docs Ro: 1. In the morld of nalnr~. Row ,Toes m:>n pray to" the corn, and the wine, nnd the oil"? IJu does so by tillin~ the ground, s•,wing the seed, planting the vines, and tending the olil'ea, He uses the fixed laws of nature-directing their action so as to mflko tliem subservient to hie will. The pious farmer's motto is, "Ora et Jabora." And so with all other pursuits of men. If I pray rightly that I may prosper in some plan or enterprise, I use also the other practical means of attention, arrangement, and diligence, else the larger· number or second causes will make for the failure of my prayer. 'l'here most be a. settled harmony between my plans of working and the pptitions which I offer. 2. In the world of grace. Here p1'1Lyer is not merely one of the means of grace, co~ordinate ·with the others; it is an indispensable condition to the successful use of any other. Prayer is not an intermediate link in the chain. It is at the.one end; the throne and will of Jehovah being at the other end. Bot, while it is necessary that we pray for spiritual blessings, we must at the same time see that all the other ~econd causes combine harmoniously with our petitions. E.g. our salvation is of grace alone,. and yet the moral influences which go to shape character operate all the sallle, ·'l'he revelation of Jesus Christ has not repealed the ethic.al precepts of the Book of _Proverbs. Paul wrote his Epistle to the Galatians to teach that sinners are saved and that saints are ·sanctified by grace alone; and yet in that same Epistle he solemnly ins_ists that "wha!sbever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. vi. 7). Prayer is one second cause'; but'there is·a whole chain of them to which it most join itself. It is not enough_· to ·pray for one's 'own growth in grace, or- for the conversion of one's children, or to observe family worship; we must take care that the other influences at our ,command ·shall harmonize with our petitions, and conspire to obtain the answer which we plead for. • IV. UNIVERSAL PRAYERFULNESS ON THE PART OF JIIAN SHALL BRING WITH IT THE RESTORATION OF NATURE. 'l'his text asserts the deep sympathy of nature with the cau,se of righieousness; We know that as soon as Adam in Paradise renounced his allegiance to_God, the earth renounced its allegiance to him (Gen. iii. 17, 18). But, on the other han:d, so soon as Jeb.ovah shall be at peace with Israel, and the people of the world shall: nave become_ " the seed of God" in the day of the Redeemer's power, all things shall become theirs, and Paradise shall be restored (Ps. lxvii. 5-7). Already, it is true, tnan possesses a wide sovereignty in the kingdom of nature. As holy George Herbert says, in his poem on 'Man '-a. poem which is Miltonic in the majesty of its conceptions- • " For us the winds do blow ; The e11rth doth rest, heaven move, and fountains flow. Nothing we see, but means our good, As our delight, or ns our treasure : The whole is either our cupboard of food, Or cabinet of pleasure. . "More servants wait on man Than he'll t11ke notice of . . . . ,0 mighty love i Ml\ll fa one world, 1md hnth ' ' . Another to attend him."
But, in the golden age that is coming, man's sovereignty over nature shall be complete ; and nature's symp~thy with man shall be perfect (lsn. xi. 6-9). LESBONB.-Let us: 1_. Recognize odr. absolute dependence upon God, tho great First Cause... 2, Earnestly seek his presence and aid, both in the discharge of daily duty and for the furtherimce of our spiritual life. 3. Accompany our prayers with assiduous practical effort.__ 4. Rejoice in the hope. of the ultimate restitution of all things.- C. J.,
Ver. 231,--(See homHy above, on The curse i·eversed, eh. i. 10, 11, and ii. 1.}-C. J. Vers. l4, 15.-The message fro.iii Tiome. There will be but little difficulty in the exp,osition of this ,pass~e if we reine!!ibfr that t~vo <listin~t. ~~ures are blentled by tho prophet~ Op. the one hand he recalls tlie early history of lsrnel. H~ remembers their THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [ou. n. 1-23.