28. An hypocrite will not pray always, but a child of God never gives over; because he sees an excellency, a necessity, and a possibility of obtaining that he desires. He hath a promise for it: 'The Lord will fulfil the desires of them that fear him,' Ps. cxlv. 19.
29. Prayer doth exercise all the graces of the Spirit. We cannot pray but our faith is exercised, our love, our patience ; which makes us set a high price upon that we seek after, and to use it well.
30. God takes it unkindly if we weep too much, and over-grieve for loss of wife, child, or friend, or for any cross in the things of this life ; for it is a sign we fetch not that comfort from him which we should and may do. Nay, though our weeping be for our sins, we must keep a moderation in that. We must with one eje look upon our sins, and with the other eye look upon God's mercy in Christ; and therefoi'e if the best grief must be moderated, what must the other ?
31. The religious affections of God's people are mixed ; for they mingle their joy with weeping, and their weeping with joy, whereas a carnal heart is all simple. If he joy, he is mad ; if he be sorrowful, unless it be restrained, it sinks him; but grace always tempers the joy and sorrow of a Christian, because he hath always something to joy in and something to grieve for.
32. We are members of two worlds. Now, whilst we live here, we must use this world ; for how many things doth this poor life of ours need ! We are passing away; and, in this passage of ours, we must have necessaries. But yet we must use the world as if we used it not ; for there is a danger lest our aff'ections cleave to the things of this life.
33. It is a poorness of spirit in a Christian to be over joyful, or over- grieved for things worse than ourselves. If a man hath any grace, all the world is inferior to him ; and therefore what a poorness of spirit is it to be over joyful, or over-much grieved, when all things are fading and vanish
188 DIVINE MEDITAIIOXS
away. Let us therefore bear continually in our minds, that all things here below are subordinate.
34. A sincere heart that is burdened with sin, desires not heaven so much as the place where he shall be free from sin, and to have the image of God and Christ perfected in his soul ; and therefore a sincere spirit comes to hear the word, not so much because an eloquent man preacheth, as to hear divine truths : because the evidence of [thej Spirit goes with it, to work those graces. You cannot still a child with anything but the breast ; so you cannot still the desires of a Christian, but with divine truths, as, Isa. xxvi. 8, ' The desires of our souls is to thy name and to the remem- brance of thee.'
35. There is a thousand things that may hinder good success in our affairs. What man can apply all things to a fit issue, and remove all things that may hinder ? "Who can observe persons, times, places, advantages, and disadvantages ; and when we see these things there is naturally a passion, that it robs us of our knowledge : as, when a man sees any danger, there is such a fear or anger, that he is in a mist. So that, unless God give a particular success, there is none. As it is in the frame of a man's body ; it stands upon many joints, [and] if any of these be out of frame it hinders all the rest.
36. If we will hold out, because the error is in want of deep apprehen- sion of the miseries we are in by nature ; let us labom* therefore to have our hearts broken more and more. Upon this fault it was that the stony gi-ound spoken of in the gospel wants rooting. Therefore it is Christian policy to suffer our souls to be humbled, as deep as possible may be, that there may be mould enough ; otherwise there may be a great joy in divine truths, and they may be comfortable, but all will be sucked up like dew •when persecution comes, if it be not rooted.
37. "What is the reason that God's children sink not to hell when troubles are upon them? Because they have an inward presence strengthening them : for the Holy Ghost helps our infirmities, not only to pray, but to bear crosses, sweetening them with some glimpse of his gracious counte- nance. For what supports our faith in prayer, but inward strength from God.
38. In prosperity, or after some deliverance, it is the fittest time for praise ; because then our spirits are raised up and cheered in the evidence of God's favour : for the gi'eater the cross is from which we have been delivered, the more will the spirit be enlarged to praise God.
39. "Whenever we receive any good to our souls, or to our bodies, who- ever is the instrament, let us look to the principal; as in the gifts we receive, we look not to the bringer but to the sender.