July 9

Psalm lv. — 1. Give ear to my prayer, O God! and hide not thyself from my supplication.

2. Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;

3. Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.

4. My heart is sore pained within me; and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.

5. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

6. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

7. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.

8. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

16. As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.

17. Evening and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice.

22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Luke xi. — 5. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him

This was our Lord's application of his own prayer. Having taught his disciples how to pray, he exhorted them to make prayer a real, living matter of experience. By a parable drawn from the necessities of men, and an illustration drawn from the affections of men, he sought to bring prayer into a constant and natural connection with the daily life. A benighted traveller comes, late, tired, and hungry, to the house of a friend. He open his doors; but there is nothing to eat in the house: so he hurries to a neighbor, and begs enough bread for the emergency. The latter, though he has the bread, dislikes the trouble of getting up, and refuses; but the petitioner in turn refuses to go away, and keeps up such a knocking and calling, that, to get rid of him, the church's neighbor gives him what he wants. If selfish man can thus be won by importunity to give, much more will our loving and bountiful Father give to them that ask him.

at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

6. For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

7. And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

8. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet, because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

9. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

10. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

11. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or, if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12. Or, if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him!

No earthly father will mock his hungry child by offering him what is hurtful or useless when the child is crying for bread. But why does our heavenly Father lay this stress upon the asking? Because such giving can come only to the sense of want. The supreme gift of the Holy Spirit, which includes all real good, to be appreciated, and so to be of any value, must come to a longing of the soul itself. The asking expresses dependence; gives reality to faith; brings us near to God; renders the blessing more precious, and renders us the more grateful in the enjoyment of it. Through prayer we have immediate access to the Fountain of spiritual life; and, since the will of God is our sanctification, if we fail to grow in grace, and to have spiritual power over the world, it is for lack of earnest, urgent, believing prayer. The importunity that cries evening, morning, and at noon, will be heard.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 12, 15, 194.

O Thou who wast tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin, and who for our sakes didst endure such contradiction of sinners against thyself! keep us, we pray thee, from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul. Help us, O Lord! in our inward conflicts with doubts and fears and sins; help us in our conflicts with the temptations and evils of the world; and, oh! help us in our wrestlings with unseen powers of evil. O Lord! increase our faith. Our hope is in thee; our strength is from thee alone: dwell in us by thy grace; fill us with thy Spirit. This very day, may we gain new victories over evil! May we resist temptations in business to swerve

from the truth, to take advantage of others, to act dishonorably, to be covetous and unjust! May we resist temptations in society to envy and evil-speaking, to worldliness and frivolity! May we in all things do that which is right in the sight of God! [May these children grow up, dear Saviour, in thy strength and love, safe from the power of evil!]

We thank thee for another night of rest, another day of mercy and of hope. Bless all dear to us; our friends and neighbors. Succor, O Lord! the poor and needy, the sick, the tempted, the dying. O Lord Jesus! be with us in our last conflict, and make us more than conquerors over death; and to thy name be glory forever. Amen.