142 A GUIDE TO PRAYER. prayers, every promise or comfort,every joy or hope, in too free' and airy a manner, with too bold an exultation, or with a broad smile ; which indeed looks like too familiar a dealing with the great God. Every odd and unpleasing tone should bebanished from divine worship : nor shouldwe appear before God in humi- lity upon our knees, With grandeur and magnificence upon our tongues, lest the sound ofour voice should contradict our gesture, lest it should savour of irreverence in so awful a presence and give disgust to those that hear us. SECT. VIIIOf Gesture in prayer. V. We proceed now to the fifth and last thing considerable in the gift of prayer ; and that is, gesture. And though it may not so properly be termed a part of the gift, yet in as much as it belongs to the outward performance of this piece of worship, I cannot think it improper to treat a little of it in this.place. Since we are commanded to pray always, and at all seasons, there can be no posture of the body unfit for short ejaculations, and pious breathings towards God ; while we lie in our beds, while we sit at our tables, or are taking our rest in any methods of refresh- ment, our souls may go out towards our heavenly Father, and have sweet converse with him in short prayers. And to this we must refer that passage ; 1 Chron. xvii. 16. concerningDavid, where it is said, 11e sat before the Lord, and said, Lord, who am J, or what is say house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ? But when we draw near to God in special seasons of worship, the work of prayer calls fot a greater solemnity, and in every thing that relates to it, we ought to compose ourselves with greater reverence : that we may worship Godwith our bodies, as well as with our spirits, and pay him devotion, with our whole natures 1 Cor. vi. 20. In our discourse concerning gestures fit for wor- ship, we shall consider, first, the posture of the whole body ; and secondly, of the particular parts of it ; and endeavour to secure you against indecencies in either of them. 1. Those postures of the body, which the light of nature, and rule of scripture, seem to dictate as most proper for prayer, are standing, kneeling, or prostration. Prostration is sometimes used in secret prayer, when a per- son is under a deep and uncommon sense of sin,and falls flat upon his face before God, and pours out his soul before him, under the influence of such thoughts, and the workingof such graces as produce very uncommon expressions of humiliation and self- abasement. This we find in scripture made use of upon many occasions ; as, Abraham fill on his face before God ; Gen. xvii. 3. and Joshua before the Lord Jesus Christ, the Captain of the host of God ; Josh. v. 14. So Moses, Ezekiel, and Daniel, at otlier`seasons : soin the New Testament when John fell at the
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