alarm us; infirmities oppress us; disappointments afflict us; losses impoverish us - we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. O, shut not thy merciful ear to our prayers; but spare us, O Lord, most holy; O God, most mighty; O holy and most merciful Saviour; thou most worthy Judge eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, for any bitter pains of death, to fall from thee.

We acknowledge, O God, with shame and sorrow, that the state of degradation and mortality in which we groan, was not our original condition. Thou madest man upright; but he sought out many inventions. By one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

And we bless thee that this is not our final state. By the discoveries of faith, we see new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. We see the spirits of just men made perfect. We see our vile bodies changed, and fashioned like the Saviour's own glorious body; and man, the sinner, raised above the angels, who never sinned.

We bless thee for this purpose of grace, formed before the world began, and accomplished in the fulness of time, by the Son of thy love, who hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light by the gospel; and who among the ravages of the grave, says, I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom that wisdom which will lead us to prefer the soul to the body, and eternity to time; that wisdom which will lead us to secure an interest in a better world, before we are removed from this.

O let not the trifles of time induce us to neglect the one thing needful. While each of us is compelled to say, I know thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living, may we be enabled also

to 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.

And, O, let not the solemnities we have this day witnessed, be ever forgotten; for often, our most serious impressions have worn off, and our goodness has been as the morning cloud and early dew that soon passeth away.

Thou hast permitted death to invade our circle, and hast turned our dwelling into a house of mourning. May we find that it is better to be in the house of mourning than in the house of mirth. By the sadness of the countenance may the heart be made better, more serious to reflect, and more softened to take impression.

With the feelings of the creature, may we blend the views and the hopes of the Christian. May we remember that thou hast bereaved us, resuming what was lent us for a season, but never ceased to be thine own. May we, therefore, be dumb, and open not our mouth, because thou hast done it; or if we speak, may it be to acknowledge and pray-I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me; let thy loving-kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.

Now, 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.

MOURNING FOR THE LOSS OF RELATIVES AND

FRIENDS.

Smith.

O THOU who art our great Creator, and, by thy good hand upon us, still our merciful Preserver, may we at this time approach the footstool of thy throne, with thy divine forgiveness and gracious acceptance. To whom can we go but unto thee, who art the Father of lights,

and fountain of every blessing; and who hast said in thy Holy Scriptures, "Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. In this word, O God, we find it written, "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart."

By thy wise and special appointment, our deceased [brother] [sister] is cut off from the land of the living; [his] [her] body returns to the earth out of which it was taken, and [his] [her] spirit hath returned to thee, who gave it. We would desire upon this, as upon every occasion, to submit ourselves to God; saying, "The will of the Lord be done." Be pleased to grant, O thou Author of every good and perfect gift! grant, that we may be enabled to say, with the same resignation as thy servant of old: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Blessed Jesus, thou hast said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." And, O heavenly Father, help us all to extend our views forward to that day when thou shalt redeem our souls from the power of the grave; and when these bodies, which are sown in corruption, dishonour, and weakness, shall be raised in incorruption, glory, and power; and that saying be brought to pass "Death is swallowed up in victory." In this important and interesting day, when the world shall be judged in righteousness by that Immanuel whom God the Father hath appointed, may we, and all our deceased friends, appear clothed with his righteousness, and hear him pronounce, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the

world."

Knowing these things, may we be enabled, O God, to comfort ourselves together, and edify one another, ever reckoning that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be evealed in us;" nay, assured" that our light affliction,

which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

Now, 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.

THOU art the fountain of life; in thee we live, move, and have our being-and the prerogative of that being is, that we are able to contemplate thy perfections, and rise from thy works-to thyself.

Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, and renewest the face of the earth; and, from apparent death, all nature starts into reanimated vigour and joy. In what myriads of productions art thou displaying afresh, the wonders of thy wisdom, power, and goodness-the whole earth is full of thy riches.

While we partake of the general sympathy and delight, may we join with all thy works to praise thee. And, O thou God of all grace, bless us with the renewing of the Holy Ghost, in all the powers of our souls. May old things pass away, and all become new in Christ; may the beauty of the Lord be upon us; and the joy of the Lord be our strength.

May the young remember, that they are now in the spring of life; and that this spring, once gone, returns no more. May they, therefore, eagerly seize, and zealously improve, the short, but all-important season, for the cultivation of their minds, the formation of their habits, the correction of their tempers, their preparation for future usefulness, and their gaining that good part which shall not be taken away from them.

W

WE hail Thee in the varying aspects of the year, and bless Thee for all their appropriate influences and advantages. O, let us not view them and enjoy them as men only, but as Christians also; and ever connect with them, the better blessings of thy grace.

How wise, and useful, and necessary, are these intermingled rains and sunbeams-may Jesus, as the Sun of Righteousness, arise upon us, with healing under his wings; and may he come down as rain upon the mown grass, and as showers that water the earth.

When we walk by the cooling brook-may we think of that river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God.

When we retire from the scorching warmth of the day, into the inviting shade-may we be thankful for a rest at noon, a shelter from the heat, the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

May thy servants behold the moral fields, that are already white unto harvest, and be all anxiety to save the multitudes that are perishing for lack of knowledge.

The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; we therefore pray, that Thou wilt send forth labourers into thy harvest.

He that gathereth in summer, is a wise son; he that sleepeth in harvest, is a son that causeth shame. Now is our accepted time, now is our day of salvation. O, let us not waste our precious privileges, and in a dying hour exclaim-The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

How fleeting as well as varying are the seasons of the year! How insensibly have the months of spring and summer vanished! and nature has no sooner attained its maturities, than we behold its declension and decay