y being able to search out all things, even deep things of God. Without which rit, though we had a thousand common ver-books, yet we know not what we should y for as we ought, being accompanied with e infirmities that make us absolutely inable of such a work; which infirmities, ough it is a hard thing to name them all, some of them are these that follow:

Without the Spirit, man is so infirm that cannot with all other means whatsoever be bled to think one right saving thought of 1, of Christ, or of his blessed things; and *fore he saith of the wicked, "God is not Il their thoughts," unless it be that they gine him altogether such a one as them‹-; “for every imagination of the thought heir heart is only evil, and that continThey then, not being able to conceive ht of God to whom they pray, of Christ ugh whom they pray, nor of the things for h they pray, as is before showed, how they be able to address themselves to without the Spirit help this infirmity? ulventure you will say, By the help of the mon prayer-book; but that cannot do it, it can open the eyes and reveal to the all these things before touched; which it cannot it is evident, because that is the k of the Spirit only. The Spirit itself is revealer of these things to poor souls, and which doth give us to understand them; refore Christ tells his disciples, when he nised to send the Spirit, the Comforter,

shall take of mine and show unto you;" f he had said, I know you are naturally and ignorant as to the understanding any uy things; though ye try this course and other, yet your ignorance will still remain; veil is spread over your heart, and there is - can take away the same nor give you itual understanding but the Spirit. The mon prayer-book will not do it, neither any man expect that it should be instruital that way, it being none of God's ordies, but a thing since the Scriptures were ten, patched together, one piece at one e, and another at that; a mere human intion and institution, which God is so far a owning of, that he expressly forbids it, h any other such like, and that by manifold gs in his most holy and blessed word. right prayer must, as well in the outward t of it, in the outward expression, as in the rard intention, come from what the soul

apprehend in the light of the Spirit;

otherwise it is condemned as vain and an abomination, because the heart and tongue do not go along jointly in the same; neither indeed can they unless the Spirit help our infirm ities, And this David knew full well, which did make him cry, "Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise." I suppose there is none can imagine but that David could speak and express himself as well as others, nay as any in our generation, as is clearly manifested by his word and his works; nevertheless, when this good man, this prophet, comes into God's worship, then the Lord must help or he can do nothing: "Lord, open thou my lips, and then my mouth shall show forth thy praise." He could not speak one right word except the Spirit itself gave utterance. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself helpeth our infirmities." But,

2. It must be praying with the Spirit-that is, the effectual praying-because without that, as men are senseless, so hypocritical, cold, and unseemly in their prayers, so they, with their prayers, are both rendered abominable to God, It is not the excellency of the voice, nor the seeming affection and earnestness of him that prayeth, that is in anything regarded of God without it. For man, as man, is so full of all manner of wickedness that as he cannot keep a word or thought, so much less a piece of prayer, clean and acceptable to God through Christ; and for this cause the Pharisees, with their prayers, were rejected. No question but they were excellently able to express themselves in words, and also for length of time too they were very notable; but they had not the Spirit of Jesus Christ to help them, and therefore they did what they did with their infirmities or weaknesses only, and so fell short of a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of their souls to God through the strength of the Spirit. That is the prayer that goeth to heaven that is sent thither in the strength of the Spirit. For,

3. Nothing but the Spirit can show a man clearly his misery by nature, and so put a man into a posture of prayer. Talk is but talk, as we use to say, and so it is but mouth-worship if there be not a sense of misery, and that effectually too. Oh the cursed hypocrisy that is in most hearts, and that accompanieth many thousands of praying men that would be so looked upon in this day, and all for want of a sense of their misery! But now the Spiritthat will sweetly show the soul its misery,

where it is, and what is like to become of it, also the intolerableness of that condition; for it is the Spirit that doth effectually convince of sin and misery without the Lord Jesus, and so puts the soul into a sweet, serious, sensible, affectionate way of praying to God according to his word.

4. If men did see their sins, yet without the help of the Spirit they would not pray. For they would run away from God with Cain and Judas, and utterly despair of mercy, were it not for the Spirit. When a man is indeed sensible of his sin and God's curse, then it is a hard thing to persuade him to pray; for, saith his heart, There is no hope, it is in vain to seek God; I am so vile, so wretched, and so cursed a creature that I shall never be regarded. Now here comes the Spirit and stayeth the soul, helpeth it to hold up its face to God, by letting into the heart some small sense of mercy to encourage it to go to God, and hence it is called the Comforter.

5. It must be in or with the Spirit, for without that no man can know how he should come to God the right way. Men may easily say they come to God in his Son, but it is the hardest thing of a thousand to come to God aright and in his own way without the Spirit. It is the Spirit that searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. It is the Spirit that must show us the way of coming to God, and also what there is in God that makes him desirable. "I beseech thee, (saith Moses,) show me the way that I may know thee." "He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." 6. Because without the Spirit, though a man did see his misery, and also the way to come to God, yet he would never be able to claim a share in either God, Christ, or mercy without God's approbation. Oh how great a task is it for a poor soul that comes sensible of sin and the wrath of God to say in faith but this one word, Father! I tell you, however hypocrites think, yet the Christian that is so indeed finds all the difficulty in this very thing-it cannot say God is its Father. Oh, saith he, I dare not call him Father; and hence it is that the Spirit must be sent into the hearts of God's people for this very thing-to cry Father; it being too great a work for any man to do knowingly and believingly without it. When I say knowingly, I mean knowing what it is to be a child of God and to be born again. And when I say believingly, I mean for the soul to believe, and that from good experience, that the work of grace is wrought in him. This is

the right calling of God, Father; and not, as many do, to say in a babbling way the Lord's Prayer (so called) by heart, as it lieth in the words of the book. No, here is the life of prayer, when in or with the Spirit, a man being made sensible of sin and how to come to the Lord for mercy, he comes, I say, in the strength of the Spirit and crieth, Father. That one word spoken in faith is better than a thousand prayers, as men call them, written and read in a formal, cold, lukewarm way. On how far short are the people of being sensible of this who count it enough to teach themselves and children to say the Lord's Prayer, the creed, with other sayings, when, as God knows, they are senseless of themselves, their misery, or what it is to be brought to God through Christ! Ah, poor soul! study your misery, and cry to God to show you your con• fused blindness and ignorance, before you be too rife in calling God your Father, or learning your children either so to say. And know that to say God is your Father in a way of prayer or conference, without an experiment of the work of grace on your souls, it is to say you are Jews and are not, and so to lie. You say, Our Father; God saith, You blaspheme. You say you are Jews, that is true Christians; God saith, You lie. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. And I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. And so much the greater the sin is by how much the more the sinner boasts it with a Etended sanctity, as the Jews did to Christ, 1 the 8th of John, which made Christ, even in plain terms, to tell them their doom, for all their hypocritical pretences. And yet forsooth every cursed whoremaster, thief and drunkard, swearer and perjured person, they that have not only been such in times past, but are even so still these, I say, by some must be counted the only honest men, and all because with their blasphemous throats and hypocritical hearts they will come to church and say. Our Father. Nay further, these men, the ch every time they say to God, Our Father, da most abominably blaspheme, yet they must be compelled thus to do. And because other that are of more sober principles scruple th truth of such vain traditions, therefore they must be looked upon to be the only enemies God and the nation; whereas it is their on cursed superstition that doth set the great Go against them, and cause him to count then ta

his cnemies. And yet, just like to Bonner, that blood-red persecutor, they commend, I say, these wretches, although never so vile, (if they close in with their tradition,) to be good Churchmen and honest subjects, while God's people are, as it hath always been, looked upon to be a turbulent, seditious, and factious people.

Therefore give me leave a little to reason with thee, thou poor, blind, ignorant sot. (1.) It may be thy great prayer is to say, "Our Father, which art in heaven," &c. Dost thou know the meaning of the very first words of this prayer? Canst thou indeed, with the rest of the saints, cry, Our Father? Art thou truly born again? Hast thou received the Spirit of adoption? Dost thou see thyself in Christ, and canst thou come to God as a member of him? Or art thou ignorant of these things, and yet darest thou say, Our Father? Is not the devil thy father, and dost thou not do the deeds of the flesh, and yet darest thou say to God, Our Father? Nay, art thou not a desperate persecutor of the children of God? Hast thou not cursed them in thine heart many a time? And yet dost thou, out of thy blasphemous throat, suffer these words to come, even Our Father? He is their Father whom thou hatest and persecutest. But as the devil presented himself amongst the sons of God when they were to present themselves before the Father, even our Father, so it is now, because the saints are commanded to say, Our Father, therefore all the blind, ignorant rabble in the world, they must also use the same words, Our Father.

(2.) And dost thou indeed say, Hallowed be thy name, with thy heart? Dost thou study, by all honest and lawful ways, to advance the name, holiness, and majesty of God? Doth thy heart and conversation agree with this passage? Dost thou strive to imitate Christ in all the works of righteousness which God doth command of thee and prompt thee forward to? It is so if thou be one that can truly with God's allowance cry, Our Father. Or is it not the least of thy thoughts all the day? And dost thou not clearly make it appear that thou art a cursed hypocrite, by condemning that with thy daily practice which thou pretendest in thy praying with thy dissembling tongue?

(3.) Wouldst thou have the kingdom of God come indeed, and also his will to be done in earth as it is done in heaven? Nay, notwithstanding thou, according to the form, sayest, Thy kingdom come, yet would it not make

thee ready to run mad to hear the trumpet sound, to see the dead arise, and thyself just now to go and appear before God, to reckon for all the deeds thou hast done in the body? Nay, are not the very thoughts of it altogether displeasing to thee? And if God's will should be done on earth as it is in heaven, must it not be thy ruin? There is never a rebel in heaven against God, and if he should so deal on earth must he not whirl thee down to hell? And so of the rest of the petitions. Ah! how sadly would even these men look, and with what terror would they walk up and down the world, if they did but know the lying and blaspheming that proceedeth out of their mouth, even in their most pretended sanctity! The Lord awaken you, and learn you, poor souls! in all humility, to take heed that you be not rash and unadvised with your heart, and much more with your mouth; when you appear before God, (as the wise man saith,) be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything, especially to call God, Father, without some blessed experience, when thou comest before God. But I pass this.

7. It must be a prayer with the Spirit if it be accepted, because there is nothing but the Spirit that can lift up the soul or heart to God in prayer: "The preparation of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord." That is, in every work for God, (and especially in prayer,) if the heart run with the tongue, it must be prepared by the Spirit of God. Indeed the tongue is very apt (of itself) to run without either fear or wisdom; but when it is the answer of the heart, and that such an heart as is prepared by the Spirit of God, then it speaks so as God commands and doth desire.

They are mighty words of David where he saith that he lifteth his heart and his soul to God. It is a great work for any man without the strength of the Spirit; and therefore I conceive that this is one of the great reasons why the Spirit of God is called a Spirit of supplication, because it is that which helpeth the heart when it supplicates indeed to do it; and therefore saith Paul, "Praying with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit;" and so in my text, “I will pray with the Spirit."

Prayer, without the heart be in it, is like a sound without life, and an heart, without it be lifted up of the Spirit, will never pray to God. 8. As the heart must be lifted up by the Spirit if it pray aright, so also it must be held

by the Spirit when it is up if it continue to pray aright. I do not know what or how it is with others' hearts, whether they be lifted up by the Spirit of God, and so continued, or no, but this I am sure of:

First, that it is impossible that all the prayer-books that men have made in the world should lift up or prepare the heart; that is the work of the great God himself.

And in the second place, I am sure that they are as far from keeping it up when it is up. And indeed here is the life of prayer, to have the heart kept with God in the duty. It was a great matter for Moses to keep his hands lifted up to God in prayer, but how much more then to keep the heart in it!

For as

The want of this is that which God complains of that "they draw nigh to him with their mouth and know him with their lips, but their hearts were far from him;" (but chiefly) | they that walk after the commandments and traditions of men, as the scope of Matt. xv. 8, 9 doth testify. And verily, may I but speak my own experience, and from that tell you the difficulty of praying to God as I ought, it is enough to make you poor, blind, carnal men to entertain strange thoughts of me. for my heart, when I go to pray I find it loth to go to God, and when it is with him so loth to stay with him that many times I am forced in my prayers, first to beg of God that he would take mine heart and set it on himself in Christ, and when it is there that he would keep it there. Nay, many times I know not what to pray for, I am so blind, nor how to pray, I am so ignorant; only, blessed be grace! the Spirit helps our infirmities.

Oh the starting-holes that the heart hath in the time of prayer! None know how many by-ways the heart hath, and back lanes, to slip away from the presence of God; how much pride also if enabled with expressions; how much hypocrisy if before others; and how little conscience is there made of prayer between God and the soul in secret, unless the Spirit of supplication be there to help.

When the Spirit gets into the heart, then here is prayer indeed, and not till then.

9. The soul that doth rightly pray, it must be in and with the help and strength of the Spirit, because it is impossible that a man should express himself in prayer without it. When I say it is impossible for a man to express himself in prayer without it, I mean that it is impossible that the heart in a sincere and sensible, affectionate way should pour out

itself before God with those groans and sighs that come from a truly praying heart without the assistance of the Spirit. It is not the mouth that is the main thing to be looked at in prayer, but whether the heart be so full of affection and earnestness in prayer with God that it is impossible to express their sense and desire. For then a man desires indeed when his desires are so strong, many, and mighty that all the words, tears, and groans that can come from the heart cannot utter them: "The Spirit helps our infirmities, and makes intercession for us with sighs and groans that can not be uttered."

That is but poor prayer which is only dis covered in so many words.

A man that truly prays one prayer shall after that never be able to express with his mouth or pen the unutterable desires, sense, affection, and longing that went to God in that prayer.

The best prayers have often more groans than words; and those words that it hath are but a lean and shallow representation of the heart, life, and spirit of that prayer. You do not find any words of prayer, that we read of, come out of the mouth of Moses when he was gone out of Egypt and was followed by Pharaoh, and yet he made heaven ring again with his cry, but it was the inexpressible and unsearchable groans and cryings of his soul in and with the Spirit. God is the God of spirits, and his eyes look farther than at the outside of any duty whatsoever. I doubt this is but little thought on by the most of them that would be looked upon as a praying people.

The nearer a man comes in any work that God commands him to the doing of it according to his will, so much the more hard and difficult it is; and the reason is, because man, as man, is not able to do it. But prayer (as aforesaid) is not only a duty, but one of the most eminent duties, and therefore so much the more difficult: therefore Paul knew not what he said when he said, "I will pray with the Spirit." He knew well it was not what others writ or said that could make him a praying person; nothing less than the Spirit

could do it.

10. It must be with the Spirit, or else, s there will be a failing in the act itself, so there will be a failing, yea, a fainting, in the pros ecution of the work. Prayer is an ordinance of God, that must continue with a soul so long as it is on this side glory. But, as I said be

fore, as it is not possible for a man to get up his heart to God in prayer, so it is as difficult to keep it there without the assistance of the Spirit. And if so, then for a man to continue some time in prayer with God, it must of necessity be with the Spirit.

Christ tells us that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; and again tells us that this is one definition of an hypocrite, that either he will not continue in prayer, or else, if he do it, it will not be in the power-that is, in the spirit-of prayer, but in the form, for a pretence only. It is the easiest thing of an hundred to fall from the power to the form, but it is the hardest thing of many to keep in the life, spirit and power of any one duty, especially prayer; that is, such a work that a man without the help of the Spirit cannot so much as pray once, much less continue, without in a sweet praying frame, and in praying so to pray as to have his prayers ascend into the cars of the Lord of Sabaoth.

Jacob did not only begin, but held it: "I will not let thee go unless thou bless me." So did the rest of the godly. But this could not be without the spirit of prayer: It is through the Spirit that we have access to the Father."

That same is a remarkable place in Jude when he stirreth up the saints, by the judgment of God upon the wicked, to stand fast, and continue to hold out in the faith of the Gospel, as one excellent means thereto, without which he knew they would never be able to do it. Saith he, "Build up yourselves in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." As if he had said, Brethren, as eternal life is laid up for the persons that hold out only, so you cannot hold out unless you continue praying in the Spirit. The great cheat that the devil and Antichrist deludes the world withal, it is to make them continue in the form of any duty, the form of preaching, of bearing, of praying, &c. These are they that have a form of godliness, but deny the power; from such turn away.

Here followeth the third thing--to wit: III. What it is to pray with the Spirit and with the understanding.

And now to the next thing, what it is to pray with the Spirit, and to pray with the understanding also. For the apostle puts a clear distinction between praying with the Spirit and praying with the Spirit and understanding. Therefore when he saith he "will pray with the Spirit," he adds, "and will pray with the understanding also." This distinction was

occasioned through the Corinthians not observing that it was their duty to do what they did to the edification of themselves and others too, whereas they did it for their own commendation. So I judge, for many of them having extraordinary gifts, as to speak with divers tongues, &c., therefore they were more for those mighty gifts than they were for the edifying of their brethren, which was the cause that Paul wrote this chapter to them, to let them understand that though extraordinary gifts were excellent, yet to do what they did for the edification of the Church was more excellent. For if I will pray in an unknown tongue my spirit prayeth, but my understanding (and also the understanding of others) is unfruitful. Therefore "I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also."

It is expedient, then, that the understanding should be occupied in prayer, as well as the heart and mouth: "I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also." That which is done with understanding is done more effectually, sensibly, and heartily, as I shall show farther anon, than that which is done without it. Which made the apostle pray for the Colossians "that God would fill them with the knowledge of his will, and in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." And for the Ephesians, "that God would give unto them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him." And so for the Philippians, "that God would make them abound in knowledge and in all judgment." A suitable understanding is good in every thing at man undertakes, either civil or spiritual, and therefore it must be desired by all them that would be a praying people. In my speaking to this I shall show you what it is to pray with understanding.

Understanding is to be taken both for speaking in our mother-tongue and also experimentally.

I pass the first, and treat only on the second.

For the making of right prayers, it is to be required that there should be a good or spiritual understanding in all them who pray to God.

1. To pray with understanding is to pray as being instructed by the Spirit in the understanding of the want of those things which the soul is to pray for. Though a man be in never so much need of pardon of sin and deliverance from wrath to come, yet if he under