sistency of our conduct? Let us never enter into any important engagement in life, without having first conversed with God. Let us always make conscience not only of public and family, but of private devotion. The languid state of the religious principle among us, is, I am convinced, chiefly to be ascribed to the neglect of this first, this most important of all duties. The efficacy of Prayer, has Í know, by some been made a subject of inquiry. Let me repeat, that of all the means of religion, it is incalculably the most efficacious. In its nature it implies sincerity; for an address to God, which is not the expression of the feelings of the heart, is not Prayer at all. So efficacious then is Prayer, that without it, it is impossible to be a consistently good man ; and the constant and habitual practice of it, is the best security of virtue, under all the temptations of life. Hence we see the reason why our Lord has laid so great a stress upon it, and the foundation of the assurance which He has given us, “ask

and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." Prayer is the most certain means of rendering us the proper objects of those blessings which we pray for, and therefore, from the general laws of the Divine administration, of securing to us those blessings. Let us then, upon every interesting occasion in life; let us every morning and evening in particular, "pray to our Father, who seeth in secret, and who will reward us openly;" let us join with our families in thanksgivings and prayers, for the blessings of relative and domestic life, and for our inutual peace, virtue, and happiness, and let us not neglect the "assembling of ourselves together," for the purposes of public and social worship," as the manner of too many is."

LECTURE XLIV.

I Do not know any controversial work which has been more completely answered, than the essay of Mr. Wakefield on Public Worship. His groundless objections to this duty gave rise to the admirable works in defence of it, by Drs. Priestley and Disney, Mrs. Barbauld, Mr. Bruckner, and Mr. Simpson. Indeed, by his own concessions, and by his sketching out a plan of public worship, in which he says he himself could join, he has been his own successful opponent; and I doubt not, had his life been much longer spared, that on a calm review of the subject, he would have acknowledged that he had been carried, by his feelings, too far; and he might possibly have been led to suspect that the cause of his singularity of

opinion, was a disgust with the sentiments in the established forms of worship, and a prejudice against all the modes in use among Dissenters. The following observation of itself appears to me to contain in it an answer to all which he has written on the subject.

Our Lord has given us particular directions, first for private, and then for public prayer, to which He has added a form which may be either used by itself, or as a model for the public service of

Almighty God. "When thou prayest," says He, "thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily, I Verily, I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." So much for private prayer. Our Lord then

proceeds to give directions for prayer in different circumstances, and by the use of the plural number, as well as the nature of his directions, He evidently means "When ye pray," says

public prayer. He, "use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them; for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ask Him. After this manner ye therefore pray ye." The form is lik vise plural, and evidently intended for the use of societies of Christians. And it may be observed further, in confirmation of this remark, that individuals, in their private prayers, are cautioned against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees; and societies, in their public services, are cautioned against the vain repetitions of the Heathens, certainly in public services.

Having premised these general observations, in consequence of what Mr. Wakefield has written on this subject, let