398 HENRY KIIJKE WIIITe's REMAINS. 



rangue an infidel on its efficacy, we must convince him, 

 not only that the Being to whom we address ourselves 

 really exists, but that he condescends to hear and to an- 

 swer our humble supplications. As these objects are 

 foreign to my present purpose, I shall take my leave of 

 the necess'ty of prayer, as acknowledged by all to whom 

 this paper is addressed, and shall be content to expatiate 

 on the strong inducements which we have to lift up our 

 sjuls to our Maker in the language of supplication and of 

 praise ; to depict the happiness which results to the man 

 of true piety from the exercise of this duty ; and, lastly, 

 to warn mankind lest their fervency should carry them 

 into the extreme of fanaticism, and their prayers, instead 

 of being silent and unassuming expressions of gratitude 

 to their Maker, and humble entreaties for his favouring 

 grace, should degenerate into clamorous vociferations and 

 insolent gesticulations, utterly repugnant to the true spi- 

 rit of prayer and to the language of a creature address- 

 ing his Creator. 



Tliere is such an exalted delight to a regenerate being 

 in the act of prayer, and he anticipates with so much plea- 

 sure, amid the toils of business, and the crowds of the 

 world, the moment when he shall be able to pour out his 

 soul without interruption into the bosom of his Maker, 

 that I am persuaded that the degree of desire or repug- 

 nancevvhich a man feels to the performance of this amiable 

 duty is an infallible criterion of his acceptance with God. 

 Let the unhappy child of dissipation — let the impure vo- 

 luptuary boast of his short hours of exquisite enjoyment ; 

 even in the degree of bliss they are intinitely inferior to 

 the delight of which the righteous man participates in his 

 private devotions, while in their opposite consequences 

 they lead to a no less wide extreme than heaven and hell, 

 a state of positive happiness and a state of positive misery. 

 If there were no other inducement to prayer than the very 

 gratification it im})aris to the soul, it would deserve to be 

 regarded as the most important object of a Christian ; for 

 no where else could he purchase so much calmness, so 

 much resignation, and so much of that peace and repose 

 of spirit, in which consists the chief happiness of this 



