wealth ; and will, in many cases, relieve distresses which wealth cannot reach. To enter into a minute detail of all the various ways in which we may benefit mankind would be endless, and, indeed, in a great measure needless. For whoever is possessed with a sincere desire to do good, will have no occasion for a monitor to suggest to him when and where he shall exert it. He will be no less quick in discerning, than eager in embracing every opportunity of exercising his benevolence. I shall therefore content myself with mentioning, in conclusion, only one more way of manifesting our good-will to mankind; which is in a very high degree important and beneficial; which lies as much within the reach of the lowest as the highest; and which yet both high and low are, I fear, but too apt to neglect; I mean, RECOMMENDING OUR BRETHREN TO GOD IN PRAYER. Let not the Philosopher smile at this! It is not to him I speak. He, I know, is infinitely above the meanness of paying any homage to the great Creator and Governor of the world. He disdains to pray even for his own welfare; how, then, should he ever think of imploring blessings upon others? How can he be expected to love his neighbour better than himself! He laughs at the idea of a particular providence, which regulates the minutest movements both of the natural and the moral world, and consequently looks on prayer as the idlest and most useless employment in which a human creature can be engaged. Let us leave him, then, to the enjoyment of that comfortable state of which he has made choice; turned adrift (as he must suppose himself) into a wide world, and abandoned to the caprice of chance and fortune, without protector, guide, or comforter; without any Almighty Friend to apply to for himself, or those he holds most dear, when exposed to dangers, or involved in calamities, where all human help is vain. Here, I say, let us leave him ; and let us devoutly thank God that we are not Philosophers. Let us thank God that our belief of this most important doctrine of a particular providence is founded, not on the cobweb subtleties of human science, but on that solid, immovable rock, the Gospel The Scripture informs us, that He who first created the world, still continues to preserve it; that he is " about our path and "about our bed, and spieth out all our ways*;" that " without his knowledge "not a sparrow falls to the ground, and that "the very hairs of our head are all number 66 ed." To this gracious and Almighty Being we are commanded to pray, and that not only for ourselves, but for others also. "Pray one for another," says St. James. "Let supplication, prayers, intercessions, " and giving of thanks be made for all "men." "Seek the peace of the city "where you live, and pray unto the Lord "for it." What a pleasing, what a spacious field of benevolence is here opened to the Christian, from which the unbeliever (who yet, of all others, boasts the most of his benevolence) absolutely shuts himself out. We think it a strong mark of our regard, to recommend those we love to some 'great and powerful friend, who is able to support and advance them in the world. *Psalm cxxxix. 3. + Matthew x. 29. 30. Jeremiah xxix. 7. But what earthly support or protection is to be compared to HIS, who has all the powers of nature, and all the events of futurity, at his command-who has the hearts of all men in his hand, and "whithersoever he will." * "turneth them What a privi lege, what an honour, what an indulgence. is it, that we are allowed to commit those we love to his care and guardianship; and that we can do it without raising up a rival in his affections! In the arms of his mercy there is room for all. He can embrace in them, at once, the whole race of mankind; and the more we intercede in our prayers for others, the surer are we of his kindness to ourselves. To him we seldom fail to have recourse in our own distress. There are cases in which we fly to him by a kind of instinctive impulse; in which, without the utmost violence, we cannot restrain ourselves from prayer. If then we have any real good-will to our fellow-creatures, we shall implore the same mercies, and with the same earnestness, for them, that we do for ourselves. If we have any love for our country, we shall not fail to give it a place in our devotions, and to pray most ardently for the prosperity and stability of our Jerusalem. In what manner our prayers can be granted, or by what means God can avert calamity from those we recommend to his protection, without doing violence to what is called the ordinary course of nature, it is no concern of ours to enquire. If God has commanded us to pray for others, it is our business not to philosophize, but to obey. Let us give ourselves no trouble about the course of nature. It is perfectly safe in the hands of its divine Author. There may be no difficulties to Omnipotence, where we see nothing but impossibilities. Let us leave God to manage his own world, and perform his promises, as he certainly will, in his own way. All we have to do is, to make a faithful use of that valuable privilege of INTERCESSION, which he has graciously allowed us for the benefit of our fellowcreatures. The most indigent man may say to his neighbour, as St. Peter did to the cripple at the gate of the temple, "silver |