GOD does not bestow His blessings grudgingly; yet, to hear many Christians pray, one would be led to infer that He did. The Bible, from beginning to end, is full of proof that the Lord is a cheerful giver ; that He delights in doing us good; that "He waiteth to be gracious." Yes, 66 waiteth," with His hands full of gifts, inviting us, pleading with us, to receive them. He never forces spiritual blessings upon any one, but He stands and says, "Ask, and ye shall receive."

"Ask!" Is that all? Yes, that is all; but it is a great thing to be able to ask. It is simple, but it is not easy. True, it is easy to utter the words of prayer; but to pray in sincerity and truth is a very different thing. This, no man can do except through the aid of the Holy Spirit. It is not every one that says, "Lord, Lord," that prays. To ask aright, we must ask in faith, and with both the desire and the expectation that we shall receive. We will look for the answer, wait for it, long for it, and not be satisfied till it comes; for as God is true, it will come-not in the manner we expected, perhaps, for that might not be good for us.

Suppose we ask that we may be filled with joy and peace in believing. That is always a good prayer; but God may see that before we can receive the blessing in that form, something preparatory is needed; and to this end He may give us the very opposite of joy and peace. He may permit Satan to sift us as wheat, as He did Peter,

and thus lead us to the verge of despair, by revealing to us the hidden evils of our hearts, and by a wise and thorough process, painful but salutary, prepare us to receive the blessing for which we asked. To fill a heart with joy and peace which is the seat of pride, malice, covetousness, selfish ambition, or any form of natural depravity, would be ruinous.

When Peter told his Master that he was ready to go with Him to prison and to death, he honestly believed what he said; the bold profession, however, arose, not from grace, but from self-complacency. Jesus was too wise to take him at his word; and, painful as the ordeal was, He resolved to let the great adversary worry it out of him, and most effectually he did it. After that, it was perfectly safe to pour into the heart of that ardent and impulsive man the joys of salvation. Peter was a man of prayer, but his Lord knew better than he did what he needed.

So, when we ask the Father that we may be made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, and its rich blessings, let us beware how we prescribe the mode. Our wisdom is to cast ourselves upon Him, to put ourselves under His guidance, and in a meek, child-like spirit, to suffer Him to lead us upwards or downwards, in the light or in the dark, over smooth places or rough, to give us joy or sorrow, prosperity or adversity, just as He pleases. It is written, "The meek will He guide in judgment, and

the meek will He teach His way."

A great weakness in the prayers of many Christians is the manifest absence of expectation that their prayers will be answered. They come to the throne of grace, utter in earnest tones petition after petition, and then go away with no more expectation of realizing the glorious work of grace in their hearts for which they prayed, than they have of seeing the dead rising that hour from their graves. This is as dishonouring to God as it is detrimental to our privilege in prayer.

Our prayers should never go beyond our faith; if they do, they become mere mockery. The great requisite in believing and desiring prayer, and no other is prevailing, is to have a lively sense of our wants, and to be fully persuaded of the loving-kindness of our heavenly Father, of His willingness to save us through Christ. Willingness is, indeed, too feeble a term. The feeling of an affectionate parent toward a suffering, perishing child, comes nearer a representation of the idea; and this is the illustration which He himself has chosen, to make known to us the tenderness of His love towards all who look to Him for mercy in the way He has appointed.

In manner, our prayers should be simple, humble, and reverential. Feeling our unworthiness, and feeling that we are in the presencechamber of the great God, we should not indulge in vague reveries. Our words should be few and wellordered. We should not expect to be heard for our much speaking,

and especially not for vain repetitions.

Viewed as a mere exercise of the soul, in its adaptation to strengthen every Christian grace, it has a value that is incalculable. But it is when we view it as the great privilege in which we are permitted to come to the throne of grace, around which is gathered every good and perfect gift, there to express our wants and desires, with the assurance that all things whatsoever we shall ask in prayer believing we shall receiveit is when so viewed, we see it in its truest excellence and value.

THE PAYMENT OF DEBTS. We propose to consider our obligation punctually to pay our debts, or faithfully to fulfil our contracts.

THE LAW OF VERACITY.

I. The law of veracity binds us to a scrupulous regard to the fulfilment of our contracts. Contracting a debt always implies a promise to pay; and the time when payment is to be made is always a matter of stipulation, or must be gathered from circumstances. For illustration, I give my note or my word for a valuable consideration, by which I promise to pay a certain sum, at or before a given time specified. In this case I am bound, by my own word of promise, to meet the engagement at the given time. I am under a moral and religious obligation to do so. To suffer that contract to remain, from week to week, or from month to month, unfulfilled, is, when fulfilment is possible, even though difficult, a breach of the law

of God, and a violation of the law of veracity. A promise has been made by which my honour is sacredly pledged. That promise I must fulfil, or stand convicted of disobeying the word of God and the law of veracity.

My neglecting to do so is a violation of moral principle; a violation of the law of veracity. It is an infliction of injury upon my fellowbeing, which renders me guilty of a breach of that law, which saith, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." I speak not, now, of the disastrous consequences of such solemn trifling, but of its guilt. Of the turpitude of that guilt, judge ye: "He that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. If, therefore, ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who shall commit to your trust the true riches ?"

PUNCTUAL PAYMENT BENEFITS THE

DEBTOR.

II. Punctuality in the fulfilment of contracts, or in the payment of debts, is for the interest both of the debtor and creditor. To say the least, it is a great saving of time. The adage, "time is money," is of great practical value. The debtor reaps no ordinary value by punctuality. It is a sure passport among business men; an endorser of unquestionable responsibility. The man whose word is as good as his bond, escapes a sore evil-an eating canker which eats out the pecuniary resources of the negligent. I mean the payment of an immense interest. Besides, how often is the dilatory

debtor denied his requests, while he

desires assistance in time of need; not because he is supposed unable to pay; not because fears are entertained that he will never pay, but simply because he has proved himself negligent in the fulfilment of his engagements. No creditor wishes to be put to the trouble of dunning incessantly, in order to obtain his just demands, or of being under the necessity of legally enforcing payment.

ALSO THE CREDITOR.

Add to this, punctuality is for the benefit of the creditor. "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour." The spirit of benevolence inculcates the most rigid punctuality in the payment of debts. The creditor's good imperiously demands it. We cannot neglect this duty without injury to him; and not unfrequently this injury is deep and lasting-an injury that neither time nor money can repair. The want of punctuality is to the creditor a source of numerous evils. Not to mention the waste of time in collecting debts, and especially small debts, his credit is often seriously impaired by the criminal remissness of others. has made promises, based on the promises of his debtor. This debtor disappoints, and he is under the painful necessity of disappointing his creditor in his turn. And who can tell how many disappointments accrue from the criminal remissness of one? This is downright injustice, dishonesty, and oppression.

IT PROMOTES CONFIDENCE.

He

III. Punctuality in the payment of debts, or in the fulfilment of contracts, promotes confidence between man and

man. Mutual confidence is a strong ligature that binds together the social compact. Society would crumble to pieces and dissolve without it. Whatever impairs this confidence should be repudiated as an enemy to social life, and whatever imparts strength and durability to mutual confidence, should be cherished as of the greatest value. Were there an entire uniformity in the punctual discharge of all our relative duties, every man's word would be implicitly received, and a promise by mere verbal expression would be clothed with the authority of a bond. Under such circumstances, mutual accommodation would be diffused in every walk of life; under such circumstances, benevolence would find ample scope; under such circumstances, favours would be given not grudgingly, but with a cheerfulness, which, while they would impart exquisite pleasure to the receiver, would afford no less heartfelt satisfaction to the giver. Nothing could do so much towards begetting the kindest feelings of friendship and good will towards one another, as a rigid punctuality in all our business transactions.

RELIGION INVOLVED.

IV. The honour of religion is deeply concerned in the scrupulous regard to our pecuniary contracts.

To trifle with our engagements, or to be remiss in the fulfilment of our promises, merely because they relate to secular affairs, is to set aside all moral obligation, and to make religion of no practical use in the world; and yet, how many, wh