ears are still so dull of hearing, and our hearts so slow to believe that our souls so cleave unto the dust; that we live so much under the influence of things seen and temporal; and feel so little of the powers of a world to come. How obscure is our knowledge: how weak our faith; how low our hope; how wavering our obedience; how lifeless our worship. O Lord clothe us with humility; and in this attire help us to present Thee the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, which Thou wilt not despise.

And since Thou art the God of all grace, and hast commanded us to ask and receive, that our joy may be full;-afford us more of the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ, to give more decision to our character, and more earnestness to our zeal;-that with enlarged hearts in the way of thy commandments we may run, and not be weary, and walk and not faint. May we always realize thy presence; and may the thought, that thine eye is upon us, operate as a check to sin, an excitement to duty, and a source of consolation. May we bear with firmness and submission the various trials of life and religion, and derive from them, all the advantage which they are designed to afford. May we glorify the Lord in the fires, and may every day of trouble afford us an opportunity to prove the truth of thy promise, the tenderness of thy care, and the supports of thy grace. May tribulation work patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.

But how few, how limited, and how light are the afflictions with which we are exercised. How much more reason have we to be thankful than to complain. Bless the Lord, O our souls, and all that is within us bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O our souls, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all our iniquities; who healeth all our diseases; who redeemeth our

lives from destruction; who crowneth us with loving kindness and tender mercies.

We praise Thee for the protection, the supplies, and the comforts of another day. Take us under thy care for the night on which we have entered. May no evil befall us, nor any plague come nigh our dwelling. Refresh our bodies, and renew our strength, by needful repose; and when we awake, may we be still with God, and rise to love Thee more, and serve Thee better, than we ever have done; through our Lord and Saviour, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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WEDNESDAY MORNING.

AGAIN we lift up our eyes unto the hills from whence cometh our help: our help is in the name of the Lord God, who made heaven and earth.

Thou art the author of all existence, and the source of all blessedness. We adore Thee for making us capable of knowing Thee; for possessing us with reason, and conscience; and for leading us to inquire where is God my Maker that giveth songs in the night. We praise Thee for all the information with which we are favoured, to bring us to thyself; especially the revelation of the gospel. Here we look into thy very heart, and see that it is the dwelling place of pity. Here we see thy thoughts towards us, and find that they are thoughts of peace and not of evil. Here we see Thee waiting to be gracious, and exalted to have mercy. Here Thou hast told our consciences how the guilty can be pardoned, the unholy can be sanctified, and the poor furnished with unsearchable riches.

May we be found in the number of those who not only hear, but know the joyful sound, that we may walk

in the light of thy countenance, in thy name rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness be exalted. May we take Thee, the God of truth, at thy word; and believe the record, that Thou hast given to us eternal life and that this life is in thy Son. And since it is not only a faithful saying but worthy of all acceptation, that He came into the world to save sinners, to Hin may we look alone for salvation, and with all the earnestness, the infinite importance of the case requires.

And to Him may we immediately repair, remembering how short and uncertain our time is; and filled with holy horror at the thought of closing a life of precious, but neglected privileges, with the exclamation, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. We long for the experience of a present salvation, not only in the comforts, but in the renewings of the Holy Ghost. We desire to have nothing more to do with sin; and pray as sincerely to be restored to thy image, as to be reinstated in thy favor. We implore spiritual graces, as well as spiritual blessings; and pray that we may always value religious duties, as religious privileges. Deliver us from the disposition of the slave, and uphold us, in all our goings, by thy free Spirit and enable us to run in the way of thy commandments with freedom and delight.

May we cherish simplicity and godly sincerity of character: may we be in reality before God, what we are in appearance before men;-Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile. May we be religious, before we profess religion, and leave the world, before we enter the church; that we may not be looking back after its forbidden follies and vanities, but, with our affection set on things that are above, walk worthy of Him who has called us to His kingdom and glory.

And while we are the partakers of thy grace, may we be also the dispensers too. Freely having received,

may we freely give. May we feel it to be the sublimest of all satisfactions, and count it the greatest of all rewards, to save a soul from death, and to hide a multitude of sins. And while endeavouring to do good, may we be prepared to bear evil. May we consider Him who endured the contradiction of sinners against himself: and if reviled revile not again; or if opposed or slighted, never grow weary in well doing.

But, we bless Thee, that the lines are fallen to us in pleasant places: we are strangers to the sufferings of those who have gone before us; and can, not only sit ourselves, but call every man his neighbour, under the vine and under the fig-tree. May we avail ourselves of our opportunities; and invite those around us to taste and see that the Lord is good, while it is called to-day, knowing how soon the night cometh wherein no man can work.

O God, count us worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of thy goodness, and the work of faith with power that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in us, and we in Him, according to the grace of our God, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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WEDNESDAY EVENING.

O THOU that hearest prayer-Through him who is the great Intercessor let our prayer come before Thee as incense, and the lifting up of our hands as the evening sacrifice. We bless Thee as our Creator, the framer of our bodies, and the former of our souls within us. We praise Thee for the blessings of thy providence, which encompass us on every side, and are continued to us notwithstanding our unworthinesses. Thou hast not only given us life and favor, but thy visitation hath preserv

ed our spirit, and secured our personal and relative comforts.

But above all, we thank Thee for thine unspeakable gift. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Here our hopes find anchorage; here believing we enter into rest; here all our woes and wants find redress and supplies. O may our souls be united to this Saviour by a divine faith; he the head and we the members; he the vine and we the branches. May we be his disciples and learn of him; his soldiers, and war under his banner; his beneficiaries, and live upon his fulness. When we think of our transgressions of thy law, may we remember him who is the end of the law for righteousness. When we feel our sin, may we think of him whose blood cleanseth from all sin: and when, viewing our trials and duties, our weakness makes us despond, may we hear the voice that cries, My grace is sufficient for thee.

May we be followers of him who was meek and lowly in heart, who pleased not himself, who went about doing good, who said my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Subdue in us the selfishness that is so common to our depraved hearts, and excite in us a disposition to seek after the welfare of others. May sentiments of benevolence and kindness, mingle with all our thoughts, words and actions; may they become more natural, more powerful, more impartial: may we be good to the unthankful and the unworthy, that we may be the children of our Father who is in heaven, for he maketh his sun to shine on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.

Yet may we especially do good unto them that are of the household of faith. May all who do the will of our heavenly Father, be dear to our hearts. May we