THE CABINET.

ELIJAH'S PRAYER ON MOUNT CARMEL.

Elijah said unto his servant,-' Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.' Thus was literally fulfilled what Elijah had said, 'There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word?' Therefore the Lord did not let the full shower come all at once; but first of all, a little cloud that was scarcely visible, that Elijah might have time to announce the approaching rain to the king, that the rain might come at the word of the prophet; and that it might be fully apparent that Jehovah, the God of Elijah, was the Governor of the world. The servant comes to the king, who perhaps was stationed in a pavilion upon the mountain, whilst the sky is still clear, and seems to promise any thing but rain. 'Prepare thy chariot,' was the message: 'get thee down, that the rain stop thee not!' 'Rain!' would the astonished guests exclaim;-'Rain!' would the people cry, full of hope; and scarcely had they lifted up their eyes, when every region of the sky seemed to reply, 'Yea, and amen; abundance of rain!' Dark thunder clouds ascend out of the sea, one after the other; the heavens become black, the wind sets all the sea in motion, roars through the forest, and a violent storm pours down upon the land. O welcome streams! refreshing floods! The face of the earth is renewed, and all nature rejoices. A breath of life breathes over the fields-wood and meadow are clothed with new verdure-the birds resume their music in the branches-and man, and beast, and every thing seems as if resuscitated. The voice of rejoicing is heard in the dwellings of the righteous, and joy fills the hearts of the godly. Ahab is already seated in his chariot, and on his way to his royal seat in Jezreel. But 'the hand of the Lord was upon Elijah. Jehovah invigorated him with supernatural bodily powers; so that the prophet, girding up his loins, ran before Ahab's chariot, which doubtless was at full speed on account of the deluging rain. The prophet was now a living memorial to the king, to remind him of all the great things which the God of Israel had brought to pass by his prophet; that Ahab might not easily forget them, but carry the fresh impression of them to Jezebel. Elijah therefore outran the chariot before his eyes, through all the torrents of rain and tempest, till he came to the entrance of Jezreel.

'And Elijab,' saith the apostle James, 'was a man like as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.' And why does the apostle notice this? He adduces this instance of Elijah's success in prayer, as an encouragement to us to persevere in prayer, and to believe that we also shall not fail of being answered,

if we only pray in faith; because the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.' And, indeed, who can recount all the wondrous instances in which the truth of this declaration has been realized? Through prayer, Moses turned away the fierce wrath of the Almighty from Israel; and with outstretched arms he smote the host of Amalek. Manoah, by the voice of his cry, drew down a visible manifestation of the Divine presence in human form. Through prayer at Mizpah, the prophet Samuel smote the army of the Philistines, and caused the thunder of terror to roll over Israel's foes. Through prayer, Josiah the prince died in peace. Through prayer, fifteen years were added to Hezekiah's life; the three men were preserved in the burning fiery furnace; and to Daniel it was said by Gabriel,-'I am come because of thy words.' At the prayer of the brethren on the day of Pentecost, the heavens were opened; and, another time, after they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and all were filled with the Holy Ghost. Prayer burst the fetters of Peter, and broke open the doors of his prison. Prayer rebuked storms-healed the sick-and brought back the dead to life. And what shall I say more of the power, the wonders, and the performance of prayer? The whole scripture is full of them—and our church also would be full of them-all christendom would be full of them, were there more prayer in our Israel, and more of this incense on our public, family, and private altars.

But prayer sleeps amongst us; for what we call praying, morning and evening, according to custom-the sleepy, dull, and heartless repetition of devotional language-does not deserve the name of prayer. Keep these ceremonious compliments to yourselves, the Lord does not want such service. The confessions of the broken and contrite heart-the cry of the humble-the expression of real godly sorrow, the opening of our cares to our heavenly Father, the breathings of grateful love, the acknowledgment of dependance on the name of Jesus,—these are the things which go to constitute true prayer.

on.

Brethren, pray that the spirit of grace and supplication may be poured out upon you; and then ask what you will, it shall be done for you. He that 'cannot lie' has promised it. Only ask in his name, as the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus, trusting in God's faithfulness to his promises, and you will certainly succeed at last. If six times the answer should be, there is nothing;' yet, wait The seventh time, which is the proper and the Lord's time, will give the answer you need. Too often we omit to notice God's answer to our own prayers; otherwise, how frequently should we find, to our glad astonishment, that, as in the case of Daniel, at the time of our supplication the commandment had gone forth to help us. Therefore, let the call to prayer be ever regarded by us, as the invitation to an unspeakable privilege. Continue instant in prayer.' Pray in the Spirit, in the Holy Ghost, and not in your own self-sufficiency; and you will pray with power. Pray for yourselves, pray for all, and pray with faith and expectation; for in the immutable word, that word which must survive both heaven and earth, it stands recorded,— Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.' Amen.

Monthly Chronicle.

OBITUARY NOTICE OF PETER OTZEN.

[Taken from the American Sailors' Magazine for June, 1839.]

It is one of the great and distinguishing properties of the christian. religion, that it provides for death. It is then, more than in any other situation or circumstances, that its great principles prevail and triumph. It makes dying easy, and death a mere transition. Of this we had the most satisfactory evidence, in the closing scenes of that holy man whose memoir occupied a place in our former number. His spirit, reposing in the great truths of inspiration, left the world in the confidence of faith, and the joy of hope. He died in the Lord, and is now associated in blessedness and worship with the just made perfect. And here we have not only another death to record, but another triumph to celebrate.

PETER OTZEN was born in Flinsburg in Denmark, in the year 1803; but at what age he went to sea is not stated. Some years ago he was hopefully converted to Christ, and ever since proved himself a consistent member of the church. He died in the Sailors' Home, New York, May 8th, 1839, leaving one sister and many friends to mourn his loss. The following particulars, respecting his last sickness and death, will be read with interest :

His sickness was a protracted one, having been over four months; and it was only during the last five weeks of it, that he felt it would be unto death. From this time he seemed to cut loose from earth, and look to Him in whom he had for some years been led to believe. Nor have his friends any reason to doubt but their loss is his eternal gain; for he seemed to have clearer and still clearer views of the plan of salvation, as he gradually yet calmly approached the swellings of Jordan. He seemed also to have clearer views of himself, and his utter destitution of any worth or worthiness of his own, that would in the least degree recommend him to the mercy of God. But that you may know how he felt, I will write a few things which he said :-' Oh,' said he, 'what an unprofitable servant have I been. I do not deserve even the name of a christian: had I my life to live over, I should, I think, by the help of God, set a much brighter example than I have done, and pray much more than I ever did, and search the scriptures more. Oh, I feel, and should like to tell every one, that a death-bed is a poor place for repentance.' And these thoughts were principally embodied in the last request he made for the prayers of the people of God, the sabbath before his death.

On this sabbath, which was the 5th of May, he desired a note to be written to the minister, requesting the prayers of the congregation in his behalf. He felt that it was the last sabbath he should spend or the earth, and the burden of his

desire was, that he might be resigned to his heavenly Father's will, and patient under the sufferings which he was called to pass through. ‘And,' said he, ‘if it is consistent with the counsels of the Almighty, beseech the pastor to pray that my passage may be easy to the tomb, and my mind may be clear in the last momentous struggle.' He appeared to fear lest the excruciating pain he was at times enduring, should cause him to either murmur, or dethrone his power of thought and meditation. But it may be truly said, that God was better to him than all his fears; for, as the messenger approached with sure and certain steps, he felt underneath and round about him, the everlasting arms of mercy. On Tuesday morning, the 7th of May, after awakening from a refreshing sleep, he threw his emaciated arms around the neck of a faithful christian sailor, who had attended him, to administer to his wants, during the last weeks of his earthly pilgrimage, and said,-O how good the Lord is! I have been home-I have been home-all is well;' and then thanked him for his many tender-kindnesses he had shown him, telling him that the Lord would reward him; and through the whole of this day, (the last day he spent on earth,) his mind was clear, and his hopes were bright, dignified by the humility of the gospel of the grace of God.

About six o'clock of this evening, he passed through the severest spasms of pain he had shown in all his sickness, and said, while the intensity of his sufferings were visible in his countenance,-'Oh, I could cry aloud through agony!' yet not a murmur escaped his quivering lips, while his prayer was, 'Lord, thou only canst, wilt thou deliver?” Soon the spasm passed away, and now he felt and said, that this would be his last night. He continued with us until one o'clock on Wednesday morning, with, comparatively speaking, but little pain, often speaking of the goodness of God, and his readiness to depart and be with Christ, which was far better, than any longer remain away from Him on whom his affections were placed.

And now death came to his relief; and although he had in his mind looked forward to the moment with great anxiety, fearing that the last struggle would be very severe, and thinking that, if his pains had been so great through his sickness, would they not be much greater at his death,—yet, when the monster came, so completely was he disarmed of his sting, that he knew him not, nor was any pain visible in his countenance. He said to a pious brother who held his dying hand, 'I am fainting,' and took a little phial in his own hand, and raised it to his face; and while thus engaged, he fell asleep, without a convulsive struggle, or an agonizing groan.

To

AGENT'S MEETING :--HELD ON FRIDAY EVENING, 9th AUGUST.

say that the work of God is advancing among seamen, is a truth which awakens the interest of heaven, and inspires the praise of both angels and redeemed spirits. In their joy therefore we cannot but participate, as we record the triumphs of divine grace, and in these triumphs anticipate the final conquest of eternal love.

AGENTS' REPORTS.

Senior Thames Missionary.-CAPT. PRYNN.-In pursuing my labours in the river Thames, in the London, St.

Katherine, West India, and Commercial
Docks, and in the Surrey and Regent's
Canals, I have visited 306 vessels, and