May 15

Psalm I. — 16. Unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?

17. Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.

18. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.

19. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

20. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slandierest thine own mother's son.

21. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence: thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

22. Now, consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

Acts i. — 15. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said (the number of the names together were about a hundred and twenty),

16. Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

17. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.

18. Now, this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and, falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

19. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called, in their proper tongue, Aceldama; that is to say, the field of blood.

20. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein; and, His bishopric let another take.

21. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

22. Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

23. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

24. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen,

25. That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

26. And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

The fate of Judas is a terrible example of the power of conscience. Possibly he had deluded himself with the thought that Jesus would escape arrest by some miracle, and so he should get his compensation without crime; but, when he saw that he had brought his Lord to the cross, he was so wrung with remorse that he refused to take his pay, saying, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood." And, when his hire was forced upon him, "he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and went and hanged himself." The priests took the money, and bought a potter's field, in which, probably, the traitor was the first to be buried; and

hence he is said to have purchased the field with the reward of iniquity. "He thought to enrich himself by his treachery; but all that he gained was, that he got for himself a field where blood was paid for blood."

A necessary qualification for the apostleship was a personal knowledge of the life and death of Christ: hence the choice of a substitute for Judas was limited; and, after the first generation, the apostles strictly could have no successors. Paul was qualified by the immediate call of Christ, and by such visions and revelations as were the equivalent of this personal knowledge.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 40, 78, 89.

O Lord! we beseech thee, grant us grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee. Suffer us never to fall away from Christ; never, never to betray him. Oh! keep us from all covetous and worldly desires.

O Lord Jesus, who art exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness of sins! we do repent of our sins before thee, and humbly beseech thee to receive us, according to thy promise that him that cometh unto thee thou wilt in no wise cast out. Give unto us, O Lord! that sense of thy presence which shall preserve us from sin; that strength of faith which shall overcome evil; that peace which the world cannot give nor take away.

We bring thee thanks for the mercies of the

night, and supplicate thy grace for our friends and neighbors, for the absent dear to us, for thy Church, for this family, yea, Lord, for the whole family of mankind, — the world which thou hast died to save. Oh! raise up a faithful ministry, and keep thy servants pure.

We beseech thee, O Lord! to instruct us in our duty, and help us to perform it; to give us a tender conscience and an earnest spirit; to uphold us in the slippery ways of the world, and give us sterling integrity of heart; to save us from the enmity of men, from the malice of Satan, and from our own faults and follies; to support us in the hour of death; and finally to receive us to thy presence in the world of endless life. And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be glory forever. Amen.