Fondness for the Things of this Life, or through Ignorance too often do) ask for fuch Things as it may be great Mercy in God to deny us.

In order, therefore, that our Prayers may be acceptable to God, three Things are to be confidered: ft, The Qualifications of the Perfon praying: 2dly, The Matter of our Prayers: And 3dly, The Manner of them. Firf, The Qualifications of the Perfon praying.

1. He that would pray fo as to be heard of God, must lift up holy Hands, and a pure Heart. He must not bring with him any unrepented Sins; but as God fpeaks by the Prophet Isaiah upon the like Occafion, He must put away the Evil of his Doings. -He must ceafe to do Evil, and learn to do well*. Or, as St. Peter advises, Let him efchew Evil, and do Good; for, as it follows in the next Verfe, The Eyes of the Lord are over the Righteous, and his Ears are open unto their Prayers: But the Face of the Lord is against them that do Evil. And to the fame Purpofe, fays Solomon, The Sacrifice of the Wicked is an Abomination to the Lord, but the Prayer of the Upright is his Delight If I incline unto

*

Ifai. i, 16, 17.

1 Pet. iii, 11, 12,. † Prov. xv. 8. B 5 Wicked

Wickedness in my Heart, fays holy David, the Lord will not hear me*. Indeed, there is nothing more evident from the whole Scope of the Scriptures, than that God heareth not wilful and impenitent Sinners; but if any Man be a Worshipper of God, and doth his Will, bim he heareth; as the blind Man that was restored to Sight by our Saviour told the Pharifees. In fhort, Sin is the most hateful Thing in the Sight of God, and therefore till a Man is come to a Senfe of his paft Offences, and is not only forry for having offended God, but refolved by his Grace to amend for the future, he can never be faid to be in a fit Difpofition to pray; but as this is the loweft Conception we can have of the Qualification I am fpeaking of, a Man must not top here; he muft put those good Refolutions in Practice, having always in view this Confideration, "That the greater At"tainments any one makes in a holy Life, "the more acceptable will his Prayers be "in the Sight of God.'

2. A fecond Qualification refpecting the Perfon praying, is Charity or Love; and that is fo neceffary, that though we should pray with the Tongues of Men and Angels, t John ix. 31.

Pfal. lxvi. 18.

and

and have not this Qualification, it would be to no Purpofe; our Prayers would be but like founding Brafs or a tinkling Cymbal, empty and infignificant Sounds. There is nothing fo contrary to the Nature of God, nothing fo wide of the true fpirit of a Christian, as Bitterness and Wrath, Malice, and Envy: And therefore it is vain to think, that ever our Prayers can be acceptable to the God of Love, till we have put on, as the Elect of God, Bowels of Mercies, Kindnefs, Humbleness of Mind, Meekness, Longfuffering, forbearing one another, and forgiv ing one another*, as St. Paul commands.

3. A third Qualification is Faith. If any of you lack Wifdom, fays St. James, let him afk of God, but let him afk in Faith, nothing wavering t. Not that we are to understand by this, that we must never offer up our Prayers to God but with a firm Belief, that what we pray for fhall immediately be granted us. No; all that is required of us in this Matter, is to come to the Throne of God with an humble Confidence in his Mercy, affuredly believing that God is the hearer of Prayer, and that He is infinitely good and wife, and will deny

us nothing that he fees and knows to be fit for us. And from hence it will follow,

4. As a fourth Qualification, That in all Things of a temporal Concern, we must exercise an entire Submiffion to the Will of God. Not my Will, but thine be done, faid our bleffed Lord, when he prayed that the bitter Cup might pafs from him: And fo muft we too, whenever we pray for the Removing of prefent Evils, or the Procurement of any future Good of this Life. God indeed has been graciously pleafed to encourage us to lay our Wants before him ; but how far, and in what Manner, and when they shall be relieved, is a Matter He has referved to his own Difpofal; and we muft (and it is highly reasonable we should) acquiefce in all his Determinations concerning them: He only knows what is best for us, and what is moft fuitable to our prefent State: And therefore, a good Chrif tian will be fure to leave the Iffue of his Prayers in God's Hands, not doubting but he will give, like a kind Father, to each of his dutiful Children, as much as he needeth, or as much as is ufeful and fit, and from thence will take it for a Demonftration, that what God gives him not, is not fit for him.

5. A fifth Qualification of the Perfon praying is, That he hath a good Intention petitioning for thofe Things he aíks to a good End. We must not pray (as the Hypocrites do) that we may be feen of Men * Neither muft we pray for any Thing that we may confume it upon our Luftst, as the intemperate Man does when he prays for Health, only that he may be still intemperate; or the revengeful Man,when he prays for Authority, that he may have the more Power to effect his evil Defigus; for this is, as St. James fays, to ask amifs; and then no wonder if we ask and receive not: Indeed, it is pure Mercy in God to deny us fuch Requests; and therefore if we desire that he should hear our Prayers, we muft, as is faid before, make his Glory, and our own and others Salvation, our chief Endin prefenting them; and all other Things are to be confidered, only as they tend to promote the one Thing needful.

Secondly; We are to confider the matter of our Prayers. We are to take Care that we never afk any thing of God but what is conformable to the divine Will, which are all fuch Things as He has promised to give; as Bleffings fpiritual and temporal;

;

*

Matt, ví. 5.

† jam. iv. 3.

the

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