SERMON II.

MARK X. 38.

Jefus faid unto them, Ye know not what

ye ask.

HESE words of our bleffed Sa- SERM.

TH

viour are a fevere rebuke on two

of his difciples. James and John, the fons of Zebedee, came unto him, faying, Mafter, we would that thou shouldeft do for us whatsoever we shall defire; and he faid unto them, what would ye that I

fhould do for you?

him, grant unto us

and they said unto

that we may fit one at thy right hand, and the other at thy left hand, in thy glory. Not content, it feems, with the humble hopes of future happiness in the manfions of the bleft,

II.

SERM. they were for afpiring to the highest and

II.

moft exalted station, to be placed on each

fide the throne of glory, and next in
honour and dignity to their great Re-

deemer; a requeft which he, no doubt,
thought highly unreasonable.
And, ac-

cordingly, fays St. Mark, he said unto
them, ye know not what ye afk; by which
he gave them to underftand, that he
thought their demands exorbitant; that
the kingdom of heaven was not a thing
to be acquired with so much ease, or fo
readily to be granted, as their vanity and
felf-conceit seemed to flatter them; nay,
that it was not even his to give, but that
God the Father would prepare it for
them, and them only, whofe fuperior
merits should entitle them to a participa-
tion of it.

Now, though these words were at that time addreffed folely to James and John,

they

II.

they may, I think, with the utmost pro- SER M. priety be applied, and perhaps were at first meant by our Saviour himself, as a warning to all mankind; a deferved cenfure on all the exorbitant defires, extravagant wishes, and idle prayers, which men

from time to time pour out before the Divine Being.

As prayer, therefore, has always been looked upon as the indifpenfable duty of every Christian, it may not be improper in this place to endeavour to remove any errors which may have crept into the practice of fo important and folemn an office of our religion, and to lead men into a right method in the performance of it.

As man is a being too infufficient of himself to supply his own wants, so is he for the most part too ignorant even to know

SERM. know them; ever too folicitous for the

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attainment of those things which are moft useless and infignificant; too indolent and remifs in the search of that on which his happiness does more immediately depend. As a fervant, therefore, it is his duty to intreat his Master's favour and protection; as a creature, it is his intereft to addrefs his Creator. And herein the nature of those gifts which we require at the hands of God is carefully to be confidered, left, if we ask amifs, we receive

not.

We must be extremely cautious of requefting any thing unfit for God to grant, or for us to implore; for if we seriously reflect on the divine mercy, and on our own unworthiness, the proudeft and the moft felfish will be obliged to confefs, that we have most of us, though not as much as we defire, yet as much perhaps

II.

as we really stand in need of, and all of SERM us infinitely more than even the beftcan deserve. We should never, therefore, apply to God for any thing which we have not, without first thanking him for what we have. Of the ten cripples mentioned by the apostle, nine prayed, whilft the tenth praised God; and him, we are told, our Saviour regarded most.

In regard to prayer and thanksgiving, which, though it is to be feared, are not, yet ought always to be inseparable, it may be affirmed, that not to acknowledge the enjoyments and privileges we have received, and hold of God, is in effect to deny that we receive them from him; and not to apply to him for what we stand in need of, is to deny either our own indigence, or his power of removing it.

Were