and celebrate the goodness of God in psalms of gratitude, and we listen with delight to the reading of various portions of God's holy word. But when we resume the attitude of prayer, how are we taught to commence our devotions? With reiterated cries for mercy!" Lord have mercy upon us! Christ have mercy upon us! Lord have mercy upon us!"

It is a mournful proof of our natural alienation from God, and of our wonderful apathy upon these subjects, that such ardent petitions for mercy should ever fall from careless lips, or proceed from an unfeeling heart. It is the cry of the perishing and the dying, "Lord have mercy on me!" But we use these piercing words with indifference and thoughtlessness!

If we turn our attention to that beautiful compendium of prayer, the litany, we find the same characteristic feature of lowly confession; we begin by calling upon each person in the Holy Trinity individually, first, and then collectively

as one God. And what is our prayer? "Have mercy upon us, MISERABLE SINNERS!" Not only sinners, but MISERABLE sinners, miserable through the total ruin in which our souls are involved, and truly unhappy on account of it; our only plea is, "HAVE MERCY!" And mark the petitions that follow. "Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins: spare us, good Lord, and be not angry with us for ever!" And the people respond, expressing their deep conviction of their need of mercy," SPARE US, GOOD LORD." We pray to be delivered from "God's wrath," "from sin," from "blindness of heart," and "from everlasting damnation," to all which it is implied we have fully exposed ourselves. And as true repentance is the gift of God, we beg of him to "Give us true repentance, and to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances:" we beseech him not to "deal with us after

our sins, nor to reward us according to our iniquities." We are assured, that "he despises not the sighing of a contrite heart, nor the desire of such as be sorrowful;" we therefore beseech him

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Pitifully to behold the sorrows of our hearts, and mercifully to forgive the sins of his people." And lest, in the recapitulation of our offences, we should have neglected to deprecate any justly merited punishment, we implore him "Mercifully to look upon our infirmities, and for the glory of his name to turn from us all those evils that we most righteously have deserved.

In this review of the sentiments of our church upon the great fundamental doctrine of man's alienation from God, it will be perceived that we confine ourselves to her public services, and make

* To this might be subjoined the beautiful collect appointed to be read at the close of the evening service, where we confess that we " are tied and bound with the chain of our sins," and pray that "the pitifulness of God's mercy may loose us."

no reference to the articles and homilies, where this subject is fully and particularly discussed; and we do so, in order that it may appear evident that it is not only in the more abstruse writings of the church that this doctrine is inculcated, but that it is contained in the petition of every sabbath-day, and implied in every act of public worship.

But I must call your attention for a few moments to the sacramental service, as illustrative of the principle which we are this day labouring to enforce. We shall there find what sort of language the church puts into the mouths of the most spiritual of her worshippers. When they kneel before the sacred board, upon what plea do they present their petitions? Do they praise God that they are better than some others? that they are moral and reputable, charitable and humane, and therefore hope that they shall be worthy communicants? No! such persons are not even invited to attend. The priest addresses

them: Who do truly and earnestly repent them of their sins," as fit partakers of those holy mysteries; and minister and people together bow down before God, using the following words: "We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us! We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings: the remembrance of them is grievous unto us, and the burthen of them is intolerable! Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father!" And when we are about to partake of the bread and wine, we add these words: "We do not presume to come to this thy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table."