truth; witness the poor man in the temple, his cry was simple and short, but it contains a volume of matter; there was a feeling sense of his sinnership before God; secondly a sense of the omniscience of God, in his boundless knowledge, and thirdly, of the omnipresence of God, to hear his cry, and fourthly, of the omnipotence of God, in his power to save or destroy, as seemed him good, but the Spirit making intercession within him with a God be merciful to me a sinner," turned the eye of justice from him to the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom there was full satisfaction, for all his demands, the poor man was set free, and God was glorified, for it is written," he went done to his house justified rather than the Pharisee," again, when Hezekiah was pressed without measure, by Sennacherib king of Assyria, by his blasphemous letter, he took them to the Lord, and spread his case before him, (not to man, for vain is the help of man,) and the Lord heard him, and said of of Sennacherib, "Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back, by the way which thou camest." and thus the Lord fought his battles, and enabled him to say, when he had humbled him, "O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit."

The cry of the Syrophenician woman, was of that nature, that she could not take any denial, though there appeared to be so many apparent discouragements to damp her faith; but many waters could not quench it, it was an immortal seed, sown there by the Lord of the harvest, and he was come to seek the fruit, and when he discovered it fully ripe, namely, an acknowledgement of what she was as a gentile dog, He said unto her, "O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt," and it was so. It was the

same with the thief upon the cross, "Lord remember me, when thou comest into thy kingdom ;" and it was said of Paul, when the Lord commanded Ananias to go to see Saul of Tarsus, and to comfort him, for he said, "behold he prayeth," and the poor woman, with an issue of blood, said, "if I may but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be whole;" the cry of a poor soul in real trouble, consists of a very few words. I remember a very short time ago, being in deep trouble, and not knowing what to do, nor which step to take, I could find no access at a throne of grace, yet there was no guilt upon the conscience, but I was in darkness, and had no light as to what I was to do, and it appeared that the very next step I took, would bring me deeper and deeper into trouble, at length I fell down in my spirit before God, and these words came sweetly into my mind, "let the sighing of the needy come before thee," that mo. ment a light broke in upon me, and a way was made as clear as the sun, in the noon day, for my deliverance, here I found, we cannot always pray when we would, yet it is not right to neglect the means of grace, for here the Lord often meets the soul, and shows him many things, which the careless and unwary miss; "the diligent soul shall be made fat," and " "you shall reap, if you faint

not" saith the Lord. "The disciples said, Lord, teach us to pray," we need teaching, for we know not how to order our speech before him by reason of darkness; now I know some will fly over these troubles, and treat these cries as low and despicable, and will soar about over the head of a poor soul that is down, and take a taunting proverb against such and say "he trusteth in God that he would deliver him, let him deliver him if he delight in him," such was the reproach they threw in the face of Christ; and Christ says to thee, poor soul," the reproaches of

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them that reproached thee are fallen upon me, and reproach hath broken mine heart." Thus my friend, the blessing lies in this secret spot, which none but the elect can find, and it is here, where Christ comes down and makes known to us himself as brother born for adversity, a friend that loveth at all times, and sticketh closer than a brother in the flesh, and in all our trouble and trials, he as a merciful High Priest is able to succour us, being in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin; he having taken our nature in union with his own nature is both able to succour and to save, being in one, perfect God, and in the other, perfect man, God's fellow, and man's fellow, and yet inseparably connected; and it is be that calls upon the poor soul to call upon him, he shows the sinner the situation in which he is in, and makes him willing in the day of his power, puts the cry into the heart, and bring him to the footstool of mercy where he proclaims himself to be "the Lord, the Lord God, mer. ciful and gracious, slow to anger, pardoning iniquity, and passing by the transgression of the remnant of his people, but will in no wise clear the guilty.' Thus having treated a little upon the cry or prayer, I pass on to the third head which is to show the object, this poor sinner in his distress is directed to.

Thirdly, the object, me, " call upon me." I have often been tried in my first setting out as to whom I was to direct my petitions, whether to God the Father, or to God the Son, or to God the Holy Ghost, and perhaps it is a trial to God's dear children to this day; well, I shall endeavour as the Lord shall enable me to gather out these stones, and cast up the high way; God said to me " he that hath my word let him speak my word faithfully, what is the chaff to the wheat;" now poor soul, it matters little whether you direct your petition to God the Father, God the Son, or

God the Holy Ghost; in the 5th chapter of John it is blessedly illustrated in the 17th verse, Jesus said "My Father worketh hitherto and I work," and you will find because he made himself equal with God, the Jews sought to kill him; and if you read on, you will see how blessedly he shows the unison of the will between him and his Father, and he says in the 21st verse, " for as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will, for the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father, he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which sent him." And he speaks further "that the hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live;" "for as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." And thus he clearly proves that he is one with the Father, consequently a proper object for worship, and adoration; even so is the Father, which most men will acknowledge. But remember this my friends, God is an inexorable God out of Christ, as the Apostle saith, "our God is a consuming fire." Even so is the Holy Spirit a person in the adorable trinity, as an object of proper and divine worship: for it is written "if I go not away, the Comforter will not come, who is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it know, eth him not: but if I go away, I will send him, and when he, the Spirit of truth, is come he shall reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and judgment," thus you see he is a person, and he is the eternal Jehovah the Spirit, God over all blessed for ever

more.

But we are instructed in scripture

in all our petitions, to remember the name of Jesus Christ. And why is this? I answer, because he is near.

est to us, being one in our nature; and in that nature he satisfied all the demands of divine justice; and further, he as the Head of the church, is the representative, and as the sacrifice he is the object God looks upon, consequently the object we are directed to; and the object the eye of justice is upon, as you see in Zechariah, ix, 11. 12, as for thee, (says Justice to Christ), by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein there is no water." And Justice by this very sacrifice preaches the gospel to the poor sinner that is in these bonds, saying, "Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;" and Christ says himself "Look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else." This was the object all the patriarchs and prophets looked to through the types, and died in that faith, not having received the fulfillment of his incarnation; God having provided some better things than types and shadows for us: even a body hast thou prepared, not prepared before the virgin was conceived, no, but prepared of the woman, the actual seed and substance of her body, yet without sin, for as Adam, in his sinless state, was holy, so was he the figure of him that was to come, who was called that "Holy thing," which was made of a woman, made under the law, and which should be called the Son of the Highest; I do not believe that when he became incarnate, he was absent from heaven one ment; as dear Mr. Hart sings

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"His shoulders held up heaven and earth, While Mary held up him."

He was the omnipotent and omnipresent God, that filled all space, and possessed all power, and so he does now, therefore, he says, "whatsoever

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you ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." But this name, the name of Jesus, is to be held sacred, as sacred as the name of God; for it is written, at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow. I tremble sometimes when I hear people in prayer use this name without the least authority or reverence. Surely, God will not wink at this; for he says, "I will not hold him guiltless that taketh my name in vain.' It is not to be used in every circumstance we may think proper, for James says, you ask and you receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lust." Ask that you might receive: that is, “in the day of trouble," ask to be brought submissive to the will of God, whether it is his will you should be brought out of this trial or not, and if not, beg for strength to bear it, for ye have need of patience after you have done the will of God that ye might receive the promise." And remember this, poor soul, there is not a trial, difficulty, or temptation you can go into, but what Jesus Christ is well acquainted with the nature and power of it; he being tempted in all points like unto his brethren, knows well the force of temptation, and the power it needs to stand against it. He needed, in the days of his flesh, his own divine nature to support him, which was never one moment absent from him; consequently, be proclaims himself not only to be man, but "I am God, and beside me there is none else." And his name to the children of Israel was, "I AM that I AM,” able to save to the very utmost all that comes unto God the Father by He is not a subordinate God, or a begotten God, as many in this day will tell us, but he is the eternal Son of God, full of grace and truth.

me.

Thus, my friends, this is the object the poor soul in distress is directed too, and all other Christs that men may invent, will never do you any good in the day of trouble, and