LORD, THOU SON of DAVID, have mercy on us." And so they continued to cry out, in spite of the multitude who rebuked them for so doing. Until at length "JESUS stood still, and commanded them to be brought." In like manner in the storm at sea, how did He leave the tempest and danger to increase, and the disciples to be more and more distressed and alarmed, while He slept ; so that they said unto HIM, "Carest THOU not that we perish"?" When HE arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."

66

In all these circumstances how is CHRIST for a long time as one that hears not; as one that is asleep; or, in the language of the Prophet, As a mighty man that cannot save. Yet THOU, O LORD, art in the midst of us; and we are called by Thy name1." How is HE at all times as one that would pass by, unless we constrain HIM? So would HE have passed by when He was seen walking on the sea, until they cried out to HIM 2. So would HE have left those two disciples at Emmaus, if they had not constrained Him to stay 3. So is it with us now. Without continual and earnest Prayer HE will not continue with us; He will not heal our souls; nor give us eyes to see the things that belong unto our peace. If we are willing to live as the world around us, then, indeed, there is no such great need of Prayer; but if we would live as members of CHRIST, and heirs of His kingdom, we must understand the necessity of importunate and unceasing Prayer.

3

There is now another point to which I would call attention in this exhortation of the Catechism; it speaks of such Prayer for the grace of GoD "at all times, and diligent," as a thing to be learnt. "Which thou must learn to call for." In the affairs of this world there is no knowledge, or art, but what requires long pains and care to learn, in proportion to its value and importance; and if so in things of such little consequence as all the objects of this life, how much more must this be the case in that which is very far more valuable than any thing else in this world, viz. the art of being able to pray :-that great secret of a holy and a happy life? It is to be learned like every thing else worth

9 Mark iv. 38.

2 Mark vi. 48.

1 Jer. xiv. 9.

3 Luke xxiv. 29.

attaining, by practice and by earnestness. If any one is in great bodily danger, or in great fear under the pressure of some impending evil on himself, or others that belong to him, he will pray, and that earnestly. We have only to keep on our minds a constant sense of our spiritual dangers, and the greatness of them, with a feeling apprehension of the temptations which surround ourselves and our friends, and we shall certainly live by Prayer. It will need no words to teach us this our great necessity. And it may be observed, that in all those instances of persevering importunity in Holy Scripture, which have been spoken of, which at length availed so much with GOD, while HE continued for a long time waiting to be gracious, in all these there was some great pressure of calamity or of alarm. It was distress of some kind. And in our far more serious dangers and difficulties of the soul, all that God requires of us is, that we should be sensible of the magnitude of those dangers, and of His power and will to relieve us. A great help towards this end is the reading of the Holy Scriptures. For this reason, also, good men of all times have always united fasting with Prayer, because it produces in the soul a feeling of its want and need, and in some especial manner disposes to Prayer. And therefore our LORD gives direction for both at the same time, saying, that to be rewarded of God they must be in secret*. Add to this, sorrows and troubles of all kind, and pains of body or mind, ought to be made the occasions of Prayer. Indeed, this is the one great reason for which they are sent by Almighty God. There is nothing in the world without some good reason for it; and if "man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward 5, the intention of our Heavenly FATHER in all this is, that our desires also should as naturally and as constantly fly upward, and find their rest in GOD. Be sure of this, that whatever grief or annoyance happens to you, if it has not been conducive to Prayer in you, it has failed of the purpose for which it was sent. It has been as the rain and the sun falling on a barren rock; you are not the better, as GoD intended, but the worse for this His Fatherly care of you. JESUS CHRIST has passed by, and you have not constrained HIм, probably have not even known HIM.

4 Matt. vi. 5. 16.

5 Job v. 7.

Lastly, I would observe, that all this admonition in the Catechism is addressed to children. Childhood and youth are the times for learning every thing; such is the spring and seed-time of life; things learned in childhood go deeper than in later life; they are retained more thoroughly; go to make part of ourselves, and become one with our very souls more than when they have been preoccupied by other objects; an early habit becomes like nature itself, nothing afterwards will entirely change it. Again, it is much easier to learn in childhood and boyhood than it is afterwards. This is the case with the learning, and knowledge, and habits that belong to this life only; much more so is it in things Heavenly and Divine. A youth that runs to waste is like ground filled with weeds all the spring, the strength of the land is gone in them; and the good seed sown late in summer or autumn has but feeble power. Therefore it is that childhood is most especially drawn near unto HIMSELF by CHRIST; invited to HIM from the very tenderest years; guarded and watched over by His highest angels in Heaven, And the worst of all His threatenings are against those who shall occasion His little ones to fall. The only time when we see CHRIST HIMSELF in His youth is, at twelve years of age, in the House of Prayer. And when He made His great entrance into His temple on Palm Sunday, the most acceptable music in His ears were the children crying in the temple, and singing Psalms. He spoke of it as the most perfect of all praise, in the words of the Prophet, "Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings THOU hast perfected praise"." It is to little children, especially, that His kingdom belongs. And it has been observed, that the Beloved one among the twelve disciples, the one that leaned on JESUS's breast, was the youngest of them all. Again, in the Old Testament, the person most marked out as the man of Prayer is the Prophet Samuel. He interceded and prayed for Saul when he could in no other way do him good; and of the people he said, "God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing pray for you'." So prevailing were his prayers, that long after his death GOD said, Though Moses and Samuel

to

6 Matt. xviii. 10.

7 Ib. xviii. 6.

9 Matt. xxi. 16.

8 Luke ii. 46. 11 Sam. xii. 23.

stood before ME, yet My mind could not be toward this people "." And now what is remarkable in the history of Samuel? It is this, that he was devoted to GOD from his birth; that from a child he served GOD in His temple: and that when God would reveal HIMSELF, it was not to the aged priest Eli, nor to any Prophet in the Holy Nation, but to the child Samuel that HE made HIMSELF known, and spake His will 3. We may be sure that the Prayer of a child has an especial power with God. It is the one great subject of our SAVIOUR's rejoicing and thanksgiving, "I thank THEE, O FATHER, LORD of Heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes *."

Now we know that the world rings aloud with the noise of Education. And yet Education of itself is not a good, but an evil; of itself, I say, because "knowledge," which "puffeth up," is the contrary to that" charity" which "edifieth;" it is of itself, I repeat, a great evil; or, rather, it greatly increases the power of evil which is already too strong for us. It is religion alone, and Prayer, which can turn this evil into good; as it converts all other evils, such as money and the like, into good. Religion, such as is taught by parents and by pastors, by all good people, such as have a care for the souls of others, religion nourished by continual Prayer, this can turn what the world calls Education into a great blessing.

Nor is it only the case that what the world, and newspapers, and the Parliament mean by the word Education is an evil, but even more than this, the knowledge of religion itself will but add to our condemnation, unless this knowledge be accompanied with Prayer. 'For to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin ";" that is to say, his very knowledge is sin. "If ye know these things," says our Blessed LORD, “happy are ye;" not if ye know them, but "happy are ye if ye do them." There is a knowledge in which is life, and blessed are they who attain unto it. To the world it is as darkness, but it is the light which dwelleth with GOD".

2 Jer. xv. 1.

31 Sam. iii. 4. 11.

4 Matt. xi. 25.

5 James iv. 17.

6 Dan. ii. 22.

SERMON II.

FORMS OF PRAYER.

ECCLES. v. 2.

"Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before GOD: for GOD is in Heaven, and thou upon earth."

WHEN the Catechism introduces the subject of prayer, and exhorts children to the practice of diligent prayer at all times, it does not proceed to teach them how to pray, nor what to pray for; but requires of them the LORD's Prayer, and the explanation of its meaning. This is remarkable; and the more so, because it is in such exact accordance with our LORD's own example.

For the occasion of our LORD's giving this Prayer, as we read in the Gospels, was the following. "It came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His Disciples said unto HIM, LORD, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And He said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our FATHER which art in Heaven '," and the like. Here it is to be observed that our BLESSED SAVIOUR does not, as we might have expected, in answer to their request, give the Disciples directions how to pray, or what to pray for. He does not say, Pray that your HEAVENLY FATHER's Name may be hallowed; and pray that your sins may be forgiven you: but He gives them an exact form of words which they are to use, saying, When ye pray use these words. Now, the Catechism is in its method of teaching Prayer quite conformable to this, for it merely asks for this form

1 Luke xi. 1, 2.