Pf. lxiii. 3.

less, because they are so far unsuccessful. They may obtain for us other bleffings instead of that which we desired, and perhaps greater and better: the piety and faith that are exprest in our prayers, whatever errour we may have fallen into concerning the fubject of them, must be acceptable to our heavenly Father, and tend to procure for us higher degrees of his favour, itself the greatest of all blessings, according to the Pfalmift, Thy loving kindness is better than the life itself. And Prayer, as it is the exercife of a devout temper and difpofition, will naturally increase in us that difpofition, and make us more religious and better men.

This laft confideration, as it is of great weight, fo is it also of a very large extent; there being no faulty temper of mind, but what may be brought to the test and corrected by devotion; nor any part of the character of a good man,

which by this exercife may not be made better.

While you give thanks to Almighty God your heavenly Father for all the instances of his liberality and mercy; acknowledging that you owe to him your life, and health, and all things; that you have deferved nothing from him but punishment, while he is loading you with benefits; that every moment of comfort. in your life is the gift of him, against whom you have committed fo many offences; that he watches over you, when you think not of him; and, when you knowingly displease him, he is ready to forgive; that he has given up his own and only begotten Son, who was in the bofom and glory of the Father, to a life of pain and forrow, and a death of ignominy and anguish, that you might be freed from the punishment juftly due to your evil deeds, and be made happy and B 4 glo

glorious to all eternity with himself in heaven; while you give him thanks in this manner for his goodness, your hearts, furely, must burn within you with the fense of it; if you were not thankful before, fuch thanksgivings must make you fo: they will beget that pious difpofition in you, from which these thoughts might naturally flow, till your minds and words devoutly accord with each other, and you feel all the fentiments of gratitude and love'which you exprefs.

Or when you apply to your heavenly Father for mercy and forgiveness; deploring your manifold violations of his holy laws; taking fhame for your own weaknefs, folly, depravity; acknowledging not only his dominion over you, and abfolute right to your most entire obedience, but the purity and excellence of his commands, in them elves most equitable, productive of good to all, neceffary

for

for your own welfare, for your health, peace, profperity, and honour, and for the enjoyment of your own mind within, banishing the terror of death, filling the heart with hope and affurance, and leading to everlafting felicity; when you con-. fefs your offences against fuch laws as these, and yet beg to be forgiven by him. who feeth the heart, and is both a witnefs and avenger of hypocrify and falsehood; and when you plead with the Father through the merits and interceffion of his Son, who fuffered willingly for your fins, and was offered for you a facrifice to God upon the Crofs; when you do this, you take the most effectual method to make yourself a fit object of the divine mercy and forgiveness. Every one of these sentiments, which you thus breathe forth in his prefence, is reverbe rated back upon your own breast, and melts it down into repentance, and amendment.

It appears then, that prayer is an employment of the greatest use, having a natural tendency to amend the heart; and by consequence, it is a most important and neceffary part of the duty of every person.

Though this be indeed true, and fufficient to fatisfy the moft fcrupulous, that prayer is not a mere ceremonial, ferving but to footh the fuperftitious, amuse the ignorant, or employ the idle; but on the contrary, a reasonable service, and one of the natural means of moral and religious improvement; yet it doth not seem to be the whole account of this subject, nor even the most obvious way of confidering it. These advantages of prayer, however confiderable, arise from it indirectly, and as it were by reflection. Certainly, when a plain Christian retires to his closet to beg the bleffing of his Maker, the alteration which his prayer