purity must be unclean, and insufficient to answer unto thee for a single sin, yet, we bless thee, that, through the merits of our Saviour, we are encouraged to come humbly to thy throne, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in every time of need. We esteem it our privilege, as well as our duty, to bow the knee before thee, and rejoice in the opportunity of seeking thy blessing on the adventurous voyage on which we are now embarked. Go out with us on the expanse of the ocean; be with us when the raging elements proclaim the power of divinity; and direct us, merciful God, with thy heavenly wisdom. Uphold us with thine almighty care; further us with thy continual help; prosper us with success and happiness; restore us in thine own good time to those, who, by the ties of kindred, or the bonds of affection, are near and dear to us; and, finally after this life, bring us and them to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thou, O God, hast hitherto manifested thyself unto us as a prayer-hearing, and a prayer-answering God; thou hast heard our petitions in the midst of danger; hast delivered us from numerous perils; and hast directed and supported us in many difficulties. Thou hast been, and still art, a present help in every time of need. Grant us, we beseech thee, a continuance of thy favour; preserve us while we trace the treacherous deep, from every evil; from rocks and shoals; from fire and tempest; from sea and ice; from distress and accident; and from every danger, seen and unseen, known and unknown. Sanctify the dispensations of thy providence to usward, whether prosperous or adverse, agreeable or painful. And evermore give us such reliance on thy faithfulness, and such dependance on the excellence of thy government, that we may fully commit our ways unto thee, for thou wilt sustain us. To this end, O heavenly Father, may we be endowed with the sacred influence of thy Holy Spirit; may we read thy word with profit, and find it to be the power of God unto salvation; may we be earnest and constant in prayer; may we be delivered from sin, and not from its condemning influence alone, but also from its hardening and ruling power; may we cultivate a spiritual frame of mind by the diligent use of every means of
