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it derive from union, from piety, from a common sense of obligation and dependence? Have offences come ? Has peace been disturbed? Are the bonds which united husband and wife, parent and child, brother and brother, master and servant, unhappily broken? The moment that the healing address," Our Father who art in heaven," reaches the ear, every soul is peace, the spirit of love pervades the whole, and the voice of discord is heard no more. When pardon is implored from him whom all have offended, the stony heart relents, melts, forgives, for he needs to be forgiven.

The influence of public worship likewise, where it has not degenerated into mere form, is the strongest cement of society. It serves to consolidate men of various ranks and conditions, with their several talents and abilities, into one compact, efficient, well-organized body, ready to act with one heart and one soul, in the cause of God and their country. Little shades of difference, in men truly good, will unite instead of disjoining. Our great national assemblies are obliged, by law to open their sittings for public business, by acts of public devotion. The reason and intention of the law, and of the practice founded upon it, are abundantly obvious. If the effect does not follow to the extent that might be wished....it must be concluded, that the devotional part of the sitting is neglected; that formality has extinguished the flame; or that difference of religious sentiment, or what is still worse, indifference to all religion, mar and weaken, and distract the whole. The prevalency of a worldly spirit must at length prove fatal to piety, and when piety is gone, public spirit is on the decline, and will not long survive.

....But we have in the history under review, a me. lancholy instance of what frequently happens to this day, and under a happier dispensation of religion..... seasons and places of devotion perverted into the instruments of kindling and exercising the ungracious, the unsocial, the unkind affections. How often is the

sanctuary of God profaned, by being made the scene of displaying the rivalship of beauty, dress, equipage, rank and affluence? The bumbling services of the meek and lowly Jesus, are unnaturally forced into the ministers of pride and vain glory. The tranquillity of the day of sacred rest, and is gentle, peaceful employments, give a birth, which they detest and disclaim, to the whisper of envy, and the noise of slander. The feast of love is disturbed, the sacrifice of peace is defiled by the impure claws of harpies; and "the house of prayer is turned into a den of thieves." Surely, my beloved brethren, these things ought not so to be.

....Happily for us, the influence of the gospel, and the laws of our country, and the spirit of the times, prevent the practice which threw Elkanah's family into such a flame; and which, wherever it has prevailed, has been productive of confusion and every evil work. May a purer religion, and wiser institutions, and a more enlightened spirit, produce a more perfect morality, promote domestic happiness, and extend and secure national prosperity.

We now proceed farther to unfold, from the sacred history, the character and conduct of Hannah; earnestly praying, that with "all" the rest of" scripture," which is given by inspiration of God," " it may prove profitable for doctrine, for reproof, and for correction, and for instruction in righteousness."

HISTORY OF HANNAH,

THE MOTHER OF SAMUEL.

LECTURE XVI.

So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and
after they had drank. Now Eli the priest sat upon
a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she
was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord,
and wept sore.
And she vowed a voze, and said, O
Lord of Hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the afflic-
tion of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not
forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine hand-
maid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord
all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come
upon his head. And it came to pass as she continued
praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.
Now Hannah, she spake in her heart, only her lips
moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli
thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto
her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy
wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said,
No, my Lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit :
I have drank neither wine nor strong drink, but
have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not
thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of
the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spo-
ken hitherto. Then Eli answered and said. Go in
peace and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition
that thou hast asked of him. And she said, let thine
handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman
went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was
ao more sad....1 SAMUEL i. 9...18.

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THE support and the consolations administered by religion, are adapted to the nature and necessi ties of man. The exercises which it prescribes arise out of the circumstances and events of human life; and the being and perfections of God present themselves to us according as we pass from one condition to another. There are comforts which no one but God could have bestowed; there is wretchedness which God only can relieve. Hence the soul rises directly to the Giver of all good in transports of gratitude, and cleaves to him when every other refuge fails. Hence, all that is known by the name of prayer, is at once the voice of nature, the result of reason, and a dictate of religion.

What is the confession of the penitent, but the trembling hope of a guilty creature toward the God of mercy, fleeing from the judgment of unrelenting, unforgiving man; from the persecution of an awakened, an accusing conscience, to a proclamation of peace and pardon from heaven? What is the resignation of the patient, but a devout acknowledgment of unerring wisdom, which does all things well, and afflicts in loving kindness? What is the cry of distress, but an appeal to omnipotence for that assistance which the powers of nature cannot bestow? What is adoration, but the faculties of an intelligent being lost in the contemplation of infinite perfection? Even the rash and im pious appeals to Heaven, which are uttered by the thoughtless and profane, demonstrate that piety and prayer are founded in the very constitution of our nature. Why does that blasphemer take the name of the Lord God in vain? Why swears he by the great and terrible name of Jehovah? why is his imprecation sanctioned by that tremendous signature? why are the emotions of anger, of pain, of surprise, of joy, enforced by the names and attributes of Deity? The wretch who thus tramples on his law, insults his authority, defies his power, is in these very acts of horror, paying an involuntary homage to the God of truth and justice, and

obliquely confesses that divine perfection which he has the boldness to violate.

We turn from the dreadful practice with holy indignation, to contemplate the desponding mourner fleeing for rest and relief in the bosom of a Father and a God; and to learn lessons of piety, and derive nourishment to hope from the experience of others.

We have seen the disorder of a family in Israel occasioned by the foolishness of man; we are now to consider that disorder rectified, and turned into a source of domestic joy and public felicity through the wisdom and goodness of God. The solemnity of the yearly sacrifice, and the cheerfulness of the feast, had been continually embittered and destroyed to Hannah by reflection on her state of approach among the daughters of Israel, and the merciless insults of her rival and adversary. The kind attentions, and affectionate remonstrances of a beloved husband, soothe for a moment, but cannot remove the anguish that preyed upon her heart. She looks with impatience through the tediousness of the entertainment, to the bour of retirement; and, as soon as decency permits, she exchanges the house of mirth for the house of prayer.

"If any one is afflicted let him pray." And who is not ready to give testimony to the salutary influence of this hallowed employment? The supplant thus disburthens the mind of a load, before intolerable; the effusion of tears cools and refreshes the heart. Prayer does not always bring down the grace that is solicited, but verily it has produced its effect, when the spirit is moulded into the will of the Most High. Prayer prevails not to obtain that particular blessing, but behold it is crowned with another and a greater benefit. The expected good comes not exactly at the time and in the way it was entreated, but it is conveyed at the most proper season, and in the fittest way and how much is the enjoyment heightened and sweetened by

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