the Christian's heart then be filled with that great kin which he is engaged. As they pollute all their ed duties by worldly thoughts, so let him consecrate all Common actions, by the constant and heavenly breathof his soul unto God. ut how often is nature in the believer stronger than ee! Do not Christians sometimes pass a whole day with lly a single devout aspiration? et me mention particular seasons which seem pecu y to call for the exercise of this habit of prayer. What istian can pass along the streets of a great city, and see ity and sin everywhere manifested, and hear, almost every side, oaths and curses, without praying for those om he thus sees sunk in sin! What miserable objects tinually pain his heart! And though in many cases judgment may forbid him to give any thing to those O would only squander his bounty away, his piety will incline him in secret to pray for them, while thus ged to withhold his alms. It was an excellent pracof a pious minister, never to hear an oath from any one, hout prayiug to God for the offending individual; and, ompelled by his judgment not to relieve a beggar in the eet, still to lift up his heart in secret prayer for a blesson his soul. n conversing with others on religious subjects, in going the poor and afflicted, in waiting for others, in going mone place to another, in visiting your own friends, in ning to the house of God, in hearing his word, in these,, the various other circumstances of our lives, the heart the devout Christian will be sending upwards many a ret petition; he will be silently wrestling with God, and ning that divine blessing on all in which he is engaged, ich others lose by carelessness and indifference. This is the old religion; this is "the good way;" these "the old paths."* Thus Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and vid walked with God; and those who "walk" thus now, ind rest to their souls." In inviting the reader to this stant intercourse with God, we are inviting him to e highest privilege-friendship with his Creator; and to richest enjoyment-delighting himself in communion th his Lord. Do you real relig Amo * Jer. vi. 16. Do you ask how you are to obtain, and how you are to p alive this spirit of prayer? You must seek it; you st cultivate it. The grace of God is sufficient. And first, men need a new relationship to God. Being by ure born in sin, and afar off from God, we must first be onciled to him by Jesus Christ. her, except they be agreed?"* Lay hold, then, by "Can two walk toh, of the great salvation provided in Christ for guilty ners; see its fullness, its freeness; accept the offered -cy; and then, "being justified by faith," you will ve peace with God." One, when unacquainted with religion, was much perplexed as to the meaning of the ression, so often occurring in the Scripture, of "walkwith God." But, having at length embraced free salon by a crucified Savior, his heart was continually asling in devout aspirations, especially in his walks; and he said, "Now I know what it is to walk with God." nd they also need the continual aid of the Holy Ghost. ward devotion may be practised by the natural man. Mahomedans are perpetually counting their beads, and ng many prayers with their lips; a work of mere selfteousness, or proceeding from ignorance, pride, or sutition. The Roman Catholics are not without similar rstitious practices. And many Protestants have "a of godliness, but deny the power thereof." When the Ghost is given, then, and then only, we shall belong at company, of which the Apostle says, amcision which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice "we are the hrist Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."+ Holy Spirit alone can enable us to pray spiritually and Cantly. us reconciled to God by Christ, thus aided by his CHAPTER X. IN THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER FOR THE ENLARGEMENT AMID all that sin and sorrow which the Christian sees the world, observes in his family, or feels in his own eart, there is one bright prospect on which his eye can well with unmingled satisfaction, in the anticipation of hich his heart can exult with unbounded joy the promed time when truth, and righteousness, and peace shall niversally prevail. That such a time will come, a sime-minded and humble reader of the Scriptures can have o doubt. Such passages as the following plainly point it an extension of the Gospel which has never yet taken ace. "All the ends of the earth shall remember, and turn unto e Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship efore thee."* "All kings shall fall down before him; all tions shall serve him." "All nations whom thou hast ade shall come and worship before thee, and shall glorify y name." "The earth shall be full of the knowledge the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." "Blindness in rt is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles come in. And so all Israel shall be saved." "The ngdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our od and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever."T Observe the fullness of each of these expressions. Surely ey foretell the universal spread of Christianity. To deny is, would, as Edwards has observed, be in effect to say, at it would have been impossible for God, if he had deed it, plainly to have foretold any thing that should ablutely have extended to all the nations of the earth. To ppose that these are merely high-wrought figures, and at events answerable to them are not likely to take ice, is little short of supposing an intention to mislead hers. We may, then, rejoice in the delightful prospect which the Bible our Lord can overco man, "till oppose the Bible thus opens before us. But these promises involve 143 ty, as well as convey a cheering prospect; the duty of ting ourselves to promote the coming of this kingdom. ong other means of doing so, the duty of prayer is of first importance. The subject is so little noticed in eral, and yet forms so large a part of that prayer which Lord teaches his disciples daily to use, that, though it already been in some measure anticipated, when ng the subject of Intercession in the chapter on PriPrayer, it justly calls for distinct consideration. While it is clear from various promises, that the kingof Christ shall universally prevail, it is no less manithat there are difficulties which only a Divine Power Overcome. here are many opposing powers of a nature that no of flesh can subdue. Man may contend with man, some hope of success; but in contending "with prinities and powers, with the rulers of the darkness of world, and with spiritual wickedness in high places,' vant divine aid. We must pray with the prophet, ake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord." can Satan be dethroned from his palace, the heart of "till a stronger than he shall come upon him, and ome him?" men's natural inclinations and corrupt opinions also e the reception of the Gospel. Nothing is more abto him who knows not the Bible, and the power of than to imagine that the blinded Hindoo enchained in ste; the acute and licentious Mahomedan, reverenis false prophet; the savage and degraded African, he barbarous New Zealander, should give up their s notions, and embrace the pure, holy, and humbling of the gospel of Christ. The means also by which ange is to be effected appear to man utterly ineffiThe preaching of the cross of Christ is still "unto ws a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishand it is evident, to make these means effectual, we ook for "the power of God, and the wisdom of God." n of flesh can help us here: "Not by might, nor by but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." ay of the great promises of Scripture relative to that period of which we have been speaking, sem r the spirit of pr Observe the determination of the Savior and his Church "For Zion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jesalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness therego forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a np that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy rightusness, and all kings thy glory:"* and then notice how is determined zeal in seeking to promote the light and ory of the Church is approved and required; "Ye that ake mention of the Lord, keep not silence; and give him › rest till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise the earth."+ The intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, much on this subject. It is one part of his prayer, "that e world may believe that thou hast sent me." And he earnestly desires the salvation of man, that it is called the travail of his soul." In the second Psalm, the Father described as addressing the Son thus: "Ask of me, and will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the termost parts of the earth for thy possession." Doubtss the Son has fulfilled this, as he has fulfilled every other art of his blessed office as an intercessor. Hence we ve more encouragement from his intercession to pray r the conversion of the heathen, than for almost any other pject. We are sure that the Son of God intercedes for s in this particular thing, and offers up our prayers. And our Lord thus intercedes himself for the enlargement his kingdom, so his word is full of directions and exames to encourage us to do the same. Observe the directions to pray.-Our Lord seeing the arvest to be great, and the laborers few, instructed his sciples to use this means of obtaining them;-" Pray ye, erefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth borers into the harvest." One half of the prayer which has taught us daily to use, relates to this: " Hallowed thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth it is in heaven." Doubtless when "all the ends of the orld shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the ndreds of the nations shall worship before him," those etitions in the Lord's prayer, with its simple, but sublime d magnificent conclusion, "Thine is the kingdom, and + John xvii. 21. the pow a more done. the Hol to come of my h come to s 16, 17. It |