have now mentioned? Did not the Holy Spirit of God furnish his Servants with Matter to pray ⚫ for in those Days, as well as Languages to pray in? And did he not infpire them to pray in a known Language, as well as in an unknown? And this immediately, fo that when they prayed they might be truly faid to be filled with the Holy Ghoft.

I anfwer, perhaps, it might, nay, for my part I think it probably was fo; we have many Reafons to incline us to believe that in the first Age of Chriftianity, when the Church was ⚫ propagated and governed in an extraordinary Way, and there were many fudden emergent • Neceffities to be fupplied, which could not at that Time be provided for in a regular Way, that God hath fince taken care they shall be; I fay, it is very probable, that, as God did infpire fome with a miraculous Gift of interpreting Scripture, and applying Types and Prophecies, and others with a Gift of compofing Pfalms and Hymns for the Benefit of the Church, and others with the Gift of foretelling Things to come; he did others also with the Gift of Prayer, prompting and enabling * them in an extraordinary Manner, to put up 'fuch Petitions as their own Spirits could never ⚫ have fuggested to them, but which were fuitable to the present Neceflities and Exigencies of the Church; and of thofe Perfons it may truly be faid, that they prayed by the Infpiration of the Holy Ghoft: And I must confefs of this Way of praying by the Spirit, I would

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interpret that famous and difficult Paflage of St. Paul, in the eighth of the Romans, 26, Ver. where he hath thefe Words: Likewife, faith he, the Spirit helpeth our Infirmi ties; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh Interceffion for us with Groanings that cannot be ut• tered; and he that fearcheth the Heart knoweth, what is the Mind of the Spirit, because be • maketh Interceffion for the Saints according to • the Will of God.

It is plain that he is here fpeaking of those that had the first Fruits of the Spirit; that is, were endowed with extraordinary Gifts, fuch as we have been all this while fpeaking of. This appears from the twenty-third Verfe, and therefore it is moft likely, that the Spirit's helping their Infirmities, and making Interceffion for them, was his extraordinary exciting and directing fome particular Persons to put up Prayers for the Congregation, and infpiring them with ftrong Defires, and earnest Groans after fuch and fuch Things; which tho' they could not fully comprehend the Meaning of, yet God, who knew the Mind of the Spirit, faw that they were for the good of the Church.

Thus I am fure St. Chryfoftom, (the best Interpreter of Scripture of all the Ancients) expounds the Place, whofe Words, because they are remarkable, and give a clear Account of.. the Text, I fhall tranflate to you:

Having named this Text, he tells us, "That it was a very obfcure Paffage, because many "of thofe Miracles, which were done in the "Time when St. Paul wrote that Epiftle, were "now ceased in the World. Therefore, faith "he, in order to the opening the Senfe of this "Place, it will be neceffary to acquaint you with "the State of Things at that Time. Now what

was that? Why, God beftowed several Gifts "on all thofe that undertook the Profeffion of

Chriftianity; which Gifts were alfo called by the Name of the Spirit. One, for Inftance, "obtained the Gift of Prophecy, and did fore"tel future Events; another had the Gift of "Wisdom, and inftructed the People; another "had the Gift of Healing, and he cured the "Sick; another had the Gift of Power, and "he railed the Dead; another had the Gift of Tongues, and he fpake in feveral Languages.

Moreover, with all these there was a Gift of "Prayer, which is alfo called by the Name of "the Spirit; and he that had this, prayed for all the Multitude: For, because, not know

"

ing many of thofe Things which are good "for us, we defire thofe that are not (as it is faid here, we know not what to pray for as we ought) the Gift of Prayer came upon "fome Man; and he stood up in the Name of

all, to defire that which was good for the "Church in common, and taught others to do <it. it. And he that was thought worthy of this "Gift, ftood with much Compunction, and many Groans (fuch as proftrate Man's Mind

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"before God) and asked those Things that were for the publick Benefit; correfpondent there"unto, in our Time, is the Minifter of the Congregation, when he offers to God the "Prayers for the People." Thus far St. Chryfoftom.

But now taking all this for granted, that Men in thofe Days, efpecially the publick Minifters of the Church, were thus immediately infpired by the Holy Ghost in their "Prayers for the Congregation, yet it doth not from hence follow, that any Chriftian now ei*ther is so inspired, or ought to expect it. For this you fee was one of the Charismata, one of the fpiritual Gifts peculiar to that Age; and there is not the fame Reason that it should be

youchfafed now. And if any one would make us believe he is endowed with fuch a Gift, he ought, in Reason, to give us Evidence of his having fome of the other Gifts that were then common in the Church. If he can infallibly expound all difficult Paffages of Scripture, or read the Hebrew Bible in his 'Mother Tongue, having yet never learned that Language; then we may be inclined to believe that he can pray by the Spirit, as thofe apoftolical Perfons did.

But what then is the Senfe of St. Paul, when he bids you not to quench the Spirit, 1 Ep. Theff. v. 19. Is not this a Command that concerns all Chriftians? And is not the Meaning of it that they should not fifle the Inspiration of the Spirit, when they are at

· Prayers,

Prayers, by any fet Form, but freely speak as the Spirit gives them Utterance?

I answer, that this Text alfo refers to those extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit we have been all this while fpeaking of, as appears by the Precept which follows after, Quench not the Spirit, defpife not Prophefying. And therefore it doth no way concern us, otherwise than by way of Accommodation; and the plain Senfe of it is no more than this, That thofe Christians, whom God had bleffed with thofe miraculous Powers, whether they were the Gifts of Healing, or of Tongues, or any of the reft, they fhould be very careful that they did not, either by their careless Life, or Neglect to make use of them to good Purposes, occafion God's withdrawing of them: For if they made an ill Ufe, or no Ufe of them, he that gave them would take them away; that heavenly Fire of the Spirit would, by these means, be extinguifhed in their Hearts.

And thus much let it fuffice to have spoken to the firft Point, which I have been the longer upon, for the fake of explaining those Texts of Scripture which have moved so many Scruples in Mens Minds.

Secondly, I now come to the second Point, which is this; that That which we are nowa-days used to call praying by the Spirit, that is the conceiving Prayers on a fudden, without Study and Premeditation, and expreffing our Conceptions with great Fluency and Movingnefs of Speech and Action, is not often, as

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