fall into the Hands of any fuch unthinking Wretches, I heartily beg of God, that, thro' his affifting Grace, it may awaken them into a more ferious Confideration of an Affair that deferves their clofeft Attention.

Having spoken thus largely of the Effects of Prayer in general, I shall now diftinctly confider the particular Advantages peculiar to private and publick Prayer.

CHAP VII.

The Duty and Advantages PECULIAR to private and publick Prayer, diftinctly confidered.

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ET us confider what peculiar Circumftances of Advantage attend private Prayer. One very confiderable one is this, it gives us an Opportunity of knowing the Sincerity of our Hearts. The Heart of Man is fo treacherous that he often deceives himself, as well as the World, and makes himself believe that he is acting upon a religious Motive, while he is influenced by Views of Intereft, or a Principle of Vain-Glory: Like the Pharifees of old, he prays in Publick that he may be feen of Men, out of Custom, Decency, or fome worldly Motive; and this Obfervation more particularly concerns thofe whofe Stations compel them to attend publick Worship; fuch as Students at the Univerfities, and Perfons belonging to Cathedrals. And

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there is ftill more Reafon to fufpect fome Principle of this Sort, when a Perfon does not regularly attend publick Worship, as often as he has an Opportunity, but neglects it upon frivolous Pretences. Every true Principle is uniform, and will always operate regularly, and equally, whenever it is not neceffarily obftructed; if Religion carries a Man to Church at one time, the fame Motive will affurdly have the fame Effect at any other Opportunity, unless he be hindered by want of Health, fome Work of Neceffity, or Charity: If he ufually attends the Service on Sunday-Mornings, and as ufually abfents himfelf in the Afternoon; or, if he be constant both Parts of the Sunday, and never, or very feldom, attends the Prayers on the Week-Day when he has a fitting Opportunity: In all these Cafes the Man impofes upon himself, if he fanfies that when he goes to Church he goes upon a genuine, unadulterated Principle of Religion. But, when we addrefs ourselves to God in our Closets, where no Eye, but that of God can fee what we are doing, then we may be affured that we act upon a fincere Senfe of Duty, without any Mixture of worldly Views; for this Reafon it was that our Saviour directs us to fhut out the Obfervation of all other Witneffes of our Devotions, that we may pray to our Father who feeth in fecret, and will reward us openly: And, therefore, whoever neglects to worship God in his Clofet, does not worfhip him at Church upon a true Senfe of Religion, tho' he may have fome flight and imperfect Notions of his Obligations; I fay, he can have no

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well grounded Conviction of his Duty upon rational Evidence. It was this private Prayer in which our Lord fo much delighted; a Mountain, a Defart, or a Garden, were the Places which he chofe for fuch Prayers; and that he might be still more fecret, he made choice of fuch Times when the Darkness of the Night covered him from Obfervation; a great while before Day he went out and departed into a folitary Place, and there prayed; at another Time, be continued all Night in Prayer to God; and his Example must be as infallible as his Word, and binds us as ftrongly to the Use of private Prayer, tho' our Strength and Spirits will not enable us to continue fo long in Prayer at any one Time; nor can we have the like urgent Occafion, or Opportunity, confiftently with our present State, and Condition.

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2. Private Worship has this particular Advantage attending it, that it is a plainer Teftimony of our Belief of God's Omniscience, than publick Devotions, this being the only Foundation of our fecret Addreffes: And, as the Worship of God in fecret is founded upon a Belief of God's Omniscience, and can have no other Support, fo the conftant Exercise of it is naturally apt to make the Senfe of his Omnifcience always lively in our Minds; than which nothing can be a more probable Means of reftraining us from all Sorts of Sins, more especially those Sins which Men are, of all others, the most liable to be tempted to; I mean, fecret Sins.

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3. Another great Advantage peculiar to private Prayer is this, That we may be more particular, than it is poffible to be in publick Prayer, which can be adapted only to the general State of Mankind; we are, all of us, equally God's Creatures, and, therefore, it is fit that as many of us as can conveniently affemble together fhould unite in acknowledging him to be our common Father; every one of us are equally fupported by him, and, therefore, we ought to join in thanking him for the Mercies and Bleffings which, in common, we receive from him. We are, all, Sinners, and publick Sinners, and, therefore, it is meet that we should publickly, and jointly, confefs our finful State: We have a great many common Wants which we may, and fhould, agree to request of him: But, every one is daily receiving particular Bleffings; every one has particular Wants; every one is guilty of private Sins, and fubject to particular Temptations: Now, it is impoffible that all these particular Circumstances, peculiar to each of us, should be made the Subject of our publick Devotions, and, therefore, we can offer these Prayers only in our private Clofets, where each one may adapt them to his own Cafe; fo that, if we attend the publick Service of the Church ever fo conftantly, there will be ftill a Neceffity for daily, private, Devotions, in order to confefs thofe Sins which we committed in private, to thank God for thofe particular Bleffings which we have received, befides those which we enjoy in common with other People; and thus it is

with regard to every other Part of Prayer; we are as much obliged to make thofe things, which relate to ourselves, ONLY, the Subject of our private Addreffes to God, as we are to join in thofe Parts which concern all Mankind equally. And being thus particular in our Acknowledgements, either of Mercies, and Bleffings, or Sins, it must have a much stronger Effect upon our Minds than refting in Generals. Let us examine a little how this Matter ftands: Suppofe a Perfon does me a fingular Favour, that is of very great Service to me, and fuch as he does not usually bestow upon his Neighbours, and Acquaintance, in the common Intercourfe of Life. Well; I take an Opportunity of joining with many others, who are under Obligations to him for the common Offices of Kindness which he has fhewn to us all, without taking a private Opportunity to thank him, particularly, for the uncommon Kindness which he has fhewn to me, on fuch an Occafion. This, indeed, would be fomething, but not enough to fatisfy my fingular Obligations, and to difpofe me to entertain fuch a ftrong Sense of Gratitude as will produce a fuitable Return of Behaviour in me: But, let us fuppofe that I go directly to him, and privately tell him, what a ftrong Senfe I have of this extraordinary Inftance of his Friendship to me, expatiating upon the Circumstances that heighten the Obligation, affuring him what very great Service it did me, how unworthy I was of it, and how studious I fhall always be, to fhew my Gratitude by a respectful, and obliging, Be

haviour.