earnest petitions arise, they come up before thee, an acceptable offering. O God, make our hearts pure; give us the spirit of prayer, and may we delight to hold communion with thee.

Thou hast encouraged us to pray, and given the blessed assurance that thou wilt reward openly the prayers offered in secret. Gracious Father! may we retire often from the cares and perplexities of the world, and seek for that strength which will enable us to resist temptation, to endure trials, and persevere in the way of holiness. May we remember that we are constantly surrounded by evil influences; that the examples of the wicked, the maxims of sin, and the pleasures of life are daily effacing our religious impressions and weakening our good resolutions. May we remember, also, that the pride and envy of the heart are hourly estranging us from thee, and leading us to forget thee, and our obligations to love and serve thee.

O thou ever-present Father! May we be watchful and prayerful, and by communion with thee be enabled to resist all temptation and hold fast our integrity, however assailed and tried.

Give to all men the spirit of prayer. May they have such a view of their weakness and dependence, as to be deeply impressed with a sense of the necessity of thy aid. May they ask thee to enlighten their minds, to direct their steps, to sanctify their hearts, and help them rightly to improve all the means of grace. O draw them, most gracious Father, by the attractions of thy love, and make every season of prayer sacred and precious.

Holy Father! Be with us this day; may we

spend it in prayer; in reading thy holy book; in meditating upon thy character and government, and in listening to thy word.

Olet the children of this family know the blessedness of waiting upon thee.

Hear us and answer us in the name of thy Son; and to thee shall be given all the praise. Amen.

THE WAY TO KEEP OURSELVES IN THE LOVE OF GOD..

REFLECTIONS adapted to 1 John iii. 1 John iv. 21 John.-St. Jude exhorted those to whom he wrote, to keep themselves in the love of God. His exhortation implies that they had been converted, and that the love of God had been shed abroad in their hearts. It implies, also, that means are requisite to retain the virtue which the soul has obtained; and that, unless these means are used, we are liable to fall back again into the world. It is in Christian attainments as in all others; exertions are requisite to keep what we have gained. A scholar cannot keep his knowledge without reflection and study. An artist cannot retain his skill without practice. We find the same law in the natural world. The stately tree will cease its growth and die, if the rich soil, in which it stands, is removed. We must labor, therefore, to keep ourselves in the love of God, or our hearts will become cold and lifeless, however greatly they may now be enriched by the Spirit of the Lord.

But how can we keep ourselves in the love of God? The apostle has answered this question: "He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love." "Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God." Thus, if we keep ourselves in a knowledge of God, we shall keep ourselves in his love; for no one

can see the excellences of his character without loving him with all the soul. If we would keep a fire burning, we must supply it with fuel; so, if we would keep the fire of love alive and bright on the altar of the heart, we must continue familiar with that love which is impartial, inexhaustible and unchangeable.

Again; if we would keep ourselves in the love of God, we must use, with fidelity, all the means of grace. There is the same connection between these means and a Christian life, that there is between the growth of grain and the means by which that growth is effected. If a Christian, be he young or old, neglects reading the Bible, prayer, meditation and the house of worship, he will lose his religion. This is as certain as that he would die if deprived of food. Our lamps must be daily trimmed, or they will cease to burn. It does not suffice that we have been attentive to religion; we must continue attentive. If we would reap every autumn, we must sow in every spring-time; so, if we would make every year a harvest of peace and joy, every year must find us attentive to the means of grace.

Again; if we would keep ourselves in the love of God, we must keep evil from our hearts; love and hatred cannot exist together. No man can serve two masters. He that says he loves God and hates his brother is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

PRAYER.

GOD of infinite mercy, the Father of all light and Fountain of all good; devoutly do we bless thy great name, that we have been instructed by thy truth, have tasted of the heavenly gift, been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and felt the redeeming power of thy word. Great, O God, has been our peace, and sweet our communion with thee, with each other, and with thy saints. Thou hast refreshed our souls with thy Spirit ;

thou hast led us in paths of safety and peace; when tempted, thou hast been our succor; when faint and weary, our support; when afflicted, our hope. Thou hast appeared in glory to our hearts; regarded our prayers, and, we trust, forgiven our sins. O Lord, thou hast been very merciful and gracious, and pitied us as a father pitieth his children.

And we ask a continuance of thy mercy and care. Keep us, O keep us in thy love. May our hearts never again be brought in subjection to the world; but may we daily press forward to higher attainments in knowledge and virtue. Enable us to run with patience the race set before us, fight manfully the good fight of faith, and to live in a constant nearness to thee.

And, O Father, may we never be among those who shall despise the means of grace; but may we pray without ceasing; read thy word, and meditate upon its instructions. May a sense of thy goodness ever pervade our hearts; the example of thy Son be constantly before us, and our eye be fixed upon him. May we ponder the path of our feet, press forward in the way of duty, and when the voice of sinful pleasure calls, may our ear be closed, and our minds turned to thee.

Be with these children; and grant that they may never fall from the state to which they have been elevated; but may they persevere in the path of holiness.

Gracious Father, grant that all thy dealings may be sanctified to our good, and tend to increase our faith, hope and love.

Finally, save all from sin and death, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SEARCHING THE BIBLE. 33

THE IMPORTANCE OF SEARCHING THE BIBLE.

REFLECTIONS adapted to John v. 31-47. Rom. i. Philip. iii.-In order to see the importance of searching the Bible, it is only necessary to consider the condition of those who have never been instructed by its wisdom: they are without God, and without hope. Look at Greece,-with all its knowledge of the arts and sciences, it had no definite and satisfactory views of God. Therefore, Paul said, in reference to Greek philosophy, that the world by wisdom knew not God! The Greeks themselves were fully sensible of this. Cresus once asked a distinguished philosopher what God was. The philosopher required one day to consider the matter before he gave an answer. At the end of that day, he required another; and so on for a great length of time, till at last the philosopher replied, "It is a question in which my insufficient reason is lost. The oftener I ask myself what God is, the more incapable do I find myself of answering. New difficulties arise every moment, and my knowledge diminishes as my inquiries increase." Such was the testimony of Thales, the wisest philosopher of Greece-a man who added the erudition of Egypt to the wisdom of Greece: he could not tell what God is. But this important information is clearly and fully given in the Bible; that reveals distinctly the essence, nature, character and government of God.

Again; the Scriptures furnish the strongest inducements to virtue and dissuasives from vice, which can operate on the soul. When we look abroad upon the world, we see tyranny often established, vice enthroned, humility in confusion, virtue exposing man to contempt. History, therefore, is far from presenting all needed motives to virtue. But when we turn to the Bible, we find that God is just and holy, and that he dispenses punishment to all who offend against him. It teaches, that to his eye all hearts are open, and that he will reward and punish every man according to his