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SERMON XIII.

Of Right Intention.

MATTH. VI. xxii, xxiii.

The Light of the Body is the Eye: If therefore thine Eye be fugle, thy whole Body fhall be full of Light. But if thine Eye be evil, thy whole Body fhall be full of Darkness

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Wicked Men injurious to their own Souls. Preach'd before

The UNIVERSITY of CAMBRIDGE.

PROVERBS VIII. xxxvi.

But he that finneth against me, wrongeth his owen Soul; all they that hate me, love

Death.

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SERMON XV.

The Mifery of late Repentance after a
wicked Life.

PROVERBS I. xxviii.

Then fhall they call upon me, but I will not anfwer; they fhall feek me early, but they P. 387

Shall not find me

SERMON I.

Of Prayer in general.

Being the first introductory Difcourfe to the Expofition of the LORD's

PRAYER.

MATTH. VI. v, vi, vii, viii.

And when thou prayeft, thou shalt not be as the Hypocrites are: for they love to pray ftanding in the Synagogues, and in the Corners of the Streets, that they may be feen of Men. Verily, I fay unto you, they have their Reward.

But thou, when thou prayeft, enter into thy Clofet, and when thou hast shut thy Door, pray to thy Father which is in fecret, and thy Father which feeth in fecret, fhall reward thee openly.

But when ye pray, ufe not vain Repetitions, as the Heathen do: for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what Things ye have need of before ye ask him.

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UR LORD having in the beginning of this Chapter given his Difciples

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Caution

Caution and a Rule for the right Practice of Almfgiving, proceeds in the Text to inftruct them in another Duty of a like popular Nature. And likewife in the Words I have read to you, the Duty fpoken of is plainly fuppofed under that which is exprefly and directly commanded. The Duty here fuppofed is that of Prayer, or Invocation of God; that which is expreffed is, to pray without the Affectation of the Praife of Men, and without vain Repetitions.

The Suppofition concerning Prayer is twofold, more general, and more particular.

The general Suppofition is, That our Saviour's Difciples were already convinc'd and perfuaded that Prayer is a neceffary Duty, in like manner as his Doctrine about Almfgiving in the foregoing Verfes fuppofes and implies that they undoubtedly held the Distribution of Alms to be a required Duty of Religion.

The particular Suppofition is, That they were perfuaded of the Neceffity of private Prayer, as well as publick, of praying fingly by themselves, as well as jointly with others. Something I fhall fay concerning both thefe. And,

1. Of the general Suppofition. It was not neceffary that our Saviour should inftruct his Difciples that Prayer was one Part of Religion, for this they very well knew before, and withal his fuppofing of it implies that the

Obligations thereto are very clear and ftrong, very easy to be understood, very hard to be avoided or forgotten; they that heard our Saviour, were inftructed by their Morning and Evening Sacrifice, that Prayer was to be offered to God at least twice a Day; they knew the Examples of thofe holy Men recorded in the Scriptures, that pray'd with more Frequency than that, three times, and seven times a Day; nay, if they had not been bred up in the Practice of that Part of Religion, if they had not known fuch Examples of Devotion, they could not have been well igno rant of their Duty in this Kind, fince the Light of Nature had been fufficient to difcover it. Is not God our great Creator, and daily Benefactor? Do we not receive all the Good we enjoy from him? Do we not live upon his Provifion? Are we not preserv'd by his Providence? And what Law is more engraven in the Heart of Man than that of Gratitude? But the very leaft Expreffion of Gratitude we can make, is to acknowledge that we have received a Benefit, and thankfully to confefs the Bounty and Goodness of the Giver, and to yield him the Praise of it. Our Dependance upon God makes it as neceffary to feek that from him which we want, as to give him the Praise of what we have. Our Guilt and Liableness to his Justice does of it felf prompt us to feek his Favour by humble Contrition for Sin, and earneft Defire

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