all difficulties be conquered, and the thing at last be accomplished. It is used foi" the diligence and labour of dogs, that follow the chase, till at last they get the game pursued : it is applied also to lacqueys, that with great labour run after their masters, and are at their hand in a journey. In Scripture it is frequently applied to the duty of pi-ayer; as. Acts vi. 4 ; Col. iv. 2 ; Rom. xii. 12 ; and signifies that invincible patience, courage, and constancy, which a Christian is to shew in upholding the duty of prayer. But are ' praying always,' in the beginning of this verse, and this 'praj'ing with perseverance" the same ? Or, if they are not the same, where lies the difference ? It can- not be thought the apostle, giving directions for prayer, would let them inter- fere one with another, and in so short a space repeat the same over again in other words : the rest are all distinct; so we will take these. Calvin makes this to be the difference : By 'praying always,' saith he, he exhorts us to pray in prosperity as well as in adversity : and not then to intermit the practice of this duty, because not driven to it by such outward, pressing necessities ; but by ' praj'ing with perseverance,' he admonisheth, that we be not weary of the work; but continue instant and constant in its performance, though we have not presently what we pray for. By ' praying always,' we are exhorted to the daily, constant exercise of the duty of prayer ; not to neglect the seasons for prayer as they return upon us : by ' praying with perseverance,' we are pressed to bear up agahist discouragements, as to any particular req\iest we make at the throne of grace, and not to give ovei', though we have not a speedy answer to it ; so that the former is opposed to a neglect of the duty in its stated seasons, and the latter to a fainting in our spirits, as to any particular suit we put up. We may keep our constant course of prayer, and yet not persevere in prayer, for this or that mercy which God withholds some time for the exercise of our grace.
Secondly, I must show what is meant by ' all perseverance.' First, By ' all perseverance' is meant such a perseverance as holds out to the end, till God doth give the thing we pray for, or takes away the subject of our prayer, as he did in David's case for his sick child by his death. It is possible a soul may perse- vere, yet at last faint, when it sees the time for answering still protracted ; God still stays, and there is no news of his coming, after many a despatch sent to heaven upon that occasion. O, it is hard to hold up our hands with Moses, to the going down of the sun! Christ complains how rare and scarce such a faith is to be found, when he bears long before he throws in the mercy prayed for : ' Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?' Luke xviii. 8. Shall he find so much faith as to keep his people at prayer in expectation of his coming to their relief? Secondly, By ' all perseverance,' is meant a perseverance of the whole man in prayer. We must not only persevere to hold up the outward performance of the duty of prayer, but per- severe to exert the inward powers of our souls and their graces, in the duty. The duty nia)^ be kept up, and the heart down in performing it. The faith, zeal, and other graces of the soul may be gone or act but feebly ; like an army that hath not yet quitted the field, but whose powder and shot are all spent; there they stand, and put a good face on it, but can do little or nothing to offend the enemy, or defend themselves. Thus many in afflictions pray still, they have not yet given over the duty, and run out of the field ; but, alas I their faith fails, and there is little vigour in the performance ; here is some kind of perseverance, but not this 'all perseverance,' which above all requires the perseverance of grace in its actings at the duty. So we translate the word, Rom. xii. 12 ; what is here 'with perseverance,' is there 'continuing instant in prayer.' Some are instant, but it lasts not ; if they find the mercy comes, they draw hard ; but if their chariot of prayer be set, and after a pull or two the mercy comes not, their faith jades, and they give over : others are constant, but not instant ; they continue to pray, but pray themselves cold ; they grow lifeless in the work, as if they looked for nothing to come of it; we must join both together, or expect benefit from neither.
Section II. — I proceed to shew why we must pray with all perseverance; First, it is strictly commanded, 1 Thess. v. 17: 'Pray without ceasing;' that is, without fainting; so our Savioui-, Luke xviii. 1, 'spake a parable unto theni to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.' Mark, not only
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