are blessed with humility and grace, to pay becoming deference to the general means the supreme Governor hath appointed for this public trial of our obedience to his wise dispensations, we cannot be too cautious to show our sense of these his benefits, by the most serious and respectful deportment in his house. We must convince each other, by decent and timely attendance there, that it is not matter of form, that urges our appearance, but a sense of His undeserved mercies, whose awful presence we are approaching; and that we consider it the highest honour and happiness of our lives, to be found assembled where even two or three are gathered together in his name; and in the solemnly appointed place, where he hath chosen to be worshipped. This will render our religion uniform, exemplary, and profitable to all the world; this will be to make our light shine to the glory of the Father, in imitation of his own bright example, which is not confined to sects or parties, but, like the sun, extends its universal cheering influence; for there is neither speech or language, but his voice is heard among them.

It is therefore, beyond all doubt, a matter of general and necessary duty in every truly pious Christian, upon all solemn occasions of prayer, to join the community in which we live, to supplicate God's mercy for ourselves, and all our

fellow-creatures. The laws of the realm, the canons of our church, and, above all, the word of God, require this duty from us. A few. texts to prove it may not be unuseful. In the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, ver. 14, we read, that all Christians of that day continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and the brethren. In the second chapter, ver. 1, we find, they were again all together in one place; and in ver. 46, that. they continued daily with one accord in the temple (no less than in private), praising God. In the 1st Cor. xi. 20, the assembling of Christians together in one place to eat the Lord's supper, denotes the general use of public worship; so that, if we live in a place where the prayers of the church are publicly read, and we are not unavoidably hindered from joining the service, there can no good excuse be given for non-attendance, however we may be tempted to think ourselves as well employed in some partial service, more suitable to our private judgment.

To conclude: In our church there can be no just exception made to the form or spirit of the service, because it is in a manner literally extracted from the word of God, which was written under the influence of the Holy Spirit; and consequently there cannot be a purer mode

of worship than what is drawn immediately from the fountain of evangelical instruction. The whole of our prayers are short selections from the writings of the Apostles; and a regular and judicious choice from the holy volume constitutes the remainder of this public sacrifice. It must be the grossest ignorance and prejudice that can object, that we pray not with the Spirit, because we make use of forms, since the words we use are the positive language of inspiration; God's own words, and consequently less liable to error than such as are the produce of man's most fertile fancy. In this excellent service, instead of indulging an enthusiastic hope for immediate inspiration of proper expression (which daily experience proves cannot with any propriety be admitted to take place in the exercise of many extempore prayers), we have only to pray for the nnction of the Spirit to bless the application of God's own form of words. We must never presume to hope we can invent a better petition or supplication than the language of Holy Writ affords us; and, as our warrant for the safety of such service, Christ has left us a particular direction how to pray; he has transmitted to us a form of his own compiling; not only to be continually made use of by us, but also as a pattern after what manner we may perform acceptable service to our Maker, by expressions collected

VOL. III.

from his Holy Word. In what way that form (short as it is) does happily direct us to compose all our prayers aright, will supply the subject of the next Lecture; for the present, let us humbly pray, that this feeble endeavour to glorify God's name, may have a good effect, that all our prayers and works may, through the mediation of Christ's atonement, prove instrumental to reconcile us to our Maker and to each other; to warm our hearts with heavenly affections, and to lower our too fond attachment to this world; to sweeten our tempers, and convey to us the true Christian spirit amidst all our differences, religious or civil, and to make us more ardently and universally desire the glory of God, and the peace and welfare, temporal and spiritual, both of ourselves and all our Christian brethren. And this we pray for Jesus Christ's sake, our only Lord and Saviour. To whom, &c.

LECTURE XXXVI.

FIRST LECTURE ON THE LORD'S PRAYER.

"Our Father which art in heaven."

JOHN, VII. 46.

Never man spake like this man.

IN reference to the holy Prayer upon which I am now about to discourse to you (my brethren), we may most truly apply the words spoken by the officer of the Jews concerning our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ; Never man spake like this man: and the reason was manifest-because he taught as one having authority, and not as the Scribes. The persuasive influence of his divine Spirit recommended his words, and carried immediate conviction to the hearers. There was no leaven of worldly interest in any thing he said or did; whereas the instruction of the Scribes and Pharisees was deficient in spirituality; they were censured by Christ himself, as corrupting the commandments of God through their traditions.