February 26

Genesis viii.—15. And God spake unto Noah, saying.

16. Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.

17. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

18. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:

19. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

20. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar.

21. And the Lord smelled a sweet savor: and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

22. While the earth remaineth, seed-time and

The charming simplicity of man's intercourse with God in the garden of Eden was here renewed through the second father of the race. Noah's first thought, on finding himself once more upon the solid ground, was to render to God gratitude and devotion for the preservation of himself and his family. He did not think first of his own wants, of building a house for himself, of preserving his scanty stock of animals, and selecting the best for breeding; but he built an altar, and called out the very choicest of the beasts and birds, and offered these to the Lord in sacrifice. And God, who

harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease.

Isaiah liv.—2. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes:

3. For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

7. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.

8. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

9. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wrath with thee, nor rebuke thee.

10. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

ever delights in mercy, and welcomes the least sign of love and gratitude in man, accepted this offering as grateful to his own heart, and responded to it by a new covenant to preserve the earth in the orderly succession of its seasons, in the beauty and fruitfulness of its harvests. Observe how closely related are physical blessings to religious faith and obedience. He who loves and serves God receives not only gifts of grace, but the pledge of divine favor in all things; and the very earth in its teeming prosperity is a witness to the loving faithfulness of God to a righteous man.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 27, 32, 81.

It is good to give thanks unto thee, O Lord! and to sing praises to thy name, O thou Most High! to show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. We thank thee for the quiet and sleep of the past night, and for the renewed vigor that is ours this morning.

O Lord! we thank thee that we have the means of satisfying our daily wants. The earth is thine, and the fulness thereof; the beasts of the forest, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. It is thou who hast ordained seed-time and harvest, summer and winter: thou dost crown the year with plenty, and dost give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. Fulfil this day, we beseech thee, the promise that thy word shall be even as the rain, and as good seed in good ground. Oh! feed our souls with the bread of life. May thy goodness lead us to devote all our possessions to thy service! may what God has given be consecrated to him! and to-day may we go forth as stewards of thy grace, to succor the needy and comfort the sorrowing, remem-

bering that every one of us shall give account of himself to God!

[Lord, look upon us as a family. May the children obey their parents in the Lord, and love one another! Help them in acquiring that knowledge which will be of service to them in the present life; and, above all, may they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent!]

We pray for thy rich blessing, O Lord! this day, upon all means and labors for the spread of divine truth. Prosper thy servants who are employed in the instruction of the young, in the visitation of the poor, the afflicted, the distressed; and pour out thy Spirit, thou great Head of the Church, on all ministers and missionaries who have sat at thy feet, received thy word, and are devoted to thy glory; and fill thy Church with thy praise.

Oh! may our worship go up before thee as a sacrifice of sweet savor, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen.