for being admitted at last into His eternal kingdom!

Amen.

PRAYER.

Almighty God, who art present everywhere, with reverence and humility we call to mind thine existence and perfections; and encouraged by the gracious assurances which thou hast given us by thy beloved son, Jesus Christ, of thy willingness to hear the prayers and praises that are offered up unto thee with sincerity, venture, imperfect, sinful as we are, to address ourselves to thee, in his name. Thou art possessed, O Lord, of every attribute that can lead us to love, and admire, and adore thee. Thy power, wisdom and goodness are gloriously manifested throughout the creation. More especially, O God, hast thou displayed thy benevolence and thy mercy in thy dealings with us, the children of men. Every year and every day of our existence bears renewed testimony to the fatherly care and kindness with which thou providest for our wants and multipliest our enjoyments. Nor, blessed be thy name, are thy favours confined to the short existence which thou has allotted to us here, but are intended, as thou has encouraged us to hope, to be be

stowed with a larger measure, and in higher perfection, hereafter. We bless thee for the prospect of immortality which thou hast set before us in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for the abundant means with which it supplies us of attaining to everlasting happiness. Accept, O God, of our humble thanks, that in the infant now before thee thou hast been pleased to call another rational being to the full enjoyment of the blessings of Christianity. We thank thee for having supported thy servant, its mother, in the hour of sorrow and danger, and for having brought it in safety to the present moment. If it be thy holy will, we beseech thee to continue to it thy protection and blessing. Conduct it in safety through the dangers of infancy. Guard it amid the temptations of youth. May it live in thy fear and to thy glory. May it be a comfort and a blessing to its parents, and to all connected with it; and when called upon to depart hence, may it be found prepared, by a life of Christian virtue and piety, for entering upon the enjoyment of that glorious and eternal inheritance, to which every sincere disciple of Jesus is privileged to look forward. Strengthen its parents, we beseech thee, in the discharge of the important duties imposed on them. May it be the object of their unwearied care and industry, to secure for those whom thou hast given

them, as well as for themselves, an abode in those everlasting mansions of peace and happiness, which thy beloved son, Jesus Christ, is gone to prepare for his followers.-Amen.

BURIAL SERVICE.

PSALM XC., 1, 10.

I CORINTHIANS XV., 1, 8, 12, 23, 35, 57.

THE duty of attending to the grave the remains of departed friends or relatives, can scarcely fail to awaken feelings of a very painful nature. The sight of the mournful emblems of mortality by which we are surrounded, fixes the attention and opens a passage to the heart. At such moments memory will conduct us, and we feel pleasure in attending her, through past scenes of happiness or affliction, in which the deceased may have been sharers; in which they may have contributed largely, perhaps, to add to our comforts, to heighten our joys, or to console our sorrows. The character of the departed, likewise, cannot fail, on an occasion like the present, to form a subject of interesting, though melancholy, reflection to the survivors. We trace with a tender pencil the lights and shades of that character; dwelling with delight on the virtues that distinguished it, and passing lightly over the imperfections that may have dimmed its lustre. Of what inestimable value does a religious and

virtuous character appear in an hour like this! The character of the departed is made up for the day of judgment, and their final destiny sealed. What an awakening reflection is this, my friends! What an embittering one must it be to those who can discover little, in the characters of their deceased relations, but indolence, and selfishness, and injustice, and sensuality; no piety, no charity, no self government; nothing, in short, that can qualify them for the enjoyment of pure and lasting happiness in heaven. What can such persons have to console them? All is fearful uncertainty, and the contemplation itself of the boundless mercy of the great Creater can only shield them from despair. With what calm and even cheerful composure, on the other hand, may they surround the coffin of the virtuous dead, who knew and valued their virtues; more especially when age had shed upon those virtues its ripening influence, and gradually and effectually relaxed the ties that bound their spirits to this world. Blessed are they, we are compelled to exclaim. Blessed are they, for they rest from their labours. And, oh, how delightful is it, in an hour like this, to listen to the cheering declarations of our religion on the subject of their future destiny! What a blessing it is to have the doctrines and resurrection of Jesus Christ to refer to for the confirmation of hopes, which