Pray without ceasing.-1 Thess. v. 17. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.-James v. 16. sober, and watch unto prayer.-1 Pet. PRAYER is the peace of our spirit, the stillness of our thoughts, the evenness of recollection, the seat of meditation, the rest of our cares, and the calm of our tempest. Prayer is the issue of a quiet mind, of untroubled thoughts; it is the daughter of charity and the sister of meekness; and he that prays to God with an angry, that is, with a troubled and discomposed, spirit, is like him that retires into a battle to meditate, and sets up his closet in the out-quarters of an army, and chooses a frontier garrison to be wise in. Anger is perfect alienation of the mind from prayer, and therefore is contrary to that attention which presents our prayers in a right line to God. As I have seen a lark rising from his bed of grass, and soaring upwards, singing as he rises, and hopes to get to heaven, and climb above the clouds ; but the poor bird was beaten back with the loud sighings of an eastern wind, and his motion made irregular and unconstant, descending more at every breath of the tempest than it could recover by the vibration and frequent weighing of his wings, till the little creature was forced to sit down and pant, and stay till the storm was over; and then it made a prosperous flight, and did rise and sing as if it had learned music and motion from an angel, as he passed sometimes through the air about his ministeries here below ;-so is the prayer of a good man. TAYLOR. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.-2 Chron. vii. 14. We do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.-Dan. ix. 18. Ir an holy heart be the " temple of God," and therefore an "house of prayer," certainly, when it is framed and builded for such, the foundation of that temple is laid in deep humility; otherwise, no prayers that are offered up in it have the smell of pleasing incense to him. LEIGHTON. I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercies; and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.-Ps. v. 7. There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.-Ps. cxxx. 4. WE can never pray till we can cry, Abba, Father; we can never call unto him but in the multitude of his mercies. As the earth is shut and bound up by frost and |