ng, _reverence and
confidence_ in crying, "Abba, Father;" for these two suit well toward our
Father. The first, I fear, we must seek elsewhere than in prayer. I find
it spent on other things of less moment. Truly, all the spirit and
affection of men runs in another channel,--in the way of contention and
strife, in the way of passion and miscalled zeal, and because these things
whereabout we do thus earnestly contend, have some interest or coherence
with religion, we not only excuse but approve our vehemency. But O! much
better were that employed in supplications to God: that were a divine
channel. Again, the marrow of other men's spirits is exhausted in the
pursuit of things in the world. The edge of their desires is turned that
way, and it must needs be blunted and dulled in spiritual things, that it
cannot pierce into heaven, and prevail effectually. I am sure, many of us
useth this excuse, who are so cold in it, that we do not warm ourselves.
And how shall we think to prevail with God? Our spirits make little noise
when we cry all the loudest. We can scarce hear any whisper in our hearts,
and how shall he hear us? Certainly it is not the extension of the voice
pleaseth him; it is the cry of the heart that is sweet harmony in his
ears. And you may easily perceive this, if you but consider that he is an
infinite Spirit, that pierceth into all the corners of our hearts, and
hath all the darkness of it as light before him. How can you think that
such a Spirit can be pleased with lip cries? How can he endure such deceit
and falsehood, (who hath so perfect a contrariety with all false
appearances,) that your heart should lie so dead and flat before him, and
the affection of it turned quite another way? There were no sacrifices
without fire in the Old Testament, and that fire was kept in perpetually;
and so no prayer now without some inward fire, conceived in the desires,
and blazing up and growing into a flame in the presenting of them to God.

The incense that was to be offered on the altar of perfume, (Exod. xxx.)
behoved to be beaten and prepared; and truly, prayer would do well to be
made out of a beaten and bruised heart, and contrite spirit,--a spirit
truly sensible of its own unworthiness and wants; and that beating and
pounding of the heart will yield a good fragrant smell, as some spices do
not till beaten. The incense was made of divers spices, intimating to us,
that true prayer is not one grace alone, but a compou