your lives carefully, weed out whatever sin you can observe; this is the proof that you are in earnest, and not liars to God and to yourselves; but wait and pray for Christ to appear, and to establish with His righteousness, and to grant you to live consciously because He lives, and to know that He is in the Father, and you in Him, and He in you.

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May 15, 1842.

A PRAYER,

WRITTEN FOR the evening oF WHIT-SUNDAY, MAY 15, 1842.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, in whom alone is man's strength, from whom all good things come to us, the will to please Thee, and the power to fulfil it; look down upon us Thy servants here assembled before Thee at the end of this Thy holy day, and suffer not that which we have heard with our ears, or read with our eyes this day, to have been heard or read in vain. O Lord Jesus Christ, of whose only grace it cometh that Thy outward ordinances are profitable to our souls, grant that Thy holy communion, of which some of us have been this day partakers, may be to them an abiding blessing: that through Thy Holy Spirit working in them and with them, it may become a

real and lasting communion with Thee. Put it into our hearts to think of Thee sometimes amidst the stir of our daily life; and when the thought has come to us, O save us from the sin of turning away from it; but make us to follow it readily, and to cherish it, and by it to try what we are doing, whether we are doing it according to Thy will or no.

If we should wickedly put such good thoughts from us, and grieve Thy Holy Spirit; yet, O Lord! of Thy great mercy do not leave us quite to ourselves, to take our own hard and careless way, but by any means whatever, yea, even by chastisements grievous to be borne, do Thou save us from the sleep of death, and let us hear Thy call once again.

And, O gracious Father, who willest not the death of a sinner, nor that any one who would turn to Thee should be driven to despair; be pleased of Thy mercy, whenever Thou dost awaken us, to stand before us not as a God of judgment only, but as a God of salvation. Put it into our hearts that Thou art the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that Thou didst give Him for us all, that our sins might be blotted out for His sake.

Let the thought of Thy mercy to us in Thy beloved Son fill us with a true and living faith; strong and victorious over all our sins and all our temptations. Grant, that keeping this faith we

may not turn from Thee in fear, but may come before Thee boldly, according to Thy will, crying Abba, Father.

To Thee are known all our weaknesses and all our dangers; more than any words of ours can speak, Thine eye seeth in us. Have mercy upon us, and be with us each and all; be with old and young alike, strengthening each according to his need, and bringing us more and more into the faith and love of Thy holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

SERMON XXXIII.

THE CHRISTIAN'S ENEMIES.

PSALM cxliii. 12.

And of thy goodness slay mine enemies, and destroy all them that vex my soul; for I am thy servant.

IN the different parts of this day's service we see a good example of that variety in the Scripture which is one of its most precious properties, making it indeed that universal help and guide which we believe it to be. Compare, for instance, this 143rd Psalm, which is one of those read this evening, with the portion from St. John which was read this morning as the Epistle. Compare St.John's language, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love;" compare this with the Psalmist's, "for the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to

the ground; he hath laid me in the darkness as the men that have been long dead;" or with his earnest prayer "enter not into judgment with Thy servant; for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified." Now when we read these things thoughtfully and in earnest, and begin to apply what we read to ourselves, then we feel thankful for this rich variety, because we find that in it there is something that suits our particular case now, as well as something which points out that more perfect state to which we may arrive hereafter.

And if whilst speaking of this property in the Scripture, I may follow up this point a little further, how perfect is the mercy shown to our weaknesses in those recorded words of our Lord upon the cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" For as His other language is so fitted to assure us that He is a Saviour mighty to save, as when He says, "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world;" or again, "No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again;"-so when we think of our own infinite weakness, there arises perhaps the thought, that death is to us a very different thing from what it was to Him, that the waves may overwhelm us, although He walked on them unharmed. When we feel ourselves

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