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in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm."

It was a natural consequence of this elevation of a stranger to a post of the first honour and trust, that it should excite the envy, and provoke the animosity, of the throng of courtiers about Darius, who would conceive, that they, as old friends and tried servants, had a better title to the confidence of the monarch, and a stronger claim upon his favour. They accordingly watched, with the most rigid scrutiny, the conduct of Daniel, in the hope that they could discover grounds of complaint and accusation against him. But to their great disappointment and chagrin, " neither error nor fault," was to be "found in him." The conclusion at which they arrived, deserves to be repeated, as one of the most honourable testimonies ever rendered in behalf of a human being. Their language was, "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." Their ingenuity soon suggested an expedient by which they thought, that they could hardly fail of accomplishing the degradation of their rival. They insidiously proposed to the king, that he should issue "a royal statute," and "make a firm decree," the purport of which was, that "whosoever" should “ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days," with the single exception of the sovereign himself, should be cast into the den of lions." What a precious specimen of the honour, integrity and magnanimity of courts! But such, to a greater or less extent, has always been the state of things in the high places of regal governments. Of republics we are, in duty bound, to hope better things.Darius, not suspecting the real object for which he was solicited to pass, the proposed law, and, perhaps, viewing the matter as one of minor importance, from which no evil

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could result, if it should do no good, gave his assent to the measure, which his counsellors, in their collected wisdom, recommended with so much gravity and earnestness to his adoption.

What was the conduct of Daniel, on hearing of the strange enactment which his sovereign had been induced to sanction? We can readily conjecture, how some of our modern Christians would have acted in the same circumstances. They would have reasoned with themselves after this fashion: "God is a merciful being, and surely he will not expect, that we should expose ourselves to certain ruin, by violating this royal decree. We can still offer to his divine majesty the homage of our hearts-we can bow our souls before him in prayer-and this undoubtedly will be as acceptable to him, as if we were to bend our knees. We shall, therefore, avoid the open infraction of the king's edict, taking care, however, to be even more scrupulous than formerly, in cultivating a devotional frame of mind."-But so reasoned not Daniel. Very different was the course which he pursued. The text informs us, that as soon as he "knew, that the writing was signed, he went into his house, and his windows being open in his chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."

This passage of Scripture suggests a number of interesting and useful reflections, which we shall now proceed briefly to state, as they may occur, without aiming at a very methodical arrangement.

And first, we may hence infer, that prayer was considered by devout men, under the old dispensation, as an important duty. On this point it is needless to enlarge. Religion has been essentially the same, in all periods of the church. It is impossible, in the nature of things, that

there should ever have been a truly pious individual, who did not maintain habitual intercourse with the Father of

his spirit.

Again, we may learn from this passage, that a grateful frame of mind is always necessary in our approaches to the throne of the heavenly grace. It appears that Daniel, notwithstanding the peculiarly embarrassing and distressful circumstances in which he was placed, betrayed not the least symptom of a querulous disposition in his communion with the Most High. Instead of complaining, that his lot was a hard one, he submitted with all the yielding meekness of faith, to the will of his Maker, and "gave thanks before his God," for the mercies with which his past life had been crowned, and of which he could not but feel himself to be unworthy. How differently in this respect do Christians often act? While their condition is prosperous, they acknowledge their obligations to Jehovah, and implore a continuance of his bounties. But as soon as the clouds of adversity gather in their horizon, they seem to lose, in a great measure, the recollection of the previous blessings which they enjoyed; or, at least, almost every sentiment of gratitude to their Father in heaven, who conferred upon them those blessings, is effaced from their minds. They do not, indeed, cease to pray. On the contrary, their prayers may become more frequent and importunate than they were before. But the petitions to which they give utterance, are not the breathings of thankful and contrite hearts. They are little better than murmurings against the providence of the Most High. Brethren, have a care how you thus act. Remember that your obligations to God are not cancelled by any afflictions, however numerous and overwhelming, which, in his infinite wisdom and benevolence, he may think proper to send upon you. to send upon you. It has been well said,

that "present troubles do not annihilate former mercies." Consider too, that the calamities which you are called to endure, though severe, are still less trying, than they might have been. There is much truth in the remark, that "in every sorrow that you have yet experienced, it would be very easy for you to imagine what would have greatly aggravated and embittered it." And above all, reflect, that every adverse event, if duly improved, shall contribute to promote your progress in piety, and thus swell the amount of your final happiness. We are sure, that when you contemplate this subject in the light in which we have now represented it, you must be convinced, that the union of thanksgiving with prayer, in the season of affliction, is a most important duty. No supplicatory address to the mercy-seat of Heaven can be efficacious, which does not arise from a heart deeply penetrated with a sense of the divine benignity. Says the apostle Paul, "In every thing by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING, let your requests be made known unto God." Again, "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same WITH THANKSGIVING." And in another place, "IN EVERY THING GIVE THANKS."

Further, we may learn from the text before us, that prayer is a duty which ought to be performed very frequently. We are here told, that Daniel entered into his chamber "three times every day," for the purpose of bowing himself before his God. There is reason to believe, that, in thus acting, he conformed to a general custom long prevalent among pious Jews. The language of the Psalmist is, "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud." We do not say, that this passage and the example of Daniel settle precisely the question, how many times, in the course of the twenty-four hours, the Christian should engage in devotional exercises. We

know, that this is a matter relative to which we must be governed by circumstances. One individual may have so much leisure, that it would seem as if he ought not to think it sufficient to call upon Jehovah, "evening, morning, and at noon; while another may be placed in such a situation as to have almost no time whatever at his own disposal, and may, therefore, be deemed excuseable, if he invokes his heavenly Father, before he closes his eyes in sleep at night, and before he betakes himself, on the return of the day, to his wonted occupations. The only general rule that can be laid down on this subject, is, that our stated periods of devotion should recur as frequently as is consistent with a due attention to the necessary business of life. If we adopt this rule, we shall comply at least with the spirit of the apostolic injunction, which directs us to "pray without ceasing." Yes, brethren, and if we only feel the importance of prayer-not merely performing it as a duty, but resorting to it as a privilege-we shall find time, even amid the most numerous, complicated and pressing engagements, for drawing near to the mercyseat of our God, oftener than we might otherwise imagine. Look at the case of Daniel himself. Was he a man of leisure? Think you, that the chief minister of Darius had little to occupy his attention or distract his mind? We must surely presume the contrary. The distinguished and responsible office which he held, necessarily imposed upon him a variety of important and urgent duties. Still he persisted in withdrawing to his apartment for prayer three times in each day. And will you pretend to tell us, honest man, that the concerns of your store, your counting room, your office, your plantation, are as weighty and perplexing as those of an empire? We respect your veracity. But we must say, dear hearers, that the busiest individual among you is not oppressed with as heavy a