ment. Matth. vii. 7. Afk, and it shall be given you feek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matth. xxi. 22. And all things whatfoever ye Jhall afk in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. John xv. 7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall afk what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. But then he directs us to put up our petitions to God in his name, as the way to make them prevalent. John xiv. 13. 14. And whatfoever ye fhall afk in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye Jhall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. And chap. xvi. 23. 24. he repeats this promise again for their fupport and comfort under the tribulations which they hould endure. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I fay unto you, Whatfoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. And again, ver. 26. 27. At that day ye fhall ask in my name : and I fay not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father himself loveth you. He affures them of God's merciful incli nation towards them; and if it would add any thing to their comfortable affurance of having their prayers heard, he could have told them, that he would pray the Father for them. St. James particularly comforts the Christians under their trials upon this confideration, that God is ready to give wisdom and ftrength to demean ourselves as we ought under fufferings, if we heartily beg it of him, James i. 2. 3. 4. 5. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience: but let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. And fince this requires great wisdom, to bear great afflictions with patience, therefore he adds, that God is always ready to grant this wisdom and grace to thofe that heartily beg it of him. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it fhall be given him. 1 John iii. 22. And whatfoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do thofe things which are pleafing in his fight. And chap. v. 14. 15. And this is the confidence

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that we have in him, that is, we Christians: for he had faid before, These things have I written unto you, that believe on the name of the Son of God; and then it follows, And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he beareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we defired of him; that is, though we have not prefently the thing we prayed for, yet we are as fure of it as if we had it. The earnest prayer of every fincere Chriftian is very powerful and available with God. So St. James affures us, chap. v. 16. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much; much more the united prayers of the faithful. So our Saviour declares, Matth. xviii. 19. Again, I fay unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth, as touching the thing that they fhall ask, it fhall be done for them of my Father, which is in heaven.

All these promifes and declarations do certainly fignify a more fpecial efficacy and prevalency of the prayers of Christians. And though there was a miraculous power of prayer in the primitive times, which is now ceafed, and of which St. James plainly fpeaks, chap. v. 14. 15. Is any fick among you? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith fhall fave the fick, and the Lord fball raise him up: Yet it is certain that thefe promises extend farther, to the efficacy of the prayers of the faithful in fuch cafes. And fo our Saviour extends this promife, Mat. xxi. 22. for after he had said in the verse before, Verily I fay unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye fall not only do this which is done to the fig-tree; but also if ye shall fay unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou caft into the fea, it shall be done. After this he immediately fubjoins, And all things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Hereby declaring, that the efficacy of the prayers of Chriftians was not limited only to thofe miraculous effects, which were but to continue for a time, but that this promise was to be extended to the prayers of the faithful in all cafes, and all times.

And

And indeed all the grounds and reasons of the efficacy and prevalency of our prayers, which are mentioned in the New Teftament, do equally concern Christians in all times; as that we pray to God in the name and mediation of Jefus Chrift, upon which our Saviour very frequently, when he makes this promife, lays great ftrefs, and feems to render it as the reafon of the fpecial efficacy of our prayers. John xiv. 13. 14. And what foever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye fhall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. And chap. xvi. 23. 24. Verily, verily I fay unto you, Whatfoever ye fhall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Heretofore ye have asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall

receive.

us.

Another reason of the acceptance and prevalency of our prayers, is, that the Spirit of God which dwells in all true Chriftians does help our weaknefs, and fecretly directs us to afk of God thofe things which are according to his will, and does, as it were, intercede for Rom. viii. 26. Likewife the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we shall pray for as we ought but the Spirit itself maketh interceffion for us. And ver. 17. And he that fearcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh interceffion for the faints, according to the will of God. And no wonder if those petitions are very prevalent, which we are affifted and directed to put up to God, according to his will.

And this certainly is a great comfort under any trou ble, that we can have free access to God by prayer, in confidence that he will grant us thofe requests which we put up to him according to his will. And this the Apostle to the Hebrews mentions more than once, as an argument to them to continue ftedfast in the profeffion of their religion, notwithstanding the perfecution that attended it, because we may, at all times, addrefs ourfelves to God in confidence of his gracious help and affistance, Heb. iv. 16. After he had exhorted them to hold fast their profeffion, as an encouragement there. to, he adds the free accefs we may have to God for his help and fupport: Let us therefore, fays he, come boldly,

or with great freedom and confidence, to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find favour with him for our feafonable help and fuccour. And to the fame purpofe, chap. x. 19. 20. Having therefore, brethren, freedom to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jefus; that is, having access to God in prayer by Jefus Chrift; let us draw near with a true heart, in full affurance of faith, that is, in perfect confidence that our prayers will be graciously heard and answered; upon which he adds, Let us hold faft the profeffion of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that bath promised: if we continue stedfast to God, and the profeffion of his truth, he will make good all that he hath promifed, both of prefent fupport under our fufferings, and of the glorious reward of them in another life: he will hear our prayers, and grant us the aids and supplies of his grace as we stand in need of them.

IV. The Chriftian religion propounds to us the best and most admirable pattern that ever was of patience and conftancy of mind under the apprehenfion of approaching evils, or the fenfe of our prefent fufferings, and of a contented and chearful fubmiffion to the will of God in the faddeft condition to which human nature is incident; and that is the pattern of our bleffed Saviour, who for this reafon among others, was fo great a fufferer in fo many kinds, that he might go before us in this rough and difficult way, and leave us an example that we fhould follow his fteps, that we might learn from him how to calm and quiet our fpirits, to appeafe and hufh the tumults of our paffions, under the fevereft difpenfations of God's providence towards us, and to bend our wills to a patient fubmiffion to the will of our heavenly Father, under the foreft afflictions and sharpest fufferings. For though our bleffed Saviour prayed fo earnestly to his Father, that that bitter cup might pass from him, yet how quietly and chearfully did he refign and yield up himfelf to the will of God, faying, Yet not my will, but thine be done! Human nature shrunk and gave back at the fight of his dreadful fufferings: but his reafon over-ruled the inclinations of nature, and kept him to a steady refolution of fubmitting to the will of God. And therefore when Peter attempted his refcue, he commanded

him to defift, faying, Put thy fword into the fheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, fhall I not drink it? John xviii. 11. And though he had as quick a fense of fuffering as any man, yet with what patience did he poffefs his foul! with what meeknefs and humility of fpirit did he bear and yield to it! He was led as a lamb to the flaughter, and as a fheep before the fhearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth. When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not: but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. And thus it became the Captain of our falvation, that he might be a perfect pattern to us of patience and fubmiflion to the will of God, of a meek and undisturbed mind, under the greatest bodily pains, and the extream anguifh of his foul, to be made perfect by sufferings.

So that under the greatest present evils, or the most fearful apprehenfion of future evil and fuffering, we fhould fix our eye ftedfaftly upon this great and glorious example of patience, and conftancy, and meeknefs; of a due fenfe, and yet of a moft decent behaviour under the heaviest load of affliction, that was ever laid upon any of the fons of men; looking, as the Apoftle exhorts, Heb. xii. 2. 3. Looking unto Jefus the author and fi nisher of our faith; who for the joy that was fet before him, endured the cross, and defpifed the fhame; and confidering him, who endured fuch contradiction of finners against himself, left we be weary and faint in our minds.

And furely if we would but let our minds dwell a while upon this confideration of the fufferings of the Son of God, and his great meekness, and patience, and fubmiffion to the will of God under them, it would mightily conduce to the mitigating of our trouble, and bringing us to poffefs our fouls in patience, in the faddeft condition that can befal us.

And what confideration more proper for us than this, when we are going to receive the bleffed facrament, wherein the fufferings of the Son of God are reprefented to us, in the fymbols of his body broken, and his blood. fhed for the remiffion of our fins? and there are many confiderations which this fight is apt to fuggeft to us, which are fo many powerful arguments to quiet and

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