SERMON XVIII. THE NATURE, THE DUTY, AND THE ST. MATTHEW vii, 7, 8. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh," receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. WE have, in these words, an exhortation to the practice of the duty of prayer, given to us by our blessed Lord himself; together with an encouraging declaration of the beneficial effects, which we may expect to follow upon our compliance with the exhortation. Indeed, prayer is, in the holy scriptures, represented as one of those things which peculiarly characterize the genuine and accepted servant of God: and accordingly, it is one of those duties to which we are most frequently and forcibly exhorted. Thus St. Paul calls upon the Ephesians 66 to pray always with all prayer and supplica"tion in the Spirit, and to watch thereunto "with all perseverance." And he commands the Philippians," in every thing, by prayer and "supplication with thanksgiving, to let their "requests be made known unto God." 66 cry The example of all the most eminent servants of God in ancient days, shews us, that whatever differences might exist in their characters and circumstances, they were all men of prayer. Evening, and morning, and "at noon," says David, " will 1 pray, and "aloud." Of holy Daniel we are told, that "he kneeled on his knees three times a day, "and prayed and gave thanks before his "God." But especially the example of our blessed Lord himself, most powerfully calls our attention to prayer as a necessary and indispensible duty. He had no sins to confess-no forgiveness to crave—and yet we find, that prayer and supplication, formed a part of his daily employ: and when his time was so fully engaged in teaching the ignorant, or in relieving the distressed, that he had no leisure for retirement during the day, we are told that he would in the evening go to the mountains, and continue all night in prayer to God." In this, as well as in other things, he gave us an example for the direction of our conduct. And when we recollect the declaration of scripture," that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down "from the Father of Lights;"1 we must feel that it is both our wisdom and our duty to "continue instant in prayer. Yet it is most undoubtedly true, that prayer is grievously neglected that a man, who is really a man of prayer, is rarely to be found-and that even the very best of men, need continually to be exhorted to "pray always, and not to faint." In order, then, to excite our minds to a due attention to this duty, let us meditate upon the precept and the promise contained in our text: and in doing so, let us consider, first, The nature of genuine prayer; and secondly, The abundant encouragements which we have in offering our petitions before God. I. We will consider the nature of prayer. Prayer may be stated to be the expression of want, of dependance, and of expectation. Men do not present their requests to a fellow-creature for any thing of which they do not feel their need, nor for anything which they believe 1 James i, 17. that they can provide for themselves. Nor are they often willing to ask a favour from any one, whom they believe to be either unable or indisposed to gratify their desire. But when a man feels himself to be in a state of want-when he is convinced that he cannot find relief for himself-and at the same time has access to one who, he is convinced, is both able and willing to afford him what he needs; then he will make known his request with earnestness, and will look with expectation for the desired benefit. Such will be our conduct towards God, with regard to prayer. If we are little sensible of our want of blessings at his hand, then we shall not call upon him. If we proudly imagine that we can provide or procure for ourselves the good we need, then we shall be unwilling to ask it as a favour from his hand. If, through unbelief, we lose sight of his infinite kindness, and his readiness to hear and answer our supplications; then shall we be backward to offer our petitions. But if, by the grace of the Spirit of God, the eyes of our understanding are opened, so that we per ceive our guilty, weak, and destitute condition; and our consequent need of pardon of sin, and of every temporal and spiritual blessing; if we are convinced of our own utter helplessness and total dependance upon God for every good thing; then shall we begin to consider what ground we have for hoping for the supply of our wants from him: and when we learn from his word, that "he is able to do for us exceed 66 ing abundantly above all that we can ask or "think;" and that he is perfectly willing to grant us every good that we can need; then will our hearts be filled with that mingled sense of desire, dependance, and expectation, which will naturally lead us as humble suppliants to the throne of the heavenly grace, for the supply of our manifold necessities. And, my brethren, is it not the case, that our wants are innumerable? Let us look at our situation: let us contemplate our necessities let us view our own poverty in the sight of God. You may be disposed to think little of such a subject as this. You may perhaps fancy that there are few things which you have to ask; and because you have never duly considered your own need, and therefore have no deep and heart-affecting view of your wants, you may be living in the neglect of prayer, or only observe it as a cold and lifeless form, in which you are little interested, and in which your heart is scarcely at all engaged. Look, then, for a moment, at your necessities, that you may see somewhat of your need of prayer. Consider, first, your temporal wants. The |