680 •· ltiJ u,,n aUOua. fionsrobe fmding up Ej;.cula· :iom!ml' Go.!. Of Pcrfeverancc in Prayer. p~rpofc to fhcw how prevalent with God importunity is, Luke 18, I. lt is faid 1: h:1t the Lord would teac.h ~hem th:tt they ought to. P;ay alruays ; that is, that the', ought to pray carncftly and unp?rtunatcly, not gtvtng over till they were hearl So alfo l Sam. 7· 7, 8. the Children of lfr4eL entreated s.,muel not to CMft . to" the Lord for them; tha_t is. r_hat he would improve ~11 his l ntercft atthc Th?~~~ ot Grace to the uunoft 111 thetr Bchalfs. So we arc b!d to Pray without ceafiug. tl is, to be Clrnell: and vc hemc n~, rcfolving to rake no Denial at the Hands of1 c~d~ But yet we muft do other Dutle.s alf?, though we are vehement in this. We ma · learn how to demean our fclve~ 1n thr~ cafe t~wards God, by Bcggm·s that fomctim!s come to our Doo1s that oftcnumes bnng thc1r \Vork alone with them they b ;mport.unatcly and yet they wor.k betwixt wh iles; fa alfo fuould we do: we fhou~2 beg a? tmpo~tunately of God as tf ~e depe~dcd mee~·ly upon his Charity, and yet betwt~t. wl11le? we fhonld work as mduftnonlly as tf ""·e were our [elves to get our L1vtngs wt£h our own Hands. Thi rdly, 'To pr-~«y without ceafing is to tf!ke all Occafiom1 at t'Very turn to be darti up of our Soul; zmto God itJ holy Meditatiom and Ejaculations. And thi'i 'we may a~a ought to do when we_ hear o: r ead the Word, or whatever Duty of Religion we are engaged abo_ur, }ea, thts we may and ought to do ill our worldly Employ.. ments . If yo1u Hearts and Afti!Cl:ions be heaven ly, yom Thoughts wiU fo rce out a PaJfage, through the Crowd and Tumult of worldly BnfincJfcs to Heaven. Ejacufatiom are fwift MellCngers that require not mudi time to perf~rm their Er~ r :mds in, for .t~~re is _a hCJly Myftery i~ point.ing ou_r. earthly Employmcnts with thefe heavenly E;aculat1ons, as Men pOint their Wnttngs fometimes with Stops ever now and th~n fuooting up a fuort m~nt11l PraJer unt~ Heaven; fuch Paufes a; thefe are, you Will find to be no Impediments to your worldly Affairs. This is the way for a Chriftian to be retired and private in the midfr of a Multitude to turn. his Shop or his. £:.lcld into a Cfo[ct; to tra~~ for Earth, and y~t to get He;ven a~fo mto the Ba.rgau~. So.we read of Nekem_Mh _1· 4· Th·:tt whlilt t.he' King was d1fcourf1ng to !urn of the State of ']udtea, lt IS fa1d that NehemiafJ prayed unto God· tha~ is, he fent up f:crct Prayers to God, which though they efcapcd the King'~ notice and obfcrvauon, yet were they fo prevalent as to bow and encline his Heart. It is !i. Fourth~, a~d Laftly, Thf:re is ret fomethi.ng more in this Pr ttJi!Jl without ceaftng, and that IS this; We mtty then be fad to pray rvttbout ceufing, when we keep our Hearts in fuch a frame, m that we are fit at all times to 'Veut our febes before God in Prayer. When we keep alive and cheri{h a pray ing Spirit, and can upon all Opportunities draw near to God with full S_ouls, and with quick and vig?rousAtfections: This is to pray with· out ceafing, and this I take to be the moft genutne, natural Senfe of the Words, and the true Scope of the Apoftle here, to ha"":"e the Habit of Prayer eoclining them W-9SIO keep our Bc~:rrsin .rpraji»g Fr,zmc. always freely and fweetly to breath out thetr Requefi:s unto God, and to take all Occafions to proftrate themfelves before his Throne of Grace. Now thofe 7'/J!.f tlm that would maintain this praying Temper muft be efpecially careful of T1vo ::~!~1111 Things. 4 pr;:yirg r~mper m1ijf be c~reful of Two tbing•. 1. Firft, That they do 110t too much ingulf themfolve; in the BUjine/[es arid Pleafures of T~ar rheJ this Life; for this will exceedingly damp and deaden the Heart to this ho· ~:;,e;{~ Iy Duty ; as Earth caft upon the Fire puts it out, fo the \.Vorld, when it is ftlves in fprcad over the AfttB:ions, muft needs ftifie and extinguifu that holy Flame that the Worlf4 fi10uld afcend up to Heaven. How hard is it for a Man, that opp retleth him· felf with a heap of Bufineffes, to raife his Heart unto Go4 under all that Load? How hard is it for t hofe that let out their Hearts thus to and fro , a thoufand ways, to fummon them in the next moment to attend upon God, with that awful and ferious Frame t:hat becomes all thofe that appear before him ? Whe11 we come to Prayer reaking hot out of the Affairs of this World , we find our Hearts fubjca: to manifold DiftraCl:ions aod Difcompofures, and our Thoughts fcattered like Bees, ftill flying from one Flower to another, ftill bringing fome Intelligence from worldly ObjeB:s, ev'en then when we arc about divine Em2. ployments. 114t thtj Secondly, If you would maintain a praying Temper of StnJI, be cttreful ~ot to faU F..U into no into the commiffion of arzy known, prefumptuou; Sin. The Guilt of Sin lymg upon ~;u;r!~d the Cocfcience, will exceedingly deaden the HearE to Prayer. Alas! How~~~~ prs Sins. '"
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