way, is to add folly to disobedience. Considering then prayer as a duty, I shall,

I. State the grounds of this duty, and shew that it is universally obligatory.

1. One of the reasons which prove prayer to be our duty, is taken from the relations in which men stand to God. Is he not our Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor? Are we not fearfully and wonderfully made-graciously and incessantly upheld by him? The frame and members of the body, the nature and faculties of the soul, the intimate union and mutual influence of matter and spirit in the same person, evince the infinite wisdom and power of God. The connexion of visible effects with their causes in the world, conducts the thinking mind, step by step, to the invisible hand, which first formed and still supports all things. He who rules in heaven and in earth, "hath not left himself without witness; seeing he sendeth fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." It is therefore impossible not to admire the just sentiment which breathes and burns in the exclamation of the Psalmist : "O come, let us worship, and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand." When

it is once granted, that man is a creature perpetually dependent upon God, and that a lively sense of this dependence ought to be always maintained, it cannot be denied that prayer is an important and indispensable duty.

Of all the relations in which God stands to us, there is none so familiar and endearing, none so early and so easily understood, none so deeply felt, and so warmly cherished, as that of a Father. The great Teacher, who well knew what was in man, did not lose sight of this relation, but brought it into full view, and set it in a clear and strong light. In that fine model, and comprehensive summary of prayer, which he gave his disciples, he has taught us to begin with saying, "Our Father, who art in heaven.". Is it needful, by argument, to prove that a child ought to honour a wise and tender parent, in every way which can possibly be expressive of submission, deference, and affection? Does not duty, in this case, rise so naturally out of the relation itself, as to be at once obvious to all? And should a son become ungrateful and rebellious, indulging vicious passions, and contracting evil habits, though he may break through a thousand restraints, he cannot possibly be released from the obligations of filial obedience. He still owes what he basely refuses to pay. We need only trace up and follow out this idea to attain

a just view of the subject in hand.

Let us but carry the same rules and measures of judgment from the low and narrow sphere of domestic life, to a much higher sphere, and the duty of prayer is demonstrated. A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master; if then I be a Father, where is my honour? if a Master, where is my fear? saith the Lord. Yet how many, who would think themselves justified in uttering the heaviest complaints, were their children to treat them with marked indifference and disrespect, live themselves in the constant neglect of every religious duty! Is then the second table of the Law to be set aside, or make void the first? Are we not as much bound to worship God, as to honour our parents? By what rule or reason are we warranted to conclude, that a father in the flesh has stronger claims of service than the great Father of Spirits? It is surely inverting all order, to argue that the higher relation deserves only a lower degree of attention and regard. Whoever reflects that Jehovah has endued us with understanding, enriched us with various gifts and talents, for the use of which we are accountable, and placed us here, in a state of probation,, must allow that we are bound to present ourselves to God, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to him, which is our reasonable service.

2. Another reason, which proves that prayer is our duty, may be taken from the express commands of God.

God should be the Alpha and Omega of all our actions. From the frequent use of the maxim, "A Deo optimo maximo," it is evident that many of the heathen thought it needful, on entering upon any great and difficult undertaking, to ask the direction and assistance of their deities.* * This was one of the last and best remnants received from the ancient patriarchs. But a few broken fragments of truth were soon buried and lost under the gathering heaps of error and superstition. Men need a revelation from heaven, to shew them what God requires and approves, as well as what he forbids and abhors. Had we not been favoured with the Bible, our condition would have been like that of travellers in a trackless desert, without guide, or that of mariners on a vast tempestuous ocean, without chart or compass. But God has given us his word, and in that word plain precepts, which mark out the path of duty. Prayer is a matter of such solemnity and importance, that we are not left to gather it from hints, allusions, and obscure passages. God

* Pythagoras and Plato were said to abound in prayer and invocation; and one of the ancients has asserted, "that the life of Socrates was a life of prayer." Max. Tyr.

has made known to us our fallen, guilty, ruined state; yet, instead of driving us away into endless perdition, as we deserved, he has invited us to return to him, to confess our sins, and plead with him that we may be pardoned, accepted, and justified. "Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool! For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live." What condescension and loving kindness are here discovered! What high and awful authority is here displayed! How suitable these invitations! How forcible these commands! And when God is pleased to say, Seek ye my face, should not our hearts reply, Thy face, Lord, we will seek? He who well knows our weakness, and the many excuses we are disposed to make for neglecting the duty of prayer, has mercifully deigned to put petitions into our lips, such as are fit to be addressed to him. Hos. xiv. 1-3. "O Israel, retura unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy." The ceremonies of the old law are done away, and God no longer commands us to offer sheep, and goats, and