only such as we need. He cautions his disciples, not to take anxious thought for meat, drink and raiment; "for" says he, "your heavenly Father knoweth, that ye have need of these things; seek ye first the kingdom of God, and these things," i. e. the things which ye need, "shall be added."

With respect to worldly things, we are incompetent judges, what we do need. We may, however, ask the things, which we think we need; but we must ask them with humble submission to the wisdom of our heavenly Father. With respect to spiritual blessings, we know, or ought to know, what we need. And these things we are to ask with importunity. We need the pardon of our sins and the salvation of our souls-we need grace to lead us into truth, to assist us in duty, to sanctify us from our pollutions and to prepare us for heaven. These things we cannot seek with too great diligence, nor ask with too great importunity. Submission to the will of God, in seeking these, is to seek till we find. 3. We may remark here, that no time is unseasonable for applying to God in prayer.

The man, in our story, applied to his friend for bread, at midnight, when the doors were shut, and yet by importunity he obtained his object. "Ask," says our Lord, "and ye shall receive."

The throne of grace is always easy of access.The door which leads to it, is readily opened to them, who knock. We need not wait for a more favorable time: Any time is favorable when our circumstances direct us, and our hearts incline us to pray.

er.

David prayed at morning, noon and night; his eyes prevented the night watches; at midnight he arose to commune with God.

Are you under any affliction? Wait not to see what you can do, or what men can do for your relief: Repair to God immediately; he is a very

present help in trouble. Are you pressed with a sense of sin? Go, confess your sin to God. Wait not to know whether your repentance is sincere; but go with that sense of sin which you feel, and pray for that grace which you need. If God has wrought in you this sense of sin, you may ask him to perfect the work which he has begun. The present time is the accepted time. If you have desires of pardon and grace, you may express them in prayer. If it is not criminal to have the desires, it cannot be criminal to express them. Do you think they are too languid to be directed to God? Prayer perhaps will enliven them. If you wait to enliven them without prayer, perhaps you will lose them for want of prayer.

You fear, that you are not in a state of friendship with God, and that your prayers will not be regard ed. But will you never pray, until this matter is ascertained? A prayerless person is not a friend of God.

They who love God supremely, and are reconciled to him in their hearts, have, indeed, a peculiar interest in his favor, and special assurance of success at his throne. But he who hears the ravens when they cry, may, and often does, hear the cries of sinners in their trouble, especially in that trouble, which arises from a conviction of their sins, and from a fear of the wrath to come. The same grace which awakens them to prayer, attends to the prayer which they make. The householder arose and gave his supplicant the bread which he needed, not because he was his friend, but because of his importunity. In order to judge, whether we may pray with hope of success, we are not to wait till we can ascertain our habitual friendship with God; but we are to inquire, whether we have real desires of the things which we ask, and whether these are such things as

we need. If we are convinced of our past enmity to God, and desire to come into friendship with him, we doubtless have encouragement to call on his name.

4. We may farther remark, how familiar and convincing is our Savior's manner of instruction.

He never deals in dry and abstruse reasoning; but draws his arguments from nature; he appeals directly to our experience and our feelings. The single argument in our text, taken from common humanity, has more force to convince a serious mind, that God will hear prayer, than a whole volume of nice and refined speculations. It is an argument, not only seen by the understanding, but felt by the heart. It gives an answer to all the objections of the timorous, or the cavilling mind.

If you think prayer is needless, because God is too wise to be informed, and too good to need importunity, read this story. The power and goodness of men is a reason, why we do apply to themnot a reason why we neglect to apply to them. Or if you think your prayers are useless, because God is great and holy, and you are mean and sinful; read the story again; and apply it, as you read it. The more perfect is the character of your neighbor and the more urgent your necessity, the greater is your inclination and encouragement to lay open your case to him. Adopt then our Lord's conclusion, "Every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." Farther to dispel your fears and strengthen your hopes, read the argument which immediately follows. "If a son ask bread of any you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? Or if he ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then being evil know how to give good things to your

of

children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him ?"

5. How great is our privilege? How favorable our situation? A God of infinite wisdom, goodness and power is always near us, watching, protecting and supplying us. He holds forth to our view the richest blessings, pardon, peace, life and glory. By the voice of his Son, he proclaims, " Ask, and ye shall receive." Would we receive on more moderate terms? There must indeed be importunity in prayer, and diligence in other concurrent duties. But is this a hardship? Contemplate the blessings, and your own wants: Can you fail to be importunate and diligent? What? Will you think of guilt, and not be solicitous of pardon? Will you think of an eternal existence, and not be diligent to obtain happiness? Will you think of human weakness, and not be fervent in seeking grace? Think of riches and honors you may, and be indifferent. But will be indifferent in matters which relate to eternity? If you make the required diligence and importunity a matter of complaint, you spurn the blessings which are offered you.

you

6. The story under consideration shews the reasonableness of religion at large, as well as of prayer in particular.

We all feel a dependence. In our troubles we resort somewhere for help. The man who wanted bread, went to a friend, who was able to supply him. And he did, as all men do. Hence our Savior teaches us, that we are much rather to make known our requests to God. And if we are to apply to him in want, we are to please him in all things.

However indifferent men are to religion, yet their consciences testify, and their feelings demonstrate its truth and importance.

No man ever discarded religion on a calm persua

sion, that it is injurious to mankind, hurtful to their interest, or degrading to their dignity. It is the corruption of the heart, that excites opposition to it. But after all, there remains an inward apprehension, that it may be true and important, and a secret selfcondemnation for the enmity which is felt.

The vilest despiser of religion would choose to be placed among honest and virtuous neighbors, and to be reputed by them, as one of the same good character. Such are the men to whom he applies for help in trouble, and in whom he confides for the redress of injuries, and for protection from wrongs; and not the men like himself. These, in his private concerns, he always distrusts.

When his friends die, he does not love to view them as numbered among the beasts in the dust, nor will he tumble them into the dust among the beasts, without any religious solemnity. There is, in his breast, a hope, which follows them to a better world. He does not attempt to console himself by a recollection of their vices and immoralities, but by a remembrance of their amiable and virtuous actions. You never knew a man, who, when he had lost a son, or a brother, would sit down among his condoling neighbors, and tell them, what comfort he felt in thinking, that this son, or brother was distinguished in his life, by gambling, dissipation, profaneness, and the arts of fraud and villany. His conversation, at this time, takes quite another turn. He details, with a sensible pleasure, the virtuous qualities, useful actions, and promising dispositions, which, he had observed in this friend. And he is pleased with the voice, which echoes to his own. This is a plain evidence, that in his most serious hours, he cannot but think, there is, after death, another state, in which virtue, piety and goodness will be happy. If he soberly believed, that there