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servant, saying, I will build thee an house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.' This provoked Jacob, David, Daniel, with others, even a sense of mercies to be received; which caused them, not by fits and starts, nor yet in a foolish, frothy way to babble over a few words written in a paper, but mightily, fervently, and continually, to groan out their condition before the Lord, as being sensible, I say, of their wants, their misery, and the willingness of God to show mercy.

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A good sense of sin, and of the wrath of God, with some encouragement from God to come unto him, is a better Common Prayer Book than that which is taken out of the Papistical mass book, being the scraps and fragments of the devices of some popes, some friars, and I wot not what.

3. Prayer is a sincere, sensible, and an affectionate pouring out of the soul to God. Oh, the heat, strength, life, vigor, affection, that is in right prayer! "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. I have longed for thy precepts. I have longed after thy salvation. My soul longeth, yea, fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath to thy judgments at all times." Mark ye here, "My soul longeth, yea, fainteth," &c. O what affection is here discovered in prayer! The like you have in Daniel: “O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God." Every syllable carrieth a mighty vehemency in it. This is called the fervent, or working prayer, by James. And so, again, Luke xxii. 44, "And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly," or, had his affections more and more drawn out after God for his helping hand. O! how wide are the most of men with their prayers from this prayer, that is prayer in God's account! Alas! the greatest part of men make no conscience at all of this duty; and as for them that do, it is to be feared that

many of them are very great strangers to a sincere, sensible, and affectionate pouring out of their hearts or souls to God : but even content themselves with a little lip-labor and bodily exercise, mumbling over a few imaginary prayers. When the affections are indeed engaged in prayer, then the whole man is engaged, and that in such sort, that the soul will spend itself to nothing, as it were, rather than it will go without that good desired, even communion and solace with Christ. And hence it is that the saints have spent their strength, and lost their lives, rather than go without the blessing. Psalm lxix. 3; xxxviii. 9, 10; Gen. xxxii. 24-26.

All this is too evident by the ignorance, profaneness, and spirit of envy, that reign in the hearts of those men that are so hot for the forms, and not for the power, of praying. Scarce one of forty among them knows what it is to be born again; to have communion with the Father through the Son; to feel the power of grace sanctifying their hearts; but for all their prayers, they still live drunken, whorish, and abominable lives, full of malice, envy, deceit, persecuting also the dear children of God. O what a dreadful after-clap is coming upon them! which all their hypocritical assembling themselves together, with all their prayers, shall never be able to help them against, or shelter them from.

Again, it is a pouring out of the heart or soul. There is in prayer an unbosoming of a man's self; an opening of the heart to God; an affectionate pouring out of the soul in requests, sighs, and groans. "All my desires are before thee," (saith David;) "my groanings are not hid from thee." And again, "My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me.' Psalm xlii. 2, 4. Mark, "I pour out my soul:" it is an expression signifying, that in prayer there goeth the very life and whole strength to God. As in another place, “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your hearts

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before him." Psalm lxii. 2, 4. This is the prayer to which the promise is made, for the delivering of a poor creature out of captivity and thraldom. "If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul." Deut. iv. 29.

Again, it is a pouring out of the heart or soul to God. This showeth also the excellency of the spirit of prayer. It is the great God to which it retires. "When shall I come and appear before God." And it argueth, that the soul that thus prayeth indeed, sees an emptiness in all things under heaven; that in God alone there is rest and satisfaction for the soul. As Paul saith, "Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God." So saith David, “In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear to me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort. For thou art my rock and my fortress: deliver me, O God, out of the hand of the unrighteous and the cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord my God, thou art my trust from my youth." Psalm lxxi. 1-5. Many in a wording way speak of God; but right prayer makes God a man's hope, stay, and all. Right prayer sees nothing substantial, and worth the looking after, but God. And that (as I said before) it doth in a sincere, sensible, and affectionate way.

Again, it is a sincere, sensible, affectionate, pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ. This, through Christ, must needs be added, or else it is to be questioned, whether it be prayer, though in appearance it be never so eminent and eloquent.

Christ is the way through whom the soul hath admittance to God, and without whom it is impossible that so much as one desire should come into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 66 If you ask any thing in my name -Whatsoever you ask the Father in my name, I will do it." This was Daniel's way

in praying for the people of God; he did it in the name of Christ: "Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake." And so David, "For thy name's sake," (that is, for thy Christ's sake,) "pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." But now, it is not every one that maketh mention of Christ's name in prayer, that doth, indeed, and in truth, effectually pray to God in the name of Christ, or through him. This coming to God through Christ is the hardest part that is found in prayer. A man may more easily be sensible of his evil works, aye, and sincerely too desire mercy, and yet not be able to come to God by Christ. That man that comes to God by Christ, must first have the knowledge of him : for he that comes to God must believe that he is. And so he that comes to God through Christ, must be enabled to know Christ. 66 'Lord," saith Moses, "show me thy way, that I may know thee.

This Christ, none but the Father can reveal. And to come through Christ, is for the soul to be enabled of God to shroud itself under the shadow of the Lord Jesus, as a man shroudeth himself under a thing for safeguard. Hence it is that David so often terms Christ his shield, buckler, tower, fortress, rock of defence, &c. Not only because by him he overcame his enemies, but because through him he found favor with God the Father. And so Christ saith to Abra

ham, "Fear not, I am thy shield," &c. The man then that comes to God through Christ, must have faith, by which he puts on Christ, and in him appears before God. Now he that hath faith, is born of God, born again, and so becomes one of the sons of God; by virtue of which, he is joined to Christ, and made a member of him. And therefore, secondly, He, as a member of Christ, comes to God; I say, as a member of him, so that God looks on that man, as part of Christ: part of his body, flesh, and bones;

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united to him by election, conversion, illumination; the Spirit being conveyed into the heart of that poor man by God. So that now he comes to God in Christ's merits, in his blood, righteousness, victory, intercession; and so stands before him, being accepted in his beloved. And because this poor creature is thus a member of the Lord Jesus, and under this consideration hath admittance to come to God; therefore, by virtue of this union also, is the Holy Spirit conveyed into him, whereby he is able to pour out himself, that is, his soul, before God, with his acceptance.

And this leads me to the next, or fourth particular.

4. Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate, pouring out of the heart or soul to God through Christ, by the strength or assistance of the Spirit. For these things do so depend one upon another, that it is impossible that it should be prayer, without there be a joint concurrence of them: for though it be never so famous, yet without these things, it is only such prayer as is rejected of God. For without a sincere, sensible, affectionate, pouring out of the heart to God, it is but lip-labor, and if it be not through Christ, it falleth far short of ever sounding well in the ears of God. So also, if it be not in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, it is but like the sons of Aaron, offering with strange fire. But I shall speak more to this under the second head; and therefore, in the mean time, that which is not petitioned through the teaching and assistance of the Spirit, it is not possible that it should be according to the will of God.

5. Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart, or soul, to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, for such things as God hath promised, &c. Prayer it is, when it is within the compass of God's word; and it is blasphemy, or at best, vain babbling, when the petition is beside the book. David, therefore, in his prayer, still kept his eye on the word of God. "My soul," saith he, "cleaveth to the dust; quicken me according to