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version of souls and the extension of the gos-pend upon it, and plead it before God; but be

pel. Bless all missionary societies; and let the circling months see the banners of the Redeemer carried forward, till all nations are subdued to the obedience of faith. Our Father, &c. Amen.

GOOD FRIDAY.

MORNING.

O THOU, King eternal, immortal, and invisible! though Thou art past finding out unto perfection, we rejoice that we are not called to worship an unknown God. Thou hast not left thyself without witness. We bless Thee for the revelation which Thou hast given us; and that in thy word we can view Thee as the Father of mercies and the God of all grace. All thy works and ways correspond with the names Thou hast assumed, and demand and justify our confidence in Thee. We praise Thee for the displays of thy goodness in the productions of nature and the bounties of thy providence; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

Herein Thou hast commended thy love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

We find ourselves this morning at the foot of his cross, where angels are desiring to look into these things-And if they who need no repentance, study the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, how much more should we, to whom they are not only true and wonderful and sublime, but all-important and infinitely interesting! Help us, O Lord, to turn aside and see this great sight; and not suffer a dying Saviour to address us in vain-Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by Behold and see if ever there was sorrow like unto my sorrow.

Here may we see the value of our souls in the price paid for their deliverance; and instead of neglecting them for the vanities of time and sense, may we regard them according to the estimation in which they were holden by Him who gave his life a ransom for many. Here may we contemplate the evil of sin, and abhor it; here look upon Him whom we have pierced, and mourn for Him. Yet remembering that He was not only slain by us, but for us, may we rejoice in our tears; and by believing enter into rest.

With humble and holy confidence may we be enabled to say, 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.

May we never degrade his death, by fearing that it will not be available for guilt so great and aggravated as ours, even if we de

fully persuaded that his blood cleanseth from all sin, and that by the one offering up of himself he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Yet, O God, never suffer us to sin that grace may abound. May we never crucify the Saviour afresh, and put him to an open shame. May He never be wounded in the house of his professing friends. Rather may we live only and wholly for Him who died for us, and adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

May our old man be crucified with Him, and the body of sin be destroyed, that henceforth we may not serve sin. May we be planted together in the likeness of his death. As He suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow his steps, may we learn of Him submission, and meekness and forgiveness of injuries: when reviled, may we revile not again; when suffering may we threaten not, but commit ourselves to Him that judgeth righteously.

Like Him, in all the afflictions of life may we look to the hand that prepares and presents them, and say, The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Whatever be the cross we are required to bear, may we look before us, and see Him carrying a much heavier; carrying it for us, and carrying it without a murmur.

Convert and pardon all those who by their lives or doctrine are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Have mercy upon the descendants of those who shed his blood; and let his dying prayer be answered, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

As Thou hast made his soul an offering for sin, may he see his seed, and prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord prosper in his hand. May He see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; and by his knowledge may He justify many, having borne their iniquities.

Yea, having been lifted up from the earth, may He draw all men unto Him. May all kings fall 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, but 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.

May

Here weary and heavy laden may we come for relief, and find rest unto our souls. 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 this present evil world; yea, that He might re

deem 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 anything 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 sovereign and 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 a ransom for all, 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: Our Father, &c. Amen.

EASTER SUNDAY.

MORNING.

WHEN We consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou 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 thine 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 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 ifrisen 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 begotten 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.

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 has 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 die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. May we view his resurrection, not only as 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 even 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 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 that 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 infinite 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 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 M

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 to 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 affections, 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 led by the Spirit, and be filled with the Spirit.

May we always view thy commands in connexion with thy promises, and our duties and trials in connexion with our resources. Great is our work, great is our warfare, and far greater than we have 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 our rightful sovereign, with all in authority under him and over us; and implore thy favourable regards

to the privileged country in which we live. | mire with gratitude the developement of a plan Humble us before Thee for our sins, espe- of mercy and grace divinely appropriate to cially our neglect and abuse of our religious all our wants and woes, and uniting the highadvantages. Withdraw not from us the bless- est display of thy highest glory with the salings we have forfeited; and inflict not upon vation of sinners. 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.

Adored be the benevolence that led the Son of thy love, before the foundation of the world, to say, Lo! I come to do thy will, O God; thy law is within my heart. Blessed be the day when the angels saw Him who was rich for our sakes becoming poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. Blessed be the hour, when the Prince of Life bore our sins in his own body on the tree; and having obtained eternal redemption for us, ascended up on high, leading captivity captive, and receiving gifts for men, even the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. We rejoice that Christianity was originally preached, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; and in the demon

Bless all missionary exertions. Let the various societies employed in this work of faith and labour of love view each other with pleasure and rejoice in each other's success; and if not in immediate and personal co-operation, yet in accordance, and tendency, and design, may they stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Let those who remain at home hold forth the word of life in their own circles, and be concerned to evangelize the dis-stration of the Spirit was so firmly established, tricts in which they reside. But O, let there not be a deficiency of those who offer themselves to the help of the Lord among the heathen, and that say, Lord, send me. Let it be said, as it was in the beginning of the gospel-The Lord gave the word, great was the company of them that published it.

And be with those that are already engaged. We know that Paul can only plant, and Apollos water; but Thou canst give the increase.

Pour thy Spirit from on high, and the wilderness shall become a fruitful field. Our Father, &c. Amen.

WHITSUNDAY.

EVENING.

O THOU Author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, and whose service is perfect freedom; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, and give us grace whereby we may serve Thee acceptably, with reverence and with godly fear.

We adore Thee as the Creator of all things, visible and invisible. Thou art the maker of our earth; and Thou art the maker of man upon it: and Thou madest man upright in the possession of thy image and the enjoyment of thy presence. But man, being in honour, abode not. Our first father sinned; and we have borne his iniquity. We have gone astray from the womb; and in numberless instances have evinced ourselves to be the degenerate offspring of a fallen original-and there is no health in us. As transgressors of thy law, we are under the curse; and did our deliverance depend upon ourselves, we must lie down in endless despair. We admit in all its extent the testimony of thy word against us, but ad

that the gates of hell can never prevail against it. We praise Thee that at so early a period the Sun of Righteousness, in the knowledge of the gospel, arose with healing under his wings upon this distinguished island, and said, Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. And O what reason have we to be thankful if this gospel has come to us, not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.

For we bless Thee, that though miracles have ceased, yet thy Spirit is insured to thy people to the end of the world, as the source of light and life, and peace and joy; giving testimony to the word of thy grace, and working in the souls of men to will and to do of thy good pleasure.

O Thou Author of all good, save us, we beseech Thee, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. May we be found in the number of those who are born of the Spirit, and give evidence of it by our walking after the Spirit, and our minding the things of the Spirit. Instead of judging ourselves by dreams, fancies, and unpressions, may we prove what is acceptable unto the Lord, and remember that the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth.

We desire, O God, to acknowledge our en tire dependence upon Thee. Whatever time we have been engaged in Thy service, we are still in the body, and feel our need of the continuance of those counsels, supports, and consolations, which have ever been afforded us. Cast us not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

In all the dangers to which we are exposed, uphold us by thy free Spirit; and may we not think it enough to be preserved from falling, but may we go forward, and be always abounding in the work of the Lord. Strength

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