Defire of his Pardon. Our Infirmities and Temptations fhew us how abfolutely needful it is that we be affifted with his Grace, and by his Providence to recover our felves by true Repentance, and to perfevere in doing the Thing that he requires, and therefore that we are to implore his Help by humble and diligent Prayer. Finally, the common Ties of Humanity and the Religion of Charity oblige us to pray, and to give Thanks for one another; fo that natural Light difcovers this Duty, which thus appears thro' all thefe Ways of Invocation, or calling upon God. The feveral Kinds or Inftances of Prayer do carry their own Reafon with them, and it is very hard for Men not to underftand and feel their Obligations thereunto when they are fo obvious and preffing. To this we may add the great Weight of thofe Advantages, which are either to be obtained or fecured by religious calling upon God, and the great Honour that accrues to Mankind from our Relation to God, from that Service we perform to him, from that Capacity in which we are of receiving Favours and Benefits from him upon our Prayer, and the returning him the Praife of all. Now we are to confider that thefe Obligations and Encouragements are fo far from leffening upon Chriftians, that they come upon us with greater Force, by the Addition of more ReaTons leading to this Practice; for we have greater

greater Benefits to acknowledge, than the World had before the Redemption of Mankind by the coming of the Son of God, and the Sacrifice of his Death; we have a fure Belief of the Resurrection, and of a bleffed Immortality to quicken our Devotions; we have exprefs and particular Promises that we fhall obtain what we ask; and lastly, we' have a merciful High Priest, that intercedes with God for us, that recommends our Pray-` ers to him, even that one Mediator between God and Men, the Man Chrift Jefus, in whofe Name we may come loluly unto the Throne of Grace, to obtain Mercy and find Grace to help in Time of Need. All which Things confidered, we are guilty of foul and inexcufable Impiety if we neglect to make daily Prayers and Thanksgivings to God our Maker and Saviour. No Day returns, when thou rifeft from thy Bed, but it was the good Providence of God that made thee find thy felf alive in the Morning. The Night comes not, when thou committeft thy felf to Reft, but it was he that fuftained and protected thee till the Evening, when perhaps thou haft not had the Grace to acknowledge it with the leaft Thankfulness. There is not a Danger thou haft ever efcaped, there is not a Bleffing thou haft ever enjoyed, but he delivered thee from the one, and he confer red upon thee the other, when thou haft forgotten this Days without Number. If thou

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thou haft Health, and Riches, and Honours, they come from him; thou art fed and nourifh'd and cloath'd with his Gifts, and every where furrounded by his Bleffings. How little haft thou deserved of him, and yet how much haft thou received from him? He has made thee wifer than the Beasts of the Field, but thou haft made thy felf more ftupid than they; for the Ox knoweth his Owner, and the Afs his Master's Crib, but thou forgetteft thy Maker, that made thee a reasonable Being, capable of understanding Benefits, as well as of receiving them; capable of refenting Obligations from himself, and of the Glory and Happiness of giving Thanks, and doing Honour to him for the fame. But no wonder that thefe Things move thee not, if the everlafting Concern of thy future State, if the Promises and Threatnings of the Gofpel, if the Senfe of thy own depraved Nature, if the Senfe of the Dangers thou art in from the Temptations of the World, if the Guilt of thy manifold Sins, and the uneafy Apprehenfions of a Divine Juftice cannot force thee upon thy Knees, and drive thee to the Mercy of God, who has thus long in vain stretched forth his Hand to thee; to fuch Reproach as this is every Man liable that neglects his Prayers and forgets his God. This is all I fhall fay to the Suppofition of the Plainness of the Duty in general.

2. The particular Suppofition concerning Prayer is, that private Prayer in fecret is a Duty, as well as publick or common Prayers: and indeed our Saviour's Cautions and Directions in this Place concerning Prayer, are principally intended for the regulating of private Devotion, tho' the reafon of them will extend to that which is publick. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the Hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the Synagogues; but thou when thou prayeft, enter into thy Clofet. Can we think our Saviour's Meaning to be this, that his Dileiples fhould never pray but in their Clofets? No certainly; for 'tis a Precept of Natural Religion, that God is to be worshipped in the Societies of Men, and Chriftianity doth particularly oblige us to ferve God according to the Gospel in religious Affemblies; the Meaning therefore is this: Thou when thou doft not pretend to join with others in the Service of God, but to make thine own fingle and private Prayers, enter into thy Closet, that is, let them be private, and be content that God hear thee, and take notice of thee but do not fay thofe Prayers to be heard, nor contrive thy Devotions fo as to be feen of Men. So that the true understanding of the Place is founded upon this Suppofition, that our Saviour here fpeaks of private or fingle Prayer; and therefore I fay also, that the Duty of fuch Prayer is here particularly

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fuppofed, and withal it might be very reafonably fuppofed, that our Lord's Difciples were already convinced of it, and that the Reasons thereof are very obvious; I fhall name but two, whereof the

Firft is, That the Differences between particular Perfons do plainly require it. The Cafe of all Chriftians is thus far alike, that they have Sin to confefs in common; they have common Bleffings of Pardon and Grace, which they ftand in need of, and they have common Benefits and Bleffings which they have received from God to be thankful for; and therefore thofe Prayers and Thanksgivings which fuppofe all this, ferve in common to unite the Defires and 'Devotions of all Chriftians, and to tender to God a publick Service, and to make before the World a publick Profeffion of Religion according to the Gofpel; but then there is always a Dif ference in the Cafe of particular Perfons, and fometimes a very great one too, which requires private Devotion. Every Man has his particular Sins to confefs, his particular Needs of Grace to be fupplied, and his parti cular Bleffings to be thankful for, and his particular Friends to remember in his Prayers and Thanksgivings, and this is properly the Matter of private Devotion; And how neceffary private Devotion is with regard to thefe Things, may be made to appear by taking any one of them into Confideration, as

the