MORAL PHILOSOPHY.

воок V.

DUTIES TOWARDS GOD.

CHAP. I.

DIVISION OF THESE DUTIES.

N one fenfe, every duty is a duty towards

IN

God, fince it is his will which makes it a duty but there are fome duties of which God is the object, as well as the author; and these are peculiarly, and in a more appropriated sense, called duties towards God.

That filent piety, which confifts in a habit of tracing out the Creator's wisdom and goodness in

the objects around us, or in the hiftory of his difpenfations; of referring the bleffings we enjoy to his bounty, and of reforting in our diftreffes to his fuccour; may poffibly be more acceptable to the Deity than any visible expressions of devotion whatever. Yet thefe latter (which, although they may be excelled, are not superseded by the former) compofe the only part of the subject which admits of direction or difquifition. from a moralist.

Our duty towards God, fo far as it is external, is divided into worship and reverence. God is the immediate object of both; and the difference between them is, that the one confifts in action, the other in forbearance. When we go

to church on the Lord's day, led thither by a fenfe of duty towards God, we perform an act of worship; when, from the fame motive, we reft in a journey upon that day, we discharge a duty of reverence.

Divine worship is made up of adoration,thankfgiving, and prayer., But, as what we have to offer concerning the two former may be observed of prayer, we shall make that the title of the following chapters, and the direct fubject of our confideration.

CHAP.

СНАР. II.

OF THE DUTY AND OF THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER, SO FAR AS THE SAME APPEAR FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE.

HEN one man desires to obtain any thing

WHEN

of another, he betakes himself to entreaty and this may be obferved of mankind in all ages and countries of the world. Now what is universal, may be called natural; and it seems probable that God, as our fupreme governor, fhould expect that towards himself, which by a natural impulfe, or by the irrefiftible order of our conftitution, he has prompted us to pay to every other being on whom we depend.

The fame may be faid of thanksgiving.

Prayer likewise is neceffary to keep up in the minds of mankind a sense of God's agency in the univerfe, and of their own dependency upon him.

Yet, after all, the duty of prayer depends upon its efficacy: for I confefs myself unable to

conceive

conceive how any man can pray, or be obliged to pray, who expects nothing from his prayers; but who is perfuaded, at the time he utters his requeft, that it cannot poffibly produce the fmalleft impreffion upon the being to whom it is addreffed, or advantage to himself. Now the efficacy of prayer imports that we obtain something in confequence of praying, which we should not have received without prayer; against all expectation of which, the following objection has been often and seriously alleged-" If "it be most agreeable to perfect wisdom and juf"tice that we fhould receive what we defire, 66 God, as perfectly wife and juft, will give it to 63 us without asking; if it be not agreeable to these "attributes of his nature, our entreaties cannot

move him to give it us, and it were impious "to expect that they fhould." In fewer words, thus: "If what we request be fit for us, “we shall have it without praying; if it be not "fit for us, we cannot obtain it by praying." This objection admits but of one answer, namely, that it may be agreeable to perfect wifdom to grant that to our prayers, which it would not have been agreeable to the fame wifdom to have given us without praying for. But what virtue, you will afk, is there in prayer, which should make

a fa

ǎ favour confiftent with wifdom, which would not have been fo without it? To this question, which contains the whole difficulty attending the subject, the following poffibilities are offered in reply.

1. A favour granted to prayer may be more apt, on that very account, to produce good ef-fects upon the perfon obliged. It may hold in the divine bounty, what experience has raised into a proverb in the collation of human benefits, that what is obtained without asking, is oftentimes received without gratitude.

2. It may be confiftent with the wifdom of the Deity to withhold his favours till they be afked for, as an expedient to encourage devotion in his rational creation, in order thereby to keep up and circulate a knowledge and fenfe of their dependency upon him.

3. Prayer has a natural tendeney to amend the petitioner himself; and thus to bring him within. the rules, which the wisdom of the Deity has prefcribed to the difpenfation of his favours.

If thefe, or any other affignable fuppofitions, ferve to remove the apparent repugnancy between the fuccefs of prayer and the character of the Deity, it is enough; for the queftion with the petitioner is not from which, out of many mo

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tives,