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1. As it is a Privilege and Honour vouchfafed us, it ought to be highly valued by us. And fure it is the Higheft Privilege, the Nobleft Honour, that can be vouchsafed poor Mortal Creatures, to have freedom of immediate Access to the Divine Majefty; to be allow'd to come directly into the Prefence of God, to have recourse to him in all our Wants, and Neceffities, and Troubles; and not only to be Permitted, but encourag'd freely to open our Hearts to him; to ask his Direction and Protection; to beg Health and Safety and Salvation from him; with gracious Promises of fuch Returns, as fhall be most for our Good and Welfare.

Prayer is the nearest Approach we can make to God; when we come into his Prefence, to spread our Hands before the Mercy Seat, and to lay open our Souls before him, to receive into them the Bleffed Influences of his Holy Spirit. Prayer is therefore expres Jam. iv. 8. fed in Scripture-by Drawing nigh unto God Pf. xcv. 2.by Lifting up the Soul unto God-by Com Heb. iv. ing into his Prefence and by Coming to the Throne of Grace, for Mercy and Grace, to help in time of Need.

Pf.xxv.

16.

2dly. As a Duty, it ought to be carefully Perform'd, and fo as may make it most Ef

fectual.

In our Publick Prayers, (which I am now speaking of,) the Minifter is the Mouth of the Congregation, to offer up our Prayers to God:

But

But All are to accompany and join with the Minifter; Every One is to bear a párt, if not with a lowly and humble Voice, yet at least with Heart and Mind, in every Petition.

xviii. 23

But to make our Prayers acceptable to God, and effectual to ourselves, we must come well-difpofed to them, and Prepared for them Before thou Prayft (fays the Author of Ec- Ecclus. clefiafticus,) Prepare thy felf, and be not as one that tempteth the Lord. For though our God is a God hearing Prayers, and not only Requires but Encourages us to Pray to him, Call upon me in the Day of Trouble; I will Pfal.1. 15, Hear thee, and thou shalt Praife me-Yet there are fuch Prayers as he threatens to Reject, and stop his Ears against them. He does not therefore receive the Prayers of all indifferently, but only Theirs who come with fuch Difpofitions, as He requires of

them.

And ift. God requires of us a Merciful and Charitable Difpofition; a Readiness to Forgive, as we hope ourselves to be Forgiven-So our Saviour commands, Mark vii. 25. When ye ftand Praying, Forgive, if ye have ought against any, that your Father alfo which is in Heaven, may Forgive you your Trefpaffes. And he teaches us not to Hope, nor fo much as to Pray for Forgiveness upon any other Terms, Forgive us our Trefpaffes, as We Forgive them that Trespass against Us. 2 dly, When

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2dly, When we Pray to God, we must do it in Truth, and with the Inward Man, with our Souls and all that is within us. And we then do truly Pray with the Inward Man, when there is an Hearty Exercise of Christian Graces and Affections, fuitable to our Prayers. It is not barely the Making of our Requests, the Uttering of our Petitions in Form, that God expects from us, (which. of itself does no ways answer the Ends of Prayer,) but the working up the Heart and Affections into fuch a Devout Temper, as to Relish, and importunately crave, or (as our Saviour expreffes it,) to Hunger and Thirst after the Kingdom of God and his Righte oufness. When we fue to God, we must do it with all the Powers and Faculties of our Souls, and with Fervency of Spirit: Not with Dull and Drowfy, Faint and Formal Prayers, lazily and flothfully, with wandering Eyes and wandering Thoughts, and with a Divided Distracted Heart-But This is what I fhall have Occafion to enlarge upon, when I fhall come to Confider the Cafe of Diftractions or Wandering Thoughts in Prayer, as I purpofe (God willing,) in a Particular Discourse.

3dly, The Condition that is of all others most strictly and indifpenfably required of us, for God's Acceptance of our Prayers, is, Steddy Refolution of Holiness of Life in Obedience to his Commandments. St. Peter

tells

tells us whom it is that the Lord Heareth and Regardeth, 1 Peter iii. 12. The Eyes of the Lord are over the Righteous, and his Ears are Open unto their Prayers; but the Coun tenance of the Lord is against them that do Evil. Thus faith the Wifeman, He that Proverbs turneth away his Ear from hearing the Law, xxviii. his Prayer shall be an Abomination. Unto the Ungodly faith God, When you spread I. i. 15. forth your Hands, I will hide mine Eyes; When ye make Many Prayers, I will not Hear. It is therefore alledg'd as a known Rule in Religion, John ix. 31. We Know that God Heareth not Sinners; but if any. Man doeth his Will, Him he heareth, But if whilft we Pray against our Sins, our Heart is ftill for them, we do not Pray with Since rity, nor can we Pray with Faith or Fervency; Our Hearts muft mifgive us, and our own Mouths muft Condemn us.

I have not Time to add more, but would we come with Thefe, and fuch like Difpofitions proper for Prayer, to the House of God, and there Unite our Forces, and affectionately Send up our Petitions, with One Heart and One. Mouth, to the Throne of Grace, What Power and Prevalency would they have? What Bleffings might we not expect from fuch Unanimous Fervent Prayers! God would then Delight to Dwell amongst us, and to Do us Good.

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II.

Another of our Religious Duties in the Houfe of God, is, Our Hearing God's Word Read and Preached. This we are to Hear with Reverence and Attention; Which it Requires and Deferves from us, both as it is the Word of God, and alfo as it is the Inftrument of Our Salvation.

1. We are to Hear it with Reverence and Attention as it is the Word of God.

In Prayer, We Speak to God; In the Holy Gospel Read and Preach'd, We have God Speaking to Us, therefore we ought to Hear, and Hearken to it, with Reverence. God does not indeed fpeak to us immediately by Heb. xii. his own Voice, (which Voice they that heard it were not able to bear,) but he speaks to us by Men like Ourselves. Yet fince it is His Gospel that is Preached to us, and Preached Pet. iv. to us as the Oracles of God, and that by the Ability which God giveth; And is Preach'd' in his Name and by his Authority, and by His own Meffengers, the Minifters and Stewards of his Myfteries, to whom the Dif penfation of the Gospel is committed; and has its Authority and Efficacy and Power from Him only, it ought to be Received as what it truly is, the Word of God, and not the Word of Men. Therefore fays St. Paul to Theff. ii. his Theffalonians-When ye received the Word of God, which ye heard of us, ye re

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