Some Remains (hitherto unpublished) of Joseph Butler, LL.D. | Page 6

9815.]
O Almighty God, Maker and Preserver of the world, Governor and
Judge of all creatures, whom Thou hast endued with understanding so
as to render them accountable for their actions and capable of being
judged for them; we prostrate ourselves as in Thy presence, and
worship Thee the Sovereign Lord of all, in Whom we live and move

and have our being. The greatness and perfection of Thy Nature is
infinitely beyond all possible comprehension, but in proportion to our
capacities we would endeavour to have a true conception of Thy Divine
Majesty, and to live under a just sense and apprehension of it: that we
may fear Thee and hope in Thee as we entirely depend upon Thee: that
we may love Thee as supremely good, and have our wills conformed to
Thy will in all righteousness and truth: that we may be thankful to Thee
for every thing we enjoy, as the gift of Thine hand, and be patient under
every affliction as what Thou sendest or permittest.
We desire to be duly sensible of what we have done amiss, and we
solemnly resolve before Thee, that for the time to come we will
endeavour to obey all Thy commands as they are made known to us.
We are Thy Creatures by Nature; we give up ourselves to be Thy
servants voluntarily and by Choice, and present ourselves, body and
soul, a living sacrifice to Thee.
But, O Almighty God, as Thou hast manifested Thyself to the world by
Jesus Christ; as Thou hast given Him to be a Propitiation for the sins of
it, and the Mediator between God and Man; we lay hold with all
humility and thankfulness on so inestimable a Benefit, and come unto
Thee according to Thine appointment in His Name, and in the form and
manner which He has taught us.
Our Father, &c.

MORNING PRAYER.
Almighty God, by whose protection we were preserved the night
passed, and are here before Thee this morning in health and safety; we
dedicate this day, and all the days we have to live to Thy service;
resolving, that we will abstain from all evil, that we will take heed to
the thing that is right in all our actions, and endeavour to do our duty in
that state of life in which Thy Providence has placed us. We would
remind ourselves that we are always, wherever we may go, in Thy

presence. We would be always in Thy fear; and we beg the continuance
of Thy merciful protection, and that Thou would'st guide and keep us in
all our ways through Jesus Christ our Lord.

EVENING PRAYER,
Almighty God, whose continued providence ordereth all things both in
Heaven and Earth; Who never slumberest nor sleepest; but hast divided
the light from the darkness, and made the day for employment and the
night for rest to Thy creatures the inhabitants of the earth: we
acknowledge with all thankfulness Thy merciful preservation of us this
day, by which we are brought in safety to the evening of it. We implore
Thy forgiveness of all the offences which we have been guilty of in it,
whether in thought, word, or deed; and desire to have a due sense of
Thy goodness in keeping us out of the way of those temptations by
which we might have fallen into greater sins, and in preserving us from
those misfortunes and sad accidents, common to every day, and which
must have befallen many others. We humbly commit ourselves to the
same good providence this night, that we may sleep in quiet under Thy
protection, and wake, if it be Thy will, in the morning in renewed life
and strength. And we beg the assistance of Thy grace to live in such a
manner, that when the few days and nights which thou shalt allot us in
this world be passed away, we may die in peace, and finally obtain the
resurrection unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
* * * * *
Almighty God, Whose tender mercies are over all Thy works, who
feedest the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field, and hast given
unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, we desire to have
our souls possessed with a due sense of Thy blessings, and to show
forth our thankfulness by moderation and temperance in the use of
them, by being kind and compassionate to those who are in distress,
and by all those good works which Thou hast appointed us to walk in.
And we humbly hope we shall at last experience all Thy goodness to us
consummate in that future state, which Thou hast prepared for them

that love and fear Thee through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.