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as not to neglect things eternal. May we walk in the world as becomes the dignity of the rational character, as becomes the sanctity of the religious profession, and the purity of the Christian hope.

"Oh that it may be the stedfast purpose of our lives, to hold fast our integrity so long as we shall live. Let not the fear of evil, nor the fashion of the world, nor the vain splendour of life, turn us aside from the right path. In every department of duty, may we approve ourselves unto thee; and in every situation of life, may we possess that peace of mind which the world cannot give, and cannot take away. May we pass through life unspotted from the world, and end our days in innocence and peace.

"Be with us now in singing praises to thy name; and come forth with us in the evening, to worship again before thee, and to hear instructions from thy holy word. Now to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be glory, and honour, and praise, for ever and ever. Amen.

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PSALM CXXI.

TO the hills will lift mine eyes

From whence doth come mine aid. 2 My safety cometh from the Lord,

Who heav'n and earth hath made. 3 Thy foot he'll not let slide, nor will He slumber that thee keeps.

4 Behold, he that keeps Israel,

He slumbers not, nor sleeps.

5 The Lord thee keeps, the Lord thy shade,
On thy right hand doth stay.

6 The moon by night thee shall not smite,
Nor yet the sun by day.

7 The Lord shall keep thy soul, he shall
Preserve thee from all ill.

8 Henceforth thy going out and in

God keep for ever will.

BLESSING.

[The whole Congregation stand up when the blessing is pronounced.]

"May the love of God the Father, the grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you, and all the people of God; henceforth and for evermore. A.

men.

EVENING SERVICE.

PARAPHRASE.

HEBREWS iv. 14. to the end.

W The house of God not made with hands;

WHERE high the heavenly temple stands,

A great high priest our nature wears;
The guardian of mankind appears.
2 He who for men their Surety stood,
And pour'd on earth his precious blood,
Pursues in heaven his mighty plan,
The Saviour and the Friend of man.
3 Though now ascended up on high,
He bends on earth a brother's eye;
Partaker of the human name,

He knows the frailty of our frame.

Besides the Psalms of David, a Collection of Translations and Paraphrases in verse, of several passages of Sacred Scripture, together with some Hymns, has been, of late years, used in several Congregations in public worship; and this, by permission of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. This Paraphrase of Hebrews iv. 14. and likewise the Hymm which closes the following EVENING SERVICE, are taken from that Collection, and both of them were composed by the Author of these Sermons. Logan's Poems, published in 1781.

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4 Our fellow-suff'rer yet retains
A fellow feeling of our pains;
And still remembers in the skies,
His tears, his agonies, and cries.
5 In every pang that rends the heart,
The Man of Sorrows had a part;
He sympathizes with our grief,
And to the suff'rer sends relief.
6 With boldness therefore at the throne,
Let us make all our sorrows known;
And ask the aids of heav'nly power,
To help us in the evil hour.

PRAYER.

Father Almighty, we come again into thy presence, with the voice of thanksgiving, and of praise, to worship at the footstool of thy throne. May our prayers come up before thee, as the incense of old ; and the lifting up of our hands, as the evening sacrifice! To all temples, thou preferrest the pure and humble heart; to all burnt-offerings, the sacrifice of prayer and of praise.

"The heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. Thou dwellest not in temples made with hands. The universe is the altar of God. Thy worshippers are, wherever are thy works; every knee bends, and every tongue utters thy praise. Thou lookest down from the height of heaven, upon all the works of thy hands. Thou art clothed with majesty, and dwellest in light. Thou art a God of pure eyes: thou art glorious in holiness. Thou lookest upon the sun, and it shineth not the heavens are not clean in thy sight. The angels who surround thy throne, continually worship thee, saying, Holy, holy, holy, art thou, Lord God Almighty! the whole heavens, and the whole earth, are full of thy glory!

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Thy throne, O God, is for ever: thy dominion ruleth over all the sceptre of thy kingdom is altogether a right sceptre. Thy tender mercies are over

all thy works. Thy goodness falls everywhere like the dew, and extends like the beams of the sun. Order and beauty attend thy steps: mercy and love direct the whole train of thine administrations. Thou look

est down upon the highest and upon the lowest of thy works: thou carest for the raven of the desert: thou feedest the fowls of the air when they cry unto thee. Thou adornest the grass with green, and deckest the lilies of the field with beauty superior to the glory of kings. Thou hast created all being at first with a father's care, and thou dost still watch over them with a father's eye. Thou, the Lord JEHOVAH, rejoicest in thy works; and thy works, O Lord JEHOVAH, rejoice in thee! Whatever hath being blesses thee whatever hath life sings thy praise. Who is like unto the Lord our God that dwelleth on high!

"We, too, the children of men, desire to accord with the rest of thy creation, to join in the joy of universal nature, and to bear a part in the hymn which the living world continually sings to thee. Thou hast raised us above the animal creation: thou hast opened unto us the source of pure and intellectual pleasure thou hast endowed us with higher life than what pertains to the body; and set before us a better world than that which we now inhabit. Thy goodness is new to us every day of our lives. Thou leadest us to the green pastures, and by the still waters: thou guardest us from the arrow that fleth in darkness, and from destruction which rageth at noon-day. The lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places: the sun doth not smite us by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord buildeth the house: the Lord keepeth the city. Blessed for ever be the name of the Lord: because the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, let the isles be glad, and the inhabitants of the earth rejoice.

But, alas! what is man, O Lord, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou shouldst visit him. The child of the dust, whose strength is weakness, whose wisdom is folly, whose goodness is imperfection, whose life is altogether vanity! We be

hold the heavens, but discern not him who stretched them over our heads! we hear the voice, and speech, and language, of universal nature proclaiming the great Creator: we hear the night speaking unto the night, and the day reporting unto the day, telling of him that made them, and yet we learn not to know thee as we might, nor become wise unto salvation.

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Have mercy upon us, O God, not for our own sakes, but for the sake of him whom thou lovest always, our Advocate and Intercessor with thee. Help, Lord, or else we perish: extend thy powerful arm, and snatch us from the devouring deep. Reconcile us unto thyself, through the blood of Jesus, whom thou hast set forth to be a propitiation for the sins of the world, who suffered for us on the accursed tree, that he might bring us to God, and purify us unto himself, a peculiar people, zealous of good works. For his sake forgive all our iniquities: Receive us graciously, and love us freely. See, O God, the contrition and repentance of our hearts. Hear the vows which this day we have offered up at the table of a Redeemer. O our Father, receive again thy children unto thee, who return with their whole heart, and strength, and soul. Framer of the bodies which now stand before thee, Father of the spirits which now ascend unto thee in prayer, take thine own unto thyself. Our spirits magnify, and love, and bless thee the Lord As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so pant our souls after thee, O God. The desire of our hearts is unto thee, and to the remembrance of thy name!

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May our purposes of amendment and sincere endeavours after purity of heart and life, be not like the early cloud and dew, which soon pass away, and are no more; but like the morning light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Teach us to shun every temptation to sin: may we neither sit in the chair of the scorner, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor walk after the counsel of the ungodly. May we study the laws and commandments of our God: VOL. I.

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