might be produced; but about God the Father's being the object of prayer, there is no queftion nor hefitation. m God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, may be distinctly prayed unto, of which are many inftances in Scripture. Sometimes he is prayed unto in conjunction with his Father, as appears from all those paffages in the epiftles, where grace and peace are defired from God our Father, and the Lord Jefus Chrift; and from many others fuch as thefe": Now God himself, and our Father, and our Lord Jefus, direct our way unto you; and the Lord, that is, the Lord Jefus, make you to increase and abound in love one towards another, and towards all men, even as we do towards you; and in another place, Now our Lord Jefus Chrift himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlafting confolation and good hope, through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. Sometimes Chrift is prayed unto fingly and alone; as by Stephon at the time of his death, when he prayed, saying', Lord Jefus, receive my Spirit. By the apostle Paul, when he had a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him; for this, fays he, I befought the Lord thrice, that is, the Lord Jefus Christ, as appears from the context, that it might depart from me: And be faid unto me, My grace is fufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Moft gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Chrift may rest upon me. By the apoftle John, when Chrift faid to him', Surely I come quickly, he replies, Amen, even fo, come, Lord Jefus. And by many others; fuch as thofe mentioned by Ananias to Chrift, when he bid him arife, and go to Saul; Lord, fays he, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy faints at Ferufalem; and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. God the Holy Ghoft may be alfo prayed unto, as he is fometimes fingly and alone, and as diftinct from the Father and the Son; The Lord direct your bearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Chrift. By the Lord, I understand the Lord the Spirit, whofe work it is to direct the hearts of believers into the love of God, and to fhed it abroad in their hearts; who is manifeftly distinguished in this petition from God the Father, into whofe love, and from the Lord Jefus Chrift, into a patient waiting for of whom, the hearts of the faints are defired to be directed by him. Sometimes he is prayed unto distinctly,. m Rom. i. 7. 1 Cor. i. 3. 2 Cor. i. 2. Gal. i. 3. Eph. i. 2. Phil. i. 2. Col. i. 2. 1 Theff. i. 1. 2 Theff. i. 2. 1 Tim. i. 2. 2 Tim. i. 2. Tit. i. 4. Philem. 3. 2 John 3. Rev. i. 4, 5. P Acts vii. 59. Theff. iii. 5. n 1 Theff. iii. 11, 12. Rev. xxii. 20. 2 Theff. ii. 16, 17. • Acts ix. 14. t 2 92 Cor. xii. 8, 9, diftinctly, in conjunction with the other two Perfons, as by the apostle Paul The grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the Love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghoft, be with you all. Amen". And by the apostle JohnTM, Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the feven Spirits which are before bis throne, and from Jefus Chrift, whe is the faithful witness. By the seven spirits cannot be meant angels; for it cannot be thought that they, being creatures, should be put upon a level with the divine Being, and be with him addressed in such a folemn manner; but by them we are to understand the Holy Spirit of God, who is fo called either in allufion to Ifa. xi. 2. or on account of the feven churches of Afia, to whom John wrote by his dictates, or to denote the perfection and fulness of his gifts and graces. Now though each divine Person may be fingly and distinctly addressed in prayer, and all Three together, being the one God, be confidered as the object of it; yet, according to the order of the perfons in the Deity, and fuitably to their feveral and diftinct parts, which they, by agreement, take in the affair of man's falvation, God the Father, the first Perfon, is generally addreffed as the object of prayer, though not to the exclufion of the Son and Spirit: Christ is the Mediator, by whom we draw nigh to God; and the Holy Ghost is the inditer of our prayers, and who affifts in the putting of them up unto him. The first Person is usually addressed in prayer under the character of a Father, and as our Father; fo Chrift taught his difciples to pray *, Our Father, which art in heaven, &c. and he is to be considered in this relation to us, either as the Father of our fpirits, the Author of our beings, by whom we are provided for, supplied, and fupported in them. In this manner the church in Ifaiah's time applied to him", faying, But now, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter, and we are all the work of thy band. Be not wroth very fore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: Behold, fee, we befeech thee, we are all thy people. Or he may be confidered as the Father or Author of our mercies, temporal and spiritual, which he, in a kind and gracious manner, beftows on us, through Chrift, and that as the Father of Christ, and as our God and Father in Chrift. In this view the apostle addresses him, when he fays, Blefjed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. And, in another place, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who bath blessed us with all spiri tual bleffings in heavenly places in Chrift. Now these feveral confiderations furnish out so many reasons and arguments to induce and encourage us to apply to him who is the God of all grace, and is both able and willing to supply our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The second Perfon, the Lord Jefus Chrift, who is both God and man, is the Mediator between God and man. God, abfolutely confidered, is a consuming fire; there is no approaching to him as creatures, and especially as finful creatures. Job was fenfible of this, when he faid, He is not a man as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment; neither is there any days-man betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. Now Chrift is the days-man, the Mediator, the middle Person, who has opened a way for us to God, even a new and living way, which he hath confecrated for us, through the vail, that is to fay, his flesh. He bimfelf is the way, the truth, and the life; he is the way of access to God; through him we, both Jews and Gentiles, have an access, by one Spirit, unto the Father; he is the way of acceptance with God; our perfons are accepted in the Beloved, and our fpiritual facrifices of prayer and praise are acceptable to God by Jefus Chrift: The prayers of the faints are called odours; they are of a sweet smelling favour to God; which is owing to the mediation of Chrift, the Angel of God's prefence, who stands continually at the golden altar before the throne, with a golden cenfer in his hand, to whom is given much incenfe, with which he offers the prayers of all faints, and which makes them a fweet odour to God. Our encouragements to prayer, and to the exercise of grace in that duty, are chiefly taken from, and our pleas for the bleffings of grace, are founded on the perfon, blood, righteousness, facrifice, and interceffion of Chrift. Seeing then, fays the apostle, that we have a great High Prieft, that is paffed into the heavens, Jefus the Son of God, let us bold fast our profession: For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without fin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. And in another place, he exhorts and encourages to this work in much the fame manner; Having, fays he, an High Prieft over the boufe of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full affurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil confcience, and our bodies washed with pure water. The ▸ Job ix. 32, 33. Heb. x. 20. John xiv. 6. Eph. ii. 18. and i. 6. Rev. v. 8. and viii. 3, 4. The third Perfon, the Holy Spirit, takes his part, and has a peculiar place in this work; he is the author of prayer, the inditer of it, who forms it in our hearts, creates breathings, and defires after spiritual things, ftirs us up to prayer, and affifts in it. Hence he is called, The Spirit of grace and of fupplications; both the gift and grace of prayer come from him; he informs us of our wants, acquaints us with our neceffities, teaches us, both in what manner, and for what we should pray; for what is most fuitable for us, and agreeable to the will of God to bestow on us, and helps us under all our infirmities in prayer; which is observed by the apostle, for the use, instruction, and comfort of believers, when he fays", Likewife the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh interceffion for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and be that Searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh interceffion for the faints, according to the will of God. As Chrift is our Advocate with the Father, pleads our caufe, and makes interceffion at the righthand of God for the acceptation of our perfons and prayers, fo the Holy Spirit is our Advocate within us; he makes interceffion for us in our own hearts; he puts ftrength into us; he fills our mouths with arguments, and enables us to plead with God. Chrift is the Mediator, through whom, and the Spirit, the affifter, by whom we have access to the Father. God, as the God of all grace, kindly invites us to himself; Chrift, the Mediator, gives us boldness; and the Spirit of grace, freedom and liberty in our access unto him; and this is what the fcriptures call praying with all prayer and fupplication in the Spirit, and praying in the Holy Ghoft. But of this more hereafter. I proceed, 2. To confider the feveral parts of prayer; in which I do not defign to prefcribe any precife form of praying, but to obferve to you the method and matter of it, which may ferve to direct and affift you in it. It is proper to begin this work with a celebration and adoration of fome one or more of the divine perfections; which will at once have a tendency to strike our minds with a proper fenfe of the divine Majefty, glorify him, and encourage us in our fupplications to him; all which is highly neceffary in our entrance on it. All the perfections of God are inftructive to us in this work, and ferve to influence our minds and affections towards him, command our fear and reverence of him, engage our faith in him, ftrengthen our dependence on him, and raife in us expectations of receiving good things from him. The greatnefs, Eph. vi. 18. Jude 20. 8 Zech. xii. 10. Rom viii. 26, 27. nefs, glory, power, and majesty of God, the holiness, purity, and righteoufnefs of his nature, oblige us to an humble fubmiffion to him, and reverential awe of him. The confideration of his love, grace, mercy, and goodness, will not suffer his dread to make us afraid. We learn from his omniscience, that he knows not only our perfons, but our wants, and what is most fuitable for us, when the moft convenient feafon, and which the best way and manner to bestow it on us. It can be no fmall fatisfaction to us, that all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we bave to do; the thoughts of our hearts are not hid from him; the fecret ejaculations of our minds are known to him; the breathings and defires of our fouls are before him; he understands the language of a figh and groan; and when we chatter like a crane or a swallow, it does not pass unobserved by him. His omnipotence affures us that nothing is too hard for him, or impoffible to him; that he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think; that we cannot be in fuch a low eftate, or diftreffed condition, or attended with fuch ftraits and difficulties, but he is able to relieve, deliver, and fave us. We conclude from his omniprefence, that he fills the heavens and the earth; that he is in all places, at all times; that he is a God at hand, and a God afar off, that he is near unto us, whereever we are, ready to affift us, and will be a very prefent help in trouble. His immutability in his counsel, and faithfulnefs in his covenant, yield the heirs of promife Strong confolation. These give us reason to believe that not one of the good things which the Lord has promised shall ever fail; that what he has faid, he will do; and what he has either purposed or promised, he will bring to pass: He will not fuffer his faithfulness to fail; bis covenant he will not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his lips. You fee that the notice of these things is neceffary, both for the glory of God and our own comfort. It is also very proper, when we begin our addrefs to God, to make mention of fome one or more of his names and titles, as Jehovah, Lord, God, &c. and of the relations he ftands in to us; not only as the God of nature, the Author of our beings, the Donor of our mercies, and the Preferver of our lives, but as the God of grace, the Father of Christ, and our Covenant God, and Father in Chrift. After this manner our Lord directed his difciples to pray, faying, Our Father, which art in beaven, &c. In the next place, it highly becomes us to acknowledge our meanness and unworthiness, to make confeffion of our fins and tranfgreffions, and pray for the fresh discoveries and manifeftations of pardoning love and grace. When we enter into the divine prefence, and take upon us to fpeak unto the Lord, VOL. III. 4 D we |