that A. I prove it out of Zech. 4.17 where it is said And it shall be that whosoever will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King the Lord of Hoasts even upon him shall be no raine Q. And for what sins doth the Lord sometimes in judgement send too much raine upon the earth A. For two especiall sins Q. And which is the first sinne for which the Lord doth sometimes in judgement send too much raine upon the earth A. It is the sin of unequall and ungodly marriages when Gods people in their matching have more respect to beauty and worldly considerations then to piety and godlinesse Q. How prove you that A. I prove it out of Gen. 6.2 3. Gen. 7.1,2 Compared together where it is said that the sonnes of God saw the daughters of men that they were faire and they tooke them wives of all that they chose And the Lord said my spirit shall not alwayes strive with man because he is but flesh yet his dayes shall be an hundred and twenty yeares and the windowes of heaven were opened and the Raine was upon the earth forty dayes and forty nights Qu. And which is the second Sinne for which the Lord doth sometimes in Judgement send too much Raine upon the earth A. It is the soothing up of wicked men in their sinnes and not denouncing judgements against them as there is cause Q. How prove you that A. I prove it out of Ezek. 13.10 13. Where it is said Because even because they have seduced my people saying peace and there was no peace and one built up a wall and loe others daubed it with untempered morter Therefore thus saith the Lord God I will even rent it with a stormie winde in my fury and there shall be an over-flowing shower in mine anger Q. Then it seemeth if we would obtaine Rain in the time of drought we must expect it onely from the Lord A. Yea indeed if the Lord alone have the disposing of the Raine then we are ther to we expect it from the Plannets nor from the Clouds though the skie be over spread with them no nor yet from the winde though it be in the South for all such things are but the vanities of the Gentiles of whom it is said Jer. 14.22 By way of interogation which implys a plaine negation Are there any among the vanities of the Genâ—les that can cause Raine or can the heavens give showers art thou not he O Lord our God therefore we will waite upon thee for thou hast made all these things The Lord onely is the Father of the Raine and hath begotten the drops of the dew and therefore we are to expect it onely from him Q. But what must we doe that we may obtaine Raine at the hands of the Lord now in the time of drought A. We must use such meanes as the Lord hath prescribed us Q. And what meanes hath the Lord prescribed A. That you shall finde set downe 2 Chro. 7.13.14 Where the Lord saith If I shut up heaven that there be no Raine It my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seeke my face and turne from their evill wayes then will I heare in heaven and forgive their sinnes and heale their Land Q. Then I perceive the first thing we must doe is to humble our selves but how shall we doe that truly A. If we would humble our selves truly we must seriously examine our selves what sinnes we have beene guilty of and especially as touching those sinnes for which as you heard the Lord with holdeth Raine Q. I pray you instruct me a little farther in this point and repeate those Sinnes againe for which the Lord with-holdeth Raine in the time of drought A. The first is Idolatry and therefore if you would truly humble your selfe for your sinnes examine your self whether you have not loved desired feared and trusted in some creature ether more then in God or equall with God The Second is disobeydience to Gods Commandements and therefore if you would truly humble your selfe you must examine your heart and life by some spirituall exposition of the ten Commandements The third is not bringing forth fruit answerable to the meanes and mercies bestowed on us and therefore if you would truly humble your selfe you must examine your selfe whether you have grown in grace and been filled with the fruits of righteousnesse answerable to those meanes and mercies which the Lord hath bestowed on you The fourth sinne is oppression and cruelty to the poore and therefore if you would truly humble your selfe you must examine your selfe whether you have not taken all advantages to enhance the prises of such Commodities as you have dealt in and thereby oppressed the poore and needie The last sinne is neglecting Gods Ordinance and therefore if you would truly humble your selfe for your sinnes you must examine your selfe whether you have not somtimes omitted prayer hearing reading and receiving the sacrament when you might and ought Q. Well the next thing we must doe is to pray but how shall we doe that aright A. It is the spirit of Jesus Christ only that can teach you to pray aright But if you stand in need of and do desire a briefe plat-forme of prayer for Rain now in the time of drought then say from your heart O most holy and gracious Lord for we doe here acknowledge befoâ—e thee that we have sinned aginst thee we have broken every one of thy holy and just Commandements for we have loved desired feared and trusted in the creatures yea and delighted in the creature more then in thee wee have beene very unthankfull in the time of plenty and have not brought forth fruit answerable to the meanes and mercies bestowed upon us we have omitted prayer hearing reading receiving the sacrament when thou hast called us thereunto we have taken thy tytles atributes word and workes in vain by using them ignorantly irreverently and after a formall coursary manner we have prophaned thy day by thinking our owne thoughts speaking our owne words and doing our owne workes we have beene disobedient to superiours and beene much failing and wanting in our duties to inferiours we have been rashly and sinfully angrie and not free from malice and envie neither have we been free from unchast and lustfull thoughts we have immoderatly desired to be rich and have not alwaies dealt so uprightly and justly in buying and selling in borrowing and lending as we ought we have sometimes contemned and and thought too basely of others and have beene guilty of evill surmisings and wrongful suspition and have sometimes rashly and unjustly judged and sensured others and spoken evill of them behind their backes finally O Lord we have been guilty of covetousenesse and discontentednesse with our present condition and have had inward longings for that which hath belonged to other men Now Lord for these other sins wherof we have been