ac}z Chap. t r. Of Prayer andThanksgiving. Corn.r. C H A P. X I. he fixthduty is Prayer. The endof Prayer, Gods glory. The necelliiy of it. The power ofPrayer. Theparts of Prayer. 1. Deprecation. z. Petition. Why God deniesfame things we ask .3. Interceffión. 4. Thanksgiving, which confifls of r. Confef4n. Complacencie. 3. Promulgation. q.. Provocation of others. The excellencae of praifingGod. Theproperties of tree Prayer. The helps toPrayer. Signer offaith. ful Prayer. Of caufing others to pray. NowconcerningPlayer. 1Ntoevery Affeftion there is an operation futable ; and fo every Grace hath its proper effefts and operations : befides which one Grace ufually depends fo uponanother, that one may be called the fruit and effeft of another. Thus the fruit of faith is hope, and the fruit of hope is Prayer, Spei operario, orario, hope works by Prayer. And fo tt e property of hope is to flit us up to Prayer and theproperty of Prayer is to be interpresffei, that is, to express the defiresof our hope. In which refpeft, as the Articlesof our faith are frsmma credendorum , the fum of things to be believed, and the Law fumma agendorum, the fum of things to bedone, fo the Lords Prayer isfumma f erandorum, the fumof things to behoped. For theSoul of man byconftdering and believing the Judgments of God being brought down, de- jeEled,,nnd humbled to the drift, and as it were (truck dead, bath Come life put intoit again, by conceiving hope in hismercy : for which we mutt repair to God by prayer, and nothing better befeemeth a folto. r for it than prayer and fupplication. In `Saint Aquiline faith, Precibùs non paffiDam. bsu itur ad Dm. Theway toGod is by pray- Pfd. G. er not paces. Therefore thathope may be partakerof its objeft mercy, we are to know that mercy is only tobe expelled and obtained.from God by Prayer. And therefore Saint Augsfüne faith, to defcend t miferatio, afcendat °ratio, Let Prayer afcend that mercy maydefcend; and fo there there (hall be a blefled entercourfe be- tween his mercy and our Prayer. While wefpeakof Prayer (left we miftake) we are to conceive that Prayer confrfis not only in that which we outwardly make in the Congregation, which the 140f'.' Prophet calls vitulum labiorum, the calves or facrificeof our lips, but inwardly al- r Cor. r.;.1 ç. fo, in lifting up the heart, as the Apottle fpeaks, Orabo s`firitu, stabs memo, I will i pray withthe fprit, I will pray with the understanding, which is when the fpirit, Exod,1+ 15. afcends toGod, which howfoever it be not heard by men, how vehement it is, yet we know it powerful with God. We fee the experience of it in Mefes. TheLord faith to hint, whycrieft thou tome ? though there be no mention of any word he fpake, and this is principally and truly Prayer, for without itthe prayer- of the lips Ei-t29, 3 prevaileth not. Our Saviour feemeth to tax the Scribes with refting in outward, Matth., s'S. prayer, when he quoteth a fpeech out of the Prophet, This people draweehnear unto .at. me with their, mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And he tells his Difciptes in the Sermon upon the mount, that it is not the Inge- miration of Lord, Lord, that will gain the Kingdom of Héaven.And therefore Saint Roms.xó. .Aug. faith, Hoc negotiumplus gemitibuaconfiar ram fermonibus, This workconfi(ts morein groans than words; the Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings un- utterable. Now the main end and (cope of Prayer is Gods honour and glory. It pleafcth God by the Prophet to account this as an efpecial honour done to him; that even as the eyes of fervantslook to the handsof their Matters,- and the eyes of an handmaid unto the handof her Matters, fo our eyes wait on the Lord, until he have mercy Seren. q. de upon us; or, as Saint Augufiine, Magnaefigloria Dei, ut noslimns mendici ejoes,It is cub. Domta. Gods great honour, that we arehis beggars ; though it be of perlons without the Church,as inCornelius, whole Prayer wasaccepted,AF.10.2,or of perfons within the Church, yet out of Gods favour by their fins, -who call to God deprofundir, out of the depthof niifery, Pfal. t 3o: I. though the perfon beanH'eathen,yet his prayer in regard of theaft it felf is in force degree acceptable toGod. And this he accounts as an addition tohis glory. when we acknowledge that what we have, we have ernot
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