THE INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY, AND NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE. VOL. XV.-ENLARGED SERIES. 1868 LOT 18 LONDON: PUBLISHED BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE NEW CHURCH, SIGNIFIED BY THE NEW JERUSALEM IN THE REVELATION: AND SOLD BY C. P. ALVEY, 36, BLOOMSBURY STREET, W.C. "THE ultimation of worship is in a life of uses." "All religion has relation to life, and the religious life consists in doing good." These are golden sentences; but they may be misunderstood. I propose to inquire to-night, whether piety in general, prayer in particular, is not conducive to "a life of uses; "--whether that "doing good," in which the religious life consists, should not include as part of itself, the works of piety; and especially whether it may not, and must not, receive signal furtherance from the practice of prayer? By prayer, however, I do not mean internal worship deprived of its external; neither, of course, do I intend external worship without internal. By prayer, I understand the genuine worship of the heart "brought into fulness by a union with the open worship of the lips." And by the open worship of the lips, I mean conscious and verbal discourse with God. And by discourse, not solely or chiefly the reading of something out of a book, or repeating of words retained in the memory. Forms of prayer, indeed, are often convenient and useful; but I regard it as a great misfortune if people are accustomed to use only these. By prayer, I mean conscious talking with the Lord, by formula, or by free prayer, and especially by the free. For then only is prayer in its perfection, when it is spontaneous, unpremeditated-the translation into outward utterance at the moment, of whatsoever the Lord puts it into the heart to render or to desire. As fully as the limited time will permit, I purpose to invite you to-night to dwell upon the fact that prayer, thus understood, is signally conducive, and indeed, an essential part, of a life of high Christian use: * Read at Quarterly Tea Meeting, Manchester New Church Society, Peter-street, September 29th, 1867. |