THE THIRD IMPORTANCE OF PRAYING ALWAYS TO BE AS MUCH AS PRAYINQ DAILV; AND WHY WE ARE TO PRAY DAILY.

THE THIRD IMPORTANCE OF PRAYING ALWAYS TO BE AS MUCH AS PRAYINQ DAILV; AND WHY WE ARE TO PRAY DAILY.

To pray always, is to pray daily. When the Christian keeps a constant, daily exercise of this dut)', prayer is not a holy-day, bnt every-day work: 'Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thee for ever and ever.' This was typified by the daily sacrifice, called, therefore, ' the continual burnt-offering, ' Exod. xxix. 38, whereby was signified our daily need of seeking mercy at God's hands through Christ. When our Lord taught his disciples to pray, he bade them not ask bread for a week, no, nor for the morrow, but for the present day, — ' Give us this day our daily bread: 'plainly signifying our duty to seek our bread every day of God; which surely was also the reason why God gave the manna in such a portion, as should not fill their cupboards, and furnish them with a store for a month or a week, but be a just and sufficient allowance for a day ; that so they might be kept in a daily dependence on God, and look up to him daily, who car- ried the key of their pantry for them. And have not we the same necessities with them ? Our bodies are as weak as theirs, and cannot be preserved without daily repast. Do we not depend on him for the bread of the day, and the rest of the night ? And he hath too good an opinion of his soul's constitution, who thinks he can live or thrive with yesterday's meal, without comnnmion with God to-day. The mother would think the sucking child not well, if it should forsake the breast a whole day ; so mayest thou conclude thy soul is not right, if it can pass a day without craving any spiritual repast in prayer. If thy wants be not sufficient to keep the chariots of this duty on its wheels, yet the sins which thou daily renewest should drive thee every day to confess and beg pardon for them. We are wider a law, not to let the sun go down upon our wrath against our brother ; and dare we, who eveiy day deserve God's wrath, let the sun go down before a reconciliation is effected between God and us? In a word, every day hath its new mercies : ' His compassions fail not ; they are new every morning,' Lam. iii. 22, 23. These new mercies contract a new debt, and God hath told us the way of payment, namely, a tribute of praise : without this, we cannot expect a sanctified use of them. He is branded by all for a profane person that eats his meat, and gives not thanks ; and it woidd be thought a ridiculous excuse should he say he gave thanks yesterday, and that should serve for this also. We have more mercies every day to bless God for than what is set on our tables. We wear mercies, we breathe mercies, we walk upon mercies, our whole life is but a passage from one mercy to another. Now, doth God every day anoint our head Avith fresh oil, and shall we not crown him with new praises? I vyill not enter into a discourse how often a Christian should pray in a day : at least it must be twice, that is, morning and night. Prayer must be the key of the morning, and lock of the night. We shew not ourselves Christians, if we do not open our eyes with prayer when we rise, and shut them again with the same key when we lie down at night. This answers to the morning and evening sacrifice in the law, which was so commanded, as to leave room for those other free-will oflTerings which their zeal might prompt them to. Pray as often as you please besides, so that your devotions interfere not with the necessary duties of your particular callings ; the oftener, the more welcome. We read of David's seven times a day ; but be sure thou dost not retrench and cut God short of thy stated hours. ' It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord; — to shew forth thy loving- kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,' Psa. xcii. 1,2. God is Alpha and Omega. It is fit we should begin and end the day with his praise, who begins and ends it for us with mercy. Well, thou seest thy duty plainly laid before thee. As thou wouldst have God prosper thy labour in the day, and sweeten thy rest in the niglit, clasp them both together with thy morning and evening devotions. He that takes no care to set forth God's portion of time in the morning, doth not only rob (Jod of his due, but is a thief to himself all the day after, by losing the blessing which a faithful prayer might bring from heaven on his undertakings. And he that closeth his eyes at night without prayer, lies down before his bed is made. God is his people's keeper ; but can he expect to be kept bv him, that chargeth not the Divine Providence with his

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keeping? The angels, at his command, pitch their tents about his saints' dwellings. But as the drum calls the watch together, so God looks that, by humble pra3'er, we should beg of him their ministry and attendance about us.