THE NEGLECT OF PRAYER. 407 his sorrow, and what request he had to make. He instantly " prayed to the God of heaven," doubtless to strengthen him, and then made his petition to the king, for no less a boon, than to allow him to rebuild the walls of the sacred city. His prayer preceded his petition. It was that prayer which gave him cou- rage to present that petition, and which probably induced the sovereign to grant it. What a double encouragement is here given to the courtier, both to pray to God, and to speak truth to a king ! Though the plea of the man of busi- ness, for his own particular exemption, can by no means be granted, yet it is the sense he entertains of the value of his professional duties, which deceives him. It leads him to believe, that there can be no evil in substituting business for devo- tion. He is conscious that he is indus- trious, and he knows that industry is a great moral quality. He is rightly per- suaded, that the man of pleasure has no such plea to produce. He therefore im-
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