the next comforts by the fruits of righteousness, and those sincere desires of godliness, which, by Christ's merciful interpretation, supply our failings. All which I conclude out of our church-song made to the Holy Ghost. "Visit our minds, and into us Thy heavenly grace inspire, CHAPTER IV. Prayer is the great Instrument of a Christian's Comfort. Concerning Prayer, three things to be considered: I. The Substance or Matter of Prayer, in three Heads; 1. Thanksgivings; 2. Supplications; 3. Intercessions: II. The Qualifications of them that pray: III. The Fitness of Time for Prayer. THE order laid down in the beginning carries me to the fourth part of Christian consolation, -the heavenly delight of prayer. It is the lively expression of faith, the ambas sador which hope sends to God, the comfort of love, the fellowship of the Spirit, our advocate unto our Advocate Christ Jesus; our incense, whose smoke ascends up, and is sweet in the nostrils of the Most High; which promiseth such abundant success, that humility had rather conceive than utter it, lest we should seem to boast. A lowly supplicant to God never rose up from his knees, without some stirrings of gracious expectation, nor without a prophetical instinct that the mercy of the Lord was nigh at hand. Which fortunate presage Isaiah confirms unto us", "I will make them joyful in my house of prayer." house of prayer." And how readily may we use this mighty ordinance of God! how soon it may be done, if we have a mind to it! What freedom have we (no man can deny it) to utter a brief prayer, and very often, if we will, in the greatest toil and business!" The tongue of the stammerer shall be ready to speak elegantly." It is so facile a part of religion, as he that hath a tongue can scarce miss it. It is as easy to say, Our Father, which art in 66 heaven," as to see heaven, which is always in our eye. Every sect of pagans and idolaters were taught by instinct to fly unto it ex tempore;' as the heathen mariners cried every man to his god. An atheist, falling into a sudden danger, as suppose a pistol were put to his breast, would cry out as soon to God to help him as any true believer. And he that, upon deliberation, did say there was no God, will break out into a confession, before he is aware, that there is a God, by natural impulsion. A poor whelp hath found a way to lick its own sores whole with its tongue; so when we are oppressed with misery, whether the evil of sin or the evil of punishment, we are prompted, by the natural notions of our soul, to lick the sore with our tongue; that is, to call for help from Heaven. That soul which God did breathe into man, cannot shake off this principle, that all succour comes from above, for which it must breathe out itself unto God. No creature among beasts, but, being smitten, will fall upon the way to relieve itself, except a blind, incogitant sinner. Such as have written upon their sagacity in that kind, tell us, that the fishes in the fresh water, being struck with a tool of iron, will rub themselves upon the glutinous skin of the tench to be cured. The hart, wounded with an arrow, runs to the herb dittany to bite it, that the shaft may fall out that stuck in his body. The swallow will seek out the green tetterwort, to recover the eyes of her young ones, when they are blinded. Only a stupid sinner forgets how to redintegrate his miserable estate, by throwing himself down prostrate before God in humble petition. He walks forward, lost to himself, lost to his right wits, because he hath no knowledge, or no good opinion, of the comfort of prayer. Which is my purpose to make him learn, by that which follows, looking upon, I. The substance or matter of prayer: II. The qualification of him that prayeth and, III. The fitness of time when prayer is to be made. I. The matter of prayer' is as copious as all occasions that can be named; it will suffice for my púrpose to treat of three heads Glorifications with thanksgivings, Supplications, and Intercessions.' 1. The first is bent to magnify the Almighty, to extol his name, to praise him for his goodness. This is the Hallelujah of David, and of the saints in heaven; that is, give glory to Jah, or the great Jehovah; which is followed with a rare variety in the song of the three children: "O, all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, praise him, and magnify him for ever!" It is a ditty that is balsamed all over with a profusion of delight, to praise God from all things that he hath made, from the centre of the earth to the top of heaven. And this is most divinely expressed in that which is called St. Ambrose's hymn in our common prayer: "We praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord." And let the servant of God that will listen to me, repeat it often and often for it is a piece of devotion so sweetly spread out into the branches of heavenly praise, confession of faith, and devout petitions, that the like did never come forth since the time it was penned. Let me speak to others out of the sense of my own heart, and I may safely profess, that in the service and worship of God, I find nothing so delightful as to continue in the praise and honour of the Lord. If another contradict it, and say, that there are some means more aptly calculated, as I may speak, for the high meridian of comfort; he is he, and I am I, and I appeal from him to myself, what I find in my own motions and feelings. And "what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him?" And observe that in the prudent institution of our church, to hold forth the consolation we have in Christ, after the participation of his body and blood in the blessed sacrament, it teacheth us to break out altogether in a jubilee, "Glory be to God on high; we praise thee, we bless thee, we glorify thee," &c. For when we are full of that holy feast, and have eaten angels' food, we fall into the tune of angels, and signify immediately, before we depart, how much our spirit rejoiceth in God our Saviour. But who knew better the mind of the Lord than the Spirit itself, in those admirable ecstasies of David? "Sing praises unto God; for it is pleasant. "Sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely." "Sing aloud unto God our strength; make a joyful noise unto the d 1 Cor. ii. 11. e Psalm cxxxv. 3. f Psalm cxlvii. 1. God of Jacob "." Every furrow in the book of the Psalms is sown with such seeds. I know nothing more certain, more constant, to expel the sadness of the world, than to sound out the praises of the Lord as with a trumpet: and when the heart is cast down, it will make it rebound from earth to heaven. This was the wisdom of the holy church throughout all the world, (till distempers put us out of the right way not long since,) to solemnize the praise of our Saviour upon the feasts of Christmas, Easter, &c.; that we might celebrate the great works which God hath done for us, "with the voice of joy, and praise, and with a multitude that kept holiday h." O give thanks unto the Lord, by telling of his mercy and salvation from day to day: Give thanks unto him with cheerfulness, for a joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful. Who is a just man, and fair conditioned, that would not pay a debt, and be exonerated of it? He that can say he hath paid what he owed, is it not a quietness to his mind to be discharged? It goes further a great deal, and brings more advantage, when we offer up the sacrifice of retribution, the incense of thanksgiving unto the Lord; for we draw on more benefits, when we declare the goodness of the Lord upon the receipt of the old. And the gratuitum which God gives, is a thousand-fold greater than the present which we bring. This is proposed to them that will fly high from the pinnacle of the Lord's prayer, the first petition, " hallowed be thy name." 2. Neither let them faint, that stoop low in supplication: for mercy will embrace them on every side. Two things being put together are of much weight: we pray with God's Spirit, and by his word. He invites us in his word to pray, and he gives the gift with which we pray. "I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications." Did he pour upon us his grace? and have we received a commandment, the outward sign of his will? and can we suspect, after all this, that he will put us off, and deny us? Is his grace given in vain? or hath he sent his word to delude us? He hath kindled a fire in our breasts, and it is a heavenly flame that burns within us. "Lord, though we are vile and 8 Psalm lxxxi. 1. h Psalm xlii. 4. Zech. xii. 10. despicable, thou canst not despise the acting of thine own Spirit, nor frustrate thine own operations. Or do we come unbidden, when we cast ourselves down in thy presence? Nay, Lord, thou hast beckoned and called us: “Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden." Hold fast to these two, and who can forbid us to be comforted? The Lord bids us pray, and he gives us a heart to pray. For it is not strange to his mercy (perhaps it is strange to man's conceit) to give us strength to bring forth that obedience, both to will and to do, which himself hath commanded: :-as he gave the Blessed Virgin strength to bring forth the babe, who was conceived and formed in her womb by the Holy Ghost. 66 " This I do the rather enforce, because we can see no comfort in ourselves: therefore, as I derive all the virtue and spirituality that is in prayer, from the efficacy of grace,so I refer all the success to Christ, in whom " we are blessed with all spiritual blessings.' "Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name, he will give it'." But he and his Father are one; therefore he says, If ye shall ask the Father any thing in my name, I will do it If we had no better means to God than ourselves and our own merits, there were no hope to speed: nay, our hearts would be as faint and dead as if we heard ourselves denied before we had opened our lips but we conclude, as it is in the most of our collects, through Christ our Lord." When we bring that name in the rear, and quote him for our merit and Mediator, then I know it will be well, and that the Lord will hear the petitions of his servants, Should we not put our requests into Christ's hand to offer them to his Father, Sion might spread forth her complaints, and there would be none to comfort her; and we might remain for ever in that heavy plight. "I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed "." But if we renounce our wretched selves, and imagine not the least intrinsical perfection to be in our prayers, do we sail then by the Cape of Good Hope? Yes; because God is contented to yield upon such addresses. Jacob may wrestle m Eph. i. 3. 1 John, xv. 16. |