life as this is alone suited to the character of man. If God have made us capable of deriving our highest happiness from Him, and have so constituted the universe around us as perpetually to lead us to this source of happiness, the most unreasonable, ungrateful, and degrading, not to say the most guilty, course of conduct which we can pursue, must be, to neglect and abuse this, the most noble part of our constitution, and to use the knowledge of the world around us for every other purpose than that for which it was created. Let every frivolous, thoughtless human being reflect what must be his condition, when he, whose whole thoughts are limited by created things, shall stand in the presence of Him, "before whose face the heavens and the earth shall flee away, and there be no place left for them!"

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CHAPTER THIRD.

OF PRAYER.

In the present chapter, we shall treat of the nature, the obligation, and the utility, of prayer.

I. The nature of prayer.

Prayer is the direct intercourse of the spirit of man with the spiritual and unseen Creator. "God is a spirit, and those that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

It consists in the expression of our adoration, the acknowledgment of our obligations, the offering up of our thanksgivings, the confession of our sins, and in supplication for the favors, as well temporal as spiritual, which we need; being always accompanied with a suitable temper

of mind.

This temper of mind presupposes,

1. A solemn conviction of the character and attributes of God, and of the relations which He sustains to us.

2. A conviction of the relations which we sustain to Him, and of our obligations to Him.

3. An affecting view of our sinfulness, helplessness, and misery.

4. Sincere gratitude for all the favors which we have received.

5. A fixed and undissembled resolution to obey the commands of God in future.

6. Unreserved submission to all His will.

7. Unshaken confidence in His veracity.

8. Importunate desires that our petitions, specially for spiritual blessings, should be granted.

9. A soul at peace with all mankind.

Illustrations of all these dispositions, from the prayers recorded in the Holy Scriptures, as well as the precepts by which they are enforced, might be easily adduced. I pre

sume, however, they are unnecessary. I will only remark, that it is not asserted that all these dispositions are always to be in exercise at the same time, but only such of them as specially belong to the nature of our supplications.

Inasmuch as we are dependent on God, not only for all the blessings which we derive directly from His hands, but also for all those which arise from our relations to each other, it is manifestly proper that we confess our sins, and supplicate His favor, not only as individuals, but as societies. Hence, prayer may be divided into individual, domestic and social.

Individual Prayer. As the design of this institution is, to bring us, as individuals, into direct communion with God, to confess our personal infirmities, and to cultivate personal piety, it should be strictly in private. We are commanded to pray to our Father in secret. It should, moreover, be solemn, unreserved, and, in general, accompanied with the reading of the Holy Scriptures. As, moreover, this direct communion with the unseen Creator, is intended to be the great antagonist force to the constant pressure of the things seen and temporal, it should be habitual and frequent.

Domestic Prayer. As the relation sustained by parents and children, is the source of many and peculiar blessings; as the relation involves peculiar responsibilities, in the fulfilment of which we all need special guidance and direction, there is a peculiar propriety in the acknowledgment of God, in connection with this relation. The importance of this duty is specially urged upon us, by its effect upon the young. It associates with religion all the recollections of childhood, and all the sympathies of home. It gives to parental advice the sanction of religion, and, in after life, recalls the mind to a conviction of duty to God, with all the motives drawn from a father's care and a mother's tenderness.

Social Prayer. Inasmuch as all our social and civil blessings are the gift of God, it is meet that we should, as societies, meet to acknowledge them. This is one of the most important duties of the Sabbath day. It will, there

fore, be more fully treated of, under that branch of the subject.

Since prayer is the offering up of our desires, &c., with a suitable temper of heart, it is manifest that the question whether a form of prayer, or extemporary prayer, should be used, is merely one of expediency, and has no connection with morals. We are under obligation to use that which is of the greatest spiritual benefit to the individual. Private prayer should, however, I think, be expressed in the words of the supplicant himself.

II. The duty of prayer.

The duty of prayer may be seen from the conditions of our being, and from the Holy Scriptures.

I. The conditions of our being.

1. We are utterly powerless, ignorant of the future, essentially dependent at the present and for the future, and are miserably sinful. We need support, direction, happiness, pardon and purification. These can come from no other being than God, who is under no obligation to confer them upon us. What can be more manifestly proper, than that we should supplicate the Father of the universe for those blessings which are necessary, not only for our happiness, but for our existence, and that we should receive every favor with a devout acknowledgment of the terms on which it is bestowed?

2. Inasmuch as we are sinners, and have forfeited the blessings which we daily receive, what can be more suitable, than that we should humbly thank that Almighty power, from whom comes such an inexhaustible supply of goodness, to us so utterly undeserving? and what more obligatory, than to ask the pardon of our Creator, for those sins of omission and of commission, with which we are every hour justly chargeable?

3. Specially is this our duty, when we reflect, that this very exercise of habitual reliance upon God, is necessary to our happiness in our present state, and that the temper which it presupposes, is essential to our progress in virtue.

That such is the dictate of our moral constitution, is evident from the fact, that all men who have any notion

of a Supreme Being, under any circumstances, acknowledge it as a duty, and, in some form or other, profess to practise it. And besides this, all men, even the most abandoned and profligate, when in danger, pray most eagerly. This has been the case with men who, in health and safety, scoff at religion, and ridicule the idea of moral obligation. But it is evident, that it can be neither more proper nor more suitable to pray when we are in danger, than to pray at any other time; for our relations to God are always the same, and we are always essentially dependent upon him for every thing, both temporal and spiritual, that we enjoy at the present, or hope for in the future. It is surely as proper to thank God for those mercies which we receive every moment, as to deprecate those judgments by which we are occasionally alarmed.

II. The duty of prayer, as taught in the Scriptures."

The Scriptures treat of prayer, as a duty arising so immediately out of our relations to God, and our obligations to Him, as scarcely to need a positive precept. Every disposition of heart which we are commanded to exercise towards God, presupposes it. Hence, it is generally referred to, incidentally, as one of which the obligation is already taken for granted. Precepts, however, are not wanting, in respect to it. I here only speak of the general tendency of the Scripture instructions.

1. It is expressly commanded: "Pray without ceasing." "In every thing giving thanks, for this is the will of God, in Christ Jesus, concerning you." "In all things, by prayer and supplication, let your request be made known unto God." Phil. iv, 6. "I exhort that supplications and prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior." 1 Tim. ii, 1-3.

2. God declares it to be a principal condition on which He will bestow favors: "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." James i, 5. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that