length, so glad when they are done, so witty to ex cuse and frustrate an opportunity; and yet all is nothing but a desiring of God to give us the greatest and the best things we can need, and which can make us happy it is a work so easy, so honourable, and to se great purpose, that in all the instances of religion and providence (except only the incarnation of his Son) God hath not given us a greater argument of his willingness to have us saved, and of our unwillingness to accept it, his goodness and our gracelessness, his infinite condescension and our carelessness and folly, than by re warding so easy a duty with so great blessings. Our prayers must be fervent, intense, earnest and importunate, when we pray for things of high concernment and necessity. [Continuing instant in prayer : striving in prayer: labouring fervently in prayer: night and day praying exceedingly: praying always with all prayer,] so St. Paul calls it: [watching unto firayer] so St. Peter: [praying earnestly] so St. James. And this is not all to be abated in matters spiritual and of duty; for according as our desires are, so are our prayers; and as our prayers are, so shall be the grace; and as that is, so shall be the measure of glory. this admits of degrees according to the perfection or imperfection of our state of life: but it hath no other measures, but ought to be as great as it can; the bigger the better; we must make no positive restraint upon ourselves. In other things we are to use a bridle; and as we must limit our desires with submission to God's will, so also we must limit the importunity of our prayers, by the moderation and term of our desires. Pray for it as earnestly as you may desire it. But : "Our desires must be lasting, and our prayers frequent, assiduous, and continual: not asking for a blessing once, and then leaving it but daily renewing our fruits, and exercising our hope, and faith, and patience, and long suffering, and religion, and resignation, and self-denial, in all the degrees we shall be put to. This circumstance of duty our blessed Saviour taught, say ing, [that Men aught always to pray and not to faint.] Always to pray signifies the frequent doing of the duty in general: but because we cannot always ask several things, and we have also frequent need of the same thing, and those are such as concern our great interest, the precept comes home to this very circumstance, and St. Paul calls it [ praying without ceasing,] and himself in his own case gave a precedent [For this case I besought the Lord thrice.] And so did our blessed Lord, he went thrice to God on the same errand, with the same words, in a short space, about half a night; for his time to solicit his suit was but short. And the Phillippians were remembered by the Apostle, their spiritual father, always in every prayer of his. And thus we must always pray for the pardon of our sins, for the assistances of God's grace, for charity, for life eternal, never giving over till we die; and thus also we pray for supply of great temporal needs in their several proportions; in all cases, being curious we do not give over out of weariness or impatience. For God oftentimes defers to grant our suit, because he loves to hear us beg it, and hath a design to give us more than we ask, even a satisfaction of our desires, and a blessing for the very opportunity. : "Whatever we beg of God, let us also work for it, if the thing be matter of duty, or a consequent to industry. For God loves to bless labour and to reward it, but not to support idleness. And therefore our blessed Saviour in his sermons joins watchfulness with prayer for God's graces are but assistances, not new creations of the whole habit in every instant or period of our life. Read scriptures, and then pray to God for. understanding. Pray against temptation; but you must also resist the devil, and then he will flee from you. Ask of God competency of living: but you must also work with your hands the things that are honest, that ye may have to supply in time of need. We can but do our endeavour, and pray for a blessing, and then leave the success with God and beyond this we cannot deliberate, we cannot take care; but so far we must. "In all our prayers we must be careful to attend our. present work, having a present mind, not wandering upon impertinent things, not distant from our words, much less contrary to them and if our thoughts do at any time wander, and divert upon other subjects, bring them back again with prudent and severe-arts; by all means striving to obtain a diligent, a sober, an untroubled and composed spirit. "" Rely not on a single prayer in matters of great concernment but make it as public as you can, by obtaining of others to pray for you: this being the great blessing of the communion of saints, that a prayer united is strong, like a well-ordered army; and God loves to be tied fast with such cords of love, and constrained by a holy violence. "Every time that is not seized upon by some other duty, is seasonable enough for prayer: but let it be performed as a solemn duty morning and evening, that God may begin and end all our business, and the outgo ing of the morning and evening may praise him; for so we bless God, and God blesses us. And yet fail not to find or make opportunities to worship God at some other times of the day; at least by ejaculations and short addresses, more or less, longer or shorter, solemnly, or without solemnity, privately or publicly, as you can, or are permitted: always remembering, that as every sin is a degree of danger and unsafety, so every pious prayer and well employed opportunity is a degree of return to hope and pardon. "Use prayer to be assisted in prayer: pray for the spirit of supplication, for a sober, fixed, and recollected spirit and when to this you add a moral industry to be steady in your thoughts, whatsoever wanderings after this do return irremediably, are a misery of nature and an imperfection, but no sin, while it is not cherished and indulged too. "When you have observed any considerable wander. ing of your thoughts, bind yourself to repeat that prayer again with actual attention, or else revolve the full sense of it in your spirit, and repeat it in all the effects and desires of it: and possibly the tempter may be driven away with his own art, and may cease to interpose his trifles, when he perceives they do but vex the person into carefulness and piety; and yet he loses nothing of his devotion, but doubles the earnestness of his care. "Avoid multiplicity of businesses of the world; and in those that are unavoidable, labour for an evenness and tranquility of spirit, that you may be untroubled, and smooth in all tempests of fortune for so we shall better tend religion, when we are not torn in pieces with the cares of the world, and seized upon with low 'affections, passions, and interest. "It helps much to attention and actual advertisement in our prayers, if we say our prayers silently without the voice, only by the spirit. For in mental prayer, if our thoughts wander, we only stand still; when our mind returns we go on again; there is none of the prayer lost, as it is if our mouths speak, and our hearts wander. "Break your office and devotion into fragments, and make frequent returnings by ejaculations and abrupt intercourses with God: for so, no length can oppress your tenderness and sickliness of spirit; and by often praying in such manner, and in all circumstances, we shall habituate our souls to prayer, by making it the business of many lesser portions of our time: and by thursting it in between all our other employments, it will make every thing relish of religion, and by degrees turn all into its nature. "Learn to abs'r.ct your thoughts and desires from pleasures and things of the world. For nothing is a direct cure to this evil, but cutting off all other loves and adherances. Order your affairs so, that religion may be propounded to you as a reward, and prayer as your defence, and holy actions as your security, and charity and good works as your treasure. Consider that all things else are satisfactions but to the brutish part of a man, and that these are the refreshments and relishes of that noble part of us by which we are better |