profess Religion and have joyned themselves in Communion with those who do really desire and aim at the greatest strictness and most exact holiness so that there is apparent necessity of doing what we can towards the reviving of this excellent practice which hath been by so many so unkindly so sinfully shut out of doors And to this end I shall do these two things First I shall prove that the setting up of the Worship of God and Religious Exercises in Families is a Duty Secondly Lay down some Arguments by which this may appear your reasonable Service We begin with the former That Family-worship is a Duty and that I prove by these three things The Practice of the Heathen The Precepts of the Scripture And the Practice of Saints I. This was the Practice amongst the Heathens though they had no more than the dim Light of Nature yet by that they did see this to be their Duty These not having the Law written were a Law to themselves and have done by Nature many of the things contained in the Law Rom. 2.14 And among others this We find they had their Lares their Penates such as they counted and called their Houshold-Gods and unto them they did offer up Sacrifices in their Families and unto them they did together perform acts of Religious Worship And therefore Prayer to God in Families is a part of Natural Worship because discovered by Natural Light and for the shameful neglect thereof the poor blind Heathen will rise up against multitudes of the Men and Women of this untoward Generation Shall they be more liberal to their Gods of Dung than we are to the Lord of Glory Shall they do more for the Honouring of their false Gods than some of us do for the living and true God who made Heaven and Earth and who is the Author of your Being the God of your Comforts and the Father of all your Mercies by the Hand of whose Power ye were made and upon whose Cost ye spend How sore and dreadful punishment will you deserve if the very Heathen shall condemn you If they were more observant of their Idols than you are of God it will be unspeakably more tollerable for them in the Day of Judgment than for you Think upon and apply to your selves what the Apostle Paul said to the wicked Jew Rom. 2.27 Shall not Vncircumcision which is by Nature if it fulfil the Law Iudge thee who by the Letter and Circumcision dost transgress the Law The clearer that Light is which men do enjoy if they rebel against it the greater is the Sin which they commit the greater is the guilt which they contract and therefore the fiercer that wrath which they deserve II. Family-Worshiping of God is the matter of the Precept It is a burden if any will be so vile as to think or call it so which the great God whose we are hath bound upon us Let me particularly instance in Family-Prayer which sweet and precious Incense I would gladly have all your houses perfumed daily with It must be granted that it is not expresly commanded in Scripture not totidem verbis in so many words but it is included in express commands and from those commands by necessary consequence it will appear to any one that doth not shut his own Eyes to be the Mind and Will of God concerning us For observe First We are expresly commanded to make use of all Prayer Take notice of that word All all Prayer i. e. all kinds of holy Prayer Ephes. 6.18 The Apostle had before told them they must wrestle with Principalities and Powers and Spiritual Wickednesses in high places and having thereupon counsell'd them to make sure of a sufficient strength being strong in the Lord and in the power of his might and Armour of Proof the whole Armour of God he doth here in this Verse advise them to a wrestling with God and indeed it is excellent advice for he that can like a Prince wrestle with God in a way of Supplication will come off a Conqueror when he is called out to wrestle with Devils in a way of Opposition Observe the words Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all Saints Mark that with all prayer Now there are many sorts of Prayer namely Ejaculatory Prayer in which the holy Soul shoots out a Dart to Heaven and on a sudden lifts a Request up to God which may be done at any time and in any place in Company at Dinner in the Street as you are walking in the Shop as you are working or trading and in this way you may sweeten and sanctifie your worldly Affairs by mingling spiritual and gracious thoughts with them Thus while good old Iacob had his Sons before him and was telling them what should befal them in the last days in the midst of it his Soul got on the wing and mounted up to Heaven in that short but sweet expression Gen. 49.18 I have waited for thy Salvation O Lord and there is stated fixed prayer when a person doth at appointed times and in a solemn manner set it self to pour forth its Requests before God and make its desires known to him There is Publick Prayer in the Congregations and Assemblies of the Saints when not only two or three but scores hundreds thousands are met together in the Name of Christ and the Minister as the Mouth speaks to God and the hearts of the People go along with him by a real consent and to his Confessions Petitions and Thanksgivings add their Amen And there is Secret Prayer performed in the greatest retirement when a person hath withdrawn himself from all company and no body seeth nor hears but God alone and so it can be more free and open not hiding its groans from him but spreading all its desires before him and acquainting him with that which it would not have any one in the World besides to know And then there is Family-Prayer wherein the Governour gets the Children and Servants and all the Members thereof together and goeth with them to the Throne of Grace in order to the paying of their Homage unto God and the obtaining from God a blessing upon himself and upon them Now this kind of Prayer is in that Scripture required as well as any other God doth here by the Apostle require our praying with all prayer and if with all prayer then with Family-prayer Secondly We are commanded to pray every where 1 Tim. 5.8 I will that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in every place not only in the Temple and in the Synagogue but every where in any place where it is convenient and you may be safe As God is no respecter of Persons so not of Places as Beggars go up down scattering their Vermin in all places and at every door so you should every where be scattering your Treasure
strength in those Arguments which have been us'd and urg'd for the pressing it upon us so that I am convinced of the goodness of the thing and own it to be my Duty and would be glad to do it if I could but I am not in a capacity my ignorance is exceeding great and my parts full out as little I have no such Gifts as other Men have and so tremble to think of undertaking so great and weighty a thing as this should I make an attempt for certain I should most shamefully miscarry and render my self ridiculous it is to be fear'd that this is really the case of too too many in this City yea and possibly of some in this Congregation Answ. To such an one I will answer in these following Particulars I. Thou who makest this Objection art a very great Object of Pity and I do heartily pity thee What! O Man canst thou converse in the World and discourse with thine Acquaintance manage thine Affairs and carry on thy Trade and yet not Pray Canst thou deal with thy Customers and not with thy God Thou hast scarce thy Fellow in any sort of Wretches there is not a poor Creature in Town or Countrey that wanteth Bread and hath a craving Stomach but he can beg though he doth not know one Letter in the Book yet he can ask for an Alms nor is there a Malefactor in danger of his Life but will find something to say for himself though he cannot make out his Innocency nor clear himself of the Crime laid to his Charge though he hath nothing to say why the Sentence of Death should not be past upon him yet he can fall down upon his Knees and say Mercy my Lord Mercy and canst thou not do as much when thy Case is as bad and worse Thy Soul Man is ready to starve and so are the Souls of thy Family all in extream necessity and canst thou not beg Thou art worthy of death and so are they Sentence hath been already past and hast thou not any thing to say for the staying of the Execution Thou and thy Family have a great number of great wants and canst thou not ask a supply when it may be had for asking Thou art a poor sorry pitiful Creature indeed if there be one in the World It is a thousand pities thou shouldest have a Family a Wife and Children who canst neither provide necessaries for their Souls nor beg for them Thou hast indeed but little very little love and kindness for thy self and Family in thy heart and as little brains in thy head who canst not go to God and speak a few good words for them II. Since thou dost not to this day know how to Pray I advise thee to learn to do it and that speedily for it is high time when thou wast young and little thou didst not know great A. but now thou canst read distinctly roundly yea and write a legible hand how came that about thou didst learn it So when thou wast first bound an Apprentice to thy Master thou couldest do nothing at thy Trade no not a stroak thou wast a very Ignoramus thou couldest not tell the Price of those Commodities which thou wast to deal in much less judge of their goodness nay thou couldest not so much as tell their Names but now thou art expert and skilful and there are very few Persons that can out do thee in thy business and how came this about thou didst learn it In the present Case go thou and do the like thou sayst thou canst not Pray I say go thou and learn to Pray be thou who thou wilt for thy Worldly Quality I am sure thou art not too good for it and I hope thou art not too old beg therefore of God that he would teach thee the Disciples desired this very thing of Christ Luke 11.1 Lord teach us to Pray as Iohn also taught his Disciples and without more ado he did it go you and do likewise fall upon your knees and say Lord I am a poor ignorant Creature I do not know how to Pray O! do thou teach me And for your comfort and encouragement know First It is the work of the Spirit to assist poor Souls in Prayer it is one of the works of his Office Rom. 8.26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our Infirmities for we know not what to Pray for as we ought that is as much as thou canst say of thy self neither know how to Pray to Pray as we should nor what to Pray for but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered Secondly God hath graciously promised this Spirit to his Church and Children and that under the very notion of a Spirit of Prayer Zech. 12.10 I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the Inhabitants of Ierusalem a Spirit of Grace and Supplication He will give much of it he will pour it out Thirdly God is most ready to make good his Promises this in particular He is both faithful and free Luke 11.13 If ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your Children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him Go therefore and beg of God that he would give this Spirit to thee III. Do thy endeavour making use of those means by which an ability to Pray I mean the gift of Prayer may be in some measure attained for we are not to please our selves with expecting much and doing nothing idle hopes are vain if you ask me what means you should make use of I briefly answer First Carefully observe others Godly Ministers and Christians when thou hearest them Pray mind how they pour out their requests unto God and get something out of their Prayers which is proper for thee as when Persons are in a Garden where they see variety of curious and pleasant Flowers they will pick one here and another there for themselves do the like with those apt and pertinent expressions which thou hearest from others make them thine own only in using them let tongue and heart go together Secondly Be very conversant in the holy Scriptures and there take notice of precepts and promises and turn them into Prayer begging that God would give what he commands and perform what he promiseth in particular acquaint thy self well with David's Psalms in which you will find abundance of excellent matter both for confession and petition for prayer and praise Thirdly Be much in studying your own and your Families State and consider how matters stand with you seriously think what sins there are and what afflictions what wants and what dangers and thereupon go to God and beg of him the pardon of those sins and power against them beg the sanctifying of those afflictions that they may be wholsom though bitter and out of the eater there may come Meat make a thankful acknowledgment of the Mercies you receive and give unto God the glory of them
remove do it the sooner the better Let not meer secular advantages keep thee there It is better being out of the warm Sun than out of Gods blessing And you that are fixed as a Wife Child an Apprentice count the want of Family-duty as your Affliction and groan under it as such and in your private addresses beg down if possible Mercy and Grace upon them Pray heartily for them who will neither pray for you nor for themselves the godly Wife for the ungodly Husband the gracious Child for the profane Parent and the Religious Servant for the Wicked Master or Mistress yea wrestle mightily in Prayer for them and with Iacob weep as well as make supplication and be sure to live up to the Laws of the Relations you stand in filling up your days with the duties of your places that though they will not practise Godliness they may see the power of it in its influences upon you If the Wife be peaceable and quiet loyal and loving respecting and reverencing her Husband the Children very dutiful and obedient the servants submissive diligent and faithful every one walking in the fear of God giving no cause of quarrelling with you or blaspheming Religion for your sakes In a word let your whole conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ. You see I have spent a great deal of time and taken no small pains in studying preaching and writing out all this discourse Oh! that it may not be in vain but all the better that have heard or shall read it to that end the good Lord accompany it with his Spirit and blessing bring you to this work keep you at it and help you so to manage your selves and families that after a Life of Prayer on Earth you may be taken up to a Life of Praise in Heaven where all your Wants shall be supplied all your Prayers answered and all your hopes accomplished then you will see the Word was your best rule the Ministers of Christ your real Friends and Religion your grand Interest when fury shall be poured out upon them that know not God and Hell shall receive the Families that call not upon his Name where there shall be no end of their torment and pain nor of their roaring cursing and blaspheming of that holy and righteous but terrible God whom they would not be persuaded to love seek and serve 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A POSTCRIPT HAVING said so much as I have done in this Book to the graver sort of Persons your Parents and Governours dear young ones and that not only for their sakes but yours also I have judged it fit to accompany that advice and counsel to them with a few words to you because you likewise are very nearly and greatly concerned and all means possible are to be made use of for the preventing your present miscarriage and eternal ruine You are now in the Morning of your Age and prime of your strength you have set forth and entred upon that Journey which will certainly bring you to your last home where you must take up your everlasting abode from whence there can be no remove and that will be either Heaven or Hell the Glorious Mansions above or the Bottomless Pit below where it is absolutely necessary for you to take heed to your ways and ponder all your goings to set out right at first and then to go straight on without turning either to the right hand or to the left otherwise you will be lost for if the way be not good the end cannot be peace as for such as turn aside unto their croâ—ked Paths the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity Psal. 125.5 It is too evident that multitudes of young ones through corrupt inclination and bad conduct have gone out of the way of life betimes and could never find it afterward Having made an early choice of Sin they grew harden'd in it and there being a judicial Tradition of them to the power thereof they went on to commit it with greediness living and dying its Votaries and Vassals and is it not sad to consider may it not well be matter of bitter lamentation that such Excellent Noble Creatures should be spoiled such precious immortal Souls should be irrecoverably lost that such sweet and lovely Blossoms should be utterly blasted that they who once were the hope of their Parents and might have been the Ornaments and Blessings of their Country should prove burthens and curses to them both God forbid that any of you should be so too for we have too many such already Therefore I pray God that you may and desire that you would be serious betimes get alone sit down and consider what you are where you are whether you are going what is for your interest and what against it labour to know and knowing mind those things which belong unto your peace youth will not always last nor the pleasures of it which you do now count so very sweet and delicious and run such desperate ventures for the enjoyment of A Sickness may quickly be sent of God and cover your faces with a dismal paleness pick the Marrow out of your Bones suck all the Milk out of your Breasts and convert all your strength into weakness faintness and tremblings your smiles may be turned into frowns your mirth into mourning your laughter into heaviness and your songs into sighs groans and shrieks Your own Consciences may arm against you as your enemy and God may so appear as to be your terrour and you may be then made to possess the iniquities of your youth when all the honey is spent and nothing but the sting left the pleasure is over and only the guilt remains whereby you are bound over to the suffering of the judgment written If you be not wise in this condition you may live and die and then you will see cause to wish you had never been born O! be you I beseech you be ye your own friends provide for your own peace and welfare and instead of working out your Damnation with joy jollity and self-pleasing chuse to work out your Salvation with fear and trembling since all the pleasures of Sin are but for a season do you seek out for and make sure of those which are at Gods right hand for evermore and since this life will be but short when drawn out to its greatest length do you lay hold upon that which is quite out of the reach of death that life which came from God and will be perfected in him And know how great a number soever the Prodigals and Profligate Youths of the present Age do amount to yet if you will be serious and truly religious you will not be alone there have been many choice and excellent Persons that went before you the Names of some together with their Character you meet with in the Sacred Records an Isaac who loved Meditation a Iacob that was set for the blessing and by a Vow bound
in gracious discourses and pouring out your Souls to God in prayer Now faith famous Mr. Perkins upon this very place if it be the duty of men to pray every where then certainly in their Families where God hath set them in so near a Relation one to another Thirdly We are commanded to pray continually or to pray always as in that fore-mentioned Ephes. 6. Praying always with all prayer Which words of the Apostle we are not to understand as if praying must ingross and take up all our time and we had nothing else to do but live Drones like a company of lazy Beggars that will not work though they are able Prayer indeed is a very considerable part of a Christians duty yet it is but a part There are various duties which he hath to perform and much other work of the Lord in which he ought to abound There is reading of the Scriptures singing of Psalms hearing the Word serious meditation and self-examination as well as prayer There is instructing of Youth and Catechizing of Children and exhorting one another and provoking one another to Love and to good works as well as praying Yea and there is tending of the Shop and working in the Trade and looking to the Children and washing of the house and providing for the Family and several other things and must be done We must have respect to all Gods Commandments and labour to fill up our places and to stand compleat in all the will of God concerning us Therefore when the Apostle speaks of our praying always understand it thus pray in every thing for so we are required to do in another Scripture Phil. 4.6 Be careful for nothing i. e. with a distrustful care with a solicitous and anxious care with a distracting disquieting care But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known unto God Pray in great things as believing the greatness of God's Power and pray in little things as believing also the extensiveness of his Care Pray over thy Calling because it is not the diligent hand alone but the Divine Blessing with it that makes rich Pray over your Meat and Drink and go not to your Tables as Swine to their Trough knowing that Creatures cannot befriend or serve you any further than as they are commissioned and assisted by God When Ministers go to study let them pray because it is the Spirit of Truth that must lead them into all Truth They will make sad work of it if God be not with their heads in studying their Sermons and with their mouths in delivering them And when People come to hear let them pray under and after all our Labours they will learn nothing to purppose they will not be wise to Salvation unless they are taught of God Thus to pray alway is to pray in every thing Again To pray always is to pray in every condition When you are High as knowing you are neither out of the reach of Trouble nor too good to serve and wait upon God And when you are Low as knowing you are not out of the reach of the Everlasting Arms but still there is hope in Israel concerning you Pray in Sickness and in Health too for it is God that must remove the former preserve and continue the latter Pray in Advrrsity for it is God that must support and comfort under that and Prosperity for it is God that must sanctifie that and give you an heart and wisdom to improve it Pray in Trouble that God would not be a Terrour to you in Danger that he would be a Defence to you and the Rock of your Refuge and in Peace that your Halcion days may neither be overcast nor abus'd By Prayer in Adversity shew your trusting in God and believing no case to be desperate which he will please to undertake and by Prayer in Prosperity shew to others your dependence upon God and your expectations being wholly from him and that you live more upon a Father in Heaven than you do upon any or all the Creatures here below Once again Pray always that is pray daily pray every day This is to be not only a Sabbath days work as I am inform'd some penurious strait-lac'd Professors make it no no it ought 〈◊〉 to be your every day-work Sure I am there is a great deal of reason for it We do commit sin and contract much guilt every day therefore it becomes us to repent and confess and it concerns us to sue out our pardon every day We have our Dangers visible and invisible Dangers every day therefore should be daily hiding our selves under our Fathers gracious wing and craving the Divine Protection We have Mercies every day a continued succession of them an innumerable number of them they follow us they load us they compass us about therefore we should have our Sacrifices of Praise and as persons of ingenuity pay our thankful acknowledgments to God every day Further we have our Wants every day we want our daily Bread and our daily Pardon we want daily Supplies Our Cistern would soon be empty if God should cut off the stream of his goodness we want daily Supports and should quickly drop into the Grave yea into nothing if God should withdraw his hand and let go his hold of us And we want a daily blessing without which all our contrivances are vain and all our endeavours fruitless If God do not say go and prosper we had as good sit still and therefore there is very great reason why we should have our daily prayers We are commanded by our Saviour to pray and not to faint for this end he spake a Parable Luk. 18.1 and by the Apostle to continue instant in prayer Rom. 12.12 that is to pray daily which was signified and taught by the daily Sacrifice under the Law concerning which you may read in Exod. 29. It is said in the 42 verse This shall be a continual Burnt-Offering thorow-out your Generations at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation before the Lord where I will meet you to speak there unto thee This shall be a continual Burnt-Offering this what If you look back to the 38th and 39th verses you will see This is that which thou shalt offer upon the Altar two Lambs of the first year day by day continually the one Lamb thou shalt offer in the morning and the other Lamb shalt thou offer at Even Where you may take notice of this that the offering up of these two Lambs every day is called a continual Burnt-Offering And Mr. Answorth upon the place tells us that daily Sacrifice signified the continual sanctification of the Church through Faith in Christ the Lamb of God by whose mediation we and our actions are accepted of God and likewise he there tells us the Hebrew Doctors say the continual Sacrifice of the Morning did make atonement for the sins that were done in the night and the Evening Sacrifices made atonement for iniquities
us'd to it that they must needs bungle at it and let me ask you my Friends are these Persons liberal to God Nay are they not very beggarly and penurious who will give him a visit upon that day which he hath reserved wholly and entirely for himself and set about it the Hedge of a command to keep all secular Affairs from intruding or breaking in upon it But they will not part with any of that time which he hath allowed them for the dispatch of their own business but their Work and Recreations their Eating Drinking and Sleeping shall ingross it all in short the Language of their practice is this they will pray a little when they have nothing else to do or when there is nothing else that they may do but the Law commands them to shut up their Shops and to lay by their worldly Trades but my Friends is this fair Do not you rob God of some of his time Why then will you not return him some of your own Do not you commit too many sins upon a Sabbath-day and will you not do some duty upon a Week-day Do you mingle sin with your holy things and will you not mingle Prayer and holy Thoughts with your earthly things Is this to continue instant in Prayer Is this to pray without ceasing Is this paying due homage to the Lord of your time and comforts Is this enough for depending Creatures who cannot live a day without God no not a moment The truth is Love to God should draw us frequently that we may have Communion with him and necessity might drive us that we may have supplies from him all your Springs are in him with him is the Well of Life therefore let down your Bucket of Prayer often that you may draw Water with joy You may observe that in the Lord's Prayer which Christ gave his Disciples for an excellent pattern or example by which we all should draw up ours he teacheth us to say Our Father that speaks Communion and a joining together in Prayer one Saint one Child of God may go alone to the Throne of Grace and say Father or O my Father but Our Father speaks Society and Fellowship in the duty That there are more Suitors more concerned than one And further observe that there our Lord bids us say Give us this day our daily bread from whence we may gather these three things First He bids us pray for Bread Temporal good things are to be sought of God The Dew of Heaven yea and the Fatness of the Earth Provision for our Souls and Food for our Bodies too we are to seek God and rely upon him in and for the greatest things and also the least In every thing by Prayer and Supplication we are to make our Request known to God We cannot get our Bread unless God gives it to us Secondly He bids us pray for Bread not for Dainties not Sweet-meats not Venison not Varieties Necessaries are to be sought not Superfluities nothing to feed our Pride nor to spend upon our Lusts. Feed me said wise and holy Agar with food convenient for me that which is suitable to the place in which thou hast set me Seek not great things for your selves for those great things may prove great snares Thirdly He bids us to say Give us this day our daily Bread We are to pray for Bread for to day supplies for to day and we are to say that or something to the same purpose every day He doth not bid us pray that God would give us Bread for this Week or for this Month or for this Year or for twenty Years to come but give us this day and we are to say so to morrow as well as to day and the day after that as well as to morrow and so it is to run thorough the whole course of Life Every day we are to say Give us this day c. that is as we desire to have our Bread of God every day we must ask it every day daily Bread and daily Prayer must go together God doth love to answer the occasions of his People and to supply their wants He giveth meat to them that fear him because he is ever mindful of his Covenant Psal. III. 5 but he stands upon his honour and expects to be owned and therefore said he would be sought to by the House of Israel to do it for them I have read this Story of an Heathen whose Name I cannot for the present call to mind that when he had at any time passed a day without doing some Act of Charity or Mercy he would in the evening sit down bemoaning himself and cry out perdidi diem I have lost a day Truly it is so here thou mayest at night with bitterness of Soul reflect upon that day which thou hast spent without Family-Prayer and say perdidi diem I have lost a day and he that knows the shortness the uncertainty the worth of time and how much depends upon the right improvement thereof will reckon the loss of a day to be a very great loss and we are wont to say one loss seldom goes alone what thou dost lose besides that God only knows what communion with God what answers what manifestations of Divine Love what communications of Grace what Blessings therefore I beseech you all to make Conscience of Praying in your Families every day And if at any time through forgetfulness or surprize of any kind or being oppress'd with business crowding in upon thee thou art so hindered that thou canst not perform thy duty but the Season is as it were violently wrested out of thy hands bewail the loss sigh and mourn over it let God see thou art afflicted for it and not pleas'd with thy self or the avocation and long for another opportunity in which thou mayest go and appear before thy God and when once it comes welcome it with gladness and lay hold upon it thy Soul being like the Chariots of Amminadib and then confess thy former omission and beg thy Father to cast the Mantle of his love over it and then double thy diligence and thy heaâ— then spend the more time and put forth the greater strength then do thou follow the harder after God and keep the closer to him and let it be thy desire to make up that which was lacking before that so neither thy God may lose his honour nor thy self nor thy Family the good and benefit of a duty but like the Sea what Religion loseth at one time it may gain at another IV. Be sure that you Pray in your Families Morning and Evening I would not have you from hence conclude my design is to render you so strait lac'd as not to pray oftner than so to do this and take up with doing it making that your stint your allowance resolved not to exceed no no it is your interest to study liberal things in your dealings with God for by liberal things you shall stand you cannot be
too much with God nor do too much for him you cannot pray too much so that you have a prudent and cordial respect to all his Commands and to all the parts of your Duty not suffering one to justle out another as the Body is not all one Member so Religion is not all one Duty it doth not consist altogether in Prayer nor altogether in Hearing and as that is a lame Body which wants one Member so he is a lame Christian that is careless as to any one piece of Religion such a wilful defect is a great deformity Set your hand to all the work of God and in particular be much in Prayer David gave himself unto Prayer as a Man much set for it and devoted to it Daniel the Man greatly beloved of his God was at it three times in a day Dan. 6.10 His Windows being opened in his Chamber toward Ierusalem he kneeled upon his knees three times in a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did afore-time He loved Prayer so well that neither danger nor death no not a violent death being cast into a Den of Lyons could affright and deter him from it David the Man after Gods own heart was much more at it Psalm 119.164 Surely he had great encouragement so to do from his experience he sensibly felt that it very greatly tended to his advantage he saw begging was a good trade he did thrive upon it and therefore he follow'd it close the oftner he went to God the more he got from him and of him he never rose off his knees nor returned from the Throne of Grace without an Alms. The most Praying Christian is certainly the most growing Christian as he hath his expectations I will direct my Prayer unto thee and will look up so he hath his answers and sees something is coming but let the Morning and Evening of every day be your stated and set times for Prayer there is a great deal of reason for that viz. First The Divine Order and Appointment of this we did before take notice in Exod. 29. God required there should be two Lambs offered up every day in Sacrifice the one in the morning and the other in the Evening which was called the continual Burnt-Offering and shall we be exceeded and out-done by them shall the dispensation now be more glorious and shall we be more penurious that live under it shall God now more magnifie his grace and shall we grow poorer in our returns their Sacrifices were more costly and chargeable and shall ours be fewer surely since in the times of Messiah there is a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit there should at least be an equal abounding in the work of the Lord our Sacrifices of Prayer and Praise the Calves of the Lips and the lifting up of our Hearts and hands to God should be as frequent as those bloody Sacrifices Secondly This Practice is commended to us in the Scripture we are directed to think upon those things that are of good report Now this hath obtained a good report in the World and as it is with Men so it is with things to be well spoken of by the word is more than to have all the World speak well of one look then into the 92 d Psalm 1. v. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing Praises to thy Name O thou most High to bless God to exalt God to give him glory is good it is duty it is the employment of Angels the Work of Heaven and Eternity and those that have good hearts will delight in good work If you would know what are the fittest and most convenient times for the doing of this good work for that tends much to the adorning and setting off a work every thing being beautiful in its season He tells you in the next words to shew forth thy loving kindness in the Morning and thy faithfulness every night and when we do in the sincerity of our Souls thus begin and end our days we are like to find them good throughout Thirdly God visits us every Morning it is no less than Gods humbling himself to behold those things which are above the glorious Angels much more to look upon Man sorry dust what is it then for God to visit him the Prophet admired it Psal. 8 4. What is Man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of Man that thou visitest him Great Princes are not wont to go into a Beggars Hovil they reckon it below them but the Great God stoops much lower and Oh! how necessary is this for us Iob 10.12 Thy Visitation hath preserved my Spirit By this he meant a gracious Visitation a Friendly one this reviv'd him this preserv'd him his Spirit his Life his Courage his Comforts all were upheld and maintain'd by the gracious visitations of God Again how frequent are these with us how many gracious Visits doth God bestow upon his poor People Iob 7.18 Thou visitest him every morning there is never a Morning that we miss him as often as the Morning returns God comes to visit us yea he is with us before we are up and since Gods visits are so frequent shall ours be few shall he come to see us and see to us and shall not we wait upon him shall the strangeness be on our side let us visit God every Morning and pay him visit for visit and let us be sure to carry our Family with us for so we shall be the more welcome Fourthly The continuation and constant succession of Mercies doth oblige to this and call for it Gods Mercies are new every Morning upon us and shall not our returns shall we not follow hard after him and delight in our approaches to him when he draws us with the Cords of a Man yea with loving-kindness the very pouring out of his Name which is as a precious Oyntment should make us love and run after him Oh! let the pouring out of his Grace and Mercy do it Day unto Day utters speech and Night unto Night sheweth knowledge and one would think that when both Day and Night speak in the Language of Love we should answer them and not be silent God soweth his Seed in the Morning and in the Evening he witholdeth not his hand and surely that Heart and House is a very barren Soil and near unto a Curse that doth not twice a day pay its acknowledgments to him Lastly methinks there is not any one who hath the use of reason and believes a God but hath a Monitor in his own bosom to prompt him to this and not need a Minister in a Pulpit to press it upon him or a Friend at his elbow to jog him your own reason should and would direct you to it if you did but consult and hearken to it It is fit that we should make God the Alpha and the Omega the first and the last for so he is and therefore we ought to begin
not doubt but such an one may have sweet Communion with God and find welcome and a gracious Entertainment so that he be upright in his Heart and fervent in his Spirit while serving of the Lord or to use the expression of the same worthy Person Though a Man hath not change of Raiment and cannot appear at the Court of Heaven every day in a new Suit but comes in the same Cloaths yet if he be a Loyal Subject he shall have free access to the King of Glory if he be a Child Heaven-born his Fathers Ear will be open to him and his Petition receiv'd and granted but while he goes to God with his old Prayer let him labour to carry with him new affections But Secondly I must needs profess to the Imposition of a form of a Prayer I am no Friend I have been pleas'd with the Composure of several for the spiritualness and variety of the Matter and for the aptness of the Expression but do not like the imposing of them neither some Mens taking upon them to impose them on others nor that any Man should impose one upon himself and I am sure it is not from a Spirit of Errour or of Division or of Contradiction that I believe and assert it far more excellent and desireable both for Ministers and private Christians to be able from an inward sense of and acquaintedness with their own case wants and necesties and from the abundance of their Hearts together with the gracious assistance of the Blessed Spirit of God to pour out their desires into his Bosom and make their Requests known to him than to borrow and make use of and tye themselves to the best form of anothers composing And I am perswaded our dear Lord Jesus did draw up and give out to his Disciples that most sweet full and comprehensive Prayer as a pattern for them to imitate not as a form with which they should sit down contented without looking after or making use of those Gifts and Abilities which he either had or should by his Spirit bestow and confer upon them And as for those who do ridicule and laugh at praying by the Spirit making it the matter of their scorn and derision I do not stick to charge them with a Spirit of Profaneness only I beg that God would shew them their sin and give them Repentance and a Pardon These things being thus premised I do as before Counsel you who are my Hearers not to tye your selves up to a form of Prayer and I shall give you three or four Reasons of my advising you so First Because it is my hearty desire that all of you who make Prayer your work and business should keep your selves at the greatest distance possible from a lifeless cold formality Do all that you can to avoid it not that I think formality is inseparable from form or that it cannot find room in him who prayeth extemporarily we all have need to watch both unto Prayer and in it else we shall have our Hearts to seek while we are seeking of God But I look upon it as a thing past question among experienced Christians that conceived Prayer as it is commonly called being rightly managed hath a greater and more direct tendency to the affecting both the Soul of him that utters it and the Souls of those that join with him and towards the raising of them up to a due warmth of Affection and preserving them in it I shall recite to you the words of a late Reverend Holy Divine of mine intimate Acquaintance that did Conform to the Church of England viz. Mr. Gurnal Famous for that excellent Piece of his The Christian in compleat Armour a Book worth Gold After he had there pleaded for the lawfulness of Forms of Prayer yea and that in the Church he hath these Expressions The evil is not in a Form but in Formality and that is a Disease which may be found in him that prayeth with a conceived Prayer A Man may pray without a Form and yet not pray without Formality and this I grant but now observe that which follows I confess he that binds himself constantly to a set Form especially in his private addresses seems to me to be more in danger of the two of falling under the power of that lazy Distemper Secondly There are some things which may and often do fall out which none can so well speak to as the Master of the Family himself can do supposing him furnished with such a competent measure of Abilities as doth become one in his place There are indeed common ordinary cases both of Persons and Families and Nations which some forms may reach and do very well suit but there are and may be some particular cases which the Governour of a Family who as he ought studieth both himself and it is best able to express and spread before God Prov. 14.10 The heart knoweth his own bitterness and a stranger intermeddles not with his joy And surely then he is the fittest Person to relate both the one and the other Supposing a sick Patient have the full use of his Reason the Physician doth expect from himself the best account of his state Thirdly Conceived Prayer is the most direct way to Spiritual Increases It is the duty of Christians not to sit down with present attainments but while they are on this side of Heaven and Glory to be continually aspiring and reaching after more more Grace in order to a greater fitness for the happiness hereafter and more Gifts in order to a greater serviceableness here Now what progress is he like to make who continually walketh in a round If a Child will always walk holding on a Bench he is not like to be a good Footman The old saying is Vse Legs and have Legs it holds true here use Parts and have them yea and more too To him that hath and imployeth what he hath shall be given I do not doubt but conceived Prayer is better than the constant use of a form for the inriching of a Person with praying-gifts if I may not say with Grace too Let serious and truly honest Christians both of one way and the other speak as they find I know nothing fitter to determine that than their Experience Fourthly The confining of your selves to a form of Prayer is a dishonour unto God whose Glory ye should be dear over and promote to your utmost Your Gifts are bestow'd upon you in order to his Honour but what Honour hath he from them when conceal'd This is ingratitude to God where are the returns you make to him for the benefits you have from him To have the Gift of Prayer and not to use it is no other than to bury the Talent in a Napkin and so to do is not the part of a faithful Servant nor the way to enter into the Joy of your Lord when you leave Earth Fifthly It is a dishonour to your selves as it would be for a Man to walk
Petition for the gracious supply of those wants and prevention of those dangers from all these things you may gather together a great deal of fit matter for Prayer only still beg of God that he would by his Spirit assist influence and enable you to make a right use of it IV. I dare assure thee that if thou wilt sincerely and in good earnest set thy self about the work God will not be wanting to thee do thou in obedience go out to thy duty and he will graciously come in to thy assistance our endeavours indeed and utmost activity lay no obligation upon him but his own grace and goodness do induce and move him David said Psalm 138.3 In the day when I cried thou answer'dst me and strengthenedst me with strength in my Soul Do thou O poor Soul take encouragement from thence direct thy Prayer to God and look up in the day that thou criest unto God he may answer thee too and afford thee that which at present thou labourest and groanest under the want of and as he strengthned David with strength in his Soul so he may bestow upon thee a competency of gifts and the assistance of his Holy Spirit God doth now by me call you out to the performance of this Duty Family Prayer but you complain of an unfitness for it and not without cause well remember God did once immediately call Moses out to a great work publick work to go and speak to Pharaoh and in the name of God to command him to let Israel go he was very unwilling to comply but as thou complainest of inability so did he thou thinkest thy self unfit to be the Families mouth to God Moses thought himself unfit to be Gods mouth to Pharaoh Exod. 4.10 O my Lord I am not Eloquent neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken to thy Servant but I am slow of Speech and of a slow Tongue far from being fit to be sent upon God's Errand to so Great and Proud a Prince but mark what God answered him ver 11. Who hath made Mans mouth or who hath made the dumb or deaf or seeing or the blind have not I the Lord therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say I that made the mouth can mend it I made the Instrument and can tune it I can supply the defects and cure the infirmities of it if it be a flow tongue I can quicken it I can put to it eloquence and nimbleness Bring this now to the case in hand it is thy duty to pray in and with thy Family thou art now loudly call'd to it the great God calls thee to it by me and I do not in the least question but if thou hast any sense of a Deity thine own Conscience hath called thee to it many and many a time before now and I pray thee to bethink thy self did no body else did thy Wife never desire it of thee did thy Child never beg it of thee did none of thy Friends who lov'd thee put thee upon it and hast thou not done it yet how inexorable art thou how hard thy heart What! so loath to come to thy duty yea to that which is thy priviledge as well as thy duty this is quite contrary to the Wisdom which is from above which is easie to be intreated take shame to thy self and mend now go home and in good earnest fall to the work and I dare say God will be with thy heart yea and with thy mouth too V. Practice will be accompanied with improvement use doth greatly facilitate things How aukwardly doth a Child move the feet when it first begins to goe who can observe it without a smile but yet in a little time it hath got the knack of it and can move them regularly nimbly and with strength and knows how to walk and run as well as others There are indeed difficulties in Duty but to the sincere Soul the difficulties wear off and the duty will grow easier and easier the way of the Lord being strength to the upright so that therein they go from strength to strength After that upon the Commandment of God Moses had once gone in to Pharaoh and spoken we do not read of his complaining any more no not though God told him that he would harden Pharaoh's heart yet as often as God ordered him he went not desisting till Pharaoh commanded him to see his face no more Therefore begin Man begin and see what will come of it fall to work you will find that your labour is not in vain The Scripture saith ye shall know if ye follow on to know the Lord and I may say ye shall pray better and better if ye will but follow on to pray by means hereof you will attain to a greater knowledge of God and more intimate acquaintance with him and your own hearts and you will find inward increases and growth in grace and a changing of you into his Image from glory to glory and that will help toward the production of a more holy boldness toward God and a greater Parrhesia liberty or freedom of Speech and your hearts will be more inlarged as Sin grows by acting it so doth grace yea and gifts too Trading tends to thriving to him that hath shall be given i. e. to him that useth what he hath as he should the consciencious performance of duty is the way to bring down from God a blessing upon your parts I will add but one thing more VI. Supposing thou shouldest never be able to do thy work so well as many of thy fellow Servants can yet do not lay it aside but do it as well as thou canst The Apostle Paul speaks of diversities of gifts and diversities of administrations and diversities of operations 1 Cor. 12. So there is a diversity of degrees in Gods conferring those gifts upon Men good and faithful Servants are not made equal as we read in the Lords intrusting them with Talents one had five another had but two yet both faithful and industrious the wicked and sloathful Servant had only one yet he should have traded with it though he had but little to do he ought to have been doing So it is here God is pleased to give large parts to some so that they have a quick and fertile invention and an answerable elocution they can speak their minds freely and cloath their conceptions with apt yea curious expressions so as to charm the ears and delight the hearts of those that joyn with them but thou art poor and barren â—at a great loss both for matter and words be humble upon this account and little in thine own eyes but not altogether discouraged but fall to thy work Man Trade with thine one Talent What though thou dost not Pray so as to raise the admiration and gain the applause of them that hear thee is it not very well if thou canst so pray as to find acceptance with God what though