natural effects of pain and disease, and though his sorrows are many, he is not conquered by them; for he has a mind above their power, he knows that though the outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day; that He, in whom he trusts, may yet lift up his head; but, at all events, he is assured that to those will be given eternal life, who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and immortality; and that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed, when those who have come out of great tribulation, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, shall appear in the presence of God; and, before assembled men and angels, shall be admitted to dwell before the throne of God, and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell with them, and God shall wipe all tears from their eyes, and they shall live for ever and ever.

"Shall then tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, separate us from the love of Christ? In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us; for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

THE PRAYER.

O God, our heavenly Father! the Creator, Disposer, and Governor of the world, and all that is therein, who appointest the several states and conditions of man as seemeth best to thine infinite wisdom, and hast ordained that all earthly enjoyments should be fleeting and unstable, that our affections may be

drawn to those eternal pleasures which are at thy right hand, where goodness and perfect happiness are for ever united; I most humbly beseech Thee to grant me that perfect resignation, which will teach me to acknowledge thy providence in every circumstance of my life; to be cheerful and contented in whatever condition Thou seest fit to place me, from a deep sense of thy never-failing protection and fatherly care, seeking only to do my duty in such a manner as may please Thee; to maintain a calm serenity of temper amidst the daily vexations I may meet with; and to have a mind raised above the cares and concerns of this life, by the contemplation of that higher state of being, when our purified spirits may be admitted amongst the heavenly host, who are ever before thy throne. Teach me to enjoy the blessings Thou bestowest upon me with gratitude, but with humility, knowing that they proceed entirely from thy undeserved goodness; and if Thou art pleased

to resume them, assist me by thy holy spirit to repress every murmur, and to resign them with contented submission to thy will; and the most perfect conviction, that, however bitter the affliction may be for the present, it is ordained in mercy for my good. If Thou triest me with sickness, may I bear it with patient fortitude, as inflicted by thy hand. If Thou seest fit to remove from me the friends I delighted in, I pray that Thou wouldst receive them into thy heavenly kingdom; and give me grace to pass a life of such purity and holiness here, that when the time of my departure comes, I may yield up my spirit with the firmest hope and trust in Thee, and may be re-united to all I loved and valued whilst on earth; and at the last day I may with them attain to the resurrection of the Just, and have our perfect consummation in bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom with Thee, and the Holy Ghost,

be ascribed by us, as by angels and archangels, and the whole company of heaven, all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

SATURDAY.

On Charity.

ANOTHER essential qualification in the christian character is charity; and of this we may be convinced if we examine the striking difference between the tenour of the Old and New Testament in this respect. The first partakes throughout of the spirit of the law delivered by Moses, which inculcated the severer duties of justice between man and man; and strict obedience to the commands of God, which obedience was chiefly shown in the observance of rites and ceremonies. Warnings the most awful, and denunciations of punish

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