy holy name for all thy 
 goodness and loving-kindness to me and all man- 
 kind. I bless thee for my creation, preservation, 
 and all the blessings of this life; but above all, 
 for thy great love in the redemption of the world 
 by our Lord Jesus Christ. I bless thee for pre- 
 serving me in the night past, and bringing me 
 safe to the beginning of a new day. Defend me 
 
 134 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 in the same way with thy mighty power, and 
 grant that this day I fall into no sin, neither run 
 into any kind of danger ; but let all my doings be 
 so ordered by thy governance that I may do al- 
 ways that which is righteous in thy sight, through 
 Jesus Christ my Redeemer. Grant me such 
 grace that I may be able to withstand the tempta- 
 tions of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and 
 with a pure heart and mind to follow the steps of 
 my gracious Redeemer. Keep me, I beseech thee, 
 O Lord, from all things hurtful to my soul or 
 body, and grant me thy pardon and peace, that, 
 being cleansed from all my sins, I may serve thee 
 with a quiet mind, bring forth plenteously the 
 fruit of good works, and continue in the same 
 unto my life's end, through Jesus Christ my Sav- 
 iour and Redeemer. Amen. — From John Wes- 
 ley's Prayers for Children. 
 
 CXLI 
 
 The Thingfs to ODme 
 
 O Lord, may the thoughts of death, and of 
 what must follow, by the grace of God mortify 
 in me all carnal security, and fondness for this 
 world, and all that is in it, the lust of the flesh, 
 the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. And O 
 that I may make my calling and election sure, 
 that I may die in peace, and rest in the mansions 
 
 135 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 of glory, in hope of a blessed resurrection, and a 
 favorable judgment at the great day. And may 
 the consideration of a judgment to come oblige 
 me to examine, to try, and to judge myself, that 
 I may prevent a severe judgment of God, by a 
 true repentance, and lead a life answerable to 
 amendment of life, and that I may find mercy 
 at the great day. O may the hopes of heaven and 
 happiness sweeten all the troubles of this mortal 
 life. O Lord Jesus, who hast redeemed us with 
 thy precious blood, make me to be numbered 
 with thy saints in glory everlasting. O let my 
 name be found written in the Lamb's book of 
 life at the great day. Amen. — From Bishop 
 Wilson's Sacra Privata, 
 
 CXLII 
 
 An Evcningf Prayer 
 
 O LoRD^ thou wast before all, thou art above 
 all, and thy years shall not fail. Thou art the 
 Searcher of our hearts ; thou knowest the dullness 
 and hardness, the vanity and deceitfulness, of 
 them ; we were born sinners, and so have wc 
 lived. We have added sin to sin ; we have abused 
 thy great and manifold mercies, tempted thy 
 patience, and despised thy goodness ; and justly 
 mightest thou have cast us into outer darkness, 
 where is wailing and gnashing of teeth. 
 
 136 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 But of thy loving-kindness there is no number. 
 Thou still callest us to return to thee ; and who- 
 soever cometh to thee, thou wilt in nowise cast 
 out. O meet us with thy heavenly grace, that 
 we may be able to come to thee. Be thou gra- 
 ciously pleased to stretch forth thy hand, and 
 loose the chains wherewith our souls are en- 
 tangled. O free us from every weight of sin, 
 from every yoke of bondage. O help us to feel, 
 and bewail, and forsake all our sins ; and let us 
 never want the comfortable assurance of thy 
 forgiveness of them, thy acceptance of us, and 
 thy love to us, in the blessed Son of thy eternal 
 love. Amen. — John Wesley, 
 
 CXLIII 
 Strength for the Day 
 
 Strength for the day! At early dawn I stand 
 Helpless and weak, and with unrested eyes, 
 Watching for day. Before its portals lies 
 
 A low black cloud — a heavy iron band. 
 
 Slowly the mist is lifted from the land, 
 And pearl and amber gleam across the skies, 
 Gladdening my upward gaze with sweet surprise. 
 
 I own the sign ; I know that He whose hand 
 
 Hath fringed these somber clouds with ruby ray, 
 And changed that iron bar to molten gold, 
 
 Will to my wandering steps be Guide and Stay, 
 
 Breathe o'er my wavering heart his rest for aye, 
 And give my waiting, folded palms to hold 
 
 His blessed morning boon — strength for the day. 
 
 — Rachel G. Also p. 
 137 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CXLIV 
 
 The Healer of Sorrow 
 
 Almighty God, we would speak to thee as the 
 healer of sorrow, the deliverer of bondsmen, the 
 Saviour of souls. Thy Son lived for us, died for 
 us, and for us rose again, and for us he inter- 
 cedes ; we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. May 
 we feel that we are involved in Christ, inwrought 
 into his very thought and purpose and prayer; 
 therein may we find our steadfastness, the as- 
 surance of our heaven, and our immortality. Dry 
 the tears no human hand can touch ; take hold of 
 the hand of the blind, and lead them by a way 
 they cannot see, but may their hearts glow with 
 love as they think of the sacred end. Make the 
 bed of the sick ; watch by those who are suffering 
 from solitariness ; save the minds that tremble on 
 the brink of madness ; turn back the purposes of 
 all wicked hearts; break the arm of tyranny, 
 and humble in the dust the pride that is not 
 founded upon righteousness ; and thus bring us 
 all, by a way short or long, difficult or easy, to the 
 home, the resting place, the sanctuary, of thy 
 throne. Amen. — Joseph Parker. 
 
 138 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CXLV 
 An Upward Look 
 O God our Father, do thou keep us from all 
 narrow-mindedness and small-heartedness ; from 
 all prejudice of every kind ; from all dislike to in- 
 dividuals and nationalities ; from envy of the 
 rich, and from contempt of the poor ; from wor- 
 shiping wealth, or trying to obtain it through 
 injustice to others. Lord, help us to rise to the 
 dignity of our divine destiny; and set our affec- 
 tions upon things above, where Christ sitteth at 
 thy right hand, and at last be translated into the 
 kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 
 to whom with thee, the Father, and the Holy 
 Spirit, be honor and glory forever. Amen. — 
 Christian World Pulpit, 
 
 CXLVI 
 A Collect 
 
 Almighty God, who hast given us grace at 
 
 this time with one accord to make our common 
 
 supplications unto thee ; and dost promise that 
 
 when two or three are gathered in thy name thou 
 
 wilt grant their requests: fulfill now, O Lord, 
 
 the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may 
 
 be most expedient for them ; granting us in this 
 
 world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world 
 
 to come life everlasting. Amen. — St, Chrysos- 
 
 torn, 
 
 139 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CXLVII 
 
 Keep Me, Lord 
 
 Teach me, O Lord, to number my days that I 
 may apply my heart unto wisdom; ever to re- 
 member my last end, that I may not dare to sin 
 against thee. Let thy holy angels be ever pres- 
 ent with me to keep me in all my ways from 
 the malice and violence of the spirits of dark- 
 ness, from evil company, and the occasions and 
 opportunities of evil, from perishing in popular 
 judgments, from all the ways of sinful shame, 
 from the hands of all mine enemies, from a sinful 
 life, and from despair in the day of my death. 
 Then, O Lord Jesus, shine gloriously upon me; 
 let thy mercies and the light of thy countenance 
 sustain me in all my agonies, weaknesses, and 
 temptations. Give me opportunity of a prudent 
 and spiritual guide, and of receiving the holy 
 sacrament; and let thy loving Spirit so guide 
 me in the ways of peace and safety, that with 
 the testimony of a good conscience and the sense 
 of thy mercies and refreshment, I may depart 
 this life in the unity of the Church, in the love of 
 God, and a certain hope of salvation through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord and most blessed Sav- 
 iour. Amen. — Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 140 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CXLVIII 
 The Larger Prayer 
 
 At first I prayed for Light : 
 
 Could I but see the way, 
 How grandly, swiftly, would I walk 
 
 To everlasting day ! 
 
 And next I prayed for Strength, 
 
 That I might tread the road 
 With firm, unfaltering feet, and win 
 
 The heavens' serene abode. 
 
 And then I asked for Faith: 
 
 Could I but trust my God, 
 I'd live enfolded in his peace, 
 
 Though foes were all abroad. 
 
 But now I pray for Love, 
 
 Deep love to God and man: 
 A living love that will not fail, 
 
 However dark his plan; 
 
 And Light and Strength and Faith 
 
 Are opening everywhere ! 
 God only waited for me till 
 
 I prayed the larger prayer. 
 
 — Edna Dean Cheney. 
 
 CXLIX 
 
 Lo^ I Come 
 
 O THOU who art the Way, the Truth, and the 
 Life, thou hast said no man can follow thee, 
 
 141 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 unless he renounce himself. I know, O Saviour, 
 that thou hast laid nothing upon us but what the 
 design of thy love made necessary for us. Thou 
 sawest our disease, our idolatrous self-love, 
 whereby we fell away from God, to be as gods 
 ourselves, to please ourselves, and to do our own 
 will. Lo, I come ! May I ever renounce my own, 
 and do thy blessed will in all things ! 
 
 I know, O God, thou didst empty thyself of thy 
 eternal glory, and tookest upon thee ''the form of 
 a servant." Thou who madest all men to serve 
 and please thee, didst not please thyself, but wast 
 the servant of all. Thou, O Lord of the hosts of 
 heaven and earth, didst yield thy cheeks to be 
 smitten, thy back to be scourged, and thy hands 
 and feet to be nailed to an accursed tree. Thus 
 didst thou, our great Master, renounce thyself; 
 and can we think much of renouncing our vile 
 selves? My Lord and my God, let me not pre- 
 sume to be above my Master ! Let it be the one 
 desire of my heart to be as my Master ; to do, not 
 my own will, but the will of him that sent me. 
 Amen. — John Wesley. 
 
 CL 
 
 Thou Fillest All Things 
 
 O LoRD^ thou fillest all things with light, and 
 all the creatures that thou hast made will rejoice 
 
 142 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 in the noonday of thy smile. Say to those who 
 are over-weighted, overborne with sorrow, trial, 
 difficulty, and perplexity, that there is a day 
 coming when there shall be no more sighing or 
 groaning or burden-bearing, neither shall there 
 be any m.ore pain. Whisper to their hearts, 
 ''Sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Thou 
 doest all things on a grand scale. Thou dost 
 load the lily and the daisy with dew. Thou 
 dost not spare any of thy love, the prodigality, 
 the abundance, the overflowing, the overmuch- 
 ness of thy love. The sunshine that falls off the 
 little globe we inhabit fills with morning light 
 worlds without number. Thou dost give with- 
 out impoverishment, and if thou didst withhold, 
 it would not enrich thee. The river of God is 
 full of water, and abundance stands at thy right 
 hand like an angel, representing the fullness and 
 the tenderness of thy compassion. Hear us, help 
 us, bless us this day, for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 — British Weekly, 
 
 CLI 
 
 Help Us to Believe 
 
 Save us, we beseech thee, O God, from ever 
 attempting to make our intelligence the measure 
 of thine. May the contemplation of thy knowl- 
 edge help us to see our own ignorance. May 
 
 143 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 the manifestation of thy perfections in nature 
 and providence produce in us a just sense of our 
 own littleness and nothingness. What, O God, 
 can we know, compared with thy knowledge? 
 What can we do, compared with what thou doest ? 
 Truly we might be crushed like the moth — we 
 are as dust and ashes in thy sight. But more — 
 much more, O God, are we amazed when we try 
 to know what is included in sin and holiness, to 
 comprehend the mysteries of good and evil. Here 
 also thou knowest all things. May we be willing 
 to learn from thee. May we believe sin to be 
 what thy word declares it to be. May we be- 
 lieve that what it has done upon our nature is 
 what that word affirms it to have done. We 
 confess, O Lord, that thou alone knowest our 
 case as it is, and that thou alone canst minister 
 to it effectually. Thou art the one physician, by 
 whose healing power we may be made whole. 
 Amen. — Anonymous, 
 
 CLII 
 
 Let None of Us Be Lost 
 
 O FAITHFUL and merciful Saviour, thou 
 who lookest on every soul, which the Father hath 
 given thee, as a precious jewel, and makest it thy 
 concern to secure and return it to him unhurt at 
 the last day: let this inspire us with thy holy 
 
 144 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 confidence, and exceeding joy, as knowing that 
 no one can snatch us out of thine almighty hand, 
 and that thy mediatorial prayer will be fulfilled 
 in us also, if we do but continue in thy ways. 
 Keep us, then, as the apple of thine eye, that 
 none of us may be lost ; but that, one day, we may 
 be where thou art, and see thy transcendent 
 glory. Grant this, O Lord, for the sake of thy 
 meritorious intercession. Amen. — From Ram- 
 bach's Meditations and Contemplations, 
 
 CLIII 
 
 Sabbath Invocation 
 
 Forth from out of thine infinite fullness, O 
 thou whose thoughts move the endless procession 
 of summer in all fruitfulness and beauty, forth 
 from thine own self, the Center of excellence, 
 give to us, this day, life and light and joy, that 
 we may seem to ourselves to be enwrapped by our 
 God, to live in him, to partake of him, and to be 
 apprehended by him. Remove all doubts, all 
 darkness, all misapprehension from our minds ; 
 and as thou dost blow away the clouds and 
 storms, that we may behold the stars by night 
 and the sun by day, so may our fear and care be 
 driven away, that this morning we may behold 
 thee, and rejoice in thee, feel thy life and find 
 warmth in thee. This is our privilege and thy 
 
 145 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 gift. Behold our weakness, and help us to such 
 strength as is needed. May all holy thoughts go 
 forth ascending; and before thee may our poor 
 sacrifice — the best that we can offer, and yet 
 poor— be acceptable to thee, not for its sake, but 
 for the sake of the love which thou bearest toward 
 us, thy children, and for thine own name's sake. 
 Amen. — Henry Ward Beecher. 
 
 CUV 
 Fof the Spirit of Devotion 
 
 O Lord my God, thou art all my good, and 
 who am I that I should dare to speak unto thee ? 
 I am the very poorest of thy servants, yea, indeed 
 I am much poorer and more despicable than I 
 know or dare to say. Nevertheless remember, O 
 Lord, that I am nothing, I have nothing, and can 
 do nothing. Thou only art good, just, and holy; 
 thou canst do all things, art over all things, fillest 
 all things, leaving empty only the sinner. Call 
 to mind thy tender mercies, and fill my heart 
 with thy grace, thou who wilt not that thy work 
 should return to thee void. 
 
 How can I bear this miserable life unless thy 
 mercy and grace strengthen me ? Turn not away 
 thy face from me; delay not thy visitation. 
 Withdraw not thou thy comfort from me, lest 
 my soul ^^gasp after thee as a thirsty land." 
 
 146 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Lord, teach me to do thy will, teach me to walk 
 humbly and uprightly before thee, for thou art 
 my wisdom, who knowest me in truth, and 
 knewest me before the world was made and be- 
 fore I was born into the world. — Frotn Imitatio 
 Christi, 
 
 CLV 
 Life's Answer 
 
 I KNOW not if the dark or bright 
 
 Shall be my lot : 
 If that wherein my hopes delight 
 
 Be best, or not. 
 
 It may be mine to drag for years 
 
 Toil's heavy chain: 
 Or day and night my meat be tears 
 
 On bed of pain. 
 
 Dear faces may surround my hearth, 
 
 With smiles and glee: 
 Or I may dwell alone, and mirth 
 
 Be strange to me. 
 
 My bark is wafted to the strand 
 
 By breath divine: 
 And on the helm there rests a hand 
 
 Other than mine. 
 
 One who has known in storms to sail 
 
 I have on board : 
 Above the raving of the gale 
 
 I hear my Lord. 
 147 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 He holds me when the billows smite, 
 
 I shall not fall: 
 If sharp, 'tis short; if long, 'tis light; 
 
 He tempers all. 
 
 Safe to the land — safe to the land. 
 
 The end is this: 
 And then with him go hand in hand 
 
 Far into bliss. 
 
 —Henry Alford, D,D. 
 
 CLVI 
 
 For Missions 
 
 Almighty God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ 
 didst give commandment to the holy apostles, 
 that they should go into all the world and 
 preach the Gospel to every creature, grant to us 
 whom thou hast called into thy Church a ready 
 will to obey thy word, and fill us with a hearty 
 desire to make thy way known upon earth, thy 
 saving health among all nations. Look with com- 
 passion upon the heathen that have not known 
 thee, and on the multitudes that are scattered 
 abroad as sheep having no shepherd. O heaven- 
 ly Father, Lord of the harvest, have respect, we 
 beseech thee, to our prayers, and send forth 
 laborers into thine harvest. Fit and prepare 
 them by thy grace for the work of their 
 ministry; give them the spirit of power and of 
 
 148 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 love and of a sound mind; strengthen them to 
 endure hardness ; and grant that by their life and 
 doctrine they may set forth thy glory, and set 
 forward the salvation of all men; through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. — Bishop Lancelot An- 
 drewes. 
 
 CLVII 
 For India 
 
 O God, who hast made of one blood all nations 
 of men to dwell upon the face of thy whole earth, 
 and who didst send thy blessed Son to preach 
 peace to them that are afar off and to them that 
 are nigh: grant that all the people of Hindu, 
 Buddhist, and Mohammedan lands may feel after 
 thee and fmd thee ; and hasten, O Lord, the ful- 
 fillment of thy promise to pour out thy Spirit 
 upon all flesh. 
 
 O Lord God, who rulest in the kingdoms of 
 men and givest them to whomsoever thou wilt, 
 we present our humble supplication before thee 
 in behalf of India. Give us a spirit of true com- 
 passion for the multitudes in that land, who yet 
 walk in darkness and the shadow of death. Suf- 
 fer them no longer to bow down to idols which 
 their own hands have made. Lead them from 
 the corrupt worship of false gods to worship 
 thee in the beauty of holiness. Have pity on 
 
 149 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 their blindness, their misplaced confidence, their 
 mistaken zeal, their self-inflicted sufferings. 
 Teach them the pure mystery of the incarnation 
 of thy blessed Son. Deliver them from their 
 dread of the powers of darkness. Raise up 
 among them, O Lord, teachers of thy truth, who 
 may lead them to embrace the holy faith of thy 
 Church; for thy mercy's sake, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen. — Bishop Lancelot An- 
 drewes. 
 
 CLVIII 
 Needed Blessingfs 
 
 We ask not that our path be always bright, 
 But for thy aid to walk therein aright, 
 That thou, O Lord, through all its devious way, 
 Wilt give us strength sufficient to our day. 
 For this, for this we pray. 
 
 Not for the fleeting joys that earth bestows, 
 Not for exemption from its many woes ; 
 But that, come joy or woe, come good or ill, 
 With childlike faith we trust thy guidance still, 
 And do thy holy will. 
 
 Teach us, dear Lord, to find the latent good 
 That sorrow yields, when rightly understood: 
 And for the frequent joy that crowns our days 
 Help us with grateful hearts our hymns to raise, 
 Of thankfulness and praise. 
 
 — William H, Burleigh. 
 150 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CLIX 
 
 Prayer of Motherhood 
 
 Father in heaven, it is by the vision of thy 
 relation to us that we can apprehend our relation 
 to these little ones. As we have accepted that 
 high trust, so make us loyal to it. When our 
 feet grow weary and our faith grows dim, help 
 us to follow close after the ever-perfect One who 
 taught even as we are trying to teach. He it was 
 whom the common people heard gladly. He it 
 was who disdained not the use of objects and 
 symbols, remembering it was the childhood of the 
 race. He it was who spake in parables and 
 stories, laying bare the soul of man and heart 
 of nature, and revealing each by divine analogy. 
 He it was who took the little ones in his arms 
 and blessed them ; who set the child in the midst, 
 saying, ''Except ye become as one of these.'' May 
 the afterglow of that inspired teaching ever 
 shine upon the path we are treading. May we 
 bath€ our tired spirits in its warmth and glory, 
 and kindle our torches at the splendor of its light. 
 We remember that he told us to feed his lambs. 
 Dear Lord, help all the faithful shepherds who 
 care for the ninety and nine that lie in the safe 
 cover of the fold ; help us, too, for we are the 
 wandering shepherds whose part it is to go out 
 over the bleak hills, up the mountain sides and 
 
 151 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 rocky places, and gather in out of the storm 
 and stress of things all the poor, unshepherded, 
 wee bit lammies that have either wandered for- 
 lornly away from shelter, or have been born in 
 the wilderness and know no other home. Such a 
 one has just strayed into the fold from the 
 dreary hill country. It needs a wiser shepherd 
 than any of us. Grant that by gentleness, 
 patience, and insight we may atone somewhat for 
 our lack of wisdom and skill. We read among 
 thy mysteries that the divine Child was born of 
 a virgin. May he be born again and born daily 
 in our hearts, already touched by that remem- 
 brance and consecrated by its meaning. And this 
 we ask for his love's sake. Amen. — Kate Doug- 
 las Wiggin, in Marm Lisa, 
 
 CLX 
 
 On New Yearns Day 
 
 O LoRD^ thou art the God of our fathers, the 
 King eternal, immortal, invisible. We would 
 bless thee at all times, in sorrow and in joy, in 
 privation and in plenty, in life and in death, in 
 time and in eternity. And now, with a new 
 sense of gratefulness, with glad memories of the 
 old year that is gone, and with hopeful confi- 
 dence in view of the new year that has begun, 
 we come afresh to thy feet; to thee who hast 
 
 152 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 crowned the year with thy goodness; to thee 
 whose >ears do not change ; to thee who hast de- 
 clared that thy Son, our Mediator and Redeemer, 
 is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever. 
 With thankfulness for past mercies, with the 
 prayer that our times may ever be in thy hands 
 in the future ; with the consecration of our lives 
 anew to thy service, and pleading that thy mercy 
 shall be shown toward our sins, that thy care 
 shall be around us forever, that our lives shall be 
 fashioned after the image of our Lord, that we 
 may be solaced and comforted in all the toils, and 
 cares, and griefs, and dangers of the coming year 
 with thy continual presence, even thus, O Lord 
 our Father, we come to thee. Fulfill thy blessed 
 word to us in the experiences that are before us, 
 — that word which has said, ''When thou passest 
 through the waters, I will be with thee!'' Let 
 this, O Lord, be the urgent cry of our hearts, 
 "Take not thy Holy Spirit from us ; abide with us 
 even unto the end ; then take us to be with thee 
 forever.'' Amen. — /. B, Y. 
 
 CLXI 
 
 A Minister's Prayer of Consecration 
 
 O Lord my God, I am not worthy that thou 
 shouldest come under my roof; yet thou hast 
 honored thy servant with appointing him to stand 
 
 153 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 in thy house, and to serve at thy holy altar. 
 To thee and to thy service I devote myself, soul, 
 body, and spirit, with all their powers and 
 faculties. Fill my memory with the words of 
 thy law; enlighten my understanding with the 
 illumination of the Holy Ghost ; and may all the 
 wishes and desires of my will center in what 
 thou hast commanded. And, to make me instru- 
 mental in promoting the salvation of the people 
 now committed to my charge, grant that I may 
 faithfully administer thy holy sacraments, and 
 by my life and doctrine set forth thy true and 
 lively word. Be ever with me in the performance 
 of all the duties of my ministry; in prayer, to 
 quicken my devotion ; in praises, to heighten my 
 love and gratitude ; in preaching, to give a readi- 
 ness of thought and expression suitable to the 
 clearness and excellency of thy holy word. Grant 
 this for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son, our 
 Saviour. Amen. — From the Book of Common 
 Prayer. 
 
 CLXII 
 
 At the Age of Twenty-one 
 
 I AM this day twenty-one years old, and after 
 looking back upon my past life, and forward to 
 eternity, having also sought instruction in God's 
 word and at the throne of grace, I desire with 
 
 154 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 few words, but with a fixed heart, to consecrate 
 myself, soul and body, now and forever, to the 
 God who made me. With this intent I now most 
 solemnly renounce the service of the devil, my 
 late master; abandoning not only certain sins, 
 but sin itself, with all its pleasures, honors, and 
 emoluments ; desiring and beseeching God never 
 more to suffer me to taste the least enjoyment of 
 a sinful nature. I also bind my conscience, in the 
 presence of the jealous God who searches the 
 heart and cannot look upon iniquity without ab- 
 horrence, to watch against all temptation, and if 
 necessary to resist unto blood, striving against 
 sin. At the same time I renounce all dependence 
 upon anything I may be, do, or suffer, here or 
 hereafter, as a ground of deliverance from hell 
 — trusting for mercy to the cross of Christ. And 
 having thus discharged myself from all allegiance 
 to the prince of darkness, I submit myself to 
 God in Christ ; desiring and consenting to be his 
 forever, to do and suffer his will in the joyful 
 hope of an eternal recompense. And now, having 
 learned by sad experience the deceitfulness of my 
 own heart, the weakness of my resolution, and 
 the craft of Satan, I throw myself at thy feet, O 
 Lord, and claim the promise of thy strengthen- 
 ing and illuminating grace to aid me in the per- 
 formance of these vows. O let me not, I pray 
 thee, be forsworn ! Let me not insult thy majesty 
 
 155 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 by perjury so gross, so impious, so damnable! 
 Keep me, O God, in the hollow of thy hand! 
 For the sake of thy dear Son impart to me the 
 gift of thy free Spirit to purify, enlighten, and 
 transform my heart! Through life may I be 
 thine, and in death, O Lord, in death be thou my 
 God! Again, and again, and agam I solemnly 
 devote myself to God the Father, God the Son, 
 and God the Holy Ghost ; desiring nothing, hop- 
 ing nothing, fearing nothing, if I may but be 
 accepted in the name of Christ ! Amen. — Joseph 
 Addison Alexander, D.D."^ 
 
 CLXIII 
 
 For the Advent Season 
 
 O Almighty God, who by the birth of thj 
 Holy One into the world didst give thy true light 
 to dawn upon our darkness, grant that as thou 
 hast given us to believe in the mystery of his 
 incarnation, and hast made us partakers of the 
 divine nature, so in the world to come we may 
 ever abide with him, in the glory of his kingdom. 
 O God, who makest us glad with the yearly re- 
 membrance of the birth of thine only Son Jesus 
 Christ, grant that as we joyfully receive him for 
 
 * Entered in his Journal on his twenty-first birthday anniversary, 
 April 24, 1830. Cited in his Life^ by H. C. Alexander, page 239. 
 
 156 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 our Redeemer, so we may with sure confidence 
 behold him when he shall come to be our Judge ; 
 who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy 
 Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. — 
 The Prayer Book. 
 
 CLXIV 
 
 Reveal Thyself to Us 
 
 Thou who dost all things give, 
 Be not thyself forgot! 
 No longer may thy children live 
 As if their God were not! 
 
 But every day and hour, 
 Since thou dost bless us thus, 
 In still increasing light and power 
 Reveal thyself to us; 
 
 Until our faith shall be 
 Stronger than words can tell, 
 And we shall live beholding thee, 
 O thou Invisible! 
 
 — William Henry Furness. 
 
 CLXV 
 
 For Eastet Sunday 
 
 O God our Father, we come to thee with glad- 
 ness and with song, rejoicing in the resurrection 
 of our Lord, whereby death, the last enemy, has 
 been destroyed. We would realize by faith that 
 Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, has indeed tasted 
 
 157 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 death for every man. Open our blind eyes to see 
 him as our Saviour, overcoming the dangers and 
 the terrors of the tomb, scattering the hosts of 
 darkness, making clear a passageway for his 
 saints into glory, and procuring by his death on 
 the cross and his victory over the grave comfort 
 for the sorrowing, and strength for all who die 
 in the Lord. Let the gladness of this Easter day 
 enter into homes of bereavement, encourage the 
 despairing, and cheer the oppressed everywhere. 
 Help us to commit our lives to thy keeping, know- 
 ing that, whether we live or die, we are the 
 Lord's. Raise us from the death of sin to the life 
 of righteousness, and may the strength, the con- 
 fidence, and the joy begotten in our hearts on 
 this day of gladness by thy grace, and by our 
 fresh vision of the risen Lord, never die out. 
 May they increase more and more, unto the per- 
 fect day. Amen. — J. B. Y. 
 
 CLXVI 
 For Eastertide 
 
 O Lord Jesus Christ, thou holy and spotless 
 Lamb of God, who didst take upon thyself the 
 curse of sin which was due to us : we unite with 
 all the heavenly host of the redeemed in ascrib- 
 ing unto thee power, and riches, and wisdom, 
 and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. 
 
 158 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 We bless thee for all the burdens thou hast borne, 
 for all the tears thou hast wept, for all the pains 
 thou hast suffered, for every word of comfort 
 thou hast spoken on the cross, for every conflict 
 with the powers of darkness, and for thine eternal 
 victory over the terrors of death and the pains 
 of hell. Amen. — Church of Scotland Prayer 
 Book, 
 
 CLXVII 
 
 After Eastef 
 
 O THOU God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, we render thee most humble and hearty 
 thanks that when he had descended into the 
 grave, thou didst not suffer thy Holy One to 
 see corruption, but didst show unto him the path 
 of life and raise him from the dead, and set him 
 at thine own right hand in the heavenly places. 
 Grant us grace, we beseech thee, to apprehend 
 with true faith the glorious mystery of our Sav- 
 iour's resurrection, and fill our hearts with joy, 
 and a lively hope that amid all the sorrows, trials, 
 and temptations of our mortal state, and in the 
 hour of death we may derive strength and 
 comfort from this sure pledge of an inheritance 
 incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not 
 away. Amen. — Church of Scotland Prayer 
 Book. 
 
 I5Q 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CLXVIII 
 
 A Child^s Morning: Petition 
 
 O THOU Father of all mercies, and God of all 
 goodness, I praise and bless thy name for thy 
 mercies and favors unto me in the night past, 
 and for bringing me safe to behold the light of 
 a new day. Send down thy heavenly grace into 
 my soul, that I may be enabled to worship thee 
 and serve thee as I ought to do. Enable me to 
 believe in thee, to fear thee, and to love thee with 
 all my heart, and soul, and strength ; that I may 
 honor thy holy name and word, and serve thee 
 truly, this, and all the days of my life. Give 
 me thy grace, that I may love all mankind as my- 
 self, and do unto all, as I would they should do 
 unto me. Enable me to love and honor my par- 
 ents, obey my superiors, and submit to all my 
 teachers. Suffer me not to hurt anybody by word 
 or deed. Make me just and honest in all my 
 dealings. Let me not bear any malice or hatred 
 in my heart. Keep my hands from picking and 
 stealing, my tongue from evil speaking, lying, 
 and slandering; keep my body in temperance, 
 soberness, and chastity ; that I may not covet any 
 person's goods, but learn and labor to get my own 
 living, and to do my duty in the state of life 
 wherein it shall please thee to place me. Direct 
 me so to pass through things temporal that I 
 
 i6o 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 may not finally lose the things which are eternal, 
 but at last be received into thy presence, where 
 is fullness of joy, and be seated at thy right 
 hand, where are pleasures for evermore, through 
 Jesus Christ my Saviour. Amen. — From John 
 Wesley's Prayers for Children. 
 
 CLXIX 
 
 The Spifif s Help 
 
 Truly, O Lord, we know not what to pray for 
 as we ought, but we thank thee for the faithful 
 promise that thy Spirit maketh intercession in us, 
 and we thank thee for the triumphant fact that 
 thine enthroned Son makes intercession for us ; 
 and so, poor and weak and ignorant and way- 
 ward as we are, we do come to thee with confi- 
 dence, and we beseech thee that the prayers which 
 we make may be sweet indeed, because thou 
 givest the spirit by which we pray. Draw us, 
 O Lord, we beseech thee, by the perception of the 
 great blessedness that there is in union with 
 thee, to desire of that union of heart and mind 
 and will more than ever we have done, and to 
 shape our lives so that these may present no 
 obstacles to God's dwelling with us and our 
 dwelling with him. We beseech thee for thy 
 divine influences in our hearts ; we pray thee that 
 we may be molded thereby into the likeness of thy 
 
 i6i 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 dear Son, that he may be the firstborn among 
 many brethren; and we beseech thee that since 
 thou dost knit us to thyself by the bonds which 
 no creature is able to separate we may never 
 rend ourselves away by indifference, by neg- 
 ligence, by preference of our own inclinations or 
 purposes, or by cherishing in our hearts any 
 evil. Lord, cleanse us. Lord, uplift us. Lord, 
 help us to dwell in the light and to walk in the 
 light as thou art in the light, that our change- 
 able being may in some measure be like thy stead- 
 fast Being, and that we may manifest ourselves 
 to be the children of the light. We ask these 
 blessings through him in whom we know that 
 thou hast laid up all blessings, and made them 
 accessible to our faith, even Jesus Christ, our 
 Lord and Saviour. Amen. — Alexander McLaren, 
 
 CLXX 
 The Answer 
 
 *• Before they call, I will answer." 
 
 And can it be that Thou didst know 
 And plan for me so long ago, 
 
 And made it best 
 That when all anxiously I prayed 
 The raging of the tumult stayed 
 
 And I found rest? 
 
 Yes, thou hast said, before we pray 
 Not only dost not say me nay, 
 But in delight 
 
 162 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Hast called from out infinitude 
 A tender, grand, and sweet prelude 
 For this glad night. 
 
 Lord, with new faith I wait the morn 
 When all the joys and hopes, heaven-born, 
 
 Shall culminate. 
 When we our loving Lord shall see, 
 When we shall be fore'er with thee. 
 
 Past heaven's gate. 
 — Elisabeth Perry Howland, in New York Observer, 
 
 CLXXI 
 Before Taking the Lord^s Sapper 
 O MOST gracious and eternal God, the helper of 
 the helpless, the comforter of the comfortless, 
 the hope of the afflicted, the bread of the hungry, 
 the drink of the thirsty, and the Saviour of all 
 them that wait upon thee : I bless and glorify thy 
 name, and adore thy goodness, and delight in thy 
 love, that thou hast once more given me the op- 
 portunity of receiving the body and blood of my 
 dearest Saviour. O take from me all inclination 
 to sin or vanity; let not my affections dwell be- 
 low, but soar upward to the element of love, to 
 the seat of God, the regions of glory, and the 
 inheritance of Jesus ; that I may hunger and 
 thirst for the bread of life, and the wine of elect 
 souls, and may know no love but the love of 
 God, and the most merciful Jesus. Amen. — 
 From Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living, 
 
 163 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CLXXII 
 
 The End of the Year 
 
 Most gracious God, who hast been infinitely 
 merciful to us, not only in the year past, but 
 through all the years of our life, be pleased to 
 accept our most unfeigned thanks for thine in- 
 numerable blessings to us; graciously pardoning 
 the manifold sins and infirmities of our life past, 
 and bountifully bestowing upon us all those 
 graces and virtues which may render us ac- 
 ceptable to thee. And, every year which thou 
 shalt be pleased to add to our lives, add also, we 
 humbly implore thee, more strength to our faith, 
 more ardor to our love, and a greater perfection 
 to our obedience; and grant that, in a humble 
 sincerity and constant perseverance, we may 
 serve thee most faithfully the remainder of our 
 lives, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. — Charles 
 How. 
 
 CLXXIII 
 
 The Hour of Death 
 
 From sudden, from unprepared death, good 
 Lord, deliver me, my children, and family, and 
 all that desire my prayers. May we never be 
 surprised in sin; and may thy mercy supply 
 whatever shall be wanting in our preparation for 
 death. For myself, with the submission of a 
 
 164 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 penitent sinner, under the righteous sentence of 
 death passed upon all mankind, I heg that I may 
 so live as that I may with joy resign my life a 
 sacrifice of obedience, in union with that of my 
 Saviour's to thee, O Father, trusting in thy 
 mercy and goodness, and promises in Jesus 
 Christ, at the hour of death, and in the day of 
 judgment. Amen. — From Bishop Wilson's Sa- 
 cra Privata, 
 
 CLXXIV 
 
 My Times Arc in Thy Hand 
 
 I TAKE my pilgrim staff anew, 
 Life's path, untrodden, to pursue, 
 Thy guiding eye, my Lord, I view; 
 My times are in thy hand. 
 
 Throughout the year, my heavenly Friend, 
 On thy blest guidance I depend; 
 From its commencement to its end 
 My times are in thy hand. 
 
 — Author unknown. 
 
 CLXXV 
 
 Send Forth Thy Light and Thy Truth 
 
 O Invisible God, who seest all things; eternal 
 Light, before whom all darkness is light, and in 
 comparison with whom every other light is but 
 darkness; the weak eyes of our understanding 
 cannot bear the open and full rays of thy inac- 
 cessible light; and yet without some glimpses of 
 
 i6s 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 that light from heaven we can never direct our 
 steps nor proceed toward that country which is 
 the habitation of Hght. May it therefore please 
 thee, O Father of lights, to send forth thy light 
 and thy truth, that they may lead us directly to 
 thy holy mountain. Thou art good, and the 
 Fountain of goodness: give us understanding 
 that we may keep thy precepts. Purify, we pray 
 thee, our souls from all impure imaginations, 
 that thy most beautiful and holy image may be 
 again renewed within us, and, till that most 
 blessed day break and the shadows flee away, let 
 thy Spirit be continually with us, constantly 
 directing and supporting our steps, that all our 
 endeavors may serve to promote the honor of thy 
 blessed name, through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 Amen. — Archbishop Leighton. 
 
 CLXXVI 
 
 A Pastor's Prayer 
 
 LoRD^ give me grace to do that which is right. 
 My trust is in thee. Thou art my refuge and 
 my fortress, my God, and, having thee as my 
 sure and unchanging good, I am not afraid of 
 the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor of 
 the destruction which wasteth at noonday. Lord, 
 direct my steps! Preserve me from the vanity 
 and vainglory which might wickedly lead me to 
 
 i66 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 expose myself to danger, and from the selfish fear 
 which would drive me from my duty. Lead me 
 in truth, and teach me, and may I at this trying 
 time be and do that which is right as thy son and 
 ministering servant, and whether by life or by 
 death may I glorify thee; for living or dying I 
 am thine, through Jesus Christ. Amen. — Nor- 
 man Macleod. 
 
 CLXXVII 
 
 Quicken Otir Gratitude 
 
 Lord, for the erring thought 
 Not into evil wrought; 
 Lord, for the wicked will 
 Betrayed and baffled still ; 
 For the heart from itself kept. 
 Our thanksgiving accept. 
 
 For ignorant hopes that were 
 Broken to our blind prayer ; 
 For pain, death, sorrow, sent 
 Unto our chastisement; 
 For all loss of seeming good, 
 Quicken our gratitude ! 
 
 — William Dean How ells. 
 
 CLXXVIII 
 
 For Humility 
 
 Mercy and help, O Lord, my Sovereign Lord ! 
 Thou w^ho lovest little children, make me a little 
 child ! Make me humble, simple-hearted, tender, 
 
 167 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 guileless, and confiding! Kill my selfish pride i 
 Shiver my hard heart i Break my stubborn 
 spirit ! Make me love my kind by making me to 
 love thee! O soften me, my Saviour, by show- 
 ing me thy own tender, bleeding, melting heart. 
 Purge envy from my heart by causing me to live 
 and work for thee. O that this foul fiend were 
 wholly dispossessed ! I bless thee for trials — may 
 they do me good. Compel me to remember that 
 I am not my own. Save me from being the ob- 
 ject of envy or ill will. Save me from the wicked- 
 ness of trying to excite it. Lord, I would give 
 the world for true humility. O, make me — make 
 me humble! Amen. — Joseph Addison Alex- 
 ander. 
 
 CLXXIX 
 
 Welcome, Eternal Springf 
 
 I HAVE enjoyed the spring of life ; I have en- 
 dured the toils of its summer; I have culled the 
 fruits of its autumn ; I am now passing through 
 the rigors of its winter; and I am neither for- 
 saken of God, nor abandoned by man. I see at 
 no great distance the dawn of a new day; the 
 first of a spring that shall be eternal. It is ad- 
 vancing to meet me ! I run to embrace it. Wel- 
 come, eternal spring! Hallelujah! Lord, may I 
 live to thee, die in thee, and be with thee to all 
 eternity ! Amen. — Adam Clarke, at seventy. 
 
 i68 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CLXXX 
 
 Make Mc a Hclpei: 
 
 Son of Man, let me join thy league of pity. 
 Let me take the place of the angels in the ministry 
 to human souls. Angels cannot meet the wants 
 of my brother. They could minister to thee, for 
 thou hadst their nature as well as mine. But my 
 brother has not their nature. He needs some 
 one who knows him ; he needs me. Send me, O 
 Lord. Let me be the apostle to the weak and 
 weary. Send not the cherubim and the seraphim ; 
 send not the angel and the archangel. These 
 have no drooping of the wing; they are never 
 tired with their flight; they cannot sympathize 
 with faintness. But I have borne the burden and 
 the heat of the day; I have been tried in the 
 furnace of pain. I have trod the dusty plain, I 
 have descended the deep valley, I have climbed 
 the arduous steep. I know the path of the weary, 
 I can guide where the celestials never go; make 
 me a helper in thy ministrant band! Amen. — 
 George Matheson. 
 
 CLXXXI 
 
 The Beatific Vision 
 
 O GREAT and glorious vision ! — 
 
 The Lamb upon his throne : 
 O wondrous sight for man to see ! — 
 
 The Saviour v^ith his own ; 
 169 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 To drink the living waters, 
 
 And stand upon the shore, 
 Where neither sorrow, sin, nor death 
 
 Shall ever enter more. 
 
 O Lamb of God who reignest — 
 
 Thou Bright and Morning Star — 
 Whose glory lightens that new earth 
 
 Which now we see from far; 
 O worthy Judge Eternal, 
 
 When thou dost bid us come, 
 Then open wide the gates of pearl 
 
 And call thy servants home ! 
 
 — Godfrey Thring. 
 
 CLXXXII 
 
 For the Brokcn-Hcar ted 
 
 O Lord, look v^ith pity and mercy upon the 
 broken-hearted, upon the souls that have spoiled 
 their lives, upon the children that have become 
 rebellious, upon the sons that are prodigal and 
 the daughters that are hard of heart. Life is 
 hard with some. Some are fainting under the 
 burden. Others are sighing their trouble who 
 dare not speak it. Some are cut down as with 
 an ax laid to the root of the tree. Let us all 
 come to Jesus, Son of man. Son of God, by 
 whom thou didst make the worlds. May he speak 
 to us from his Cross, in the power of his atoning 
 
 170 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 sacrifice. May we rejoice in his forgiveness. 
 Amen. — The British Weekly. 
 
 CLXXXIII 
 The Rest that Remafneth 
 
 O Lord, blessed be thy name, there remaineth 
 a rest for the people of God. Tempests may 
 blow upon the earth, and kingdoms may rise and 
 fall, and wars may clash and desolate the earth, 
 and all things may change in perpetual revolution 
 or rebound; but there remaineth a rest upon 
 which shall come no storm, which shall not be 
 upset by revolution, or changed except from 
 glory to glory. To that great rest we aspire. 
 From the weary conflict with ourselves, from our 
 bondage to the flesh, from the thrall of weari- 
 ness, from the burden of sinfulness, from all 
 sorrow and all that brings trouble, we turn to the 
 blessedness which rests in thy presence. Amen. 
 — Henry Ward Beecher. 
 
 CLXXXIV 
 
 Fret Not Thyself 
 
 The little sharp vexations, 
 And the briers that catch and fret, 
 
 Why not take all to the Helper 
 Who has never failed us yet? 
 
 171 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Tell him about the heartache, 
 
 And tell him the longings, too; 
 Tell him the baffled purpose 
 
 When we scarce know what to do; 
 Then, leaving all our weakness 
 
 With the One divinely strong, 
 Forget that we bore the burden, 
 
 And carry away the song. 
 
 — Phillips Brooks. 
 
 CLXXXV 
 Amid Hany Infirmities 
 
 Lord, I am weak and ignorant, timorous and 
 inconstant, and I fear lest something should 
 happen that may discompose the state of my 
 soul, that may displease thee : do what thou wilt 
 with me, so thou dost but preserve me in thy fear 
 and favor. Thou knowest that it is my great 
 fear; but let thy Spirit secure that nothing may 
 be able to separate me from the love of God in 
 Jesus Christ ; then smite me here, that thou may- 
 est spare me for ever: and yet, O Lord, smite 
 me friendly; for thou knowest my infirmities. 
 Into thy hands I commend my spirit, for thou 
 hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth. 
 Come, Holy Spirit, help me in this conflict. 
 Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen. — 
 Jeremy Taylor. 
 
 172 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CLXXXVI 
 
 Confession and Adoration 
 
 Lord, we have sinned against thee, but thou 
 hast spared us ; we have wandered from thee, but 
 thoii hast sought us ; we were lost, but thou hast 
 saved us. O God, our Saviour, thou hast broken 
 our chains, that we might be free; thou hast 
 healed our diseased souls, that we might not 
 perish; thou hast enriched us who were poor 
 with the treasures of thy salvation; thou hast 
 made us who had nothing to inherit all things; 
 and even now all things are ours. Therefore 
 with one heart, and with one voice, we laud 
 and magnify thy glorious name; and with thy 
 saints on earth and in heaven, we ascribe blessing, 
 and honor, and glory, and power, unto Him that 
 sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for- 
 ever and forever. Amen. — Church of Scotland 
 Prayer Book. 
 
 CLXXXVII 
 
 Be Present in My Studies 
 
 Almighty God, in whose hands are all the 
 powers of man; who givest understanding and 
 takest it away ; who, as it seemeth good unto thee, 
 enlightenest the thoughts of the simple, and 
 darkenest the meditations of the wise, be present 
 with me in my studies and inquiries. Grant, O 
 
 173 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 Lord, that I may not lavish away the life which 
 thou hast given me on useless trifles, nor waste 
 it in vain searches after things which thou hast 
 hidden from me. Enable me by thy Holy Spirit, 
 so to shun sloth and negligence, that every day 
 may discharge part of the task which thou hast 
 allotted me; and so further with thy help that 
 labor which without thy help must be ineffectual, 
 that I may obtain, in all my undertakings, such 
 success as will most promote thy glory, and the 
 salvation of my own soul, for the sake of Jesus 
 Christ, Amen. — Dr, Samuel Johnson (1709- 
 1784). 
 
 CLXXXVIII 
 
 The Pathway 
 
 Dwell ye within cot or hall. 
 Be ye lord or be ye thrall. 
 Have ye joy or grief for store, 
 Know ye this — from every door, 
 Straight across the sky*s blue meads, 
 Up to heaven a pathway leads! 
 
 Tho' ye wander faint and far 
 Underneath an alien star, 
 Or do nightly sink to rest 
 Near the loving mother breast, 
 Everywhere to him who heeds — 
 Up to heaven a pathway leads ! 
 
 — Clinton Scollard, 
 
 174 
 
Helps for the Quiet Hour 
 
 CLXXXIX 
 More Likeness to Thee 
 
 O LoRD^ give us more charity, more self-denial, 
 more likeness to thee. Teach us to sacrifice our 
 comforts to others, and our likings for the sake 
 of doing good. Make us kindly in thought, gentle 
 in word, generous in deed. Teach us that it is 
 better to give than to receive; better to forget 
 ourselves than to put ourselves forward ; better to 
 minister than to be ministered unto. And unto 
 thee, the God of Love, be glory and praise for 
 ever. Amen. — Dean Henry Alford. 
 
 cxc 
 
 Gloria Patri 
 
 Glory be to the Father, 
 And to the Son, 
 And to the Holy Ghost: 
 As it was in the beginning, 
 Is now, and ever shall be, 
 World without end. 
 
 Amen. 
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