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But as for thee, O merciful God! thou hast provided, with the goodness of a father, for all the wants and infirmities of thy children; thy bountiful table is always spread, and always ready to receive them; thou there givest thyself to them; and in this divine nourishment they find a sure remedy for all their weaknesses, and a real consolation under all the troubles which the world brings on them. By descending thyself into their hearts, thou carriest thither an inexhaustible source of peace and joy; thou repairest its ruins; thou strengthenest that which was weak; and, supported by that heavenly food, thy children walk with new courage towards the eternal mountains. How much to be pitied then are men of the world for depriving themselves of such powerful aid,—for refusing thy favors,-for not coming to thy table, and for considering thy service as burden. some and painful !

VERSE 5.

Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

O LORD, in that feast of love which thou has prepared for thy chosen ones, thou pourest unspeakable consolation into their souls, and thy cup fills them with divine joy. The perfumes of Egypt may preserve the body from corruption, and secure to it a long continuance, without decay, in the melancholy abode of the tomb; but the oil of that precious perfume which thy grace pours into our souls purifies them, adorns them, renders them more vigorous, and strengthens them to obey thy commandments. It implants within them a germ of eternal life, which not only preserves them from corruption and decay, but which assures to them, at their departure from their mansion of clay, an eternal abode in thy bosom.

O divine Father! to thy rebellious children thy table affords no pleasure, to them it is disgusting, and to them thy cup is bitter. I am not astonished at

terrestrial objects. by drinking conBabylon, find satThey only, whose emptied of a love

this; it is because their taste is depraved and corrupted by the love of sensible and How can they, who are brutalized tinually of the polluted waters of isfaction in the pure water of life? hearts are purified by grace, and of the world, can relish the sweetness of thy cup; they only will be filled with a pleasure so heavenly, so lively, and so engaging, that every thing else will become insipid and nauseous to them; they leave it with regret, and to be deprived, though but for a short season, of this divine nourishment, they consider as the most grievous of all their calamities.

VERSE 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

FOR myself, O God, I hope that thy mercy will never permit me to be deprived of the greatest consolation which thou givest us in this state of exile. Assist me more and more to give up all earthly attachments, that I may be the better fitted to enjoy the rich blessings of grace; let thy goodness and mercy continue to follow me; feed me with the bread of heaven, and give me to drink of the refreshing waters of life. This shall be my sweetest hope during the days of my pilgrimage, during my continuance in this strange land, in which thou communicatest thyself to us but in part; this, my God, will make me wait with patience for the lappy moment in which thou wilt open to me the eternal doors of thy heavenly temple,-of that paternal mansion, where we shall see thee unveiled, and where we shall dwell during the long continuance of an eternal day.

PSALM XXVIII.

Meditations of a saint bewailing before God the impious derisions to which he finds himself exposci in consequence of his piety, from those with whom is obliged to live; and prayer for grace to enable him to continue stedfast in the love and service of God, notwithstanding the temptations and difficulties in his way.

VERSE 1. Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become. like them that go down into the pit.

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LMIGHTY and most merciful God! Thou seest the deplorable situation in which I am placed. I know nothing really great and desirable upon earth except the happiness of serving thee; but the duties attached to my station in life connect ine with many people, who consider piety in no other light but as an object of their derision and censures. With secret horror I hear them, every day, impiously revile the ineffable gifts of thy grace, and treat the zeal and fidelity of thy servants as weakness, imbecility, and perversion of mind. As it was formerly so now, the world considers those upon whom thou bestowest the gifts of thy Spirit as men of unsound. minds. The conversion of sinners, that miracle of thy mercy, so well suited in itself to lead men to adore and praise thee, furnishes them with new matter for derision, and for speaking against thy holy name; and wherever they see true piety, which is the only thing worthy of admiration in this world, it excites their contempt and ridicule. Obliged to be a witness of an error so deplorable, and exposed myself incessantly to these impious revilings, all my consolation, O my God, is in addressing myself to thee, and pouring out the grief of my heart at the feet of

thy throne. Although these profane derisions make no impressions upon me, at present, but those of horror and pity 1 fear that at last they may weaken me, make me less bold and open in thy service, and

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vad me to dissimulations unworthy of thy gloand of my infinite obligations to thy mercy. ear that I shall insensibly become so cowardly as to blush when charged with having a regard for thee, and to refuse to attend to the influences of thy Spirit, on occasions when I ought to render a public testimony to the truth, against the reproaches of those who wish to dishonor it. I fear that a sinful timidity will disguise in me, under the specious name of prudence, a silence and caution which proceed only from an improper regard for man. Self-love, which seeks always to remove what gives us pain, is but too successful in persuading us, that we ought prudently to manage the prejudices of those with whom we are obliged to live;-that we shall render religion more odious, by refusing to relax any thing from its strict requirements before those who do not love it, and that we shall bring new reproaches upon it by unseasonably professing it in public. I fear, great God, that this poison will insinuate itself, by little and little, into my heart; for though I feel no inclination to have my conduct resemble that of those sinners. with whom I am connected by my situation in life, still I wish not to displease them; though I have no desire to imitate them, still I wish not to stir them up against me; though I say to myself, it is impossible to serve thee and please a corrupt world, still I fear I shall lose sight of this truth in times of temptation. What resource then remains for me, O Lord, in this agitation of mind, but to implore thine aid? Fortify me against that fear of man by which we can. never be influenced but at the expense of thy glory and of our fidelity to thee. Let me hear that strong and courageous voice speaking to my heart which formerly rendered the followers of my Saviour superior

not only to the censures and derisions of the world, but also to all the barbarity of tyrants. If thou leavest me to myself, if the voice of thy grace does not speak to my heart, and enable me to overcome my natural weakness and timidity, I feel that I shall quickly fall; I see myself on the borders of a precipice, and that, unless I am upheld by thee, I shall, by a criminal compliance with the wicked, become like them that go down into the pit.

VERSE 2. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.

PRAYER, O God, is the only resource of man in times of danger, and thou always comest to the help of those who call upon thee in truth. Make me perceive, more and more, the folly and deplorable error of the opinions of the world. How can I ever suffer myself to be influenced by language which the intoxication of the passions, and a total subversion of reason alone are sounding in my ears? Would the raillery of a fool or a madman appear to me sufficiently important to govern my conduct? And what are those who prefer a momentary sensual pleasure in this life, to the eternal blessings promised by thee in the next, but madmen, whose delirium ought to inspire us with detestation, if the misery to which they are exposed did not rather call for our grief and pity? Strengthen my faith, O gracious God! by a view of these immutable truths. This is what I will not cease to ask of thee; these are the vows which my hands, raised towards thine eternal temple, where thine ears are always open to our supplication, shall not cease to bear to the feet of thy throne.

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