a vast variety of inftances where it has accomplished the most aftonishing things. By it, the venerable prophet Elijah, both thut and opened heaven. By it, Jofhua arrested the fun and moon in their courses †, till the Ifraelites were avenged on their enemies. By it, Daniel fhut up the mouths of hungry lions, that, while he was in the midst of their den, they had no power to injure him. By prayer, Peter raised up the benevolent Dorcas, after the had been dead fome time, and prefented her alive to her disconfolate friends ||. In the lives of Abraham, Ifaac, Jacob, Mofes, and David, remarkable instances are recorded, to demonstrate the omnipotence of prayer. Our a

miable Master, Chrift Jefus, inftructs us, earnestly, to perform fo requifite a duty. "All things whatfoever ye thall afk in prayer, believing," he delcares, "we fhall receives." But, if it is here obected, That if prayer has fuch power and efficacy, Why is it, that even the pious worshippers of God, frequently enough, ask bleffings of heaven, and are denied?

CAUSES WHY OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL.

1. WE cannot expect to be heard in our fupplications, when we addrefs God in a

C 2

* Kings, chap. xvii. & xviii. Daniel, chap. vi. v. 21, 22. Matthew, chap. xxi. v. 21.

formal

+ Jofhua, chap. x. v. 12. Acts, chap. ix. v. 40.

formal and fuperficial manner. Unless the heart is fincerely engaged, and our warmeft affections excited, when we come into the Almighty prefence, we perform a vain worship; "We honour God with our lips only," and he refuses our petitions, because "Our hearts are far from him."

2. We pray not as we ought, when we depend more upon fecond means, to extricate ourselves from vexatious occurrences, than upon God, whofe power only can refcue us from our difficulties. We may not expect, that God will answer us, when we giddily folicit him for fashion's fake, and yet rely upon our own ingenuity to deliver us, or the affiftance of our friends to help us. When we do this, our petitions are impious mockery; we both doubt his willingness and power to grant us affist

ance.

3. We may not hope to fucceed in our prayers, when we ask any thing that is inconfiftent with the Juftice, Mercy, and Goodness of God to beftow. To ask of God any thing unlawful, or any thing that may crofs the rules of his wife Providence, is wickedly to impeach the Holiness of our Divine Author; for instance, are we engaged in unlawful and unjustifiable attempts, against the welfare of society, or our neighbour; to ask God to help us, would be to infult the Majesty of Heaven, and to folicit the Best of all Beings to be a party concerned in our criminality.

4..

We are not to think, that our prayers will be regarded, while we regard and cherith iniquity in our hearts. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me*.'

5. We cannot imagine, that our prayers will meet with acceptance before God, if we are niggardly and uncharitable to the poor. How fhall God liften to us in our need, when we turn away our faces from relieving the neceffities of our afflicted brethren? When we refufe to give to God what he requires of us, for his fake, how will he, in the day of our calamity or need, give what we require? It was faid to Cornelius, "Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God †." To pray, to faft, and to figh, without liftening to the importunities of distress, will profit the affluent but little, while they ihut up the bowels of their compaffion, and pay no regard to want, foliciting, with anxiety, the pittance from charity. "But bleffed is he who confidereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the time of trouble. The Lord will preferve him, and keep him alive, and he fhall be blessed upon the earth; and thou wilt not deliver him into the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing; thou wilt make all his bed in his ficknels+."

6. We

* Pfalm lxvi. 18. + Acts x. 4.

Pfalm xli. 1, 2, 3.

6. We may not expect that God will answer our prayers, while we indulge rancorous difpofitions against any of our brethren. He will certainly diffipate the fupplications of that man, who, blown up with high conceits of his own fufficiency, makes the irregularities of others, which he ought to pity, the fubject of ridicule or infult. He who, having efpoufed a fect, or party, in religion, would uncharitably folicit the extirpation of all other parties, who differ from him, and whofe malignity of foul, prompts him to make difdainful and wicked comparisons between the opinions. of his own people, with thofe of other profeffions, is a zealot, whom God will defpife; a bigot, whom Chriftians will pity. Our Saviour relates,* That a Pharifee and a Publican, at the fame hour, and with the fame intention, went up to Jerufalem's temple to pray. The firft, elated with fome fuppofed perfections, confidently triumphs in his punctuality in performing the precepts of the law. He magnifies his innocence. He measures his own proportions in piety, with the delinquency of others. He infultingly diftinguishes himself from his poor dejected companion. He exults in his own meritorious conduct: He is careful to recite the failings of his fellowworshipper. His expreffion of thanks to God, that he was not like the poor Publican, declared how much his mind was dilated

* Luke xviii. 9.

dilated with felf-fufficiency. His arrogant boasting, fhewed him less inclined to praise God, than to proclaim his own excellence. His pride, but not his piety, appeared. He deigned not to pray for others, but defpifed them.

The Publican, clothed in humility, confcious of his guilt, and full of confufion, under the influence of remorfe, like a bruifed reed, approaches the Divine Prefence. He laments his vilenefs; he humbly implores Mercy. His foul is wounded, and his prayer was fincere. He fmote upon his breaft, deploring his unworthinefs, and exclaimed, "God be merciful to me a finner!" The Searcher of Hearts, who faw his contrition, accepted of his fincere and devout homage, to thew that our modefty, with the confcioufnefs of our guilt and mifery, when we folicit in humility, are the beft qualifications to recommend our praycrs: but that felf-conceited, fpirituallyproud, and oftentatious worthippers, are lefs accepted with God, than the vileft of the abandoned, who worship him in the consciousness of their own unworthinefs.

The vain-glorious Pharifee, with all his cenforious parade, and his difdainful confequence, was abafed. The Publican, who alleged nothing in his own defence; who pled no mixture of good, to counteract the evils he had commited; who fought no refuge, but in the Mercy of God; whofe fole hope was in the inexhauftible goodnets of

the