Caution. — Beware, that thy constant daily performance of this duty doth not degenerate into a lifeless formality. What we do commonly, we are prone to do but slightly. He is a rare Christian that keeps his com'se in prayer, and yet grows not to pray of mere course. The power of religion cannot be preserved without an outward form and order observed in its exercises; and yet very hard it is not to grow formal in those dudes which we are daily conversant with. Many that are very neat and nice when their holiday suit is on, are yet too slovenly in wearing their every-day apparel. Thus at a fast, or on a sabbath, our hearts haply are stirred up to some solemnity and spirituality becoming the duty of prayer, as being awed with the sacredness of the time, and extraordinary weight of the work : but, alas ! in our every-day duties we are too slovenly. Now set thyself, Christian, with all thy might, to keep up the life and vigour of thy spirit in thy daily approaches to God. Labour to come as hungry to this duty, as to eat thy dinner. Now, there is no expedient for this, like a holy watch set about thy heart in the whole covu-se of thy life. He that watcheth his heart all day, is most likely to find it in tune for prayer at night ; whereas loose walking breeds lazy praying. Be often in the day putting thyself in mind what work waits for thee at night. Thou art to draw near unto thy God ; and this will make thee afraid of doing anything in the day that will indispose thee or make thee fear a chide from thy God when thou appearest before him, 1 Pet. i. 17 : ' If ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourn- ing here in fear.' As if he had said. Do yo\i mean to pray? Then look to the whole course of your walking, that it be in the fear of God, or else you will have little heart to go about that work, and as little hope that he will bid yoii welcome ; for he judgeth of persons that pray, not only by their prayers, but by their works and walking. ^
CHAPTER XXX.
OF EJACULATORY PRAYER, ITS NATURE, USE, AND END.
The second branch in the apostle's directory for prayer hath respect to the kinds of prayer that are to be taken into the Christian's exercise : as for the season, he must pray always ; so for the kinds of prayer, with all prayer and supplication. Now there is a double ' all' to be observed. First, ' all manner' of prayer ; secondly, ' all matter' of prayer. I shall begin with the first, and that falls under several divisions. First, Ejaculatory, which is nothing but the lifting up of the soul to God upon a sudden emergent occasion, with some short but lively expression of our desires to him : sometimes it is vocal, sometimes only groaned forth from the secret workings of a gracious heart. These darts may be shot to heaven without using the tongue's bow. Such a kind of prayer that of Moses was, which rang so loud in God's ear, that he asked him, ' Where- fore criest thou unto me ?' Exod. xiv. 15 ; whereas we do not read of a word that he spake. It was no season for Moses then to retire and betake himself to the duty of prayei-, in a composed and settled way, as at other times he was wont, for the enemy was at his back, and the people of Israel flocking about him murmuring, and chai-ging him with the guilt of blood, in that he had enticed them out of Egypt, to fall into such a trap, wherein they expected no other than to lose their lives, either in the sea, or by the Egyptians. This, no doubt, made Moses despatch his desires to heaven by some short ejaculation, the siu-est and quickest post in the world, which brought him back a speedy and happy return, ver. 16. Thus Nehemiah, also, upon the occasion of the king's speech to him, interposeth a short prayer to God between the king's question and his answer to it : ' Then the king said unto me. For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven, and I said unto the king,' &:c., chap. ii. 4, 5. So soon was this holy man at heaven and back again, without any breach of manners in making the king wait for his answer. Sometimes you have the saints forming their desires into a few smart and passionate words, which fly with a holy force from their lips to heaven. Thus old Jacob, when he
PRAYING ALWAYS, ETC. (57'5