September 6

Psalm lvii.—1. Be merciful unto me, O God! be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpast.

2. I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.

3. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

7. My heart is fixed, O God! my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

8. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

9. I will praise thee, O Lord! among the people; I will sing unto thee among the nations.

10. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

11. Be thou exalted, O God! above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.

2 Corinthians iv.—6. God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

8. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9. Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

10. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

11. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

12. So, then, death worketh in us, but life in you.

13. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

14. Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

15. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

16. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

18. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

How completely does faith in Christ invert the relations of things temporal and spiritual, and change our estimate of the trials and sorrows of this life in contrast with the joys of the life to come! And how noble does the true Christian appear in his patience and fortitude under trials, especially when these are endured for the good of others! Paul suffered almost every kind of trial that can befall one in this life,—abuse, neglect, slander, persecution, hunger, shipwreck, bonds, stripes, imprisonment, stoning. He was in such constant peril of a violent death, that he carried death, as it were, about with him. Yet he spoke of his afflictions as "light," and "but for a moment," and faced them all with a wondrous

courage and cheerfulness. The sources of this fortitude were his loving devotion to the good of others, his conviction of the certainty and the grandeur of the rewards of heaven, and his personal union with Christ through faith. He could not heap up words enough to express the bliss of being with Christ,—exceeding, and still more exceeding, all earthly experiences or imaginings. And this eternal weight of glory would be, not the offset, but the issue, of trials here endured for the Saviour and his cause. The light of Christ's promise in our hearts, the life of Christ's spirit in our souls, can make all trials easy, all burdens light; can cheer the darkest night with the glory of heaven and the songs of victory.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 115, 127, 179.

O God, who hast taught us in thy Word that there is still laid up a rest for thy people, and who hast given us a promise of entering into it! grant to us, we beseech thee, that we fail not of that promise through unbelief and disobedience. Teach us to look for a house that hath foundations, of which thou art the maker and builder. Lift our hearts thither in earnest desire.

Oh sabbath of eternal peace! Oh haven where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest! When shall we see thee, O Lord! and behold the King in his beauty? When shall we meet the apostles and prophets, and the great multitude whom no man can number? When shall we see again our dear friends who sleep in Jesus?

O God the Father, who hast the times and sea-

sons in thine own power! let not that day come upon us unawares. O God the Son, who art gone to prepare a place for us! in thine own time take us to thyself, that where thou art, there we may be also. O God the Holy Ghost, the pledge of future glory in our hearts! seal us until the redemption of the purchased possession. We bless thee for the help this day received through thy holy Word and the prayers and praises of thy Church. We supplicate thy favor upon all who have heard thy Word, and upon those who have it not. We bless thee for thy mercy to this household, and commit ourselves to thy fatherly protection for the night. Keep us under the shadow of thy wings; and, O Father! bring us, we pray thee, finally to rest in thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.