ward thee openly." It is fearful, the addressing ourselves to one so high above us-to the Father which is in secret; but it is rendered yet more fearful by the consciousness that he seeth in secret. Although he dwell so high in heaven, yet he continually "humbleth himself to behold" the things that are in this lower earth. Therefore no devout worshipper need fear that any one of his hearty prayers will be lost. Even if he cannot pray in words, God knows the meaning of his heart, and has ways of setting all down. On the other hand, let no man think that this wilful misbehavior in prayerhurrying it over, impatiently shortening it, using negligent or irreverent postures, neglecting to compose himself beforehand even by one serious thought, hastening eagerly away from it as one glad to get back to the world:-I say, let no Christian imagine that any of these faults, or the like, is too trifling to be noticed by the Judge of all the earth. What if there were any of them light faults in themselves? yet, as tokens and samples of what men have in their hearts, they are fearfully bad and severely punishable. Indeed misbehavior in private prayer is especially foolish as well as wicked, because, of all religious duties, private prayer is that one which most immediately regards the Almighty as really present, and watching what we do. If a man behave ill in public prayer, he may defend himself, profanely indeed, but consistently enough, by saying he does not believe, nor care for God at all, only he comes to church to serve this or that temporal purpose; but no person using private prayer can consistently say he does not believe at all. For if he do not believe, why does he pray? He can get nothing at all by his prayer in the way of temporal good, it being (as we suppose) entirely and strictly private. Therefore, if he prays in private, he surely believes. But if he believe-if he really acknowledge the unseen all-seeing God-how can he behave himself rudely or irreverently toward him? By praying, you own him infinitely near; by praying carelessly, you do in effect deny that he is near or attending to you at all. Such is the perverse wretchedness of our nature, if not

helped and guided by true Christian religion, under the influence of God's most Holy Spirit. A person who, being alone, prays carelessly, cannot plead, with the patriarch Jacob, "the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not." For by the very act of praying at all, he confesses that "God is in this place.'

Whoever, then, considers at all, must behave well at his prayers, and so doing, he gives the strongest pledge of behaving well afterward, when his prayers are over, and the grace then asked for is to be tried in active life. For as was said, by the very act of praying you confess that God sees you in secret. If he see you while you are praying, of course he sees you also when the prayers are over. You are not out of his sight the moment you rise from your knees. Neither is it possible, if you are really devout when you pray, that you should become indevout presently after. The fragrance, as it were, of the holy offering will continue surely some little while with you, and dispose you to live in some measure according to your prayers.

Let us take for example a few instances out of our Lord's own divine prayer. Take that which he, by repeating it at the end of the prayer, leads us to think of more particularly. Whenever you say the Lord's prayer, you acknowledge before the Judge of all the earth that you are a sinner deserving God's wrath and damnation: and that you may not lose all chance of pardon, you plead that you do in heart forgive whoever has in any way behaved ill to you. You say to God, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." Suppose any man rising up from his knees, immediately after offering this prayer, and beginning presently to do unkind things; meeting everything untoward, and every one that affronts him, with cross words, looks, and actions. Is it not plain that very many do so? and what are we to think of their prayers just offered?

Again, recollect that petition, "Lead us not into temptation," and judge whether any person, who has just been addressing those words in earnest to the God

unto whom all desires are known, would find it in his heart presently to renew those loose thoughts and careless habits which are likeliest of all things to lead him into gross sin; as he knows by long and shameful experience. Imagine, if you can, a Christian man joining sincerely in that part of the Lord's prayer, and making haste, as soon as the service is over, to forget the Lord and his prayer too, and everything else that is good and serious, in dissolute company, profane reading, loose jesting, or strong drink. Make sure of it, there must have been some great fault in your way of praying against temptation, if it be followed presently by your running into temptation. Either you were inattentive, and did not mind what you said; or you were presumptuous, and thought you could stand by your own strength; or you were wavering and irresolute, and in your secret soul rather wished for the contrary to your prayerrather wished to be strongly tempted, that you might have, as you fancied, some kind of excuse for falling. If such were your prayers, no wonder, when the opportunity of sinning came, that you found no grace to stand upright. God, "unto whom all hearts are open, and from whom no secrets are hid ;" Almighty God, who hears your thoughts more plainly than men hear your words; he takes you at your thought (if I may so say) rather than at your word; he does not interfere to keep the temptation from you, which you in your heart rather wish to come near.

Perhaps even you do more-perhaps you invite the mischief, and watch for it, and follow after it; not at all caring for your baptismal vow, in which you pledged yourself so very solemnly to renounce all covetous and carnal desires, so as, not to follow nor be led by them." To be led by them, is to yield when bad desires come very near you; to follow them, is to venture near them, to indulge disorderly fancies and longings, to go as near sin as you dare for the moment. Those who do so are as if they used a prayer contrary to our Lord's prayer. They are, in God's sight, as though they said to him, "Lead us into temptation, and deliver us

over to the evil one. Give us up to our own wicked hearts, to the world, the flesh, and the devil." If this would be a prayer too shocking to think of, learn, I beseech you, to be shocked at your own condition, as many as follow up your prayers against temptation by running headlong into temptation. Watch, pray, strive, labor to amend in that respect. It is your weak point: it is there, above all, that your great enemy still keeps hold of you. Once disengage yourself from him there, and you will have made a great step indeed toward complete and final deliverance.

I say, disengage yourself from the prevailing temptation; for so, by God's gracious help, you assuredly may. This very evening, when you say the Lord's prayer, on coming to the words, "Lead us not into temptation," you may stop and quietly consider in your mind, what the sins and frailties are to which you are most violently inclined or accustomed; and you may earnestly wish and beg for grace, when next those sins and frailties beset you, to put them by, and have nothing to do with them. And having so wished and prayed, you may, if you will, when the time comes, call your wish and prayer to mind, and leave off the sin "before it be meddled with." Till you have learned to make this use of your prayers, they will not be worthy of your Father which seeth in secret; you must not expect any blessing on them. But when they begin to make a difference in your lives, then God will indeed be glorified by them. His grace will help you to pray better, and still as the improvement in your devotion goes on, your behavior will improve also, till his mercy have thoroughly prepared you for the reward promised in his Son's name to every persevering humble worshipper.

SERMON XI.

CHRISTIAN FEAR OF RELAPSE INTO SIN.

ST. JOHN V. 14.

"Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

We are not told the particular history of the person to whom our Savior addressed these words, so that we cannot say whether they relate to any one great and notorious sin of his; we only know that some sin he had, which had brought on him that grievous infirmity, continued by God's providence for thirty-eight years, and only cured at last by the miraculous interference of the blessed Jesus. In any case the same words may with perfect propriety be addressed to every one, (and who is not among the number?) of those whom God's mercy has at any time raised up and relieved from any sickness or sorrow. Let such be seriously assured, that when they read or hear this verse, they have the blessed Jesus himself, the only physician of souls and bodies, speaking to them in his own person, and telling them what use he and his Father intended them to make of his gracious visitation. For even when he spoke the words, he knew that his divine Spirit by his apostle would set them down for our admonition. He knew beforehand to which of mankind, and under what circumstances, the same clear warning would be conveyed by his gospel: "Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." And what he so knew beforehand, he surely meant and intended. He meant and intended these words for you, for me, for every Christian who has ever been relieved by him in sickness or sorrow, as particularly as for that infirm