hope. May it lead us to constant watchfulness and prayer, and busy occupation with our Master's talents till he come. May it lead us to sobriety and moderation in all things. May we comfort one another with this hope. May we abound in works of love. Give us thy Holy Spirit abundantly, that we may gird up the loins of our mind, and hope to the end, for the grace to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

May all the means of grace also be more diligently attended to. Bless the truths which we have been hearing this day to our own souls. Bless us in viewing the Saviour's birth, fasting and temptation, his death, his resurrection, his ascension and the coming of the Holy Ghost; may we be in the Spirit, not only on the Lord's day, but through every sacred season. O bless the preaching of thy word in every place through the whole world, for our Redeemer's sake. Amen.

CXIV.

ASH WEDNESDAY AND LENT.

FOR A SPIRIT OF TRUE REPENTANCE.

O exalted Prince and Saviour Jesus Christ, who knewest no sin, but wast made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in thee, we believe thy promise, that where two or three are gathered in thy name there thou art in the midst of them: and we desire, as in thy presence, to cast our

selves at thy feet, and bless thee from the heart for all thy grace to us sinners.

For our sakes thou who wast in the form of God, madest thyself of no reputation, and tookest upon thee the form of a servant, and wast made in the likeness of men, and didst humble thyself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross! For ever blessed be thou for all this grace to us sinners.

For our sakes, O blessed Lord, thou didst fast forty days and forty nights; thou wast tempted of Satan, and didst offer up strong crying and tears for our sakes. Thou didst go through darkness and trouble, a bitter agony and a bloody sweat, and wast numbered with the transgressors, that we might be accounted righteous! O what thanks we owe to thee for thy great redemption! We believe that thou wast wounded for our transgressions, that thou wast bruised for our iniquities, that the chastisement of our peace was upon thee, and that by thy stripes we are healed. O then may we look unto thee whom, by our sins, we have pierced, and mourn, and be in bitterness for them. Lord Jesus, may we be grieved at heart for our iniquities and rebellions against so much love; and may we mourn with that godly sorrow which works repentance unto salvation. We entreat thee, O our King and Saviour, give unto us true repentance and full remission of sins.

O holy and Almighty Father, who searchest the hearts and triest the reins, deliver us from a mere

outside formal show of repentance. Let not our fasting and humiliation be before men, to be seen of them, lest we have no reward in heaven; but let our fasting and humiliation be before thee; inward and sincere, deep and true. O Lord, give us that broken and contrite heart, that mourning for sin, that real hatred of sin, that self-loathing and self-abhorrence which thou approvest and wilt accept. May we have a new heart and a new spirit, hating every thing that is evil, and delighting in all that is good, and may we walk in newness of life.

Let the Holy Ghost really dwell in us and uphold us in thy ways; may he himself convince us of sin, and especially of the sin of unbelief and neglecting the salvation of Jesus.

And, O Lord, we beseech thee also to preserve us from a heartless ndifference to appointed seasons and means of grace. Thou hast told us to submit ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, and to submit ourselves one to another in the fear of God. Help us in this spirit to improve the season appointed by our church for our soul's humiliation before thee. May we give more time to prayer, and self-examination, and reading thy word. Remembering the nature of the fast which thou hast chosen, may we loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, deal our bread to the hungry, bring the cast-out poor to our house, cover the naked, and not

hide ourselves from those who are our flesh. O give us grace for this and all the blessedness of this, here and for ever.

We ask the same grace and blessing for thy church and our fellow-Christians; for our country, and the whole family of man. Let not this season be abused to foster the spirit of bondage and self-righteousness on the one hand, nor neglected and disregarded in a worldly, careless spirit, but be every where made profitable by a due improvement of it, to the benefit of immortal souls, through Jesus our Redeemer.

CXV.

EASTER DAY.

MORNING PRAYER.

We will give thanks unto the Lord with our whole heart, secretly, among the faithful, and in the congregation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head-stone in the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made-we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Almighty Father, who didst not leave thy Holy One to see corruption, but hast fulfilled all thy promises in raising up thy Son Jesus from the dead, no more to see corruption, and hast exalted him by thy right hand to be both Lord and Christ, all praise, all glory be to thy holy name. Though he was cru

cified through weakness, we bless thee and magnify thy holy name that he yet lives by thy power, our glorious Redeemer, our everlasting King, our forerunner and head, the first fruits of them that sleep, the first-begotten from the dead.

Merciful God, having raised up thy Son Jesus, send him also to bless us in turning away every one of us from our iniquities. O grant that all our souls may be quickened, forgiven, justified, and for ever blessed, through the glorious resurrection of Christ Jesus. May the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in us, and so may we have a sure token that he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken our mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in us. May we know that he who raised up our Lord Jesus, will raise us up also by Jesus, and present us, with thy whole church, faultless before the presence of thy glory with exceeding joy.

We thank thee that he who was thus exalted by thy right hand has received of thee for us the promise of the Holy Ghost; enrich then each one of our souls with the indwelling of that divine Spirit. [Especially at thy table shed his grace abundantly upon us and all our fellow-communicants.] May we find by happy experience that it was expedient for us that Christ should suffer and die, rise again and go away from us, that the Comforter might indeed be sent down from heaven. O may he come