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eye upon heaven, whilst their hand was busy in guiding of the helm."

Oh! what a consolation, what a privilege is this, of being able to lift up our hearts, and make known our dangers and necessities, by a mental communication with one who is mighty to save, and who, we know, will never leave us, nor forsake us. How great is the happiness, that the humblest individual has at hand always such a powerful friend to whom he can speak against the oppressor,-that the unlearned has near him so wise a counsellor to whom he can at any time speak to ask advice in difficulty, -that the feeble and afflicted has about his path, and about his bed, One, whose hand will hold him, and whose right hand will lead him; that the diseased sufferer can speak with Him who "will strengthen him on his bed of languishing, and make all his bed in sickness;" and finally, that the last breath of the dying may utter the accents of prayer, and hope, and faith, to Him who "is the resurrection and the life," and in whom he that believeth, "shall live though he die." How blessed is the privilege of being, at all times, and in all places and circumstances, able to speak to Him in our heart, even while to the world our lips utter no sound.

"When thou prayest," says Augustine, "cry not with thy voice, but with thy mind. For God plainly hears even the silent, nor is the place of so much importance as the intent. Jeremiah is cheered

in his dungeon;-Daniel exults amidst the lions;the three children leap for joy in the fiery furnace ; -Job, naked upon a dung-heap, triumphs ;—the thief, on the very cross, gains paradise. There is no place in which God is not."

II. Again, private prayer is both necessary and useful, inasmuch as we have each many things which specially concern us, and us only-to ask, to confess, and to be thankful for. How frequently do we both need, and earnestly desire, things in which our brethren can have no interest whatsoever? How often are those things immediately necessary to us, and to be asked without the delay of assembling others, and even without time to think of words? How often, also, is there a joy in our hearts, with which the world meddleth not; and a gratitude, which the world could neither appreciate nor feel? In these, and other cases, the heart must give itself vent in private prayer, and cannot impart its feelings, nor communicate its petitions to the congregation. And, in offering such prayers, and such thanksgivings, the natural and necessary consequence is an increased acquaintance with our own character and defects, and with God's goodness.

The very objects of private prayer are generally things bound up in the heart, and arising from an inward consciousness of guilt, or of weakness. Even the preparation of private prayer, sometimes, re

quires self-examination to know what we need; and though, sometimes, our very feelings suggest the prayer without formal examination, yet the result is the same: the sense of want, or the feeling of gratitude dictates it. The heart is conscious of its necessities and its obligations; and when this consciousness compels us, in retirement, and apart from the hurry and bustle of the world, to commune with God in such a frame of mind, will not such communion, and such an employment, incline us daily to take new pleasure in it, and to search more deeply into that heart of which we behold the weakness. The circumstances in which we address ourselves to Him in private prayer, are favourable to the promotion of meditation and selfknowledge. The gratitude and sense of God's mercy which these inspire, will be less easily obliterated; and the repentance and holy resolution which may arise, will be likely to take firm root, not terminating in mere sorrow, but in a permanent change of heart and life.

III. Another advantage of sincere and earnest private prayer is, the habit it will establish of feeling ourselves to be always in the presence of God. If we truly speak to Him, whether in words, or in our mind, we must believe Him to be always present with us. And what a valuable safeguard will such a belief present to us. It has been

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observed, that the presence of even a child has often produced such an effect on the conscience, as to restrain the hand of the wicked on the very eve of the commission of crime. Guilt knows its own deformity, and stands abashed at the eye of any spectator, however insignificant. But how great must be the dread and shame which must arise where there is a consciousness and lively sense of God's presence. Who would dare to commit crime, if he could behold the eye of God looking upon him, and noting the deed? Who would encourage impure and covetous desires, unhallowed thoughts, and fierce passions in his heart, if he could only discern God looking into that heart, and reading all its devices and intentions? Yet, when we truly speak to God in prayer, these truths are brought before us. We know, indeed, that with the eye of our body we behold not the Being to whom we speak but we discern Him spiritually, and we contemplate Him as a Spirit, "to whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid." Can we pray to such a Being, can we habitually and seriously address Him as "about our path, and about our bed, and spying out all our ways," and yet act in His presence deeds, which we should blush to commit in the presence of the lowest and feeblest of our fellow-creatures.

IV. The very act of prayer tends to accomplish

its object, and to procure for us many of those things which we seek, and to guard us from many of those evils which we deprecate.

This may be seen from the considerations we have just mentioned; its tendency to make us better acquainted with ourselves, and to impress us with a constant sense of God's presence. On the one hand, it brings before us our faults and our necessities at a time when our pride and self-love are less disposed to resist our convictions. We are in solitude, there is none to witness our shame and humiliation, and therefore we are less reluctant to yield to their emotions, and submit to the confessions and selfreproaches which they suggest, or to retrace the steps which we have taken in the wrong path. We have less objection to acknowledge our unworthiness and dependance, and to ask for that strength and help, which we feel ourselves unable to supply. We are in the same position as one who is rebuked, or convicted of error and folly. If he be in public, or be reproved and confuted by an opponent, he is often excited by pride and self-love to increase his offence, or, at least, to refuse any acknowledgment of it. But before the gentle remonstrances of a friend, or kind advice of a parent, given in private, his heart will be bowed down, and his reformation promoted, or his difficulties acknowledged, and the proffered aid thankfully received. In private prayer, we are somewhat in the same position, with even the greater advantage, that the friend and coun

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