WE an on the earth are as a shadow,

E are strangers and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days

and there is none abiding.

Behold, I come quickly blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

For the time is at hand.

He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.

LIKE shadows gliding o'er the plain,

Or clouds that roll successive on,
Man's busy generations pass;

And while we gaze their forms are gone.

O Father, in whose mighty hand
The boundless years and ages lie,
Teach us thy boon of life to prize,
And use the moments as they fly;

To crowd the narrow span of life
With wise designs and virtuous deeds:
And so shall death but lead us on

To nobler service that succeeds.

GOD, who hast commanded that no man should be idle, give us grace to employ all our talents and faculties in the service appointed for us; that whatsoever our hand findeth to do we may do it heartily: yet grant, O good Lord, that no worldly business, no worldly pleasure, may ever divert our thoughts from the life to come. Cheerfully may we go on in the road which thou hast marked out, not desiring too earnestly that it should be either more smooth or more wide; but, daily seeking our way by thy light, may we trust ourselves and the issue of our journey to thee, the Fountain of joy, and sing songs of praise as we go along. Then, O Lord, receive us at the gate of life which thou hast opened for us in Christ Jesus. Amen.

A

ND he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

OH! learn that it is only by the lowly

The paths of peace are trod;

If thou wouldst keep thy garments white and holy,
Walk humbly with thy God.

The man with earthly wisdom high uplifted

Is in God's sight a fool;

But he in heavenly truth most deeply gifted
Sits lowest in Christ's school.

The lowly spirit God hath consecrated

As his abiding rest;

An angel by some patriarch's tent hath waited,
When kings had no such guest.

GOD, the Creator of summer and winter, of day and night, who dost cause light to shine out of thick gloom, and bringest good out of evil: give us grace so to flee what thou forbiddest, that we may cast aside the works of darkness, and so to choose what thou dost command, that we may be children of light. Since darkness and light alike obey thee, give all the messengers of thy providence charge over us, that, serving thee in peacefulness and thankfulness, we may be brought through humility to serve thee in glory.

RAISE ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.

He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?

He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.

He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.

'Tis winter now: the gleaming snow

Has left the heavens all cold and clear;
Through leafless boughs the sharp winds blow,
And all the earth lies dead and drear.

And yet God's love is not withdrawn:

His life within the keen air breathes ;

His beauty paints the crimson dawn,

And clothes the boughs with glittering wreaths.

And though abroad the sharp winds blow,

And skies are chill, and frosts are keen,

Home closer draws her circle now,

And warmer glows her light within.

O God! who givest the winter's cold
As well as summer's joyous rays,

Us warmly in thy love enfold,

And keep us through life's wintery days.

ATHER, we see thy love in the order of nature.

FA

In

all the changes of day and night, of summer and winter, thou art working for the welfare of thy creatures and thy children. O God, we give thee humble and hearty thanks for all the benefits and blessings, both spiritual and temporal, which in the riches of thy great mercy thou hast poured down upon us; but especially for thy spiritual blessings. Lord, let us not live but to praise and magnify thy great goodness. Grant, we beseech thee, that all our thoughts, words, and works may tend to the discharge of our duty, the good of our fellow-men, and the advancement of thy Son's kingdom on earth. Amen.

Ε

VERY man shall receive his own reward according to

E his own labor.

For we are laborers together with God; ye are God's husbandry; ye are God's building.

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

:

Let no man glory in men: for all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

WHATE'ER my God ordains is right;
My light my life is he,

Who cannot will me aught but good:
I trust him utterly;

For well I know,

In joy or woe,

We soon shall see as sunlight clear

How faithful was our Guardian here.

Whate'er my God ordains is right,
Here will I take my stand;

Though sorrow, need, or death make earth
For me a desert land,

My Father's care

Is around me there:

He holds me that I shall not fall,

And so to him I leave it all.

ONVINCE us, O Lord God, that how bad soever the

CON

world is, we may serve thee in it; and that, how frail soever we are, we are under no necessity to sin; and that how dark soever thy providence is, yet our lot is in wise hands, which will do much better for us than we could for ourselves: for thy thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor thy ways as our ways. To thee, O God, we wholly refer all events, and only beg that we may attend to our present duty, as humble disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.

A

ND very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre ?

the sun.

And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away for it was very great.

And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen: he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

It was no path of flowers

Which, through this world of ours,

Beloved of the Father, thou didst tread;
And shall we in dismay

Shrink from the narrow way

When clouds and darkness are around it spread?

And, oh, if thoughts of gloom
Should hover o'er the tomb,

That light of love our guiding star shall be ;
Our spirits shall not dread

The shadowy way to tread,

Friend, Guardian, Saviour, which doth lead to thee.

LMIGHTY God, who dost encourage us to fly to thee

A as our refuge in distress: refresh thy sorrowing

children with the light of thy countenance, and the consolations of thy Holy Spirit. Be thou now to us a Father to those who are in trouble, and a God of comfort to those who mourn. Grant that we, thy servants, may not weep as those who are without hope, nor complain of any thing but ourselves, nor desire any thing but that thy will may be done, nor do any thing but what is agreeable to thy holy word and commandment. O heavenly Father, when thou smitest us, not less than when thou pourest out blessings on us, may our love to thee increase; and, when the few years of our earthly pilgrimage are ended, may we be gathered to our fathers in thy peace, and in the blessed hope of a joyful resurrection. Amen.