to lock us up under God's protection at night. By it we prevail with God, fcreen ourselves from wrath, and put fatan to flight. In a word, prayer is a key to heal ven, a fhield to the foul, a facrifice to God, and a scourge to the devil.

4. It is the way to make up and preferve (acquaint ance with God, which will be of great use to you in the time of trouble, or at the hour of death: It is no fmall encouragement to you to addrefs one for help, with whom you have had long acquaintance, and fami liarity, and of whofe kindness you have had frequent experience. But, prayerless man, it will be a moft me lancholy cafe, when you are going out of the world, to be put to cry to that God you have been an utter tran ger to all your life; or to be forced to appear before that God you never loved, or defired to converfe with; or to be fain to challenge acquaintance with him, who will utterly difclaim you, and fay, "Depart from me, I never knew you." But, O praying foul! that haft acquaintance with God, death will have another view to thee; thou mayft look on it, as Jacob did on the waggons fent to carry him to his friend Jofeph, and fay, "Now I am going to God, whom I know, I am go?

ing to meet with that Friend, with whom I have had "a long acquaintance, to whom I have paid many a

vifit, and with whom I have had sweet secret con"verfe, and whom I have longed to fee, and who will "embrace me in his arms, and welcome me to glory."

5. Confider what a mercy it is, Q man, that God is yet calling thee to prayer, and continuing thee in the land of prayer, when so many thousands, as deferving, are beyond prayer, and loft for ever. Othen pray now, while thou hast time to pray, health to pray, helps to pray, and encouragement to pray. Read the gracious promises of life and falvation to you, if you do it, Pfal. Ixix. 32. Rom. x. 43. Make this world a time for prayer, and the next fhall be a feafon for praife. Doft thou think to, be faved without prayer? Doft thou expect to have thy life without begging it at God's hands? O what oil will it add to thy flames in hell, when confcience will tell thee, If thou hadit prayed, thou hadit

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not been there? Well then, now thou halt a feafon for prayer; but, remember, it will not always laft: If thou improve it not, expect that God will turn a deaf ear to you in the day of your calamity, at a death bed, or a tribunal. Read, and tremble at that word, Prov. i. 26. 27. 28. God fays, "He will not hear you when you cry." And, if he refufe to hear you, then, who will hear you? Angels will not, faints will not, nearest relations will not, hills and mountains will not: And, what a wretched, forlorn and forfaken creature wilt thou be? There will be none to own thee then, if thou acquaint not thyfelf with God by prayer now. See the anfwer the foolish virgins got, when they came after the door was fhut. Matth. xxv. See what an answer the rich man got, when he begged for " a drop of cold water to cool his tongue," Luke xvi. "Seek God,

then, while he may be found; call on him while he is near" Otherwise your late untimely cries will not be regarded.

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Object. O, fay fome, we have not the gift of prayer, we cannot pray."

Anf. I have faid enough in anfwer to this a little be fore, I fhall only add one word; Art thou a Chriftian, O man, and canft not pray? Thou mayft as well fay, thou art a fcholar, but canit not read; a foldier, but canft not fight. Prayer is as effential to a true Chriftian, as breath is to the body: Why? prayer is the very breathing of the foul to God. So it is called, Lam. iii. 56. O man, have you nothing to fay in prayer? then go to God, and tell him fo; fit down on your knees, and fay, "Here à poor ignorant creature, that cannot pray; Lord, teach me to pray." The publican made a very short prayer, Luke xviii. "God be merciful to me a finner;" yet it was accepted, fince it came from a humble heart. O if your heart be broken, your words will be accepted, although they be broken and few. The fillieft beggar will find fomething to fay at your docr, though he expect but a crumb; and can you find nothing to fay at God's door, when you have a foul to fare, a hell to fhun, and Jefus Christ and a kingdom in your view?

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But, befides that fort of fecret prayer which is more ftated and folemn, there is prayer that is more fudden and ejaculatory, when we lift up our hearts to Go with fome thort petitions, on any occafion or emergency. Ejaculatory prayers are ufeful on every day, but you thould have them more frequent on the Sabbathday: For, fince on this day you muft" not think your own thoughts, or find your own pleafures," heavenly breathings and pious ejaculations fhould iffue forth con tinually By feeking pardon for fuch a fin, ftrength againft fuch a luft, victory over fuch a temptation, and grace to fpend Sabbath time fuitably. Are you going to the church, or returning from it? Are you reading, hearing, communicating, praifing, or about any other duty? be frequently making ufe of this kind of prayer, particularly begin and end every duty with it; look up before for affiftance, and look up after it for acceptance, and that infirmities in it, for Chrift's fake, may be par doned. These prayers, of all others, are the freeft of diftraction, they being put up and over before ever fatan be awakened to tempt us. As for other prayers, our preparations to them, though only by the alteration of our pofture, give notice to fatan what we are about to do; but ejaculatory prayers are fo quickly darted up Chicare to God, that they will be in heaven before fatan fhoot any of his darts against us. They are ufed to keep up communion with God in the intervals of other duties, and for keeping the heart in the fear of God all the day long. As the priests under the law were not only to offer up the morning and evening facrifice duly" but "to keep the fire burning on the altar all the day" fo we must not fatisfy ourselves with folemn and ftated duties only, but should study to keep in the fire always by holy thoughts and ejaculations, Chrift faith of the fpoufe, that her lips drop as an honey comb," which is either ftill dropping, or in a continual forwardnefs to drop. Some of God's people have more devotion this way in their fhops, than others have in their clofets; and while walking in the ftreets, or working in the fields, than others have when praying on their knees: They have ftricter communion with God this VOL, IV.

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at their common tables, than others have at a communion table.

A fecond fecret Duty on the Lora's Day is reading of the Scriptures and other good books.

This is a duty neceffary every day, but efpecially on the Lord's day: It is the character of the bleffed man, that "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates therein both day and night," Pfal. i. This fhould be particularly verified of us on the Sab bath. Read the word, that you may be taught what to believe of God, what duties you owe to God, and what fins you are guilty of against him. Who can fet forth the excellency and usefulness of it? It is a glass to difcover our fpots, a lamp to guide us in the dark, a fire to warm our cold affections, a magazine to fupply us with armour against our fpiritual enemies. It is a phyfic garden, wherein grow all forts of medicinal herbs for our fpiritual maladies: The promises are as fragrant flowers and fpices in this garden; believers take many a pleasant walk among thefe beds of fpices. It is an apothecary's fhop, out of which we may have eye-falve for our blindness, fovereign cordials in all our foul diftreffes. David found this to his fweet experi ence, Pfal. cxix. 50. "This is my comfort in my afflic tion, for thy word hath quickned me." Here are suitable cordials for all our various cafes, be it desertion, temptation, poverty, sickness, reproach, perfecution, &c. Here are the waters of the fanctuary for cleansing us from our pollutions: Here is the heavenly rain, for making foft and tender our hard hearts. The fcriptures are both food and phyfic to our fouls; here is meat for ftrong men, and milk for babes. The two Teftaments (as Auguftine faith) are the two breafts which we must fuck for fpiritual nourishment " And there is none of God's children that will call them dry breafts or empty cifterns; they have often afforded them ftrength, nourishment, light, life, and comfort: O how highly have God's people in all ages prized God's holy word, and the liberty of reading it! It hath been "fweet as honey to their tafte.". I have read of one, who being a prisoner in a-dark dungeon, when light was allowed him for a fhort

time

time to take his meat, he would take his Bible, and read a portion of it, faying, "He could eat without light, but he could not read without it." I am perfuaded there is no better way in this world for improving the faculty of fight, and benefit of light, than by reading the word of God. So far as time can allow you upon the Sabbath, I judge it very profitable to read other good books alfo, fuch as our Confeffion of Faith, Vincent's Catechifm, Vincent on the last Judgment Guthrie's trial of a faving interest in Chrift, Allan's Alarm, Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, Pearfe's Preparation för Death, Fox's Time and the end of Time, Doolittle's Call to delaying Sinners, Baxter's Saints everlasting Reft, his Poor Man's Family-book, Gray's Sermons, Flavel's Touch-ftone of Sincerity, his Saint indeed, Mead's almoft Chriftian, the Treatifes of Doolittle, Campbell and Henry upon the Sacrament, Rutherfoord's Letters, the Fulfilling of the Scriptures, Clark's Martyrology, Beard's Theatre of God's Judgments. Thefe, and fuch like books, next to the Holy Bible, I recommend to the perufal of all private Chriftians, as being eafy and plain to common capacities, and fome of the moft generally ufeful, inftructing, awakening, foul-fearching, and heart warming pieces, that I have feen among human writings, and which have been bleffed to the edification of many thousands.

A third fecret Duty on the Lord's Day, is meditation upon divine fubjects.

This duty is proper every day, much more on the Sabbath, which is fequeftrated for divine employments. It is the character of the blessed man, that "he meditates in God's law day and night," Pfal. i. 2. It is an ufeful and neceffary duty; it excites the affections, and quickens the graces; it ftrengthens faith, Pfal. cxix. 92. It nourisheth hope, and inflames our love; deep muling makes the fire to burn. Meditation is a great help to every duty, Pfal. cxix. 59. It helps to read and hear the word aright, and to know the truths thereof practically; it helps to pray, and yields matter to the tongue,

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