O Lord, mercifully look upon the multitudes destitute of the blessings of that glorious feast of thy love in the gospel which thou hast provided. Send forth faithful servants in increasing numbers. to invite and with urgent entreaty compel men to come in, that the marriage-supper of the Lamb may be furnished with happy guests. And, O may none of us refuse the wedding garment which thou hast ready for us, but may we be clothed with thy righteousness and sanctified by thy Spirit, and be admitted at last to stand before thee.

Give us grace also here to render to all their dues, giving unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and unto God the things that are God's; and hereafter may we be found among the children of God and the children of the resurrection, who shall rise from the dead, and be counted worthy to obtain the world to come, who die no more, and are equal to the angels which are in heaven.

Hear us, O our Father, for our Redeemer's sake.

CVI.

WEDNESDAY EVENING.

FOR GRACE TO KEEP THE LAW, AND FOR PRESERVATION FROM APOSTACY.

O Lord, what more couldst thou have done than thou hast done to encourage sinners to come unto thee! Thou hast declared that thou art rich unto

all that call upon thee. Thou hast promised thou wilt give good things to them that ask thee. Thou hast farther promised-unto him that hath shall be given, so that each blessing we have is an earnest that thou wilt give fuller blessings still. And yet more, as if to silence every doubt, the Son of God disdained not to become a little child, to suffer, bleed, and die for us. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He ever liveth to make intercession for us: with boldness then would we come to thy throne of grace to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

O our gracious Redeemer, who hast told us that the great commandment of the law is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; and that the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself-we entreat thee to write these thy great commandments distinctly and deeply in our hearts, and grant that they may daily govern our lives.

Give unto us also a clear and distinct discernment of that great mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh, and a lively faith in thee, O Jesus, our Lord, as made of the seed of David after the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, perfect God and perfect man in one Christ, our glorious and complete Redeemer.

May we ever walk humbly with thee, and desire

not the honour that comes of man, nor the praise of man, but may we find praise of thee. May our bounty be according to our means in thy sight, and not in man's. O Jesus, give us to act that thou who didst approve the widow's mite, mayest approve our gifts to the divine treasury.

O deliver us and our church, and thy Gentile churches at large, from that awful hypocrisy and wickedness which brought upon the Jews, even from thee, O thou mild and gracious but most holy Redeemer, those tremendous woes threatened in thy last public discourse. May the Gentile churches every where see that they stand only by faith, and be preserved from high-mindedness, and fear thee.

Especially may the fulfilled threatening of the destruction of Jerusalem, and its treading down by the Gentiles for so many centuries, till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, now in these last days deeply impress all the Gentile churches with the fearful danger of apostacy, and the vast importance of watching and praying, as we know not the time of thy coming again. O Lord, make us ready. 0 Lord, preserve us from saying, My Lord delayeth his coming. Give us grace to be like the wise virgins, with oil in our vessels and our lamps trimmed and our lights burning, and like the diligent servant, improving the talents given to us. Make us like the righteous, abounding in all kinds of works of love, that we may be approved of thee in that

day, enter into thy glory, and inherit thy kingdom with thy saints for ever. Amen.

CVII.

THURSDAY MORNING.

TO FOLLOW THE HUMILITY OF CHRIST, AND TO BELIEVE IN HIM.

"Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we thank thee from the heart that, thou didst not spare thy only-begotten Son, but hast delivered him up for us all, that he might bear our sins in his own body on the tree, and atone for all our guilt. We bless thee also especially that on this day he appointed for his church that blessed Supper, in which he feeds us with his holy body, and gives us his precious blood to drink. We pray thee to preserve ever in us true faith in this thy great love, and grant us thy grace that we may ever so use the holy sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, that it may be a mighty remedy to our souls, a strengthening of our feeble faith, and a certain comfort and defence against all the assaults of the devil, sin and death, through the same thy dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord."*

O Lord Jesus, who having loved thine own which were in the world, didst love them to the end, help us evermore to confide in thee, and fill us with thy love. We bless thee, O Jesus, that knowing that the

*From Bunsen's Liturgy for the Passion Week, in German,

Father had given all things into thy hand, and that thou camest from God and wert going to God, thou didst condescend before thy last sufferings to lay aside thy garments, and gird thyself and wash the very feet of thy disciples. What love, what thanks we owe to thee for all thy humiliation of thyself for us sinners! Thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. O make us clean every whit from all the stains and pollutions of our sins, and while we call thee Lord and Master, give us grace to follow thy example, and to show to others the love. which thou hast shown to us. May we not only know these things, but attain the higher happiness of doing them.

O Lord, guard us by the dreadful apostacy of Judas, by the temporary fall of Peter, and by the forsaking of thy other Apostles, from any falling away from thee. May we know our weakness, and our entire insufficiency of ourselves to stand; and may we keep close to thee and wholly trust in thee, and in thee alone; may we be, among our brethren, as the younger and those that serve, and not as the chief and the greatest. Give unto us true faith in thyself, and so keep us from a troubled heart. May we look to the mansions in our Father's house as our true and eternal home, and now give us abundantly thy Holy Spirit the Comforter, to strengthen us for duties here, and make us meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. Amen.