me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. The primitive Christians continued daily with one accord in the temple. They daily attended the stated hours of prayer.

4. If prayer is to be made daily and statedly, then there is a special propriety in fixing on morning and evening for the performance of it. Reason itself points out these, as suitable hours for family worship.

In the morning, when we arise from our beds, and are returning to the labours of our calling, how just and reasonable it is, that our thoughts should be with God; that we should acknowledge his care, who has made us to dwell in safety, and at the same time should commit ourselves to him, imploring the protection of his providence, the restraints of his grace, the guidance of his counsel, and his blessing on the works of our hands!

In the evening, when we have finished the work of the day, how decent and proper it is, that we should gratefully recollect the benefits which we have received, penitently confess the evils which we have done, and commit ourselves to that Almighty Keeper who never slumbers nor sleeps; and thus lay ourselves down in peace!

At these hours our minds are more free from worldly cares, and our families more at liberty from worldly occupations, than at other seasons. We can therefore more readily unite in the worship of God, and more easily attend upon it without distraction.

And as reason, so scripture points out these for the stated hours of prayer. The prophet says With my soul I have desired thee in the night, and with my spirit within me I will seek thee early. This was the practice of the devout Psalmist, and he commends it as a good and useful practice for others. It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to thy name, O Most High, to shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. He is speaking, not of secret but of social Prayer. By the former we may offer our praises and petitions to God; but it is by the latter only that we shew forth, and declare his loving kindness and faithfulness. This, he says, ought to be done, in the morning and in the evening; not only on special occasions, but constantly every night. And he must have particular regard to family worship, for families are the only societies, which can every morning and night associate for divine worship.

We find that devout men, under some peculiar circumstances, observed other hours of solitary or private prayer. Daniel, in his captivity, prayed three times a day. David says, morning, noon, and night, will I pray. And again, Seven times a day will I praise thee. But the more common hours of prayer, especially of social prayer, mentioned in scripture, are morning and evening.

Job rose up early in the morning and offered sacrifice for his family. David says, My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee. I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning. I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried. Heman says, In the morning my prayer shall prevent thee.

We have many examples of evening prayer. David, having spent the day in publick devotions, returned home to bless his household. Let my prayer, says he, be set forth as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Commune with your own heart on your bed-offer the sacrifices of righteousness. I will lay me down and sleep, for thou, Lord, makest me to dwell in safety.

It was the duty of the Levites to stand every morning to thank and praise God, and likewise at evening. When David had replaced the ark, he left before it some of the priests, to minister continually, as every day's work required, and to offer burnt offerings to the Lord continually, morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord. The law of Moses instituted a particular sacrifice to be offered daily, half in the morning, and half in the evening. This was called the continual sacrifice. And as this was accompanied with prayer, here is an express institution of morning and evening prayer.

This sacrifice, after the temple was built, was offered there-and there, such as dwelt near, usually attended at the hour of sacrifice. To this institution our Lord alludes in the parable of the pharisee and publican, who went up to the temple to pray. When Zacharias entered into the temple to burn incense, the whole multitude of the people were without, praying at the time of incense. They who, by reason of distance, or other circumstances, could not attend at the temple, used to pray, at the hour of sacrifice, with their faces toward the temple. Jonah, when he was cast out of God's presence, resolved, that he would look again toward God's holy temple. Solomon, in his dedication prayer, says, "If thy people be carried away captive, and in the land of their captivity return unto thee, and pray towards this house, then hear thou and forgive." Daniel prayed at the time of the evening sacrifice, and with his face toward Jerusalem.

After the abolition of the legal sacrifices, the Apostles and primitive Christians still observed these stated hours of morning and evening prayer. Luke tells us, that after Christ's ascension, "they were continually, and daily, in the temple, praising and blessing God." They resorted thither at the third and ninth hours. To these stated hours the Apostle evidently alludes, when he directs us to pray al

ways to pray without ceasing-to offer the sacrifice of praise continually. And thus we are to understand, what is said of Anna the prophetess, that she departed not from the temple, but served God with prayers night and day.

Thus from the institution of the morning and evening sacrifice, which was accompanied with prayer; from the practice of pious men under the old testament, and of the Apostles and early Christians under the new; from the frequent directions to pray always, which plainly allude to the continual sacrifice, and from the express words of the Psalmist, who recommends it, as a good thing, to shew forth God's loving kindness in the morning, and his faithfulness every night, it fully appears to be the indispensable duty of every Christian family to maintain the stated worship of God, and to attend upon it, ordinarily, every morning.

I proceed now to shew,

III. In what manner our family worship ought to be performed.

1. In this, as in all other religious exercises, there must be an attention and engagedness of mind.

We are directed to pray in the spirit-to watch unto prayer to lift up our hearts, with our hands, unto God in the heavens. It is the inwrought and fervent prayer, which avails much. If while we draw near to God with our mouths, our hearts are far from him, we worship him in vain. Our prayers must be the expressions of real, heartfelt desires, not the tinkling of an unmeaning cymbal. God hears the desire of the humble. Without the concurrence of the heart, bodily exercise profits little. We must draw near to the throne of grace, with a serious, collected and devout spirit. This is alike the duty of him who leads, and of them who join in prayer; for unless these adopt the pe. titions which are made, and, with the words of the

speaker, send up their own hearts to God, with no propriety can they be said to join with him in pray

er.

2. There is an external decency and solemnity, which ought always to be regarded in our family devotions.

The person, who conducts them, is to consult not merely his own, but the common edification. His manner should be grave, his expressions pertinent, his utterance deliberate, that others may understand the nature, and feel the weight of what he offers; and that, "seeing him affected with a sense of what he is doing, proportionally to its importance, they may catch the flame of his devotion, and feel their own hearts burn with the same pious ardour."

3. Some preparation is ordinarily expedient, that, dispossessing our minds of worldly thoughts and cares, we may attend upon God without distraction. Job sent and sanctified his children-called upon them to prepare for the family sacrifice. The prophet inquires, Who is he that engageth his heart to approach unto God? The heart must be engaged, that the approach may be acceptable. For those who attended the passover without opportunity for the legal purification, Hezekiah prayed, saying, "The good Lord pardon every one, who prepareth his heart to seek God, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary." On a like occasion Josiah commanded the Levites to prepare and sanctify themselves, and their breth

ren.

These examples teach us, that some preparation is requisite for a suitable performance of social worship. The practice of reading a portion of scripture, previous to family prayer, is very commendable, and highly useful. It not only disposes the mind for devotion, but begets a reverence for the word of God. The master of a household

(