is life, and how uncertain the tenure by which it is held; and may we so number our days, as to apply our hearts to wisdom. Hear us, O Lord, in heaven, thy dwelling-place; when thou hearest, answer, and forgive; and unto thy name be the glory, "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end." Amen.

BENEDICTION.

Grace, mercy, and peace, be with us all, now and evermore. Amen.

SHORT SERVICE, PROPER TO BE USED AT THE GRAVE.

PASTOR. The dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. We have committed the body to the earth, looking for the resurrection of the dead and the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them

which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him.

And now, O Heavenly Father, the graves are around us, and we lift our voices to thee in prayer, for thou only art our strength and our hope. Be thou near to us, in the day of trouble, and make haste to deliver us; and may great grace be upon us, with faith and love, through him who hath said, I am the resurrection and the life. Amen.

PRAYER FOR A WIDOW AND HER CHILDREN.

O God, to whom belongeth the fulness of wisdom and love; it has pleased thee to lay thy chastening hand heavily on thy servant, our sister, in taking from her the light of her house, her earthly、 stay and support. And now that earth's fondest idol is shattered by death, may she look up to thee, and feel that thou art

her only helper in this time of trouble; and while that arm, upon which she has hitherto so fondly leaned, is removed, may thy Almighty arm be outstretched for her aid and defence. Be thou near to her, and realize unto her stricken spirit the truth of that sacred word, that thou art "the widow's God." To thee may she direct her prayer; and wilt thou, O Lord, impart unto her abundantly of the consolations of the Gospel of peace and salvation. May she not mourn as those that have no hope, but trust in thee, and be comforted by faith in the life that is to

come.

And O, Heavenly Father, be gracious, we beseech thee, to these bereaved children. Though an earthly parent is gone, teach them early, that they have still a Father in heaven, for thou art the father of the fatherless. Be pleased to have them ever, in thy holy care and keeping. Spare them long, to be a blessing to their surviving parent. Make them kind to one another, and loving and duti

rows through which we must all pass; and affliction, disease, and death, are the ills that unavoidably attend us, on earth; yet, they come not unbidden of God. They are not the accidental evils of a world of confusion and anarchy; neither are they the ungracious inflictions of a vindictive enemy. But they come forth from the hand of the Lord, and are the wise, salutary, and merciful ordinances of a kind and benevolent Father. His ways may appear dark and inscrutable. to us, but they are light with him, and in them, he is continually carrying out the gracious plans of his government, by means which his infinite wisdom sees to be best. The same Almighty Being, who made the sun to shine upon the evil and the good, sends also the tempest, and is equally good in the sunshine and the storm. This world was not made for the dwelling-place of uninterrupted felicity, neither was it intended for man's permanent and final home. Hence, the pages of our experience here, are wet with

many tears; and the same wisdom and goodness which ordained us to be born, has also decreed that we must die. Happy is it for us, if our tears are shed in meek and humble submission to the will of God, who rules all things well; thrice happy, if, in the strength of an unfaltering faith, we can look upon death as the door of entrance to that "city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" as the gate through which we go to that blessed country, where "the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." With such a faith, death is disrobed of his terrors, for he becomes the messenger of a Father's love, kindly sent to take us to our final home; and we can leave the time, and the manner of our departure, with God, knowing, that as he appoints, so it is best.

Let the mourners remember the words of the Saviour: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted;" and let them not mourn as those that have no hope. Let them remember, that death is