that such spiritual and future things as we have mentioned are more excellent more perfect that is of more good effect than sensible and present worldly things and consequently that it is a greater perfection and excellency in a man to know contemplate be affected with those former than these latter to have his mind conversant with and employed about them which is one reason why the persons who profess and really live or seem to live such a life are generally honoured and reverenced Further A man after such a performance as a discreet and affectionate Prayer may reflect not only upon his ability and sufficiency for such excellent things but also upon his love to them and good will to them his esteem for them that he actually is so affected and at that particular time Particularly after an understanding and affectionate Prayer it is very acceptable to make reflection that he hath at that time performed so noble and excellent a part of his duty and that which more immediately respects God that he is not altogether careless of God lives without him forgets him days without number but that he hath honoured him by his express acknowledgments of his Infinite Perfections by humbly petitioning him for what he wants and what is good and just for him by rendring him hearty thanks and actually loving him for his manifold favours even for all he hath or ever had for any degree of Holiness for Knowledge and Wisdom Parts Gifts Riches or Competency Reputation Friends Security from Enemies Health Strength Power Opportunity or Advantage to do Good Peace Joy Satisfaction Happiness here Hopes and Assurance of greater Perfection and Happiness after Death and parting with all here and for all his boundless Goodness and benignity of his Nature to all his Creatures that he hath honoured him by an assured but just Trust and Confidence in him by a free submission of his Will to his Will in all things and conforming of it chearfully thereunto to do all he commands him and to be in any condition he appoints or disposeth that he hath honoured him by a ready and free confession of and piercing hearty grief for and inward detestation of all his unreasonable Violations of his Just and Holy Laws made known either by Reason or Revelation by Natural Conscience or God's Word and consequently of the Eternal Laws of Righteousness that he hath honoured him by asking from him as the only supreme just and yet propitious Judge of the World pardon and forgiveness for Christ's sake that he would not punish him but most of all by importunately begging his supervenient Grace Strength and Influence his Assistance one way or other that he might not Offend or do contrary to his Duty any more in any kind I say when a man hath performed so noble and excellent a part of his Duty towards God which tends so much to make him Divine and Perfect it will not soon out of his mind he will be rereflecting upon it and that cannot be without a high degree of joy and satisfaction of Spirit and he will humbly give unfeigned Thanks to God for making him capable of such a noble and excellent Employment so ravishing and delicious to himself but especially which will render him so benign useful and profitable to the World and pleasing to God for giving him the means of and effectually bringing him to the knowledge and use of such an excellent Life and he will wish all men may be so happy as to know and partake thereof There are Two things among other which make a man very sensible of the excellency of this part of his Duty and consequently to perceive from thence more satisfaction and pleasure The first is its compare with other parts of our Duty respecting our Neighbour It seems more excellent than that to love ones Neighbour that is any rational Creature capable of any good from us To wish well heartily to him to be charitable just grateful compassionate or to shew any other Instance of Love to him though it be excellent yet seems as much inferiour to that of our absolute love to God not as only good to one but to all the Universe as our Neighbour nay all the World are inferiour to God To wish well to or desire any good thing for God we may not because it supposeth some good thing absent or possible to be absent from him an absent good is the proper object of desire but we may will and rejoyce in his infinite happiness and perfection which he actually possesseth we may will a present good And this ought to be so much more esteemed if we compare them than the love of our Neighbour as God is capable of more happiness and felicity than all his Creatures which is infinitely All the World is a little thing a Nothing to him and his Being and Happiness consequently is infinitely to be preferr'd before that of all his Creatures if they could be opposed Besides it is part of the Nature of God to be infinitely good to all his Creatures he therefore that loves God as such must needs love all that he hath made too God's Being and Happiness infer's that of his Creatures necessarily and is the cause thereof but not on the contrary wherefore the love of God as having infinitely more excellent Effects is to be preferr'd before the love of all the Creation if we consider them distinct and if they could be inconsistent one with another which they never can be but much more before the love of any person or persons And although we are said not only to will but to do good to our Neighbour and not to God yet in truth our proper action is to will it the outward Effect consequent upon our will is only by God's Power and Action and we can will it as hath been just now said equally to both Man having naturally a great sense of the infinite Excellency and Perfection of God above all must needs have the perswasion that he ought to love him above all and that to love him is a greater Perfection than the love of all the World besides And the truth of it is next to the perfection of the love of all the Universe i. e. God and all that he hath made together is the Love of God distinctly considered As for the other parts of our Duty to God viz. Honour Admiration Dependance Obedience c. they are but Instrumental Duties to cause us to practise Universal Righteousness and the great Instance Universal Love Love to God and to every Creature c. but they are much more excellent ones than many other and ingenerate in us more immediately a greater and higher degree of Holiness as might be particularly shewed and consequently of Universal Love in which it consists Some of those persons who magnifie and commend those Duties which respect our Neighbour especially such as Beneficence justice and honesty in Dealings and Conversation Peaceableness Obedience c. may
Excuse is that they want Time they have not Time If by not having Time Men mean that they do always employ themselves in something or other besides their Prayers I believe it is true for no Man can be perfectly idle so as to do or think nothing But if they mean they cannot have Time this I deny I think there is no Man so occupied and employed who cannot get some Time more or less and I confine not all Men to any certain Frequency or Length Nay I think few Men but may get some Time daily without hindrance or let to their other just Affairs but it would rather prove a help It is manifest by Experience that there are few Mens Lives in which there are not thousands of trifling unprofitable and sinful and mischievous Actions How much Time passeth away by Men with their Hands in their Pockets they do not know what to do they are fain to cast about and invent something to spend their Time in or they are prepared to take what 's next and that 's usually none of the best How many Hours are spent in unprofitable sinful Chat and Talk in Swearing by God and Cursing others and yet they cannot have Time to pray to God and pray for themselves and others How much Time superfluous do Men spend in Plays Games and Exercises in Drinking and turning down superfluous and intoxicating Cups and yet some few Minutes cannot be gotten to pray neither in Publick Private nor Secret For publick Prayers and other parts of the Worship of God reading and explaining his Word and Doctrine How many sit at Home and sleep or do any trifling Action or chuse something to do on purpose on that Time which they might as well or better do at another or wander about idly Besides on the Lord's day are not all other Occupations at least the most unnecessary by Law and Consent laid aside on purpose that Men might have Time they have it then for private and secret Devotion as well as for publick and yet we see most Men will not take it What reason then have we to think that Men cannot find Time on other days when we see they will not make use of it when it is put into their hands Nor do I think that Men generally are so toiled or tired or dull with their week's Work but that they might take some Time on that day Further If thy Employments should be more innocent useful or pâ—â—fitable and should fill up all thy Time which I do not think but that some days at least there is leisure make some room for thy Prayers get some Time By what right have those things all thy Time and thy Prayers none at all Sure I am thy Prayers deserve it as well as most other of thy most useful Affairs and are as good and necessary even to thee but why then should they alone be excluded from some share of thy Time and all other Things have theirs why should they not have so much as a few Minutes in a day For some Sport or Game or Divertisement even daily thou wouldst make Time in thy most profitable and useful Affairs Thou wouldst begin them sooner or defer them longer or end them later or dispatch them quicker why not then for thy Prayers which sure are sometimes at least as good as thy Divertisements Time we cannot get Time can we have Time to think and talk of our Neighbour's good Qualities and it is well if we did it oftner tâ— instance in to praise and magnifie the worthy Endowments and Deeds of any virtuous discreet and beneficent Person and how much we and the Town or the Country or the Publick is beholding to him and yet we cannot have Time to acknowledge God's Power Wisdom and Goodness of which our Lives and all the Universe are full and every thing thou or others are or do is in him and by him Time have we not Time to thank God for his numberless and incomparable past Favours present Blessings and future Hopes for which we need not stir over our Thresholds and yet can get it to make civil Visits on purpose to thank Persons for any considerable Instances of their Kindness though Men are not apt to be over grateful here neither Time why should we have Time to enjoy and make use of all other God's Favours and not of this which is the greatest of all from whence springs the most sweet satisfying Pleasure viz. our Capacity of attending to honouring trusting in depending upon loving God offering professing resolving our Love Service and Obedience to him If we be under any Affliction and our Soul bowed down with Grief or in any Perplexity or difficult Affair we can find Time to unbosome our selves to a Friend to crave their Counsel their Comfort their Assistance any other way and we cannot forsooth have Time to do this same thing to God the best Friend we have in the World who would by making us good make us capable of receiving and then most freely give us all other good things Oh foolish and ungrateful Creatures all this Excuse of want of Time is but pretended and is indeed a sign of sottish Ignorance of our own good and of the badness of our own Hearts and Lives We know not our own Happiness and are perfectly loth to think of God and of such things as should be in our Prayers lest we should be engaged to be good and have our Minds and Affections taken off from worldly things to be set upon better and then pretend we have no Time The more plain Truth is we Would have no Time and are glad we can order it so as to have none at least we are very well content and then we complain and excuse it thus But let us not endeavour to deceive others and our selves it is better to confess the Truth that we have no Mind nor Will and then we shall be somewhat nearer mending the Fault And now it remains only that all persons be earnestly exhorted to the performance of this Duty so acceptable to God so beneficial to others so profitable and comfortable to our selves which will render us wiser better happier and whereby we may obtain all good things from God That they would frequent publick Prayers upon all just Occasions and sometimes if not for their own Benefit yet for good Example to others who want it as also hearing the Scriptures Read and Preaching that is the expounding confirming applying of the Scripture That they would enter also into their Closets and Pray in secret to God their heavenly Fathâ—â— especially upon solemn Occasions as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and after the publick Worship of God on Lord's days and other days and most especially before the Lord's Supper That they would also Pray in private with their Families as many as they can get together or spare and this either by judicious and pious Prayers composed by others or their own if they be able All this as frequently and in such manner as their Ability and Opportunity will permit And that they would not let sluggishness or laziness deadness to holy things nay hatred and aversation from those things which will make them better to hinder them satisfying themselves with some Pretences and false Excuses which God and their Consciences even now much less another day will never allow of I leave it with Men's Consciences out of hearty love to God to them and my self I have discharged mine to them I am confident we following this Advice should all be soon much a better and soberer People live more conscientiously piously charitably peaceably comfortably both to our selves and others and all the Blessings of God would be multiplied upon us all here and we should be more fitted for Heaven hereafter FINIS Books following Sold by John Wright at the Crown on Ludgate-Hill In Folio SIr Walter Rawleigh's History of the World Heylin's Cosmography Dr. Taylor 's Cases of Conscience His Polemical Discourses Dr. Hammond's Annotations His Tracts Speed's Mapps at Large Hooker's Ecclesiasiastical Policy Pharmacopoea Londinensis or the London Dispensatory with Alterations and Additions Never before printed Sir Thomas Herbert's Travels with Additions never before printed Mr. Sanson's Geography Judge Hales Primitive Origination of Mankind Britannia Or A Geographical Description of England Scotland and Ireland With the Maps of each County at large In Quarto Dr. Brown's Vulgar Errors The Compleat Clark containing the best Form of Presidents Mr. Megie's French Dictionary Mr. Henry Smith's Sermons The History of the Seven Champions The History of Parismus and Parifmenus In Octavo Dr. Taylor 's Living and Dying Dr. Patrick's Witnesses to Christianity both Parts A Thousand Notable Things Sands Paraphrase on Job and Psalms M. Pooles English Parnassus The Parsons Councellor A Treatise of Judging one another Galen's Art of Physick Translated by N. Culpeper In Twelves Dr. Fettiplace Holy Exercise of Heavenly Grace Smith's Great Assize Davids Repentance Dent's Plain-Man's Path-Way to Heaven The Doctrine of the Bible
Hand of God asked or unasked except we be in some degree good Examples of this are very frequent in the Psalms Psalm 7. Verse 1. David prays to God to save him from his Enemies Save me from all them that persecute me and deliver me And Ver. 6. Arise O Lord in thine Anger lift up thy self because of the rage of mine Enemies But Vers 3 4. he reflects upon his past Innocency and particularly in something his Enemies or his Conscience might suggest whether he was not guilty and upon the greatness of his Goodness and Charity that he had not only done good to his Friends but even to his causless Enemies and surely he judged himself to be still the same and that he was not changed for the worse which without doubt gave him humble Boldness and Confidence of success and consequently was the cause of the Earnestness and Strength of his Desire that God would be pleased at that time to do that favour for him O Lord my God if I have done this that is it may be something his Enemies might accuse him of or his Conscience bid him to enquire into or more particularly if he had done that to them which they did to him viz. persecuted them and endeavoured and contrived to do them mischief causlesly If I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me viz. his Friends or who had done him no hurt Yea I have delivered him who without cause is mine Enemy Then let the Enemy persecute my Soul yea let him tread my Life down in the Earth and lay mine Honour in the Dust If David had been conscious to himself of the like Injustice or of any other Sin approved that he had been was and would be so for the future he would not have had the Confidence to have desired this of God And so in many places where he prays to God for some Favour he professeth himself God's servant Psalm 86. Verse 4. Rejoyce the Soul of thy Servant Verse 11. He prays to God to teach him his way and he would walk in his Truth That which was truly God's Way and was truly right and to be done And Verse 12. he professes he would praise God and glorifie his Name which were Signs and Branches of his Goodness And then Verse 16. he prays O turn unto thy Servant and save the Son of thine Handmaid Psal 119. Verse 94. I am thine save me for I have sought thy Precepts He had endeavoured and desired to obey God and he had given himself up to him I am thine or God had especially design'd him to serve him in the Kingdome therefore he was bolder to pray God would save him or deliver him from the Evils he was in danger of And Psalm 143. Verse 12. Of thy Mercy cut off mine Enemies and destroy all them that afflict my Soul Suppose them so to continue as long as they had life and were able and not to repent for I am thy Servant And this is the best sort of Vows when a Man not only upon Condition that God will give him any certain thing he craves expresly wills and obligeth himself to do this or that particular good Work or abstain from this or that Fault or bad Action but before-hand he gives up himself entirely to God and vows and promises he will be his servant universally and more particularly it may be too where he thinks he may do the most good or where he hath been the most faulty And as for his Desires and Requests he refers them to the Divine Righteousness and Wisdom He makes no bargain with God only those Duties which can only be done upon Condition of God's bestowing his requested Favours may be promised and professed by him conditionally As for example to thank and praise God particularly for any Favour conferred which cannot be if it be never received SECT VI. IV. A Fourth Ingredient in Prayer is Thanksgiving that is an actual loving of God for his Benefits already received And this contributes to the strengthning and invigorating of our Prayers and Desires too It is as the rest before a necessary Sign according to the degree of its vigour and frequency of the same degree of Goodness in us For if we love God for his Benefits we shall naturally desire to please him and to seek to know what doth so and that we cannot be ignorant is by doing his Will or by keeping his Commands with Care to be universally holy good and righteous in the grand Instance of universal Benevolence and consequently Self-denial and all the Branches thereof I say according to the degree of its Vigour and Frequency For it 's no wonder to see one who loves God for his Benefits but seldom now and then only for one Fit in a Prayer never thinking of it afterwards or in mean and low degree one who loves God less and less often than many other Objects I say it is no wonder to see such a Person to sin and offend as often as these Objects are his Temptations But if we loved God vigorously and more than any other Objects and so frequently that it became an habitual Temper of our Souls it would most certainly produce in us the Effect of universal Holiness And so far forth as we find it in intensness and constancy in our selves so far is it a sign thereof and gives us reason consequently to think our selves acceptable to God and that it may be the more reasonable and just for him to bestow the good things we ask I do not think that Love to God for his Benefits conferred upon ones self or Thankfulness is a principal Virtue but an excellent instrumental one it is It is not an Instance of formal Goodness or Virtue but it is a very frequent means thereof and therefore a sign But to love God for himself as a part or rather infinitely the most considerable thing in the whole Universe and therefore above all things and with reference to the whole this is indeed the noblest Instance of our Holiness The free and generous Acknowledgment and Resentment of God our Benefactor of the Divine Favours already received is one good Use Effect or Improvement of them which hath a further one still viz. it causeth us to please God by keeping his Commands and becoming universally holy and good as I have before instanced and being a very probable sign of this iâ— gives us a just Faith and Confidence and heightens our Prayers and Desires from God Ingratitude that is a Neglect or Contempt of God's Favours already bestowed we may be sure can give us no Encouragement but it is a sign of a dull sensual selfish or wicked Mind and so at least of defect oâ— Goodness Again actual Love to God for Favours received impresseth upon our Minds the Memory of his past Goodness and consequently gives us reason to argue he may be good to us again supposing we see no Circumstances to alter the Case in those things
we now ask And the more still if the Favours we have already received be of the same kind with those we do now desire If it were before it may be now for ought we see just and reasonable for God to hear us And this emboldens animates and enlivens our Petition or Desire still more There are besides these more proper other collateral good Effects of Thanksgiving to God It is a very pleasant thing For what more so than Love what more delicious and sweet And what Friend is capable of being loved more than God Where 's such a Friend and Benefactor as he from whom we have all Again the Reflection upon our own Security upon our own Assurance of good things for the future from the Experience of and Attention to the Divine Benignity and Goodness is a very pleasing and satisfactory thing that we are in the Hands of Infinite Goodness all which our Thanksgiving gives occasion for And this we are most sensible of when under any Frights or Fears of some great Evils just ready to fall upon us then we greedily call to mind God's past Goodness But here we must have a care of loving God ultimately and only for being particularly good to us without at least some habitual reference of it to the use of pleasing him by doing the most Good we can as a Man might love a good Master or any Person or Thing that is useful to himself not much caring whether he be so to any body else all which indeed is no better than selfishness But we must look upon God's Goodness to us as one particular Instance of that Universal Goodness to all for which we love him and whereby we are engaged to love and please him and consequently to do good to all himself doth and to be perfect and happy iâ— so being and doing all which together is tâ— be our last End We are indeed for the mâ— part more sensible of those his personal Eâ—vours because ordinarily we cannot so we apprehend others Satisfaction and Please as our own But we ought equally to that God for his Benefits to others and our selveâ— if we could alike apprehend them And here we may do well sometimes 〈◊〉 to aggravate God's Goodness that is to tâ— notice of those Circumstances which aâ—signs of the greatness thereof As that is the most free and undeserved For whâ— Addition of Good can we make to him 〈◊〉 what can we give him that is not his owâ— or what Law or Power superiour to Himsâ—â—â— to his own Nature obligeth and controlle him We may also remember our selves 〈◊〉 God is good to us when we are bad whâ— we are negligent and take no notice there ungrateful undutiful nay make ill use his Favours abuse them for this God mâ— do for some reasons though we have 〈◊〉 advantage of probability to expect it whiâ—â— is a sign of more pure free and sincere Gooâ—ness or Love to others For we think no Peâ—son can expect any Recompence for his Gooâ—ness from one he knows is unable much leâ— from one he knows unwilling and loves hiâ— not All this is to be done that we may be more deeply affected with the Divine Goodness for the Ends aforesaid We may read Jacob's Prayer to be delivered from his Brother Esau as an Instance Gen. 32. Verse 9 10 11. In the 10th Verse before his Prayer he takes notice of God's manifold Mercies to him without doubt with Thanks and particularly of his Wealth and Increase that God had blessed him withal I am not worthy of the least of all thy Mercies and of all the Truth which thou hast shewed to thy servant for with my Staff I passed over this Jordan and now I am become two Bands In the Psalms we meet often with Thanksgivings and Petitions Praises and Prayers joyned together Psalm 144 in the two first Verses David blesseth and thanketh God Blessed be the Lord my strength who teacheth my Hands to war c. who subdueth the People under me And then Verse the 5th he petitions and prays for the long continuance of the like Goodness in God and Verse 7. Send thine Hand from above rid me and deliver me out of great Waters from the Hands of strange Children And Psalm 3. Verse 3 4 7. And Psalm 9. to Verse 13. is most Acknowledgments and Praises and then a Prayer Have Mercy upon me O Lord consider my Troubles which I suffer of them that hate me thou that liftest me up from the Gates of Death And Psalm 13 after his Petition in the 6th Verse he saith he will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with him SECT VII V. A Fifth Ingredient in a Prayer is somâ—times particular explication of oâ— Case either of the one or more goâ— things we desire to have or of the Evil thing we desire to be delivered from a more â—â—stinct Representation and View of them â—rected to God And this then especially wheâ— we intend to make a more particular expreâ—â— Address to God in secret or in publick aloâ— or with others for one or for some few coâ—tain things It may be done sometimes as when 〈◊〉 find our selves very sensible and clearly apprehensive of and affected with the goodneâ—â— of any thing in our Prayers for ordinaâ—â— and general good things Here also mâ— come in the reasons or grounds of our greâ—â— Desires at this time such as now the greâ—â— Goodness of the things their Necessity Diffâ—culty if not Impossibility by any second Caâ—ses we yet see or the like Now the use of this is not to acquaint God more particularly with our Case or to move him to be the more favourable to us or pitâ— us by giving him a distinct Knowledge of what we need or desire not so much as the most general Prayer and Desire is needful for that such as the Poets was approved by Socrates and extant in Brodaeus's Collection of Greek Epigrams Plat. Alcib 2. Brod. Epig. lib. 1. Xenoph. Memorab lib. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. That Jupiter would give him good things whether he asked them or no and keep evil things from him though he should pray for them And another of his mentioned by Xenophon viz. That the Gods would give him good things leaving it to them as best knowing what were such to choose for him No but one principal reason is to cause our selves longer to attend to our Wants we doing it more particularly and distinctly and consequently to be more affected with them and so more passionately earnestly and importunately to desire the supply of them A very confused general short transient Apprehension of the Goodness or Badness of things doth not generally so deeply affect us or raise up such strong Passions in us as a more particular distinct and longer one by frequent smart Bouts yet not so continuedly long as to tyre us doth For the same cause may the grounds or reasons of the Greatness of our Desires be mentioned such
Disposition impressed upon the will which is the effect of all passions the Things prayed for or desired and the Desire it self And so in all the other parts of Prayer In Acknowledgment are the divine Persections acknowledged and the Affections of Admiration Honour Reverence Fear Love Joy c. In Confession the sins acknowledged and Grief Sorrow Hatred Conterâ—pt of them and for them In Profession the sense of what we profess and the Passion and Disposition of Devotion Resolution or obediential Inclination In Thanksgiving the Things thanked for and Love for them or Gratitude Nay in the Râ—â—ital and Explication of our Cases the Sense recited and our Passion of Fear Grief Desire The Sense or Things desired and the Passion of Desire and its degrees are variously expressed and signified in the same Sentence The general thing expresly or supposedly desired is That God would grant us the thing we desire An account of the particular things to be desired will be another general Head by many words in the Scripture expressed both proper and figurative as give grant hearken see behold look down regard turn not away hide not thy Face remember forget us not c. many more such figurative expressions especially may be met withal because when Men will and are inclin'd to grant any thing to a Petirioner there are these bodily Motions or mental Actions which accompany it or have some Relation to it All which in God signifie nothing but to will the thing desired and to effect it that he would command or will such a thing to be done The Passion of Desire is sometimes expressed in Sentences with Interrogations or the like Schemes oâ— Speech In the Psalms which are very Rhetorical one part of which is to have Passions and great ones well expressed and signified nothing more frequent As Psalm 88. Verse 14. Why castest thou off my Soul why hidest thoâ— thy Face from me That is I earnestly beseech thee not to withhold thy Favour from me And wilt thou be angry with us for ever Wilt thou draw out thine Anger to all Generations That is we importunately desire of thee that thou wouldst be pleased to cease to punish us And so sometimes Multitude of Words more signifie some degree of Passion than any different sense Nay very often the multitude of single Words do not signifie any different Senses or Idea's but only some degree of Passion For the use of many words to express one thing commonly proceeds from the mâ—nds being longer detained in the thought of it by some passion As when I call a thing noble excellent incomparable all thâ—se Words together generally express or are a sign of not so many different senses but only of a degree of Affection nay very often some certain single words or phrases signisie not the Idea's or Conceptions of things only but withal a degree of some Affection or Passion as of Admiration Love Desire as in the words just now mentioned So the word wretched Sinner to some Persons signifies not only the sense or conception of a mans being a great sinner but withal a greater degree of Hatred or Contempt or Indignation than the word great Sinner But of this more and more particularly where we give some Directions concerning the Signs of our Sense and Passions such as are Speech and Gesture From what hath been discoursed concerning the Ingredients of a Prayer we may observe that it thus perform'd contains all the parts of divine Worship For there can be no other or more than to have God the Object of the Operations of our Souls which is internal Worship and to signifie this by some sâ—nsible signs of certain Motions either of some part or of the whole of our Body which is external Worship And more particularly to have him the Object of our Understanding Will Affections and more particularly yet to think of and contemplate as distinctly as we can his Nature and Actions his Attribuâ—es and the infinite variety of the effects thereof generally comprehended under the three heads of Creation Preservation Providence To honour reverence and admire God for those his infinite Perfections to love him for them and for the particular Effects thereof to our selves and to all his Creatures to desire to please him to desire him that is to desire to enjoy him by Contemplation and Love and to desire from him all things to rejoyce and delight our selves in him i. e. in the enjoyment of himself and Possâ—ssion of his Favour to put our Trust and Confidence in him to devote our selves to obey him nay universally to will as he wills both what ought to be done or the Matter of his Commands and what shall come to pass in the World or the Matter of his Decrees oâ— Appointments The former of which may be called active Obedience the latter passive c. I say these things and such like when signified and expressed by any sensible signs of the Motions of some part or the whole of our Bodies as Words and external Actions contain the whole of Worship and to do all these in such manner as the Infinity of each of the divine Perfections respectively requires is divine Worship That is among other things for instance sake only to do them universally in all things perpetually habitually with the utmost vigour and strength of our Souls to God ultimately with the greatest Company or Number that can conveniently do it in one place at the same time with all others in different places and finally to him alone as a sign of his unity or of his being God alone which is one attribute of his nature to discourse all which particularly belongs to another Argument CHAP. II. The Second general Head is the several sorts of Prayer THe Divisions of Prayer may be numerous as many viz. as there are Logical Relations Many of the ordinary ones are of no great use some of them may be these SECT I. I. ONe Distinction is into Mental and Vâ—cal from one sort of Adjuncts Meâ—tal is that which is conceived in the Miâ— only Vocal that which is expressed â— Words This Distinction if of any concer or use to be mentioned should have been inâ— a Prayer not signified to others or signifie both by Words and other external Signs â— bodily Action or Motion SECT II. II. THey distinguish it into ejaculatoâ— and set Prayers or into occasional aâ— fixed or designed The one is when any thiâ— occurring to a Man's Thoughts and â—â—pearing on a sudden very good or bad â—â— cites some smart Passion in him and causeâ— him to dart up a Desire to God to give it hiâ— or keep it from him As when one observâ— an approaching Temptation and perceive himself in danger to be overcome his inoâ—dinate Appetite or some Passion beginningâ— stir and to grow boisterous he smartlâ— breaths out a warm Desire for the divinâ— Assistance and Help oft-times utterly unobserved by any though perhaps in the midâ— of Company So when a
is it unworthy our observation that among many other inconveniencies which may be mentioned there seemâ—â—ar greater danger of a greater and speedieâ— corruption of the Christian Doctrine in â— vast number of little Independent Societies whereof some if not most would consist â— very ignorant and weak persons than in â— smaller number of large ones It is notoriously true indeed that thâ— Church of Rome hath monstrously swelled the bulk of Articles of Doctrine and Riteâ— of Discipline into hundreds whereof a greâ—â— number are false or doubtful useless or miâ—chievous but it is to be considered that theâ— have been breeding and multiplying manâ— hundreds of years But so much for this nâ—â— altogâ—ther a Digression Moreover it may be observed that thiâ— Publick Prayer though made by many togâ—ther yet may be for one private Person 〈◊〉 is not necessary that what is here prayeâ— should be the Wants of all but they may alâ— join in their Prayers for one And therefore it may here be advised that if in any Prayeâ— something happen to be said which doth noâ— concern us yet supposing it to be true and just we may join in the Prayer for them whâ— do want it be they who they will in the Congregation Though we do not know the particular Person God doth And so may it be in an Acknowledgment and Confession of Sins A Man may use it thus viz. though he himself should be guiltless yet he may acknowledge that those are Sins and are to be acknowledged and confessed by those that are guilty whosoever they be in the Congregation The like is to be done in Thanksgiving and in singing of Psalms which usually contain these and other parts of a Prayer before mentioned The Psalms also are always to be recited as a history of the thoughts and affections and condition of some holy and devout person though one should not have or be in the like himself SECT V. V. A Fifth Distinction of Prayers is usually taken from the Persons concerned And so a Prayer at least many of the Ingredients in it may be either for ones self or for other Persons whether the Prayer be Publick Private or Secret Thus our Petitions and Thanksgivings and Acknowledgments may be for the whole Creation for all the Inhabitants of this Earth all Mankind we may petition and thank God for his Goodness to us and to all Men to the Church or Christian Society to the Nation of which we are Members to the Parish or Place of our Habitation to the Family in which we live to any Society to which we any way belong to our selves or any other part or parcel of God's Creation capable of receiving any thing from God and acknowledging him for it according as their Wants and Capacities are And the greater the Number of these is on whose behalf we pray or give thanks the more comprehensive and extended the more fervent and enlarged should we be therein And so it should be in our Prayers for those upon whose good the good of others much depends and whose good is a more comprehensive and diffused good such as Governours of all sorts Civil and Ecclesiastical and any Persons who have Riches Power Wisdom and Knowledge or any ability to do good that they may have an answerable Goodness This kind of Prayer is especially fit for Publick Prayer Thus I have dispatched the Second general Head viz. some of the sorts of Prayer CHAP. III. SECT I. III. WE proceed to the Matter or Contents of Prayer or Petition not of a Prayer which as we have said consists of Petition and many other Parts as express Acknowledgment of the Divine Perfections c. which we have mentioned There are in General but two Qualifications of our Petitions or the things we ask First That they be just and righteous or that it is just and fit they should be given us that is procurative of or at least consistent with the greatest Good of the whole Universe Secondly That we want them If the things be not just we ought not to ask them and if we have them already we need not though the continuance of them we may Now the things which it may be most just for God to give and which we may at some time or other want may be such as these The principal thing to be asked and the greatest good that we can ask or God give is our greatest Perfection viz. Holiness Righteousness Goodness sincere Conscientiousness a good honest Mind and Heart Virtue Grace as it is usually called All which signifie the same general thing with some small Differences viz. a Will habitually inclin'd to a Man's Duty to what is right what his sincere Conscience or Judgment of Right or Wrong directs him to and commands him We are to ask and beg of God most earnestly as the greatest Boon he can give that he would beget or ingenerate in us Grace in some considerable degree for all Men have it is likely some faint and little one already the worst of Men hath hardly quite extinguished this Tendency or Appetite after Righteousness that he would increase and augment make it more vigorous and strong in us and at least to be so strong as to be prevalent over all our other Appetites and Inclinations That we may habitually more desire will and love Holiness than Riches Honours all sensual Pleasures and Delights finally than all things the Heart of Man can desire besides Nay that we may love it in such manner and its great Instance Universal Love with its Object the greatest good of the whole Universe as to love it only and in all other things or all other thingâ— for its sake that they may make us more holy universally charitable humble c. or help us to obtain the Ends thereof that they may make us more to be good or to do good Further that God would make us more univerâ—ally and more constantly so in all things and to our Lives End That God would quite extinguish and mortifie in us the Inordinacy and Immoderacy of all our Appetites and Affections that is our Lusts That our Affections may never be to any other Object whatsoever ultimately and for it self and never beyond its due Measure but habitually always for the End and in such Measure as that we may do the most good save our own Souls that is bring them to a State of the greatest Perfection and Happiness and please God That our Affections inordinate and immoderate may cease so to be and be turned ultimately to and in the highest degree placed upon Holiness and the things so often mentioned to which we were before but too dead and cold that is that we may be converted and renewed That God would give us to reflect seriously upon the Badness and Sinfulness of our past and present Tempers and Actions to be sorry heartily for it to hate and detest it inwardly between God and our Consciences in the highest degree and resolve to
break off such courses praying to God importunately for his help so to do and that we may be forgiven for Christ's sake all that is past that is in one word that God would give us Repentance Some of these things thus understood and such like may be expressed in Sentences of Scripture thus That God would grant unto us and help us to present our selves a living Sacrifice holy acceptable to God our most reasonable Service and that we may not be conformed to this World to the wicked Manners thereof but be transformed by the renewing of our Mind that we may prove what is the acceptable and perfect Will of God Rom. 12. Verse 1. That God would quicken us when dead in Trespasses and Sins and walking according to the Course of this World Ephes 2. Verse 1. That we may put off concerning the former Conversation the old Man which is corrupt according to the deâ—eitful Lusts and be renewed in the Spirit of our Minds and put on the new Man created after God in Righteousness and true Holiness Ephes 4. Verse 22. That we may deny all Ungodliness and worldly Lusts and live righteously soberly and godly in this present World We especially to whom the saving Grace and Favour of God by Christ hath appeared and been made manifest Titus 2. Verse 11. That we may cast off the Works of Darkness and put on the Armour of Light All Virtues commended to us by Christianity which gives us so large and clear a Knowledge thereof And walk honestly as in the Day not in rioting and drunkenness c. but put on the Lord Jesus Christ that is his Temper and Spirit which he was of and which he taught a Temper and Life according to the Doctrine and Example of Christ and make no Provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof Rom. 13. Verse 12. That as Christ's or as Christians we may crucifie the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts Gal. 5. Verse 24. In this and such like manner we may conceive express and signifie our hearty unfeigned eager Desires that God would make us in general holy righteous good conscientious honest virtuous regenerate converted renewed penitent and keep us so and make us more and more so to our Lives end But this in general may most often not suffice but we may proceed further to the general Instance or Subject of Righteousness viz. Universal Charity or Benevolence to all the Universe God and all his Creation and then to particular Virtues which are but so many Instances or Instruments of Universal Charity As Love to God for himself as a Being infinitely perfect and most capable of Happiness and therefore rejoycing that his Perfection and Happiness is so great as to receive no Addition Further to love him without any reference to our selves separately but as a Being infinitely good and benign and using all his other Perfections of Power and Knowledge to do good with to all his Creation of which we have a share even all that we have that 's good being the Effect thereof nay all evil things absolutely in themselves considered to any particular Creature are permitted and disposed by him for the good of his whole Creation and therefore all things that are come from his Goodness And this is that very Perfection of Righteousness and Holiness and its only Instance Universal Love and Benevolence in God which we before were to desire for our selves and when we pray to God that we may love him if we have but a tolerable distinct conceit of him it is principally that we may love Righteousness and Holiness Universal Beneficence and Love it self For these are the principal Attributes of his Nature God is Love and he that dwelleth in Love therefore dwelleth in God Pray we therefore to God that he would work in us a sincere strong habitual Love to himself that we might love him with all our Hearts and Minds and Might and Strength and Understanding Matt. 22. Verse 37. And that he would direct our Hearts into the love of himself 2 Thess 3. Verse 5. Next to this may follow Charity which more precisely signifies Love and Good Will to all Creatures To do which to each particular with the limitation of its desert i. e. so as is most consistent with our Universal Love to all and as far as we see effective of the greatest good of the whole is the true notion of Justice or giving to every one his due I say to all Creatures within our Cognizance according to our Knowledge of them to the holy Angels holy Souls departed hence all Mankind to all Christians our own Country Town Family Relations We are to apply our general Will and Power of doing good to the whole by doing good to each particular as we are best able and can best reach and this all the ways we can which being the various kinds distinguished by Means or Parts or other Logical Respects of doing good or of Charity as is before said are so many Graces or Virtues Pray we therefore that God would make us just merciful compassionate chatable in Alms-giving candid covering of faults most ready to take notice of and commend what is good to pass by and conceal what is bad in men patient forbearing forgiving liberal hospitable ready to visit relieve and comfort the Sick those in Want the languishing in Anguish Pain and Grief to contribute what we can to and rejoyce in the good of any one particular in others Plenty of the good things of thâ— World so long as they would use them weâ— But especially to instruct exhort encouragâ— give them good Example wish they migâ— use all good things well and not be â— unworthy and undeserving of them thâ— neither God nor good Men may think it â— they should have them to adventure our oâ— Credit and good Opinion among others anâ— our Ease if it be necessary for the Discoâ—ragement and Suppression of Vice Some of those things we may express iâ— the Words of Scripture That we may sâ—fer long be kind envy not vaunt not â—â— selves not be puffed up c. 1 Cor. 13. Verse â— Further that we may be inspired with thâ— most self-denying Temper refusing our seâ—â— Pleasure ultimately and absolutely consequenâ—ly that our Corruptions or Lusts that is aâ— our selfish and immoderate Appetites and Iâ—clinations which are corrupt might be cleaâ—sed and mortified such as Malice Hatred Revenge Anger Wrath Pride Ambition Vain-glory false self-Conceit Covetousness Affectation of Superiority in any thing â— Equality Liberty Desire to be feared suâ—â— unto Contemptuousness Obstinacy Self Will Peevishness Envy Slander and Detraction Intemperance Luxury Lasciviousness Chambering and Wantonness Immoderate and Inordinate Love of Games bodily â—r mental Exercises and Actions c. In words of Scripture That we might not â—lfil these Lusts of the Flesh viz. Adultery Fornication Uncleanness Lasciviousness Haâ—ed Variance Emulation Wrath Strife Seâ—tions Heresies Envyings Murders Drunâ—enness Revelling and such like which things
whosoever do shall not inherit the Kingdom of â—od But that we be filled with all the Fruits of the Spirit Love Joy Peace Long-sufferâ—â—g Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance Galat. 5. Verse 16. c. That all â—itterness Wrath Anger Clamour Evil-speaking and Malice may be put away far from us â—nd that we may be kind one to another tenâ—er hearteâ— forgiving one another even as God for Christ'â— sake hath forgiven us Ephes 4. Verse 31. That we may add to our Faith Virtue Knowledge Temperance Patience Godliness Brotherly-kindness Charity that these things may be in us and abound that as Christians we may not be unfruitful in the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ Pet. â— 1. Verse 5. Further still In order to all these pray we for other excellent instrumental Graces or Virtues as that God would cause us to adâ—ire his most excellent Nature and Perfections to imitate him in what we are capable â—nd ought to resemble him to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect but especiallâ— Holiness and Universal Beneficence that â— may be holy as he which hath called us is â— That he would grant us to obey him sincâ—ly resolvedly universally that he wâ— give us an obedient Heart and consqueâ— be universally holy righteous and goâ— and practise all manner of Virtue and eâ—cially in the hardest Lessons when iâ— his Will we should undergo any Evils or â—flictions then presently to comply witâ—â— Will and to submit ours to it nay perfeâ— acquiesce in it nay out of choice to make â— Will to be ours That also God would gâ— unto us to trust in him have Faith in â—â— and Dependence upon him to believe wâ— soever he teacheth us willingly to â—â— our Applications to him as our best Fâ— upon all Occasions to acknowledge â—stantly that whatever inherent Strength â— Ability in any kind we have we haâ—â— from him to be heartily thankful to â—â— for all good things to rejoyce in his Fâ—â— which cannot be had without Holiâ— which when we have we have all weâ— wish or desire in Effect and we need as â—â— trouble our selves about any thing but â—â—ing our selves in all dutiful Demeanour â— Temper towards him as the innocent and â—dient Child of a loving Father Further still In order to the obtaiâ—â— â—nd practising these and all other Virtues and â—races we may put into our Prayers that â—od would bestow upon us both natural â—arts and supervenient Gifts That he would â—ake us knowing and wise furnish our underâ—andings with the Knowledge of many and â—f the most excellent things especially spiriâ—ual and more especially that he would diâ—ect us to the Knowledge of the Truth and â—rue Goodness of things That we might â—ot be foolishly led away with things that â—re false erroneous vain trifling swelling â—nd puffing up and much pleasing sometimes â—or the present but of little Profit to our Selves or the World which make us little â—ruitful in good Works to others and conâ—equently the least acceptable to God Pray â—e that God would illuminate our Minds and make us clearly to discern things especially spiritual things such as are Truth and â— Goodness the excellent and invaluable effiâ—cacy of Holiness and all Virtue to make our Selves and the World happy the Mischievousness and consequently Unreasonableness of Sin and the real Contemptibleness of all other Qualities in compare with Holiness and that we might be affected accordingly that is that God would spiritualize our Understandings and Affections Particularly that he would give us to apprehend and understand and consider there is the greatest sincerest constantest Pleasure and Satisfactiâ— in a holy virtuous wise and consequentâ— godly Life and Temper that is in Imitatiâ— of and Obedience to God much naturallâ— especially after much use and we know â—â— how much by the Influence of the Spirit â— God that this will give us great Conâ—dence and Comfort in the Day of Deathâ— Boldness Joy and Triumph in the Day â— Judgment when shall be seen so many trembling Knees and amazed Countenances of thâ— haughtiest Sinners and finally that it certainly fits us for and leads to a most perfecâ— and happy Condition or State of Life hereafter That God would give us I say ofteâ— to think of consider apprehend be affected with and feel these and any other Motives to â— holy Life Add we further That God would bestowâ— upon us a sober considerative advised calâ—â— Mind as a great preparation for Wisdom anâ— Virtue Pray we That God would instilâ— into us the most generally useful and instrumental Graces of a most ingenuous impartialâ— sincere Love of the Truth and more particularly a sincere Love to Christianity as â— Systeme of the most certain and useful Doctrines That we might believe most firmly and with a sense of their Excellency Sublimity Nobleness Delightfulness and Usefulness all the things that are therein taught and delivered and most especially those concerning our Tempers Lives and Actions that we may be hearty not superficial Believers And in order to this that we may the more mind and love these things Pray we that we may have a very great Admiration of and Love to the excellent Qualities of our Saviour Jesus Christ his mighty miraculous Power and high Favour with God â—ay his being united so intimately to God or the Divine Nature his great Wisdom his â—ncomparable Holiness and Goodness and Virtue in the highest degree particularly that of his Charity and so of all other particular Virtues to us and all Mankind his being so great a Benefactor to us as he hath been in revealing and confirming so many excellent sublime noble and useful Truths and Doctrines to us in going through the most calamitous Life and Death to give us an Example of the most perfect Virtue and Holiness and thereby meriting and procuring for us the Remission and free Pardon of all our Sins or our Justification in case of true Repentance and Amendment in his procuring for us Grace and Assistance to repent amend and be converted which is in some measure afforded to the worst and the most negligent Finally in being the Author of Eternal Life to us by thus bringing us by his Grace and Merits to be good and to be pardoned and consequenntly not to be unmeet to enter into a State of great Perfection and Happiness after Death and the final Judgment of all Flesh of which he shall be the Judge and the Distributer After these may follow the things which for the most part are useful and subservient while we are in this Life and some of them proper thereto to make and keep us good or make us better or any way enable us to do more good to execute our Goodness more immediately or remotely Such as are long Life especially till we come to be good to be converted to repent that we may have the Experience of our own Sincerity and Strength in Goodness be profitable to the World by our good Example as we have been
but too mischievous and hurtful it may be by our bad one have the Joy and Comfort of this both in Life and Death as also from a reasonable and just confidence and assurance of God's Love and Favour both here and hereafter Again Health Freedom from Sickness Diseases Distempers especially those which may indispose and disable us from being wise and good as many do and which may incline us to what is weak imperfect bad either immediately or by the Use of Means for their removal Further Peace a State of good-will of all Men towards us and towards one another a good Government good Laws good Magistrates good Neighbours Power and Magistracy our selves according to our Integrity and Ability to use it as well or better than others which sometimes our but allowable Modesty and just Opinion of our selves and especially our well disposedness to use it well for the good of others may permit us to desire and oblige us not to refuse Add hereto Liberty Honour Good-Name or Reputation to be beloved Friends Relations Riches and all the Conveniencies of Diet Cloathing Habitation Servants Assistants Attendants Freedom from hurtful Care and Solicitude and Temptation about worldly things just and sober Recreations which these Riches can and do use to procure These general things and many more numberless particulars may be the Matter and Contents of our Prayer to God that he would give and grant them us and most what in this order but let us be sure that all be for the Ends and with those Considerations expressed or presumed that I have mentioned Behold then here a short Scheme of the general Heads of most at least of those things which we may have need of either at all times or some time or other and which therefore may be the Matter of our Petitions and Desires when we pray or address our selves to God either ordinarily or extraordinarily And here it may be observed first That all these things some or other of them may be put into our Petitions for any other Persons when we pray for them For Example We ought to pray for all the Universe that God would make it perfect and happy we may and ought particularly to pray as heartily for other Men as for our selves that God would so dispose the Affairs of Mankind as to make Men more sincerely generously and constantly holy and good That Men may more love and obey God their own and all the World's Maker and Benefactour and imitate him more in the Universal Love of all and right use of any Power or Ability they have derived from him That Men may be more wise to understand and know the greatest good they can do for themselves and others and the Ways how and all things whatever which may enable them or help them thereto That Men may more universally obtain all the Perfection and Happiness their Nature is capable of be more knowing wise prudent holy good and in all instances virtuous and in order hereto that more Men may be Christians and Men which are so may be more so That they may better understand the Doctrine and Contents of the Christian Religion and their respective Goodness and Usefulness and attend to and be affected accordingly therewith and therefore principally with its ultimate end and design which is to make men holy and happy That they may be free from Ignorance Error Superstition a most mischievous sort thereof Formality Hypocrisie Pride Tyranny Affectation of Equality and Superiority Contention Strife finally from all ultimate selfishness That Christians might be preserved from being deluded or drawn or driven by foolish ignorant erroneous proud tyrannical envious vain-glorious conceited and self-seeking men Many good things there are also which may be proper to others to their Conditions or Circumstances as to all sorts of Governours and Governed that the one may rule well and the other obey to Magistrates and Subjects Parents and Children Husbands and Wives Masters and Servants So also for whole Communities or Societies some good things may be desired which are proper to them as Unity It is to be observed farther That the matter of our Prayer or Petition may sometimes be all or more fore-named particulars briefly mentioned only and sometimes and that most commonly but some of them enlarged Those particular things which we most want which are most reasonable of whose goodness we are most sensible these I say may be more enlarged with variety of expressiâ—â— both of sense and affection to detain our aâ—tention longer and to raise our affections We may also take notice of the incentives â— motives to our desire such as the goodneâ— of God his promises the great goodness â— the thing we desire in many instances 〈◊〉 necessity and yet the difficulty of it by reasâ— of many hindrances Insomuch that one or very few particulars may be the matter of very long Prayer Lastly We may observe That the Peâ—tion for holiness and righteousness a virtâ—ous and good mind is always expresly tolâ— made before all others or else it is to be pâ—â—sumed that we already have it in such degree that we may use the thing well we aâ— for if it be a thing may be used ill Forâ— only have we no reason to hope that our desires shall be granted but also we have reasâ—â— to fear that we shall be punished if we aâ— otherwise it being either impudent bolâ—ness or too wilful carelesness or ignoranceâ— the nature of God so to do as if he cared â— what and to whom he gave good thing When Men ask amiss that they may consuâ— it upon their lusts no wonder that they aâ— and receive not Jam. 4. 3. The sacrificeâ— the wicked is abomination how much more whâ— he bringeth it with a wicked mind Prov. 21. â— Nay it may be here added that so far aâ— man is wicked though he should pray for some things with a good mind intending to use them well so much less is the probability of his success or that God should grant any thing at his request For he that turneth away his ear from hearing the Law even his Prayers shall be an abomination Prov. 28. 9. i. e. so far forth and in such proportion as a man is disobedient to God and wicked it is probable God will reject and refuse his Petitions But this hindreth not to remove an ordinary scruple but that he that hath more badness than goodness in him and therefore in general may be called a bad man may pray and desire somethings from God For first he may in somethings at sometimes be well-minded be a good man and particularly in some of his Petitions and therefore hath proportionable hopes of speeding But Secondly there are other reasons of praying to God besides hopes of success There may be other and so many good effects of our praying that though we should have little probability of receiving what we ask yet it may be not only lawful but our duty to do it rather
had committed sins they should be forgiven them That is most likely that Punishment of their sins viz. their sickness which might be inflicted and justly continued too should be removed and taken away James 5. Verse 14. Is any sick amongst you let him câ—l for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. That is not improbably let the Elders using the natural Means for his Recovery also add their fervent Prayers to God For anointing with Oyl was a most ordinary and usual Medicine in those Times and Countries for curing many Infirmities and Diseases as appears by the Jewish Writings And therefore it may be instanced in by St. James and put Syneedochically for any other natural Means or Medicine whatsoever applied for Help and Cure To this also the Jews added Enchantments to which the Apostle probably opposeth Prayer as the Disciples used the Invocation of the Name of Jesus and God as a learned Man hath observed And then the Apostle proceeds the Prayer of Faith that is of a Believer or of a true and hearty holy Christian such as the Elders were generally and reasonably then supposed to be shall save the sick that is shall save him from his sickness or deliver him and the Lord shall raise him up And if he have committed sins that is any sins which might particularly have deserved such a Punishment as Sickness yet by the Prayers of these Elders righteous Men they shall be forgiven him that is this Punishment shall not be further inflicted upon him And then follows confess your Faults one to another and pray one for another for the effectual fervent Prayer of the righteous Man availeth much it is very prevalent with God to procure such and other Favours and Blessings yea and sometimes Curses and Evil things even as Elias who being but a Man as we are by his Prayers procured and obtained from God both Drought and Rain There may be also other Benefits to others by our Prayers if they be duly performed they may be Examples to others excite and draw them to a due Acknowledgment of of God and his Perfections to love him thank him desire of him have Faith Confidence and Trust in him obey and please him and to obtain all the consequent good Effects which we our selves shall by our own Prayers all which good things had it not been for our Example they would never have thought of or minded or not so much SECT 1. BUt Secondly There are many and great Benefits to our selves by Prayer which again may be comprehended under three Heads 1 Our Goodness or Holiness 2 Our Comfort Joy Satisfaction Pleasure and Delight of Soul 3 Some things that may be the common Causes or Means of both 1 Prayers do confirm and increase our Goodnoss They tend much to preserve us therein and to make us better and that these several ways amongst others First By the actual Exercise and Use of it or of the immediate Means thereof Secondly By suggestion or bringing to mind our Duty or what helps to practise it Thirdly By being an Occasion of Imitation of God Fourthly By putting us in mind particularly of the Condition of our receiving all other good things besides Goodness nay of our receiving a further degree of Goodness it self Fifthly By way of Remuneration or Reward All which I shall a little more explicate 1 By being an Occasion of the actual Exercise and Use of Goodness or of those things which immediately are the most frequent and effectual Means thereof And this is easily understood by running over all the Parts of a Prayer we have formerly mentioned As First The Confession of our Sins that is an express Judgment concerning our selves directed to God that we have been guilty formerly or are still of such and such sins and a hearty Disapprobation Dislike Disalallowance thereof a Contempt or Hatred of them and of our selves too so far as we have been guilty a hearty sorrow that we have ever been so imperfect wicked or unhappy and a chearful free and firm Resolution to do so no more but to be good and to do our Duty to do what we have been faulty in omitting and to abstain from and abandon what we have been guilty of in doing to mortifie and extinguish all the Inordinacy and Immoderacy of any or all our Appetites that is all our Lusts or the Corruption of our Appetitos and to excite and quicken our Desire and Love to our Duty and to Obedience to God whose Commands are the Rule of it Now Confession of our Sins thus explicated and in this sense is an actual Exercise or Exertion of the Habit of Goodness and Holiness or of Grace in us as it is usually called so often as we thus pray we stir up and excite and put forth into Action our habitual inclination of Goodness and Holiness But every Action and Exercise confirms the Habit to which it belongs strengthens and increaseth it All Habits may be thus gotten and however gotten though immediately by God's Influence which is called Infusion yet they are thus maintained strengthened and increased The most ordinary Person may understand this by Experience The more often we actually hate or are grieved for or at any thing or Person the more we are inclined so to do insomuch that at last we may not endure the very sight or mentioning of them And so it is in Love what things we have accustomed our selves and used often to love we contract a most ready firm and constant Inclination so to do insomuch that sometimes we cannot be for any time without them In the very like manner it is when we actually often abominate Sin in general or any one in particular when we hate contemn are grieved for it when we heartily love our Duty and with the whole strength of our Souls desire and will we may be universally or in any particular innocent or good we shall at last arrive to that habitual Temper of Love of Goodness and our Duty and hatred of Sin which will be easie strong vigorous and constant and shall not endure the Sight or Suspition of any Sin in our selves nor be able to live comfortably without the constant consciousness to our selves of as great a degree Innocency and Virtue as we can by any Means attain to Profession of our future Obedience which was another Ingredient in Prayer as I have explicated Confession is included in it and is nothing but an express Action or Resolution of Will excited by the Soul and directed to God to be obedient to him in general or in any particular where she hath been faulty and that now by his Assistance and Strength which she humbly implores she will observe to do her Duty the Rules of which are his Will made known by Reason or Revelation Which express Action of hers or actual Resolution and the more frequent the better must needs preserve and increase her
Universal Righteousness and Holiness And so likewise be it observed of thanking God or actually loving him for his Benefits received already either in general or in particular which is also one Ingredient in Prayer without doubt the oftner we do it the more really and heartily the more vigorously and strongly we shall do it But the Love of God for his Benefits doth dispose us certainly to please him and consequently to imitate and obey him we knowing that pleaseth him and consequently to be univeâ—sally holy righteous and good which he and commands Nay we all naturally knâ— that Holiness pleaseth him besides what perpetually sounded in our Ears who â— Christians from our Cradles that without liâ—liness it is impossible to please God And so â— see it by Experience that bad Men care â—â— for thanking of God or if they do it is â—ry superficially and coldly and very seldomâ— and contrariwise those that do it oftner aâ— more heartily are generally better Dâ—â— very frequently in the Psalms joins both â— Thankfulness to God for his Mercies and Bâ—nefits received and his Desire and Prayers â—â— God to bestow them with his Resolutiâ— to be obedient to God and to keep his Coâ—mandments In the 119. Psalm often Thâ— art good and doest good teach me thy Statuteâ— Verse 68. And hold thou me up and I shall â— safe and I will have respect unto thy Commâ—â—ments continually Verse 117. And deliver â— from the Oppression of Man so will I keep â—â— Precepts Verse 134. I cryed unto thee save mâ— and I shall keep thy Testimonies Verse 146. In Petition too another Ingredient of Prayer the oftner we do it the readier we shaâ— be thereto and our Desires will be more reaâ— sincere strong and vigorous but if we truly and heartily not in Words only desire any thing of God we must have some hope â—e â—ill do it and if so we must certainly judge â—m to be good which will engage us to love â—im and consequently as even now arguâ—d dispose us to please him by imitating and â—eying him I have said before that Prayers are not â—ecessary Means for making us better For â—rst there are other Means besides as Readâ—g Hearing Meditating in which are many â—f the same Employments of Mind as there â—re in Prayer And then again A Man's Opinion of Perâ—ection and the several Degrees thereof and consequently of God whom all men judge to be all Perfection of the Goodness and Badâ—ess of Things and their several Degrees may be so false and mischievous that his Acknowledgments Honour Reverence Love â—o God his Confessions of his Sins his Thanksgivings and Petitions in his Prayers may be very pernicious things and instead of making him more truly holy and virtuous charitable self-denying humble spiritual may make him very wicked and bad selfish tyrannical proud and sensual and this it may be sometimes when he thinks clean contrary and is very highly conceited of himself through Insincerity his Conscience being prejudiced and defiled by some habitual Lust wilfully or lazily indulged It is not pure and sincere inclined to judge by no other Appetite but what is right and ought tâ— be done Thus a Man may have in his Acknowledgments of God many false and bâ— Conceits and Opinions of him as that he iâ— arbitrary doth all things out of meer selâ— love only to please himself and thereforâ— no matter whether in Eternal Torment oâ— Happiness of Creatures that he is partial that he connives at and is indulgent to somâ— particular ones in Sin only because he will and they are dear to him and he hath set hiâ— affections upon them and that he will forgive some for Christ's sake and pardon them but not others though one be not better thaâ— the other Men may go so far in this blind Devotion through their own Carelesness Rashness or Lusts as to Worship more aâ— Idol of their own or the Devil than God That is the Object of their Worship in their Minds may have more of what they imagine to be Perfection and consequently to belong to the Nature of God than of what truly and really is so It may have more of Imperfection and sometimes of the worst sort than of what is true Perfection And thus it is in those who conceive God selfish partial malicious tyrannical revengeful corporeal who assuredly are a greater number than are commonly thought and some esteemed very devout Men may also pray for some things out of â—eer Self-Love nay with a Mixture of Vain-Glory Hatred Envy Revenge Worldly-Mindedness Sensuality Pride and Wrath against others A Mixture I say for the most part for they may also propose to themselves the Justice of their Desires and what pleaseth God and is for his Honour Though this Apprehension or Conceit too may oft-times proceed from ultimate Self-Love and they are willing to think a Thing just and that it pleaseth God only because they would have it so For such Prayers as these as there may be something in them which may have some Tendency to make Men good as meerly acknowledging of God's Attributes and our Dependence upon him so there is much more in them which will make Men bad and wicked Again A Man may be erroneous and mistaken in many Parts of his Prayer through Pride and Conceitedness or Superstition So he may acknowledge God's goodness and thank him for his being made by him very holy and good in general when he is not so nay sometimes not even in those particulars he mentions and that which he takes for Holiness may be done out of Pride Vain-Glory or some other base End As the Pharisee thanked God he was not an Extortioner and unjust when he was though not in the same Instances with the Publican in exacting Custom and taking perhaps some what to abate and conceal it or when iâ— he was not an Extortioner Unjust Adulterer in the external Actions or internal either yet it might be only to save his Credit or Reputation or that he might appear more holy than the Publican and not be as the Common People of the Earth but be superiour to them In all which there was nâ— Holiness at all but only Wickedness Or finally if he were truly so much better than the Publican in these things yet he might be as bad or worse in as many or more things such as were Pride Vain-Glory Envy c. and that therefore he looked upon himself much more holy in general than he was and thanked God for it too And so also a Man might be erroneous in his Confession of his Sins and through indulged Weakness Ignorance Superstition or some Passions judge those Sins which are not so or greater than they are For which Reasons how necessary is it for us to be wise discreet to know our Selves to be in the Truth before we suffer any Affections to be engaged Some even Religious and highly useful affections when guided by reason and truth may when they are blind or
his Plow or Harrow or in his Shop may surely upon these Occasions do thus as easily if they had mind as Swear and Curse at their Cattle or Fellow-Servants or Masters or Chapmen or Customers It is a very good and laudable Custom which Men generally have when they mention any considerable Benefit or good thing received to say God be thanked when any Fault of their own to say God forgive theâ— when any Calamity or Evil which they fâ—â— or fear to say God have Mercy on them Aâ— these are ejaculatory Prayers But then â—â— they are Customary so they should be Heaâ—â— and Men should have a care to live as they Sâ— These and many other Ejaculatory Prayeâ— may be oftner used in our Thoughts thaâ— spoken for fear of seeming Affectation whiâ— may offend SECT IV. III. A Third Way how Praying keeps â— good and makes us better is â—â— being an Occasion of Imitation â— God And this by the Means of Suggestioâ— and bringing God and his excellent Perfectâ—ons and Attributes to our Minds and by tâ—â— Exercise of our Admiration Honour Reverence of him as one powerful wise holy and righteous of our Love to him as oâ— good to us good to all his Creatures Goodness it self For all these Affections in us tâ— any Person dispose us effectually to Imitation of all we can in him in general but especially to that which we more particularly admire and love The serious and frequent admiring therefore and loving particularly in God his Holiness and Righteousness will dispose us to an imitation of him therein The reason why we do not see Men's Prayers do them this way any great good though I think they rarely perform them so badly but they would be worse if they did not perform them at all is because they perform their Prayers so seldom or so superficially coldly or heartlesly Sometimes they pray only with their Lips when their Hearts are far from what they do they are cold and dull not at all warmed or touched The very loving God for his Benefits only in particular to us will dispose us to Imitation if we do but attend to or remember that to imitate him will certainly please him which Love disposeth us unto And that our Love and Thankfulness to God for his Benefits in our Prayers may more certainly have this excellent Effect of Imitation of him and consequently being holy it will be very good when we have acknowledged God's Favours to ask our selves seriously what we shall return him again how we shall please him and then to answer our selves by being like himself in all manner of Righteousness and Holiness and hating all manner of Sin and Iniquity We see also by Experience that we imitate those with whom we much and frequently converse and have a great Opinion of we do as they do we entertain our selves with the same Thoughts Affections Actions And so it is with Minds who frequently and heartily converse with God that is have him the Object of their Thoughts and Affections in Prayer and have an honourable Opinion of him as who hath not they generally are more like him I am sure at least are much disposed thereto Experience also teacheth us that Men who think of God are much according to their Notions of him as they think of him and apprehend him And therefore if they look upon God as a powerful arbitrary angerful Being so he be not so to themselves and they be but secure they themselves are apt to be so too and oft-times actually are so They contrariwise who worship God principally for and take notice of his Universal Goodness and Love as his principal and only absolute Perfection and dearly love and admire him as Omniscient and Omnipotent Love who though he can do what he list doth always what is best These I say are apt to be of a universally generously benign Temper to all not arbitrary partial but good to every one as is best for the general good or for the Publick Again Our Prayers by Converse with spiritual and great Objects spiritualizing and widening our Minds do make us more capable of apprehending and imitating of God's Perfections especially his Holiness or Universal Righteousness SECT V. IV. A Fourth Way how our Prayers do make us good and better and preserve us in Goodness is more particularly by bringing to our Minds the Condition of our Petitions being granted We cannot pray for or desire any thing of God with any Hopes of Success but upon the Condition of our being good the degrees of our Faith and Hope are to answer the degrees of our Goodness And this way is proper to that part of Prayer called Petition We all of us naturally know and believe that God is holy and just and that he governs all the World for its greatest good and that it is for its greatest good and therefore one of his Laws or Rules to reward the good and to punish the bad and that one proper way of Punishment which God may use is to take away the good things that wicked Men have already or to cross their desires that they should not prosper or succeed in what they would have and if we believe this we can have no Hopes of Success or that our Petitions should be granted so far as we know our selves to be wicked and if we have no Hopes to speed without repentance and reformation either we shall never give ouâ—selves the trouble to ask at all or if oâ— necessity or choice put us upon Asking oâ— Consciences will also put us upon Reformation of what we have known to be amiâ— in our selves and sometimes if we be iâ— a great fright of what we never knew â— suspected before Hence it comes to pass that wicked men whose Consciences fly iâ— their Faces or are apt to whisper something which they would not hear of or amend when they want any thing though they know not how to come by it without Gods immediate Help as Health Strength Freedom from Poverty Prison Pain Sickness Death yet are so loth to betake themselves to their Prayers They will use any Means though never so improbable and difficult and run and shift from one thing to another and employ and busie their Invention or Endeavour and hope this and t'other thing will effect what they would have rather than apply themselves to God when that hearty Prayers is so facile and likely a way to obtain what they would have and is a Means which being used with all other will make them more successful I know sometimes Conscience may be very forgetful dull partial erroneous through want of Sincerity and Strength in Goodness and Men may be very consident in their Petitions too when really they are at the same time very bad and that even in their very Prayers they are performing and therefore that the Prayers of such persons do neither suppose nor make them good but yet for the most part it is otherwise Especially when mens
of their Desert from God as to challenge him with Injustice for neglecting them But God tells them plainly that the external Parts of his Worship of Praying Weeping Fasting Looking sorrowfully and sordidly were not the things that he had chosen to procure them any Favour from him but it was reforming themselves and leaving all the above-named Iniquities being in all Instances and Expressions Universally Charitable to their Neighbour not oppressing or tyrannizing being tender-hearted compassionate c. It was these and such like should cause their Light to break forth as the Morning and their Health spring forth speedily that is should make them a joyous and happy People And Verse 9. expresly Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer thou shalt cry and he shall say here I am If thou take away from the midst of thee the Yoke that is Oppression the putting forth of the Finger that is Derision and Contempt it may be of thy poor unhappy Neighbour and speaking Vanity that is Lying or Fraud For by Vanity the Hebrew ordinarily expresseth Falshood c If thou reform and mend thy wicked Ways then mayst thou hope for and expect according to God's own Promise when it shall seem fit to him and that it will often dâ— that thy Prayers shall be heard otherwiâ—e thy Prayers and Confidence too are but Presumption and Impudence It is true these last places of the Prophet Isaiah and such like prove that which I have before mentioned viz. That Mens Consciences may sometimes so forget themselves be so partial and erroneous that they may pray boldly and confidently when they may rather expect the Taunt there and their Prayers to be thrown into their Faces that is their Prayers to be hated and contemn'd by God and themselves to be punished for their Hypocrisie and that therefore all Prayers do not always in all things necessarily suppose or make Men good But then they inform Men too which is the End why I have brought them that if Men hope to be heard by God and to have their Prayers granted they must be good and not live in the practice of known Sin or through Hypocrisie or Insincerity Laziness or Prevalency of some Lust above their Duty wilfully be ignorant whether they live in any Sin or no or slatter themselves in general they do not And those Men who know thus much by natural Conscience Reason the Scriptures and often attend to it which are most Men in some Degree or other though not all if they betake themselves to pray to God for the removal of any Evil or the granting of them any good will first be apt to reslect upon their Lives and Actions and promise unto God Amendment and Reformation of what they know to be bad in themselves and to beg his Pardon that they may with Hopes of Success pray to him and effectually obtain their Desires and to do this often and constantly surely will be an excellent Means for the preserving Men from all Sin nay to make them more sincerely vigorously constantly and universally better SECT VI. THe Fifth Way how our Praying may V. make us better and preserve us in Goodness is by Remuneration or Reward that is God Almighty may immediately or mediately reward our Prayers even in general being such as they should be God may reward our dutiful Acknowledgment of his infinite Perfections and our being affected with them accordingly our Admiration Honour Love Thankfulness Address to him humble Dependence upon him exercised in our Prayers with the greatest Blessings he can bestow upon us and that is with Increase Growth Strength in Holiness and Goodness When we pray unto him depend upon him humbly and in Resolution of Obedience and well-doing which also are Signs of our Acknowledgments of his Perfections even for any other good things besides Goodness as for Wisdom Instruction Deliverance from bodily Dangers Plenty good Success in worldly Affairs a peaceable and comfortable Life c. Then it may seem good to God sometimes to reward this Exercise of our Goodness or of those things which are such proper Means thereof with better things than what we ask and with them too eveâ— this principal one of all of preserving aâ— strengthning our Souls in Holiness in genâ—ral and in particular Virtues and Graces But much more still have we reason tâ— think that God will bestow this incompâ—rable Blessing upon us when we humblâ— sincerely and importunately beseech it â— his hands above all other things Whâ— we pray to him with our whole Hearts thâ— he would but make us sincerely and generously good holy Lovers of himself and â— all Persons to do all things out of an Unâ—versal Charity and Love never to gratifâ— any inordinate or immoderate Appetite anâ— as for other things we plainly are indiffereâ— to them but only so far forth as they maâ— be Instruments hereof of our being or doing good This is a Petition that argueâ— and acts a Temper of Mind than which nothing in Heaven and Earth is so acceptable unto God and therefore to encourage iâ— and our Desires and Endeavours after it especially if they be frequent and long it is the most likely thing that God will heat our Prayers grant our Desires make out Endeavours in some Measure and Time or other successful We have heard before the blind Man's Opinion and the common Opinion of Mankind That if any Man be a Worshipper of God God heareth him â—nd in this surely rather than any other â—hing Our Saviour to encourage our Addresses to God such as they ought to be hath exâ—resly promised Success when it seems sit to God and it doth so sometimes or else there is no 〈◊〉 at all 〈◊〉 and it shall be given â—â— seek and you shall 〈◊〉 knock and it shall â—e opened unto you for every one that asketh â—s he ought receâ—â—eth when it seems fit to God and that is very often and he that â—eketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall â—e opened Which our Saviour illustrateth â—y a Similitude of earthly Parents who â—ive to their Children upon their asking â—ecessary or convenient things how much more will God who is infinitely wiser and â—etter to us and loves us all more with a Love of Benevolence than our earthly Parents can do give them unto us What Man is there c. Matt. 7. to Verse 12. The â—ame we have in St. Luke Chap. 11. Verse 13. Where it is How much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him In David's Psalms are many places to this purpose Psalm 145. Verse 18 19. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him in Truth He will fulfil the Desires of them that fear him he also will hear their Cry and will save them Nothing more ordinary than for the Apostles in their Epistles to pray for their Disciples and Believers thâ— were their Charge that they might increâ— and be strengthned in Holiness and Gâ—ness
in all Graces and good Works Aâ— surely they would not have prayed so â— less they had had hopes that God woâ— some time or other and in some measure heâ— them Thus only for Example St. Paâ— Thessal 1. 3. 12. The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one to another anâ— all men even as we do towards you to the eâ— he may establish your hearts unblamable in holâ—ness before God even our Father at the comiâ— of the Lord Jesus Christ with all his Saint And Thessal 2. 2. 16. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our Father which hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace comfort yoâ— hearts and stablish you in every good word aâ— work And if God would hear their aâ— consequently our Prayers for others to make and keep them good and make them better then surely there is reason to think he wiâ— hear us for our selves nay there is much more reason for it is a sign that we have a real and prevalent Love to Goodness wheâ— we desire it for our selves but the desiring it for others may not so much signifie it We may often wish others to be good as bad Parents do their Children sometimes and yet not our selves Because others being good â—s not inconsistent perhaps with any beloved â—ust of our own but our own being good â—s Whence it may be observed that a real Love of the Saints or of holy Men which â—ath by some been laid down as a certain Character of a Saint that is of a Person who is habitually and prevalently holy and who shall be saved is not truly so It is a sign indeed of some Degree of Holiness but not of a prevalent degree thereof And thus much for the first general Benefit to our selves of Praying viz. it is a likely Means duly performed to preserve â—s in Goodness and to make us better to increase and strengthen in us Holiness and Goodness and all the particular Instances hereof and that by these several Ways I have mentioned SECT VII I. A Second general Benefit to our selves by Prayer is that of Comfort Joy Delight of Soul Satisfaction Acquiescence Ease of Spirit and that these four ways among others 1. Great pleasure and delight of Soul ariseth immediately from the Operations or Actions of our Souls terminated upon God in Prayer very naturally that is withoâ— the special immediate influence of God upâ— our minds For Example In our acknowledgment of the Divine Perfections and Aâ—tributes so often mentioned we take nâ—tice of or contemplate if we be more aâ— and have more time in secret especially God's infinite Perfections and Excellencieâ— his All-mighty Power his All-comprehending Knowledge his Universal and Infinâ— Goodness to all his Creatures and therefoâ— sometimes his tender Mercy forbearing for giving bestowing promising rewarding otherwhile his as wholesome Justice in coâ—trouling chastising and punishing wickedness and that God is eternally immutably infinitely all this I say we in our Prayer more or less take notice of or attend tâ— such things as these the very thoughts oâ— which so vast objects are vastly pleasing and delightful to the Soul To cast but some glances at them toucheth the soul with â— great and smart pleasure and delight as iâ— is in our most set Customary Publick oâ— Private Prayers where we can have timâ— only more transiently to look at these things But in our secret and retired Devotions where we may take as much time as we wâ— to fix our thoughts upon them to admire them and then think of them again if our souls be but fitted for this Employment by â— sober and refined temper of body by frequent use and God's influence the delight and pleasure may be to a ravishing degree And the more particular distinct and comprehensive our Knowledge is the greater our Admiration and the more intense our pleasure still which it is certain some souls have experienced to such a degree that they would not change with the best furnished sensualist or worldling nor hearken to the motion without the highest contempt But then much more still is this pleasure increased by the passions and actions of Love Desire Joy Trust and Hope Resolutions of Obedience and Imitation which the view and apprehension of the Divine Perfections produce in us so far forth as we are fitted therefore by spirituality to apprehend them and by an habitual goodness and generosity of temper to be affected with them The very passion of Love it self is an extraordinary agreeable pleasant and sweet thing to our minds and who is there except very unfortunate natured persons who doth not experience it in some thing or other But what may or can be beloved with a more ardent and intense degree of it than God ' Than God I say when we conceive him to be infinite love it self for God is Love to be universally good to all things which he hath made eternally immutably and in infinite degree insomuch that there never can be any one thing in the World that is not the Effect of his love and goodness to the whole World even his permission and punishment of Sin it self than God I say who is uncontroulable and infinite in Power too and can do what he pleaseth upon whom all things depend and from whom they have all and that no longer than pleaseth him and yet is infinite Love and Goodness What can or may be more beloved than such a Being as he is I say what may be loved by us more ardently than God not what is so Our minds may be very sensual and dull in their apprehensions very much corrupted degenerate and debased in their affections so that we may not apprehend these spiritual Excellencies nor have any or but very little inclinations to them or affections for them in any other We may our selves be so ill-natured as not much to be taken or pleased with all the expressions of others kindness and good nature unless it be to our selves nor then neither unless they be able as well as kind and can do something for us as well as will it which is a sign that 't is the persons power more than his goodness that we love or esteem and his power too only to do us good I say a man may be of this dull selfish brutish Nature and be pleased principally with power and other things not at all or little with loving or good nature This man indeed in his Prayers will have little love for the Universal Goodness and loving Kindness of God and consequently have little pleasure or delight in his Prayers upon that account But I do affirm That there are Souls who have the greatest ardency and pangs of love and affection to God and dearly embrace him and unite themselves to him thus considered and that these therefore find in their Prayers where they put forth this their affection the most ravishing Joy and Pleasure Nay I affirm That even
this principally because it is extraordinary few men do so much most men quite neglect God take little notice of him make any acknowledgment of him And hence further may they believe themselves in general very extraordinary excellent persons and that without doubt they are highly in God's favour most precious and acceptable to him his praying people and consequently that he will do any thing for them and for their sakes These Abuses and Mistakes I have mentioned that they might be prevented Be it sure that when a man reflects upon his having prayed to God and is very well satisfied and pleased therewith it be nothing but what is really good that pleaseth him Not for Example his singularity or superiority to other men but the spirituality of his mind and the well-disposedness of his Soul his true love to Goodness Universally Hatred of Sin Love and Thankfulness to God Honour Reverence Obedience Faith Dependence and Trust in Him the actual Exercise of these and â— temper of mind from whence they proceed and to which they tend Let him be sure also that these things were in his praying to God not in general highly pleasing himself in having prayed when there was little of them but indeed much more of such worthless or wicked things I have above mentioned The being thus well assured of the goodness of our Prayers as it will in good mens minds raise up great delight and satisfaction so also it ought that we may be encouraged still to go on in the performance of so excellent a Duty whereby we shall still be rendred better more able and disposed by being good to serve and please God and to do good in the World And we ought to give hearty thanks to God that our Souls are so well tempered as to be pleased and delighted with such things SECT X. IV. PRaying procures Delight Joy and Satisfaction of Mind by God's special immediate Influence God may no doubt in our praying to him some ways perfect all the Operations of our Souls He may bring things either unknown or known before to our minds that is reveal or suggest he may cause us to attend to perceive and understand things more clearly and strongly that is illuminate our minds he may also excite and strengthen our Love to our Duty Sorrow for Sin Love to any particular Duty Love to himself Honour Reverence Humble Address and Dependence Faith submissive and obediential Resolution So likewise surely he may excite and diffuse through our Souls Joy Delight Satisfaction from the Exercise of all these immediately more than would otherwise be without this his especial immediate Action or Influence And that God doth do thus the Scripture plainly affirms and Reason it self insomuch that Philosophers have taught it would conclude it probable Xenoph. Sen. Cicero as well for other reasons as particularly to draw and encourage us to the more frequent and vivid Exercise of these excellent Operations of our Souls of these Graces in us And 't is this which makes that which is called Communion or rather Union with God in Prayer compleat For to have God the Object of the Operations of our Souls to direct our Souls to God and then for God again to make our Souls the Object of his Action or Influence and the more of it as there is in the more especial and immediate influence of God the more the Communion is or may very properly be called Unioâ— or Conversation of our Souls with God and is a thing easily understood by all but more felt by some men who are truly called godly and holy men The Union between two spiritual substances cannot be understood to be any other than by the mutual intercourse of operations and is much more really so than that which is between two bodys And here we may easily understand that this Conversation with God is not only confined to Prayer but may be referr'd to all our Lives in any part of which we may direct the Operations of our Souls to him as when we do any thing in obedience to his Commands and he may again have immediate influence upon us as to suggest and strengthen us in our Obedience any the ways before mentioned And the frequenter and more vigorous these things are in man's Life the more he may be said to have Communion or Union with God in his Life or to Converse with God And thus much for the Second sort of Benefits of Praying SECT XI III. THe Third sort of general good Effects or Benefits of Praying are those which are Helps and Means both of our Goodness and Comfort of which I shall at present name but Two viz. Spirituality and Enlargedness of Soul 1. Spirituality By which I mean such a temper of Soul whereby a man is apt to apprehend and be affected with Intellectual or Spiritual Objects whether Absolute as the Nature and Properties of all Spiritual Beings such as our own Souls Angels God himself Or Relative as all the Relations and Habitudes of things one to another such as Cause and Effect Contrariety Similitude Connexion and Repugnancy c. the successive apprehension of which two last is called Reasoning It is manifest That the Objects about which our minds are conversant in Prayer are chiefly those of the first sort God and his Attributes our Souls and their several Perfections and Imperfections as Ignorance and Knowledge Errour and Truth Vices and Virtues or Sins and Graces c. Now by frequent Exercise and Usage of our selves to Prayer these Objects become familiar to us and such as we readily and clearly conceive and apprehend and which really and strongly affect us whereas those men who never Pray or otherwise use their minds to them are only sensual and corporeal or carnally minded that is such who can only conceive and are affected with sensible things and somewhat of reasoning sometimes dully enough too about them but strangely inept to spiritual things blind and sensless in them But further This Spirituality of Mind is manifestly a great preparation of Soul for Virtue and Goodness because they are spiritual things It fits our Souls to apprehend their Nature to see their Beauty and Excellency the natural necessary Efficiency or Causality that is in them of the Happiness of the World which can be discovered in no other thing and consequently really to approve honour admire and love them Moreover the very same temper of Soul whether from the subtilty and calmness of the Spirits or any other cause which disposeth to Spirituality disposeth also to Benignity or Love which when it is universal and impartial is the only Instance and Subject of Virtue and Goodness Finally The Pleasure and Joy which the Soul perceives from her Conversation with Spiritual Objects is far more profound and piercing more lasting and more frequent being more in our own power than that from sensible and corporeal ones is that which besides Revelation the Experience not only of virtuous and holy Souls but
the great Benefits and Excellent Uses and Effects of Praying to God CHAP. V. SECT I. V. THe Fifth general Head is Directions for Praying these shall be of two sorts 1. To inform or remember our selves of the due qualifications of a Prayer what they are 2. To suggest some means to obtain these said qualifications Again The first sort or the due qualifications are of two sorts likewise 1. Those concerning the things contained in a Prayer 2. Those concerning the signs of those things Those qualifications again concerning the things contained in a Prayer are only likewise of two sorts 1. Those that appertain to the objects or sense of a Prayer 2. Those which appertain to the Actions or to use the most fit general Term I know any Affections by which I mean not only the passions of Soul used in a Prayer such as I have before reckoned up and largely discoursed of and which briefly only to rehearse them are 1. Acknowledgment of God's excellent Attributes his infinite Perfections together with the affections of Soul consequent such as Admiration Honour Reverence Fear Love Faith Hope or Confidence Obediential Resolution c. 2. Confession of our Sins 3. Profession of our future Obedience in which two are included many more particular Actions as Reflection Comparing our Actions with our Duty Acknowledgment or Confession strictly so called Accusation Condemnation Grief and Sorrow for Sin Watchfulness against it Resolution to do so no more 4. Thankfulness or Love to God for his Benefits to us 5. A Proposal Recital Explication of our Wants their number their greatness As also of the reasons and grounds of our desires of their importunateness i. e. of their earnestness and frequency And then 6. Our express Petitions and Desires Again and lastly The due qualifications of the signs used in so Praying both of the Objects and Actions or Operations of our Souls are 1. Those of Words or Speech which are always used as signs of our immediate conceptions and actions of Soul when we pray with others in their name and so as they may joyn with us They may also be used in secret Prayer for the more strong and express excitation in our selves both of sense and of the operations of our Souls Perceptions Affections Resolutions I say they may where there is no worse consequence than that is a good one as seeming to be or a temptation to be vain-glorious be used by us in our secret or retired Prayers But even when we do not in our secret Prayers pronounce them with our Lips yet they are in our Imagination and we near always signifie by them unto our selves our conceit of things or Ideas at least if not our affections Further These Words or Speech are sometimes the signs only of things or sense or Ideas in our minds and not of any other operations of our Souls as in Mathematicks so may it be in any other part of knowledge where men write and speak purely to teach and inform Sometimes again especially with some properties belonging to them as their Gravity Acuteness Lowdness Lowness Swiftness Slowness Equality Inequality Position and Site they only signifie other operations or affections of our Souls especially our Passions and not our Ideas or conceipts But for the most part both when written and pronounced they signifie both together It is very rare but that they indicate and signifie together with the sense some quality or action of mind in the writer or speaker and especially the Passions as in sentences of Admiration yea and of Trust and Confidence and Desire c. frequent in the Psalms nor indeed is any discourse acceptable to the generality of men without them For example Where are thy loving kindnesses of old Hast thou forgotten to be gracious Hast thou cast us off for ever Great desires are here signified as well as sense Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Sion Psalm 14. Verse 7. Ardent and earnest desire is here signified by words and their order and position Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end Psalm 7. Verse 9. And oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness Psalm 107. Verse 8. are the same Oh how I love thy Law Psalm 119. Verse 97. signifies Admiration at the greatness of his Love as well as the sense or thing that he did love God's Law Repetition of words signifies not only the sense of such words but also some passion or some great degree thereof As Psalm 116. Verse 16. O Lord truly I am thy servant I am thy servant the Son of thy Hand-maid c. signifies not only the sense that the Psalmist was God's Servant but also the Passion of Joy that he was so and of Hope because he was so And save now I beseech thee O Lord O Lord I beseech thee send now prosperity Psalm 118. Verse 25. Earnestness and greatness of Desire is here signified So again for Example When a man confesseth that he hath been or is the greatest of Sinners or the least esâ— Saints or the like these words do not oâ— ought not to signifie the superlative degree as other words may sometimes do but only that they have been once great sinners and are but little good in the positive degree And moreover the great Passion of Grieâ— and Hatred for and of Sin and of undervaluing and contempt of themselves for being so very bad or little good Many other Expressions in Prayers and other performances when men are hot and affectionated may truly be so interpreted though oft-times the persons themselves do not observe it but will defend the precise meaning and sense of the words when spoken without passion to be always true But 2. These signs either of Sense or Objectâ— or of Operations or Affections of our Souls are other postures or gestures of some parts of the body such as are those of the head as shaking it which is a sign of desire or sadness of the whole Countenance as the parts thereof being composed and steady i. e. which usually signifies Attention c. Of the eyes particularly whose lifting up usually signifies desire thankfulness approbation admiration c. Of the whole body as standing up which may signifie approbation more usually attention The signs which signifie Approbation and Attention usually signifie too Respect Esteem Reverence The lifting up the hands ordinarily signifies desire Kneeling usually signifies Reverence Respect Submission Some certain postures of the Countenance signifie Grief and Sadness some Joy some Trust and Confidence c. for there are infinite variety Postures and Gestures may be also the signs of sense too or of our meaning as we see it is in dumb persons but those to whom God hath granted the use of words and speech very rarely use them for that purpose We begin at the first viz. the due Qualifications of the Sense or Objects or the things about which our minds are conversant in Prayer Some of which are these
perform their Duty to him where also his Justice or punitive Goodness and the Psalmist concludes with as general an acknowledgment by his mouth speaking the praises of the Lord and let all flesh bless his holy Name for ever and ever Read also a magnificent particular acknowledgment of God's Power Goodness and Wisdom in Psalm 104. which begins bless the Lord O my Soul O Lord my God thou art very great thou art cloathed with Honour and Majesty who coverest thy self with light as with a garment who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain and then ends O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the Earth is full of thy riches that is of plenty and abundance of good things For reasonable trust in God we meet with the most significant Expressions every where of the greatest and boldest degree thereof both as to particular favours of Peace Plenty good Name and Honour c. and also in general Psalm 37. Verse 3 4 5 6. and so on throughout the whole Psalm Trust in the Lord and do good behave thy self as thou oughtest and do thy Duty so shalt thâ—â— dwell in the Land and verily thou shalt be fed Delight thy self also in the Lord and he shall give thee thine hearts desire Commit thy way unto the Lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass c. Psalm 146. Verse 3. Put not your trust in Princes nor in the Son of man in whom there is no help And Verse 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help whose hope is in the Lord his God who made Heaven and Earth c. And how often doth the Psalmist seem to be exalted above himself and triumph in his trust confidence and firm hope in God For Confession and Grief for Sin see the reality and seriousness of it in the 38 Psalm Verse 3. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger nor any rest in my bones because of my sin And Verse 18. I will declare mine Iniquity I will be sorry for my sin The 51 Psalm is a known Example both of David's hearty confession of and piercing grief and bitterness of Soul for his sins as also of the vehemencies of his desire and petition to God for purging and pardon to cleanse and rectifie his Soul and to forgive him and then to grant him Joy Comfort and Peace Have mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindness according to the multitude of thy tender Mercies blot out my Transgressions c. We may read the whole Psalm than which there cannot be any thing more pathetical O Lord open my mouth and my lips shall shew forth thy praise that is give me an occasion and a cause of acknowledging and praising thee in this thy particular favour of granting me Purification Pardon Peace and enable me to do it and then I resolve also to declare and make known how much thou deservest to be praised thanked loved admired by me and all men As for Profession of Obedience there are not many Verses in the 119 Psalm in which we have not some Emphatical signification of the firmness and unmovableness of his resolution the very frequency is a great sign thereof Verse 97. Oh how I love thy Law Verse 103. How sweet are thy words unto my tast sweeter than honey to my mouth Verse 106. I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous Judgments Ver. 111. Thy Testimonies have I taken as an heritage â—â—r ever for they are the rejoycing of my heart Ver. 127. I love thy Commandments above Gold yea above sine Gold Ver 131. I opened my mouth and panted for I longed for thy Commandments c. Are these the Words and Expressions of a cold indifferent or of a luke-warm man in his love to resolution for Righteousness and consequently for the Commands of God For the Psalmist's Thankfulness and Love to God for his Benefits to him in particular the passages and places are as numerous Psalm 86. Verse 12. I will praise thee O Lord my God with all my heart and I will glorifie thy Name for evermore for great is thy Mercy towards me thou hast delivered my Soul from the lowest Hell 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or from the deep Grave or the Grave underneath that is from Death which had overtaken me and seized upon me had it not been for thy special eare A very pathetical and emphatical Expression of his Love and Thankfulness to God both for his personal Favours towards himself and those towards his own Nation the People of the Jews nay towards all his Works in all places is the 103 Psalm all which Read we heedfully and imitate Verse 1. Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his Benefits who forgiveth all thine Iniquity and healeth all thy Diseases who redeemeth thy life from destruction who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies c. And lastly his Petitions and Desires are with the greatest fervency and importunity signified and expressed and that principally in the things of greatest concernment especially considering his case sometimes fain to fly to Idolatrous People for shelter as particularly for to be admitted and restored to the external publick Worship of the true God as it was by himself instituted in order to his internal Worship which as I have above said contains all Religion nay all Duty Psalm 42. Verse 1. As the Hart panteth after the Water-brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God My Soul thirsteth for God even for the living God when shall I come and appear before God Psalm 63. O God thou art my God early will I seek thee My Soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty Land where no water is to see thy Power and thy Glory so as I have seen thee in the Sanctuary because thy loving kindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee The Psalmist Asaph very passionately expresseth his Joy repoâ—e and â—â—quiescence in God in that of the 73 Psalm Verse 25. Whom have I in Heaven and I have delighted in nothing on Earth in compare with thee or with thee at all that is besides thee as our Translation hath it That is I put my Trust and place my Delight neither in any God the Heathen Gods nor man in compare with thee or together with thee Thou art my Ultimate Trust my chiefest Delight My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever The like earnestness and fervency may be observed when the Psalmist prays for deliverance from his so great and malicious Enemies that they sought utterly to ruine him to defame and reproach him by malicious and mischievous slanders and so banish him perpetually or take away his life or when he prays for