Third Week: Thursday Evening

WHEN we enter Thy presence, O God, we see Thee in all the glory of thy perfections, seated ot. throne of universal and everlasting empire, iicusands ministering unto Thee, and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before Thee. Impress our minds with a consciousness of thy .greatness: not to drive us back from Thee, hvf to mspire us with reverence and godly fear, in approaching Thee; not to diminish our confidence in Thee, but to lead us to admire the vastness of thy condescension, in deigning to open communications with creatures so mean and vile as we are. Lord, what is man, that Thou art mindlVjI of him; or the son of man, that Thou visitest him.

And yet Thou hast been mindful of us; Thou hast visited us. We have been thy charge from the womb; and Thou hast, in all conditions, cared for us. We have been constantly fed at thy table, and clothed frcm thy wardrobe. How often hast

Ihou drawn the curtain of night around us, and ordered creation to be quiet, while thy children have slumbered and slept. Thy mercies have Deen new every morning. Thy goodness has inspired our relations and friends wiih all the sen- :iments of tenderness and respect, thty have ever expressed towards us. And we would not overlook the blessings of the life that now is.

But, O Lord, suffer us not to forget that we want better blessings than these. We want a hope beyond the grave. We are guilty, depraved, dying creatures. We need pardon and holiness, and wisdom, and strength, and peace and joy; we want the earnests and foretastes of immortality. And blessed be thy name, what we so much need, and hope we can say, so much desire, Thou hast provided. We thank Thee for thy unspeakable gift. We rejoice, that we have our existence in a land of gospel [privileges; and where one of the first sounds that entered our infant ears, from the lips of maternal piet), was the name of Jesus. We rejoice that we have been led to view Him, not only as a teacher, and an example, but as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world; and that now in Christ Jesus, we, who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ; and have boldness and access with confidence, by the faith of Him.

May we look after actual and personal benefit from Him, and never be satisfied, till we can say, I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded, that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day. Possess us with more of that faith, which is the principle and medium of all vital godliness; may we be rich in faith; may we be strong in faith. By faith may we liv*^; and by faith may we walk. May we feel the joy of faith; and do the work of faith. Maj we abound in hope; may the charity of every one of us, towards each other, increase; and may we be filled with all the fruits of righteousness, which are, by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

We oupht to feel a broken heart, and a contrite spirit. We grieve to think, how insensible we have been to the claims of thy authority, and the endearments of thy love; how little we have credited thy truth, trusted thy promises, feared thy threatenings, obeyed thy commands, or improved any of our advantages. We have had line upon line, and precept upon precept. How numberless have been our admonitions, and warnings; ana Thou hast said — He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and without remedy.

We thank Thee, that notwithstanding our desert, tkis is not, at present, our doom. As yet we are in the number of those, for whom Thou art waiting to be gracious. We are yet in the land of the living. Through another day Thou hast spared us, and blessed us. May thy goodness lead us to repentance, and thy long-suffering prove our salvation. Let no evil befall us, and no plague com« nigh our dwelling, this night; and in the morning may we rise to walk, before the Lord, in the land of the living, and to show forth all his praise.

We implore it in the name of Him who died for our sins, rose again for our justification, and ever liveth to make intercession for us; and to whom, with the Father, and Holy Spirit, be ascribed everlasting p/aises. Amen.