descended from communion with him, his face shone: and although he was not aware of the lustre himself, the people could not stedfastly behold him for the glory of his countenance; and he was constrained to hide it under a veil. The Christian, too, may be insensible of his excellencies and proficiencies; but his profiting will appear unto all men; all will take knowledge of him that he has been with Jesus. Retirement prepares us for all other services. Judge Hale, in his Letters to his Children, makes no scruple to say, "If I omit praying, and reading a portion of God's blessed word, in the morning, nothing goes well with me all the day." Dr. Boerhaave said, that his daily practice of retiring for an hour in the morning, and spending it in devotion and meditation, gave him firmness and vigour for the business of the whole day." He who goes forth from God, after inquiring his will, and committing himself to his care-he is the best fitted for all the successes or disappointments of life. It is alone with God, that the minister best qualifies himself for his work: it is there that he is wrought into the due temper of his office; it is there he rises above the fear of man, that "bringeth a snare, " and resolves not to shun to declare all the counsel of God;" it is there he is inspired to say, "Careless, myself a dying man, Of dying men's esteem: He is the last man in the world who should be "to be had." He should learn to resist, with the firmness of a martyr, all encroachments on his holy solitude. His hearers will soon learn, by the want of savour in his ministrations, that he loves to be more abroad than at home, and is fonder of the parlour than the closet. Whereas the man that issues from frequent and long retirement, will ascend the pulpit as Aaron entered the tabernacle of the congregation, when the holy oil had been poured upon his head, and the fragrance filled the place. To speak of the Christian's preparation for public worship, may be deemed legal or superstitious by some; but the Scripture speaks of it, and the godly have always found their account in it. Previous retirement detaches the mind from earth; it composes the thoughts; it tends to prevent distractions in waiting upon God; and aids to produce that seriousness of spirit, which is essential to our edification by the means of grace. They will always profit most by the sanctuary, who are much in the closet. It furnishes also a good evidence of our state. Do not judge of yourselves by what you are before men-What are you with God? Your sincerity is chiefly evinced by your regard to the unseen duties of religion. These show that you are actuated by pious principle, and not by any of those inferior motives which produce appearances. In public duties you are open to the observation of others. Hypocrites may lift their hands and eyes; and affect great fervour and zeal. Curiosity may prompt our repairing to the ordinances of the temple; and the dispensation even of divine truth, in excellency of speech and elegance of manner, may prove an amusement; and persons may flock to it as to a concert. We know it was so with Ezekiel's hearers. "And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not." If you are with a person whom you dislike, his presence is tolerable in a large company, where you have other attractions-though even then you would rather he was absent; but should they withdraw, how embarrassed and miserable would you be with him alone! Some of you seem attached to the house of God; but we often wonder how you would feel, if, upon the separation of the assembly, you were “detained" like Doeg "before the Lord." The freedom we enjoy in the exercise, is no inconsiderable recommendation of private devotion. Here we come even to his seat; we reach the secret place of the Most High. Here we are free from the restraints we feel in public. Here we are not condemned as deceivers, or ridiculed as enthusiasts, if we prostrate ourselves before God, or pray like our Saviour, with strong cryings and tears." I know not why we should be ashamed to be seen weeping, yet so it frequently is-but here the eye can pour out tears unto God. Here we may sigh, and pause, and kneel a third time, saying the same words." Here the mind is affected with those minute but touching recollections and peculiarities which cannot be admitted into public worship. Here we may pray for others, in a way we could not do before them, without offence. Would they abide to hear us beseech God to deliver-One of them from the love of 66 money? Another, from a fondness for extravagance? A third, from a hateful and odious temper? Here you can lay open, with proper self-abasement, the secret workings of your own pride, or envy, or carnality. Here you may pour into the bosom of God things which you could not divulge to your dearest friend or relation. Every heart has a bitterness of its own; and this is frequently what it is least at liberty to communicate. But here no secret is hid-here no complaint is suppressed. Here, in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, we make known our requests unto God;" and, as the consequence of the full disclosure, we are careful for nothing;" and "feel a peace that passeth all understanding, keeping our heart and mind through Christ Jesus." But ought we to overlook the promise which the Saviour has here given us, and with which he would engage us to the performance of this duty? It would be a reflection upon his wisdom and goodness."Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." Let us observe the inducement. It includes the Divine Presence. "Thy Father which is in secret." He is every where; but he is, it seems, peculiarly in the closet. Here he is waiting to be gracious, and exalted to have mercy." Here is no terror to make you afraid. Here he is, not as a Judge on his tribunal, to arraign you as criminals; nor even as a Monarch on a throne of state to receive you as subjects; but as your Father, eager to embrace you as "the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty." Do children dread to enter a room where a loved and honoured father is to be found? Would not this be a sufficient attraction? "When shall I come," says David, "and appear before God?" He It includes his inspection. " And thy Father which seeth in secret." He is not regardless of you; he is not ignorant of your condition; he knows what is the mind of the spirit. Your desires are before him, and your groaning is not hid from him. He sees you, but not with eyes of flesh. is no respecter of persons. He will not fail to notice you, however poor and despised. He views you with approbation. The prayer of the upright is his delight. "Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." It includes recompence. "He shall reward thee openly" He never said to the seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain." But surely it is enough for a benefactor to be ready to attend to the applications of the distressed, without promising to reward beggars for knocking at his door; and to bestow on them honour that shall distinguish them in public, as if, instead of being urged by their necessities, they had been performing some very meritorious action! The advantage of prayer is all our own: there can be nothing like desert in it. And yet to stimulate us to attend to a course founded entirely in a regard to our welfare, the Lord of all makes himself a debtor to his suppliants; and engages to confer upon them not only a real, but a public and acknowledged recompence. Even here he puts a difference between his people and others. Even now he induces observers to say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous;""This is the seed which the Lord hath blessed." He can make even a Balaam exclaim, "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! and thy tabernacles, O Israel! Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." But if at present any dispensations humble them, any clouds obscure them, they will be exalted in due time, they will soon shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart, and then shall every man have praise of God." 66 66 And now, my dear hearers, upon the ground of this important subject, let me address you with all fidelity and seriousness. For it is not a light thing, it is your life. I remember the observation of an old divine, and it is not too strongly expressed: "It is impossible for a man to be godly, who neglects secret devotion, and next to impossible that he should ever become so." To which he adds, "You may as well talk of a wise fool, a wicked saint, a sober drunkard, or an honest thief, as of a prayerless Christian!" If this witness be true, what are we to think even of many who make some pretensions to religion? Their lives are full of action, and void of thought. They visit the temple, and are ever hearing sermons; but they are shy of the closet. Some of them, in this day of pious and benevolent institutions and exertions, make a figure in public; and their zeal flames at a distance; but it diminishes as it approaches nearer home, and it goes out in a dreadful darkness and coldness between God and their own souls. In others, a little of this practice of retirement remains, lingering as the effect of custom or conviction only. But though they do not constantly, they yet frequently neglect private reading, meditation, and prayer. Business, company, the most trifling preventions, keep them from the duty; and they must be aware, if they would deal honestly with themselves, that whatever they do in this way, is their task, and not their pleasure. And need they be told to what character Job alludes, when he asks, Will he delight himself in the Almighty, will he always call upon God?" But some have wholly incurred the reproach; "Thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.” Yes-for it was not thus with you once; you have left off to be wise, and to do good.. "Apostacy," says Henry, "begins at the closet door." There your irreligion commenced; and ever since this revolt from God, you have been departing more and more from him. O! what a day was that, when you first left your apartment without prayer! Perhaps you have forgotten it. But, no! How can you forget your hesitation-your strugglings with conscience-the shame and uneasiness you endured, so that you longed and endeavoured as soon as possible to lose the feeling. And you succeeded. You felt less the day following. At length you obtained a victory over every moral embarrassment. And now you lie down and rise up like the beasts that perish, and feel nothing. But allow me to ask, Is not this neglect of religious retirement, a proof that the love of God is not in you? You treat men with attention; but he is not in all your thoughts. You salute your fellow-creatures according to their rank and quality; but you never give him the glory that is due unto his holy name. You visit your friends and acquaintances, but you never call upon God, though he is not far from any one of you. And have you nothing to do with Him? Is he not your Creator? Your Preserver? Your Governor? Your Judge? Have you nothing to hope from him? Nothing to fear? In his hand your breath is, and his are all your ways. Men deny the depravity of human nature: but we want no other proof of the mortifying truth, than this alienation of your mind from God. Can this be an innocent state? Could this be the condition of man, when God made him |