338 ERRORS IN. PRAYER. which inflicts it : 44 the Lord is righteous in all his ways." He refers to the chas- tisement as a proofof the affection of the chastiser. " I know that in very faith- fulness thou hast caused me to be af- flicted." He recurs to the thoughtlessness of his former prosperity. " Before I was afflicted I went astray," and alludes to the trial less as a punishment than a paternal correction. If he prays for a removal of the present suffering, he prays also that it maynot be removed from him, till it has been sanctified to him. He will not even part from the trial till he has laid hold on the benefit. Perhaps the impediment which hinders the benefit of prayer in characters appa- rently correct, may be the fatal habit of indulging in some secret sin, the private cherishing of some wrong propensity, the fondly entertaining of some evil imagina- tion. Not being accustomed to control at other times, it intrudes, when you would willingly expel it ; for a guest which is unreservedly let in at other seasons, and
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