that every part is also familiar to our practice. That in all these ways we ought to address ourselves to God, seems very reasonable; and that each of them is highly acceptable to him we are fully assured. When we separate ourselves from the world, and drawing nigh to our heavenly Father, pray to him in secret; confessing our sins, and deprecating their punishment; acknowledging his mercies, and supplicating their continuance; and in holy and spiritual communion, present before him all our fears and all our cares; we experience a sacred composure, and a lofty elevation of soul, which God only could impart.

When, collecting around us the members of our household, in a feeling of common dependence, and in a sense of common gratitude, we send up from the domestic altar the united incense of prayer and praise, we, at the same time, draw closer the ties of earthly affection, and offer a stronger appeal to our merciful Father for those aids of his Holy Spirit, which will enable us to serve him acceptably here, and qualifying us for the everlasting enjoyment of his presence hereafter, give us good grounds of assurance, that after our course is terminated on earth, we may all be again united in the offering up of unmingled praise in his everlasting kingdom in heaven.

But, my brethren, although private prayer and family devotion are high duties, and full of consolation in the performance of them, yet the open

and public worship of God is not less binding upon us, nor is it less productive of delight.

As individuals and as families, our devotions are retired, and withdrawn from the view of the world. They are performed in private, and in no wise represent the sense we entertain of God's excellency, nor the homage which is due to his greatness and majesty. To keep up a public esteem and veneration of God, therefore, in the minds of men, and to maintain and extend a sense of religion in the world, an open profession of his being and attributes, and a public homage to him, as the Author of our existence, the Preserver of our lives, and the bountiful Giver of all good, is also necessary. Without this, not only would God be forgotten, and his name dishonoured, but men would deteriorate in their condition, and gradually lose the knowledge of all that gives elevation to character, efficacy to obligation, sanction to law, and security and happiness to human life.

These are reasons for the public worship of God, which we might draw from the coldest calculations of prudence, and the most ordinary dictates of obligation and duty. But there are other considerations still more congenial to pious minds, touched with love to God, zealons for his honour, and anxious to show forth his praise; and these, which should most powerfully induce us to the public worship of God, may be resolved

into these two:-First, a desire to glorify his holy name; and secondly, a desire to obtain his favour: motives than which none can be more rational, and none more befitting the character and relation in which we stand to God.

Of all the lower works of God, man alone is endowed with intelligence, and capable of religious worship. All other created things are inferior to him, and can speak their praise to the Parent of good through him alone. His voice must make eloquent their homage, and he, of all God's works the chief, must give utterance to their silent adoration.

My brethren, we are early taught that one of the chief ends of man's existence is to glorify God; and while this obligation is acknowledged in childhood, it is constantly strengthened and made more imperative by the occurrences of all succeeding years.

God is our Creator, from whom we derive life, and all our faculties and capacities for enjoyment; and therefore, the homage of all our powers, all the deference of our reason, and all the strength of our most grateful affection, are due to his holy name. He is our Preserver, by whom we have been rescued from innumerable evils, supported in many troubles, and saved from hidden dangers and unseen snares; and for these we are bound to return him our public acknowledgments and thanks. He is our Benefactor, and by his bounty

ten thousand blessings, which he only could grant, have marked our days; and for all of these benefits our most devout thanksgiving should ascend before his throne. But above all, God is our most gracious Father, who gave his only-begotten Son to die in our stead; we have been blessed with the knowledge of salvation by Jesus Christ; we have heard of his inestimable love in the redemption of the world; we enjoy the means of grace, and the hope of glory. And if the anticipations of that blessedness which God has prepared for them that love him, have only feebly touched our hearts, and produced even a faint return of affection there, we will find in this our strongest impulse to call forth our loud voice of rapture, and to make us frequent in the assemblies devoted to his praise.

But, in the second place, besides resorting to the public worship of God to glorify his holy name, it is our privilege to come into his presence in order to be assured of his favour, and to receive his blessings in the way of his own appointment. Even for this life alone how many and how great are the occasions we have for calling upon God! Are we destitute of temporal comforts, afflicted, cast down, and depressed with apprehensions and fears? It is to God alone we can come for relief and succour. Are we filled with plenty, and does our cup run over with worldly good? It is God VOL. II.

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alone who can ensure us the continuance of these blessings, and give us a quiet mind in the enjoyment of them. A sense of his favour is necessary to support the destitute in their deprivation and their wants; and it is not less necessary to give security to the rich in the midst of their abundance. That favour he will grant to both. We are all the children of his hand, and however our outward circumstances and our needs may vary, he is ready to give all the peculiar benefits which their case may require.

But a higher reason that we have for coming into the presence of God, and uniting in this worship, is to seek his aid in our spiritual necessities. It is in his holy courts that with one accord we offer up our supplications for true repentance; for the forgiveness of our sins, negligences, and ignorances; and for the grace of God's Holy Spirit to amend our lives according to his holy word. These, my brethren, are wants common to us all; and therefore they are embodied in our common prayers, which should often be presented at the throne of grace. In the public assemblies is also proclaimed that Gospel of good will and peace which alone can speak pardon to the conscience, and still the apprehensions of the troubled spirit. There the way of righteousness is made known; salvation through a Saviour's blood freely offered; and those joys which eye hath not seen,