inform you what you are to pray for, and, in order to this, it will be convenient briefly to confider the several parts of prayer diftinctly, which are these three.

Firft, Petition, or a begging lof bleffings and mercies for our felves, both fpiritual and temporal.

The fpiritual bleffings which we must pray for, are these, forgiveness of fins, a true and stedfaft faith in Christ, and grace to amend our lives, and to improve in all virtue and holiness, and to persevere in them to our lives end.

The temporal bleffings, which we must ask for, are all the neceffaries and conveniencies of this prefent life. By conveniencies, I do not mean what every man fancieth to be convenient, but what really is fo, what is fo neceffary to our wellbeing here, that without it we must be in fome degree miferable. Of this nature are, health, friends, reputation, abilities fuitable to our several callings, liberty, peace, food, raiment, &c. But we must not pray for any of the luxuries or fuperfluities of life, fuch as a great eftate, vaft power and authority, mighty honour and respect, &c. Thefe, if God pleafeth to bestow them on

us,

ús, we must thankfully receive, but we must not prefumé to ask for them. Our Saviour alloweth us only to ask for our daily bread, i. e. for all things neceffary for our comfortable fupport and fuftenance in this prefent life.

Secondly, A fecond part of prayer is intercession, or a begging bleffings and mercies for other men. We must We must pray for all men, not only our governors, parents, friends, relations and benefactors (though these indeed we must pray for in a more especial manner) but also for our very enemies; for thus has our Lord commanded us to pray for those that defpightfulfully use us. Matt. v. 24. And the bleffings which we ask for these, muft be likewise spiritual and temporal.

1. Spiritual, if they are Turks, Jews, Infidels, or Hereticks, we must must beg of God to forgive their errors, and to bring them to the knowledge of the truth, to enlighten fuch of them as are in darknefs, and to convert fuch as are in fin. If true christians, we must befeech God to pardon their fins, to give them grace to repent of them, and to amend their lives, to do their duties diligently in their se

veral callings, and to hold faft their most holy faith.

2. Temporal, the very fame temporal bleffings, which we ask'd for our felves, muft we ask for them alfo. Our Saviour does not bid us, when we pray, to say, Give me my daily bread, but give us our daily bread, whereby he plainly fhews us, that we must ask the fame temporal blesfings for all other men that we do for ourselves; he himself having put us all together in one petition.

Thirdly, The laft part of prayer is de precation, or a befeeching of God to divert evils both from our felves and other men. Thus our Saviour bids us pray, in his most admirable form of prayer, Deliver us from evil. By evil is meant principally fin, which is indeed the only true evil of man; and in the next place, all those torments, pains, troubles, difquietudes, vexations and uneafineffes, which fin was the first caufe of. So that to pray to be delivered from evil, is to pray that God would keep us from being made flaves to fin, and from the punishment that is due to it, and alfo from all pains, croffes,

troubles and afflictions in this world, which may in fome fenfe be called evils.

This, in general, must be the fubject matter of all our prayers, in our churches, our families, and our clofets. We must not at any fet time of prayer, ask lefs than this, either for our felves or other men. If we do, our prayers will be lame and imperfect, and unfit to be of fered to that God, who requires a perfect facrifice at our hands.

But in our closets we must not content our felves with fuch a general performance of this duty; we have there an opportu nity of being more particular in our prayers, than in publick we could poffibly be; and therefore we must not think to put God off with general requests, but we muft nicely enquire into our own and other mens particular wants, and put up particular prayers for a fupply of them.

Thus, for inftance, we must not think it enough to befeech God in general to forgive our fins; but we must reckon up our particular tranfgreffions, and confider which are our most common and most heinous fins, and then in an especial manner beg pardon for them. We must not

fatisfy

fatisfy our felves with asking God in general to give us his grace; but we must reflect upon ourselves and see what particular graces we want moft; whether faith, love, hope, humility, zeal, fincerity, or the like; and having found out which of all these we ftand in greatest need of, we must particularly addrefs our prayers to God for it. In what particular point foever we find our fouls weak, there efpecially must we beg of God to supply our strength.

The fame may be faid as to our temporal concerns. If we are well in all respects, and have no particular want, then a general prayer to God to continue us in our condition may be fufficient; but if we are oppreffed with fickness, forfaken by, or bereav'd of our friends, abused in our reputations, weak in our abilities, deprived of our liberty, perplexed by ill men, or deftitute of the conveniencies of life. If we are under any of thefe, or fuch like particular preffures, it will become us in a particular manner, to beg of God to adminifter proper relief to us, and to eafe us especially from that particular burthen, with which we are oppreffed.

And