I exhort, therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
giving of thanks be made for all men:
For kings, and for all that are in au-
thority: that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all fodliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the
sight of God our Saviour;
Who will have all men to be saved,
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;
Who gave himself a ransom for all, to
be testified in due time.
I will, therefore, that men pray every-
where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath
and doubting. I Tim ii. 1-8.

SPECIAL DEVOTIONS.

The following devotions, or selections from
them to suit particular times and circum-
stances, may he used in hours of private de-
votion on Sunday, or in such other seasons
of religious retirement as you may he able
to command during the week.

The heart of the devout Christian is as the altar of in-
cense which burned perpetually before the Lord, sending
up its fragrant column of smoke toward heaven. That the
incense burnt on the altar was composed of four ingre-
dients (Ex. XXX. 34), the odor of each of which must have
been discernible to the sense of the worshipper, was no
doubt intended to be typical of those elements which con-
stitute the devotions of the Christian heart. The Apostle
mentions four different exercises and risings of the heart
which belong to the full exercise of devotion — Supplica-
tions, Prayers, Intercessions, and Thanksgivings.

To supplicate is to ask God to ward off any evils or
calamities that threaten our souls or bodies. It proceeds
from a sense of danger.

To pray is to ask God for the good that we need. It pro-
ceeds from a sense of want.

To intercede is to place ourselves between God and
others, and to ask Him both to ward off evil from them,
and to bestow good on them. It proceeds from the sense
we have of the danger and need of others.

To give thanks is to express to God our grateful acknow-
ledgment for mercies and blessings received. It proceeds
from our sense of God’s goodness to us.

When in danger and fear we supplicate. When in need
we pray. When we feel the danger and need of others we
intercede. When we have been blest we give thanks.