in our times;" among the rest may be mentioned, the backwardness of many who profess the faith of Christ to honour God with their substance by giving liberally to the promotion of the gospel, and the relief of the wretched and necessitous. The book is published at a very low price: and, we cannot help adding, would form a very appropriate gift for circulation in Penitentiary Asylums, where many an aching heart would rejoice to be directed in the manner of pleading and expostulating with God in prayer. We give a specimen of the author's style: "Precious souls, that have a large interest in God, are sometimes at a loss as to his sweet and sensible presence. The great God hath his unknown retreats, whither his best friends cannot follow him. So verses 8, 9; "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him; he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him." So holy David, Psal. lxiii. 1. "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee." You see his interest is clear; he can say, "Thou art my God ;" and yet he has but little enjoyment of him; his soul thirsteth, longeth, "followeth hard after him," ver. 8. Such another sigh ye have, Psal. ci, 2: "O when wilt thou come unto me?" Do not conclude ye have no interest because ye have little enjoyment; no union because ye want vision. "God's judgment-seat, where he sits to hear and determine causes, is not terrible or unapproachable to a believer, who knows it to be a throne of mercy, as Job here did; for, says he, ver. 6, How would he use me, if he had me there? Would he overwhelm me with his greatness? "Will he plead against me with his absolute power? No; but he would put strength in me." Happy are all that can say so; for we must all appear there, * and it will be terrible to all those that do not often resort thither beforehand. "A poor afflicted creature often thinks he hath a great deal to say unto God, if he could but get a hearing; he thinks how he would order and argue out the matter; what a story he would tell him, if he could but get his ear, gain access and audience from him. * 2 Cor. v. 10, 11. "It is good to have our hearts and mouths filled with arguments, when we come to plead, and expostulate, and reason out our great concernments with our God. "This is the point I pitch on; to expel that spirit of slumber which hath so much weakened the spirit of prayer in our days, that comparatively they are but little enriched by it, who trade to heaven with it; where God hath all good things lying ready by him, and waiting only for prayer to come and fetch them away. "When Christ himself would give us a perfect pattern of prayer, both for matter and manner, he winds and wraps up all with a conclusion,* consisting of certain reasons to persuade God to hear our prayers; or, at least to persuade and assure ourselves, that he doth and will hear them. These reasons have an influence into all and every one of the petitions. "Thine is the kingdom;" and therefore we expect, that, as a good king, thou shouldst receive and answer our petitions it is thy concernment, as a king, to have thine honour advanced; therefore hallow thine own name, glorify it in the church, let thy kingdom come to it, advance thy will in it, sustain us thy subjects, pardon our sins, keep and defend us from evils. So, "Thine is the power," which kings oftentimes want; but thou art able to exalt thine own name, to extend thy kingdom over all, to fit us to do thy will, to minister to our necessities, to pardon our sins, to preserve us from all evils. "And thine is the glory." The hallowing of thy name is the chief part of thy glory; thy kingdom the prime place of thy glory; herein art thou glorified, when we obey thy will, when thou providest for thy people, forgivest their sins, preservest and deliverest them from their enemies: therefore do thou all these things for us; therefore do we trust and hope that thou wilt do all these things for us. Entelligence Department. INFANT SCHOOL TEACHERS. DURING the last month seven have left for the West Indies, trained by the Home and Colonial Infant School Society for the Mico Charity, two trained by the same Society have also been sent to Brighton, one to a Poor Law Union, one to Keswick, and four to other places. * Matt. vi. 13. + Psalm lxxii. 12. + 2 Kings vi. 26, 27. Printed by G. PALMER, 4, Robert Street, Bedford Row, London. |