R.-The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.

P. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation?

R. For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

P. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.

R. Because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

P. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Behold, how good, and how pleasant it is, for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like pleasant ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments. As the dew of Hermon, the dew that descended upon

the mountains of Zion, where the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forever

more.

A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you.

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. For I have received of the Lord, that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat, this is my body which was broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also, he took the cup, when he had

supped, saying, this is the new testament in my blood. This do ye, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye show forth the Lord's death, till he come.

P.-Dearly beloved brethren, there are many considerations moving us to observe this ordinance in commemoration of the Lord's death; chiefly, because of the aid it affords in the formation of a Christian character, both in the individual, and in a religious denomination. Being the memorial of the Saviour's death, it leads us to contemplate the causes which brought him to the cross. We see him persecuted by the world, and abandoned by his friends; yet, meekly bowing in submission to his lot; and we hear him utter that sad, but calm and trustful prayer; O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And as we meditate upon that heavenly fortitude, we imbibe its spirit, and feel better

prepared to follow the Master, if need be, through suffering and death.

This

There is, moreover, a vein of levity in our nature, which, excessively indulged, detracts from that seriousness and stability of character which should always appear in the followers of Christ. commemoration carries us back to the closing scene, in the earthly life, of our best and most faithful friend, and should make us more serious and thoughtful.

Though the season is solemn, it should not be gloomy or forbidding. Those dark shadows of the cross and the sepulchre, which crowd into the picture, are relieved by the dawn of that blessed morning, when Mary found the stone rolled back, and the Saviour risen. We are here carried, in thought, to Gethsemane; to the hall of Pilate; to Calvary and the tomb, and to the resurrection morning; and thus we are subdued and calmed in spirit; weaned, in some measure, from the carnal influences that surround us, and prepared to labor, and suf

fer for him, who has done and endured so much, for our sakes.

It is calculated, moreover, to cement us in an endearing bond of faith and love, and level the distinctions that obtain between man and his fellow-man. At this table, the rich and the poor, the obscure and the eminent, sit down together, and are all humbled, in view of the superior goodness of him whose death they commemorate, and feel that they are brethren. It is, perhaps, the only occasion in life, when all social inequalities are forgotten, and all conditions meet. and mingle on a Christian level. And O, how devout should be our gratitude, as we remember how much we all owe to him, who has died for us; that every cheering hope of the future, all of knowledge and communion with God,-all that we have, and all that we are, above the heathen that bows at the shrine of idols, has come to us through the faithfulness, the death, the labors, and the resurrection of Christ! Dear as