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THANKSGIVING

FOR TEMPORAL MERCIES.

THOU art worthy, O Lord, to receive blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.* The earth is full of thy riches; so also is the great and wide sea. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it; thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God; thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof

*Rev. iv. 11.

Psalm cxlv. 15, 16.

† Psalm civ. 24, 25.

|| Psalm civ. 24.

abundantly; thou settlest the furrows thereof; thou makest it soft with showers; thou blessest the springing thereof; thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness; and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.*

Thou madest man at first out of the dust of the ground, and breathedst into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and madest him but a little lower than the angels. Thou hast given him dominion over all thy works; and hast put all things under his feet. And thou hast made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hast determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.|| Thou rulest in the kingdoms of men, and givest it to whomsoever thou wilt.§

O come, let us worship and fall down; let us

* Psalm lxv. 9—13. † Gen. ii. 7. ‡ Psalm viii. 5, 6. Acts xvii. 26. § Dan. iv. 25.

kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.* Thou art the former of our bodies, which are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thine eye did see our substance, yet being imperfect, and in thy book all our members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. Thou hast clothed us with skin and flesh, thou hast fenced us with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted us life and favour, and thy visitation preserves our spirits.† Bless the Lord, O our souls; and all that is within us, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O our souls, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all our iniquities, who healeth all our diseases; who redeemeth our lives from destruction; who crowneth us with loving-kindness and tender mercies.‡

Surely, O Lord, thou art our Shepherd, we shall not want. Thou makest us to lie down in green pastures: thou leadest us beside the still waters. Thou restorest our souls: thou leadest us in the paths of righteousness for thy name's sake. Yea,

* Psalm xcv. 6, 7. † Job x. 11, 12. Psalm ciii. 1—5.

though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil: for thou art with us; thy rod and thy staff they comfort us. Goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives; and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.*

*Psalm xxiii.

THANKSGIVING

FOR THE ANCIENT PROMISES, AND PREPARATION

FOR MESSIAH.

WE thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast never left thyself without a witness, but that when man had sinned, thou didst give the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent ;* and that from the beginning sacrifices were appointed, to prefigure the offering up of him who was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

We look back with gratitude to the time when thou didst say unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, into a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou

* Gen. iii. 15.

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