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his good Providence over us, în general Words, to caft our felves upon his Mercy and Protection, and to entreat him to fend us what is beft for us, which is always well known to him, whereas we are mostly ignorant of it; and then as for more particular Defires of his Grace, and thofe Spiritual Bleffings which he has encourag'd and commanded us to ask, he knows our need of these Things before we ask them, but he will have us ask them, because this upon fundry Accounts is good for us.

2. When it is faid that our Father knoweth what Things we have need of before we ask bin, it is implied, that he is also very ready upon our asking to bestow them, and that in Confideration of our Need he is wil ling to beftow them, and would therefore have us ask them that he might bestow them; now if this be true, then there is no need of drawing out our Prayer into a Multitude of Words, as if God were of himself very backward to bestow his Graces upon us, and must be wrought upon by much fpeaking before we could expect to prevail; for where he fees there is a holy Defire, and true Faith, and habitual Dependence, and all the good' Difpofitions that qualify a Man for his Grace, he is ready to give, even before the Man asks; and Words that are few, and plain, and grave, will ferve for the outward Expreffion of Prayer

Prayer as well as a long, artificial, and infinuating Oration, and will fignify our Belief of God's Goodness a great deal better than that way of speaking, for it is feldom us'd but with defign to prevail upon the Affections of Men that are prefumed to be backward, and fomething averfe from the Point to which the Orator would bring them, and therefore this is no way fit to be delivered to the great Majefty of the all-wife and infinitely good God, who knows our Wants, and is ready to fupply them, and will reward our fervent and holy Prayers with doing what is beft for us.

And thus much for the Explication and Illuftration of the Text.

I fhall conclude with putting you in mind what the true Use and Excellence of Prayer is, and that will eafily fhew it felf when the vain End of seeking the Glory of Men, and that vain Ufe of making many Words, are fet afide. The true End of Prayer is doing Honour to God, and doing Good to our felves; and one of the beft Ufes of it is, to leave fuch a like Sense upon our own Minds as we do exprefs in our Words, and this is properly effectual Prayer; for Inftance, When our Prayer for any Worldly Good that we stand in need of leaves us difpofed to refign our Wills to God; when our Prayer for God's Grace makes us careful other ways to obtain it; when our Prayer for his Pardon prompts

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us to Repentance, and makes us diligent to amend our Lives; when our Prayer that God would forgive our Enemies difpofes, us to forgive and love them, and to be in more perfect Charity with them than before, and the like; this is Prayer that is available with God, and will procure the Effect of all his good Promifes, and our heavenly Father which feeth in fecret fhall reward us openly.

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SERMON II.

Of Forms of Prayer.

Being the fecond introductory Difcourfe to the Expofition of the LORD's

PRAYER.

MATTH. VI. ix.

After this manner therefore pray ye..

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Oncerning the Reafons of our Obligations to Prayer, and the Ends of it we are to propound to our felves, and more particularly concerning two Cautions about it given us by our Saviour, the one against Vain-glory and Hypocrify, the other against vain Repetitions in that Performance, I difcourfed to you the laft time from the four Verfes foregoing: Now our Lord having inftructed his Difciples to beware of the AffeAation of much fpeaking in Prayer, which was the latter Caution in the two Verfes im

mediately foregoing the Text, proceeds to give them a FORM of PRAYER framed. according to that Caution, and introduceth it with these Words, After this manner therefore pray je.

Upon which Words I fhall fay fomething concerning Forms of Prayer in the general, and that, with the foregoing Discourse, shall ferve as a Preface to what I intend to say to you on the most excellent Form of Prayer in the following Verfes.

As to our Saviour's Meaning in these Words, After this manner therefore pray ye, there hath been of late Years a Difpute, the firft of that Kind that ever the Church knew, and that is, Whether his Intention were to oblige his Difciples, to use that Prayer as a Form of Invocation, or only to frame other Prayers by it, as by a Pattern? They that are of this latter Opinion, have taken it up behalf of extemporary Prayers, in which both Matter and Words are left to prevent Invention; and fo the Difpute is not concerning this Form of the Lord's Prayer, and other: Forms of Prayer, but concerning Forms of: Prayer, and Prayers extemporary. Now,

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1. We that contend that the Lord's Prayer is prescribed as a Form, do not contend that no other Form is to be used but that, for our Saviour gave no fuch Intimation, and the Practice of his Apoftles and firft Disciples plainly fhewed the contrary.

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