S.III.

A Practical Difcourfe upon this Prayer.

God, Heavenly Father, who by thy Son

Jelus Chzi haft promiled to all them, that leek thy Kingdom and the Righteoufnels thercof, all things neceflary to their bodily Suftenance.]

Whenfoever we want Rain from Heaven, we ought to look beyond the Clouds, and remember we have a Father, who dwells in the Heaven of Heavens infinitely above these lower Regions, who commands the clouds at his pleasure. Our Saviour had taught us in his bleffed Prayer, to ask our datiy Bread from Our Father, which is in Heaven, Mat.vi.11. And a little after speaking of meat and drink and rayment he adds,ver.32. For your Heavenly Father knoweth, that you have need of all thefe things; upon which he adviseth us, ver.33. To leek firft the Kingdom of Heaven,and the Righteousness thereof,and then all these things shall be added unto us: Which fhews us the Divine Fountain from whence this firft Part of the Prayer is derived. Hence we learned to call God our Heavenly Father, and here it is, where by bis Son Jefus Christ he made this gracious Promife, which we moft fitly lay as the Foundation of this request. Our bleffed Saviour in that divine Sermon forbids us to difturb our Piety with too follicitous a Care for earthly conveniencies, and promiseth,that (if we make it our principal endeavour to be holy and righteous here, in order to the happiness of another world) we fhall certainly be supplyed with all neceffaries, with food and rayment, and all fuch things as are needful to the body, or (as our Church here paraphraseth it) with all things neceflary to our bodliy Sustenance: He that Teekerh

T 4

Seeketh (faith Theophila (m)) Spiritual things, fhall have bodily Conveniencies added to his reward, out of the bounty of Almighty God; he fhall have eternal felicity in the end, but these fhall be added into the bargain. Now this Promise we apply to our own felves: for although we are at this time in great fear and trouble,and have perhaps fuffered much lofs by this exceffive Drought, yet we have in the first place been seeking for fpiritual things, we have prayed for a part in the Kingdom of Heaven, and defired to be endued with the Righteousness thereof, and I hope, we have in the time of thefe Devotions wholly forgot and laid afide all our earthly Cares and Fears; fo that now we may justly plead this promise, and after we have given the precedence to heavenly things, we may pray for Rain, which is foneceffary to our bodily Safenance. We have had the food of our Souls in hearing of God's Word, therefore we may pray(with the Greek Church) for bodily Succours allo to be added thereunto (n). And verily fince we are felh, and not only Spirit, it is impoffible but that our doubts and fears, loffes and wants as to outward things fhould be fome disturbance to our Minds, and give fome little Check to our purfuit of nobler things, fo that we may be allowed to beg for the Removal of these Grievances and temporal Preffures, to the end, that we may more fteddily, and more vigorously feck for Heavenly and Eternal bleffings(as the (o)Weftern Church

(n) Ads & Tois αἰτῖσιν νῦν, ΔέσTOTA, OUR TH TVdμATIXH TROPY, TW ἀναγκαῖαν τα σώ facr· Euc. Offic. in ficcit. (0) Fluviam nobis tribue congruentem, ut prefentibus fubfidiis fufficienter adiuts Spi

ritualia fiducialis appetamus. Miff. pro pluv.fec.ufq. Ebor.

Church use to pray). It is our Duty, and our defire it may be, to feek God's Kingdom with fixed and uninterrupted endeavours, but when we are fcorched with heat without, and parched with thirft within, when we behold the fruits of our labours fail, and the hopes of our flocks and herd pine and languish, it is somewhat of difcouragement; and therefore that we may more diligently feek, and more fpeedily attain the end, let us crave neceffaries by the way; provided it be but (as here) in the last place, and with respect to fome further good. But as for those bruitish fots, who ask nothing else, or nothing heartily, but what conduceth to their outward welfare, who care not how barren their Souls be, so their Land be fruitful, and if they can have rain care not, whether they have Grace or no ; Such as these have no right in this Promise, because they seek not the best things in the first place, and are not only like those groffer Heathens (p), of whom our Savionr fpeaks. Mat.vi.32. but even like the beafts that perish,who look no higher,nor feek no further than for to fatiate their Hunger and Thirft. But let us remember, we have a Promise, made by God, which cannot lye, and published by Jefus, in whom all the promises are yea, and Amen, that, if Rain be needful for our bodily Suftenance, we fhall furely have it,if we firft do feek the best things.And let this engage us to be pious and patient, to be devout and earnest in all our Prayers as well as in this; for the more fervently we have prayed for Spirituals, the more readily we shall be heard for Temporals afterwards; and though the wants of our outward Man may fmart more than those of our inward, yet these are more grievous in themselves, and more dangerous in their confequence;

(p) Prima ferè vota

cunctis notiffima templis, Divitie ut crefcant-Hoc recto vultu,folùm pallidus op

boc

Juv.Sat.x.

for

for our Souls are the better, and the nobler part, and ought to be our firft and chiefeft care, and when we defire our Souls welfare first, we begin at the right end, and take the wifeft courfe to obtain any earthly bleffing, of which we ftand in need.

S.IV. Send us we beseech thee, in this our neceffity fuch moderate rain and thowers.]

Having laid fo fure a foundation, we now build a particular requeft upon it,viz.forRain,which is one of thofe things, that at this time is moft of all neceffary for our bodily Suftenance; and we make this Petition to him, who covereth the Heaven with Clouds, and preparcth rain for the Earth, Pfal.cxlvii. 8. to him that only can help us, for the Rain ferves no other Lord. And the Motive which ftirreth up us to ask, and will engage him to grant our Petition is, our great neceffity. We do not boldly challenge this bleffing, as if we had deferved it; but humbly befeech him for it, because we do extremely need it: We have wanted it long, and fuffered much by the defect thereof; the Earth mourns, the birds of the air droop, the beafts of the field groan, and all men are dejected, we feel much,and we fear more Evil, if this grievous Drought continue. So long as the Calamity was tolerable, we did not complain (for this Prayer ought not to be used upon a flight occalion) but now that the Judgment continues, and our miseries encrease, and utter ruine feems to threatenus, now it is time to be importunate: We should not trouble the Majefty of Heaven with a trifling Complaint; but when we have a great and juft occafion, then our earneftnefs must be proportionable to our neceffity: And that a very fervent Prayer is needful to obtain Rain in time of extreme Drought, we may learn from Elijah; for the History informs us of the Pofture of his body, 1 Kings xviii.42.

That

That he not only kneeled, but that he bowed down his head to the ground, touching his very knees with it,not only to take him off from all other objects, but to exprefs his humility, and the earneftnefs of his defires: And as to the Devotion of his Mind, S. James inftructs us, that it was an efficacious, fervent Prayer, James v.16. So that if our Prayers for Rain were as earnest, I am perfwaded our fuccefs would be as great, and we must impute our not prevailing to the indifferency and eafinefs of our Petitions, and to our want of a due apprehenfion of the dreadful effects which this Drought may produce among us. But here we must note,it is moderate Rain, which we ask for, and therefore we must be prudent as well as fervent; for if we be impatient of Drought, and murmure at him that fends it, he often punifheth us with a Deluge,and that changeth the Scene, but carries on the Sorrow; it alters the Judgment, but continues our Mifery. Learn we therefore from this Form to beg only fo much Rain and Showers, as the Earth and the Seafon requires; fo much as may fatiate, not overflow the weary and gasping fields. We must pray, that he who gives us Rain may give it in Mercy, and that his Wisdom may proportion it, as well as his Goodness bestow it, fo that what is in it felf an excellent bleffing, may not by our Sins,or our folly be turned into a Curfe, and then we shall really be comforted thereby.

S.V.That we may receive the fruits of the Earth,ts our Comfost,and to thy Honour through Jefas Christ our Lo20, Amen.

The Requeft, that we have now made, is recommended not only by our neceffity, but also by those ends, which we propound to our felves in the obtaining thereof..The first and general end is in order to our receiv