dangerous inconvenience wherof hath been too often found in the rash and unwarrantable expressions that have fallen from the mouths of unwary suppliants but we must addresse our selves with due preparation to that holy worke we must digest our sutes fore-order our supplications to the Almighty so that there may be excellent and necessary use of meet rules of our Devotion He whose Spirit helps us to pray and whose lips taughts us how to pray is an all-sufficient example for us all the skill of men and Angels cannot afford a more exquisite modell of supplicatory Devotion than that blessed Saviour of ours gave us in the mount led in by a divine and heart-raising preface carried out with a a strong and heavenly enforcement wherein an awfull compellation makes way for petition and petition makes way for thanksgiving the petitions marshalled in a most exact order for spirituall blessings which have an immediate concernment of God in the first place then for temporall favours which concern our selves in the second so punctuall a method had notbeen observed by him that heareth prayers if it had been all one to him to have had our Devotions confused and tumultuary SECT III. THere is commonly much mistaking of Devotion as if it were nothing but an act of vocall prayer expiring with that holy breath and revived with the next taske of our invocation which is usually measured of many by frequence length smoothnesse of expression lowdnes vehemence Whereas indeed it is rather an habituall disposition of an holy soul sweetly conversing with God in all the forms of an heavenly yet awfull familiarity and a constant entertainment of our selves here below with the God of spirits in our sanctified thoughts and affections One of the noble exercises whereof is our accesse to the throne of grace in our prayers whereto may be added the ordering of our holy attendance upon the blessed word sacraments of the Almighty Nothing hinders therefore but that a stammering suppliant may reach to a more eminent devotion than hee that can deliver himself in the most fluent and patheticall formes of Elocution and that our silence may bee more devout than our noise We shall not need to send you to the Cels or Cloysters for this skill although it will hardly be believed how far some of their Contemplative men have gone in the Theory hereof Perhaps like as Chymists give rules for the attaining of that Elixir which they never found for sure they must needs fail of that perfection they pretend who erre commonly in the object of it alwayes in the ground of it which is faith stripped by their opinion of the comfortablest use of it certainty of application SECT IV. AS there may be many resemblances betwixt Light and Devotion so this one especially that as there is a light universally diffused through the aire and there is a particular recollection of light into the body of the Sun and Stars so it is in Devotion There is a generall kind of Devotion that goes through the renewed heart and life of a Christian which wee may terme Habitual and Virtual and there is a speciall and fixed exercise of Devotion which we name Actuall The soule that is rightly affected to God is never void of an holy Devotion where ever it is what ever it doth it is still lifted up to God and fastned upon him and converses with him ever serving the Lord in feare and rejoycing in him with trembling For the effectuall performance whereof it is requisite first that the heart bee setled in a right apprehension of our God without which our Devotion is not thanklesse onely but sinfull With much labour therefore agitation of a mind illuminated from above we must find our selves wrought to an high awfull adorative and constant conceit of that incomprehensible Majesty in whom wee live and move and are One God in three most glorious Persons infinite in wisdome in power in justice in mercy in providence in all that he is in all that he hath in all that he doth dwelling in light inaccessible attended with thousand thousands of Angels whom yet we neither can know neither would it availe us if we could but in the face of the eternall Son of his Love our blessed Mediatour God and Man who sits at the right hand of Majesty in the highest heavens from the sight of whose glorious humanity we comfortably rise to the contemplation of that infinite Deity whereto it is inseparably united in and by him made ours by a lively Faith finding our persons and obedience accepted expecting our ful redemption and blessednesse Here here must our hearts be unremoveably fixed In his light must we see light no cloudy occurrences of this world no busie imployments no painfull sufferings must hinder us from thus seeing him that is invisible SECT V. NEither doth the devout heart see his Grd aloof off as dwelling above in the circle of heaven but beholds that infinite Spirit really present with him The Lord is upon thy right hand saith the Psalmist Our bodily eye doth not more certainly see our owne flesh than the spirituall eye sees God close by us Yea in us A mans own soule is not so intimate to himselfe as God is to his soule neither do we move by him only but in him What a sweet conversation therefore hath the holy soul with his God What heavenly conferences have they two which the world is not privy to whiles God entertains the soul with the divine motions of his Spirit the soul entertaines God with gracious compliances Is the heart heavy with the grievous pressures of affliction the soule goes in to his God and pours out it selfe before him in earnest bemoanings and supplications the God of mercy answers the soule again with seasonable refreshings of comfort Is the heart secretly wounded and bleeding with the conscience of some sinne it speedily betakes it selfe to the great Physician of the soul who forthwith applyes the balm of Gilead for an unfailing and present cure Is the heart distracted with doubts the soule retires to that inward Oracle of God for counsail he returnes to the soule an happy settlement of just resolution Is the heart deeply affected with the sense of some speciall favour from his God the soul breaks forth into the passionate voice of praise thanksgiving God returns the pleasing testimony of a cheerful acceptation Oh blessed soul that hath a God to go unto upon all occasions Oh infinite mercy of a God that vouchsafes to stoop to such intirents with dust ashes It was a gracious speech of a worthy Divine upon his death-bed now breathing towards heaven That he should change his place not his company His conversation was now before hand with his God and his holy Angels the only difference was that he was now going to a more free and full fruition of the Lord of life in that region of glory above whom he had truly though with weaknes and
THE DEVOVT SOUL OR Rules of heavenly DEVOTION ALSO THE FREE PRISONER OR The Comfort of RESTRAINT By Jos. H. B. N. London Printed by W. H. and are to be sold by George Latham Junior at the Bishops-head in St. Pauls Church-yard M. DC L. TO All Christian Readers Grace and Peace THat in a time when we heare no noise but of Drums and Trumpets and talk of nothing but armes and sieges battels I should write of Devotion may seem to some of you strange unseasonable to me contrarily it seems most fit and opportune For when can it be more proper to direct our adress to the throne of grace than when we are in the very jawes of Death or when should we goe to seek the face of our God rather than in the needfull time of trouble Blessed be my God who in the midst of these wofull tumults hath vouchsafed to give me these calm holy thoughts which I justly suppose he meant not to suggest that they should be smothered in the breast wherein they were conceived but with a purpose to have the benefit communicated unto many Who is there that needs not vehement excitations and helps to Devotion and when more than now In a tempest the Mariners themselves doe not only cry everyman to his God but awaken Jonah that is fast asleep under the hatches and chide him to his prayers Surely had we not bin failing in our devotions we could not have been thus universally miserable That duty the neglect whereof is guilty of our calamity must in the effectuall performance of it be the meanes of our recovery Be but devout and we cannot miscarry under judgements Wee is mee the teares of penitence were more fit to quench the publique flame than bloud How soone would it clear up above head if wee were but holily affected within Could wee send our zealous Ambassadours up to heaven we could not fail of an happy peace I direct the way God bring us to the end For my owne particular practice God is witnesse to my soule that as one the sense of whose private affliction is swallowed up of the publique I cease not daily to â—ly the Father of mercies with my fervent prayers that hee would at last be pleased after so many streames of bloud to passe an Act of Pacification in heaven And what good heart can do otherwise Brethren all ye that love God and his Church and his Truth and his Anointed and your Countrey your selves and yours joyn your forces with mine and let us by an holy violence make way to the gates of Heaven with our petition for mercy and peace and not suffer our selves to be beaten off from the threshold of Grace till wee be answered with a condescent He whose goodness is wont to prevent our desires will not give denyals to our importunities Pray and farewell NORWICH March 20. 1643. THE DEVOUT SOVLE SECT I. DEvotion is the life of Religion the very soule of Piety the highest imploiment of grace and no other than the prepossession of heaven by the Saints of God here upon earth every improvement whereof is of more advantage and value to the Christian soul than all the profit contentments which this world can afford it There is a kind of Art of Devotion if we can attain unto it whereby the practice thereof may bee much advanced We have known indeed some holy soules which out of the generall precepts of piety and their own happy experiments of Gods mercy have through the grace of God grown to a great measure of perfection this way which yet might have been much expedited and compleated by those helps which the greater illumination and experience of others might have afforded them Like as we see it in other faculties there are those who out of a naturall dexterity and their own frequent practice have got into a safe posture of defence and have handled their weapon with commendable skill whom yet the Fence-schoole might have raised to an higher pitch of cunning As nature is perfited so grace is not a little furthered by Art since it pleaseth the wisedome of God to work ordinarily upon the soul not by the immediate power of miracle but in such methods and by such means as may most conduce to his blessed ends It is true that all our good motions come from the Spirit of God neither is it lesse true that all the good counsails of others proceed from the same Spirit that good Spirit cannot be crosse to itself he therefore that infuses good thoughts into us suggests also such directions as may render us apt both to receive and improve them If God be bounteous we may not be idle and neglective of our spirituall aids SECT II. IF you tell me by way of instance in a particular act of Devotion that there is a gift of prayer and that the Spirit of God is not tied to rules I yeeld both these but withall I must say there are also helps of prayer and that we must not expect immediate inspirations I find the world much mistaken in both They thinke that man hath the gift of prayer that can utter the thoughts of his heart roundly unto God that can expresse himself smoothly in the phrase of the holy Ghost and presse God with most proper words passionate vehemence And surely this is a commendable faculty whersoever it is but this is not the gift of prayer you may call it if you will the gift of Elocution Doe wee say that man hath the gift of pleading that can talk eloquently at the Barre that can in good termes loud and earnestly importune the Judge for his Client and not rather hee that brings the strongest reason and quotes his books and precedents with most truth and clearest evidence so as may convince the Jury and perswade the Judge Do wee say hee hath the gift of Preaching that can deliver himself in a flowing manner of speech to his hearers that can cite Scriptures or Fathers that can please his auditory with the flowers of Rhetorick or rather he that can divide the Word aright interpret it soundly apply it judiciously put it home to the Conscience speaking in the evidence of the Spirit powerfully convincing the gainsayers comforting the dejected and drawing every soule nearer to heaven The like must we say for prayer the gift whereof hee may be truely said to have not that hath the most rennible tongue for prayer is not so much a matter of the lips as of the heart but he that hath the most illuminated apprehension of the God to whom he speakes the deepest sense of his own wants the most eager longings after grace the ferventest desires of supplies from heaven and in a word whose heart sends up the strongest groanes and cries to the Father of mercies Neither may we look for Enthusiasmes immediate inspirations putting our selves upon Gods Spirit in the solemn exercises of our invocation without heed or meditation the
Lord in thy righteousness because of mine enemies O let my soul live and it shall praise thee In way of Thanksgiving Oh God wonderfull art thou in thine holy places O Lord how glorious are thy workes thy thoughts are very deep Oh God who is like unto thee The Lord liveth and blessed be my strong helper Lord thy loving kindnesse is better than life it self All thy works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints give thanks unto thee Oh how manifold are thy workes in wisdome hast thou made them all Who is God but the Lord and who hath any strength except our God Wee will rejoyce in thy salvation and triumph in thy name O Lord. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse Oh how plentifull is thy goodnesse which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee Thou Lord hast never failed them that seek thee In thy presence is the fulnesse of joy and at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore Lord what is man that thou art mindfull of him Not unto us Lord not unto us but unto thy Name give the praise SECT VIII OCcasionall Ejaculations are such as are moved upon the presence of some such object as carries a kind of relation or analogy to that holy thought which we have entertained Of this nature I find that which was practised in S. Basils time that upon the lighting of candles the manner was to blesse God in these words Praise be to God the Father and the Son and the Holy ghost which that Father says was anciently used but who was the Author of it he professeth to bee unknown to the same purpose was the Lucernarium which was a part of the evening office of old For which there may seem to be more colour of reason than for the ordinary fashion of apprecation upon occasion of our sneesing which is expected and practised by many out of civility Old and reverend Beza was wont to move his hat with the rest of the company but to say withall Gramercy Madame la Superstition Now howsoever in this or any other practice which may seeme to carry with it a smacke of Superstition our Devotion may be groundlesse and unseasonable yet nothing hinders but that we may take just holy hints of raising up our hearts to our God As when we doe first look forth and see the heavens over our heads to thinke The heavens declare thy glory O God When we see the day breaking or the Sun rising The day is thine and the night is thine thou hast prepared the light and the Sunne When the light shines in our faces Thou deckest thy self with light as with a garment or Light is sprung up for the righteous When we see our Garden imbellisht with flowers The earth is full of the goodnesse of the Lord. When we see a rough sea The waves of the sea rage horribly and are mighty but the Lord that dwelleth on high is mightier than they When we see the darknesse of the night The darknes is no darknes with thee When we rise up from our bed or our seat Lord thou knowest my down-sitting and my up-rising thou understādest my thoughts afar off When we wash our hands Wash thou me O Lord and I shall be whiter than snow When we are walking forth O hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not When we hear a passing-bell Oh teach me to number my dayes that I may apply my heart to wisdome or Lord let me know my end and the number of my dayes Thus may wee dart out our holy desires to God upon all occasions Wherein heed must be taken that our Ejaculations be not on the one side so rare that our hearts grow to be hard and strange to God but that they may be held on in continuall acknowledgement of him and acquaintance with him and on the other side that they be not so overfrequent in their perpetual reiteration as that they grow to be like that of the Romish votaries fashionable which if great care bee not taken will fall out to the utter frustrating of our Devotion Shortly let the measure of these devout glances be the preserving our hearts in a constant tendernes godly disposition which shall be further actuated upon all opportunities by the exercises of our more enlarged and fixed Devotion Whereof there is the same variety that there is in Gods services about which it is conversant There are three maine businesses wherein God accounts his service here below to consist The first is our address to the throne of Grace and the pouring out of our souls before him in our prayers The second is the reading and hearing his most holy Word The third is the receit of his blessed Sacraments In all which there is place and use for a fetled Devotion SECT IX TO begin with the first work of our actual and enlarged Devotion Some things are pre-required of us to make us capable of the comfortable performance of so holy and heavenly a duty namely that the heart be cleane first and then that it be cleare clean from the defilement of any knowne sin cleare from all intanglements and distractions What doe wee in our prayers but converse with the Almighty and either carry our soules up to him or bring him down to us now it is no hoping that we can entertaine God in an impure heart Even wee men loath a nasty and sluttish lodging how much more will the holy God abhorre an habitation spiritually filthy I find that even the unclean spirit made that a motive of his repossession that he found the house swept and garnished Satans cleanlinesse is pollution and his garnishment disorder and wickednesse without this he findes no welcome Each spirit looks for an entertainment answerable to his nature How much more will that God of spirits who is purity it selfe look to be harboured in a cleanly room Into a malicious soul wisdome shall not enter nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin What friend would be pleased that wee should lodge him in a Lazar-house or who would abide to have a Toad lie in his bosome Surely it is not in the verge of created nature to yeeld any thing that can be so noisome and odious to the sense of man as sin is to that absolute and essentiall Goodnesse His pure eyes cannot indure the sight of sin neither can he indure that the sinner should come within the sight of him Away from me yee wicked is his charge both here and hereafter It is the privilege and happinesse of the pure in heart that they shall see God see him both in the end and in the way enjoying the vision of him both in grace and in glory this is no object for impure eys Descend into thy self therefore and ransack
our souls before him in all our necessities For that God who is infinitely mercifull yet will not have his favours otherwise conveighed to us than by our supplications The style of his deare ones is his people that prayeth and his owne stile is the God that heareth prayers To him therefore doth the devout heart pour out all his requests with all true humility with all fervour of spirit as knowing that God will hear neither proud prayers nor heartlesse wherein his holy desires are regulated by a just method First suing for spirituall favours as most worthy then for temporall as the appendances of better and in both aiming at the glory of our good God more than our own advantage And in the order of spirituall thngs first and most for those that are most necessary and essentiall for our souls health than for secondary graces that concern the prosperity comfort of our spirituall life Absolutely craving those graces that accompany salvation all others conditionally and with reference to the good pleasure of the munificent giver Wherein heed must be taken that our thoughts be not so much taken up with our expressions as with our desires and that we doe not suffer our selves to languish into an unfeeling length and repetition of our sutes Even the hand of a Moses may in time grow heavy so therefore must we husband our spirituall strength that our devotion may not flagge with over-tiring but may bee most vigorous at the last And as we must enter into our prayers not without preparatory elevations so must we be carefull to take a meet leave of God at their shutting up following our supplications with the pause of a faithfull and most lowly adoration and as it were sending up our hearts into heaven to see how our prayers are taken and raising them to a joyful expectation of a gracious and successefull answer from the father of mercies SECT XX. UPon the comfortable feeling of a gracious condescent follows an happy fruition of God in all his favours so as we have not them so much as God in them which advanceth their worth a thousand fold and as it were brings down heaven unto us whereas therefore the sensuall man rests only in the meer use of any blessing as health peace prosperity knowledge and reacheth no higher the devoute soul in and through all these sees and feels a God that sanctifies them to him and enjoyes therein his favour that is better than life Even we men are wont out of our good nature to esteem a benefit not so much for its owne worth as for the love and respect of the giver Small legacies for this cause finde deare acceptation How much more is it so betwixt God and the devout soul It is the sweet apprehension of this love that makes all his gifts blessings Doe we his gifts blessings Doe we not see some vaine churle though cryed down by the multitude herein secretly applauding himself that he hath bags at home how much more shall the godly man find comfort against all the crosses of the world that hee is possessed of him that possesseth all things even God All-sufficient the pledges of whose infinite love he feels in all the whole course of Gods dealing with him SECT XXI OUt of the true sense of this inward fruition of God the devout soul breaks forth into cheerfull thanksgivings to the God of all comfort praising him for every evill that it is free from for every good thing it enjoyeth For as it keeps a just Inventory of all Gods favours so it often spreads them thankfully before him and layes them forth so near as it may in the full dimensions that so God may be no loser by him in any act of his beneficence Here therefore every of Gods benefits must come into account whether eternall or temporall spirituall or bodily outward or inward publick or private positive or privative past or present upon our selves or others In all which he shall humbly acknowledge both Gods free mercy and his own shamefull unworthinesse setting off the favours of his good God the more with the soyle of his own confessed wretchednes and unanswerablenesse to the least of his mercies Now as there is infinite variety of blessings from the liberall hand of the Almighty so there is great difference in their degrees For wheras there are three subjects of all the good we are capable of The Estate Body Soul and each of these doe far surpasse other in value the soul being infinitely more worth than the body and the body far more precious than the outward estate so the blessings that appertain to them in severall differ in their true estimation accordingly If either wee doe not highly magnifie Gods mercy for the least or shall set as high a price upon the blessings that concerne our estate as those that pertain to the body or upon bodily favours as upon those that belong to the soul we shall shew our selves very unworthy and unequall partakers of the Divine bounty But it will savor too much of earth if we be more affected with temporall blessings than with spirituall and eternall By how much nearer relation then any favor hath to the Fountain of goodnesse and by how much more it conduceth to the glory of God and ours in him so much higher place should it possesse in our affection and gratitude No marvell therefore if the Devout Heart bee raised above it self and transported with heavenly raptures when with Stephens eyes it beholds the Lord Jesus standing at the right hand of God fixing it self upon the consideration of the infinite Merits of his Life Death Resurrection Ascension Intercession and finding it self swallowed up in the depth of that Divine Love from whence all mercies flow into the soule so as that it runs over with passionate thankfulnes and is therefore deeply affected with all other his mercies because they are derived from that boundlesse Ocean of Divine goodnesse Unspeakable is the advantage that the soule raises to it self by this continuall exercise of thanksgiving for the grateful acknowledgement of favours is the way to more even amongst men whose hands are short and strait this is the meanes to pull on further beneficence how much more from the God of all Consolation whose largest bounty diminisneth nothing of his store And herein the devout Soul enters into its heavenly Task beginning upon earth those Hallelujahs which it shall perfect above in the blessed Chore of Saints and Angels ever praising God and saying Blessing and Glo-ry and Wisdome and Thanksgiving and Honour and Power and Might be unto our God for ever and ever Amen SECT XXII NOne of all the services of God can bee acceptably no not unsinfully performed without due devotion as therefore in our prayers and thanksgivings so in the other exercises of Divine Worship especially in the reading and hearing of Gods Word and in our receipt of the blessed Sacrament it is so necessary that without it we
offer to God a meer carcasse of religious duty and profane that sacred name we would pretend to honour First then we must come to Gods Book not without an holy Reverence as duly considering both what and whose it is Even no other than the Word of the ever-living God by which wee shall once be judged Great reason have wee therefore to make a difference betwixt it and the writings of the Holiest men even no lesse than betwixt the Authors of both God is true yea truth it self and that which David said in his haste S. Paul sayes in full deliberati on Every man is a lier Before we put our hand to this Sacred Volume it will be requisite to elevate our hearts to that God whose it is for both his leave and his blessing Open mine eyes saith the sweet singer of Israel that I may behold the wondrous things of thy Law Lo Davids eyes were open before to other objects but when he comes to Gods Book he can see nothing without a new act of apertion Letters he might see but wonders hee could not see till God did unclose his eyes and enlighten them It is not therfore for us presumptuously to break in upon God and to think by our naturall abilities to wrest open the precious Caskets of the Almighty and to fetch out all his hidden treasure thence at pleasure but we must come tremblingly before him and in all humility crave his gracious admission I confesse I finde some kinde of envy in my self when I read of those scrupulous observances of high respects given by the Jewes to the Book of Gods Law and when I read of a Romish Saint that never read the Scripture but upon his knees and compare it with the carelesse neglect whereof I can accuse my self and perhaps some others Not that wee should rest in the formality of outward Ceremonies of reverence wherein it were more easie to be superstitious than devout but that our outward deportment may testifie and answer the awfull disposition of our hearts whereto we shall not need to be excited if wee be throughly perswaded of the Divine Originall and authority of that Sacred Word It was motive enough to the Ephesians zealously to plead for and religiously to adore the Image of their Diana that it was the Image that fell down from Jupiter Beleeve we and know that the Scripture is inspired by God and we can entertain it with no other than an awfull addresse and we cannot be Christians if we do not so beleeve Every Clause therefore of that God-inspired Volume must be as reverently received by us so seriously weighed and carefully laid up as knowing that there is no tittle therein without his use What we read we must labour to understand what wee cannot understand we must admire silently and modestly enquire of There are plain Truths and there are deep mysteries The bounty of God hath left this Well of Living-water open for all what runs over is for all commers but every one hath not wherewith to draw There is no Christian that may not enjoy Gods Book but every Christian may not interpret it those shallow Fords that are in it may be waded by every Passenger but there are deeps wherein he that cannot swim may drown How can I without a Guide said that Ethopian Eunuch Wherefore serves the tongue of the Learned but to direct the Ignorant Their modesty is of no lesse use than the others skill It is a woefull condition of a Church when no man will be ignorant What service can our eyes doe us in the wayes of God without our thoughts our diligent and frequent reading therefore must be attended with our holy meditation we feed on what we read but we digest only what we meditate of What is in our Bible is Gods but that which is in our hearts is our own By all which our care must be not so much to become wiser as to become better labouring still to reduce all things to godly practice Finally as we enter into this task with the lifting up of our hearts for a blessing so we shut it up in the ejaculations of our thanksgiving to that God who hath blessed us with the free use of his Word SECT XXIII OUr eye is our best guide to God our Creator but our ear is it that leads us to God our Redeemer How shall they beleeve except they heare Which that we may effectually doe our devotion suggests unto us some duties before the act some in the act some after the act It is the Apostles charge that we should be swift to hear but heed must be taken that we make not more haste than good speed we may not be so forward as not to look to our foot when we go to the house of God lest if we be too ready to heare we offer the sacrifice of Fooles What are the feet of the soul but our affections If these be not set right we may easily stumble and wrench at Gods threshold Rash actions can never hope to prosper as therefore to every great Work so to this there is a due preparation required and this must be done by meditation first then by prayer Our meditation first sequesters the heart from the world and shakes off those distractive thoughts which may carry us away from these better things for what room is there for God where the World hath taken up the lodging Wee cannot serve God and Mammon Then secondly it seizes upon the heart for Gof fixing our thoughts upon the great businesse we goe about recalling the greatnesse of that Majesty into whose presence we enter and the maine importance of the service we are undertaking and examining our intentions wherewith we addresse our selves to the work intended I am now going to Godâ— House Wherefore doe I goe thither Is it to see or to be seen Is it to satisfie my owne curiosity in hearing what the Preacher will say Is it to satisfie the law that requires my presence Is it to please others eyes or to avoid their censures Is it for fashion Is it for recreation Or is it with a sincere desire to do my soul good in gaining more knowledge in quickning my affections Is it in a desire to approve my selfe to my God in the conscience of my humble obedience to his command and my holy attendance upon his Ordinance And where we find our ends amisse chiding and rectifying our obliquities where just and right prosecuting them towards a further perfection Which that it may bee done our meditation must be seconded by our prayers It is an unholy rudenesse to presse into the presence of that God whom wee have not invoked Our prayer must bee that God would yet more prepare us for the work and sanctifie us to it and blesse us in it that he would remove our sinnes that he would send down his Spirit into our hearts which may inable us to this great service that he