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
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
the worst of men that are the most sensual carnal dull and ill-natured have Souls capable of being more spiritual and refined in their understandings and affections and of being infinitely in love with the boundless goodness and love of God and more than with any other thing and consequently of a proportionable pleasure and satisfaction The same is to be said concerning Joy in God who is thus infinite in love and goodness to all his Creatures and hope or confident perswasion and consequent acquiescence and repose of Soul in God for the Universal good of all When the Soul upon the assurance and evidence that all things in the World are the best that can or ever shall be by reason of the immutable goodness and benignity of God is not solicitous or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 self but acquiesceth and even re 〈◊〉 in all events to it self or to others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and full appro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thy will be done O â—ll mighty and All wise goodness and Love both in Heaven and Earth I say these very Pas 〈◊〉 Affections are sweet and delicious to the Soul and therefore being excited and exerted in Prayer and that in prepared Souls to the highest degree are Prayers so acceptable and delightful duties Further In Prayer we do not only make acknowledgment of God admire honour love rejoyce hope in him for his Perfections in reference to all his Creatures in general but also in reference to our selves We admire his great goodness particularly to our selves and love him for it and rejoyce in the present possession and in good hopes of the future perhaps eternal enjoyment of it Which passions generally are in most men more piercing and strong than upon the account of God's infinite Perfections and especially his goodness referred to all his Creatures but indeed should not be so Nevertheless it is good for us to be deeply affected with Admiration Love Joy Hope of God's Goodness to our selves in any kind expressed not in opposition to others good but as one single Instance and Example of God's Universal Goodness to all which we most clearly apprehend For is God so good to us in particular he is the same to all and every of his Creatures as much as is consistent with the common good of all to some more to some less than our selves In Prayer we I say thus take notice of and stir up our love to God for his love to us or thankfulness to God for all his past benefits among which are his promises of future good things we rejoyce in him for the present and we hope and repose our selves on him for the future Now these very Passions and Affections themselves in our Souls are the most agreeable and pleasing to them as is the very thinking and contemplation of the Infinite Power Wisdom and especially Goodness of God All these Operations and Employments of our Souls are very grateful and acceptable to them Even in this respect it is good for them to be here to be thus employed It is good for them to draw near unto God that is to direct their Actions and Operations to God SECT VIII 2. BUt a Second more particular Way how Prayer is for our comfort anâ— delight so far forth as we are good is by the Exercise of Faith and Hope anâ— Repose in God as to all our concerns whatsoever Any good man when he prays to Goâ— habitually believes these two things 1. That God will alwaies bestow upoâ— him what is just and fit to be bestowed And 2. That the particular things he humblâ— beseecheth God to grant may be justly bestowed by God upon him that is that it 〈◊〉 consistent with or rather effective of thâ— greatest good of the whole World as haâ—â— been often said and this latter he may sometimes believe certainly sometimes probably whence ariseth either assurance and expectation of the thing or only Hope strictâ—â— so called As for Example When he pray to God for the pardon of his sins and hiâ— consequent favour to his person for Christ sake upon the condition of his true and unfeigned repentance amendment anâ— change of Soul when he cries with thâ— poor Publican God be merciful to me a sinneâ— which most men are so careless proud self-conceited and presumptuous as seldom to do so far as he is conscious to himsâ—lf of the sincerity of his amendment so far he may be confident God will grant this his Prayer For besides that even by reason it self without express promise of the Gospel it might be very probable by the express promise of the Gospel it is most undoubted and certain Even Reason it self would judge it more probable if it were informed that it is done for so excellent a person's sake as Jesus Christ was But then moreover I say it is the most express promise of the Gospel and one indeed of the principal things it came to acquaint men withal viz. That God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself and that by repentance and faith in Christ's Name that is by doing all our duty for the future as commanded from God by Christ men might have remission of sins And so again if any man desires and prays from the bottom of his soul for God's grace in general to repent and that he may forsake at last all sin and become a new man giving up himself to obey God being afraid or weary of a sinful wicked life as a thing unaccountable unreasonable or in particular if he prays for strength to mortifie any lust to leave any sin to obtain any grace or virtue he may be confident he shall be heard in some degree or other some time or other Perhaps God might not hear us presently but excite us and strengthen us to continue our Prayers more earnestly whereby we gain dependance upon God humility nay a greater thirst after the thing we ask and consequently indeed a greater degree of it I say for pardon and grace if unfeignedly and heartily asked and humbly begged of God we may be confident we shall be heard both because it seems reasonable and because God hath more expresly promised them in the Scripture But as for other even spiritual good things as natural parts or gifts of understanding memory utterance or the like these it is but probable that it is the best God should bestow them upon us in some degree And as for external good things such as health strength beauty riches honour or good name plenty or competency deliverance c. we have less probability still although so much as to encourage us sufficiently to propound our desires to God too And therefore here our hope will be more or less strong unless God hath expresly by certain revelation promised any of them to us as it was in David's case when he was persecuted by Saul and by other Enemies and his life sought after God had certainly by his Prophets and probably to himself by Inspiration promised he should be King and