One voice indeed is uttered; 66 By thine agony and bloody sweat; by thy cross and passion; by thy precious death and burial; by thy glorious resurrection and ascension, and by the coming of the Holy Ghost, good Lord deliver us. In all time of our tribulation, in all time of our wealth, in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, good Lord deliver us. But are these people's minds engaged? seemeth it as though they were humbled before the cross, or confident in the captain of their salvation? Know these that their Redeemer liveth, or care they for any of these things at all? Does it appear that they are thirsting after righteousness;" or working out their salvation with fear and trembling," or, as accountable dying men, thinking how they may meet their God? Observe their dull, cold, irreverent, trifling manner: the drowsiness, the air of vacancy and inattention, and indifference, and listlessness. Is this common prayer, this the service through which we are to edify so abundantly?-Assuredly it is not. Almighty God, I am constrained to grant, is dishonoured in his own house too often; and many seem to pray not at all when they use the words of prayer, but rather to take God's name in vain. * Litany. But, if because it should be so in a very aw ful degree, any will I will therefore pray at say, home, and turn my back on these assemblies : herein I shall reply, thou doest neither well, nor wisely, nor humbly, nor charitably; nor understandest thou, as it would be well thou shouldest, what is good for thine own soul." No doubt, the hearts of pious persons will burn within them in the house of God, more and more in proportion to their confidence in the zeal around them: and no doubt, the want of such confidence is wont to cast a great damp upon their minds and certainly I have argued for common prayer, upon the supposition that people have ground for thinking, that in the worship of our one God and Saviour, many hearts among those present are in unison with their own. But the case is not a lost case, I think, if great deduction must be made from what we could desire in this respect. It would be inexpressibly better, no doubt, if we could very clearly see the genuine spirit of grace and supplication pervading our religious assemblies throughout. But yet, great losers would any be who should forsake these assemblies even being what they are, and great sinners also in so doing. Let these few things be considered. In the first place, though it should be I granted that there may be in the congregation among whom your lot is cast, many careless, prayerless people; yea, though a very great proportion of them should be such, surely you will not take upon you to decide that all are such it is hard indeed if you will think that there are not two or three honestly gathered together in Christ's name. But if there be, here is Christ in the midst of them, and "he knows his sheep, and is known of them;"* and he will not send them away empty, though they should be worshipping (to make the very worst of it) in the midst of wolves. pray not," he says, "that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." But, in all likelihood, you know, as far as may be known, more than one or two at your side "faint,' perhaps, " yet pursuing," and still striking at their spiritual enemies and yours, and hoping in God's word. If it is so, it is enough. I mean to assure to yourselves, if you be among them, the blessing promised to a Christian assembly and enough to animate and encourage you in prayer, if you will let your minds dwell upon it: though, doubtless, you may well desire to see greater things than these. * John x. 14. John xvii. 15. ‡ Judges viii. 4. Hope ye in God, however, and hope the best, for " Charity hopeth all things."* Seven thousand" there were "in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal," when Elijah thought that only himself remained. And earnest seekers of salvation there may be in any congregation, and a fervent mind to desire the good of all men; and a genuine humble piety, seen of God though not by you. And it is better to hope this and be mistaken, since it may be so, than to decide without knowledge that it is not so. At all events, "Judge not, that ye be not judged; condemn not, that ye be not condemned."t But the works of the flesh are manifest."§ And when you stretch your charitable presumptions to the utmost, you cannot but see at last, that many assemble in the church, of whom it never can be thought that they are come to "worship God in spirit and in truth." But are we to close the door and keep these poor people out? Will you find fault with those servants who, simply doing as they were bid, and not thinking themselves qualified to distinguish between tares and wheat, or entitled to select and choose, when he who *Cor. xiii. 7. Luke vi. 37. + Rom. xi. 4. spread the banquet had sent out a general summons-went forth and brought in unto the marriage as many as they could find, "both good and bad?" It cannot be in the least suspected that you could wish any one excluded, or that you would not rejoice to see our churches crowded, though it were with the profane and profligate, and formal; though it were with publicans and sinners, the vilest and the worst. For you know on whose side the work of grace begins: you know that the Lord is "to pass this way." And it may be, as Ezekiel says, "in a time of love." And he who dealt so graciously by Jerusalem, when "no eye pitied her," may deck any of these with the ornaments of his grace, (for by grace are we saved,) "and put a fair jewel on their forehead, and a beautiful crown on their head, and say unto them live." If you know this; and if besides, there may be in any assembly but so much as the shaking of an olive tree, or as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done," do not so wrong yourselves, or reproach your Maker, or forget, that "on some we must have compassion, and others save with fear, plucking them out of the fire;"§-as to enter * Matt. xxii. 10. + Luke xix. 4. |