ANALYSIS OF THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS "WHAT IS THY DUTY TOWARDS GOD?" and I.-Duty towards God. 1. First Commandment. 66 'My duty towards God is to believe in him, to fear him, and to love him with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength.' 2. Second Commandment. "To worship him, to give him thanks, to put my whole trust in him, to call upon him." 3. Third Commandment. "To honour his holy name and his Word." 4. Fourth Commandment. "And to serve him truly all the days of my life." II.-Duty towards our Neighbour. 1. Fifth Commandment. "My duty towards my neighbour is to love him as myself, and to do unto all men as I would they should do unto me: To love, honour, and succour my father and mother: To honour and obey the Queen, and all that are put in authority under her: To submit myself to all my governours, teachers, spiritual pastors and masters: To order myself lowly and reverently to all my betters." 2. Sixth Commandment. "To hurt no body by word nor deed. malice nor hatred in my heart." 3. Seventh Commandment. "To keep my body in temperance, soberness, and chastity." 4. Eighth Commandment. "To be true and just in all my dealings. my hands from picking and stealing." 5. Ninth Commandment. "To keep my tongue from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering." 6. Tenth Commandment. "Not to covet nor desire other men's goods: but to learn and labour truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty in that state of life, unto which it shall please God to call me." PART IV. THE LORD'S PRAYER; OR, THE CHRISTIAN'S DEVOTION. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. I.-Definition of Prayer. Prayer is the earnest desire of the soul after God. II.-Necessity of Prayer. Because : 1. Our mortal nature is so weak that, without God's assistance, we must fall, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not that I do."-Romans vii., 19. "For I delight in the law of God after the inwara man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."-Rom. vii., 22-23. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."— Gal. v., 17. 2. We have no power of ourselves to help ourselves. "Without me ye can do nothing."-St. John xv., 5. "In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing."— Rom. vii., 18. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God."-2 Cor. iii., 5. "I can do all things, through Christ which strengtheneth me."---Phil. iv., 13. 3. Christ enforced the duty of Prayer on us. (1) By Precept. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you."-St. Matt. vii., 7. "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."-St. Mark xi., 24. "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you."-St. John xvi., 23. (2) By Example. "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."St. Matt. xxvi., 39. "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."-St. Mark i., 35. "And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."St. Luke vi., 12. 4. The Apostles enforced the duty of Prayer. "Pray without ceasing."-1 Thess. v., 17. "Continue instant in prayer."-Rom. xii., 12. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."-St. Jas. i., 5. "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."-1 St. John v., 14-15. III.-Times of Prayer. "We should endeavour to live continually in a spirit of "I have cried day and night before thee."-Psalm lxxxviii., 1. "Daniel kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God."-Daniel vi., 10. IV. Kinds of Prayer. 1. "Public Prayer, Or the worship of God with the congregation of His people on which occasions public forms of prayer were used by the Jews."-e.g.: The prayer used by Solomon at the dedication of the Temple, when all Israel were assembled.-1 Kings, viii., 54-56. David's prayer when the ark is brought back.-1 Chron. Jehoshaphat's prayer when his country was invaded.-2 Peter and John went into the Temple at the hour of 2. Social or Family Prayer. "He came to the house of Mary, gathered together praying."-Acts xii., 12. where many were 3. Private Prayer, or the worship of God in secret. There are many instances in the Bible of our Saviour's retiring to pray alone-e.g.: St. Mark i., 35; St. Luke xxii., 44. Instances of good men engaging in private prayer are: Abraham.-Genesis xvii., 18-20. 13-14. Hannah.-1 Samuel i.. 10. Samuel.-1 Samuel viii., 6. Paul Corinthians, xii., 8. "In everything, by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto God."-Phill. iv., 6. "Pray without ceasing."-1 Thess. v., 17. God is ever ready to hear prayer (Job xxii., 27; Psalm 1., 15; Isaiah lxv., 24; Zech. xiii., 9; St. John xv., 7; Romans x., 13; St. James v., 16), and every act and step in life should be hallowed by prayer. V.-The Dispositions necessary to true Prayer. "These dispositions are produced in the heart of the Christian by the Holy Spirit." 1. Sincerity. "Ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."-Jer. xxix., 13. 2. Humility. 3. Faith. "He forgetteth not the cry of the humble."-Psalms ix., 12. "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.-St. Mark xi., 24. 4. Fervency. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availetb much."-St. James v., 16. 5. Perseverance. "Continuing instant in prayer."-Romans xii., 12. "Watching unto prayer with all perseverance."-Eph. vi., 18. VI. The need of a Form of Prayer. Because of our ignorance in asking. It was on this account that Christ, after warning His disciples, in the Sermon on the Mount (1) Against hypocrisy in prayer (St. Matthew vi., 5), (2) Against using vain repetitions like the heathen (St Matthew vi., 7), -teaches them, at their own request ("Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples "-St. Luke xi., 1) this forn of prayer, which tells us and them how and for what to pray and which is always known as "The Lord's Prayer." Its Structure. CHAPTER II. THE LORD'S PRAYER. It may be divided into three parts: I. The Invocation or Address: "Our Father which art in heaven." II. The Petitions. (Six.) 1. Those which concern God's glory. (1) "Hallowed be Thy name." (2) "Thy kingdom come." (3) "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." 2. Those which relate to man's wants. (1) "Give us this day our daily bread." (2) "And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespas against us." (3) "And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” III.-The Doxology. "For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, fo ever and ever. Amen." CHAPTER III. THE INVOCATION OR ADDRESS. "OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN." I.-The Person Addressed. "The King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God."-1 Tim. i., 17. The Being in whom "we live, and move, and have our being."-Acts xvii., 28. |
