converted disciples " continued in prayer1." It is no small part of a Christian's life to " continue instant in prayer, and watch in the same m." It were easy to prove this by multitudes of Scripture texts: he that hath not this breath of prayer, is either a dead man, or in a dangerous swoon. As the poor child when any thing hurteth it, or affrighteth it, runs to the mother or father for help; so doth the poor Christian to Christ. He may go to ministers, and go to other Christians (as Cornelius to Peter, because Christ sendeth him, and so under Christ); but it is Christ that he goeth directly to, and that he is most with. He hath a very praying spirit within him, contrary to that dumb spirit that possesseth the ungodly: so that he must needs go to God when any thing aileth him, and he will not be held back. His soul would be disconsolate, and as David in the wilderness, Psal. xlii. if he were kept from God: he would be overwhelmed with his troubles if he might not go ease his mind with God: some ease he may get from ministers and friends, but Oh! if he had not more from God, his case were very sad: he is in prayer as Jeremiah in preaching; "The word was a consuming fire shut up in his bones, he was weary of forbearing and could not stay "." So are his sins and his necessities like a consuming fire shut up in his heart; he is weary with forbearing, he cannot hold them, to God he must go, as David, while he held his tongue, his sorrow was stirred, his heart was hot within him, the fire burned till he spake to God: "While I kept silence my bones waxed old." You may better keep the converted Christians from food, or raiment, or home, or friends, than keep them from God: they had rather be without a shop to work in, a house to dwell in, a bed to lie in, than a place to pray in. But the best is, that God hath sanctified every place to him, and commanded him every where to lift up pure hands. His Lord and Saviour hath left him his example, who was sometimes in a wilderness, and sometimes in a garden, and sometimes in other solitary places, purposely for prayer, and so accustomed to one, that Judas knew of it. He that was perfect would shew us his de

1 Acts ii. 42.

m Rom. xii. 2. Col. iv. 2. Ephes. vi. 18. • Psal. xxxix. 2, 3. xxxii. 3.

n Jer. xx. 8, 9. p 1 Tim. ii. 8.

9 Mark xiv. 23. xxvi. 36. vi. 46. xiv. 32. Luke xxii. 41, 44.

pendance on the infinite Godhead, by giving us an example of constancy in this duty: so that we find him even all night in prayer to God'. And all his disciples do learn this lesson of him, and imitate him in their measure, in this holy work. If we ask for other examples, we may find Cornelius and Daniel at it in their families, Peter at it in the house topt; Paul and Silas at midnight are at it in the inner prison in the stocks". From every place can the prayers of the godly have access to heaven. For God is every where present, and therefore though the places of public assemblies be in a special sort the house of prayer *; yet doth he not confine his prayer to that house. The very soul of a Christian is habituated to prayer, and therefore he doth it as it were continually and in every thing he maketh known his wants by it to God". So that he is seldom so deep asleep in any lapse through security but that more or less he breathes his breath of grace in holy prayer. If he want wisdom, he asketh it of God, for he knoweth that he giveth liberally, and upbraideth not. If he want the Spirit itself in a further measure, he goes to God that hath promised to give it to them that ask it". If he want forgiveness of sin, deliverance from any evil or temptation, it is the matter of his daily prayer, yea, so is his very daily bread, his health and life, and all the comforts of it: for he knoweth that all things are sanctified by the word and prayer. If he be afflicted, he prayeth; and if in sickness, he desireth the elders of the church to pray with hima: for he knoweth that the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much. If the servants of Christ be in troubles, it is prayers without ceasing that is the means of their relief. Even besides secret prayers and church prayers upon any such occasion of their own and others; if a few Christians can get together to prayer, it is more pleasant to them, than to the drunkard or voluptuous, when they can get together for sports or wickedness. When Peter was in prison, many were got together in a house to prayer, when he came and knocked at the door, when the angel had set him freef.

r Luke vi. 12.

u Acts xvi. 25.

z Phil. iv. 6.

c 1 Tim. iv. 5.

f Acts xii. 12.

• Acts x. Dan. vi.

x Matt. xxi. 13.

a James i. 5.

d James v. 13, 14. 16.

t Acts x. 9.

y 1 Thess. v. 17.

b Luke xi. 13.

• James v. 15. 17.

In a word, the true convert beginneth his new life in prayer; he continueth it in prayer habitual or actual; sometimes by the secret motions of the heart, and sometimes by the expression also of his mouth; and he endeth it, as to this world, most commonly in prayers: as the Lord Jesus himself, as his blessed martyr Stephen did, committing their spirits to God at the closing of their eyes; and the saints do commonly follow them in that course: so by the help of these blessed gales we are carried through the waves and troubles of this world, and by this we land at the last in glory. Never think therefore to find a prayerless convert, any more than to find a breathless living man. O! the poor Christian feeleth that he cannot live without prayer, because he cannot live without God. He cannot be without it one day; he cannot be at home without it, or abroad without it; he cannot travel or return home without it; he cannot labour without it in the shop or in the field; but when he wants a place to bow his knee in, he hath yet an opportunity to bow his soul; and if company or business do shut his mouth, yet it must be business indeed that quite taketh off his heart; for his eyes are on God, as the eye of the servant on the hand of his master, saith David ". Why may I not say, as the eye of our dogs, when they wait on us at our tables, is towards us for every bit they have; so the eye and dependance of the Christian for soul and for body, is upon God: and many a secret ejaculation doth he send up, and many a groan doth pass his heart, that those that even stand by him are unacquainted with. As a beggar is known by his needy begging tone, so is he known by his begging of God; "The poor useth entreaties "," or speaketh supplication; you may know them by it; they make a trade of it; they live by begging; they will have no nay: such an one is the Christian, that even liveth by begging as his very trade: as one that must always pray, and not be weary or wax fainti. So that this is the second means that converting grace doth turn men's hearts to.

h

(3.) The third means, subordinate to Christ and the Spirit, which converting grace doth turn the heart to, is, the Word of God, whether heard, or read, or preached, or any way fitly made known. The Word is the very seed that

8 Psal. cxxiii. 2.

h Prov. xviii. 23.

i Luke xviii. 1.

doth beget him to this life, the immortal seed of God, which always must remain in him. Of this incorruptible seed is he new born'. And therefore it cannot be but he must love it, and desire it. The Scripture to a carnal man is as a common book: many things in it seem to be unlikely, and many things even next to foolishness, because he hath not the Spirit to discern them. To all the ungodly it is as a sealed book; though some of them know the grammatical and logical sense, none of them taste the spiritual sweetness, nor partake of the life that it begets in the soul. Therefore we find the learned Papists so many of them making a jest of Scripture, even while they confess it to be the Word of God. Some of them daring to accuse the matter, and some the style, and many the words and manner of expression, as if it were obscure, or unfit, or insufficient to its proper use a carnal man can easily spare it; a chapter in the Bible to him is but as a common story. Many an one of them can delight to read a romance, or a book of fables and fictions, like "The Knight of the Sun," "The Seven Champions," or "Palmarine," or "Guy of Warwick," or such like wicked devices of men's brains that are made to rob God of men's hearts, and to rob themselves of their time and wit; than to read over the sacred story, and the holy precepts of Christ, and the spiritual doctrine of faith and salvation. We may see the difference between men's dispositions towards God's Word in the Papists and poor Protestants, in the time and place of persecution. The Protestants would make much of one leaf of the Bible; they would get together to hear a chapter read, as to a feast, when they knew their lives were endangered by it. The Papists used all their power to suppress it, to hinder the promulgation of it, and keep the people from the knowledge of it, and burned them at a stake for the using of it. Their inquisition in Spain and Italy inquire after it, as if it were some book of treason or witchcraft; when the poor Christians whose hearts are touched with it, do hide it and keep it, as the chiefest jewel in the world. Luther would not take a world for one leaf of the Bible; his adversaries would have been glad if they could have banished it out of the world. In the primitive church the heathen persecutors did

first seek after the Christian Bibles and other good books, that they might burn them. And if the ministers would deliver them all the books, sometimes they would spare their lives; but the poor Christians would be torn in pieces and suffer any kind of death before they would deliver them one of those books to be burnt. And if any through fear had yielded to deliver them, they were ever after looked upon by the other Christians, as if they were apostates and deniers of Christ, and were commonly called by the name of Traditors, and the very posterity of such was in disgrace after them. In so much that the schism of the Donatists sprung from an excessive zeal on this occasion; because a bishop was but ordained by one that had been a son of a Traditor of the Bible, they separated from him, and from all the church that held communion with him, for his sake. So that you may see what thoughts the servants of Christ have ever had of the Holy Scriptures, and how contrary to these are the men of the world.

And we cannot blame them, for they know that it was by this word that God did first quicken them; by this he convinced them of sin and misery; by this he revealed to them Christ and glory. In this is contained the covenant of grace, the charter for salvation, and that title to all the mercies of this life and that which is to come. Here are the laws of heaven by which they must live, and by which they must all be judged. Here are those promises which first revived their distressed souls; the first cordials that did refresh their fainting spirits: the first news of pardon and glad tidings of salvation that ever they had was from hence. They know it is a book inspired from heaven by the Spirit of God, containing the discovery of the will of God; and the highest mysteries, which flesh and blood cannot reveal; and that they are matters also of everlasting consequence, to which all the matters in this world are as nothing, and not worthy the naming or once remembering. And do you blame a poor Christian for being in love with this blessed book? Especially when he knoweth these things not by bare hear-say only, but by many a sweet experience in his soul; many a sweet draught hath he here drank in his extremity; and many a feast hath his soul here had, if he be a Christian of long standing and experience. But, however,