The following paraphrase, which has been set to music as a duett, is of more recent origin:— Our Heavenly Father, hear our prayer: Give this day's bread, that we may live; Help us temptation to withstand; Now and forever, unto Thee, The kingdom, power, and glory be. Amen. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.-Acts xxxi. 14. 1. Towards us, without resistance. Give us this day our daily bread. 1. Of necessity, for our bodies. 1 Samuel iii. 18. Proverbs xxx. 8. And forgive us our trespasses.-Psalm xxv. 11. -Matthew vi. 15. As we forgive them that trespass against us.—) 1. By defaming our characters. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 1. Of overwhelming afflictions. 2. Of worldly enticements. 3. Of Satan's devices. 4. Of error's seduction. 5. Of sinful affections. Matthew v. 11. Acts vii. 60. evil.-Matthew xxvi. 41. 1 John ii. 16. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.-Jude 25. 1. Thy kingdom governs all. Amen.-Ephesians i. 11. 1. As it is in thy purposes. 1. So shall it be to thy praise. Psalm ciii. 19. Philippians iii. 20, 21. Isaiah xiv. 27. 2 Corinthians i. 20. Reveiation xxii. 20. Revelation xix. 4. ACROSTICAL PARAPHRASE. OUR Lord and King, Who reigns't enthroned on high, FATHER of Light! mysterious Deity! WHO art the great I AM, the last, the first, ART righteous, holy, merciful, and just. IN realms of glory, scenes where angels sing, HEAVEN is the dwelling-place of God our King. HALLOWED Thy name, which doth all names transcend, THY glory shines beyond creation's bound; NAME us 'mong those Thy choicest gifts surround. THY kingdom towers beyond Thy starry skies; KINGDOM Satanic falls, but Thine shall rise. COME let Thine empire, O Thou Holy One, THY great and everlasting will be done. WILL God make known his will, his power display? Be it the work of mortals to obey. DONE is the great, the wondrous work of love; IN songs immortal, angels laud his name; HEAVEN Shouts with joy, and saints his love proclaim. OUR needy souls supply from day to day; BREAD though we ask, yet, Lord, Thy blessings lend, AND make us grateful when Thy gifts descend. Us, the vile rebels of a rebel race; OUR follies, faults, and trespasses forgive, DEBTS which we ne'er can pay, nor Thou receive. WE beg Thou'd'st blot ours from Thy memory's book. Us in this world, and may our souls destroy. FROM all calamities that man betide, EVIL and death, O turn our feet aside, FOR we are mortal worms, and cleave to clay,- Is not thy mercy, Lord, forever free? FOREVER be Thy holy name adored. AMEN! Hosannah! blessed be the Lord! PRAYER is the soul's sincere desire, The motion of a hidden fire, That trembles in the breast. A TRAGEDIAN'S RENDITION OF THE PRAYER. In the early and palmy days of his theatrical career, Booth and several friends had been invited to dine with an old gentleman in Baltimore, of distinguished kindness, urbanity, and piety. The host, though disapproving of theatres, and theatregoing, had heard so much of Booth's remarkable powers, that curiosity to see the man had overcome all scruples and prejudices. After the entertainment was over, lamps lighted, and the company reseated in the drawing-room, some one requested Booth, as a particular favor, and one which all present would, doubtless, appreciate, to read aloud the Lord's Prayer. Booth expressed his willingness, and all eyes were turned expectantly upon him. Slowly and reverently he rose from his chair. It was wonderful to watch the emotions that convulsed his countenance. He became deadly pale, and his eyes, turning tremblingly upwards, were suffused with tears. As yet he had not spoken. The silence could be felt. It had become absolutely painful, until at last the spell was broken, as if by an electric shock. With rich-toned voice, from white lips, he syllabled forth, "Our Father, which art in Heaven," &c., with a pathos and solemnity that thrilled all hearts. He finished. The silence continued. Not a voice was heard nor muscle moved in the rapt audience, until from a remote corner of the room a subdued sob was heard, and the old gentleman (their host) stepped forward, with streaming eyes and tottering frame, and seized Booth by the hand. "Sir," said he, in broken accents, "you afford me a pleasure for which my whole future will feel grateful. I am an old man, and every day from my boyhood to the present time, I thought I had repeated the Lord's Prayer; but I have never heard it before,―never.” "You are right," replied Booth. "To read that Prayer as it should be read, has caused me the severest study and labor for thirty years; and I am yet far from being satisfied with my rendering of that wonderful production. Hardly one person in ten thousand comprehends how much beauty, tenderness, and grandeur can be condensed in a space so small, and in words so simple. That Prayer itself illustrates the truth of the Bible, and stamps upon it the seal of divinity." So great was the effect produced, that conversation was sustained but a short time longer in subdued monosyllables, and almost ceased; and soon after, at an early hour, the company broke up and returned to their several homes, with thoughtful faces and full hearts. Ecclesiasticæ. SHORT SERMONS. DEAN SWIFT, having been solicited to preach a charity sermon, mounted the pulpit, and after announcing his text, "He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord," simply said, "Now, my brethren, if you are satisfied with the security, down with the dust." He then took his seat, and there was an unusually large collection. The following abridgment contains the pith and marrow, sum and substance, of a sermon which occupied an hour in delivery : "Man is born to trouble." This subject, my hearers, is naturally divisible into four heads: 1. Man's entrance into the world; 2. His progress through the world; 3. His exit from the world; and 4. Practical reflections from what may be said. First, then : 1. Man's ingress in life is naked and bare, 2. His progress through life is trouble and care, 3. His egress from it, none can tell where, 4. But doing well here, he will be well there. Now, on this subject, my brethren dear, |