'OfPrayer.. .69 The fift thing required is perfeuerance in prayer ; for it is not fitfficient to pray carneflly and feruently for a fpirt,' but wemull continue therein, expelling the Lords leifure.And unto thiswe areexhortedRom,i 2a2.continuing is! prayer. So the Prophet Dauidperfwadeth to expea and Waite for the Lord, and to bee flrong in continuing conllantly in our courfe,. and then in the end God will comfort our hearts, Pfal.27.4.And the Apoflle Paul willcth vs topray inceffant- lie, like importunate fiiiters who will haue no nay,though they receiue manydenials. To this dutie our Sauiour encou- rageth vs, by the parable of the vnrighteous fudge, who though heeneither cared for man nor feared God, yet was Lùk, i L I. tnoued through importunitie to do thepoore widow iuflice; and therefore our heauenly father \'ill much more graunt the importunate fuites ofhis ele&&, efpeciallyhauingbound himfelfe thereunto byhismoll gracious promifes. True it is Why the Lord that the Lord doth many times deferre to graunt theprayers dela:eth to ofhischildren, as though heheard or regarded them not; grauet the pe- when as in truthhe neuer delaiethany oftheir lawful' fuites, turons ofbu vnleffe itbe to this end that hee may thereby either conuay children. veto them greater benefits than they defile, as when hee giueth fpiritualI graces in fleadofearthlybenefits;orels that therebyhe maymoue them to pray more feruentlie, and fo exercifeand increafe their faith, hope and patience ; or that hemay (hew thefehis gracesto thepraife ofhis glorie who bath bellowed them, both to others and the parties them- felucs; or that hee may mooue vs more thankfully to receiue and highlie toefleeme his benefits, after by long fuite wee haue obtained them,whichwee wouldnot fo greatly regard ifhe bellowed them at the ftrfl motion. A notable example hereofwehaue in the Canaantithwoman,both for our.com- fort and imitation,Matth.iS. Towhole prayers our Sauiour Matth. t g. Chrill gaue(as it fecmed) no eare; andwhenhe slid takeno- tice ofher fuite he giueth her adouble repulfe,firll bytelling her that he was fent onely to the loll fheepe of the houle of Ifrael; and whcnthis would not moue her to furceafe her fuite,hevfeth a more bitter deniall,tellingher that it wasnot fit to take the childrens bread and to call it towhelpes: but F 3 when 4.Sea. 5. 0 f perfeue- rance inpraíer. Rotn.iz.t z. P51,z7.r4. NIIMINIIMIImbrorr
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