' sleep on ;' take your rest, and see what will come of it. Indeed, they soon saw it to their sorrow, for they all presently fell into that very temptation which their Master had so seasonahly warned them against, and this awoke them to purpose. Thirdly, By priding ourselves in and with the assistance he gives. Pride is a sin that God resists ; indeed it is a sin that strives with God himself. It is time for the Spirit to be gone, when his house is let over his head; he takes it as warning when the soul lifts up itself into his seat ; if he may not have the honour of the work, he will have no hand in it. The proud man makes the Spii'it an underling to himself, he useth his gifts to set up himself with them. Three ways pride discovers itself in prayer, which must be resisted if we mean to have the Spirit's company. First, when the creature ascribes the Spirit's work to himself, and sets his own name upon the duty ; instead of blessing God for assisting, he applauds himself, and hath a high opinion of his own abilities, pleasing himself with what expressions and enlargements of affection he had in the duty. This is a sin which every gracious soul must tremble at. ' I live,' saith Paul, ' yet not I,' Gal. ii. 20. ' I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me,' 1 Cor. xv. 10. Thus shouldst thou say, I prayed, yet not I ; I wrestled, yet not I, but the Spirit of God which was with me. Applaud not thyself, bu.t humbly admire the grace of God in helping such a poor creature as thou art ; ' Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee,' 1 Chron. xxix. 14. Se- condly, when we go to duty in confidence of the gifts and grace we have already received, and do not acknowledge our dependence on the Spirit, by casting our- selves upon him for present assistance. It is not asking once for all will serve the turn ; thou mayest have his help in the morning, and want it at night, if thou dost not again humbly ask for his aid. You know how Samson was served, when he thought to go out as he used to do : alas ! the Spirit was gone, and had carried away his strength with him. God will have thee know, the key to thy heart hangs at his girdle, and not at thy own, so that thou canst not open and enlarge it at thy pleasure. Acknowledge God, and his Spirit shall help thee ; but lean to thy own imderstanding, and thou art siu-e to fall. If pride be at the beginning of the duty, shame will be at the end of it. Thirdly, when we rely on our prayers, and not entirely on Christ's mediation, for acceptance ; this is pride with a witness, and highly derogatory to the honour of Christ. God, indeed, accepts the saints in prayer, but not for their prayer, but for Christ's sake. Now the Spirit will not give his assistance to rob Christ of his glory ; when he helps thee to pray, he calls thee out of thyself, to rely wholly on the mediation of Christ. Wrong Christ, and you grieve his Spirit.
EPHESIANS vi. 18.
^nd tvatching thereunto.
These words present us with the fifth branch in the apostle's direction for prayer, which I called prayer's guard. Prayer to the saints is as the great artillery to an army, of great use to defend them, and of as great force to do execution upon their enemies ; therefore it needs the stronger guard to be set about it, lest it be taken from, or turned against them by the enemy.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE DUTY OF WATCHING, AND WHY IT MUST ATTEND OUR PRAYERS.
Section I. — Now, the guard which the Spirit of God here appoints, is watching, — 'watching thereunto.' Watching is either proper, or improper ; literal, or metaphorical. Watching, literally taken, is an affection of the body : that only can properly be said to watch, which is subject to sleep ; and so the body is, not the soul. Thus to watch, in a religious sense, is a voluntary denial of sleep to our bodies, that we may spend either the whole, or part, of the night in pious exercises. Thus the Jews kept the night of the passover holy, Exod. xiii. 42. Our Saviovu- often spent the night in praj^er, Matt. xxvi. 38. We find Paul
WATCHING THEREUNTO. 7()3