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
that I do not see it is any where to be used where the other can as I have before said Nor is it to be permitted to all even when there is no opportunity of using a Form or Premeditation but only to persons who have been and are of great consideration and judgment concerning such things as are to be the matter of our Prayers and have well exercised themselves therein and consequently are of copious and quick Invention and Memory of true just useful things and of convenient Speech to signifie oâ— express them All Conveniencies considered possibly a mixture of Publick and Private Forms and of Premeditated Prayers may be best whereby the Inconveniencies in all may be corrected or remedied by each other and the peculiar Conveniencies of all obtained especially if there be some discreet and pious Superiours frequently to take an account of to hear and direct those who may be less sufficient when they perform this Duty in publick SECT XVII II. I Am now to propound some of the Second sort of Directions viz. How to obtain these due Qualifications of Prayer of which I have been discoursing and they be these six or seven among others 1. Read we much and understand well the Holy Scriptures that we may apply them truly and usefully to our own Cases The least useful to this end though there are many other excellent uses are those Parts which are Controversial or Historical except those which deliver the Actions but especially the Speeches of Holy Persons such as our Saviour's Discourses amongst which are some Prayers as our Saviour's and of some of the Apostles The most useful are those which are Devotional such as the Book of Psalms out of which there are many truly excellent Examples of all the Parts or Ingredients of a Prayer the circumstances being rightly understood of which I have still successively made use Also those Parts which are Preceptive which contain Instructions for our Duty what our Temper and Spirit ouâ— Actions and Conversations ought to be as the Book of Proverbs our Saviour's Discourses many Chapters of the Epistles I say these are more useful for this end than those which are controversial as most part of the Epistle to the Romans and to the Corinthians and Galatians c. though out of these too much may be had It were to be wished that with the Scripture there was always some short and plain Paraphrase to be read with it for the better understanding of its sense and that the Sentences thereof which are not plain might not be used ignorantly confusedly falsly and erroneously It is very well known we may think we pray in Scripture when we do not we may pray with the words of Scripture but not with the sense As if praying that we might not be conformed to this World we should mean all other Christians of different perswasions from our selves and not the corrupt and sinful manners of all men whatsoever which was then and is now generally the condition of Mankind in this World Or Confessing our very best doings are polluted rags we should mean the best of the best man's actions and particularly his sincerest and ardentest love to God that he can at that time exert which surely may be in one action were a sin and not understand it of a Nation generally even in their religious performances or the best of their actions formal hypocritical insincere c. which was the sense of those words when spoken and therefore in such case to be used or such like instances Wherefore we should be careful rightly to understand and to have the true sense of Scripture and not through vain imagination rashness confidence self-conceit abuse the Language thereof And where the sense is doubtful and pious holy and wise men differ rather to abstain therefrom We may find elsewhere expressions enough besides for our sense and meaning There are abundance of Scripture-Expressions very plain and clear in their sense and need no Paraphrase or other words for their better understanding As that we may live soberly righteously godly in this present world that we may love the Lord our God with all our heart and our Neighbour as our selves that we might do God's will here on Earth as it is in Heaven that he would cause us to be loving without dissimulation merciful with chearfulness to abhor that which is evil cleave to that which is good to be kindly affectioned in honour to prefer one another fervent in Spirit serving the Lord those especially whose Office it is to instruct in the Knowledge of the Doctrine and Design of the Lord Jesus to be rejoycing in hope patient in tribulation continuing instant in Prayer especially when in the like condition with the persecuted Christians given to hospitality to bless them that persecute c. as that most deliciously honest Chapter of Romans the 12th goes on and Rom. 13. And likewise Coloss 3. and Gall. 5. Further that God would give us repentance unto life that God would give us forgiveness of our Sins for his Name 's sake who is the Propitiation for our sins and for the sins of the whole world and scores the like But if we use any Scripture-Phrases obscure and doubtful it is best as short and clear as may be at the same time to Paraphrase them or express them in our most known and therefore plain Language as hath been before briefly advised Thus by using our selves to Read much and rightly understand the Scriptures we shall furnish our selves with good store of true just useful and important matter for our Prayers though we ought if we can to judge what even Scripture matter is most important and useful for us in particular for there is great difference Moreover Scripture-Phrase thus used is such as doth invite to attend to the sense of what is said by the authority thereof because spoken by Authors for whom we have worthily a great veneration and we judge at least directed and overseen by God himself in their sense and expression Scripture-Phrases likewise which are plain are like to be so much the more clear and quickly understood as they are more common and used which is much more than any other I said just now where Scripture-Phrases are obscure there it will be best as shortly and as clearly as we can to Paraphrase them in other Phrases most used and therefore best known what they signifie As for Example if we should pray in Scripture-Language that we might be found in Christ that we may be in Christ that we may obtain Christ c. we may add that we may be sincere firm and constant believers or Christians who may give our selves to obey the will of God sent by the Lord Jesus Christ by believing all the Doctrine that he hath taught and practising accordingly not that we may be in a state of favour with God for Christ's sake or that by his effectual procurement God would pardon our Sins acquit us from Punishment
which though it be very true and to be pray'd for yet it is not the sense of those Expressions The sense of the Churches of Judea which were in Christ Galat. 1. Verse 22. And salute Andronicus and Junia c. which were in Christ before me Rom. 16. 7. is those that were Christians So also if we pray that Christ may be in us that he may dwell in us that we may put on Christ or the Lord Jesus add we by way of Paraphrase and more known Expressions that we may firmly believe Jesus to be the Holy One of God and his Holy Doctrine to be true that our selves may be deeply and constantly endued with those most excellent qualities of such Knowledge and Holiness Wisdom and Goodness which are the proper Effects of or according to the Doctrine and Example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ which is the sense of Galat. 3. Verse 27. As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ that is at least have believed his Doctrine And of Rom. 13. Verse 14. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Hereby also besides the Sentences the true sense of those Sentences of Scripture may be conveyed at the same time which was most-what well enough known to whom it was written but is not yet among us as it seems So also when we make our Acknowledgments of the Divine Attributes in Scripture Sentences in Prayer let us choose rather such as are most plain and therefore most proper or as little figurative as may be As Thou that knowest the hearts of all men Acts 2. the searcher of hearts and tryer of reins Thou art God which hast made Heaven and Earth c. Acts 4. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable That the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him That the Lord is gracious full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy good to all and his tender mercies over all his works Psalm 145. That he is our heavenly Father the only true God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ When we use those Expressions that are spoken of God A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the likeness of men it may be best to add at least sometimes some proper word or phrase for explication and prevention of mistake especially in vulgar apprehension For Example if we should say Thy Throne O Lord is in Heaven thy eyes behold thy eye-lids try the children of men Psalm 11. Verse 4. it may follow In Heaven are the most excellent manifestations of thy presence of thy greatness and goodness yet thou most exactly knowest all things here upon Earth and whatsoever is in man If we should say Thou Lord lookest from Heaven and beholdest all the sons of men from the place of thy habitation thou lookest upon all the Inhabitants of the Earth Psalm 33. Verse 13. we may add these or other more fit Expressions according to the Auditory Thy Power and Knowledge thy Providence is extended from Heaven to Earth that is every where To thee the effects of whose power wisdom and goodness are the most perfect and great in the heavenly Regions is also perfectly known whatsoever is here upon this Earth When we say God is angry with the wicked and loveth the righteous we may add punisheth the one and willeth and doth good to the other The Expressions of The Lord is full of compassion and slow to anger may be followed with The Lord doth plentifully and frequently relieve the miserable distressed afflicted and delayeth or forbeareth to punish sinners It is a very true and useful Rule in Divinity that those Expressions in Scripture which properly signifie Humane Passions applied to God they signifie only the Effects of such Passions I do not think but that the learned unlearned but especially the last often grosly enough and falsly conceive God with Humane Passions place and other imperfections Besides the frequent use of such proper Expressions will make it more easie to conceive the true spiritual and perfect Nature of God SECT XVIII 2. I Advise those who are capable thereof to Contemplation Consideration Examination that they may find out and observe particularly what may be fit and proper matter for each of the parts of Prayer before mentioned that they may judge and be satisfied concerning the truth and usefulness of each thing when it is useful and when it is most so or its seasonableness that they might also often reflect upon and observe the intention purpose and end they have in their Prayers purifie their hearts from all insincerity and hypocrisie that they may quicken and stir up in themselves those affections or inclinations which are fit and proper according as they see the truth and usefulness of things upbraiding and reproaching themselves with an unreasonable dulness and insensibleness of those things which they ought to be and are capable of being more affected withal If any of us have time or ability use we it to meditate upon God his Nature his Attributes his Actions as long and as particularly as we can to consider to judge to examine what he truly and really is and doth and accordingly to stir up our affections and inclinations of Admiration Honour Love Desire Fear Faith and Hope Obedience Submission and Self-resignation In Confession Thanksgiving and Petition the thing is yet more easie and in some measure may be done by the ignorantest and weakest For who cannot if he would take some time to look back upon his life upon what he hath done in his Youth in his riper age when in this or that or t'other place Condition Calling or Employment what was well what was ill done by him where he was innocent and sincere where not what he hath been or done the last year or week or day who cannot enter into account and call to mind the common Blessings that he and others do constantly receive from God and moreover particularly many favours spiritual of good Instructions wise pious wholesome Counsel and Advise good Example from his Minister or his Friends Relations and Neighbours many good suggestions and motions of Conscience that have kept him from wickedness or put him on to what was good temporal ones also of prosperity health deliverance plenty or competency or at least some degree of Necessities of this Life who is there that cannot reflect upon God's goodness in forbearance when he hath reflected upon his sins and the gracious offers and assurances of his pardon and forgiveness for Christ's sake upon his true repentance and inward habitual change and amendment of temper and life and consequently of Heaven and a happier Life after we here expire and leave this earthly body And so in like manner for Petition the meanest person surely may in a very little time learn to know much of what he would have and what he ought to have If any one should give the meanest and ignorantest person notice to let him know what he wanted and
in external and bodily actions with their mouths or other parts of their body yet the internal actions of their Souls such as I have above mentioned are very slight weak and slender Persons approach to God with their Lips and their Bodys when their Hearts are far from him and it may be after their Covetousness or any other Lusts Or they are there with him and conversant about him and other matter of their Prayers as men use to be in the company of those persons and in doing those things they do not much care for or have no great value for It is really a thing of which men are to be ashamed that they are conversant about lesser matters with great attention and affection and about infinitely greater such as are in this part of the Worship of God with little or none it is certainly a sign of their pitiful ignorance and errour degeneracy baseness and meanness that they are like Children and School-boys who are attentive and eager about their Sports and Pastimes but not at all concerned in the Cares of their Parents for them and the rest of their Families Is it not a shame to see men honour and admire mortal men a potent Prince a profound Statesman of great capacity for business one that administers Affairs with much prudence and dispatch or a great Scholar one of large Revenues splendid Train and Attendants and perhaps sometimes but more rarely a virtuous just pious holy and very spiritual minded person I say to honour some of these with the Titles of Incomparable Prodigious and other significations of astonishment and yet to have very little of these in their Souls to God from whom all these and the Subjects of them came and who is the Authour of all these and all other never so great and never so little things in the World to whose Infinite Perfection all those and all other compared are not so much as one Atome to the content of the starry Heaven and whose is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever and this even when they make their most solemn Addresses and pretend to Worship him And so likewise it is a sign of pitiable ignorance or folly in men to be more confident and secure to put their trust more in the savour and power of an ordinary Relation or Friend possibly in a man's self in his own Power Wit Prudence Riches Strength than in the All-mighty All-wise and All-good God for which indeed sometimes there may be reason if their designs or hopes be unjust Who would not be moved to contempt or pity to hear men protest with the greatest zeal and earnestness to one some very little their superiour how much they are their servants and with all the gestures that may be signifie it but when they profess their Universal Obedience to God the King of Kings and Lord of Lords the only Potentate the Supreme Monarch of Heaven and Earth in saying thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven or in any other words to do it so remissly coldly and indifferently that if they should do in like manner to any one little their betters they would think themselves so unjustly neglected as to bid them or to be content they should keep their service to themselves Who could like to see men with great reality and submission to confess their Offences against those they fear can punish them but to confess to God their Offences against his Laws as if they were afraid they should do so again and were very loth and unwilling to prevent it To see men with a great deal of earnestness and humility and mouthful of blessing render thanks to their Brother for a satisfying meals meat when hungry or a refreshing draught when thirsty or a scrap of silver to buy them necessaries when destitute but to thank God both in their publick and private Devotion for his innumerable Benefits even all good things that ever we have had in our lives and especially for spiritual ones as if it were a meer Compliment or Ceremony and they would gladly have done with it as soon as may be And lastly How great a senselesness and sottisness is it in men to beg with so much importunity of those in whose power it is to punishness them a little in temporary good things forgiveness and pardon or of others their favour countenance assistance direction counsel their Alms or Charity or in poor Prisoners guilty and ready to be condemned to mulcts banishment or corporal pain or death to Cry out with the most pitiful Voice for Mercy or Pardon but to ask of God Grace to Repent strength to be better and then pardon for innumerable lesser and many greater and more heinous Sins That God who can make them miserable here and hereafter who can throw both Body and Soul into Hell would forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us to ask of him to take care of them and provide for them to counsel and direct them I say to ask these and all other things of God as if they were unwilling he should grant them or very indifferent and little concerned whether he did or no or as if God were obliged to them that they would ask and receive any thing from him What can be more absurd more unreasonable more shameful than this This is not Superstition but Truth and Reason And this slackness streightness perfunctoriness in the Worship of God comes from Sensuality or Immorality or both Either men are dull and carnal and cannot take notice of and be affected much with God who is a spirit or they are unwilling to do it they care not how little because they know they do such things and live in such courses as do not please him and which he doth not allow of Of this their Duty they may do a little it may be to appease some remainder of the natural appetite that all men have to Worship God and for Credit or Reputation sake and that 's enough Contray to the excellent Examples and Precepts which we have in the Holy Scriptures There can hardly be given any more certain signs of the greatest strength and fervour of all those Operations of the Soul in Prayer than what we meet withal in the Psalms every where Read for an Example of the most sensible acknowledgment the 145 Psalm in Verse 1. is a general acknowledgment and admiration I will extol thee my God O King and I will bless thy Name for ever and ever c. And Verse 3. to Verse 6. is a magnificent acknowledgment of God's Power Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable c. and Verse 11 12 13. again in Verse 8 9 10 15 16. is an acknowledgment of the general Divine Goodness and Verse 17. of his Holiness and Verse 14 18 19 20. of his mercy or goodness to persons in misery and distress especially who