But to encourage his people to attend to his directions, our Saviour adds—“Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." He shall reward them even for the manner in which they pray; for prayers are not only to be regarded as simply petitions for blessings which we stand in need of, but are in themselves, when rightly performed, acts of holiness, and manifestations of grace within, which God looks upon, approves of, and rewards. Some persons are afraid to speak of God's rewarding his people for their good works; but there is nothing in this, when rightly considered, at all inconsistent with the great doctrine of free and gratuitous salvation through sovereign love. Rewards are testimonials of God's approbation, bestowed by him on his people as a father confers marks of affection upon his children, in the exercise of loving-kindness, and not of justice-given by grace, and not purchased by merit. Such rewards God gives "openly," because he takes pleasure in letting angels and even Devils see, how much he delights in the obedience of his children. proof of the anxious desire of Christ that in the metropolis, hundreds of miles distant all, even the minutest details of his people's from many of his subjects, and difficult of conduct, should be regulated by Christian access to nearly all, but it is to be found principle. Another teacher, less acquainted everywhere, because he himself is everywith human nature, might have considered where. It is, indeed, a great privilege such instructions to have been mean, or which the Christian enjoys that he has trivial, or unimportant; but whatever tends, an omnipresent God to pray to. If there even in the slightest degree, to promote be any difference in this matter, it is in this spirituality, to help in sanctifying the feel--that the more secluded we are from every ings, and in leading the thoughts and af- other being, the nearer we are to God. fections to rest upon things above, should never be deemed either mean or commonplace. We are not so aware as we should be, if we reflected more upon the subject, how much we are under the influence of circumstances which at first appear inconsiderable. The Holy Spirit has attended to this; for the New Testament contains many precepts about dress, and about eat ing and drinking, and other matters of that kind. But it ought to be a subject of enquiry to every minister of the Gospel, whether he is not more remiss than he should be, in not directing the attention of professing Christians more to these matters, and giving more instruction in reference to the ordinary particulars of common life. We should never forget that a right adjustment of the trivial circumstances of life has a great effect upon our general character: for a man's life is made up of an immense number of incidents, in themselves small and trivial, all of which present a kind of average colour and complexion to the view of others, which constitutes the character of the man. The regulation, therefore, of everything in our experience should be carefully attended to. When we are about to pray, we should enter into our closets; and when we have entered into our closets, we should shut the door. Thus we shall keep out all worldly intruders, and feel ourselves more free to enjoy the blessedness of private communion with our heavenly Father. The world should never be permitted to witness the secret conference of the soul with God. They could not understand it: : they would treat the spiritual enjoyments of the believer, as the swine treat pearls; they would trample them under their feet. And what a mercy that there is no place which cannot be converted into an ORATORY! In the closet, as well as in the temple, God is ever ready to meet his people. His throne of grace is not like the throne of an earthly monarch, situated Such, then, is the advice which Jesus gives upon the subject of private prayer. Let it be carefully attended to by every Christian. All the ancient saints were men of much private and secret devotion. Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there upon the name of the Lord, Gen. xxi. 33; Daniel used to pray in his chamber; Elijah under a juniper tree; Nathanael under a fig tree; Cornelius upon the house-top; and our blessed Saviour often retired to a mountain, or to a garden, that he might send up his fervent supplications to his heavenly Father's throne. Let every Christian follow such examples as these. And, finally, whenever he retires to pray, let him take care to keep all hypocrisy out of his closet; for it may enter with him, in his heart, even into his most secret places of retirement and devotion. 7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. As in the two preceding verses our blessed Saviour gave directions for private prayer, so in this he refers to public or common prayer. This is evident from his using the singular number in the former case—“But thou, when thou prayest;" whilst in the latter case he uses the plural number-"But when ye pray." In this case, also, he warns them against a different error from what he does in the former: here it is "use not vain repetitions :" but in respect of private prayer, he exhorted them against hypocrisy and ostentation. Thus each and every act of the Christian is liable to its own peculiar abuse; and a good teacher will always attend to this, and regulate his instructions accordingly. In the former case, he referred to the conduct of the Scribes and Pharisees; here he refers to the heathen, but in neither instance is it his object to encourage his people in finding fault, or in judging. His design is simply to give an illustration of what he was anxious to guard them against. It is a good plan thus to mark what is wrong, and to fix down the attention of men by examples that give distinctness and substance to error, in order to lead them to avoid it. But it is a method which we must exercise much caution in adopting, lest we should be tempted to gratify a spirit of censure, or such a spirit as the Pharisee displayed when he said-" God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are." But let us notice what the Lord says about the conduct of the heathen-"Use not repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Alas! too much that the heathen think and do is contrary to the mind of God. But when we refer to them, let us take care that it is not to vaunt ourselves on our own real or fancied superiority—for even Christians may resemble heathen-but let it be to commiserate their condition, to feel for their spiritual destitution, to avoid their errors, to pray for their conversion, and to send the Gospel to them, if God peradventure may give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth. And here we see the connection which there is between thinking and doing. Some people imagine that it is of no consequence what a man thinks, provided what he does be right; but these persons forget the necessary connection which there is between thinking and doing. Thought is the principle of action, and action is embodied thought. Wherever there is false doctrine, there will be false morality: and this is true whether the doctrines be cordially embraced or merely held as a theory. The heathen had a false system of doctrine, and it led them into false and erroneous practice. Here it is said, that in their prayers they thought that they should be heard for their much speaking, and this led them to use vain repetitions. The word in the original, which is here translated, "to use vain repetitions," Barrohoynonrs, is very remarkable, and only occurs in this passage. It is thought to be derived from the name of a man called Battus, who composed long hymns which were full of tautologies. Wherever there are vain repetitions there must be much speaking. These two, βαττολογία and And let us observe how he refers to the Scribes and Pharisees for an example of os-oλλoya, are always found together. We tentation and vain-glory, to the heathen for an example of vain repetition. Though the former ought to have had more sincerity, as they belonged to a nation which had a knowledge of the true God, yet it would appear that even the heathen had more sincerity in their prayers than they. May not this suggest a profitable reflection? It is much to be feared whether the votaries of any other religion display so much of the spirit of vainglory, and of a desire for the praise of men, as some professing Christians do. Let such attend to the apostolic command-"Be ye clothed with humility." have a very remarkable instance of what Christ here condemns, recorded in 1 Kings xviii. 26, in the case of the priests of Baal calling upon the name of their God from morning till noon, saying-" O Baal, hear us." They cried thus, because "they thought that they should be heard for their much speaking;" but their gods were no gods, "their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; they have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not; they have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them, so is every one that trusteth in them," Psalm cxv. 4-8. How different is the Christian's God, who is the hearer and the answerer of prayer! Yes! we have a God who can understand a sigh, who can perceive a thought, who can comprehend an unspoken aspiration. He does not require to hear words, when his people pray : these are for our own convenience, and not for his. In private prayer they need not be used, if we can do without them: in common prayer they are necessary, not as an essential part of prayer, but as the medium of maintaining communion and sympathy of desire. Hence, in the case of private prayer, Christ speaks of God which "seeth in secret," rather than of his hearing, for words may not be employed. It is therefore in reference to the use of words in common prayer, that he says use not vain repetitions," that is-do not employ words which have no meaning, or dwell upon any one point to a length which your feelings of devotion cannot sustain, or pour forth torrents of sentences which do not convey any definite ideas or thoughts, as if you were speaking against time. Those who conduct social or family prayer should attend to this important advice. They should remember what an influence the body exerts over the mind, and that devotional feeling is often banished by what we may call, though it may seem a paradox, the physical strength of physical weakness. They should study to attain to a distinctness and conciseness, but at the same time an earnestness and fervour, in their prayers; ever remembering that all the mere words that we can utter are not equivalent to one holy desire. 66 And here we cannot avoid referring to an accusation which is often brought against the Liturgy of the Church of England that it contains vain repetitions. This is a charge of which we must deny the validity. Perhaps, in the majority of cases, it is made by persons who have never read the service against which they object, or who have never used it as a form of prayer for the purpose of expressing their own devotional feeling, but who have only examined it in the hope of discovering what they consider to be objections against it. There are, confessedly, repetitions in the service to which we allude, but all repetitions are not vain repetitions; and the proper question in the present instance is,-whether they are vain to those who use them, and not to those who object to them? The latter are generally persons who have been trained up in prejudices against this service, and we need not, therefore, wonder if they do not fully approve of it. But so far from this charge being well-founded, the remarkable excellence of the Liturgy of the Church of England consists, chiefly, in its conciseness and comprehensiveness. Portions of it may be long, but we should not confound length with vain repetition. As we require so many mercies, we must often make long prayers: when we want fewer mercies, we may then have recourse to shorter prayers. The prayer of Christ recorded in the 17th chapter of St. John was long in comparison with his prayers in the garden and on the cross, on account of the different objects which he desired, and the different circumstances in which he was placed at the time. The prayers of the first martyr Stephen— "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;" and— "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge," were short in comparison with many others that he must have offered before, because his whole soul was occupied with but two desires at the time. forgiveness to his enemies, and glory for himself. But while we are still in the enjoyment of health, fighting the good fight of faith, living in the midst of an ungodly world, having many responsibilities to fulfil, many duties to discharge, many sins to acknowledge, many weaknesses to lament, many mercies to be thankful for, and many blessings of a personal, domestic, social, civil, and ecclesiastical kind to implore, we must often of necessity have recourse to long prayers. And let it be remembered that long prayers, simply as such, have never been condemned by Christ. He speaks, indeed, in Matth. xxiii. 14, of the Scribes and Pharisees making " long prayer," but he does not condemn them simply for making prayers that were long, but for their doing so as a pretence to cloke and conceal their covetousness and hypocrisy. Our Saviour himself often passed whole nights in prayer to God. We would not however be mistaken in what we have said: the length of our prayers should always be regulated, as it were spontaneously, by the sense of our wants. There cannot, in fact, be any real where prayer, earnest expression of his wants, coming from a heart in which the grace of God resides, and spoken under the teaching of the Spirit. The man who is taught by the Holy Spirit to pray, cannot manifest those faults which the Saviour censures in this chapter, for he that is led by the Spirit of Christ can neither be a hypocrite nor a heathen in his principles or his practice. there is not a genuine spirit of devotion. | the mechanical effusion of the natural man ; Long prayers, or short, are not necessarily the prayer of the other is the devout and in themselves either right or wrong: all depends upon the living principle of pious and devotional feeling that should animate and inspire them. Prayers may be well composed, full of sublime thoughts, of elaborate conceptions, of splendid ideas, of elegant and expressive words—and yet, after all, possess only the form and name of supplications; for there is a spiritual life that should inhabit them, and if this be wanting they are no better than a body without a soul. Such a prayer, which is destitute of the life and warmth of devotion, may be compared to the inanimate statue which the artist carves and chisels into a resemblance to the human form, with such exquisite exactness that it may even seem to compete with the visible elegance and outward beauty of the living man, but to which he cannot impart the warmth and vigour of life:or, to the well appointed altar, which has its priest and its victim, and every needful appendage for a perfect sacrifice, but where there is no fire to consume the offering, and to send up its fragrance to the throne of God. Such are prayers, though elegantly and carefully composed, that are not expressive of that spiritual principle that should breathe in every supplication - prayers only in imagination - mere combinations of words, like the sacred groves of the ancients, in which no deity resided, but which were mere collections of trees. Let us then look up to the Spirit of God for that fire of devotion which he alone can give us, and which is needful in order that we may pray with the Spirit, and with the understanding also, and that our petitions may be heard and answered at a throne of grace. 8. Be not ye therefore like unto them for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. There should always be a marked difference between Christians and the heathen in everything that they do, but more especially in all their religious duties and engagements; and we should be able at once to see the difference between a real Christian, and one who is only a pretender to that sacred name, by their prayers. The prayer of the one is but The Saviour here states a reason why we should not use vain repetitions in our prayers, because "our Heavenly Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask him." Some men have argued from this obvious and undeniable truth that prayer is superfluous and unnecessary; for why should we pray, they ask, if God is already acquainted with our wants? But this is only one instance out of many, in which the natural and spiritual man draw widely different conclusions from the same premises. The real Christian will pray because God is acquainted with his wants, and therefore he feels that his mercy and his love will lead him to supply them. Besides, those who ask this question cannot understand the use and object of prayer, which certainly cannot be to inform God of our necessities, but to manifest our own sense and conviction of our wants, and of his power to relieve them. Prayer, in fact, is not intended to instruct, but to entreat: and, as well as all the other ordinances of religion, is enjoined for the benefit of those who pray. It benefits the soul even when no answer is received; for it is the very exercise of prayer, and not the reception of the blessing which we ask for, merely, that does us good. The believer should pray in order to show that he is sensible, at least to a certain extent, of his wants; but he should not use vain repetitions, as if God were not better acquainted with them than he is: he should pray in order to show his persuasion that God alone can confer the blessings which he stands in need of; but he should not use vain repetitions, as if he had not sufficient confidence in his loving-kindness and his grace. We are here told in what character we should approach a throne of grace, and how we should regard him that sits upon that throne; we should come as children to a father. And blessed be God that we are told this by him who alone possesses au thority to make us the children of God! for Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice, Returning from his ways; O Thou by whom we come to God, THE LORD'S PRAYER. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: A good teacher, whose first object is to promote the welfare of his disciples, will not only reprove and censure what is wrong, but will always inculcate what is right. Accordingly, as soon as our blessed Saviour had cautioned his disciples against those faults in prayer, of which the hypocrites and the heathen had been guilty, he here takes them, as it were, by the hand, and places them in the humble attitude of supplication at a throne of grace, and he himself supplies them with words - giving them a prayer, which contains, not only all the requisites to which he had just referred, but likewise all the proper attributes of pure and perfect devotion. It is plain, simple, and concise; yet at the same time it is expressive, solemn, and comprehensive. Every word it contains is emphatic; every thought it breathes is, in itself, a concentration of sublime and celestial fervour. It is a copy-a very first impression of the soul of Christ-manifesting the very feelings of devotion which lived within the breast of the Man of sorrows, and which were the prominent features of his heart, depicted by himself. It is a coal of fire taken by his own hands from off the altar of his own soul, where incense of prayer and praise was continually burning, to warm and animate the cold and careless hearts of his praying people. None but those who have been initiated by divine grace into the great mystery of godliness, can understand the immensity that is comprehended in this prayer. In its full signification and spirit, none can use it but the deeply-experienced and highly-advanced Christian. It has been asked,-Was this prayer intended by Christ to be a form, or only a model? We answer the question at once, by saying-it is both. It was intended to be a form, because St. Luke represents Christ as instructing his disciples thus"When ye pray, say;-Our Father which art in heaven," Luke xi. 2: it was intended to be a model, because St. Matthew represents him as saying"After this manner therefore pray ye;-Our Father which art in heaven." And why should any one ob |