EASTER SUNDAY.

EVENING.

O, THOU ever blessed God, we rejoice to think, Thou hast determined to get thyself honour, in this apostate part of thy empire; not by the merited infliction of thy justice, but the displays of thy goodness. For Thou hast said, mercy shall be built up for ever, a monument higher than the heavens, more durable than eternity, and inscribed to the praise of the glory of thy grace, wherein Thou hast made us accepted in the beloved.

We bless Thee, for the appointment and revelation, of the one only Mediator between Thee and us; by whose death sinners are reconciled, and by whose life they are saved. Thou hast laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with his stripes we are healed.

Establish in our minds a full persuasion, that he was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification; and may we, above all things, be concerned to know not only that He is risen again, but that we are quickened together with Christ, and raised up, and made to sit with Him in the heavenly places. May we hold communion with Him, as a living and reigning Saviour; able to carry on our cause, and save unto the uttermost, all that come unto God, by Him.

Is He not head over all things unto his body the church? Is He not exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour? Has He not assured us, that because He lives, we shall live also? May we view Him as the first fruits of them that sleep; and believe, that as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. May we view his resurrection, not only a the pledge, but the model of our own;

Knowing that he shall not only change our vile body, but fashion it like His own glorious body, according to the working, whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.

Thou hast appointed a day in which Thou wilt judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom Thou hast ordained: and Thou hast given assurance of it unto all men, in that Thou hast raised Him from the dead. O, save us from the wrath of the Lamb. May we tremble at the thought of appearing before Him, if we have neglected his salvation, despised his precious blood, and resisted his Holy Spirit.

Let not the head stone of the corner, be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence; but as He is chosen of God, and precious, may He be precious to us. And while He is living for us in heaven, may we be living for Him on earth. May we esteem it our highest honour to be like Him; and feel it our greatest pleasure to serve Him.

And let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that Thou hast made that same Jesus whom their fathers crucified, both Lord and Christ. May the veil be taken from their heart; and may they behold, as in a glass, his glory.

As a nation be merciful unto us, and bless us. May this christian country, be a country of christians and let all who name the name of Christ, depart from iniquity.

Bless all those who preach Jesus and the resurrection. May they preach with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. May their sound go into all the earth; and their words unto the ends of the world.

As yet, after all we have read, and heard, and experienced, we know but little of the value of the gospel; but we know enough to induce us to be thankful for our religious advantages; to sympathize with those who are without Christ; and to pray, that in Him all the families of the earth may

be blessed, and all the generations call Him blessed.

Now the God of Peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us tha. which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

WHITSUNDAY.*

MORNING.

O GOD, Thou hast established thy throne in the heavens, and thy kingdom ruleth over all; and all nations before Thee are as nothing. Yet, blessed be thy name, it is only in comparison with thy in-, finite greatness, that they are nothing-not in reference to thy condescension, and kindness, and care. Even as individuals we have been the charge of thy providence; goodness and mercy have always attended us; and having obtained help of Thee, we continue to this day. Thou hast been mindful of our souls as well as our bodies; yea Thou wast pleased to form a purpose of grace in our favour; and devise means the most glorious, to deliver us from the degradation, and misery, and perdition of sin; and to make us partakers of the hope of eternal life.

We bless Thee for the dispensation of religion, under which it is our exalted privilege to live. How superior are our advantages, to those enjoyed by many of thy people, in earlier ages. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by

A festival observed in remembrance of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles Acts, ii. 3.

Jesus Christ. Prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which we see, and did not see them; and to hear the things which we hear, and did not hear them; but blessed are our eyes for they see and our ears for they hear. Instead of a portion of revelation, we have the sacred Scriptures complete. Instead of the blackness, and darkness, and tempest, of Sinai, we have the milder glories, and the small still voice of Zion. We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

We praise Thee for the establishment of the glorious gospel, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; God also bearing them witness, with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will. We rejoice, that though His supernatural agency has ceased, with its necessity, the ministry of the Spirit continues, and that His saving influences are confined to no period of the church. All that have been enlightened and renewed since the fall, have been the subjects of His operation; and with Thee is the residue of the Spirit.

We rejoice, that as there is no blessing we so much need, so there is no blessing we are so much encouraged to implore: for thy truth has said, if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven, give His Holy Spirit unto them that ask Him.

O Thou God of all grace, fulfil the word unto thy servants, upon which Thou hast caused us to hope. Impart unto us thy Holy Spirit, to open the eyes of our understanding, to sanctify our alfections, to comfort our hearts, to glorify Christ, by taking of the things of Christ, and showing them to us

May we never commit the sin against the Holy Ghost. Never quench the Spirit. Never resist the Holy Ghost. Never grieve the Holy Spirit But may we pray in the Holy Ghost; and worship God in the Spirit; and be lead by the Spirit; and be filled with the Spirit.

May we always view the commands in connexion with thy promises; our duties and trials, in connexion with our resources. Great is our work; great is our warfare; and far greater than we ever yet felt it to be, is our weakness. But our sufficiency is of God; and Thou hast said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee-not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord.

Let the goings of our God and our King, be seen in the sanctuary; and when thy truth is dispensed, let it come to those who hear it, not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance.

And bless, not only the gates of Zion, but all the dwelling places of Jacob. May every family contain a church in the house. Pour thy blessing upon our seed, and thy Spirit upon our offspring and may the rising race grow up, the ornaments, examples, and benefactors, of their day and generation.

To Thee we commend all who have the rule over us; we implore thy favourable regards to the privileged country in which we live. Humble us before Thee for our sins, especially our neglect and abuse of our religious advantages. Withdraw not from us the blessings we have forfeited; and inflict not upon us the judgments we have deserved. But spare us according to the greatness of thy

mercy.

And from our land of vision, may the light break forth upon all those who are in darkness, and the region of the shadow of death.

Bless all missionary exertions. Let the various societies employed in this work of faith, and la