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CHAP.

XVII.

Of PRAYER.

MATTH. vi. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, I 5. And when thou prayeft, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray Standing in the Synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be feen of men. Verily I fay unto you, they have their reward.

But thou, when thou prayeft, enter into thy clofet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in fecret, and thy Father which feeth in fecret shall reward thee openly.

But when ye pray, ufe not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they fhall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Fa ther which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy

Thy kingdom come.

as it is in heaven.

Thy will be done in earth,

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into tempation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Amen.

For, if ye forgive men their trefpasses, jour heavenly Father will also forgive you.. But if ye forgive not men their trefpaffes, neither will your Father forgive your tref paffes.

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HE fecond religious duty adopted here by Chrift into his inftitution, and for the better performance of which he gives us fome directions, is that of prayer, and what he fays of it is in effect as follows.

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"As oftentation ought by no means to be your "defign in your almf-giving, fo neither in your ડ prayers. When therefore ye pretend to offer up to God your private devotions, do it in fuch "a manner, that they may indeed be private. Let "no vile affection of being obferv'd and talk'd of ❝for your piety, lead you to chufe fuch places for

prayer, where ye may be feen or heard. For "thus the hypocrites do, who love to pray in the "ftreets, or any where elfe, as much in view as "poffible, that their religion may acquire them "credit and repute amongst men: And this, as it "is their chief defign, is like to be all the reward "of fuch devotion. Do ye on the contrary, when

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co ye addrefs your felves to God in private prayer, "retire into your chambers, or your closets, shut "too your door, and contrive to be as fecret as

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ye can, and use not artifices of any kind, which “ may by an affected chance discover to your fa"mily, or others, what ye are about. This will " beft answer both the nature and the ends of pri"vate prayer; and God, who obferves you in the "moft fecret retirements, and hears the foftest "whispers of a genuine and fincere devotion, will "reward you for it openly hereafter. Be careful "alfo, when ye pray, to avoid a multiplicity of "ufelefs words, and vain enlargements, and imper"tinent flourishes. Let your requests be few, "your expreffions grave, and fhort, and compre"henfive. Be not too minute and particular, ei❝ther in what ye afk, or in your arguments for "obtaining it. The heathens indeed are full of "vain repetitions in this matter, verbose and trifling:

because they confider not that God is every "where, and at all times prefent; they addrefs "themselves to him as if he were a finite being "like themselves, and wanted an exact information "of their cafe; or were apt to be fullen, and "needed abundance of arguments to move him; "or might be prevail'd with, as men fometimes

are, by pompous rhetoric, or by long and artful "orations. But this is a great miftake: Your "heavenly Father knows both before and better "than you your felves, what things ye have need "of; and is fufficiently inclined by his own difpo"fition to hear, when ye offer up your requests "with a fincere and decent modefty. After this "manner therefore pray ye, Our Father, &c.

IN explaining of this paragraph, I might and fhould have faid fomething of the obligation to prayer, as a duty required of Chriftians, although it be not here directly commanded, but only fup

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posed and taken for granted in those words, When thou prayeft. But because there is another whole paragraph on this fubject, wherein perfeverance and importunity in prayer being required, our obligation to prayer it felf, as a duty, is more direct and vifible; I fhall confine my thoughts here,

I. To the confideration of the feveral forts or kinds of prayer.

II. To enquire into the meaning of the two cautions given, (1.) Against oftentation;` and, (2.) Against vain repetitions in prayer.

III. To make fome short observations upon that moft excellent form of prayer, which our Lord has here drawn up for us; concluding with a paraphrafe of the prayer it self.

I. FIRST then, Let us confider the several kinds of prayer. For as to the nature of it, or what prayer is in general, it is fo well understood, that it needs no defcription. The mere natural light of reafon has taught the theory of prayer to all men in all ages, and the impulfe of mere natural religion has forced even the lewdeft and prophaneft of mankind into the practice of it, when they have been furprized by a fudden danger. We will proceed therefore, to enquire into the feveral forts of prayer, and they are these :

(1.) MENTAL, wherein the defire and affections only, without words, dart up themselves devoutly to God, either by way of petition or praise. This is, indeed, wholly imperceptible, or ought to be made fo, to men; but highly pleafing to God, and may be practifed whatever company we are in, or whatever business we are about. An example of this we have in our bleffed Mafter, who tho' we read, indeed, of no prayer put up by him for the railing of Lazarus, we must conclude did

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filently by himself pray for it; for when they had removed the grave-ftone, he lift up his eyes, and faid, * Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. (2.) Ejaculatory, which is a like fhort and fudden fally of the affections, but expreffed in words, as that of our Saviour, in his thanksgiving just recited, Father, I thank thee: And at another time, the like; In that hour Jefus rejoiced in fpirit, and faid, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast bid these things from the wife and prudent, and haft revealed them unto babes. And thefe ejaculations alfo, if ufed only upon proper occafions, and without affectation, and from a real inward principle of piety, are not only accepted of God as prayers or praifes, but tend to make impreffions of feriousness upon the company before whom we utter them. (3.) There are public prayers, when at appointed times we meet with the neighbourhood at the house of God, the Church, to offer up in concert, by the mouth of the minifter, and along with him, our petitions and thankfgivings, not only on our own account, but for the community, of which we are members, civil and ecclefiaftical, and for the whole chriftian Church in general. This alfo is a duty, and of no fmall. confequence, as might be proved at large, if I had time; but I fhall here only take notice of that one text, wherein the Apoftle cautions us, that we fhould not for fake the affembling of our felves together, as the manner of fome profane and careless Chriftians was then, and ftill is, to the fcandal of their profeffion. (4.) There are family prayers, when we call thofe together, who are under our peculiar care, to put up their joint requests for fuch bleffings, fpiritual and temporal, as are requifite for them as a family, and to praise God for the

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