A30241:601
CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St.…
CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, or, Christs prayer before his passion explicated, and both practically and polemically improved by Anthony Burgess ...
London: printed by Abraham Miller for Thomas Underhill, 1656
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Sermon 24: Of vain Tautology in Prayer; And what Repetitions in Prayer are such, and what not; She…
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
2. That in our prayers which are a communion with the great God, we ought to have a diligent attention to several things s Prayer is not slightly, formally, and customarily to be hasted over, but being a divine worship of God, If ever a man would be in an heavenly, holy, fervent and indistracted disposition, it ⟨p. 132⟩ought to be when he sets himself to this duty, Prayer is like that curious ointment to be made by the High-Priest, which consisted of many choice ingredients, You may call most mens prayers no more prayers then an Ape a man, or a picture the person it represents.
2. That in our prayers which are a communion with the great God, wo ought to have a diligent attention to severall things s Praier is not slightly, formally, and customarily to be hasted over, but being a divine worship of God, If ever a man would be in an heavenly, holy, fervent and indistracted disposition, it ⟨p. 132⟩ought to be when he sets himself to this duty, Praier is like that curious oyntment to be made by the High-Priest, which consisted of many choice ingredients, You may call most mens praiers no more praiers then an Ape a man, or a picture the person it represents.
1For 1. We must have a diligent attention to the matter that we pray for, That it be lawful, good, and agreeable to Gods will; To ask of God any thing that is unlawful and sinful would be to make God a Patron of sins as he in the Poet, Da mihi fallere, da justum sanctumque videri Jupiter; So that this made Aquinas say, It was hard to know what we are to pray for, because it's hard to know what to desire; Hence Rom. 8. we need the Spirit of God to enable us to know what we pray for, Some Heathens have been admired for such a prayer as this, that they entreated the gods to give them, not what they would have, but what was good for them, whether they desired it or not, but we that are Christians are not in such darkness, we have the Word of God to direct us, and his Spirit to incline us; Look then that the matter thou prayest for be such as is agreeable to Gods holy will.