ii
duty, stedfastness in trials, comfort in tribulation, and hope in death, are indispensable; until these are his by possession, he cannot be safe; until they are his by apprehension, whatever else he knows, he knows not peace. It is by prayer alone these blessings are procured. It assists us in resisting every evil to which we are liable. It gains for us the help of the Holy Spirit to build up the ruins of our fallen nature, and raises the soul to its original structure as a temple of the living God ,. It is a link which unites earth to heaven, and man to God; it is at once our, duty and our joy.
Since prayer then is of so much importance, it naturally follows that stated periods should be sacred for its performance. The morning and evening are those periods which have always by pious individuals been selected for devotion. And there appears to be something peculiarly appropriate in this arrangement of duty; for nature herself dictates that at the dawn of each returning day we should offer up thanksgivings for the
INTRODUCTION.