is, when we can and do remember what the Holy Ghost hath said, and act faith upon it; "Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." And what a full, rich, and comprehensive promise followeth-" And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil. iv. 6, 7.

I cannot, within the limits which must be observed in an humble work of this kind, attempt to bring before the regenerated child of God, (and it is of such only I speak) the whole of what is contained within the sacred inclosure of scripture, which the Lord hath furnished, both for praise and prayer, in words for all their situations, wherewith to come before him. Neither, indeed, would it be proper. Far more will it be for their pleasure and profit, for every child of God to gather therefrom for himself. A sample only, therefore, will be necessary, under a few leading points. And if the same Almighty author of his word, which filled the minds of those inspired men to write, will give grace to read; and what came warm from their hearts, will, under the same unction, produce a like holy flame in our's: then shall we be able to say with the apostle, "unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Eph. iii. 20, 21.

FIRST.-Scripture for blessing and praising God for what he is in himself in his Trinity of Persons.

I begin with those scriptures which furnish words for holy worship, in the contemplation of what Jehovah is, in his Trinity of Persons in himself, and abstracted from what he hath done, and is for ever doing, and

will to all eternity do for his church and people. A view of his gracious manifestations towards them, will naturally arise from hence, and succeed in order as we go on. But our first consideration ought necessarily to be directed to the contemplation of Jehovah himself, as revealed in his holy scriptures, in which we find endless causes for unceasing adoration, love, and praise; so as to cry out at every step we take, in the review, with one of the sacred writers, "blessed be his glorious name for ever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory: Amen and amen!" Ps. lxxii. 19.

Now, the Holy Ghost, in many parts of scripture, hath given the highest, and most finished representation of the church of God, at this employment, and, no doubt, by way of example to every regenerated child of God, (and it is of such only I speak) to follow. Thus, in the vision of the prophet; and, again, in that of the apostle. One cried unto another, and said,

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Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" Isa. vi. 3.

"And they rest not, day and night, saying, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! which was, and is, and is to come!" Rev. iv. 8.

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Tim. i. 17.

"Who is the blessed and only Potentate? The King of kings, and Lord of lords: who only hath immortality; dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen." 1 Tim. vi. 15, 16.

"Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like unto thee? glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders." Exod. xv. 11. "Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty: give unto the Lord, glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the

glory due unto his name: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Psalm xxix. 1, 2.

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable." Psalm cxlv. 3.

"For who in the heavens can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that. are round about him. O Lord God of Hosts, who is a strong God like unto thee, or to thy faithfulness round about thee?" Psalm lxxxix. 6-8,

"Lord! to whom shall we liken thee? or what likeness shall we compare unto thee? Thou sittest upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; thou stretchest out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadest them out as a tent to dwell in! Thou hast measured the waters in the hollow of thine hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance. Behold! the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold thou takest up the isles as a very little thing. All nations before thee are as nothing; and they are counted to thee as less than nothing and vanity! To whom then shall we liken God?" Isa. xl. 12, 15, 17, 18, 22.

"Have we not known, have we not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary: there is no searching of his understanding?' Isa. xl. 28.

"O Lord! thou art exceeding glorious; thou art clothed with majesty and honour. Thou coverest thyself with light, as with a garment; thou stretchest out the heavens as a curtain. Thou layest the beams of thy chambers in the waters; thou makest the clouds thy chariots; thou walkest upon the wings of the wind !” Psalm civ. 1-3.

"O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord all the earth; give unto the Lord the honour due unto his name: bring presents, and come into his courts. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; he is more to be feared than all gods. Honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are his sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; fear before him all the earth. Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth!" Psalm xcvi. 1-10. Psalm lxviii. 1, 2.

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Sing unto God; sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH! and rejoice before him." Psalm lxviii. 4. See also Psalm xxxiv. 1, 2. Psalm cxlv. throughout.

"Oh! the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out? For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Rom. xi. 33, to the end.

I hope that these portions from the word of God will be sufficient in point, to answer the object I proposed. I must not, in a work of this kind, enlarge, by selecting any more, though the bible is full of similar expressions, in the pure simple praise of Jehovah, as he is in himself. Neither must I stay to observe, in this place, all that is said, in what I have quoted, of the proof of the Trinity of Persons to be gathered from them. This point will meet us more luminously, under the succeeding part of this chapter, when we come to speak of those scriptures, which specially relate to Jehovah, in

his grace and favour manifested to his people. Nevertheless, I will detain the regenerated child of God, (and it is of such only I speak) for one moment, just to remark, how striking a testimony the last quoted passage brings with it, of the Unity of the divine essence in a Trinity of Persons! For if the apostle had in contemplation, the Person of God the Father, when he cried out, "O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! Who hath been his counsellor?" &c. Let it not be overlooked, that the same, and almost in the same words, it is said of God the Son, when by the prophet it is said, "the government is upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful! Counsellor! the mighty God! the everlasting Father! the Prince of Peace! And of the increase of whose government and peace, there shall be no end." Isa. ix. 6, 7. And no less, doth the same prophet, speak of God the Holy Ghost, under the same distinguishing attributes, which can be ascribed to none, but One in the divine nature. "Who hath directed the Spirit Jehovah?" (for such is the original) " or being his counsellor, hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?" Isa. xl. 13, 14. Let it not be forgotten, how very much such scriptures tend to refresh the Lord's people, when by the way they meet us, and not as if designed, (though, no doubt, the Lord means as much) in confirmation of that glorious fundamental article of our faith; "for there are Three that bear record in heaven; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these Three are One." 1 John v. 7.

Before I go further, to gather from the word of God some of those many scriptures which furnish forth praise and prayer, from the contemplation of what Jehovah in his Trinity of Persons, is, and hath done,

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