the lawfulness and expediency, you must judge, as

well as you can. But whether CC you use your liberty" at the polls, or not, there can be no question, that it is proper for you on fast days and at other times, to discuss the fundamental principles of civil government, involving as they do, all the great interests of society. We are the freest nation in the world, and we believe that ours is the best form of government. But it requires more intelligence and wisdom than any other form to sustain it, and it is liable to great abuses in the administration. That preacher, therefore, who, availing himself of proper times and occasions, enlightens the public mind from the pulpit, especially in regard to the moral elements of national prosperity, and faithfully points out existing causes of national corruption, is entitled to the thanks of the whole community, and will receive the thanks of every true patriot.

So in regard to the character and qualifications of civil rulers. It would no doubt be very ill-advised for you, on any occasion, to indulge yourself in personal animadversions. Leave it to the newspapers. They will be sure to do enough, and more than enough, of that sort of work. They are used to thrusting and fencing; to deifying their favorites and abusing the best men of the opposite party. But indiscreet as it would be to call names, it is right, and to my mind, it is clearly a duty, for ministers of the gospel to point out the qualifications which civil magistrates ought to possess, and to exhort the people to elevate the best men they can find, to places of power and

trust. It is what I have been accustomed to do from time to time, during the whole course of my ministry, and I am not aware of ever having excited the complaints of either party on this score. I am the more specific here, because the scriptures lay great stress upon the character of civil rulers. "Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of tens." The God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God."

The duty of submission to the authorities of the state, you ought also earnestly to enjoin in the spirit of the New Testament. "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers: for there is no power but of God. The powers that be, are ordained of God." But I must not enlarge. My views briefly expressed of the duty of preaching occasional sermons are before you. Your people and the public have a right to expect them, and to expect something more than common on these special occasions.

I am very affectionately, &c.

MY DEAR E.

LETTER XVIII.

I cannot dismiss the subject of your pulpit performances, without offering a few hints upon prayer. Prayer as the only medium of communication between earth and heaven, is an exceedingly important part of public worship. In your sermons, you are the mouth of God to the people. In your prayers, you are the mouth of the people to God; and O how important, that when you rise up in the great congregation, to address the "High and Lofty One who inhabiteth eternity," your "lips should be touched with a live coal from off his altar." Were you an Episcopal minister, the great thing would be to read well. Having all the prayers before you in the liturgy, you would of course feel no anxiety in regard to the matter. But as you are a Presbyterian, and pray without a book, the case is very different. You are responsible for the matter, as well as the manner. You must compose your prayers, either in the study, or in the pulpit.

Some theological teachers advise their pupils to write out their prayers at first, and commit them to memory. This method has undoubtedly some advantages; and I had much rather you would adopt it, than go into the pulpit with a stammering tongue, or without any serious premeditation. But it seems to me liable to some weighty objections. If you

write out and commit your prayers, when you enter the ministry, you will be very apt to fall into a dull and formal monotony. The words and sentences, which you have committed to memory and repeated often, will occur to your mind, to the exclusion of other and equally appropriate language. The consequence will be, that you will never be likely to acquire the power of expressing your thoughts freely and copiously, on all the topics of prayer which will be suggested by the ever varying circumstances of your congregation. It appears to me, that the better way for theological students and young pastors is, to prepare themselves, not by writing, but by studying the scriptures, to pour out their hearts to God, as the thoughts arise in their minds. In this way, they will soon be able to express themselves with fluency and propriety on all occasions and at the shortest notice.

Am I right in thinking, that this branch of education for the ministry is less attended to than its importance demands? I confess it appears to me, that many of our young ministers preach much better than they pray. And may not the reason be that preaching has some how come to be thought a much more important branch of public worship than prayer. But is this a right view of the subject? Our fathers did not think so. They laid great stress upon appropriate fervent prayer, and were remarkable for the apt and free use of scripture in their prayers. They seemed to think, that the more of the Bible they could bring in, the better. Were they mistaken? Would

the churches have been more edified with their devotional exercises in the sanctuary, if they had

breathed out the desires of their hearts more in polished sentences of their own, and less in the language of David and Isaiah and Paul? Whether it is because some of the younger brethren in the ministry, who preach exceedingly well, intentionally avoid the use of scripture in their prayers, or because it is so much less familiar to them than it was to the fathers, I shall not pretend to say; but whatever may be the reason, the difference is very striking indeed. Let those who hear the greatest number of preachers at home and abroad take particular notice and tell me, whether I am right or wrong in my impressions. Would it perceptibly shorten some of their prayers, to take out of them every word of scripture which they contain?

I hope, my son, that your prayers will be eminently Biblical, as well as fervent, comprehensive and appropriate. Nothing so enriches the devotional exercises of the sanctuary as the language of the inspired writers. Nothing breathes into these exercises so much of the breath of spiritual life. Nothing elevates an assembly of devout worshippers so near to the gate of heaven. You cannot study the word of God too diligently with reference to this particular object. It was said of an eminently devoted minister of the Old South Church, in the city of Boston, that he committed the whole book of Psalms to memory, so that he might always have at command an inexhaustible store of the most appropriate language for prayer. I would that ever young minister might be induced to do the same. The task once entered upon would be delightful, and might be accomplished in less than