as in past years-that the circle of God's mercies is not limited. And as we look back upon the past, do we not call up the memories of how we have been wonderfully sustained and carried through trials, most afflicting even to think of? has not God made our strength equal to our day of toil and sorrow, and have we not been favored with upholding power when the observer would think that we must give up in despair or weakness? And shall we doubt for the future? shall we ungratefully set aside the holy lesson of the past, and so fill our hearts with anxious cares as to exclude the remembrance of Him who has proved a very present help in every time of trouble? No, no; let the mercies of the past encourage us to trust in good in the future, and so read the past that with another we can say—

"If on my life's eventful maze
The fitful glance I throw,

Which calls to mind my former days,
With all their joy or woe,-

Though here the cloud may darkly lead,

And there the fire may move,

Inscribed on each I still can read
My Father-God is Love."

3. A constant remembrance of God's mercies will afford the strongest and best incitements to duty. When were we ever faithful to God and not rewarded? When did we ever make a sacrifice to principle, and did not have it made up to us by elevation of feeling in the consciousness of having done right, and in the thought of how we should have degraded ourselves in our own eyes and the view of the good had we yielded our rectitude and integrity to the temptation? The

Judge of the whole earth has thus rewarded in the secret recesses of the soul all our obedience to him, and has added innumerable unmerited blessings. We never earned one tithe of the love that is poured upon us; and the thousand pleas ures which steal into the soul through the senses from the beautiful and pleasant things in nature, are so many testimonies of our Maker's free grace and bounty. We never merited the blessing of having the heavens so lovely, the flowers so rich and fragrant, and the beautiful so blended with the useful in the round of the seasons. There is beauty and music in the rain, and hail, and snow, as they come down from the clouds through the warm or cold air, and there is loveliness in the rising of the sun, and its setting; in the radiant dew, and the hoar frost as it glitters on the hill and plain, and in the moon and stars, -because God is good and loveth us; for they were all ordained thus before we had a being save in the purpose of the Deity.-How much there is in this thought to incline us to obey him? Rewards and gifts, bountiful and satisfying! Surely if rich and tender gifts from fellow mortals incline us to their service, we should direct the same feelings towards God, and be faithful to his will.

And shall we not be faithful to the duty of prayer? It is rather a privilege than a duty, and should so be regarded. And what a holy privilege is it in times of grief and bereavement! How is the over-burdened heart eased by the utterance of its woes in the ear of friendship, conscious of the presence of true sympathy! In the exercise, the heart is brought into closer union

with the things of heaven and the troubled spirit is soothed, as was the Savior's in the last hour of preparation for death.

Thought and feeling are the elements of prayer, but we must not deny utterance thereto. The poet must have his pen, and the artist his pencil and colors, and the spirit of prayer speech. Expression strengthens and increases all emotion and feeling, as repression stifles and chills. As an, to me, unknown writer, hath eloquently and justly said;"It is the great and universal law of nature, that expression strengthens thought and feeling. This explains why we need churches, and assemblies for united prayer—that the religious feelings may be deepened and strengthened. It tells us why the heart warms within us as we sit down to a desk to correspond with a dear distant friend. It tells us why we love the more after we have once expressed our love. Expression calls back thought on the feelings, and fixes it, and takes its impress in the mind and heart— makes it echo and reverberate like sound in the deep chambers of the soul, till we have caught the key note of the new harmony that comes chiming in upon us. The linked sweetness is drawn out, as we pause and ponder upon that which gave it rise. Like some glorious opening flower, we stand and gaze upon its unfolding vision, as it grows more and more strong and beautiful, in all its delicate tints and shadings-in all its rare and majestic proportions. Without words-without pen, ink, and paper, these thoughts might vanish all unnoticed or unremembered. These outward signs form a scaffolding for the fairer and more durable structure

within-and give a local habitation and a name to the erratic, volatile spirit of the soul."

If we have the power to speak, should we not use it in prayer-in secret prayer? The act of utterance will serve to concentrate our feelings and thoughts the more, and the words uttered will re-act upon the mind through hearing by awakening new ideas and suggesting new trains of thought. Our Master prayed audibly he gave a word-prayer. We cannot, therefore, be safe in neglecting the duty of utterance, but shall find good in obedience. Again we repeat-"Is any afflicted? let him pray."

PERSUASIVES AGAINST EX

CESSIVE GRIEF.

"There oft is found an avarice in grief;
And the wan eye of sorrow loves to gaze
Upon its secret hoards of treasured woes,
In pining solitude."

WHEN first the weight of a heavy affliction comes upon us, it is no marvel that the pressure should bend us to the earth, and deprive us of the exercise of our wonted strength. That we should weep, and perhaps bitterly, is natural, and religion does not rebuke our tears, nor should any mortal being take upon himself that office. Yet we should, when the first deep flow of feeling is past, think of Duty-of our relations in life, and the persuasives against excessive grief. And that grief is excessive which begets a disinclination towards active and important duties, cheerful society, and shadows the countenance with a gloom that cannot be dissipated by the sunshine of life and the tenderest efforts of friendship. It will not do for us to deem our sorrows unlike any that mortals ever felt, and rest there an apology for our grief; and give to fancy free power to draw around us every form of wretchedness as haunting spirits, clothing our affliction with the most terrible garments and powers. Our reason should not be forgotten. Our duty to act as rational beings, endowed with capacities to take hold of the promises