Optanda. Good men described, and good things propounded. A serious consideration of two very…

But, Lastly; Let Prayer be going, and all will go well; only that Supplication then must be Joined with Reformation. Whatever things are before us, tis Prayer that must make them go well; Frustra nititur, qui non innititur. If we don't go Leaning upon God, every step, we shall go wrong, and nothing will go well in our Hands. Moses in the Mount, will make all thing to go well, in the Camp. The Jews alluding to their usual posture of Standing, when they Pray, have a saying, Sine Stationibus non staret Mundus. i. e. The world would not Stand, if we did not. If thus you Enquire of […], Whether we shall stand? I shall answer […] with Demanding, Do we Pray? A Town in Switzerland, was once very horribly ruined by an Earth-quake all except one piece of an House, in which a Good man happened then to be at Prayer with his Family. O may this people be all hands at Prayer continually, but especially in ⟨p. 84⟩such a Day of Heart-quake, as is now come upon the world; that would be the way for us to have, Our House, not left unto us Desolate! But let us herewithal, Reform all our Provoking Evils; I say, Reform, lest the Jealous God say When ye make many Prayers, I will not hear, for your hands are full of sin: Once more I say, Reform, Lest the God whom we so impenitently offend, should Punish us yet seven times for our iniquities: but then, I suppose things would be far from going well among us. Let us lay the Ten Commandments of our God before us, & let us examine ourselves each one by that impartial Glass, What have I done? Examine, What omissions, What commissions of mine, have these laws been vic•••ed with? So let us ask the help of Heaven, that having the pardon of our sins in the Blood of Christ sealed unto us, we may cordially say I will not have any more to do with Idols. How well would all things go, if this repentance were to be seen throughout our Land!

But, Lastly; Let Prayer be going, and all will go well; only that Supplication then must be Joined with Reformation. Whatever things are before us, tis Prayer that must make them go well; Frustra nititur, qui non innititur. If we don't go Leaning upon God, every step, we shall go wrong, and nothing will go well in our Hands. Moses in the Mount, will make all thing to go well, in the Camp. The Jews alluding to their usual posture of Standing, when they Pray, have a saying, Sine Stationibus non staret Mundus. i. e. The world would not Stand, if we did not. If thus you Enquire of 〈…〉, Whether we shall stand? I shall answer with Demanding, Do we Pray? A Town in Switzerland, was once very horribly ruined by an Earth-quake all except one piece of an House, in which a Good man happened then to be at Prayer with his Family. O may this people be all hands at Prayer continually, but especially in