As an answer to the prayers of Cornelius, an angel was sent to direct him to send for Peter, who should teach him words, whereby he, and all his house, should be saved.'

The apostles lived on prayer; and received continually many great and wonderful blessings, as immediate answers to their prayers.

To these, and other examples of the same nature recorded in the Scriptures, may be added the commands, parables, and promises, which everywhere enjoin, explain, and enforce this great duty.

To all these things may also be added the perfect example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who in the days of his flesh offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death; and was heard in that he feared:' or, as the Greek may well be rendered, on account of his piety.' This example unites all motives. It is a perfect pattern to us, as being perfectly conformed to the will of God. It is a clear proof, that no being in a dependent state, however excellent, is exempted from this duty, or from the universal law of God's providence, which connects blessings only with prayer. If God would have blessed any being without prayer, he certainly would have blessed Christ. As certainly, Christ, had such been the fact, would not have prayed, since his prayers in that case would have been a vain and useless service. The will of his Father he certainly knew; and prayed only because it was agreeable to his will. Accordingly, his prayers were heard, and always heard. This example also has the entire force of a command, and is invested with divine authority. If, then, we obey and follow him in this great duty, we shall do that which is right in the sight of God, as he did; shall be accepted for his sake, as he was accepted, and shall be rewarded and blessed as

he was.

In these things, thus combined, there is plainly all possible encouragement to pray, and to continue stedfast in prayer.' 'The Father of all mercies' regards us in this situation as his children; prepares us by this duty most happily to realize his character as the giver of every good and perfect gift;' and fits us in the best manner also to receive his blessings, when they are bestowed. He forms us to the spirit and conduct of children; and is himself ready to give good things of all kinds

to us, when we thus ask him. In our petitions we learn the nature and value of his blessings, our own absolute need of them, and his unspeakable goodness in furnishing them for our enjoyment. We learn to depend on him, to trust in him, and to exercise towards him unceasing love, reverence, gratitude, and praise. At the same time we are assured, that we shall never ask in vain.

2. From these considerations I urge, anew, the folly and sin of those who neglect prayer.

Prayer is the avenue to all good, temporal and eternal, and to us the only avenue. He who will not pray therefore shuts up the only passage which has been opened for him by God to the attainment of happiness. It may be alleged here, but it will be alleged to no purpose, that multitudes who do not pray are as prosperous as those who do. An ox is pampered ; but it is only for the slaughter. The enjoyments of this life are never blessings to him that does not pray. If they are merely means of luxury, hardness of heart, and grossness of life, he who enjoys them will only treasure up wrath against the day of wrath.' On the part of God, indeed, they are always kindly given; but on the part of the recipient, they are regularly abused, by being made incentives to sin. They are therefore curses to him by his own perversion; and are styled blessings, only by an abuse of language.

He

Without prayer there is no virtue, no piety, no obedience to God. The commencement of piety in Saul of Tarsus was thus announced by the Holy Ghost, Behold, he prayeth! But without piety there is no blessing reserved for man. may indeed be rich, and great, and luxurious; may be clothed in purple and fine linen; and may fare sumptuously every day.' Such was the condition of the rich man in the parable. But at the end of a short life, he lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torment;' and found, that he had received all his good things in this life.

What excuse then can be devised for the neglect of prayer? Is it a hard service? Be it so. Is not the reward sufficiently great to retribute the toil? Good in hand, of every kind which is real and desirable, and good to come, inestimable and endless, are certainly deserving of any labour or suffering which men can undergo. However severe may be the labour of per

forming the duty, the compensation is certainly ample and complete.

But is it more severe than the daily toil of laborious men? This you yourselves see cheerfully undergone, merely for the common gains of avarice, by millions who do not and cannot know, that those gains will be good at all. To every sincere suppliant all things work together for good.' How vast the difference in these rewards!

Is it harder than profane swearing and cursing? In them, as in prayer, all the labour which exists, exists only in the utterance of words: and multitudes in these evil practices expend much more time and breath than is demanded in prayer.

All

these also labour in vain, and spend their strength for nought.' Nay, what is infinitely worse, they labour only to be poor, and wretched, and miserable.'

But is it hard at all? Is it a hard condition, for the attainment of all good, to ask it; and, above all things, to ask it of the infinitely blessed and bountiful God?

It has been, and undoubtedly will be again, objected by multitudes, some of them probably in this audience, that they cannot pray. Let me ask those who make this objection, Have you tried?-tried, I mean, in earnest. You will be obliged to answer in the negative. You have never seriously attempted to perform this duty. Whence then do you know that you cannot pray? How do you know that God will not willingly do for you whatever you find it impossible or difficult to do for yourselves? He is infinitely willing to give in answer to your prayers. Whence have you learned, that he is not equally willing to befriend you in your attempts to pray?

The truth is, you do not choose to make such attempts. You have wants endlessly numerous, and incalculably important. They might be supplied; but you will not ask God to supply them. You have souls of infinite value. They might be saved; but you will not ask God to save them. You are sinners, and exposed to perdition. From these tremendous evils you might be delivered; but will not ask God to deliver you. You are made candidates for heaven; and might be received into that glorious world of everlasting joy. Rather than pray, you choose to perish.

All blessings are opened for your enjoyment. The condi

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curred.

tion, on which you may obtain them all, is to ask. No sacrifice, expense, or loss is demanded of you. None will be inOn the contrary, praying is in itself unspeakable gain, and solid pleasure; higher, more rational, more unmingled pleasure, than you ever found, or ever will find in sin. The condition therefore is a gainful condition of a reward without bounds, and without end. What then is your conduct, but supreme and unmingled folly?

'Fools,' saith Solomon, despise wisdom and instruction, and hate knowledge.' This wisdom, of supreme import, has been taught to you a thousand times. Hitherto you have despised and hated it. The evil of neglecting prayer has been often urged on you; but hitherto it has been urged in vain. Hitherto you have deceived yourselves with the folly of believing that God will bless you, while you refuse to pray to him; in other words, that he will bless you in direct contradiction to his own express declarations. What specimen of folly can be greater! That you should be thus deceived with your present character is not strange; since the Scriptures inform us, that it is the nature of folly to be deceitful. That you should think yourselves right in these views, and in the conduct which grows out of them, is as little strange; for persons of this character, according to the same divine testimony, usually think themselves right. But let me remind you from the same sacred book, that fools die for want of wisdom.' In your present course, you are in the road to death. For want of wisdom only do you continue in it a single day. Should the same folly be prolonged, the period is not distant when you will die for ever!

SERMON CXLII

THE MEANS OF GRACE.

ORDINARY MEANS OF GRACE.

THE OBJECTIONS TO PRAYER CONSIDERED.

WHAT IS THE ALMIGHTY THAT WE SHOULD SERVE HIM; AND WHAT PROFIT SHALL WE HAVE, IF WE PRAY UNTO HIM?

JOB XXI. 15.

THE five first subjects, originally proposed as themes of discourse concerning the duty of prayer, have been examined at length in the four preceding Sermons. The sixth, viz. objections against this duty, will now occupy our attention.

In the text, a general objection is made against all obedience to God, and is professedly founded on his character. 'What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?'--There is nothing in the character of God, nor in our relation to him, which requires our obedience to his will. We are neither obliged by any duty, nor drawn by any interest, to his service. This impious sentiment is exhibited in the context as the sentiment of abandoned men only; and is plainly of a nature too impious to be uttered by any other. The following one, proceeding from the same mouth also, is with perfect propriety exhibited to us as resulting from the same spirit. Yet there are multitudes, who are far from deserving the character of profligacy, who yet say concerning God, What profit shall

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