graces quickened, fellowship with God promoted, and your souls prepared for heaven. O that your eyes were opened to see the necessity, excellency, and utility of God's ordinances! I am very confident, that if your souls be as new-born babes, you will have a desire after the sincere milk of the word, having previously tasted that the Lord is gracious, 1 Pet. ii. 2, 3. As for others that want spiritual life and light to discover and feel the marrow of ordinances, no wonder if they slight or despise both the appointments themselves, and such as long for them, and lament the want of them; and therefore I urge this, that you learn by your own experience the sweetness and advantage of enjoying the presence of God in his ordinances.

6. Acquire and maintain a public spirit. O beware of a private selfish spirit, to look only after your own concerns, and worldly interests! This hath been the ruin of the church, and also of particular persons at last, Hag. i. 4, 6, "Is it time for you, Oye! to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? therefore ye have sown much, and bring in little;" as if he had said, you think to secure your personal and domestic comforts with neglect of my concernments, but I will cross you in that which concerns you, because you are heedless in what concerns me. On the contrary, David concerned himself about God's house, and God built his house, 2 Sam. vii. 2, 11. So true is that declaration of our Saviour, whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.* Self-seeking is the way to self-undoing, self-denying is the only way to self-advancing; scripture and experience prove this. Well then, my advice is, that you chiefly mind the interest of our Lord in the world; and lay as great a stress on this in your prayers, as if it were your own case; and indeed it is your own; your little boat hangs on the great ship; but all judge not so, therefore there are few lamenters after the Lord: however, if you would look on Zion's case as your own, and so view it as having yours really involved, it would be both a help and a spur in your lamentings. The more gracious persons have been, the more have they forgot themselves to think of the church. Upon me, saith St. Paul, cometh daily the care of all the churches.* Upon Moses lay the burden of all the people.† Uriah will sympathize and consider the circumstances of the ark, and Israel, and Judah in the camp, and not gratify himself with the delights of the city. Nehemiah inquires after, and condoles with his suffering brethren. || Look through the bible and you will find this gracious public spirit breathing in all the servants of God, Psal. cxxxvii. 5, 6, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem! let my right hand forget her cunning: if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy;"§ as if he had said, I profess myself to be a member of that mystical body, the church, and how can a member rejoice when the body mourns ? If the touching of one string of an instrument make the rest move, how can I forbear a sad echo to the church's mournful elegy? shall not her dewy eyes cause mine eyes to water? how can it go well with me when it goes ill with the church? O that I could set self aside ! We have need, saith one, to be redeemed from ourselves rather than from the devil, or world. I should make a sweet bartering, and give old for new, if I could shuffle out self, and substitute Christ my Lord in place of myself. Oh wretched idol! when shall I see thee entirely withdrawn, and Christ wholly put in thy room? Oh that I had but gone as far now as the heathens Primer!* "We are not born for ourselves;" surely then I should not be so much taken up with my own matters, but think on the church. Alas! what is my danger to Zion's damage? if it go well with Zion it shall comfort my heart, whatever my personal troubles be. But I must hang my harp on the willows, while the church is in captivity. Lord, do good in thy good pleasure to Zion, build thou the walls of Jerusalem ; † though my broken bones be not set, or though my heart still keep bleeding.

7. Learn the right art of praying and pleading with the Lord! this lamentation is in the way of supplication; a gracious promise is given, Zech. xii. 10, "I will pour upon the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, princes and people, the spirit of grace and of supplications;" and then follows a great mourning, both in families and in closets. O that this work were set forward! Surely if all the people of England, or only the professing people, would engage in this so needful an occupation, what a mercy would it be! Prayer is needful at all times, in all cases, but much more in such circumstances as ours at present; if any thing bring back a departing God, it must be believing prayer, 2 Chron. vii. 14. "If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." You see the duty; you see the encouragement; prayer is adapted to a distressing state of things, and a mournful dispensation: prayer is the channel of comfort: afflictions prompt us to seek out promises, promises to seek faith, faith to seek prayer, prayer to seek and find God. What should God's children do were it not for this privilege of praying? When they cannot preach, and hear, they may pray; when they cannot meet personally together, they may meet at the throne of grace; when they are shut out from petitioning men, they may be admitted to the court of heaven, and the Lord's ears are still open to their cry.* I should think the spirit of prayer to be the best token for good to us; "thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear," Psal. x. 17. Moses besought the Lord, and the Lord seems as if restricted by his prayer; let me alone, saith God. The people here entreat Samuel not to cease to cry to the Lord for them; and he did pray, and you see the issue. Oh that we could not only pray, but lift up a prayer for the remnant that is left ! || If God return to us, it must be upon the wings of such an elevated prayer. When Sennacherib had sent Rabshakeh to blaspheme God, the scripture account saith, for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, prayed, and cried to heaven. For this cause: if any thing will stimulate God's children to pray, surely it will be the dishonour of their Father; they would not answer them, but complain to God; this was then, and is still, the most effectual course to speed. When Nehemiah was to make request to a great king, he saith, then prayed I to the God of heaven. It was an ejaculatory prayer, for he spoke it not, yet it was effectual; he thought if by prayer he could move the main wheel, all the rest would move. This is the way to set to work all second causes. Indeed we have no other means in prospect: let us betake ourselves to this spi

ritual armour, for prayers and tears are the church's weapons, Eph. vi. 18, 19, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication, in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints, and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." This is our case, we beg our people's prayers for our restoration. Oh that ministers and people could strive (or be in an agony) together in their mutual prayers to God for each other!* If you could pray more and better, we should come the sooner, and with a greater blessing, even in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ ; and for your encouragement to pray for us, we hope we can truly say as the Apostle, Heb. xiii. 18, "Pray for us, for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly." Though we suffer as evil doers, and are reproached as factious, seditious, and schismatical; as Paul was accounted an apostate and an enemy to the law; but we conduct ourselves as subjects, as ministers, living orderly in our places, giving none offence, so that none can challenge us in any thing save in the matters of our God, and in that they must excuse us, if we cannot in all things see with their eyes, nor swallow down such oaths and subscriptions as some dare whom we judge not, but are afraid of nothing so much as sin; and as for our preaching to you, though prohibited by men, we are under obligation to preach as our duty, for woe to us if we preach not the gospel. Zeal for God's glory, and love to your souls, expose us to all these censures and oppositions: it is for your sakes that we bear all these affronts, and will not you pray for us? Surely yourselves are concerned in our work; we are content to endure all for the gospel's