I had attained to any knowledge of thee, before my lips were able to lisp thy thanks, manifold were the proofs of thy goodness towards me. Therefore I should be strenuous in my zeal to offer thee the thanks, which I am indebted to thee. For thou not only bestowedst upon me my life, but thou hast hitherto sustained me in the possession of it although thousands have fallen to my right and to my left, I still am seen in the land of the living, and greatly I rejoice that thou hast increased the number of my days, and hast prolonged the time of my sojourn on earth, during which my knowledge has increased of thy goodness, and I have been daily strengthened in my faith in the merits of my blessed Redeemer.

Where shall I begin? where shall I cease to extol the benefits which thou, the source of all good, hast poured upon me from the earliest periods of my youth? Thou hast not only given and sustained my earthly existence; but thou hast also bestowed upon me the invaluable blessing of having been born in the heavenly communion of Christians, that I have been accepted as a member of the church of Christ, and have enjoyed the blessing of a moral and religious education. Thou didst protect me on the slippery paths of youth, from so many accidents; thou didst rescue me from so many dangers; thou didst cover me as with a shield, when the arrows of death were flying thickly around me. By thy kind and benevolent hand, I was conducted into those relations of life, where the precepts of virtue and goodness were instilled into my mind; where I was made a useful member of society, and the foundation laid for my welfare and prosperity through life. But above all, I am indebted to thee for the greatest of all blessings, that through Jesus Christ, I have attained a knowledge of thee, and that I know that thou art my Father, and that I am thy child.

O that every feeling of gratitude and reciprocal love were active in me. O that there was nothing in my soul, that was displeasing to thee. O that my whole life had been to thee a sacred sacrifice. On this evening I take a retro

spective view of the years, which thou hast allowed me to pass upon the earth, and every where do I behold the most irrefragable proofs of thy love and goodness. O that I had always been so grateful, obedient, and faithful to thee as I ought to have been. But with shame and repentance, I must cast my eyes to the ground before thee, when I reflect, how often I have done that, which I should not have done, and how often I have omitted to do that, which I should have done. O thou all compassionate Being! forgive me my weaknesses, my sins and transgressions. Behold, on my knees this night, do I promise thee afresh to devote the remainder of my life to thee. I know not how long I may yet live, nor what the future has in store for me; but this I know, that under thy guidance and direction, nothing can befal me, which does not contribute to my advantage. Help me O God, that I may always have thee in my eye and my heart, and that I may continue to walk on the path of true wisdom and virtue. Hitherto hast thou supported me, and thou wilt support me during the remainder of my days. O Lord! thou on whom I am wholly dependent from the cradle to the grave, and even into eternity, I yield my self wholly to thee; grant me in the future, a cheerful and contented heart, with health and strength, in order that I may rejoice in my existence, and that on my departure from this world, I may not repent, that I ever lived.

O thou all vivifying Creator! without thee I should be an inanimate mass, but with thee I can perform all things. O how great the difference between the spiritual and corporeal world-how greatly I should degrade myself were I to live only for the latter. The living breath which thou didst instill into me at my birth, is to me a pledge of thy protecting care. Though the lightnings of thy Omnipotence may threaten to exterminate my body, still shall my soul bear witness, that I am of divine origin, and that by the Son of God, I am redeemed from death and corruption.-Yes O God, I shall live with thee in all eternity.

JANUARY XIII.

THE COMPASSION OF GOD

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

What words of consolation! what words of grace for suffering souls, a balsam of Heaven in the wounds of grief. Where shall I find rest? where peace with Heaven and earth, where peace with myself, if the holy and eternal word of our Lord did not instil into me confidence in the universal compassion of God? How could I, how dare I participate of the joys of the earth, if I had not confidence in his compassion, like an erring child in the love and compassion of an affectionate father. Dare I in my unworthiness enjoy any longer the benefits of God? Dare I, in the midst of my sinfulness, direct my look with hope beyond the dark gates of eternity.

GOD IS ALL COMPASSION. The Holy Scriptures tell it me, and the divine creation preaches it to me every day, and every night. Why then, O Christian, art thou deficient in courage and confidence? Are thy sins great? O the richness of the grace of God is still infinitely greater, for he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust, and he who knows our weakness, who has enclosed our soul in this fragile body, shall he not graciously forgive, when we sin? shall he reject us with severity, when we implore his compassion and love?

GOD IS ALL COMPASSION. O let those words fill my heart with a consolation never to be extinguished, but let them not mislead me to a culpable security; let them not strengthen me in my levity and folly. Let his compassion stimulate me to zeal, in order to render myself worthy of it.-Worthy did I say? Oh how can I be worthy of his infinite paternal goodness? He will always bestow upon me more than I have deserved. But even my endeavours to render myself worthy of his goodness, will always be in the eyes of

God a pleasant sacrifice, for that very endeavour leads me nearer and nearer to him, it renders me more noble, more perfect, more faithful to the character of a Christian. Despise not the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance, that is to the adoption of a better and more pious disposition.

GOD IS ALL COMPASSION, and in the same manner that he takes compassion on me, so will I take compassion on all those who belong to me, as well as on my neighbours. O ye followers of Jesus, listen to the voice of your Saviour. "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful; judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."

Yes. O thou who in Heaven hast compassion-Forgiveness! forgiveness !-so exclaim millions of men, who lie prostrate in the dust before thee, trembling before thy sanctity, and torn by the annihilating feeling of their own unholiness. Forgiveness! forgiveness! So does it sound from thousands of anxious hearts, who look up to thee in heaven as the Father of compassion; for our faults and transgressions are great, but thy goodness is still greater than our guilt. Forgiveness! forgiveness! so it resounds to thee from a thousand altars, consecrated to thy Name, and the look imploring pardon is directed to the image of Jesus on the cross, who in his dying agony, exclaimed, "Father! forgive them, for they know not what they do. Forgiveness! forgiveness! so rises it in sighs to thee from a thousand beds of death, bursting from a breaking heart, or stammered by a quivering lip.

Yes! O thou compassionate Father of us all, thou forgivest, thou healest the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Thou treasurest up not my sins, but every day dɔ 1 receive fresh proofs of thy goodness. Thou knowest my transgressions, thou knowest my weakness, but thou art also witness how anxiously and incessantly my soul endeavours to anvear better and more holy before thee.

I know, O my Heavenly Father, that thou hast compassion upon me. Never then, shall grief or sorrow overwhelm

I have confidence in thy word. I may lose my faith in human fidelity, and human favour, but I will never lose my faith in thy fidelity, nor in the eternity of thy favour. I will tell of thy compassion to the afflicted, I will support the drooping and breaking heart with the power of thy divine word.

O Jesus, thou who didst die for me, thou, who livest for me, thou, for whom God took compassion on the world; thou didst teach me to be full of fearless confidence, full of joyous reliance on the compassion and mercy of God. In the hour of thy death didst thou exhibit thy reliance on God; in the hour when thou went burdened with the sins of the world. And such is the holy heritage, which we have received from Thee.

And when in my last hours, my powers forsake me, when my faith is inclined to totter, or my confidence to tremble, then O Lord, do thou sustain me by the power of thy divine word. And when, alone, over the ashes of all my friends, over the grave of my beloved, and over the ruins of my happiness, then will I raise my weeping eyes to Heaven, and I will exclaim, this has God done, and what he does, that is well done. Nothing shall shake nor weaken my confidence in his grace. And when the last hour of my life arrives, and my soul longs for its emancipation from its terrestrial covering; when my stiffened hands can no longer fold themselves in prayer, when the darkness of death is creeping fast upon me, and I can no longer behold the forms of my friends and relatives; when nothing more remains for me than the struggle between the life full of sin and guilt, and the grave, even then will my sou fud of indestructible confidence raise it aloft to the eternity of Heaven, and it will exclaim, the life of man is persable, but the grace of God lasteth for ever.