September 5

Exodus xii. — 21. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out, and take you a lamb, according to your families, and kill the passover.

22. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

23. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

24. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever.

25. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

26. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?

27. That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the

Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head, and worshipped.

28. And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron; so did they.

29. And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle.

30. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians: and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

31. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.

32. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

33. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.

34. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.

To this day the Jews observe the feast of unleavened bread, and it can be traced back with hardly a break through the more than three thousand years of their history as a distinct people. Like our Declaration of Independence, the Passover marked their emancipation; and it is a perpetual witness to the reality of the great event which it commemorates. To Christians its original significance is merged in that higher sacrifice of which it was a type. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; and, through the blood of his redemption, our

souls are passed over unscathed of justice, and we are delivered from the bondage of sin. Let us make haste to obey this call, to "come out and be separate" from the world; let us keep the feast of his grace with hearts purged from sin, and consecrated to do his commandments. Faith and obedience saved the children of Israel in that dread night of mingled justice and mercy; and faith and obedience must secure to us the greater blessing of Christ's salvation in the day of his coming to judge the world.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 2, 86, 116.

The heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord! thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne. Yet blessed be thy name that mercy and truth go before thy face. Thy terrors in the world are for the deliverance of thy people. In thy mercy thou dost pass over them that fear thee, and dost give thine angels charge over their dwellings. We praise thee that Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

O Thou who hast given thine only Son to die for our sins, and to rise again for our justification! grant, we humbly pray thee, that we may so truly partake of his death and resurrection as ourselves to be dead unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

May this holy day witness to us the grace of Christ in our redemption! and may thine Holy Spirit witness and seal within us the pardon and

peace which that redemption brings! Grant us the comforts of thy gospel, the joy of thy salvation, the spirit of prayer and praise, the communion of thy saints, and, above all, communion with thyself.

Bless thy Church, her worship and sacraments, her ministers and members: may the beauty of the Lord our God be upon her! Bless the Sunday school, and guide teachers and scholars in thy Word. Have compassion upon those who disregard thy day, and upon all who know thee not; and incline thy people to seek and save the lost. Be with the missionaries of the cross, according to thy promise, O Lord! and make known thy way among the heathen.

We humbly thank thee for the mercies of another week and the blessings of the past night. We commit to thy loving care this family, and all dear to us at home or abroad; and pray thee to bring us all together unto thy heavenly kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.