of captives, the joy of mourners, the glory of the infamous-and, in a word, the salvation of the lost.

XXIX. St. Luke in the 18th. chapter of his gospel, says, "And Christ spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought ALWAYS to pray and not to faint." And if always, when can prayer be more seasonable, than when the soul is ready to sink and give up all for lost under a sense of the divine displeasure? Then, above all things ought the stricken and smitten believer to pray himself, and get others also to pray for him; for God often restores comforts unto such at the request of mourners for them. Isaiah lvii. 18. But, yet, especially he should be earnest and fervent in pouring forth his complaints himself; for though the speaking of friends may somewhat further his suit, yet, it must be wrought out between God and himself alone in private, and his good will must be obtained by seeking him in secret. This counsel the apostle gives you. "Is any among you any among you afflicted? let him pray," James v. 13. And, because of all afflictions, this of darkness in a man's spirit needeth prayer the most: therefore David pens a psalm on purpose, not for his own private use only, but for the benefit and use of all others in like distress, as appears by the title of it, Psalm cii. "A prayer for the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord;" and this, says he, in another psalm, is my constant practice, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed," Psalm lxi. 2. And so was it Christ's also, for in his agony, "He prayed yet more earnestly," Luke xxii. 44.

When then, at any time, thy sins and God's wrath meeting in thy conscience, make thee deadly sick, as Isaiah speaks, i. 5; then pour forth thy soul, lay open and confess thy sin, and as it will ease thee, so it will

also move God to pity, and to restore comforts to thee again. Thus David, in Psalm xxxviii. 18, being in great distress, "I will declare my iniquity, I will be sorry for my sin;" and he makes it an argument to God to pardon him, Psalm li, when his bones were broken; "Cleanse me from my sin," verse 2. "For I acknowledge my transgressions," verse 3; and when he had confessed, verse 4-6, then he cries, "Make me to hear of joy and gladness," verse 8, and "restore unto me the joy of thy salvation," verse 12. And what was the main and principal motive which wrought most powerfully with him to confess and mourn? "Against thee, thee only;" he puts in twice as much of the consideration thereof, as of any other motive to make his heart mourn; that chiefly, if not only, melted, dissolved him. Let the same also chiefly work with thee. Against thee, thee, have I sinned," thus oft, thus grievously, thus presumptuously; against thee a God so great, and yet withal so good, so kind, so willing to receive, and pardon, if my heart were as willing to turn unto thee. And when thy case is as Job's was chap. x. 15-17, that thou art full of confusion, so full that thou thinkest thy heart could hold no more; and yet it "increaseth," and he fills thee fuller still; then do thou pour out thy complaints to him, as he pours in confusion into thee; and when he hunts thee, as Job complains, like a fierce lion, fall down and humble thyself like a poor and helpless lamb: if thou die, die at his feet, mourning, bleeding out thy soul in tears; and when he hunts thee up and down, and pursues thee with blow after blow, follow thou hard after him wherever he goes, Psalm lxiii. 8, with complaint after complaint: and when yet he leaves thee not, but again and again returns, as some read it, after some intermission, and shows him

self terrible day after day, night after night, yet do thou look still again and again towards his holy temple, as Jonah did, chap. ii. 4; and when he begins to bring in new sins, new accusations against thee, "thou renewest thy witnesses," Job x. 17; and when thou thoughtest he had done with thee, he bringeth forth new rods, and enters into new quarrels, and reckonings long since past and forgotten (as it is in the same verse), vicissitudes and armies of disquietudes; and when one army is overcome, another appears in the field; then fall thou down upon thy knees and say, as Job does at last, "I have sinned, I have sinned, what shall I do unto thee, O thou Preserver of men?" These and these abominations have I done, and I cannot undo them, and what shall I do to recover thy favor? Alas! nothing that can satisfy him. Only confess thy sins, accept thy punishment. Go and strip thyself therefore, and with all submission present a naked back to him, and though every stroke fetch not blood only, but well nigh thy soul also, yet complain thou not of him; be still, say not a word, but such whereby thou utterest thy supplications, and acknowledgest thine own demerits, and his justice, if he had sent ten thousand times more. Say as Micah vii. 9, "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him." Bear witness that it is in his mercy thou art not consumed, and cut off by every blow; and the heavier he lays on, struggle thou not, he will let thee go the sooner; the higher he lifts up his hand to strike, the lower let thy soul fall down. Humble yourself under his mighty hand, and still kiss the rod when he hath done. And then take up words of pleading for thyself; it is for thy life! Desire him to remember what have been his thoughts from everlasting, "thoughts of peace and mercy to us-ward,

Ask him if he has forgotten

and the number of them cannot be told," Psalm xl. 5, which he hath ever been thinking, and with the greatest of delights, as one that was in his bosom and was his counsellor, his own dear Son tells us, Prov. viii. 30. Plead with him as other saints have done. What are now become of all these thy thoughts of mercy? Are they restrained? What! are all now on a sudden forgotten? Isaiah Ixiii. 16, laid aside, which thou hast been thinking on so long? his own name? Psalm lxxvii. 9. To be gracious and abundant in kindness, it is his name, Exodus xxxiv. 6. Remind him of the infinite and all-sufficient righteousness in his Son, laid up in him, and that by his own procurement, whereof his Son never had, nor ever can have need himself, (being God blessed for ever). And for whom then was it appointed? But for the sons of men, those who are weary and heavy-laden, wounded, sick, broken, lost. These his Son hath put into his will, who still lives to be his own executor. Remind him too, that his Spirit is the comforter, a God of comforts; that his Son is anointed with this Spirit on purpose to pour him forth into the hearts of those that are meek, broken-hearted, and mourners; that he is the physician for the sick, and that the whole have no need of him. Yea, and if it be said unto thee, Thou art utterly unworthy. Answer, He professeth to love freely. If the greatness of thy sins be objected against thee, plead thou again, that plenteous redemption is with him, Psalm cxxx. 7. And, if he have not enough to pardon thee, say, thou art content to go without. If thou art ungodly, plead, that thou believest on him that justifies the ungodly. If he put thee off as Christ did the woman of Canaan for awhile, and say he hath no need of thee, then plead thy need of him, and that thou

canst no longer live without him; for in his favor is thy life, and that without it thou art undone. If he seem to rebuke thee, that thou darest thus to press upon him, who is the high and lofty one; a sinful man to him, whose name is holy, remind him that he himself hath said, "For thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones," Isaiah lvii. 15. And further, be bold to tell him there are few in the world that seek him, and if he should turn away any that do, he would have favor, for who would fear him, if there were not mercy in him," Psalm cxxx. 7.

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If he still pursue thee, and his wrath lie heavy on thee, ask him what he aims at? Is it a victory, "and to overcome when he judgeth?" Freely tell him thou art willing to give it him, to yield to him, to stand out with him in nothing, but art content to submit to his commanding will in all things, and to his condemning will also, if so he please. Justify him, whilst he is condemning thee, and say that at the last day, he shall need no other witness against thee than thyself. Only, beseech him to consider what honor it will be to him; to 66 pursue the dry stubble, or break a leaf driven to and fro," Job xiii. 25. Hath he not said, "I will not contend for ever?" Isaiah lvii. 16, especially when he sees any one lay down his weapons as thou art content to do.

Ask him, is it that he aims to have glory out of thy eternal condemnation in hell? Tell him, it is true, he may; and that it is some comfort to thee, that he may have glory out of thy death and destruction, who never yet had it out of thy life; but yet desire him to consider