: : which it has reduced them. Give them repentance unto life that they may acknowledge that Thou art just in all that is brought upon them and be more concerned to obtain deliverance from the wrath to come, than exemption from the hand of civil justice. If, after lengthened confinement, they should be released; let them be rescued from the bondage of corruption, and partake of the glorious liberty of the sons of God: and if appointed unto death, O hear the sighing of the prisoner; and though the flesh be destroyed, let the spirit be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. While we feel an abhorrence of sin, may we always display compassion for sinners and be thankful that we have been exempted, by the favorableness of our condition in life, by pious relations, by education, by thy restraining and thy sanctifying grace, from so many temptations by which we might have been conquered. Who made us to differ from another; and what have we that we did not receive? ADDRESSES FOR PARTICULAR SEASONS. SPRING. -THOU art the fountain of life; in Thee we live, move, and have our being-and the prerogative of that being is, that we are able to contemplate thy perfections, and rise from thy works-to thyself. Thou sendest forth thy Spirit; and renewest the face of the earth and, from apparent death, all nature starts into re-animated vigour and joy. In what myriads of productions art Thou displaying afresh, the wonders of thy wisdom, power, and goodness-the whole earth is full of thy riches. While we partake of the general sympathy and delight, may we join with all thy works to praise Thee. And O Thou God of all grace, bless us with the renewing of the Holy Ghost, in all the powers of our souls. May old things pass away, and all become new in Christ: may the beauty of the Lord be upon us and the joy of the Lord be our strength. : May the young remember, that they are now in the spring of life and that this spring, once gone, returns no more. May they, therefore, eagerly seize, and zealously improve, the short, but all important season, for the cultivation of their minds, the formation of their habits, the correction of their tempers, their preparation for fu ture usefulness, and their gaining that good part which shall not be taken away from them. -000-000· SUMMER. -WE hail Thee in the varying aspects of the year, and bless Thee for all their appropriate influences and advantages. O let us not view them and enjoy them as men only, but as christians also: and ever connect with them, the better blessings of thy grace. How wise, and useful, and necessary, are these intermingled rains and sunbeams-may Jesus as the Sun of righteousness arise upon us, with healing under his wings; and may He come down as rain upon the mown grass, and as showers that water the earth. When we walk by the cooling brook-may we think of that river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God. When we retire from the scorching warmth of the day, into the inviting shade-may we be thankful for a rest at noon, a shelter from the heat, the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. May thy servants behold the moral fields, that are already white unto harvest, and be all anxiety to save the multitudes, that are perishing for lack of knowledge. The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; we therefore pray, that Thou wilt send forth labourers into thy harvest. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son; he that sleepeth in barvest, is a son that causeth shame. Now is our accepted time, now is our day of salvation. O let us not waste our precious privileges, and in a dying hour exclaim. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. AUTUMN. -HOW fleeting, as well as varying, are the seasons of the year. How insensibly have the months of spring and summer vanished: and nature has no sooner attained its maturities, than we behold its declension and decay. The fields are now shorn of their produce; the beauties of the garden are withered: the woods are changing their verdure, and the trees shedding their foilage—we also never continue in one stay. Many of our connexions and comforts have already dropped away from us; and the remaining are holden by a slender tenure-while we ourselves, do all fade as a leaf, and in a little time, our places will know us no more. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the announcement of an inheritance that fadeth not away. O for a hope full of immortality—for a possession of that good part, which shall not be taken away from us. ·000-000 WINTER. -O THOU God of nature and providence; manifold are thy works, in wisdom hast Thou made them all; and all are full of thy goodness. The welfare of thy creatures, requires the severity of winter, as well as the pleasures of spring. We adore thy hand in all. Thou givest snow like wool: Thou scatterest the hoar frost like ashes. Thou sendest abroad thine ice like morsels, who can stand before thy cold? But we bless Thee, for a house to shelter us; for raiment to cover us; for fuel to warm us and for all the accommodations, that render life even at this inclement season, not only tolerable, but full of comfort. -Not more than others we deserve, Yet God has given us more.— May we be grateful; and may we be pitiful. May we reflect on the condition of those, who are the victims of every kind of privation and distress-and waste nothing; hoard nothing-but hasten to be the ministers of mercy, and the disciples of Him, who went about doing good. O let the rich, now, deservedly prize their wealth, and use it as the instrument of usefulness. May they be willing to communicate, ready to distribute; and enjoy the blessing of him that is ready to perish; and make the widow's heart to sing for joy. -000-000 A TIME OF THUNDER & LIGHTNING. -WITH Thee is terrible majesty. Thou lookest on the earth, and it melteth; Thou touchest the mountains, and they smoke. Thou thunderest in the heavens, and all nature shudders at thy voice. How vain now is the help of man! Who can resist thy will! We feel ourselves to be nothing, less than nothing, and vanity. Our very houses are no protection now! O Thou, to whom belong the issues from death, defend our persons and our dwelling. May we always stand in awe of Thee, and sin not. May we know that this awful God is ours, our Father and our Friend and may we have boldness in that day, when the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. : |