the season. We have been planted in thy vineyard; we have been united to a choice vine; but, alas! we confess with shame, that we have not brought forth grapes that are good, but wild grapes; and thou mightest in just judgment have taken away the hedge, broken down the wall, trodden under foot thy vineyard, and commanded the clouds no more to rain upon it. But we are witnesses of thy divine patience and forbearance. Spare us of thy grace, and grant us a further season to bring forth fruit. When thy love does not constrain obedience, may thy terrors persuade; and by the expectation of the harvest in the end of the world, may we be awakened to sobriety, diligence, and watchfulness. O may we all, at this season, receive the joyful assurance, that the wise and worthy shall reap in due time, if they faint not. Assist us, O God, while we are amidst the rich favors of thy providence, to live to thy praise. We offer our prayers through him in whom we have a hope full of immortality; and in his name be glory to thee forever. Amen.

WINTER.

Supremely great and glorious Lord our God; before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth or the world, from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. The

things which our eyes behold shall perish, but thou shalt endure; they shall be changed, but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Thou art calling us, at this time, to witness the periodical decay of nature; yet not without a hope, from the immutability of thy character and laws, that there will be a renovation.

In the order of thy works, thou art now giving snow like wool, scattering the hoar-frost like ashes, and sending thy cold, before which unprotected life cannot stand. With devout gratitude we retire to our warm habitations, and solace ourselves with the security and love of our domestic retreats. We would be particularly mindful of our brethren, who may inhabit the cheerless house of want. O may not our hearts be cold when we see the naked, nor our hands be shut against the hungry. May the poor every where have occasion to bless the rich, and may prayers, thanksgivings and alms unitedly ascend to thee. Appear, O Father, for the protection of those who are coming on our sea-coast at this dangerous season; when they are tossed and afflicted, do thou deliver them, and bring them to their destined haven.

O thou who rulest the year; may our reflections on the season carry religious lessons to our hearts. We adore thy incomprehensible power, which ordains, in their proper order, the effects we now behold. Thou sendest forth thy com

mandment upon the earth, and the windy storm and tempest fulfil thy pleasure. By thee, the waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. All is the work of thy almighty strength and boundless wisdom. We desire to be filled with a sense of thy care and love, when we consider thy multiplied provisions for the support and comfort of man and beast during this barren, inclement season. We rejoice before thee in the assurance that the elements are under thy control, subject to thy invariable laws; and that in the appointed time, thou, who bindest the sweet influences of Pleiades, and loosest the bands of Orion, wilt renew the face of the earth, and spread life and beauty through all nature.

O thou, who hast given senses and speech and reason to man, preserve us from misemploying the leisure now afforded us in excessive or hurtful diversions; but may we use it for cultivating our minds, examining our hearts, and laying up stores of knowledge and goodness. O may the changes of the year lead us to consider how the fashion of this world passeth away, and to place our affections on thee, the unchangeable and eternal good.

By the death of the powers of nature, thou art warning us to remember that we are mortal; and that if, by reason of strength, we live many years, we may expect old age to benumb our faculties and destroy our activity. By our diligence and

fidelity in youth and manhood, may we provide comfortable reflections, and pleasing hopes, to cheer us in the days of infirmity and the winter of life.

Blessed be thy name, that as we know thou wilt make the fields, now desolate, to rejoice, so thou wilt raise from the dead those who sleep in Jesus; that this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruptible shall put on incorruption. O make us thy upright and faithful servants while we live, that we may die in peace, and rest in hope, and rise in glory, through Jesus Christ, the Prince of life. Amen.

ANNUAL FAST.

Just and holy God, who lovest righteousness and hatest iniquity; to thee all hearts are open, all desires are known. Called this day to humiliation and prayer, do thou make it a sacred season to our souls, by impressing upon us every motive to sincere repentance and a holy life.

O Lord, our only hope is in thy mercy. With thee there is plenteous redemption; and having proclaimed thyself willing to forgive, we rely on divine compassion. We blush under the humiliating consciousness that thou hast been following us with thy loving kindness, while we have been sinning against thee. Deep and abid

ing sorrow belongs to us. We would seek that forgiveness which thy word promises, and fly to that redemption of which Christ is the minister.

Righteous Father, we would examine ourselves as members of a family. When we look into thy perfect law and see what we should be, and then reflect on our characters and find what they are, we may justly confess sins of ignorance and presumption. If as a family we have yielded to temptation, and the year past has seen us angry without cause and beyond bounds; if we have been uncharitable, unjust, undutiful, or unkind; if plenty has been abused by luxury, and liberty by licentiousness; if our ease and safety have only led to strife, envyings, and divisions; above all, if we have been indifferent to thy worship, restrained prayer, and forgotten the Saviour who died for us; if we have thus broken the ties which should bind us to one another and to thee, do thou, merciful God, convince us of our sins and folly, and lead us back to innocence, piety, and peace. May we no longer be hardened and blinded; but let it please thee to look in tender compassion on thy frail and forgetful children, who would now turn to thee with sorrowing and penitent hearts.

Universal Parent, we would recognise our near connexion with the citizens of this nation; and as we are now called upon to humble ourselves for our sins, we beseech thee mercifully to