and, by receiving the Communion of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, may look for all the benefits of his atonement for us on the cross, and his intercession before the throne of God: from which, therefore, I may derive new life and new spirit, in the hope that there may be shed over me by this means a sanctifying influence, which will be my consolation here and my shield unto death.

The Prayer.

BLESSED Saviour Jesus! the author and finisher of our faith, the fountain of life and salvation; Thou art the beloved Son of God, the Lamb slain from the beginning of the world, whose coming was foretold by the prophets and attested by angels; who dwelt upon earth to direct us in the way to heaven; who died to procure our pardon, and who ever liveth to make intercession for us, that we may be admitted where Thou dwellest: I believe in all that the prophets and apostles have declared of thee and thy kingdom; but I beseech Thee to strengthen my belief by the influence of thy Holy Spirit; Thou knowest me to be in the midst of many and great dangers, and that from the frailty of my nature I cannot stand upright; grant to me therefore such strength and protection as may support me in all dangers, and carry me through all temptations; let the sense of my weakness give me meekness and humility,

and add strength to my faith; grant me comfort and sure confidence in Thee, knowing that through Thee alone can I look for acceptance with God; let thy grace illuminate my understanding, purify my heart, direct my will, and sanctify my spirit, that I may have Thee and thy law always in my mind, and may think and do always as in thy sight, that in all temptations and afflictions, and at the hour of death, I may be supported by faith in thy word and promises; and grant, by the mercy which Thou hast purchased for us, that as Thou wert partaker of our sufferings and infirmities, so we, by thy death and resurrection, and by Thy infinite gracious intercession, may be made partakers of thy holiness and glory in thy heavenly kingdom. Amen.

Friday.

The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. -ROM. viii., 18.

Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day; for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.-2 COR. iv., 16.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.-ST. MAT. xi., 28.

On Resignation.

HE duties of examination, of repentance, and of faith, may be said to have their chief reference to a future state of existence: for we examine and repent of our sins, that we may endeavour to remove every obstacle to our attainment of eternal happiness, and our faith leads us to depend upon that reward which is promised to every penitent sinner. Resignation has its most immediate concern with this life: Man is born to trouble; the trials of affliction and disappointment are around him everywhere, and are sent to correct and purify his heart; no

person is exempt from suffering, either bodily or mental; none of us can be sure that our ease and happiness are secure for one hour; the very next moment may overwhelm the seemingly fair fabric, and they who have multiplied their enjoyments, by increasing their stores or extending their connexions, have proportionably multiplied the avenues of sorrow, and extended a broader mark for the shafts of disappointment. But afflictions come not by accident; they either come immediately from God, or are the consequences of human actions, by the permission of God in his government of the world; and by whatever means we receive them, their purpose is the same; they are trials of Christian virtue, and warnings against evil; and they are dispensed in such differing measure to different persons, that we may conclude such a trial is sent to each, as God, in his infinite wisdom, sees to be best adapted to the proposed end,-that all sinners may awake to righteousness, and, from "being children of this world, may become children of light." To some, therefore, bodily pain is sent; to others mental afflictions: some are tried by distresses peculiarly their own, and some through the misfortunes of their friends; but all proceed from the same source, and all may be supported by the same means. Resignation is, however, not easy of attainment in that measure which becomes a follower of Christ; the acuteness of pain, the gnawings of disease, and the weariness of debility, are trials which, perhaps, more than any others, have a

tendency to sour the temper, to produce selfishness and discontent, and render us insensible of pleasure from any brighter part of our lot: neither are those trials confined to the body, which cannot be powerfully affected without the mind suffering also; and the powers of reason and reflection, being oppressed by the sufferings of the body, lose their elasticity and force at the very time when their best efforts are wanting. Others have their greatest trials in the mind-trials beyond the reach of medicine to alleviate, and deeper than any human aid can remove, though offered by the kindest sympathy and affection. In this train of afflictive dispensations are, the distractions and fears of doubt and distrust; disappointments in projects that seemed praiseworthy, and in hopes apparently well founded; transitions from affluence to poverty; the anxiety of watching the slow, but sure, progress of disease, in those we best love; and the snapping asunder, by death, of those ties upon which every earthly happiness seemed to depend.

Such, in a greater or less degree, are the trials allotted to every human being in this probationary state, although they do not act with equal force upon all. External evils are more easily borne by some than by others, owing to less sensibility of feeling; and where pain is little felt, little strength of mind, and consequently little virtue, is required to bear it: and the composure shown in such cases may be more properly called apathy than patience, and