So may a Christian, over night, think on what he will recommend unto God the next morning; and as soon as he wakes busy his mind about it, before any other thing enters therein; that so, his heart having indicted a good matter, his tongue may be as the pen of a ready writer.

And forasmuch as the prayers of the righteous are acceptable with God, you will do well to consider in your prayers, both morning and evening, what a number of God's faithful people, both men and women, in this world, are at this time at the throne of grace, humbly confessing their sins to the Lord, and craving pardon for them, and begging such graces and blessings as are needful; with which persons you ought to join yourselves, that the present sweet remembrance of them may be a spur to your devotion, causing you to persevere in this holy exercise of prayer. Moreover, whenever you find yourselves cold and remiss in this duty, you may be ashamed, and check yourselves by the example of so many pious and devout persons, who with so good carefulness and diligence have continued so long a time in this exercise of prayer without ceasing, daily offering up their bodies and souls unto God in sacrifice.

SECTION XVII.

OF READING THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.

AFTER preparation followeth reading, which ought not to be done lightly, nor passed over in haste, but with great deliberation and attention, applying thereunto your understanding, to comprehend such things

as you read; and chiefly your affections, to taste those things which you understand. Before you pray in the morning, first read a chapter, or some select portion out of the word of God; and when thou comest to any place that may excite thine affections, and raise thy devotion, thou wilt do well to stay and pause a little upon it, and to make there a stand in thinking upon that matter which thou hast read, and in making some short prayer upon it.

Here let me advise; let not thy reading be very long, lest it take up too much time, which ought otherwise to be employed; for it is good both to read and pray, if we can do both the one and the other. After thou hast read a while, think with thyself how many choice things thou canst pick out of it.

Consider, what holy counsels and exhortations to a godly life! What threatenings against such sins! What dreadful examples of God's judgments upon such and such sinners! What blessings and rewards God promises to such graces and virtues! What wonderful deliverances God has wrought for his church in times past, and what singular blessings he has bestowed upon his faithful servants! Bring home these things to thine heart, and do not read them as matters of historical discourse, but as so many epistles sent down to thee from God out of heaven; and read them with that reverence as if God himself stood by, and spake these words unto thee. It is written of a certain devout and godly bishop, that he would always read the Holy Scriptures kneeling upon his knees. And whatever thou thus readest, let it be either to confirm thy faith or increase thy repentance.

SECTION XVIII.

OF MEDITATION, AND THE FITTEST SEASON FOR IT.

WHATEVER the thing be that we are to meditate upon, whether of the life and passion of our Saviour Jesus Christ, or of any other thing that may be figured by imagination, as of death, the day of judgment, of heaven, or hell, we may then represent every one of these matters in our imagination in such manner as it passed, as if in the very same place where we are, all the same passed before us in our presence. This manner of meditating serves to this end, that by means of such a representation of these things, we may have the more lively consideration and feeling of them in us. Imaginary meditation is commonly a great help to oblige the mind to attend to her work, after the manner of bees, which work their honeycomb within their own hives.

Some commend the morning as the fittest time to busy our minds in holy meditation, for these reasons:

1. Because they find it was the practice of David, that man of meditation. He said unto God, "When I awake, I am still with thee," Psa. cxxxix. 18. That is, When I awake in the morning, I am taken up with meditations of God. Divine meditations were daily David's waking and first thoughts.

2. Because then the mind, a man's intellectual and cogitative faculty, is fresh, and more free from the hurrying businesses of the world, which fall out every day, and are apt to distract the mind in this holy duty.

3. Because if the mind be first seasoned with holy meditation, it tends much to keep both mind and conversation in an holy frame all the day after; for

oftentimes what a man's first thoughts are, they become his frequent thoughts on that day. If a man begins the day with vain, worldly, or revengeful thoughts, they are apt to lodge in his heart all the day long; such thoughts are intruding and abiding guests.

4. Because God restores to us his mercies every morning; new mercies do attend us every morning; and these renewed mercies should oblige us to renew our thoughts and meditations on God every morning.

SECTION XIX.

OF PETITION.

IT is the honour of God, that all creatures sue unto him and depend upon him, that all need his help, and that so many petition him for it from day to day. He is the God hearing prayer, therefore unto him shall all flesh come, Psa. Ixv. 2. The highest glory that God has on earth, is, that so many thousands come daily thronging to and knocking at the gate of heaven. A certain great emperor coming into Egypt, to show the zeal he had to the public good, said to the Egyptians, "Draw from me as from your river Nile." But what can be drawn from a man but hopes, which swell like bubbles of water till they burst? It is from God that we must draw, for he is a fountain which perpetually distils, who quenches the thirst of all the world.

Our Saviour, having taxed the abuses in prayer, sets down a perfect platform, Matt. vi. 9-13, where we have, 1. A command; and, 2. A pattern.

"After this manner,' or "Thus pray ye," which may have reference as well to the matter as the manner, yea, to the order and method. But here we understand it not according to the method, as though we were bound to order our petitions always thus. We have some short prayers elsewhere specified in the New Testament, where we find not this order, and therefore that I think is arbitrary. Therefore, this may have reference, chiefly, to the matter of our prayers; let this be the matter of your prayers: and to the affection, pray with such affections as are intimated in this prayer.

So that here are condemned all wicked and unlawful requests, as when men wish mischief unto others out of private malice; when they wish the accomplishment of their unlawful desires; when they pray for those things that tend to the dishonour of God and the damage of his church: and, on the other hand, when they pray not with such affections as are insinuated in the prayer.

In the preface, which makes way to the prayer, you may see,

I. Who must pray.

II. To whom we must pray.

III. For whom we must pray.

IV. Through whom we must pray.

V. How we must pray.

I. Who must pray. The question may have a double meaning.

1. Who ought to pray? To which I answer, All; because all owe unto God all service, honour, and worship, whereof prayer is a special part. In him all live, move, and have their being. Yea, nature teaches man to acknowledge and seek to Deity for the