down before Him, and all nations serve Him; and in all the earth which He has purchased with His own blood, may there be one Lord, and His name

one.

And when He, who made Himself of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, shall come in His glory, with all the holy angels, may we be enabled to say, even so, come Lord Jesus; and unite with those, who will be eternally employed in saying-Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God, and to His Father, be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

GOOD FRIDAY.

EVENING.

O THOU, whose name alone is Jehovah, the Most High over all the earth; We desire to adore thy perfections, and to admire thy works, which are sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

Thou art the only wise God. Thy power is Almighty. Whither can we go from thy presence, or whither can we flee from thy Spirit? Thou art holy in all thy ways. And such is thy purity, that even the heavens are not clean in thy sight.

How shall we come before the Lord, or bow before the high God? we have no offering of our own to bring. No man can redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him. The blood of bulls and of goats could not take away sin. The law itself made nothing perfect-but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh to God.

Yes, blessed be thy name, Thou hast shown us what is good; and we behold the Lamb of God, who is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Here a foundation is laid for our hope, in connexion with the highest glory of all thy perfections; and we rejoice to think, that while pleading for salvation by the blood of the cross, we ask Thee not to deny thyself, or to trample on thy holy law; for here, thy law is magnified and made honourable; here, all thy attributes are developed and harmonized; mercy and truth meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Here, weary and heavy laden, may we come for relief, and find rest unto our souls. May we take fresh views of this adorable sacrifice, under a sense of our constant unworthiness and desert; and in all our approaches to Thee, may we have boldness and access with confidence, by the faith of Him.

May we not only rely upon His cross, but glory in it. Yea, may we joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. And may we be able, individually, to say, I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

We are thankful, that as He atoned for our guilt, so He procured for us the grace of life, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit, through faith. May we never separate the pardon and sanctification which Thou hast joined together. May we prove, that He gave Himself-not only for our sins, but that He might deliver us from the present evil world; yea, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

And, O, that in every future moment of our existence, we may be constrained to live, not to ourselves, but to Him that died for us, and rose again. As He so loved us, may we also love one another: and never deem any thing too great to do, or to suffer, while endeavouring to seek and to save. that which is lost.

May the hearts which are too hard to be broken by terror, be melted by love, and gained by confidence. May none of those who are desirous of returning to Thee, be discouraged by a fear of rejection but calling to remembrance and belief, the infinite proof which Thou hast already exhibited of thy benevolence, thus judge-He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not, with Him, freely give us all things.

Smile upon our country. Let all the churches of the faithful, be edified and multiplied. Bless all the ministers of the everlasting gospel; and may they increasingly determine to know nothing, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

Increase the number of those who love his salvation; and as He gave himself ransom for a... may it be testified in due time, that he may have the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession; and reign King of kings, and Lord of lords.

In his words we conclude our devotions. Father, &c. Amen.

Our

EASTER SUNDAY.*

MORNING.

WHEN We consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou

A day set apart in commemoration of our Saviour's resurrection.

hast ordained; Lord, what is man, that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him. We are not worthy of an audience at thy footstool-we are not worthy of the least of all thy mercies-our sins have even called aloud for vengeance.

But Thou hast not executed upon us the fierceness of thy anger-because Thou art good as well as great; and thy goodness constitutes thy greatness. Thou hast turned our very fall into an occasion of improving our condition, by advancing us to the possession of more and greater blessings than we originally enjoyed; so that we not only have life, but have it more abundantly.

For this purpose the Son of thy love was manifested; and in the fulness of time, we behold Him assuming our nature, and coming into our world, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. We rejoice to see, in his release from the prison of the grave, the evidence of the all-sufficiency and acceptation of the sacrifice He offered on the cross. O, help us to consider Him as a risen Saviour; and may we feel the power of his resurrection, in establishing our faith, enlivening our hope, and securing our sanctification. May we not only believe his resurrection, but partake of it, and resemble it, that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also might walk in newness of life; reckoning ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord..

And if risen with Christ, may we give evidence of it, and act becoming it, in seeking those things that are above.

May we never leave our spiritual and everlasting condition, undecided and unknown; may we never be satisfied, till we are able to say, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath be

gotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us.

In all our difficulties and dangers, may we rejoice that He who was dead, is alive again, to plead for us, to defend us, and to supply, and has the keys of hell and of death.

In all the afflictions of life, in the decay of nature, and when looking into the horrors of the grave, may we with humble and holy confidence be able to say, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.

Are we called to mourn over the loss of our dear and pious connexions? Let us not sorrow as those who have no hope; but comfort one another with these words-That Jesus died and rose again, and them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

We glory in the victory which our risen Saviour has obtained, not only over death and the grave, but the powers of darkness; we rejoice that he has set judgment in the earth, and that the isles are waiting for his law; that his word is translating into every language, and his servants entering every clime. We hail what he has done as a pledge of his universal triumph. And though we yet see not all things actually put under him, we see him, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; and in possession of all the resources, necessary to accomplish the benevolent designs of his heart; and he must reign till all his enemies are made his footstool.

Through him, as the once suffering but now exalted Saviour, we address Thee, as our Father, &c. Amen.