inferior and visible links of any progression, so as to shift the known successions of experience; or at all to intermeddle with the lessons and the laws of this great schoolmaster. He may work in secret, and yet perform all His pleasure-not by the achievement of a miracle on nature's open platform; but by the touch of one or other of those master springs, which lie within the recesses of her inner laboratory. There, and at His place of supernal command by the fountain heads of influence, He can turn whithersoever He will the machinery of our world, and without the possibility of human eye detecting the least infringement on any of its processes at once upholding the regularity of visible nature, and the supremacy of nature's invisible God."*

In the physical world the connection between a particular cause and its immediate effect, in general, may be clearly traced and established; but in the providential and spiritual worlds, from the nature of things, this is not so easily done. The connection between prayer and its answer, not being visible or tangible, we may not be able to trace and prove it to the satisfaction of the sceptic, while at the same time it may be as real, and to the believing soul as certain, as that between the attracting moon and the heaving tide. It will be in place here, therefore, by way of illustration to introduce a few instances of providential occurrences, in which pious minds have ever recognized the hand of God working out his answer to the prayer of faith.

* Dr. T. Chalmers' Works, Vol. VII., p. 234, etc.

As upon the safety of the acorn sprout depends the. growth and strength and value of the future oak, so upon the early safety of the little Plymouth Colony depended the springing up of the great Tree of American Liberty; and, we may say, the existence of the vast and happy nation which spans this continent to-day. And we may reasonably suppose that if the great God interests Himself in any of the affairs of this world, He has been interested in the formation, character, and destiny of such a nation as this. Now in an early day, the spring of 1623, our Pilgrim Fathers, finding that supplies from the old country could no longer be depended upon, set themselves to plant more corn than they had ever done before; but by the time they had done planting, their stock of food was spent. They daily prayed, "Give us this day our daily bread," and in one way or another their wants continued to be supplied. In the month of June, their hopes of a harvest were nearly blasted by a drought, which withered up the corn, and made the grass look like hay. All expected to perish with hunger. In their distress, these godly people set apart a day for humiliation and prayer, and continued their worship for eight or nine hours. "God," says the historian, "heard their prayers, and answered them in a way which excited universal admiration." Although the morning of that day was clear, and the weather very hot and dry during the whole forenoon, yet presently clouds were seen to form and extend in every direction, and before night it began to rain, and refreshing showers continued to fall for many days, so that the

ground became thoroughly soaked, and the drooping corn revived.

At a later date in our history, 1746, the French fitted out a powerful armament for the destruction of New England. This fleet consisted of forty ships of war, and to all human judgment seemed a sufficient force to render that destruction certain. It was put under the command of the resolute and experienced Duke d'Anville, and set sail on its terrible errand from Chebucto in Nova Scotia. In the meantime, our pious forefathers, apprised of their danger, and feeling that their only safety was in God, appointed a season of fasting and prayer to be observed in all their churches. While the Rev. Mr. Prince was officiating in "Old South Church," on this fast-day, and praying most fervently to God, to avert the dreaded calamity, the wind suddenly rose (the day had till now been perfectly clear and calm), and became so powerful as to rattle violently all the windows in the building. The man of God, startled, for a moment paused in this prayer, and cast a look round upon the congregation; he then resumed his supplication, and besought Almighty God to cause that wind to frustrate the object of their enemies, and save the country from conquest and Popery. The wind increased into a tempest, and that very night the greater part of the French fleet was wrecked on the coast of Nova Scotia. The Duke d'Anville, the principal General, and the second in command, both committed suicide. Many died with disease, and thousands were consigned to a watery grave. The small number that remained alive returned to France, without health and