446 Chap, r I . Of Prayer andThanksgiving. Com. r, But as,a+neccffary preparative to this, the Saints have ever ufed Confeffon and ac- knowledgment of fins. The Prophet in fundry Pfalms tunneth firft over all his fins, fins ofomiffron and eommiffron,of thoughr,word,and deed, againft God, hisbrethren, orhimfelf, by inftigation of others, orof his own accord. For"Prov. 28. t 3. He that covereth his, fins (hall not profper;thar's a dangerous faying:and in Pfsl,32.3,4.there's a dangerous example ; till he had opened his fins, his Bones confumed, and his moyflure was turned into thedrought Of fuinmer. So likewife did Daniel make con- fefiion before he comes topetition. I. The chief thing to beprayed againft, maxime deprecandum, is to be kpt from Luke aï. 32. falling into fin by temptation. That we may not be winnowed by Saran. Not towith as commonly we do, I would I were out ofthe World,'but as our Saviours prayer for John. r7, rs.his Difçiples, I pray not thatthou fhouldeft take themourofthe World, but that thou fhouldft keep them from the eJil. And we defiring but thus, certainly Gods promife I Cos. to. r3, will not be unperformed, for he is faithful whowill not fufferus to be tempted above thatwe are able. And either Our ftrength (hall encreafewith the ftrength of our crofs, Pfalm 89. a3. or, as our ftrength, fo our crofs fhall diminith. The Enemy (hall not be able to do us violence. 2. We are to deprecate temporal dangers, as 7ehofhaphat did. Weknow not what a Chro,aa,ra to do, hoc plum reflat, ut.,ad to oeuiosdirigsmus Dentine, OurEyes are upon thee, O God. And then in out trouble and diftrefs Nomen Domini fhall be uteri's fortifflena, Prov, t s.;©. The nameof the Lord will be aftrong Tower to us. But yet concerning temporal evil, we malt fîand affeEted as the three Children were, who anfwer'dK. Nebuchadnezzar, Dan.;. r7.iS. our Godwhom we ferveis able to deliver us from the burning fiery Furnace ; but if not ( becaufe the promife and covenant is conditional) we will not ferve thy God, &c. Mat. 26. 39. And thus far and no farther went our Saviour when he ufed deprecation, Father if it bepoflible, let this Cup pafs from me : neverthelefs notmy will, but thine be Luke an. 42, done. The fecondbranchof Invocation is 0etn>xl, Precation, which is the defiring of fomething that is good. There is no one thing more common in the Pfalms than PfaLn9, 73. this: as, r. Give me understanding. So a. Eftablifh the thing that thou haft' s zt. wrougt in us, &c. As the firli Prayer is to give what we want; fo the fecond is, 68 as. eftabli(h and confirm it in us when we have it. 3. The third is that of the Apoftles, to our Saviour, Lord i-icreafe our Faith in us. Wamutt not keep at astand inGrace, Luke 17. s. but defile an increment, that we may grow in Grace, as the Apoftle counfelleth 2Pgt.3,.18. us. Concerningthis part of Prayer, petitionof the good we want, It is true; our delires are not always granted; for as Chrift anfwcred theSons of Zebedee, ye ask Mat, so. aa. ye know not what ; fo it may be faid to us, we often delire rather that which is agreeable to our owtihumours than to Godswill ; as Chryfoflorae reports of a Thief, who purpofing to continue in his fin, orabae Drum tit noncaperetur, & eo citino ea- piebutur; he prayed that he might not be taken, and was taken fo much the fooner, becaufe he fo prayed: Therefòre the rule we muff follow, and whereon we muff ground ourPrayer is r John. 5'54. that promife, oJuicguid fecundumvoluntatem ejuc petimets, whatfoever we ask ac- cording tohit, will, hewill grant us : fuch are the Graces of his Spirit, and what- foeveris neceffary to Salvation, as the Word, Sacraments, publique Worfhip, &c; Thefeare that mum neceßarium, which thePfálmiff foearneftly begged, unum petii 4 PCalm z7, 4,'' yehovah, One thing'have I defired of theLord. He defired many things, but one thing efpecialiy, w' aI.sy to dwell in the Houfe of God allthedays of his life, to continue in theChurchof God all his life, where he might glorifie God, and work out his own falvation. Whatfoever is abfolutely neceffary to there ends, we may fafely ask, and be lure Godwill grant, and therefore our Saviour tells us, that Godgrants his Spirit to thofe that ask him, this is one thing which he willnot deny us. Now, with thefe , or after there, we may pray fortemporal things, that is, we í, ao, may pray, 6r(f , for a competency , not for Superfluity. The Patriarch 7uco,¢ prayed only for food and raiment, and Agur the Son of yak;eh prays, ' Give me
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