beyond the grave. We are guilty, depraved, dying creatures. We need pardon and holiness, and wisdom, and strength, and peace and joy; we want the earnests and foretastes of immortality. And blessed be thy name, what we so much need, and hope we can say, so much desire, Thou hast provided. We thank Thee for thy unspeakable gift. We rejoice, that we have our existence in a land of gospel privileges; and where one of the first sounds that entered our infant ears, from the lips of maternal piety, was the name of Jesus. We rejoice that we have been led to view Him, not only as a teacher, and an example, but as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world; and that now in Christ Jesus, we, who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ; and have boldness and access with confidence, by the faith of Him.

May we look after actual and personal benefit from Him, and never be satisfied, till we can say, I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded, that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day. Possess us with more of that faith, which is the principle and medium of all vital godliness; may we be rich in faith; may we be strong in faith. By faith may we live; and by faith may we walk. May we feel the joy of faith; and do the work of faith. May we abound in hope; may the charity of every one of us, towards each other, increase; and may we be filled with all the fruits of righteousness, which are, by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

We ought to feel a broken heart, and a contrite spirit. We grieve to think, how insensible we have been, to the claims of thy authority, and the endearments of thy love; how little we have credited thy truth, trusted thy promises, feared thy threatenings, obeyed thy commands, or improved any of our advantages. We have had line upon

line, and precept upon precept. How numberless have been our admonitions, and warnings; and Thou hast said-He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

We thank Thee, that notwithstanding our desert, this is not, at present, our doom. As yet, we are in the number of those, for whom Thou art waiting to be gracious. We are yet in the land of the living. Through another day Thou hast spared us, and blessed us. May thy goodness lead us to repentance, and thy long-suffering prove our salvation. Let no evil befall us, and no plague come nigh our dwelling, this night; and in the morning may we rise to walk, before the Lord, in the land of the living, and to show forth all his praise.

We implore it in the name of Him who died for our sins, rose again for our justification, and ever liveth to make intercession for us; and to whom, with the Father, and Holy Spirit, be ascribed everlasting praises. Amen.

FRIDAY MORNING.

OUR voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning, alone, and in our family, will we direct our prayer unto Thee, and will look

up.

How well does it become us to be thankful! Many, during the past night, have had no place where to lay their head. Many, the victims of disease, have been full of tossing to and fro, until the dawning of the day; so that their bed has not comforted them, nor their couch eased their complaint. Many have been deprived of rest while watching over their connexions in pain and sorrow. How many have slept the sleep of death, and will not awake till the beavens are no more!

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Others, whose lives are prolonged, have risen to be surrounded with want and wo: and thousands, who have all things richly to enjoy, have risen only to live another day, without God in the world.

And why is not this the case with us? Thou, O God, hast remembered, and distinguished, and indulged us. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

And thy mercies have been new every morning, yea, every moment. All our desires have not been gratified; but it was love that denied us, when the accomplishment of our wishes would have proved our ruin or our injury: we have had our trials, but they have been few compared with our sins; they have been attended with numberless alleviations; and when we have kissed the rod, it has fallen out of thy hand.

Thou hast often wiped away our tears, and restored peace to thy mourners; Thou hast never chastened us but for our profit; we already see the design of many of our griefs, and can say, It is good for me that I have been afflicted, and in all other cases where darkness yet clouds the dispensation, we desire to walk by faith. We believe that Thou hast done all things well, and that thy work is perfect.

But, O, what do we owe Thee for the word of thy truth-the throne of thy grace-the Son of thy love-thy unspeakable gift; what do we owe Thee, if we have any reason to hope that we are in Christ, and free from all condemnation; and that when He, who is our life, shall appear, we shall also appear with Him in glory, and be for ever with the Lord!

Surely, a gratitude becomes us that will not eva porate in a morning acknowledgment with the lip, but such as will keep us in the fear of the Lord all the day long, and lead us to ask, What shall I ren

der unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? We, therefore, by the mercies of God, present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Thee, which is our reasonable service.

And now, O Thou Author of all good, we come to Thee for the grace another day will requirethe grace its duties will require the grace its events will require; for we know not when we leave our apartments in the morning, what a day will bring forth. But we know that we are stepping into a wicked world, and that we carry about us an evil heart: we know that without Thee we can do nothing and we know that there is nothing with which we shall have any concern in the day, however harmless in itself, but may prove an occasion of sinning and falling, unless we are kept by the power of God. We, therefore, desire to pray ourselves out of our own keeping into thy keeping. Hold Thou us up, and we shall be safe. Preserve our understandings from the subtlety of error; our affections from the love of idols; our senses from the ungovernable impressions of outward objects; our character from every stain of vice, and our profession from every appearance of evil and may the God of peace sanctify us wholly, and may our whole spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May we engage in nothing on which we cannot implore thy blessing, and to which we cannot welcome thy inspection. Prosper us in our lawful undertakings, or prepare us for disappointment. Give us neither poverty nor riches. Feed us with food convenient for us, lest we be full and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or, lest we be poor, and steal, and take the name of our God in vain.

May every creature be good to us, being sunctified by the word of God and prayer. Teach us how to use the world as not abusing it. Enable

us to improve our talents, and to redeem our time. May we walk in wisdom towards them that are without, and in kindness towards them that are within; and do good, as we have opportunity unto all men, especially unto them that are of the household of faith.

And unto Him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God, our Saviour, be glory, and majesty, dominion, and power, both now and ever. Amen.

FRIDAY EVENING

O THOU incomprehensibly great and glorious Jehovah! the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who only hast immortality. We adore Thee and abase ourselves. Though we are allowed to approach Thee, we would not be mindless of the views and feelings which so well become those, who, as creatures, are less than nothing, and, as sinners, are worse than nothing before Thee.

For, if we say, we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; the heavens would reveal our iniquity, and the earth would rise up against us. And why should we endeavour to deny our guilt, since even our thoughts have not been screened from thy sight, and Thou hast set our most secret sins in the light of thy countenance? and why should we desire it, since we know, that if we confess our sins, Thou art faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness? From a view, therefore, of their exceeding sinfulness, we would confess them with a broken heart, and a contrite spirit, earnestly longing to be delivered from them, and be led in the way everlasting.