Psalm 115:9 He is their help and their shield

August 8

He is their help and their shield. — Psalm 115:9

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O LORD, our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for our home, its mercies, its joys, its shelter, and its peace. Help us to be Thy children in our home, and make it like the home in Bethany, where Christ loved to go. Help us this day to bear one another's burdens. May we be burden-bearers, and not burden-makers. Help us to practice the Golden Rule, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Give us Thy grace that we may control our tempers and our tongues. May Thy blessing, O Lord and Master, be with those who stay at home to work today, and may they glorify their tasks by cheerful spirits. Bless those of our home who go out for business, and help and prosper them. Keep them from temptation, and may they always remember that a good name is better than great riches. Let integrity and uprightness preserve them. Bless the children at school; give them diligence, application and ambition in their studies; keep them from evil communications and comradeships. Bless the children who are at home. May their play be innocent and bright. May the love of Christ which moved Him to die for our sins crucify in every one of us worldliness of life, and may we all be faithful, spiritual members of the Church. May this home honor God in public worship, and claim the promise, "Them that honor Me, I will honor." Forgive us our sins, and give us the forgiving spirit, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

John Van Lear, D.D.,

Little Rock, Arkansas