paths of righteousness, and do thou be pleased mercifully to smile upon our endeavors and to crown them with thy blessing. Grant that our children may be obedient and teachable, and grow up to be useful in society and members. of the household of faith. Preserve them, O God, from youthful sins, and sanctify them to thy service; let thy spirit be their guide, and thy word be their delight. If prosperity should be their lot, may they be thankful; if adversity, may they be resigned: and whatever be their condition, may they live to thy glory, and their own and their fellow-creatures' good. And at the judgment day, being able to say, "Lord, here are we and the children thou hast given us," may we enter together into the joy of our Lord, and join the glorious company of the just before thy throne. Grant these the desires of our hearts, we bèseech thee, O God, which we have confidence to utter through faith in Jesus Christ thy beloved Son, our Master and Redeemer. AMEN.

THANKSGIVINGS.

1.- FOR RECOVERY FROM SICKNESS.

THANKS, everlasting thanks be to thy name, O Lord, for the goodness which thou hast shown to thine unworthy servant in raising me up from a bed of sickness, and restoring me again to health and vigor. Thou forgivest

mine iniquities, thou healest my diseases, thou crownest my life with loving-kindness and tender mercies, and therefore it becomes me gratefully to say, "Bless the Lord, Omy soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!" Accept my thanksgivings, Almighty Father, for having delivered my soul from death, and mine eyes from tears. O that with full purpose of heart I may ever walk before thee in the land of the living, and never forget the instructions I received, and the resolutions I made in the time of my affliction. May this fresh instance of mercy which I have received at thine hands constrain me always to live to thy glory; and finally do thou be pleased to receive me to thyself, through thy compassion and grace in Jesus Christ. AMEN.

II. A GENERAL THANKSGIVING.

O GOD! We cannot add to thy glory, but we entreat thee graciously to receive our thanksgivings for the many mercies both temporal and spiritual we have received from thy bounty. Thou loadest us daily with thy benefits; thou watchest over us continually, and rejoicest to do us good, and we desire to bless thee with our whole heart for all thy care and kindness. May we show our gratitude not merely by our lips but also by our lives, ever aiming to walk before thee in holiness, and to extend thy praise. And do thou be pleased mercifully to keep us from all evil, and to incline our hearts to obey thy commands. Bless and prosper us all our days; and when we die, receive us to thyself in eternal glory, according to our hope through Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN.

0

ON THE

USES OF THE COMMUNION,

AND THE

PROPRIETY OF A GENERAL ATTENDANCE UPON IT.

BY ORVILLE DEWEY, D. D.

PRINTED FOR THE

American ritarian Association.

BOSTON:

JAMES MUNROE & Co. 134 WASHINGTON STREET. NOVEMBER, 1841.

Price 3 Cents.

I. R. BUTTS, PRINTER, 2 SCHOOL STREET.

USES OF THE COMMUNION.

I WISH to offer some thoughts in this Essay, upon the uses of the Communion, and the propriety of a general attendance upon it. From various causes, some of which are to be traced to historical events, others to doctrinal errors, and others still to a superstition ever lurking in men's minds, from various causes, I say, it has come to pass that a ritual service, intended for the edification of the whole body of believers and worshippers, has been consigned over to the charge of a few. That which was meant to be a bond of union has become a badge, not of sectarian, but what is worse of personal distinction. A symbolic observance, of easy interpretation and of wide comprehensiveness, designed to be a common ground among different nations, and a common expositor of the faith among differing languages, has been made a peculiar and a profound mystery. A broad and generous institution is turned into a mystic singularity. And that, which by the tenderest pleadings was set forth to draw all men to Christ, to be a rite of Christ's love and compassion and fellowship, is made to multitudes to be a rite of repulsion and estrangement. I verily believe, that if there were no such rite as the Lord's Supper, in our