so Jenkins's Prayer before Sermon. baths, as thy Inffitutions to accomplijh andbring about the great wor of thyglory andmans Salvation, yet Lord thou dolt not need theta, thy spi- rit is not made efficacious by thefe things, but it is that that makes thefe things efficacious, though thou art pleafed to tye us to thetn,when we may have them, and duly enjoy there, yet thou doff riot tye thyPelf to them we defre in tbefe our addrejfes to eye the happinefs of Saints that depends upon him that depends upon none. We are bei.'e in thy prefence by thy goodnefs andgrace; Oh!whither fhould e go but to thee,and howMould we come but by thee, obilrengthen our faith ! kill our corruptions, inflame our love,giveus *ranee of thy love to oarfouls ; oh that God would teach us how topray, that we may tafte and fee how good the Lord is this day, that ourfouls may be filled as with marrow, that we may by our own experience be able tofay, Iris good for us to draw nigh to God ; and that a day in thy I-Ioufe, is better then a thonfand elfewhere : that there may be a connunion between us and God, let there be a difunion between us and (in: we confefs we brought fin enough into the world with us, to caufe thee to withdraw thyblefedPelffrom us, and to cuff Inch un- profitable fervants as we are intoutter darknes,we havebeena long time zn thy School,and yet how bit are we ? we might have been teachers of o- thers b t we need our felves be taught Which are the firffPrinciples of the Oracles of' God,we love refs then we know,andwe do *then we love; we have neither dine that good, nor received that goodwhich wepould, or Might have done and received:we have-been Trees that have cumbred the groundin thy Orchard, but we have brought forth nofruit. Wo unto us that we have not known the day ofour vifitation ; many of us have one foot in thegrave, andyet we have lived without God in the world; we are wife in every thing, but inour own falvation; we live as if Hell were a priviledge ; thole of us thathave- pine knowledge of thee ; have great caufe to repent that we have walkedfo unworthily of God ; which of us pray continually andfervently,orlive the life ; we confers we nei- ther take our aliiii?ions humbly,nor our'mercies thankfully, nor want our comforts contentedly, nor fill up our relations fruitfully: we live as ifHell were a (care- crow, as ifall the threatnings of thy word were an empty noire, as ifthere Were neither fweetnefsin Heaven, nor bitternefs in Hell. When we come into thy pretence, where are our hearts? what earthly difpofitions do we bring alongwith us? the fins of our prayers cry louder then thefupplications of our prayers,what hypocrite 6- formality cleaves unto us, ifthou doff not lookypon the iniquities of our holy things with an eyeofpitty, what will become ofus. 0 Lord be pleated tofrnella fweet favor ofrest andpeace through thy dear Son. 0 Lord it is only his pre- tious blood that can frinVe our hearts, and quiet our confciences, and noother thing : we do renounce all our own works, and we cry out in our felves; undone, undone. It
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=