as a sovereign and master, than from any particular grace, and as a father; for so he hears not sinners; yea he hears them, rather to leave them without excuse, and to take a fuller blow at them afterwards, as in the case of that evil servant.

3. The Lord uses not to give any suitable grace as the success of their prayers; so he hears only saints, and not sinners, especially reprobates; he changed not the servant's heart with his condition.

4. God sometimes hears them in displeasure and anger: "I gave them a king in mine anger." He gave them their desire, but sent leanness into their soul; their soul is blasted, they were hardened in pride and security thereby, and the thing itself given is blasted to them in the use of it, becoming a snare, and vanity, and in the deprival of it vexation of spirit.

CHAPTER II.

DISTRACTIONS IN PRAYER.

WE are now to proceed to other cases of conscience, arising in the incessant carrying on of the weighty duty of prayer. The second case now to be handled is, touching distractions, or impertinent thoughts, which disturb and molest us in prayer; wherein, demand will be made of three things.

1. The causes. 2. The cure or remedy thereof. 3. The success of such prayers, wherein such distractions are found.

First.

The causes of such distractions are either

such as are more general or more particular. The more general causes are two.

1. Satan, that enemy to prayer, the author of all confusion, and so of this confusion of the spirit in prayer; that fowl who steals away what is spoken to the heart by God in the word, is busy to steal away the good motions of the Spirit, stirring us up to speak to God in prayer. Satan is at hand to

tempt, when we are in hand with prayer. If we will draw near to God in prayer, we may expect the tempter to approach some way or other to disturb us, by sinister, subtle suggestions. We must resist the devil in such like distracting motion, when we are drawing nigh to God: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” "Draw near to God," etc. If we will pray with all manner of prayer, we had need be armed against such wily assaults of Satan, as tend to annoy us therein. When the Apostle and his company were to go to prayer, the devil in his instrument, the maid possessed, makes a disturbance with her impertinent speeches; so is there, if the devil can help it, something or other shall be set on work to breed distraction, or occasion disturbance to us in prayer, or he himself will be suggesting something to molest us.

When at any

2. The unregenerate part of man. time we should do any good, whether it be to pray, or the like, evil will be present with us: "When I would do good, evil is present with me." That sink of natural corruption will then especially cast out its unsavory smells, when so raked into by holy, humble acknowledgments and deprecations; this dunghill will then be sending out its vapors, even when

the heart is heated and warmed in prayer by the spirit. When a commanding power of grace is stirring the heart, the unregenerate part will be raising mutinies: "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind." Paul found it so, and who does not find it so in continual experience? If the Spirit does break any long silence in the heart, and will be speaking, corruption will talk as loud as the Spirit, and if it can, drown the voice of the Spirit, that the heart may not distinctly hear what the Spirit does teach the heart to speak to the Lord. The flesh will be lusting against the Spirit, so that we cannot speak to God, or do any service for him, in so free and spiritual a manner as we (as regenerate) do desire. All evil thoughts rise out of that inward spring, and disturb us in prayer: "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts," etc. The unregenerate part, in the best, savors not such a spiritual way of God, as is the earnest exercise of ourselves in prayer, that begets that natural slipperiness in spiritual things; whence it is that good motions are not so rooted, and dwell not so long with us. This would be breeding and feeding a disposition in the best, to be soon satisfied with spiritual things, and so to abate the earnest pursuit after the same. The strength of this natural bias will too often show itself in the saints, that whilst their spirits are carried out with some might of the hand of the Spirit of God towards the mark in prayer, this draws the mind away, and the deceitful heart of many will be slyly flinging something or other in the way to cause a rub, and to slack or divert the straight course of a regenerate man's prayer.

More particular causes of such distractions in prayer, are these:—

1. Natural hypocrisy of heart; want of soundness in the feet of our affections, will make us go crippling and stumbling, even in this plain, even way of prayer; and a small push will turn us aside, and cause the mind and heart to divert from the holy way, in which they were going: "Lest that which is lame, be turned out of the way." "As the legs of the lame, so is a parable in a fool's mouth." A fool's mouth cannot, will not utter spiritual things so closely and concisely, but will be intermingling impertinences; so this sinful guile, (which indeed is but folly,) does take place. Where ruling hypocrisy does possess a man, he is very fickle and unstable, he is in and out, off and on, in every thing he says or does now he will be as one speaking or doing well, and now again the contrary. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. So is it in part, where tyrannizing hypocrisy domineers over any poor soul, it will cause many diversions, and much unsteadiness in the mind in the best services. Where the spirit is hypocritical, there will the heart and mind be constantly gadding, and far off, when the lips are near God in seeking him: "Thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins." And They draw near me with their lips, but their hearts are removed far from me." When the heart is divided, surely the mind will be so too. That part of man which is not for God, will never be long with him, but ever starting from him in any ordinance, and so in this. Though the heart, as sincere in part, put the mind upon thinking of suitable things to the

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prayer in hand, yet the heart, as wily and guileful also in part, will be employing the mind in other thoughts also; and so far as there is division of mind, there is a distracted mind, or a mind drawn diverse ways.

2. Distrustful care for outward things. Thence is the mind as a meteor, pendulous and wavering; now up, now down; now turning this way, now that, keeping no certain course in this, or in any other way of God. As that care of his about his inheritance, distracted his mind in hearing God speak to him, (whence that interruption of Christ in his preaching): "Master, (said one then,) bid my brother divide the inheritance." So does the like cause work a like effect in our speaking to God in prayer. It is a sad and dangerous character of a thorny professor, when constantly as any seed of the Word is shooting up in any ordinance, such thorny distempers and distractions spring up with it. Yea, when they commonly overtop the same, and good things in prayer, hearing, meditation, etc., come thereby to be choked and stifled in our minds or hearts; when the mind is in a manner drunk with cares of this life, it will go on reeling and staggering in the choicest paths of God; or if from such a worldly spirit, we make rash and sudden irruptions unto prayer from heat of worldly business, when the mind but then was reeking hot, and sweating in them, the steam and savor thereof will surely annoy us in prayer so soon after. Our business, which we talked with so earnestly but then, will be calling after us again, as having somewhat more to say to us. The vessels of our minds will taste too much of that strong liquor,