CHAP. XII.

THERE

On Devotional Feelings merely.

HERE are a number of persons whom we have no reason to believe to be under the influence of real religion; their tempers are frequently unsubdued and irritable; their affections, in the main, are worldly; and their pride of heart is evident; that yet express themselves in a devout way, and talk as if they found pleasure in devotion. The beauties of creation, the charms of nature, the fancied pictures which they draw of the goodness of the Deity, fill their minds with lively ideas. of the benevolence of the Creator. They love to con. template these things, and to converse about them in a strain of devout admiration and praise. Deists and idolaters sometimes express themselves in this way; and Socinians often talk as if their view of religion encouraged real devotion.

What then are the great defects of the kind of devotion which has been described? It is accompanied by some one or other of the following marks.

With respect to those who profess to have it, it has little or no influence on the temper, which still remains unsanctified, either self-indulgent or fretful, and exposed to bursts of passion. It puffs up, and fosters pride of heart, and fills the mind with self-conceit, and selfsufficiency. It leads men to court rather than shun the admiration of others; or, it is often a mere indulgence of natural imagination, of a pensive disposition,

of taste, and the like.

Pleasurable sensations are

excited by the idea of the dignity of such contemplations, and that they give a mark of a superior state of mind to the common class of persons, and this satisfies them.

With respect to God, it has no regard to his holiness or justice; it overlooks the Scripture account of his character, and those sorrows and evils of life which visibly mark his hand, and the sinfulness of man. It greatly, if not totally, disregards the only mediator by whom we may draw near to God. No man cometh unto the Father but by Him.

And with respect to. others, there is little or no separation from vain and sinful company, from worldly habits, practices, and maxims; no fulfilling of the precept, Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and therefore no obtaining of the promise, and I will receive you, and I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

In the feelings to which we allude, there is no real communion with God: that is ever humbling and . purifying. Men of the description which has been mentioned, know nothing of the character of God as the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy; who says, 1 dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'

Let the reader, then, be on his guard, and not suppose that every thing of a contemplative or devotional cast, is real devotion and acceptable to God.

Yet there is a true devotional feeling, essential to our well-being and happiness, of the greatest value and

importance, and producing the most blessed effects, a devotion which humbles and yet raises, which softens asperities of temper, and yet makes the self-indulgent self-denying and firm; which changes the worldly into the heavenly mind; which heightens every enjoyment, mitigates every trial and suffering, gives peace within, and spreads cheerfulness and happiness without. St. John describes it, when he says, truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. former part of this treatise will have shewn the reader the nature of this devotion, and the following directions are added to assist him in attaining it.

CHAP. XIII.

The

Directions to assist in attaining the Spirit of Prayer.

THE duty and privilege of the various kinds of prayer

have now been brought before the reader. They should all be attended to; they are each beautiful, and needful in their season. A Christian will not attend public and neglect family worship; he will not pray in his family, and neglect his secret devotions; he will not pray .statedly in secret, and neglect social or habitual prayer. Each will come regularly in its fit place and time, without interfering with the other; each not hindering, but succeeding, and mutually helping the other. Nor will he count all this course of prayer burdensome and wearisome. To enjoy the presence of God is his bap piness, and therefore he longs to live in the continual practice of prayer. Your views of devotional exercise

as a task or a privilege, are a test by which you may judge of your progress in religion, if not of its reality.

And while there will, in the advanced Christian, be a constant attention to all these kinds of prayer, he will especially attend to the spirit in which each is performed. It will not be sufficient to satisfy his mind that he has gone through the mere act of devotion; he labours for the inward feeling as well as the outward expression. He longs for the spirit of prayer, which is not the mere business of this or that hour, but the continual panting and breathing of the heart after God (Ps. xlii, 1, 2.) at all times.

Ardent love to God is, indeed, the true spring of genuine prayer: Where this is, all other graces will follow. "Love," says one, "renders prayer delightful to ourselves, and acceptable to our Maker. It makes us willing to ask, and willing to receive."

Andrew Gray also observes, "the spirit of prayer consists more in the voice of the affections, than the voice of words." He suggests the following queries to detect the want of the spirit of prayer.-Do you know what it is to go to prayer on an internal principle of love, and the grace of Christ constraining you?-Do you know what it is by prayer to attain greater conformity to God, and the mortification of your lusts ?-Do you know what it is to distinguish between absence and presence? -Do you know what it is to sit down and lament over absence from Christ, and think this an insupportable want?

I have endeavoured, under each kind of prayer, to give such hints as might assist you in attaining this spiritual worship; it may not be useless to sum up these hints in a few practical rules applicable to prayer in general. Only let the reader again remember, what

we are apt perpetually to forget, but what should both humble, direct, and comfort us, that no knowledge of rules is of itself sufficient to enable us to pray it is the Holy Spirit alone impressing the rule on the heart, that can enable us rightly to worship God.

"To maintain a devotional spirit, two things," says Mrs. Moore," are especially necessary :-habitually to cultivate the disposition, and habitually to avoid whatever is unfavourable to it." We will first point out some things which hinder your attaining the spirit of devotion, and then add some directions which may help you to attain it.

SECT. I.-Rules relating to Hinderances to Prayer.

I. RENOUNCE ALL KNOWN SIN AND SENSUAL INDULGENCE. The allowed practice of any sin is utterly inconsistent with devotional feelings. If you live in habitual sin, or in the indulgence of evil tempers, or if any corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, you cannot at the same time enjoy communion with God. 1 John i, 6; iii, 21-23. His Spirit is grieved, and withdraws its influence. • Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, and who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. Ps. xxiv, 3, 4. Any sin indulged, raises those fears, doubts, disorders, and tumults in the mind, which make it averse to, and incapable of, fervent affectionate prayer.

I

An instance or two may confirm this re. mark. St. Paul exhorts us to pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath or doubting. am sure, if you have any Christian experience, you know that it is necessary, that all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice, if you would