The divine life in three treatises

By all which you may understand how the Holy Ghost is in us a spirit of Supplication, and helpeth of our infirmities, and teacheth us to pray, and intercedeth in us; and also that Prayer is to the New Man, so natural a motion of the soul towards ⟨p. 176⟩God, that much of our walking with God is exercised in this holy duty: And that it is to the New Life, as breathing to our Natural Life; and therefore no wonder that we are commanded to pray continually, 1 These 5. 17. as we must breath continually, or as nature which needeth a daily supply of food for nourishment, hath a daily appetite to the food which it needeth, so hath the Spiritual Nature to its necessary food, and nothing but sickness doth take it off.

And thus I have showed you how our walking with God containeth a holy use of his appointed means.

And thus I have shewed you how our walking with God containeth a holy use of his appointed means.

II. To walk with God includeth our Dependence on him for our Receivings, and taking our Mercies as from his hand. To live as upon his Love and Bounty; as Children with their Father, that can look for nothing but from him. As the eye of a Servant, yea of a craving Dog, is upon his Masters face and hand, so must our eye be on the Lord, for the gracious supply of all our wants. If men give us any thing, we take them but as the Messengers of God, by whom he sendeth it us: We will not be unthankful unto men; but we thank them but for bringing us our Fathers gifts. Indeed man is so much more than a mere Messenger, as that his own Charity also is exercised in the gift. A mere Messenger is to do no more but obediently to deliver what is sent us, and he need not exercise any Charity of his own; and we owe him thanks only for his fidelity and labour, but only to his Master for the gift: But God will so far honour man, as that he shall be called also to use his Charity, and distribute his Masters gifts with some self-denial; and we owe him thanks, as under God; he partaketh in the Charity of the Gift; and as one child oweth thanks to another, who both in obedience to the Father, and Love to his Brother, doth give some part of that which his Father had given him before. But still it is from our Fathers Bounty, as the principal cause that all proceeds. Thus Jacob speaketh of God,