104 A GUIDE TO PRAYER. sought thee; we ourselves arewitnesses, that thou doss not bid thy people seek thyface in vain. All these our thanksgivings may be yet farther heightened in prayer by the consideration of the multitude of the mercies that we have received, of their greatness, and of their continu- ance : by the mention of the glory and self-sufficiency of God the giver, that he is happy in himself, and stands in no need of us, and yet he condescends to confer perpetual benefits upon us; that he is sovereign, and might dispose of his favoursto thousands, and leaye us out of the number of his favourites. That we are as vile and unworthy as others, and that our God beholds all our unworthiness, all our guilt, our repeated provocations, and his past mercies abused, and yet he continues to have mercyupon us, and waits to be gracious. SECT. VIII. Of Blessing. The eight part of prayer consists in blessing of God, which has a distinct sense from praise or adoration, and is distinguished also from thanksgiving. In Psalm cxlv. 10. it is said, All thy works praise thee, and thy saints bless thee, that is, even the inanimate creation, which are the works of God, manifest his attributes and his praises, but his saluts do something more, they bless his name ; which part of worship consists in these two things : 1. In mentioning the several attributes and glories of God with inward joy, satisfaction and pleasure. We delight, O Lord, to see thy name honoured in theworld, andwe rejoice in thy real excellencies: we lake pleasure to see thee exalted above all: we triumph in the several perfections of thy nature, and wegive thanks at the remembrance of thine holiness. 'liras we rejoice and bless the Lord for what he is in himself, as well as for what he lias done for us : and this is a most divine and un. selfish act Of worship. 2. 'Wishing the glories of God may, for evér continue, and rejoicing at the assurance of it. May the name of God be for ewer blest: may thekingdom, and thepower, and the glory beJim ever ascribed to him: may all generations call him honourable, and make his name glorious in the earth. To thee, O lather, Son, and Holtj Spirit, belong everlasting power and honour. SECT. XLAmen, or the Conclusion. We are taught in several places of scripture to conclude our prayers with Amen ; which is a Hebrew word that signifies truth, or faithfulness, certainly, surely, &c. and it implies in it these four things : 1. A belief of all that we have said concern- ing God and ourselves, of all our ascriptions of honour to, God in the mention of his name, and attributes, and works, and a
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