THE GREAT NECESSITY AND
ADVANTAGE OF PUBLIC PRAYER.
(Extracted from Bishop Beveridge's Sermon on the subject.)
Besides our praying to, and praising God in the midst of other business, we ought to set apart some certain times in every day wholly for this. The Saints of old were wont to do it three times a day, as we learn from Daniel. For when King Darius had signed the decree, "That whosoever should ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of the king, should be cast into the den of lions," it is written, "That when Daniel knew that the decree was signed, he went into his house; and, his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a-day, and prayed, and gave thanks unto his God, as he did aforetime." (Daniel vi. 10.) As he did aforetime; which shows that this had been his constant practice before, and he would not leave it off now, though he was sure to be cast into the den of lions for it. But what times of the day these were, which were anciently devoted to this religious purpose, we may best gather from King David, where he saith, "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice." (Psal. lv. 17.) He begins with the evening, because day then began, according to the Jewish account; but he observed all these times of prayer alike. And so questionless did other devout people as well as he. The Jews have a tradition that those times were ordained to that use, the morning by Abraham; noon, by Isaac; and evening by Jacob. But whether they have any ground for that or no, be sure this custom is so reasonable and pious, that the Church of Christ took it up, and observed it all along from the very beginning. Only to distinguish these times more exactly, the Christians called them, (as the Jews also had done before,) by the names of the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours. Of which Tertullian saith, "Tres istas horas ut insigniores in rebus humanis, ita et solenniores fuisse in orationibus divinis; 'as they were more famous than others in human affairs, so they were more solemn in divine prayers.'" (Tertul. de Jejun. c. 10.)
