"and

To the diligent perusal of Scripture must be added, frequent and fervent prayer. "I prayed unto the Lord my God," says the prophet Daniel, made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts,—and from thy judgments." Nothing is more effectual than prayer, in withholding our souls from wickedness, and maintaining that godly fear which is the guardian of our innocence.* It is in itself not only an express renunciation of sin, but an appeal to the Almighty to assist us in every good work. It is an acknowledgment that human nature is weak, and exposed to great temptations; and that we dread the vengeance of God for the transgressions and omissions of which we have been guilty. But temptations lose their force, even from that lively sense of God's attributes, which every one must feel who engages earnestly in prayer. The charms of worldly pomp, of riches, and of sensual pleasures, appear less dazzling and less seductive: the arrogance of man is checked, the heedless mind is awakened to serious thought, the soul of the afflicted receives hope and comfort. The love of God then begins to be shed abroad in our hearts, and his blessed influences aid and sustain us in the culture of the spiritual life. Whatever we ask of him, in relation to our eternal "Sit timor innocentio custos." Cypr. ad Donat.

interests, we receive. If, indeed, we neglect to pray, we shall gradually lose the sense of God's goodness and power, but shall at the same time be conscious of our own depravity ;-we shall have no remedy against temptations, no refuge to which we can securely flee in time of distress and difficulty,-nor can our souls be prepared for the enjoyment of heavenly happiness. Our spiritual enemy will have the dominion, and the grace of God will forsake us.

Prayer is one of the means appointed by Almighty God and by his Son Jesus Christ, for obtaining help from above, in all our wants and distresses. It sanctifies our repentance and contrition: and by soothing the fears that would otherwise oppress us, it enables us to perform our duties with a cheerful vigilance.

It has been well observed by a pious and learned Divine,* that "repentance first includes a renunciation and abolition of all evil, and then also enjoins a pursuit of every virtue, and that till they arrive at an habitual confirmation :"-" but no contrition alone is remissive of sins, but as it co-operates towards the integrity of our duty." That we may, therefore, avail ourselves of all the aids which the establishment of the Christian religion affords, it will be necessary, besides studying the Scriptures and engaging in private prayer, to attend regularly the public services of the church. Our Saviour himself has declared that where two or three are gathered together in his name, there He is also in the midst. The spirit of devotion is nourished, our faith is quickened, and the

Bp. Taylor. Life of Christ, part ii. 12 disc. ix. ¶ 30 & 33.

sympathies of holiness and piety are roused and extended, when we meet in the house of God to offer him the sacrifice of our hearts and lips. There we are instructed by feeling and by example-to say nothing of the common effects of devotion itself. We imperceptibly learn there to repress every sinful thought, to subdue every suggestion of pride, and to have a practical sense of our weak and dependent state. The prayers and thanksgivings, that we utter there, are not so likely to become languid as those which we offer up in our closets; but they are enlivened, exalted, and warmed, by what I will venture to call the public spirit of Christianity. The charities of life are more justly felt, and more sensibly called into activity; beause the high and the low, the rich and the poor, meet upon equal terms, and share the comforts and the discipline of their God. What I have now said applies only to the influence of public devotion. The advantages arising from public instruction in sermons are not to be overlooked: for though a person may from private study and meditation, acquire an excellent knowledge of Scripture and of his own duty, yet that knowledge will be confirmed, and many helps will be afforded in illustration of particular texts and of the general harmony of holy writ, by attending to discourses from the pulpit. It is the practice of some men to go about from one church or place of worship to another, from a curiosity of hearing different preachers, and they imagine that they are better edified by doing so ; but

the fact is, that they are less edified, because they mistake the use and intention of preaching: they have what St. Paul terms "itching ears ;" and instead of considering prayer (which they ought to do) as the great end of divine service and preaching as only the means, they ascribe the highest importance to preaching, and consider prayer to be a matter of less consequence, It is true that there is a great difference in the qualifications and the manner of different preachers. One shall have a great command of language, an eloquent mode of delivery ;— another shall, from being a good textuary or biblical scholar, be able to expound the critical niceties of scripture. A third may be deeply versed in moral philosophy, or may possess an intimate knowledge of the human heart; and so by arranging his arguments and his grounds of persuasion, may be able to engage the affections of hearers in the important work of religion. Still it is a good rule to attend one and the same place of worship; because it is not only more orderly, but by giving opportunities of hearing a whole course of doctrines and duties explained in a regular and progressive manner, it is the fittest for true edification.

Connected with this subject of public worship is the sacrament of the Lord's supper, of which no man should neglect to partake, who is desirous that his repentance or his perseverance in grace should be effectual. It is one of the means which our Saviour himself has appointed for the benefit of our souls;

and nothing can be more efficacious than this Sacrament in promoting the dispositions of holiness, and mercy, and brotherly love. It is also of excellent use in restraining us from wilful sins, in reminding us of our baptismal vow, in suggesting holy resolutions, and in giving us inclination and strength to perform them. If God has endued us with the wisdom of considering our ways and of forsaking the evil path, and when we were in misery from the weight of our sins, he so helped us as to deliver our eyes from tears, and our souls from death, we should "receive the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord;" paying in the presence of his people, and in the courts of his house, the vows which we made in the time of doubt and distress.

While, then, the incorrigibly wicked man revels in sin and pollution,-alike regardless of the precariousness of life and the certainty of death,-alike insensible to the blessings of God's favour, and to the terrors of his wrath,-the true penitent, embracing the means of self-correction and amendment, redeems his time, and "maketh haste to do the will of God:" and when, at the day of judgment, the one shall be banished to the regions of eternal woe, the other shall enjoy that everlasting blessedness, which is reserved in heaven as the reward of the righteous. The great Creator of Spirits shall free him from the power of death and corruption; or, in the figurative language of the text," he shall deliver his soul from going down to the pit; and his life shall see the light."