Of Per[everance in Prayer. Cup paf; from me, nn:erthelefj not my Will but thy Will be done : I fay, it's pro~b~b~e this Prayer was not d1reCl:ed to God the Father perfonally, bnt to the whole 1 nmty; for we muf1:. con_fid~r that ~hri~ prays here only ~s ~ie "?as M1n, and. that ap~ pears by hfs difl:mgmfhtng of h1s Will from, and fubnutung It to God's Wtl1. Why now not only God the Father but the whole Trinity was the Father of Chrilt cts Man, yea, Chri[t himfelf, according t? his Divine Nat~rc, was rbe Father at his humane Nature, and therefore praymg, as Man, to h1s Father, that that Cup might pafs from him, he prayed to all the Three Perfons, both to God the Father, and to God the Son, and to God the Holy Ghoft. And thus much for the ObjeCt to whom we muft dir"Ct our Prayers, and that is to God only, whether confidcrcd perfonally or cffentially. 3 . 'thirdly Obfcrve alfo the Matter of our Pray01·s, It muft be a reprt{entl!tion of our we m'!fl Dejires to 'Goa' for juch 'TJ~ings a~ are. acctrtiing to his Will. So we. h~ve it, 1 1_ohn '5· 4• pr~rfor If we ask any thing accora'mg to hts Wzll, he heareth us. God's Wtlltn beftowing a de- ThmguhJt fired Mercy npon us is beft known by the Promifes that he hath made to us, which d~e.ucorl. Prorr.ifes arc of two Kinds; fame refer to temporal Bleffings, and others refer to ~tt ;j 1 e Grace and Glory. · God. Why now here, Firft, G~·ace and Glory are promifed abfolutely; it is that we are ,; commanded :~11 of us to feck after, and therefo,e here can lie no mifrake up- Wo11-!J" 011 us while we beg thefe, for there is no doubt while we pray for Grace and t;;"J{trnd Glory, but we do it according th~ \\Till of God : Here we may ~e earneft and c;:; :b.- importunate that God would fanChfie and fave our Souls ; and wh1le we :1sk this, foluulf. and make tbis the matter of . our Requefr, we are under an impoffibility of asking amifs ; yea, and the more vwlent we a~·e, a!ld the more refolute to take no Denial at the Hands of God, the mo.re plealinp ts this h_oly ~orce, fince it lhe'f\'s a perfect conformity and concurrence 111 our W1Hs unto h1s Will, who hath told us, It is his ·wilt even owr SanUificarion, I Thef. 4· 3.- This was one part of that violence that' our Saviour faith? the Kingdom of Heaven fujfered in the Days of. John the Baptift. It is an Invafion that IS acceptable unto God, when we ftorm Heaven by Prayers and Supplicatiom, with ftrong Cries and Tears, when we plant againff it unutterable Sighs and Groans, this is fuch a Battery that thofe eternal Ramparts cannot hold out tong againll: it. We may pray abfolutcly for Grace and Glory• . Secondly, Thoughy1e m.ay pr~y thus abfolutely, and With a holy peremptorinefs 2 , for Grace and Glory, faymg to God as 'Ji!cob to the .Angel that wreftled with him We mzft I will not ltt thee go until thou haft bltjfed me with /pirjtual Bleffings, in heavenly Thing; P'"'J Fr in 'Jt[us Chrift. Yet, Secondly, For the Degrees of Gract and for the Comforts of the rtc Dt-_ Hcl) Gl;oft, tve muft pr~y conditionally, ~(the Lord tvifl_; for thefe Things are not ab· ~:~:e1ncl folutely neceffary, neither are th.ey abfo]utely .P!o~ufed to us by God; neither any for rhe degree of Grace or any Confolauon of the Spmt Js abfolntely promifed to us: But Comfom. however onr PrayerJ ought to be, fa much the more fervent and importunate for 0~ tkt: Sft· thefe Thinr;s, than for outward, temporal Thin~s, by how much thefe are of far ;;;;:;;~rr.,rcater cnncernment than the other. !1 Thirdly, Top:~ for outw~trd and worldly BleJ!ingJ i~ not con~rarJ_ to the ~/I of God, 3 • for he hath prornijed to brflow them: But then as Ins Promtfe IS conditional jf it We m~ may frand with our good, fa tn1ly alfo mqft our Prayers be conditional that God alfo P'"Y would give them to us, if it .may ftan~ with his ~ill and with our Go~d; what- f~~:~ierfoevcr we thus ask we d~ tt accordm~ t!1~ Will of God, and we are ii1re of );,81 con.- fpeed~ng in our. Requcit, euher by the ob~auung of our De fires, or by being blef- ditian;~U 1, fc:d with a Demal; for, alas, we are blind and 1gnorant Creatures, and cannot look into the Defigns and Drift of Providence, and fee how God hath laid in order Good and Evil in his own purpofe; ofrentimes we mifl:ake Evil for Good becaufe of the prefent appearance of Good that ir hath ; yea, fa fhorf-fight~d are we:, that we can look no farther than outward and prefent appearance; but God who fees through the wh.ole Series and Connexion of his own Counfels, he know; many time~ t?at thofe.Thmgs we account aud defire as Good ~re ~eally Evil, and therefore lt IS our Wlf<tom to refi.gn up all our Defites to h1s· d1fpofa1, and to fay, lArd, though fuch temporal En]oymmtJ m.ty feem good and de[irable to me 4 r pre. fenr, yet thou art injinittly wife, lftld thou lmowtft what the Co"foquence and 1/!ue of thtm will be; I beg them ;[ they m~tJ ft.:md With thy . Will, and ;f thou {ttft they will bt as really good fo: ~e as I [uppofe them mnv to be; ~f. they be not [o, I beg rhe Fa;'our of 11 Denial. This 1s thenght Frame that a Chnfhan ought to have upon his Heart when
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