436 PROCEEDIXCS, &c. 



tnilli, lliat m!i2 iiviy liavo a jjuioreil cyo to sec, and a purified heart to love, tlie trea. 

 Bures of wisdom and of knowledge that are hid in tlioe. And while we adore thee 

 for thy perfections, lead us also from the knowleilge of what thou art, to liie 

 knowledge of what thou doest therefore require of us thy sinful and dependent 

 creatures. May we thus learn to seek thy favor, to study thy will, to observe thy 

 laws, and in all our actions to aim at thy glory, the good of our own souls, and tlio 

 souls of our fellow men. Then shall thy works praise llico, oh Lord, and thy saints 

 give thanks unto thee. Then shall they unitedly speak of the glory of thy king- 

 dom, and talk of thy power. 



Grant, also, we beseech thee, heavenly Father, that this Institution may be a 

 blessing not only to the individual members who compose it, hut to our country 

 and the world. May it be made greatly instrumental in extending among us the 

 beneficent triumph of literature, science, and the arts; of binding fraternal bonds 

 around the various portions of our widoly extended land ; of promoting the civil 

 and social advancement and happiness of society; of spreading abroad the influence 

 of civilization and Christianity; of extending the reign of peace and goodwill 

 throughout the whole family of man. Look in special mercy upon the officers and 

 members of this society, and all who take part in its deliberations. Bless the Pre- 

 sident of these United States, and all who are associated with him in authority, 

 and so replenish them with the grace of thy Holy Spirit that they may always in. 

 cline to thy will and walk in thy way. Endow them plenteously with heavenly 

 gifts ; grant them iu health and prosperity long to live, and after this life to attain 

 everlasting joy and felicity . Bless the people of these United States, and espe- 

 cially their senate and representatives, in Congress assembled. Be pleased so to 

 direct and prosper all their consultations, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, 

 religion and piety, may be established among us for all generations. And oh, hea- 

 venly Father, grant that the absence on this occasion of some of the most promi- 

 nent officers and promoters of this Institution, who looked forward with interest and 

 with hope to this day's assembling, and who are now sleeping in their silent sepul- 

 chres, may not in vain admonish us so to number our days that we may apply our 

 hearts unto wisdom. Watch over and preserve all the members of this Institution 

 during its session here; protect those who have come from abroad, and the families 

 they have left, from danger and from every evil, and when their work shall have been 

 accomplished, restore them to their homes, thankful for thy mercies and devoted to 

 thy service. Keep us all, wo beseech thee, outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly 

 in our souls. When the days of our probation shall have endisd, may wo depart 

 hence at peace with thee ; and when the Lord Christ shall come in his glorious 

 majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, may we rise to the life immortal 

 through the same Jesus Christ, who livelh and reignoth with the Father and the 

 Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. 



