ART. II.-IS PRAYER A FIT WEAPON OF ATTACK?

BY REV. J. F. CLARKE, LOUISVILLE, KY.

THIS question was suggested to me by incidents which I will endeavor to narrate exactly as they occurred. I was passing up the Ohio river on a beautiful summer's day during the past season. Through the hours of sunlight, the boat had been moving on through successive changes of the richest scenery, for the constant bending of the stream diversifies the landscape every moment. As we pass round a point, under the shadow of the overhanging forest, the silver river lies spread out, like a lake in the bosom of hills, whose tints run through a gradation of color, from a burning green to a pale blue, and whose outlines present an equal variety of form. All was lovely, all peaceful in nature-man's spirit alone was out of harmony with the scene. For, on this occasion, as had frequently happened before, my ear was pained, and my heart sickened, by the continual recurrence of oaths and profane language, in the conversation carried on by the crew, and also by the passengers. Senseless and wicked as this practice is everywhere, it is less revolting amid the works of man than in the midst of the creation of God. It is then like blaspheming the Almighty to his face.

Day wore by, and night came on. The darkened water received and mirrored the crimson sunset. With ceaseless clang the boat sped along, breaking the smooth surface into rolling curves. Soon, the "woods on the shore grew dim". lights appeared glittering here and there among the hills— occasionally we passed the fire of a flat-boat with its inverted reflection in the water, the boat itself being shrouded in the dark shadow of the hills. In unclouded majesty the host of heaven rolled above us, and

"The pale cold planets smiled

Upon their image, doubled in the surface

Of the proud element which rose to meet them."

After witnessing this scene for a time, and that, I trust, not without inward profit, I retired to my berth. Before plunging into the dark world of sleep, which is the shadowy brother of death, I think it proper to compose the soul by prayer. Day and its labors draw down the soul and contaminate it, and it is fit that it should be purified and made at peace with its God, when going into the solitude of dreams. It is a pity that we

should so often wear out our strength and power as to be too tired to render this sacrifice at evening. But as to the manner of prayer, that is comparatively unimportant. I think it is Coleridge who says

Before myself to sleep I lay,

It has not been my wont to pray,
With folded arms, or bended knees,
But silently, by slow degrees,
My spirit I to rest compose.

I was already falling asleep, when I was aroused by confused sounds from the cabin. Although a small boat, we had our cabins on the upper deck, the gentlemen's separated from the ladies', as usual, by a door. In the lower part of our cabin, some men were playing cards for money, and various exclamations, common at such times, were freely uttered by them. A different sound, however, was soon added to this. From the ladies' cabin, of which the door stood open, the voice of prayer was lifted up audibly. The sounds from the gaming table subsided into smothered remarks and suppressed laughter. In spirit, I united with the worthy man who was leading the devotions, till he had concluded them. A few night-capped heads were thrust out through the red curtains at the cabin's sides to see what was going on, and again pulled back. The door was shut, and the gambling and imprecations re-commenced, and I turned over, to ask myself whether this prayer would have a good or bad effect. There seemed to me to be

much to be said on both sides.

Disgusted as I had been with the profaneness on board the boat during the day, I could not but sympathise with the pious courage which thought it good to say a word also for God and religion. As Milton says

I hate when vice can bolt her arguments,

And virtue has no tongue to check her pride.

When the worldly man, and the infidel is not ashamed to rail against the truth, shall the Christian be ashamed to speak a word in its favor. Is not this the conduct of a Peter, who would deny his master, for fear the maid-servants should laugh at him? The Devil has his servants here to serve him openly, shall not God be as well off? And when one is found who dares take a stand on that side, shall those of his own household join with the worldlings and scoffers in condemning him for it?

But then, on the other side, it might be said, that no good, only harm, could come of a prayer at such an unsuitable time

and place that those who heard it, would only be induced to scoff, and be hardened in iniquity by it.

To which again, it could be replied, that such would be perhaps the apparent effect, but that an impression might be made on the conscience which would bring forth its fruits at some future time. And besides, how could Christianity ever be carried among those who need it most, that is, the most corrupt and wicked-if we waited till they were in a proper frame of mind to listen. They are never in a proper state of mind. You must preach the word, in season and out of season, if you mean to get any fruit among such as these.

But there is one consideration, so important, that it seemed to me to decide the question at once. This is the command of Jesus, that we should NOT pray to be seen of men, but that we should go into our closets, and pray to the Father in secret. This is plain and positive. Now, in the present case, it seems evident that the preacher in the cabin was praying to be seen or heard of men. Not to be sure, as the Pharisees prayed, to get the admiration of men; but to do good-yet after all, the object which he addressed, was not God, but the listening gamblers in the other room. He had them in his mind, he meant to impress them-he was not addressing himself singly and solely to the Almighty, and feeling himself alone in His presence.

And this brings us to the question with which we began. Is prayer a fit weapon of attack? Is it, in any case, proper to pray at the people, as the phrase goes, and the thing is? Is it right to pray for the purpose of producing an impression on those who hear your prayer? For instance, when some young man or woman happens to be staying in your family, is it right to pray particularly at them, specifying them by name, or in some other way, when you never think of praying for them when they are away? Is this sincere, Christian prayer? I really think not. I cannot think this the true worship, in Spirit and Truth, which the Father seeks. Yet every one who is acquainted at all with Religious Tactics, knows how common is this practice. There are many who seem to regard prayer as the true sword of the spirit, the real weapon of attack, quick and powerful to pierce the conscience. But the Bible tells us differently, that the Word of God is the true instrument by which to lay bare the sinner's subterfuges, and dislodge his errors. It is by the power of Truth that we should produce conviction-by conversation and argumentusing the arms which Scripture gives us by personal contact with the individual's thoughts and feelings this seems to be

the true way. But there is many a man who would never dare to converse with another on personal religion; who would not think of undertaking to convince him; who will readily drop on his knees in his presence and pray that he may be converted. Now, why is this? Perhaps this is the reason, that it is much easier to pray against a man's errors, than to prove that he is wrong. You can say what you choose in prayer, without fear of dispute or answer.

I do not think that Jesus Christ ever made use of prayer as a weapon of attack. In the presence of the multitude he preached and taught, but he went into a mountain apart, or crossed the lake into the desert region to pray, and there he spent whole nights alone in communion with God. He once prayed in the presence of his eleven disciples, after the supper and before his death, but that prayer was evidently addressed to God, and not to them, for with their imperfect knowledge at that time, its highly spiritual meaning must have been lost upon them. And again, just afterward, in the garden, he took three of them with him while he went apart to pray. But his simple petition was only that the cup might pass from him if possible. This could not have been meant to act upon

them.

I would be very loath to damp at all, the flame of Christian zeal, by these remarks. There is little enough effort made, Heaven knows, to rouse sinners from their lethargy. We are ready enough to fold our arms and think this measure imprudent, and that one useless, and that the other will do no good. Of those people who use the means now spoken of, to convert souls to Christ, I bear them record, that they have a zeal for God; but I think it is not according to knowledge. And if not, why then it will never answer. We must be willing to obey Christ, and use right means for a good end.

ART. III.-RELIGIOUS USE OF THE WORD COVENANT.

BY REV. CONVERS FRANCIS, WATERTOWN, MASS.

In theological writing, and in the instructions of the pulpit, a great deal has been said about a covenant between God and man, either as individuals or as communities. This word occurs frequently in the Old testament, and sometimes in the New; so that it has become one of the most familiar terms in use, on religious subjects. But if we would maintain just and

reverent conceptions of the relation between God and his intelligent creation, we must take care not to be misled by this phraseology, into false or unworthy views.

A covenant is an agreement between two parties, in which promises are made, or obligations entered into, on the one side, and conditions are required to be fulfilled on the other. In this sense, it would seem, a covenant is described as having been established between God and Abraham, and his descendants through him. The Lord, we are told, made a covenant with the Jewish patriarch, in virtue of which the land of Canaan and other blessings were to be bestowed on him and his posterity, and he and they were required to obey the laws of God, and to observe certain practices as a pledge or seal on their part. In this representation, taken as a literal statement, it is obvious at first sight that there is something which does not harmonize with purely spiritual views of the Almighty, and of his connection with man. To conceive of Him as entering into a compact with an individual for certain purposes, just as men enter into formal agreements to bind one another to good faith, and to the fulfilment of their promises, seems incongruous with the elevated ideas we are taught to entertain of the Universal Father, as a Being who governs the world by the established laws of infinite Wisdom and unfailing Benevolence.

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But is this way of speaking, the description of a literal fact? Is it not rather a mode of representing the process of the cial providence of Jehovah, growing out of the very imperfect ideas, which prevailed in the earliest ages of the world, and transmitted by the usages of language to subsequent ages? It is difficult for us, without considerable effort, to apprehend the reality of the fact, that mankind have not always thought and spoken on religious subjects, as strong minds, illuminated by the broad light of Christianity, would teach us to think and speak at the present day. But it is very important that we should apprehend the reality of this fact, if we would not put such a construction on the language of the Bible, as to authorize false general views of religion. In order to arrive at true results, we must in some cases go back, in imagination, to a period of rudeness and ignorance, if not of barbarity. So in the instance before us, we must revert to a time, when the ideas of God, of his government and proceedings, seem to have been coarsely fashioned, as to their expression at least, from the doings and customs of men. This mode of conception is indeed quite prevalent in the minds of the great mass of the community even at the present day, under the light of the