says,

the Sabbath, in taking the Lord's name in vain, in disobeying your parents, and in many other ways? See then how needful it is that you should have a new heart; and the new heart is a pure heart. Jesus Christ Matt. v. 8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Now the heart is "purified by faith." When we see what a wicked heart we have, and are filled with grief and fear, then we fly for refuge to Jesus Christ. Then God pardons our past sins for his sake, and gives us his Holy Spirit to make us hate sin, and fight against it; and make us desire to know his will, and love to do it. Pray then with David, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Ps. li. 10. Remember, that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord."

V. The heart by nature is deceitful: yea, the Scripture says, deceitful above all things. It calls good evil, and evil good. It cheats people with false pretences and vain excuses; so that the way of the wicked seems right to them, although it leads to destruction. There is scarcely any sinner, however great, that does not flatter himself all will be well at last, though God tells him to the contrary. On this account, "he that trusteth his own heart is a fool." But when the Lord gives a new heart, he makes it sincere. A real Christian is like Nathaniel, of whom our Saviour said, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile;" that is no allowed hypocrisy in his dealings with God or man.

VI. And lasty, The heart is naturally an unbelieving heart. It is a sad thing that man should be more ready to believe the father of lies than the God of truth. It was by hearkening to the devil, that Eve, our first mother, sinned; and there has been in mankind ever since "an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." It is plain that people do not believe God. If they believed what he says of sin, they would not dare to practise it. If they believed what he says of Christ, surely they would come to him for life and salvation. And the reason they do not, is, they "love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." But the new heart is a believing heart. The Christian takes God at his word. He believes his threatenings, and fears. He believes his proVOL. I.

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mises in Christ, and hopes. He believes his commandments, and obeys. Without this faith "it is impossible to please God;" for he that believeth not God hath made him a liar. But faith glorifies God. "He that believeth on Christ hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John iii. 36.

APPLICATION.-and now, dear children, I have told you what sort of hearts we have by nature, and what the Lord can make them by his grace, I hope you will consider what I have said, and consider what hearts you have. Are they not hard, and proud, and worldly, and wicked, and deceitful, and unbelieving? I think you must own they are so by nature. And does not this shew you that you must be born again, and have a new heart? If your heart should not be changed, you will grow more wicked as you grow older; and if you should die in your sins, you will be lost for ever.

But, my dear children, I hope better things. Do not you know that Jesus Christ came "to seek, and to save that which was lost?" And do you not remember reading that some good people brought their little children to him, and desired him to bless them? And he said, Suffer little children to come unto me. Would you not be very glad if he was here now, and you could go and kneel down to him, and say, blessed Jesus, bless me, even me also, well, though he is in heaven, you may do this now. He is the same to-day that he was then. He loves little children as well as ever. And I beg and beseech each of you, when you go home, to go into some private, place, and kneel down, and say, Blessed Jesus, I have a wicked heart, that makes me do wicked things, and I am afraid of thy anger: but I have heard in the Gospel, that thou hast died for sinners to save them from hell, and sin, and the world; O save me, lest I perish. Take away my heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh; a heart to know, trust, and love thee, that I may serve thee in this world, and be for ever happy in the world to come.

Let none of you say, "I am not old enough, or not big enough, to be religious: it is time enough yet." Dear children, you are not too young to die. Younger than you

are in the grave. Besides, you cannot be too young to serve the Lord. Can you be safe too soon? Can you be happy too soon? Can you glorify God too much? Surely not. Well, then, pray for a new heart. It is the best gift that God can give you, or you receive; and may God Almighty, for Christ's sake, bestow it upon every one of Amen!

you.

SERMON XIV.

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Matt. vi. 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13th verses. After this manner therefore pray ye; Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, hat deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

PRA

We are

RAYER to God is the bounden duty of all men. "We live, and move, and have our being in him." Every good and perfect gift proceeds from him." "Men ought therefore always to pray, and not to faint." so sinful, that we always need mercy. We are so weak, that we always need help. We are so empty, that we always need supplies. We are so exposed, that we always need protection. How reasonable then that we should continue in prayer.

But we greatly need direction in prayer. We know not how to pray, nor what to pray for, as we ought. Therefore Christ has been pleased to teach us in these words, which contain an excellent pattern for prayer. Not that we are tied down to use these very words, much less to use them always; but after this manner we are to pray. Now as many persons constantly use this prayer, it may be very useful to explain it; because it may be feared that a great many say the words without knowing their meaning, which is formality at best; and many contradict every part of this prayer by their wicked lives, which is base hy pocrisy. May we therefore be assisted by the good Spirit rightly to understand it, that so, whenever we use it hereafter, we may offer up a reasonable and spiritual sacrifice, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

I. Our Father which art in heaven. We should always begin our prayer with proper thoughts of God. And what thoughts of him are so proper as those suggested by these words, namely, his goodness and his greatness? As a father he is good. As a heavenly father he is great. Thus are we taught to approach him with confidence and

reverence.

As the Creator of all men, God may, in a general sense, be called the father of all: but it is in a higher and sweeter sense that he is here called a father. We are to take it in a Gospel view-God reconciled to believing sinners, through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. God is angry with the wicked every day. He does not look down upon them with a father's eye, nor do they look up to him with a child-like spirit. Therefore this prayer is not fit for the use of a man who lives in sin, whose carnal mind is enmity against God. How dare the swearer, the liar, the drunkard, call God a father! God will not own the relation. If such men pray, might they not rather cry-Our father which art in hell? for Christ said to such persons, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." John viii. 44.

But when a person is convinced of his lost estate by sin; when he is enlightened to know Christ as a Saviour; and when by precious faith he comes to God through him; then God is reconciled to him; his anger is turned away, and he comforts him. Then he may look up to God as a merciful God, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin; for "to as many as receive Christ, and the atonement through him, he giveth power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name ;" and to such only is "the spirit of adeption" given, whereby they cry · Abba, father." For it is one thing to use the word father, and another to approach him, as a loving child comes to a tender parent, with a persuasion of his being able and willing to supply his wants. To such persons this name is full of comfort; for they are emboldened to believe, that if earthly parents, though evil, know how to give good gifts to their children, God, our heavenly father, is much more disposed to do them good, and bless them with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

But this name teaches us also the greatness of God. Children ought to treat their earthly parents with great respect but what reverence is due to the Father of spirits, whose throne is in the heavens! yea, "the heaven of heavens cannot contain him." God is every where present; he is not confined to heaven; but he is said to dwell there, because there he displays the brightest beams of his glorious majesty; and there angels and saints bow low before his feet, crying, day and night, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty!" Such thoughts as these should possess our minds when we say, Our Father who art in heaven. Think of his goodness and his greatness when you pray. Take care to lift up your hearts to heaven when you pray to him who dwells in heaven, or else your prayers will never reach his throne.

II. Hallowed be thy name! This is the first petition; and is placed first, to shew us that our first and chief desire should be that God may be glorified; for that is the meaning of it. The name of God signifies God himself; as he is pleased to make himself known to us by his names and titles, his words and works: for as a man is known to us by his name, so God has made himself known to us in the Gospel. There all his glorious perfections shine and unite. There he shews himself "a just God and a Saviour." Now, to hallow God's name, is to sanctify it; to hold it sacred; for to sanctify any thing is to set it apart from every profane and common use. In this petition, then, we pray that God would enable us to glorify him in all things whereby he makes himself known. We must glorify him in our hearts, by high, holy, reverent thoughts of him. We must glorify him by our tongues, by always speaking of him in the most serious manner. We must glorify him in all our actions; not only by acts of solemn worship, but by the most common actions of life; for, whether we eat or drink, all should be done with a view to the glory of God.

Now, how dreadfully far from this are many who say this prayer, and who no sooner get up from their knees, than they profane and blaspheme this holy name. Think of this, you who curse and swear, or take the Lord's name in vain. When you say, in a thoughtless manner, God bless