May 1

Isaiah ix. — 15. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

16. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings; and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thine officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. 18. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 19. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither

shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

21. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. 22. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.

Zechariah xiv. — 6. And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark;

7. But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening-time it shall be light. 20. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD: and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar; 21. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts.

Not as a political power, nor through alliance with the State, is the Church to realize this condition of prosperity and splendor. Only the mastery of the spiritual over the material, through the consecration of all earthly power, possessions, and affairs, to Jehovah, could bring about the state of society described in these verses, — a state of universal peace, justice, order, safety, — and the prosperity which this would secure: peoples and governments alike honoring the principles of the gospel, and illustrating its spirit in all the concerns of life. As the kingdom of Christ is the proclamation of free grace, its gates shall be open continually, that all may enter in. As it acknowledges no distinction of race or caste, the Gentiles of every land shall come to it, kings and shepherds alike, the wandering tribes of Milian and the rovers of the sea. Since Christianity shall sanctify trade, merchandise, art, — gold, silver, brass, iron, the wealth of nations, shall be

devoted to its service and refined by its touch, and the choicest woods of Lebanon shall beautify its sacred places.

And such ascendency shall its spirit and principles gain in the affairs of the world, in laws and institutions of government, and in the customs of society, that they who once despised it shall bow down and confess its power, and the sons of its early persecutors shall build its walls. Indeed, such shall be the predominance of this new spiritual power in the civilization of the world, that the nation which will not receive it shall perish. In the universal Christianizing of society, government, commerce, art, customs, laws, the alternative presented to each nation is, to be itself Christianized, to receive a pure Christianity as the inspiring and mounting power of its life, or to fall behind the march of civilization, and waste away, till it shall cease to be recognized among the powers of the earth.

APPROPRIATE Hymns.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 133, 186, 197.

O Lord! how great is thy mercy toward us, in the circumstances of our lives, in the comforts of our home, in the means of grace, and the hope of the gospel! We bless thee for the sacred rest of the sabbath, for the peace and quietness in which we dwell, for the plenty that spreads our table and fills our cup. Oh! feed us with the bread of life.

Bring home to our hearts thy truth which has this day been preached. May it prove to be the power of God unto the salvation of our souls! Grant that the words which we have heard with our outward ears may, through thy grace, be so grafted inwardly in our hearts, that they may bring forth in us the fruit of good living, to the honor and praise of thy name.

May it please thee to bring into the way of truth all such as have erred and are deceived; to strengthen such as do stand; to comfort and help the weak-hearted; to raise up those who fall; and finally to beat down Satan under our feet!

We beseech thee to bless our country. Turn the hearts of our rulers unto thyself. Sanctify all trade, industry, knowledge, all wealth and influence, unto thy service. May we be truly a Christian people! Oh! bring in the latter-day glory among the nations, and fill the earth with thy praise.

We commend unto thee, O God! all who are dear to us, and also those who are at this time afflicted or distressed in mind, body, or estate. May it please thee to relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions!

And now, O Father! we desire to put ourselves under thy protection and care for the coming night. Defend us from all harm. Let thine angels encamp round about us, and keep us in all our ways: and so do thou bring us at length unto our Father's house, through Christ our Lord. Amen.