Excerpt from Exercises for Family and Secret Prayer: To Which Are Annexed Hints on the Common Practical Mistakes in Family Religion There is a mechanical succession (if it may be called so) of the chief t0pics of prayer, most frequent and noticeable which is best illustrated perhaps by what is called the long prayer in the public worship. Adoration prepares the way for thanksgiving this rises in order from temporal bless ings to the mention of our rational and moral nature, and then passes into the copious theme which revelation compre heads. Next, the Speaker is led by the connecting thought of unworthiness in the subjects of these favours, to confes sion wile petition, in its various branches, completes the whole. The brevity of these family exercises allows noth ing of all this and considering the unhappy air of formal ity, which it gives to the prayers of the sanctuary, it is no subject of regret. As a work of daily devotions, this collee tion may be viewed as a continued act of religious comma nion; each division of which may therefore, with less im propriety, be somewhat confined in its train of thought. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Reprint of the original, first published in 1843.

Excerpt from Enter Into Thy Closet: Or Secret Prayer and Its Accompanying Exercises But with all their advantages, written forms of prayer are very often productive of injury. They are excellent as helps; but, like every other kind of aid, 'they are in danger of being too much relied upon, and of thus increasing, rather than diminishing, the weakness they are intended to assist. When constantly em ployed, they cannot but prevent the feelings of the heart from having that free and spon taneous exercise, which properly belongs to prayer. The business of devotion is liable to degenerate into mere ceremony, and to be considered as a task, which those engaged in it are glad when they have finished. When prayers have been read, there is a' danger of resting in the mere external performance of the duty, as if the end of devotion were gain ed when the observance is concluded. It is apt to be forgotten that prayer is not properly engaged in, unless the person is made to feel himself transacting immediately with God, and laying bare all his thoughts and feelings, his cares and anxieties, and the most secret movements of his soul, in the presence of the Searcher of hearts. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.