The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-07-20

house, should take upon them to per-
suade the master of it to be gracious
to his own children?" To this the
editor replies: "Is it not quite equally
true that the praying for the living is
the presumption of those who take
upon themselves to persuade God to
be gracious to his own children"
And yet he says Christ has enjoined
it.
The difficulty with these devout
men is that with the vast majority of
Christians they entirely misappre-
hend the real nature and object of
prayer. 1t is subjective, not objective.
Prayer is appointed by the creator of
man in the normal human constitu-
tion, no less clearly than it is en-
Joined by the Saviour in the Gospel.
1t is an instinct of the unperverted
human heart, as certainly as is the in
stinct of hunger; and like that it is
capable of being misused and de
praved. AS the appetite may be
brought to loathe natural food and
drink, and crave with importunate
longings the most pernicious ali
ments, and even beer and whisky, so
men may turn away from the worship
of the living God, and bow down to
sticks and stones, and even reptiles.
AS the Jews, disregarding the law of
Moses, were addicted to eating
''swine's flesh, and the broth of
abominable things was found in their
vessels" SO they went after strange
gods and heathen idols, and sacri-
feed their children to Moloch, the
determination of Moab"
The true Office and design of pray
er in divine worship, is not to infu-
ence God in anyway, or change or
affect his will or conduct, but solely
to affect ourselves. 1t is simply the
expression of the earnest desire of the
heart, and to be acceptable to our
Heavenly Father it must be in accor-
dance with his will. This is the only
reasonable philosophy, and it is
taught by the example of Jesus. On
the cross, in his last sad hour, he
prayed for his murderers, "Father,
forgive them send away the sin
aphiemi-because he earnestly de-
sired it, and knew that in his own
time God would do it. And in the
garden, in full view of his terrible
fate, when his soul was sorrowful un-
to death, and he sweat blood, he
prayed three times, that if possible
the bitter cup might pass from him,
but adding, Nevertheless, not as l
will, but as thou wilt"
Being human as we'll as divine, he
shrank from the horrible torture of
the cross and wished that if possible
he might be spared the suffering, but
desired even more that the divine will
might be done. He expressed his de-
sire, not to change the purpose of
God, but to prepare and strengthen
him for the trying ordeal of the NOR
row; and that his prayer was an
swered is abundantly shown by the
triumphant manner in which he bore
it. On the same occasion, when he
found his disciples asleep, he said to
Peter, "Watch and pray. that ye en-
ter not into temptation; the spirit in
deed is willing, but the flesh is weak"
If there was no other evidence, such
wonderful instinct and knowledge of
the true nature and object of prayer,
would be enough to convince us that
he was "teacher come from God"
But the unbeliever and the misbe-
lever will press the question, why
pray for the living or the dead, if it
can in no way alter or affect their con-
dition or destiny? l might ask of the
Calvinist, if "God has from eternity
foreordained whatsoever comes to
pass" why pray or why exhort9
Spurgeon was wonderful preacher,
and he made very prominent the doc
trine of election, in which he gloried.
And yet no man ever prayed more
earnestly for the reprobates, or ex-
horted them more powerfully, than
he. The burden of his preaching to
sinners was well expressed in the
title of one of his sermons, Turn or
Burn" when he knew that the repro
bates were certain to burn, do what
they might, and the elect as sure to
turn as the sun to rise. Skeptics
sneer at Christians because they think
to alter the purposes of the infinite
God by human prayers. And does
not sound philosophy justify them9
Why then do We pray9 Why do we
make it part of our worship9 In
the first place, because we cannot
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