of God; as the Original from whom we come, and as the Author of all good; in Whom we live, and move, and have our being; and a confession of our own weakness, and helpless condition, without His care of us.

Proclus 1 2. in
Timæum.

The very heathens had this notion in them, that mankind being the offspring of God, brought forth by Him into the world, out of the womb of His Almighty goodness, they ought to resort unto Him; even as the chicken runs under the wing of the hen, by whom it was hatched; or the lamb runs to the teats of her that yeaned it. And this (say they) we do by Prayer; which is nothing else but the return of the soul back to God, from whence it sprung: our looking back to Him from whom we come; a reflection upon the foundation of our being, and of all good; our turning about to the cause of our being; a circling, as it were to that point from whence we took our beginning; that we may be fast knit and united unto God, and never be divided from Him.

1. And therefore (to explain this more particularly) Prayer is, first, a high Acknowledgment, that God is the first cause of all things. We magnify Him hereby as the Root, the Spring, the Fountain of whatsoever we, or any other creatures are, or have. And without Prayer, we do as bad as say, we owe nothing to any higher Being than ourselves.

2. Secondly, we acknowledge also the Sovereignty which He therefore hath over us, and over all things: in that we ascribe unto Him a power to command them all, and to help, and relieve, and supply both us and them, according to our various necessities.

3. The Independency also of His Being is herein acknowledged; in that we ask of Him alone, as having full and absolute power within Himself of giving us help and comfort, without craving it of any else.

4. His Liberty and freedom also; in that it wholly resides, we confess, in His will and choice what we shall have, and how much, and when; all as He pleaseth.

5. His All-sufficiency likewise, to enrich us without impoverishing Himself.

6. Together with His infinite Greatness and immensity; which is present to all places, and ready to supply the needs of all supplicants.

7. And it is no less an acknowledgment of His Omniscience: which can not only give audience to all petitioners every where; but exactly know both their necessities, and their sense of them, and the sincerity of their desires; and also what is convenient for Him to bestow upon them, and will do them most good.

8. His inexhausted Goodness and bounty likewise; which is still ready and willing to pour out itself to us without any emptiness in the same blessings that He hath bestowed, for so many past ages. And—

Lastly, His Eternity and Immutability; in that after so many successions of men in the world, He is still the same unchangeable fulness; unto Whom we resort with the same confidence that good men have ever done.

In short, it arises out of a sense of all God's glorious attributes and perfections which are

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every one acknowledged in some part of Prayer or other; though we should not expressly name them. For in confession of sin we acknowledge His unspotted holiness, and that He is of 'purer eyes than to behold," that is, approve, iniquity." In deprecation of His anger, we confess His justice; in petitioning for pardon, we proclaim His clemency; in our request for grace and help, we give Him the glory of His power; and when we recount His gracious providences over us, we acknowledge His incomparable goodness and bounty. And therefore, unless we will disclaim God, and have nothing to do with Him, we must perform this duty of Prayer to Him. This is the first consideration.

II. To which add further, that it is natural for every thing that is in want to desire supply from him that hath ability to fill it. Now such is the state of every man in the world; we are at the best, weak and feeble, beggarly, and indigent beings, pressed with many and great necessities; which we have no power to make up, but only by going unto God.

Whatsoever is from the first Being, wants something that it hath. Every creature therefore is imperfect; and if any of them could be supposed to want nothing, yet it would necessarily want the continuance of its being, which it hath received from its Creator: and therefore it is a true observation of one of the ancient philosophers, that all beings pray, except only the first Being, which is Who hath none to pray unto, but hath all of Himself.

Theodorus apud.
Proclum. Ib.

God;

Prayer is a confession of the true state of our own souls and bodies, as well as of God's most excellent perfections. A declaration that we are poor and needy; that we are crazy and insufficient of ourselves; that we are dependent and holden up by another. So that we quite forget ourselves, if we do not pray to God: we renounce all care about our own greatest concernments, if we take no notice of Him, on whom our present and future welfare, both here and for ever entirely depends.

III. As it is natural unto every one in want to ask, so it is natural unto every one that asks,