while we seek to be justified by faith, we are found unreformed sinners, our faith cannot

save us.

Let us always bear in mind the following declaration of our blessed Lord, "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father who is in heaven; but whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, who is in heaven."

Lord, we believe; help thou our unbelief, and increase our faith; that we may be of the number of those, that believe unto righteousness and salvation.

EXER. XVIII.

The brevity of human life, the certainty of death, and assurance of a resurrection, adapted to occasions of mortality.

Mas. BEHOLD, O Lord, thou hast made our days an hand-breadth, and our age is as nothing before thee; and every man at his best estate is altogether vanity.

Fam. Here we have no continuing city, but are strangers and sojourners before the Lord. For what is our life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a moment, and then vanisheth away.

Upon the wings of each revolving day, the important hour is approaching with swiftest speed, when our own experience will teach us the full import of that judicial sentence, Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.

What man is he that liveth and shall not see death? And who shall deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?

There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit in the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war.

The days of man are determined; the number of his months is with the Lord; he hath appointed his bounds, that he cannot pass.

Let us rejoice in the revelation of Jesus Christ which gives us assurance, of a resurrection from the dead, and opens to view glorious prospects into futurity.

Blessed be God, that as by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead; that as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Under the apprehensions of mortality and the approaching period of all sublunary joys, let us solace our spirits by contemplations on that life and immortality, which the gospel hath brought to light.

We will rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life; for he hath abolished death, and will ransom us from the power of the grave; and because he lives, we shall live also.

When he shall descend from heaven, with power and great glory, to judge the world in righteousness, then all that are in their graves shall come forth, and he will gather the righteous of all nations from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

At that day the Lord Jesus Christ shall

change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. It is sown in corruption, dishonour and weakness, but it shall be raised in incorruption, glory and

power.

It is sown a natural body, but it shall be raised a spiritual body; and as we have borne the image of the first man, who was of the earth earthy, we shall also bear the image of the second man, who is the Lord from heaven.

Neither shall we die any more, for we shall be like the angels of God in heaven, and with them be wrapt in the embraces of a glorious. immortality.

Supported by this blessed hope, animated by these reviving prospects, let us be steadfast and immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

Then shall we have joy in believing, and in the near view of death, be able to triumph, and say, O death, where is thy sting! O grave, where is thy victory! Thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory, through Jesus Christ.

EXER. XIX.

The amazing condescension of God displayed in his goodness to men, especially in the blessings of the new covenant.

Mas. O THOU incomprehensible Jehovah, whose infinite perfections are inscribed in signatures indelible, upon every part of the stupendous fabric of the world; when we

reflect upon our own meanness and unworthiness, we blush and are ashamed to lift up our faces towards heaven.

Fam. Thou humblest thyself to take notice of the exalted services of the heavenly hosts; thy glory dazzles the light of the sun; thou lookest to the moon, and it shineth not, and the stars are not pure in thy sight.

What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the sons of men, who have their foundation in the dust, and dwell in houses of clay, that thou visitest them?

Cloathed with light as with a garment, thou appearest in the heavens in the brightest effulgence of infinite excellence and perfection, amidst angels and arch-angels, and thousands of holy and happy intelligences, who are continually celebrating thy praises, in the most exalted strains of sacred devotion.

We rejoice, that though we cannot attain to the exalted strains of the heavenly hosts in their devotions, yet we are permitted to join our sincere though fainter voices, and bear a part in the celestial harmony.

With devout admiration we would adore the condescension of the great Sovereign of the universe, in stooping from his throne of glory in the heavens, to bestow his compassionate regards upon us, vile dust and ashes, who reside on his footstool here below.

We will rejoice in the Lord, who, notwithstanding our own insignificance, graciously vouchsafes to visit our abodes with his loving kindnesses and tender mercies.

Blessed be God, who hath not only given us being, but also provided for our well being, both in this world, and that which is to come. Let us therefore praise his holy name forever.

May we always feel our obligations to the source of all being and happiness; the Former of our bodies, and the Father of our spirits, and the Preserver of our lives, who is daily showering down upon us a rich variety of blessings calculated to promote the joys of life.

Let us especially render him our most hearty thanks, that he bath been pleased, in the riches of his grace, through the mediation of his only begotten Son, our blessed Lord and Saviour, to make provision for our deliverance from guilt and condemnation, and advancement to the supreme and everlasting. felicity in the world of glory.

Let us give glory to God in the highest for the blessings of the new covenant, revealed: and offered to us in the gospel.

Blessed are they who hear the joyful sound of the gospel, and are made acquainted with the glad tidings of salvation through a Redeemer.

The glorious prospects opened before them into futurity, are calculated to alleviate the cares, and assuage the sorrows inseparable from this state of mortality.

Rejoicing in the rock of our salvation, let us always endeavour to make suitable returns of gratitude and obedience, for all the wonders› of love and goodness, displayed in the glori ous work of man's redemption..