;

through this world innocently and usefully, having a conscience void of offence towards Thee, and towards all men ; and so employ the talents and opportunities Thou hast given me, that, in whatever station I may be, may glorify Thee, my Creator, and do whatever is in my power to promote the interest and wellbeing of my fellow-creatures, carefully abstaining from whatever might be injurious to them by my example. And I beseech Thee to accept my prayers for the whole race of mankind; supply the wants of such as are in distress; look in mercy upon the sick and afflicted let them not despise thy chastening, nor faint when they are rebuked of Thee, but strengthen their patience, and their faith in thy mercies: let them feel the support of thy providence over them, that they may cheerfully acquiesce in thine appointments; and in thy good time deliver them out of all their afflictions. Pour forth thy Holy Spirit upon all orders of men, in all parts of the world; strengthen the feebleminded, and convert the sinner; let the truth of Christianity shine forth in its genuine simplicity, beauty, and glory, that the glad tidings of salvation may be known and received amongst all the inhabitants of the earth, and may produce the fruits of righteousness and goodness, peace and truth, throughout the world. Purify, enlighten, and reform the Christian churches everywhere, especially those of this kingdom. May all who profess the religion of Christ live suitably to the name whereby they are called;

and those who are in the error of superstition and idolatry, turn from darkness to light, that they may finally receive an inheritance amongst them who are sanctified by faith; so that all may be at length admitted into thy heavenly kingdom, one fold under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sunday.

If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him.-ST. MATT., vii., 11.

All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.-ST. MATT., xxi., 22.

On Prayer.

'HE duty and efficacy of prayer have been felt and acknowledged in every age from the creation of the world; the sacrifices made by Cain and Abel imply, that an offering of prayer and thanksgiving was then appointed to be made; and the observance of this command

was never entirely lost, even in the greatest degeneracy of mankind; for a sense of human weakness, and the conviction of there being an invisible Power who governs the world, have always produced, even amongst the most barbarous nations, some sort of invocation to the Deity.

Throughout the whole of the Old Testament, we find that frequent and fervent prayer was a

distinguishing feature in the character of all good men in all ages; and very many instances are recorded of miracles which were performed, and most unlooked-for blessings which were granted, upon the earnest supplication of the righteous, or the contrite petition of the sinner. "He that serveth the Lord shall be accepted with favour, and the prayer of the humble shall pierce the clouds."

But, to a Christian, no other argument is necessary to prove the excellency and necessity of prayer than this, that Christ prayed! He, the Son of God, the Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was God, even he resorts to prayer, to enable him to support the infirmities to which he had made himself subject when he assumed the human nature. Both public

and private devotion are strongly enforced by his example. We are frequently told by the Evangelists, that he retired to solitary places to pray alone. Upon one occasion, St. Luke mentions, that he passed the whole night in prayer; it was his custom to attend public worship constantly; he enjoined his followers to pray always, and taught them in what manner to form their petitions. We may remark also, that when he prayed with such fervour in his agony in the garden, he kneeled down. Kneeling is, unhappily, less practised now than formerly. Indeed, in the present day, the greater part of the congregation in our churches (like the dissenters from it) sit or stand during the most solemn parts of the service. But the records of

Scripture do not warrant this custom. Throughout both the Old and the New Testament, we find, that devout prayer was always accompanied with a corresponding attitude of petition. Hooker remarks, that "when we make profession of our faith we stand; when we acknowledge our sins or seek unto God for favour, we fall down, because the gesture of constancy becomes us best in the one-in the other the behaviour of humility." To fall down on our knees, as it were, before the footstool of the Almighty, is certainly most compatible with fervent prayer, and the only posture indicative of true humility and reverence.

What attitude can, indeed, be too humble when we consider the relation in which we stand to God, for we pray to him as creatures to a Creator, whose wisdom and power are infinite -who, by his own will, called us into being— who preserves us during his own appointed time in a world to which he has adapted our comprehension and powers, and from which he will, when he sees fit, remove us, to place us in another state of existence, according to the deeds we have done here, and to which he will also proportion our faculties.

We have also to implore his mercy, as sinners before an offended God; for all men sin, some deeply and habitually, and even the best come short of the glory of God; all have some passion to subdue, some weakness to overcome; either pride, or vanity, or avarice, or love of pleasure, or some defect of temper. Our life