A word in season to this present generation, or, A sober and serious discourse…

I have read of a fountain, that at noon day is cold, and at midnight it grows warm; so, many Christians are cold in praying, in hearing, &c. in the day of prosperity, but yet are warm and lively in praying and wrestling with God in the day of adversity. Manasseh got more by ¹prayer in his iron-chains, than ever he got by his golden Crown. Afflictions are like the prick at the Nightingale's breast that awakes her, and that puts her upon her sweet. and delightful singing. A sincere Christian never prays so sweetly, as when under the rod. One reports of Joachim, the Father of the Virgin Mary, that he would often say, Cibus & potus mihi erit oratio, Prayer is my meat and drink. When a Christian is in trouble, then prayer is his meat and drink. O what a spirit of prayer was upon Jonah, when he was in the Whales belly! and upon Daniel, ⟨p. 57⟩when he was among the Lyons! and upon David, in his wilderness-state! and upon the Thief, when he was on the C•oss! and upon Jehoshaphat, when Moab and Ammon, and others, came against him to battle! and upon Hezekiah, when Sennacherib had invaded Judah! and upon Jacob, when his brother Esau came to meet him with four hundred bloody cut-throats at his heels! As there be two kind of antidotes against poison, viz. hot and cold, so there are two kind of antidotes against all the troubles of this life, viz. fervent Prayer and holy Patience; the one hot, the other cold; the one quenching, the other quickening. When a Christian under great troubles, deep distresses, and most deadly dangers, prays more for the sanctification of affliction, than the removal of affliction; when he prays more to get off his sins, than to get off his chains; when he prays more to get good by the rod, than to get free from the rod; when he prays more that his afflictions may be a refining fire, than a consuming fire, and that his heart may be low, and his graces high, and that all his troubles may wean him more from this World, and ripen him the more for the glory of that upper World: It is a great demonstration of the signal presence of God with him in all his troubles, and deep distresses. But,

I have read of a fountain, that at noon day is cold, and at midnight it growes warm; so, many Christians are cold in praying, in hearing, &c. in the day of prosperity, but yet are warm and lively in praying and wrestling with God in the day of adversity. Manasseh got more by