invitation? Come, come; Then why not go? You have some excuse,-you have no seat, -you do not like the preacher. Ah! set aside these trifling reasons; come, try join your prayers, however feeble, to those of God's children, and you shall feel that He himself is there.

Of Private Prayer I have perhaps less to say; all must feel, who have ever tried, the great benefit to be derived from even a few minutes spent alone with God, confessing to him, and to him alone, the coldness of the heart, the weakness of the will, and the want of power to do that which is right; entreating forgiveness for Christ's sake, for all that you have done amiss; praising him for his mercies, and imploring his Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to dwell in you; and you will rise from

your knees strengthened to meet the hardships and temptations of your lot. But in speaking thus, you must remember that I suppose myself addressing those who are in earnest, not those who because they have been told it is right, kneel down merely as a matter of form, before they leave their room and repeat a few words of prayer. To such I would say, Beware!—far better make no pretence, than deliberately kneel down to mock your God, for such lip service is but mockery. What blessing can you expect to obtain, when by asking for it in such a listless, careless manner, you evidently wish for none. God does not care how few the words, so long as they are earnest and sincere, of this we have many examples in Scripture; the Publican in the parable, only said, "God be merciful to me

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a sinner!"* and we are told "he went down to his house justified" rather than the rich Pharisee, who prayed a long self-righteous prayer. The father of the sick child said, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.” † This prayer was earnest though short, and was answered immediately. We must not, however, expect that all we ask we shall obtain, nor that all our prayers are to be answered directly. Were we to look for this, we should soon be disheartened, for God often delays answering prayer, to test our faith, and try whether we are willing to trust him; this instead of discouraging should only make us more earnest and more fervent.

Do you recollect a verse in the Bible, "Draw nigh unto God, and he will draw nigh unto you?" Should you not like to

* Luke xviii. 13. † Mark ix. 24. James iv. 8.

have God near you? if so, whatever your employment may be, let a silent prayer arise in your heart, and it will be answered by Him "Who seeth in secret."* Bring all your joys and sorrows before your heavenly Father; when very happy, lift up your rejoicing heart in gratitude to him, from whom "cometh down every good and perfect gift." Should sorrow overwhelm you, recollect that "He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief:"† he can feel for you and sympathize with you. He has said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."‡

In speaking of prayer, I must not forget to mention the great privilege of intercessory prayer, that is, prayer for others: in being

* Matt. vi. 4. † Isa. liii. 3.

Matt. xi. 28.

able to intercede for those we love, we have a great means of good to all. We are commanded to pray even for those who "hate and despitefully use us."* When we see those who are dear to us, acting in a manner which we know must grieve and offend God, and when they refuse to listen to our remonstrances, all we can do, is to pray earnestly, that God will mercifully change their hearts; and though we may long watch in vain for any change, yet we may rest assured that in God's good time the change will come, for we are told that "the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," and for this reason, we often ask our Christian friends to pray for us, and also desire the prayers of the Church. We often see very striking instances of ↑ James v. 16.

* Matt. v. 45.