THE TUESDAY BEFORE EASTER.

Lessons: Lam. iii.; St. John xv.

For the Epistle: Isa. i. 5. Gospel: St. Mark xv. I-40.

"For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded.

"Who is among you that feareth the Lord, and obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God."-Isaiah 1. 7, 10.

66 And now is My soul troubled." Can it be?
O speak the word again, and yet again.
Thy soul, O holy Saviour, troubled? Peace,
Be comforted, my weak and weary heart :
There is a deep unfathomable rest

In that low moan of anguish. Was Thy soul,
O Jesu, troubled, tempest-tost, like mine?—
Troubled ?-Thy faith held fast her anchor-hold
Upon the Rock of everlasting strength :
For Thee the light of coming glory shone
Beyond all clouds, that wrapp'd the vale of death :
It was Thy daily meat and drink to do

Thy Father's will, which in Thy secret breast
Was ever springing up a well of life,

The world new nothing of. And yet Thy soul
Was troubled.

Trouble then was uppermost,

Not joy, not peace, but trouble and unrest,

What time these holy words dropp'd from Thy lips;
There was no stain of sin in them, no film
Of evil; only grief, deep sinless grief,
As when a tempest scourges into waves
A calm and crystal lake.

Oh, peace, my heart :

It is not sin to feel the bitterness

Of sorrow, nor to tremble, as the storm
Rocks the foundations of our little all;

It is not sin to weep, and make our moan.
Nay, for this human suffering Jesus felt,
And wept, and shudder'd and confess'd His woe;
Though almost in the self-same breath of prayer
He pleaded," Father, glorify Thy name,"
And meekly bow'd His head to bear the cross.
I thank Thee, Lord, for these Thy words of grief;
I thank Thee more for Thy victorious love;
So teach me at Thy feet to kneel and learn,
Until my feeble prayer re-echoes Thine,

"Father, Thy will, not mine, Thy will be done."

THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE EASTER.

Lessons: Lam. iv. 1–21; Dan. ix. 20; St. John xvi. Epistle: Heb. ix. 16. Gospel: St. Luke xxii.

"This do in remembrance of Me.”—St. Luke xxii. 19.
O Master of the human heart,
Emmanuel, one with us Thou art;
But never closer to our breast
Than in Thy tender last behest,
"Child of My love, hear thou My plea,
Do this in memory of Me.”

Dark is the veil that hangs between
Our mortal eye and things unseen;
But in these pledges of Thy grace
By faith we see Thee face to face,
And hear Thy accents in the plea,
"Do this in memory of Me."

The golden links which brethren bind
Are strain'd too soon, too oft untwined,
But in this feast Thy children meet
Around One Father's mercy-seat,
All hearts responsive to one plea,
"Do this in memory of Me."

O blessed banquet of delight!
O daybreak of the pilgrim's night!
The banner over us is love,
While steals in music from above,
The Bridegroom's strong persistent plea,
"Do this in memory of Me."

F

THE THURSDAY BEFORE EASTER.

Lessons: Hosea xiii.

Epistle : 1 Cor. xi. 17.

1–15, xiv.; St. John xvii., xiii. 1-36.

Gospel: St. Luke xxiii. 1—50.

"As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death till He come."-1 Cor. xi. 26.

Till He come-Oh, let the words
Linger on the trembling chords;
Let the little while between
In their golden light be seen;
Let us think how heaven and home
Lie beyond that "Till He come."

When the weary ones we love
Enter on their rest above,

Seems the earth so poor and vast,

All our life-joy overcast?
Hush, be every murmur dumb:
It is only till He come.

Clouds and conflicts round us press:
Would we have one sorrow less?
All the sharpness of the cross,
All that tells the world is loss,
Death, and darkness, and the tomb
Only whisper, "Till He come."

See the feast of love is spread,
Drink the wine, and break the bread:
Sweet memorials,-till the Lord
Call us round His heavenly board;
Some from earth, from glory some,
Sever'd only till He come.

GOOD FRIDAY.

Lessons Gen. xxii. 1—20; Isaiah lii. v. 13 and liii. ; St. John xviii.; 1 Peter ii.

Epistle Heb. x. I-26. Gospel : St. John xix. 1—38.

THE COLLECTS.

ALMIGHTY God, we beseech Thee graciously to behold this Thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross, who now liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified; Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before Thee for all estates of men in Thy holy Church, that every member of the same, in his vocation and ministry, may truly and godly serve Thee; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

O MERCIFUL God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing that Thou hast made, nor wouldest the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live; Have mercy upon all Jews, Turks, Infidels, and Heretics, and take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of Thy Word; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to Thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnant of the true Israelites, and be made one fold under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.