Year: 1861




The following is the prayer lie by the


Rev. II. Stockton, on the opening Of Com
gress:


Oh Thou, who nearest prayer unto Thee
shall all flesh come. Unto Thee we come,
trusting in the atonement of eur LORD and
Savior, Jesus Christ. and in the sanctifying
influence of Thy holy Spirit.


Thine is the help of man. Oh Thou art
our refuge and our trust-a very present
help in time of trouble Our help is in the
name of the Lord, who made Heaven and
earth. Happy is the people in such case,
| yea, happy is the people whose God is the
| Loud. We remember the past, and we are
grateful for the past. We thank Thee tor
the discovery of this new world; we thank
Thee fer the colonization of our own part of
it we thank Thee for the establishment of
our national independence we thank Thee
for the organization of our National Union;
we thank Thee for all the blessings we have
enjoyed within this Union-natiopal bless
ings, civil blessings, social blessiu 8, spirits
ual blessings, all kinds of blessings, unsreak-
ably great and precious blessings, such bless
ings as were never enjoyed by any other peo-
pie since the world began. And now, Oh
Lord our God we offer unto Thee our hum
BILE prayer for the present, and for all the fu.
ture. Will it please Thee, for Christ's sake,
to grant Thy special aid Thou art very
high, and lifted up. Thou lookest down ups
on our whole land, from the lakes to the
gulf, from sea to sea, from the rising of the
sun to the going down thereof, aud Thou
knowest all our interests, and Thou knowest
all our dangers. Our good men are at fault
our wise men are at fault. In the North
and in the South, in the East and in the
West, everywhere they are at fault. We
know not what it is best for US to do, and
with common consent, we come unto Thee,
Oh Lord our God and we pray Thee to
overruie unreasonable, wicked men, in all
parts Of our Confederacy. And we pray
Thee to inspire, and to strengthen, and to
assist all true patriots in every part of our
Union.


And may Thy blessing rest up,n all the
departments of the Government. We re-
member with special solictude the President
of these United States and his immediate
advisers. They lack wisdom. But if they
call upon Thee, Thou wilt give them wisdom,
for Thou givest to oil men literally and up,
braideth none. While we trust they pray
for themselves, we here also pray for them,
that Thy holy spirit may be granted unto
them, and that they may see exactly what
they ought to do and have grace to do it, in
the positions in which they are placed.


We thank Thee for this bright and beauti-
full morning for the assembling of the two
houses of Congress; and we pray that Thy
blessing may rest upon the Vice President
and upon every Senator in his place, and
upon the Speaker of this House and every
member in his place. We rejoice to learn
that they see their responsibility, that thev
feel their responsibility, and that many of
them are looking to Thee for counsel and di-
rection. Oh, Lord our God let Thine own
presence subdue every heart and every mind,
and sanctify all action to Thy own glory and
the good of our whole people. Oh that we
may still be happy in this blessed Union.


Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed
be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy
will be done on earth as it is in Heayen.-
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive
US our debts as we forgive our debtors. And
lead US not into temptation, but deliver US
from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, and the
power. and the glory, for ever and ever
Amen.