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for their souls! There are multitudes everywhere to be found, whose lives are far from being moral; who, instead of having kept all the commandments from their earliest infancy, have violated them in many flagrant instances; and who never came to Jesus with an unfeigned desire to receive instruction respecting the way to heaven. What, then, must be their state? I appeal to you yourselves, my young friends; if this amiable youth was not saved, how can you imagine that salvation belongs to you, who have not done half so much for it as the perishing youth? Methinks this one example speaks more forcibly to you, than ten thousand arguments. You must be wilfully blind if you do not see how deplorable is your condition, and how certain your ruin, if you continue in your present state. Rest assured, it is not an easy matter to get to heaven. You must have a real concern about your souls; there must be a deep conviction of the evil of sin; there must be earnest and persevering struggles after holiness; the attainment of heaven must be paramount to every other consideration. If you would gain heaven at all, you must make religion the serious business of life; you must lay aside every wait and the sin that so easily besets you; you must cultivate every Christian grace, and yield a ready and cheerful obedience to every requisition of the Saviour. If you would gain heaven, you must take it by the holy violence of faith and humble prayer.

3. Finally, how little to be desired are great riches, since it is so difficult to have riches, and not cleave to them instead of Christ. The reason assigned for the young man's forsaking Christ was, that he had great possessions; and hence, our Lord's reflection on the almost insurmountable difficulties which riches interpose in our way to heaven. The fact is, that though every one is not called to renounce his riches precisely in the same way that this opulent ruler was, every one is required to sit loose to them, and to be willing to renounce them all, whenever they shall stand in competition with his duty to God. And every man is called to make some sacrifices for Christ. Now, a rich man's reputation is exceedingly dear to him, and his interest in the world appear to him of almost incalculable importance; and if he be called to renounce them all, the sacrifice appears too great to be endured. He hopes he shall find an easier way to heaven; and chooses, rather to risk the salvation of his soul, than to subject himself to such grievous trials in order to obtain it. And even should he taste the good word of life, and enjoy the sweetness of religion, yet still, like Demas, he is in danger of being turned aside from the path of duty by the love of this present evil world.

Regard it not, then, my young friends, a misfortune that your lot has been cast in the humble walks of life. If the rich have the advantage of you with respect to the present world, you have incomparably better prospects in regard to the world to come. You are comparatively free and unincumbered, and ready, as it were,

to run the race set before you; while they are impeded by their lusts as with flowing garments, and have their feet ladened with thick clay. It must not, however, be imagined, that you will be saved because you are poor, and others damned because they are rich. All must run, if they would obtain the prize. He who regards the salvation of his soul as the one thing needful, shall be saved, whether rich or poor; and he who does not, will perish. Neither the riches of the one, nor the poverty of the other, will avail him anything. The only grounds of distinction in the coming world will be, your several attainments in real piety. All other distinctions will be lost in death. Let us, then, seek to be rich in faith, rich in every spiritual grace, rich towards God. Lay up your treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal, for where the treasure is, there will the heart be also; and soon you will go to possess and enjoy it forever.

DISCOURSE XII.

On Prayer.

"O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come."-Psalm lxv., 2.

SET your affection on things above, and not on things on earth. This is the language of a heart devoted to God-of a heart aspiring to be conformed to the divine image. True religion breaks off the affection from earth, and places it on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. It consists in devoutly admiring his greatness, reposing in his government, submitting to his authority, confiding in his goodness, and ardently desiring to form the temper and conduct after the example of Christ. Prayer holds such a distinguished place in religion, that the whole of religion is frequently described by it: This is the generation of them that seek thee, that seek thy face, O God of Jacob. The neglect of prayer is a most dangerous feeling in the soul. It springs from pride, and is a denial of that homage due to God. A due preparation of heart for the reception of the mercy and grace of God, must precede the bestowment of these blessings. The hungry and thirsty relish meat and drink; the sick value health; and a sense of want will make us relish the blessings of salvation. It is painful to a minister of the gospel, who has labored many years among a people, to see a growing deficiency in this respect, and to be obliged to urge the importance and the necessity of prayer; but the depravity of the human heart urges this imposing duty upon every ambassador of heaven.

I. In considering the subject of prayer, we shall notice, in the first place, the character under which we are to view God, when we approach him in prayer: 0 thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. When we approach God in prayer, we should

come to him,

1. As God in Christ. We have rebelled against the government of heaven-we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God. We have, therefore, no right to approach a throne of mercy, in the eyes of law for, by the deeds of the law, shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Many forget this, and come to God without thought. They cherish no sense of guilt; they invent compliments; they turn their periods, and affect to make a display of eloquence in prayer to the Almighty. Such persons honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. They seek the praise of men more than the glory of God. God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and as guilty, depraved, endangered men, it is in this character we are to come to him-as God in Christ. Through him all have access by one Spirit to the Father, and by him the streams of the grace and mercy of God flow to the human family. His mediation is the only ground of hope to lost and perishing man; it is the life of our prayers, and the aspiration of our desires. The throne is, as the prophet calls it, a glorious high throne; but it is also a throne of grace, where we can obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Let us, therefore, come to God in Christ; but let us come as sinners, and rejoice that the way is opened.

2. We should come to him as to a sin-pardoning God. He who is pressed down under a deep sense of guilt, will be earnest and fervent in his supplications. He will have no time to study manner, or words; the pressure of his guilt is too heavy to admit of this. Like the publican, he will smite upon his breast, and pray to God, Be merciful unto me a sinner. Mercy is the loadstone which has attached him to the throne, and mercy is the burden of his prayer. Guilt overwhelms him, and shame covers his face; but the mercy and compassion of God inspires him with the hope of success. He who listens to my prayer, is a God plenteous in mercy-a God who delights in mercy-a God who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin-a God who will abundantly pardon. A persuasion that God is rich in mercy, to all who call upon him, will inspire us with holy boldness. This furnished the Psalmist with an impassioned argument, when he addressed the throne of grace: Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand! but there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Let Israel hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plentious redemption. Let this sentiment inspire the penitent soul with humble confidence; let it animate him to approach a God of mercy; and let it dispose him ever to pray, and never to faint.

3. We should come to him, as to an all-sufficient God. Many and diversified are the wants of the children of God; but there is a sufficiency in the Father of mercies, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift. My God, says the apostle, shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory, by Jesus Christ. And Jesus himself declared to an afflicted and suffering disciple, that his grace was sufficient for him. We should, therefore, in our approaches to God, come to him fully persuaded of his all-sufficiency, and ask of him great things. If we want knowledge, let us come to the Father of lights. If we lack wisdom, let us ask of God, who giveth liberally and upbraideth not. If we desire the aid of the Holy Spirit, to purify our hearts and make us meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, this is also the gift of God. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. By the exercise of devout and humble prayer, we may bring this all-sufficient God to our aid, we may enlist him in our favor; and if God be for us, who shall be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also, fully give us all things.

4. We should come to him as to a bountiful and compassionate God. To give us evidences of this, he has clothed himself in those characters we are sure to understand and to feel, especially that of a Father: Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. If the son, who has been exposed to the cold wind blowing from the north, comes home to his father hungry, will he give that son a stone instead of bread? His heart revolts at the thought of it. But, How much more will your Father which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him. That of a mother also, As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you. I dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. The poor, dejected, trembling soul, who is overlooked by the world, shall not fail to have his dwelling visited by God. Men may pass by it, but it is the dwelling-place of the Lord, the Lord of all grace and glory. God compassionates those whom men often despise, and is bountiful to those to whose wants men turn a deaf ear. Let us cherish these views of God, and they will inspire us with humble confidence in the day of adversity, and assuage our grief in the hour of distress.

5. We should come to him as to an omnipresent and omniscient God. Our minds should be thoroughly persuaded when we engage in the exercise of prayer, that God is intimately acquainted with all our wants, and is able to supply them; that he knows our distress, and is able to relieve it. The Sacred Oracles teach us that, The eyes of the Lord are in every place; that His eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings; that all things are open and naked to the eyes of him with whom we have to do,

even the thoughts and intents of the heart. Man looketh on the outward appearance, said Samuel, but the Lord looketh on the heart. There is no shadow of death impervious to his glance. His eyes run to and fro through the whole earth, to observe the humble suppliant, and afford immediate relief. Jonah was in the depth of the sea, but he cried unto God, and he heard him, and sent him deliverance. David in the cave Adullum, Peter in prison, Lazarus at the rich man's gate, John at Patmos, these all cried to God, and found him to be a present help in trouble. O how cheering is the thought, that how much soever others may overlook us, and disregard us in the days of suffering and poverty, he will not! He will look upon us with the eye of pity and relief, and this is more than if all creation were to fix their attention upon us beside him.

6. We should come to him, as to a God of infinite power and strength. He who has an eye to observe and to pity, has also an arm to protect and defend. He is The Lord God Almighty. There is no enemy, therefore, that he is not able to subdue. All their preparations are but as a spider's web before the northern blast. He can call the things that are not, as though they were. You have often to lament the inveteracy of your lusts, the strength of your passions, and the keenness of your appetites; you frequently feel your sins prevailing over your reason, over the voice of conscience, and over the restraints of the Holy Spirit; but the God to whom you are here invited to draw nigh, is the God of Omnipotence, and his grace is Almighty. Draw nigh to him, and he will draw to you-bow the knee before him, and he will lend a listening ear to your supplications-call upon him, and he will subjugate all your rebellious passions, all your corroding appetites, by the power of his grace. He will bind the strong man armed, and cast him out, and spoil all his goods wherein he trusted; he will bring the whole man, body and soul, into captivity to Christ, with all its members, affections, and desires.

7. We should come to him, finally, as the Father of Christ, and as our Father in him. This is a relation, infinitely more close and tender than that in which our children stand to us. He has created us, and is acquainted with all our wants; he knows that we are to be clothed, fed, taught, and to have an inheritance provided for us. And if he be our Father, all jealousy and suspicion, all doubt and sullenness, are unworthy our character; and poor is the excuse the best of us can make for these things. It becomes us to tell God with reverence and frankness, all the feelings of our souls, and all the aspirations of our hearts. Having received the spirit of adoption, it is our privilege to come boldly to the throne. of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. If we did but cherish an abiding sense of these views of God, how happy should we be in the darkest hours! what a source of comfort and delight it would open to us in the day of adversity! How would it dispel the clouds of darkness that gather

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