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cession, alike admonish me to regulate my affairs accordingly. As there is One above who maketh the out-goings of the morning to rejoice, and the evenings to descend in peace over me, at these seasons especially should I acknowledge him at these seasons should I seek him who, not only, in the beginning, made the seven stars and Orion, the greater light also to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, but who now also, with so much mercy and long-suffering, and with such regularity, " maketh the day dark, and it is night, and then turneth the shadow of death into the morning."

Have these daily alternations no voice? Do they carry with them no signification whatever? How was it then that the morning and evening were so generally regarded, even by heathen nations, as the appropriate period for some acknowledgment of God? And if Paul could refer to nature's teaching, about a matter comparatively so insignificant as the hair of the head, shall we not here appeal to the plain and unerring dictates of nature? That we should be compassed about daily with the vast and merciful vicissitudes of day and night, without any disposition to daily adoration, must argue great stupidity and ingratitude of mind indeed. The Christian who contemplates even the material universe only, with the persuasion that it is at once the workmanship and the property of the Almighty, cannot possibly so proceed. "It is a good thing," he says,

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,
And to sing praises unto thy name, O most High!

To show forth thy loving kindness in the morning,
And thy faithfulness every night;—

For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work:
I will triumph in the works of thy hands.".

The mind of the sacred writer seems so fully made up on such principles as these, that he immediately signifies it to

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be only a brutish man" who knoweth not; nay, even a fool, or foolish man, who doth not understand this.*

With regard to the seasons for devotion, however, we are not left to be regulated only by the signs of heaven or the voice of nature. There have been ordinances of divine service intended to enforce the same subject, and at these seasons. Has the reader never marked one condition, on which Jehovah condescended to meet with the children of Israel at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and there speak to them?-the condition, on which he would dwell, or, as Lewis, in his Hebrew Antiquities, has said somewhat quaintly, "keep house" among them, and be their God ?-the condition, on which they were from generation to generation to be confirmed in the persuasion, that he was the Lord their God who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that he might dwell amongst them? All these favors he suspended, upon condition of their offering, without intermission, the morning and evening sacrifice.. Now, if the primary design of these sacrifices was to remind the people of God at that period, of the sacrifice of Christ, by which alone at last they were taken away, shall we not remember Him, at these seasons, who was the substance and fulfilment of them all? And even then, when these were offered, how are we to suppose the inmates were employed, at such seasons, in those " dwellings of Jacob" which Jehovah is represented as loving next only to the temple and the temple-worship? It would even seem, that, when driven out, or far separated, from his tabernacle or his temple, the pious Jew could not forget those devoted hours. Looking in that direction, his language then was- "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice."

Psalm xcii. 1—6,

There are, however, other considerations than these, which might be adduced, for enforcing the important duty of prayer or worship, in the morning and evening of every day, not only in the chamber, but in the family. "Stated and regular seasons are indispensable to the effectual performance of all business. Method, proverbially styled the soul of business, cannot exist without such seasons. Irregularity, which is the prevention or the ruin of all valuable efforts, grows of course out of irregular distributions of time. That which is done at accidental seasons only, is not done at all; but no duty demands regularity and method more than prayer. There is in all men naturally a strong indisposition to pray. Stated seasons, therefore, returning at regular periods, are peculiarly necessary to preserve this duty in its full vigor. He who prays at such seasons, will always remember this duty; will form his schemes of life so as to provide the proper place for performing it; will be reproached by his conscience for neglecting it; will keep alive the spirit of prayer from one season to another, so as to render the practice delightful; and will be preserved, uninterruptedly, in the practice, by the strong influence of habit. He who prays at accidental seasons only, or then in form attends to this exercise, will first neglect, and finally desist from such a practice."

seasons peculiarly They occur at in

"Now, the morning and evening are fitted for the regular returns of prayer. tervals perfectly convenient; terminate successively our sleep and our labor; are seasons necessarily distinguished; remind us of all that for which we should pray; and are effectual means of establishing in us immoveable habits of devotion. They involve everything, therefore, which can be either asked or wished for this interesting purpose.

"As these are seasons eminently advantageous for secret prayer, so they are almost the only possible seasons for the

united devotion of families. Then, and then only, are all the members customarily present; then the family business is either not begun or ended, and all are at leisure to employ themselves in the worship of God. Strangers, then, do not intrude, and in this manner prevent the performance of the duty. Everything, therefore, concurs at these seasons to promote and establish the method, regularity, and habit, which, necessary always, are indispensable where numbers are concerned."*

IV. The profitable Performance of Family Worship.This interesting exercise is generally admitted to include -Praise the perusal of the Sacred Scriptures-and Prayer.

1. Family Praise.-Unquestionably this is one of the most delightful ways of "showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done." To the younger branches of the household it conveys an evident proof, that the hearts of their Parents are touched, and that to them praise is pleasant; and long after they are cold in the dust, the recollection of these hallowed moments may, and, in most instances, will return with peculiar and most salutary effect. For what signifies all our talk, whether to Children or Servants, if we discover not at such stated intervals, that our interest in divine things has furnished to us ground for thanksgiving, and the voice of melody? And since the fury of the Almighty is in reserve, for the Families that call not upon his name, how or where is God"daily to be praised," if the voice of rejoicing and salvation is not to be heard in the tabernacles of the righteous? No, this is an appropriate, an incumbent, and a comely exercise; and often has it most powerfully commanded the willing admiration of only an occasional visit

* Dwight.

ant.

When the Children are all seated, according to their age; when every Servant knows at once, and fills the appropriate place at Family Worship, and the Book of God is opened; how is it, that, before the Parent begins, the eye of the Mother, or of the Christian friend, turns so involuntarily round the room? Is it not because Family order, which is always an interesting and pleasing sight, is now about to show itself in one of its most endearing aspects? Besides, when it is remembered, alas, alas! that the most affectionate and interesting Family must sooner or later be broken up, in the very songs of such Families, there are touches which must affect the tenderest strings of the human heart. Hear, for example, while they celebrate the praises of their only certain dwelling-place-Hear their grave sweet melody going over such lines as these:

"Thou, Lord, through ev'ry changing scene,

Hast to thy saints a refuge been;

Through ev'ry age, eternal God,

Their pleasing home, their safe abode.

In thee our fathers sought their rest;
In thee our fathers still are blest;
And while the tomb confines their dust,
In thee their souls abide and trust.

So when this pilgrimage is o'er,
And we shall dwell in flesh no more,
To thee our sep'rate souls shall come,
And find in thee a surer home.

To thee our infant race we leave:
Them may their father's God receive;
That voices, yet unform'd, may raise
Succeeding hymns of humble praise."

The nature and spirit, as well as the performance of social praise, might be farther explained; but as the writer has attempted an illustration of each of these,

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