13. Direct. Get and keep upon your hearts a true, real, lively sense of your sins and wants and mercies. Hereby shall every part of prayer, confession, petition and thanksgiving be more profitably managed, and ⟨p. 339⟩you better disposed for the work you have to do upon your knees. Know your sin in the intrinsical malignity of it, the vileness of it in its own nature, as it is sin; Know it also and understand it as to the dreadful consequents of it, in its several kinds, acts, and aggravations of them. Get also a sense of your wants, and of the necessity of the things you are to pray for. If you want grace, know that you want it, and are undone without it; and pray accordingly. Pray as persons that believe you must be damned, if you are not sanctified, that you must perish if you do not repent, and pray as men that do believe it. And if you have grace already in truth, know how much you want of it in respect of growth; that you love God but a little, which is your shame, and Oh what a blessed thing were it to love him more! Pray as those that would get at least one degree of love to God more by every prayer you make. Think seriously what a little grace you have, (1.) to what you may have, (2.) to what you might have had, (3.) to what you ought to have, (4.) to what others have, (5.) to what you need: And that (1.) to fight against such strong corruptions, (2.) to resist such strong temptations, (3.) to bear such afflictions that might befall you, (4.) to perform such duties as are required from you, (5.) that you dye at last with peace, comfort and joy. Know also your mercies: personal, to body, to soul: relative, what mercy you have one in another, by being made mercies one to another: Mercies for this life, and the life to come; think how many, how great, how precious, how suitable, how durable, how sufficient, how satisfying good, God hath given you; himself, Son, Spirit, promises, privileges, much in hand, and more in hope, and all undeserved. A real abiding sense of these things will make you think and say, Why me? Lord, why me? and will wind up your hearts to lively praises (too much neglected in Family duties) so that you shall find the benefit and sweetness of drawing near to God in prayer.
13. Direct. Get and keep upon your hearts a true, real, lively sense of your sins and wants and mercies. Hereby shall every part of prayer, confession, petition and thanksgiving be more profitably managed, and ⟨p. 339⟩you better disposed for the work you have to do upon your knees. Know your sin in the intrinsecal malignity of it, the vileness of it in its own nature, as it is sin; Know it also and understand it as to the dreadful consequents of it, in its several kinds, acts, and aggravations of them. Get also a sense of your wants, and of the necessity of the things you are to pray for. If you want grace, know that you want it, and are undone without it; and pray accordingly. Pray as persons that believe you must be damned, if you are not sanctified, that you must perish if you do not repent, and pray as men that do believe it. And if you have grace already in truth, know how much you want of it in respect of growth; that you love God but a little, which is your shame, and Oh what a blessed thing were it to love him more! Pray as those that would get at least one degree of love to God more by every prayer you make. Think seriously what a little grace you have, (1.) to what you may have, (2.) to what you might have had, (3.) to what you ought to have, (4.) to what others have, (5.) to what you need: And that (1.) to fight against such strong corruptions, (2.) to resist such strong temptations, (3.) to bear such afflictions that might befall you, (4.) to perform such duties as are required from you, (5.) that you dye at last with peace, comfort and joy. Know also your mercies: personal, to body, to soul: relative, what mercy you have one in another, by being made mercies one to another: Mercies for this life, and the life to come; think how many, how great, how precious, how suitable, how durable, how sufficient, how satisfying good, God hath given you; himself, Son, Spirit, promises, priviledges, much in hand, and more in hope, and all undeserved. A real abiding sense of these things will make you think and say, Why me? Lord, why me? and will wind up your hearts to lively praises (too much neglected in Family duties) so that you shall find the benefit and sweetness of drawing near to God in prayer.
- 1Quid odiosius aut etiam Deo magis execrandum putamus hac fictione, ubi quis veniam peccatorum postulat, interim aut se peccatorem non esse cogitans, aut certè peccatorem esse non cogitans? quia Deus ludibrio habetur —rogando semper inopiam nostram verè sentiamus, ac seriò cogitantes, omnibus, que petimus, nos indigere—Generalis quidem & confusus necessitatis suae affectus illuc eos ducit: sed non cos sollicitat, quasi in re praesenti ut egestatis suae le vamen petant. Calv. Inst.
