honour to our superiors, kindness to the distressed, relief to the needy, forgiveness to our enemies, peace with all men. When we mark the earnestness and importunity with which the Church would have us deprecate the judgments of the Almighty, and implore for ourselves and others a rich supply of every want, both worldly and spiritual, let us learn to practise that holy pertinacity which the prophet enjoins to the Lord's remembrancers; let us, who are as "watchmen, hold not our peace; and ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth; "-" continue instant in prayer," and "faint not†; in pious trust that such urgent solicitation, like the wrestling of the patriarch, shall have power with the angel of the covenant, and prevail to obtain a blessing. ‡ Such sentiments the due and devout use of our church services is calculated to produce; and I will only add, that like every other of God's good gifts, the spirit of grace and supplications, which is poured upon his servants, will be for their great good, or for the injury of their souls. If used faithfully, it will bring an abundant blessing of spiritual improvement;

Lowth.

* Is. lxii. 6, 7. marg. See W. Lowth, and Bishop Luke xviii. 1. Gen. xxxii. 26. 28, 29.

+ Rom. xii. 12.

Hos. xii. 4.

if negligently, it cannot fail to throw us backward in our course, by encouraging indifference and sluggishness, unworthy thoughts of God, and a dangerous presumption and security.

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:

"To show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night."

PRAISE and thanksgiving have ever been reckoned among the surest and readiest marks of a devout mind. Gratitude to a friend or fellow-creature for favours received, is a debt willingly acknowledged and freely paid: shall the best feelings of the heart be restrained towards the Almighty Giver? towards Him who" daily loadeth us with benefits?" Shall we not "abundantly utter the memory of this great goodness; " impelled by a sense of our own unworthiness, and of His unbounded loving-kindness? "Whoso offereth me thanks

* Ps. lxviii. 19.

and praise, he honoureth me," saith David. Accordingly we find him, the man after God's own heart, continually pouring forth the feelings of his soul in the most exalted strains of praise to God; and summoning around him all the inhabitants of heaven and earth, to bear their part in an universal chorus. How, indeed, can any one, who entertains a worthy notion of the goodness of his heavenly Father, fail to take delight in this exercise of his best affections, and exalt the Giver of all good things, first in his own thoughts, and then in the thoughts and hearts of others? Make it your business, brethren, to be continually lifting up your hearts in praise and thanksgiving. Let this form a constant part of your daily acts of devotion. You cannot worthily pray for future blessings, unless you devoutly acknowledge the favours already received those which He "poureth upon you" day by day - both spiritual and temporal mercies. For in God you live and move, both in respect of your bodily health and strength, and in respect of that which nourishes and supports your souls. Of all we may say with St. Paul, "What hast thou, that

thou didst not receive?"* All is from the free bounty of God. To Him, therefore, be the praise! And, that it may be offered as it is due, accustom yourselves to look out for instances of his goodness; to see, and feel, and

* 1 Cor. iv. 7.

enjoy the blessings you have, and acknowledge the Great Giver. This will produce at once a contented and a cheerful disposition. And cheerfulness is a great help to devotion. A jaundiced eye will not see the benefit, much less perceive the hand which bestows it. He who knows how much he has to enjoy, and from how much he is delivered which he might have to suffer, is at least sensible of the blessing; and it is but one step further to confess that it is not in himself to prolong his life or the means of enjoyment, even in the things of this world; still less in all that pertains to everlasting life.

Praise and thanksgiving are as necessary a part of public, as of private devotion. They are almost more appropriate, and more readily and easily performed, than public prayer. For in prayer, especially in that very important portion of it, confession of sin, the heart seeks to retire within itself; it shrinks from publishing its failings and imperfections, and desires only to pour them into the ears of One who will assuredly have compassion upon its infirmities. And even in prayer for future blessings, none can well descend, in a public assembly, into the minute particulars of which he feels that he stands in need. Though, therefore, the devout servant of God will gladly join with his brethren in public prayer, yet he will feel continually, that if he is to apply to himself the full force of the petitions which he offers, he must "commune with his