who, to be alone, seeks the secluded meadow, or the sheltered forest; who chooses the shade of the fig-tree, as Nathaniel did; or the house-top, after the example of Peter; the centinel, who treads the space appointed him during the hours of night; or the mariner, who gazes in the deep silence of that season on the boundless waters and the starry heavens, all these may readily act in the spirit of the injunction, Pray to thy Father in secret. Wherever there is solitude, or seclusion, there is the place intended by the Saviour, when he said, Enter into thy closet, and shut thy door.

And where is the Christian who has this to learn? Where is the believer who can forget the aids which his better feelings have derived in such scenes from the silence, the sounds, the beauties, the vastness of the works of God? Art, in its sublimest exhibitions, has become poor and trivial before the wonderfulness of nature; and nature has appeared as though robed in a greatness and a loveliness altogether new, because seen through the medium of revelation,-the messenger whose tidings have added so much to our knowledge, respecting the majesty and the loving-kindness of its Great Parent.

The obligation to avail ourselves of these kinds, and, indeed, of every kind of seclusion that may favour private devotion, is farther manifest, from the EXAMPLE OF DEVOUT MEN IN EVERY AGE. We see, from the days of the patriarch to those of the apostles, that men of prayer never failed to esteem

the liberty of their solitary approaches to the throne of God, as their dearest privilege. It was Isaac's manner to go into the fields toward evening-tide to meditate. Moses communed with God, as a man with his friend. David found it a refuge in all his troubles. Daniel hazarded his life rather than relinquish it. And how often does Paul speak of his daily prayers for the Christians to whom his epistles were addressed.

But this duty comes to us, enforced by an example, which should be more impressive than that of Isaac, Daniel, or Paul. Even the innocent Saviour, is described by Matthew, as retiring after a day of great labour, into A MOUNTAIN APART TO PRAY; and the evangelist adds, that when the evening was come, he was there alone. Nor was it too much for him, sometimes, to pass the whole night in such retreats, offering up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears.

Thus, private devotion is an unquestionable duty; a duty, the performance of which brings us into spiritual association with the devout men of all ages, and into a state of special conformity to the teaching, and the pattern, of Jesus himself; who, on this point, has evidently left us an example, that we should tread in his steps.

The exact SPACE THAT SHOULD BE GIVEN TO SUCH EXERCISES, is a question which the scriptures do not determine by any specific rule. This is left to be proportioned, in the instance of individuals, by circumstances, as is the case with most of our

duties. There are no duties that should be allowed to supersede private prayer; but there are many that should be allowed to affect the space, or limits, assigned to it. One great end proposed in the devotions of the closet is, that we should carry the savour of them into the church and the world. We are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together; but are rather to exhort each other daily while it is called to-day. We are not to fly from the world, but to overcome it. Thus that love of God, which is the great element of closet devotion, is to manifest itself in our greater love of the brethren, and in our more expansive charity toward all men. Our piety is not to be that of the ancient pharisee, who never entered his closet and shut his door, that he might worship; nor is it to be that of the ancient monk, who professed to do little else. The day, surely, should never pass, without an exercise of this kind; and when our minds are in anything approaching toward a proper frame, it is hardly one little interval so occupied that will suffice. We learn that Daniel, amid all the splendours and jealousies of a court, was used to separate himself three times a day, that he might pray and give thanks. And David says, Evening, morning, and at noon, will I pray and cry aloud.

Daniel speaks, in the passage above cited, of giving THANKS, in his retirement, and not merely of praying. And, in any consideration of the nature of private devotion, it must be perceived,

that it is not meant to be wholly occupied with supplication.

Were the apostle of the Gentiles to advise on this subject, he would, no doubt, say, as he did to Timothy, Give attention to READING. And this reading should be the Bible, always, and chiefly, though not, perhaps, exclusively. There are many, and sometimes important questions, arising out of a perusal of the scriptures, which the scriptures themselves were not designed to answer. It certainly is not well with us, if the Bible be not our favourite book; but so long as we value religious conversation with our friends, and religious discourse from the pulpit, it is not easy to see why a religious book may not be a companion of the closet. These are all means of the same kind; and, under the divine blessing, often serve to deepen the impression made by inspired truth.

If Paul were near us also, when thus employing our solitude, there is another of his counsels to Timothy, which he would perhaps repeat to us— CONSIDER what I say unto thee, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. The duty of consideration is especially incumbent upon us at such seasons. We should then meditate on what we read, search for its full import, as for hidden treasure; and do our utmost, that it may be faithfully applied. We should recall the past, examine the present, anticipate the future. Without effort of this kind, the spirit will be little moved, perhaps, though professing to separate itself from earth, and

to make its solemn entry into the presence chamber of the Great King. There is nothing to which we are more averse, than to this part of closet duty. It is easier to read, it is easier even to pray, than it is to think-to reflect, or meditate. Of this our spiritual adversary is well aware; and he is also aware of the losses, and injuries, to which this guilty lethargy is constantly exposing us.

But in our reading, and in our thoughtfulness, the same end is to be kept in view. It is that we may be constrained to bow the knee before the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in a state of soul becoming us. It is that we may pray wisely, and feelingly; and that we may give thanks with grateful hearts. It is that, from correct views of ourselves and of our God, of our wants and of his willingness to supply them, we may be led to approach him in humble penitence, and in filial confidence and love. David said, I will sing praises unto my God, while I have my being; my meditation of him shall be sweet, I will be glad in the Lord. Amid the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul. The mind susceptible of these sentiments is the only happy one; and rarely does the Christian possess them in so large a measure, as amid the stillness of private thought, of secret aspiration.

II. In adverting to the Christian warfare as connected with this duty, we may observe that a very general cause, among the many which prevent its