A SERMON Preached before HER MAJESTY THE Queen Dowager, In Her Chapel at Somerset-House, upon the Fifth Sunday after Easter, May 9 1686.  
By WILLIAM HALL., Preacher in Ordinary to His MAJESTY.  
Published by Her Majesty's Command.  
LONDON, Printed by Henry Hills, for William Grantham in Cock-pit-Alley near Wilde-Street. 1686.   

A SERMON Preached before the Queen Dowager, On Rogation-Sunday, May 9 1686.  
Amen, Amen, dico vobis, Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis.— Petite & accipietis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum.  Joh. 16.23, 24. 
Amen, Amen, I say to you, If you shall ask the Father any thing in my Name, he will give it you.— Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.  
OUR Blessed Saviour, in that incomparable Sermon at his last Supper, (of which his Beloved Disciple St. John has given us a Copy, from his thirteenth to his seventeenth Chapter) reads a Lesson to his Apostles, of the highest importance to their future Conduct and Comportment. He exhorts them with an Eloquence Divine in its Original, an Eloquence Divine in its Force and Energy, to the performance of many things, as hard and difficult, as they were necessary to be put in practice. Besides the Command he gave them of loving one another, 
Jo. 13.34.  and that according to the measures of the Love he bore them; Sicut dilexi vos: He gave them a clear and ample View, a full Prospect of all those Pains and Afflictions, of all those Torments, of that Death they were to undergo for his sake. He acquainted them with the nature of their Sufferings, with what they were to endure from the Jews and Gentiles, who would both combine, (like as Herod and Pilate to the Death of our Saviour,) in the Contrivance of such exquisite Torments, as should put a period to the Lives of the Apostles, with the most intolerable Pains, that could possibly be invented. The Jews would think themselves obliged to destroy them, as Impostors, as Preachers of a false and pernicious Doctrine, a Doctrine so opposite to the Tenor of their Belief, as that was, of their Messias being already come, whom they, obstinately blind through Ignorance, as gross as criminal, expect even to this day. The Gentiles would perform their utmost Endeavours, to offer up these Men a most acceptable Sacrifice to the Divinities they adored, inasmuch as the Apostles were to wage War against them, to become their professed and irreconcilable Enemies. I need not mention with St. Chrysostom upon this place, the rest of the Contents of this great Sermon of our B. Saviour: I need not give you a more copious Account of his farther Orders or Commands. You know how he encouraged them, to raise themselves above the Concerns or Cares of this World; He pressed them to an assimilation or likeness in Holiness, to his Heavenly Father: He did not bid them aspire only to the Sanctity of Angels, Cherubins or Seraphins, of any of the seven ministering Spirits that stand before God; they were to bear up to the Eternal Father, and from thence to take a pattern of Perfection. You know how he enjoined them, not only to acquire such Virtues as were to adorn or embellish themselves, but to plant them in the Souls of others, to prescribe Rules and Methods of a new Life, of a new Belief, to preach Penance, Afflictions, Crosses, Persecutions even to death, to Men indulging themselves all sorts of inordinate Pleasures: to preach Poverty of spirit at least, as absolutely necessary to Salvation, to Men boundless in their Riches, boundless in their Desires of scraping them together, by all means possible, good or bad; to preach Humility to the Proud, Patience to those that brook not Affronts, Chastity to the Impure, Temperance to the Glutton; to control lawless Usurpation and Tyranny; to levelly immoderate Flights of Ambition; to transform the Idolaters of Vice, into the Admirers and Proselytes of Virtue; In a word, to transplant Men from Sin to Grace, from Grace to Glory. It was very hard for the Apostles, before whose clear view was placed such a Scene or Landscape of future Events, so disagreeable to Sense and corrupted Nature, not to be discouraged, not to shrink back, not to cry out as upon another occasion, 
Matth 19.25.  Quis ergo poterit salvus esse? Who is it then that can be saved? Our B. Saviour therefore, who well knew how easily Men are deterred from doing good, even at the distant view of ensuing Dangers, to animate and encourage his Disciples to an Enterprise, so highly conducing to their own Advantage; that they might not be disheartened or dismayed at the mighty Task, after he had convinced them in his precedent Discourse, that there was nothing that lay under his Commands, but what was so far from being not feasible, that it was easy, confers upon them more sensible Encouragement in the Verse foregoing that of my Text. In which he promises to give them unconceivable Comfort and Consolation in the midst of all their Troubles and Afflictions; and then for the obtaining of it, in the words of my Text advises, exhorts, nay commands them to have recourse to Prayer, as the necessary Means to render all Burdens light, all Yokes sweet, all Labours and Pains easy. Amen, Amen, dico vobis; si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis.— Petite & accipietis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum. Amen, Amen, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father any thing in my Name, he will give it you. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full. As if he had said (as St. Chrysostom remarks), 
Chrysost. Hom. 23. in Matth.  You must not think you must rely upon your own strength, to surmount the Difficulties you are to encounter with: You must implore in your daily Prayers the Assistance of Heaven, and you'll never fail of its Protection. Petite & accipietis, Ask and you shall receive, offer up your Petitions to the Father in my Name, and he'll bless your Endeavours, he'll strengthen them with his all-surmounting Grace, he'll enable you to withstand and overcome whatsoever would obstruct your Proceedings. Petite & accipietis, etc. Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. Since therefore our Holy Mother the Church, in a Season sacred to Prayer, does propose to her Children the Gospel, wherein our Saviour encourages his beloved Disciples, to addict themselves to that holy Exercise, as being the only Source or Origin from whence flows the fullness of joy in this World, and the assurance of the ineffable Bliss of the World to come; I think it will not be unseasonable from the words of my Text, to exhort you likewise (D. Christians) to apply yourselves with joint consent, with united affection and fervour, to the devout and holy Exercise of Prayer; and that, not for these ensuing Days only, wherein we are more strictly engaged by the Church to pay our respective Duties to Almighty God, the better to dispose us on Thursday next to ascend with Christ in Spirit into Heaven, and prepare us to entertain that supreme Author of all Sanctity and Grace, the Third Person of the ever Blessed Trinity, who descended upon the Apostles in fiery Tongues, and will come to inflame our Souls with the fire of Love; but during also the series or continuance of your Days; to the end, that by addicting yourselves to an Employment, as necessary as advantageous to a Christian, your joy may be full, Vt gaudium vestrum sit plenum. To this purpose I design, God willing, this day to set before you in the First Part of my Discourse, the Excellency of Prayer, together with the Advantages you may reap from it. In the Second, the absolute Necessity of Prayer, with a short Method how to Pray as we ought. Amen, Amen, si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis, etc. Amen, Amen, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father any thing in my Name, he will give it you. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full. But that God may bless and crown my Endeavours, that he may seal this solemn Promise of granting what we ask, and make it good in My behalf, I must desire you to join your Prayers with mine, that what I shall say, may be to his Honour and Glory, to the good of all our Souls. And to this end let us with our best Devotion implore his Divine Assistance, by the Intercession of the most Holy Virgin-Mother, AVE MARIA, etc.  
I Am throughly persuaded (D.A.) that there cannot be given a more elevated Idea of the Excellency of Prayer, then by showing, 
I. Part.  1. That it came from Heaven. 2. That it conducts us to Heaven. 3. That it makes us find Heaven upon Earth.  
1. It came from Heaven, where it was even before the Heavens, before those material Orbs, that now roll over us, were called from the dark, and profound Abyss of unessential Nothing: Before the Angels were established in Glory, God himself was taken up with Prayer; not as the word commonly signifies with us, Petition or Impetration, in as much as that Supreme and Independent Being could neither Pray in this Sense to others, or make such Addresses to itself. His Prayer was the Contemplation of his own Divine Essence: His Prayer was that Expression or Consubstantial Word, which from all Eternity, as an Eternal, Coeternal Beam shone from the Father: His Prayer was and is a Reflection upon his own unlimited Perfections, in that complete Resemblance of himself, his Son.  
When this Word descended from the Bosom of his Eternal Father without either Change or Separation, to clothe himself with our Flesh in the chaste Womb of the Virgin-Mother, I find he came among us to teach us what he put in practice himself, the holy Exercise of Prayer. It is written of his House, that it is to be Consecrated to Divine Service or Prayer: 
Matth. 21.18.  Domus mea Domus Orationis vocabitur. And which was his first House, but the Womb of his Virgin-Mother, where he dwelled nine Months in that divine Employment? The first Chapter of his Prayer-Book, or first Lesson he read, was to comply with the sacred Decrees, with the holy Will of his Eternal Father, as the Royal Prophet says of him, Psal. 40.10. In capite Libri scriptum est de me, etc. In the beginning of the Book it is written of me, that I should do thy will. I'll follow thy Orders, my God, I'll engrave thy Law in the middle of my Heart.  
When he came into the World at the appointed time, he employed in that holy Exercise of Prayer, the space of Thirty Years. This Light of the World shed not a Beam upon benighted Man, he broke not from the sacred Cloud whereinto he had retired, 
Job 22 14.  Nubes latibulum ejus, till the Revolution of that time was ended. And as if he thought it not enough to spend whole Thirty Years under the Roof of Mary, he repairs to a Desert, a lonely and melancholy Desert, where for Forty Days and Forty Nights, not granting his Body the satisfaction of the least Repast, free from the noise and bustle of the World, he is totally addicted to Contemplation. Our B. Saviour was as well God as Man; he needed not, by consequence, a private House or Desert to become more recollected, more retired; 'twas to give us an Example, to teach us where we ought to Pray, that he chose those solitary Places; 'twas to encourage us to an imitation of his holy Life, to render our Prayers more efficacious, more meritorious, he selected such Conveniences as might be an help to our Prayers. 
Joan. 13.15.  Methinks he acquaints us with his divine Intentions from the Desert, with an Exemplum dedi vobis; I have given you an Example, that you do as I have done. Ah! my Lord, 'tis too much honour for such poor Creatures as we are, to be permitted to address our Prayers to thee; but what a happiness is it to be invited to Pray in Company with our God?  
When he left the Desert, he left not the practice of Prayer; he quitted not this sacred Employment in the midst of the most pressing Concerns of his Mission: And altho' he equally Prayed in all Places, and at all Times, the Evangelists have taken a particular care to acquaint us, that after he had laboured and toiled all the Day in Preaching, Teaching, and inviting Sinners to a sincere Repentance, he employed the most part of the Night in the Practice of Prayer; 
Luc. 6.12.  Erat pernoctans in oratione Dei.  
As he lived in a continual Exercise of Prayer, he expired upon the Cross (as we may say) in the Arms of Prayer; he consecrated to that purpose the three last hours of his Life; he drew the Curtains of the Night upon the face of this World, he shrouded it with darkness more seasonable, more proper for Prayer. Ah, what comfort must a serious Meditation upon those three last mysterious Hours our B. Saviour was dying in upon the Cross, bring to the Soul of a repenting Sinner! He made there an Application of his most bitter Passion, of his most dolorous Crucifixion, of his most painful Death to the Distempers of our diseased Hearts. He Prayed then, that as the whole Series of his Life was spun out for our Good, for our Instruction; so his Death for our sakes might conduce to the entire Remission of our Sins. He offered the infinite Price of his inestimable Blood for the Redemption of Mankind. He begged of his Eternal Father to cancel the Debts we had contracted, to blot out of his remembrance our Transgressions, at the same time that he interceded at the Throne of his Mercy for the blind and ungrateful Jews. Pater ignosce illis quia nesciunt quid faciunt. 
Luc. 23.34.  Nor may we doubt, but as he poured forth his Soul in Prayer with his last Breath, saying to his Eternal Father, 
Luc. 23.46.  Into thy hands I commend my spirit, so he bequeathed the Spirit of Prayer as a Legacy to us, both to accompany and secure our Exit out of this Life; and the bowing of his Head to us at that time, is an Invitation to us to lift up our Hearts to him; Inclinato capite emisit spiritum. Ah my dearest Saviour, I receive with the most profound Submission possible, with the greatest Veneration, thy Holy, thy Divine Spirit; I embrace it as bequeathed me by my most tender Master; I'll cherish this sacred Depositum, this divine Pledge of an infinite Love; I'll carefully preserve it to the end of my days; for 'tis then I desire to die, when I cease to Pray.  
2. If Prayer came from Heaven, as we must needs allow, since it was brought us from thence by the World's Redeemer, it glories in a Prerogative more to our advantage; that is, it leads and conducts to us Heaven. 'Tis the property of Water, to remount to a Level with its Source or Origin. Prayer therefore taking its rise in Heaven, we must attribute to it an Excellency common to it and Grace; Omnis qui bibit ex aqua hac, 
Joan. 4.14.  fiet in eo fons aquae salientis in vitam aeternam. If any one drink of that delicious Spring, which pious and religious Souls so frequently refresh themselves with in the holy Exercise of Prayer, it shall become in him a Fountain, whose Waters shall reascend as high as their Origin, as high as Heaven, to that inexhaustible Ocean of everliving Waters. Quid est oratio, (says to this purpose the great St. Augustin,) nisi ascensio animae de terrestribus ad coelestia, inquisitio supernorum, invisibilium desiderium? For what is Prayer, but an elevation of the Soul from terrestrial to celestial Cogitations, an inquisition or search into supernatural Concerns, a fervent desire of purchasing that Happiness, which is as yet out of sight. 'Tis for this Reason that Prayer is compared to the Ladder Jacob the Patriarch saw in a Vision: As that gave an ascent from Earth to Heaven, as those mysterious Rounds bore the mounting Angels to their Sovereign Lord; so Prayer wings our earthly lumpish Nature, that we can soar aloft to the Region of Spirits; and to this purpose it refines our Humanity from all dregs of Mortality. As our Lord was seen leaning upon the utmost Rounds of this mystic Ladder, or rather (as the Septuagint give a more congruous Construction) as the Ladder was seen leaning upon our Lord that supported it; so Prayer derives its efficacy, its vigour and force from the gracious assistance of an all-powerful God, who both raises and draws its Votaries to himself. Finally, as there were in Jacob's Vision seen ascending and descending Angels, they are yet upon the same Concern for Christians devoted to Prayer. They carry our Petitions (as St. Hilary saith) to the Throne of Glory, they return to minister for us in the great work of our Salvation. The Soul likewise upon the Wings of Prayer takes her flight to Heaven; she enters into the Palace of her Lord without control or disturbance, (Prayer being the Key of Paradise (saith S. Augustin) which gives her admittance into the Royal Bedchamber, where she freely entertains herself with an infinite Majesty) she becomes familiar with her God, she not only obtains his Blessing as her Father, disarms his just Indignation against her own, and the World's Offences, atones for herself and others, but addresses herself to him as her dearest Friend, appropriates him to her as her Beloved, with the Spouse in the Canticles; Dilectus meus mihi, 
Cant. 2.16.  & ego illi. Insomuch that our Sovereign infinitely delighted with such familiar Addresses, invites, encourages, and engages the Soul to continue her languishing Desires. Fac me audire vocem tuam; 
8.13.  Let me hear thee speak. Vox enim tua dulcis; 
Cant. 2.14.4.3.  For thy Voice is sweet and charming. Labia tua sicut vitta coccinea, & Eloquium tuum dulce; Thy Lips are like a Thread of Scarlet, thy Speech is sweet and grateful. Such was the Prayer of Moses upon the Mount, where he made up to God as to his best of Friends, Discoursed with him face to face, so much to the advantage of the glorious Saint, that one would have thought the Almighty had interchanged Properties with him; for he seems to tie the Hands of an Omnipotent God, that was ready to dart his revenging Thunder at the criminal Heads of the rebellious Jews. Dimitte me, 
Exod. 32.10.  (saith the Almighty) ut irascatur furor meus; Let me alone, that I may give way to my anger. As if he were unable to resist the Influence of the Prayers of Moses.  
3. But we have not only the advantage of being conducted to Heaven by Prayer; 'tis also blessed with a singular Privilege, that it makes us find Heaven upon Earth. To evidence this Truth, let us settle our serious Consideration, let us fix our Regards upon such devout Christians, as are given to Prayer. We see they are disencumbred from the Bustle, or troublesome Concerns of this World; we see they are entirely divorced from the Creature, totally united to the Creator; we see they are dead to the Life of the World, living a divine or supernatural Life; dead to themselves, animated with the Life of God. Ah happy Death! Happy end of a Life well lost! Thrice happy beginning of a Life, that must never end! The union of Body and Soul is the Life of a Man, the separation of the Body and Soul is the Death of a Man; The union of the Body and Soul with the World, is the Life of a Worldly Man, the Death of a Christian; The separation of the Body and Soul from the World is the Death of a Man as to the present World, but the Life of a Man in reference to the World to come. Men living with the Life of the World, are dead to Heaven; Men living or leading their Lives in Prayer, find Heaven even in this World, inasmuch as they are dead to the World, to live with God, to live with the Angels with the Life of God: they are penetrated with God, they are absorbed in God; they are changed by a thrice happy Transformation into God himself. But this Death to the World, ought rather to be styled a Resurrection then a Death: A Resurrection with their divine Original Christ Jesus, from the Grave of this World. Those that are risen with Christ, have their Affections taken off from the things here below, they savour nothing but what's above. Those by consequence that are devoted to Prayer, are risen with Christ; have a Heaven upon Earth with Christ not yet ascended, will mount with Christ from Earth to Heaven.  
If the Angels, our Guardian-Angels, to whose care and custody Man, as yet a Traveller, is recommended by God; if they that keep us in all our ways, that direct our steps through the Mazes of this World; if they that are so much taken up with our Concerns, as that they are continually upon the Watch, upon the Guard, to secure us from that roaring Lion the Devil, seeking to devour us; if they notwithstanding are at the same time blessed with the beatifical Vision, if they see God, enjoy Heaven upon Earth, certainly there is some proportion between Souls in Prayer, and Spirits upon Duty; betwixt Souls raised above themselves upon the Wings of Devotion, and Spirits below themselves upon Matters of Obedience: if we have regard to the Concern they are engaged in, their Heaven must be upon Earth. If we look upon the Soul as confined to the Body, she has at least an Antipast of that Bliss these Spirits are perfectly possessed with, since she commences here an Exercise, that must never end: She beholds the face of God, by Prayer, who is to be the Object of her Happiness for all Eternity. Do not we thus enjoy Heaven upon Earth? do not we thus partake of the Happiness of Angels? Prayer comes from Heaven, Prayer leads to Heaven, Prayer makes us happy with Heaven upon Earth. O quam suavis est, Domine, Spiritus tuus in nobis; O my Lord and Saviour Christ, how sweet is thy Spirit? How beneficial is the Spirit thou hast left us, the Spirit of Prayer which thou hast recommended to us?  
From the Excellency of Prayer, and the Advantages we reap by it, 'twere easy to conclude the Obligation incumbent on us, as we tender our eternal Welfare, of having a constant recourse to so Religious an Employment: But because among variety of Motives, it may so fall out by the Order of Providence, that some of them at least may conduce, as well to stir up those that will not yet grant themselves so much leisure, even as to think of future Happiness, as to encourage those that are already bend upon the Inquiry, I shall now proceed to show the Necessity we have, and the Manner how we are to Pray; which is the Subject of my Second Part.  
Saint John Damascen defines Prayer to be an Elevation of the Mind to God; 
II. Part.  in which we either beg to be delivered from Evil, or invoke his assistance upon ourselves or Neighbours, to embrace what's Good; or pay to him our Homage as our Supreme Lord, our Sovereign King. 'Tis evident from the First Part of the Discourse, that the Mind is elevated to God by Prayer: the Explication therefore of the Sequel of this Definition shall be a pregnant proof of the Necessity we are in, of making such Addresses to him, as that we may alleviate the Burden of our Troubles in this World, we may invite the celestial Influence of his Grace upon ourselves and Neighbours, we may acknowledge him as we ought, as we are obliged, to be our chief Good, our ultimate or last End.  
We are not, I am fully persuaded, unacquainted with the Miseries we, as mortal Men, are liable or subject to. 
Job 14.1.  Homo brevi vivens tempore repletur multis miseriis, (said Job, who had found the truth of his Assertion by experience); Man living but a short time, is full of many miseries. We know there are Miseries that oppress the Soul, Miseries that afflict and torment the Body. The Miseries of the Soul are many: She is blind, erroneous, ignorant in the Operations of her Understanding; she is depraved in her Will, which is bend upon Evil, which is obstinate, perverse, malicious; at the best, more prone to acquiesce to the Suggestions of Sin, then comply with the previous Motions of Grace: She is corrupted in her Judgement, decayed in her Memory; she is weak and feeble in all her Faculties. Add to these domestic Evils, these inborn Miseries, those she suffers from abroad, those she suffers from the World, from the Allurements of the Flesh, from the Suggestions of the Devil. She is betrayed to the World, by the Concupiscence of the Eyes; she is a Slave to Sensuality, by the Concupiscence of the Flesh: The Devil Lords it over her, by engaging her, through his Wiles, into Pride of Life. What must she do to be delivered from this intolerable Oppression? Whose assistance must she call upon? Whose help? She is closely besieged by her Enemies without, she is treacherously betrayed by her Domestics within: 
Matth. 10.36.  Inimici hominis domestici ejus. To whom shall she have recourse for Succour or Relief? To whom but to the King, her Supreme Lord, her Sovereign, her God? To whom shall she send her devout Sighs, her penitential Tears, her assiduous and fervent Prayers? The Almighty gave her Orders, to call upon him in the day of Affliction; He promised her his Aid and Assistance, upon Condition she would attribute to him the Glory of the Victory, she would return him her Acknowledgements and Homage: 
Psal. 49.15.  Invoca me in die tribulationis, eruam te, & Honorificabis me. The Apostle grievously infested with an intestine War from the Concupiscence of the Flesh, cries out for help to crush the Rebel: Infaelix homo, 
Rom. 7.24.  quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? Unhappy, unfortunate Man! what Friend will deliver me from the Body of this Death? He does not desire here, as in another place, a separation betwixt Body and Soul; he begs to be freed from the vicious Inclination of a depraved Appetite, 
Rom. 6.6.  which he calls Corpus peccati, the Body of Sin, from whence, as from a noxious and pernicious Root, spring up so many destructive Branches of inordinate Desires. Quis me liberabit? Who is it that will destroy this Body, this Body of Sin? Corpus peccati. He calls to mind the Promise of his Lord, and expects relief from the Grace of Jesus. Gratia Domini Jesu Christi. Invoke his Assistance therefore, 
2 Cor. 12.7.  beg he would extinguish the Rebellion of the Flesh. Ter Dominum rogavi. I have Petitioned thrice, replies the afflicted Soul, Vt auferretur a me stimulus carnis meoe. Neither were his Petitions unregarded; the Grace he received at the Instance of his Prayers, enabled him courageously to withstand all Assaults, repel all Temptations, to triumph over the Enemies that aimed at his Ruin. Sufficit tibi, Paul, gratia mea.  
If Prayer prove so necessary to the relief of the Soul, in the midst of Troubles, encompassed, or rather oppressed with the intolerable weight of Miseries and Afflictions; 'tis as absolutely requisite against the Miseries that fall upon the Body; the Miseries of the Body being as grievous, as afflicting in some proportion, as those of the Soul. I need not call upon any other Witness then our own Experience, to manifest the truth of this Assertion. Since that Sin that was unfortunately hatched in the Garden of Eden, Man that was before Lord of this Universe, the Master of the World, has now the Universe, the whole World against him. Nature shook him off, as no longer her Darling, when once he had revolted from the Allegiance due to her Sovereign and Creator. The Heavens ever since have proved his Bane, in their malignant Influence. The Elements, that jar and wrangle with one another, meet in the Composition of disloyal Man, not to end, but to continue their Quarrel; that they, like Samson, may draw after their own, the Ruin of this Philistine. The Beasts, created for his use and service, over whom he was appointed Lord and Master, revolt by a joint Instinct, that seems to transcend the reach of a Creature, guided only by the blind Impulse of Sense. The Beasts revolt, the Beasts rebel against him; those that have not Strength in proportion to their Hatred, do all they can to shun the detestable Object; those that are able to master this common Enemy, never meet him but they devour him.  
Were this the Non plus ultra of his Misery, it might be said, his Enemies were only such as were void of Reason: But ah! unfortunate Man! thou art an Enemy to thyself, thou hast Man thy Enemy. One levels his Endeavours at the destruction of another. In i●ineribus saepe. Often upon the Road (says St. Paul) Periculis Latronum, 
2 Cor. 11.26.  thy Life's in danger: Periculis in Civitate, as often in the City. If thou fliest to the Deserts, Periculis in solitudine, the wild and unhospitable Groves harbour thy Enemies. Put to Sea, Periculis in mari, thou hast Enemies at Sea. If thou return to thy Friends, thy Friends are false, thy Friends are Flatterers, thou art likewise in danger there, Periculis in falsis fratribus. Devil with Devil firm Concord holds; Men only disagree of Creatures rational: As if they were not assailed by Enemies enough besides, they do their utmost to ruin one another. Where therefore must Man, miserable, unfortunate Man, seek for refuge against the united force of so many pernicious and malignant Enemies? Where shall he find a shelter from a Storm, that menaces his Destruction on all sides? Whither shall he run for succour? To God (saith St. Chrysostom) born up upon the Wings of Prayer: Let him fly to the Throne of the Almighty, far above these material Orbs, that surround us, far above the reach of an Invasion, either from the Heavens, Elements, Beasts, or Men. 
Psal. 41.5.  Let him enter In locum tabernaculi admirabilis, usque ad domum Dei; Let him enter into the place of the admirable Tabernacle, let him enter into the House of God, Vsque ad domum Dei. Oratio humiliantis se penetrat nubes, 
Eccl. 35.  & non discedet donec altissimus aspiciat; The Prayer of the humble penetrates the Clouds, and it shall not depart till the Almighty hath granted the Petition. Do the Heavens molest him? 
Chrysost. Hom. 5. de Incompr. Dei Natura.  Prayer (saith St. Chrysostom) has been a sure Fence against their malignant Influence; Plagas coeli irruentis delevit Oratio. Prayer has appeased the anger of the Elements; Tempestates sustulit. Prayer has tamed the savage Beasts; Impetum Leonum cohibuit. Prayer has composed the Differences of Men; Bella composuit, praelia removit. Prayer has discovered the Snares Men have laid to entrap one another; Insidias hominum, mala denique omnia delevit Oratio.  
But now again, as our Prayers are beneficial to ourselves, so also are they to others. As they are a powerful Engine, by which we draw down Blessings upon the Soul, against the Miseries of the Soul; upon the Body, against the Miseries of the Body; they likewise are efficacious for the good of our Neighbours, whether Enemies or Friends. To instance in the First, as a more pregnant assurance of the efficacy of Prayer. Who was a greater Enemy to Christians then St. Paul, before his Conversion? You are not, I suppose, ignorant of the Persecutions he raised against the Church in its Infancy, when he bore the Name of Saul, with the Nature of a greedy and ravenous Wolf, that thirsted after the Blood of the Lambs and Sheep, of that tender and loving Pastor Christ Jesus. You know the bloody Designs he was bend upon, when our B. Saviour appeared to him in the Way, with a Saul, Saul, Quid me persequeris? Saul, Saul, 
Acts 9.4.  why dost thou persecute me? Never Tyrant, the most inhuman Tyrant, was more violent against Christians, than Saul. The Fury he was animated with, answered the Cruelty of his Intentions: He was full of Menaces in his Mouth, of Rancour in his Heart, of Fire in his Eyes, of Weapons in his Hands. Saulus spirans minarum & caedis. 
Acts 9.1.  He travelled from one City to another, to seize upon Christians, whom he loaded with Irons, whom he dragged before the Magistrates, whom he cast into Prisons; against whom he became as well Executioner as Witness. Rapiebat, vastabat, saeviebat, says the great St. Augustine. I do not exaggerate or enhance his Crimes, when I affirm they were without Bounds or Limits. Saul waged a bloody War, not against Christians only, but against Christ himself. As Herod sought his Death amongst thousands of Innocents', Saul aimed at Christ amongst thousands of Christians; tho' neither could meet with the Saviour of the World. He escaped Herod by his flight into Egypt: He could not be assaulted in Person by Saul, as being now risen from the Dead, as being at this time ascended into Heaven. And yet, O Crime never to be paralleled! Saul, not satisfied with that ignominious, that painful Death the Jews had lately put our Saviour to, extends his furious Rage even beyond the Grave; insomuch that our Saviour not brooking the Outrage, breaks even from Heaven into unusual Complaints, and dispensing no longer with that sacred Silence he had so strictly observed in this World, in the midst of his greatest Afflictions, reproaches Saul's unheard of Cruelty, from the Throne of his Glory, Saul, Saul, Quid me persequeris? Thus stands Saul a Criminal before us, a Criminal of the blackest die. Thus I have represented him which these Iniquities about him, to make a deeper Impression in your Souls of the prodigious Efficacy of Prayer, and by consequence of the great Obligation we have of Praying, as well for our Neighbours as ourselves, as well for our Enemies as Friends. Saul, however here so black with Crimes, is for all this a glorious Saint, is in full possession of an eternal Kingdom, is reigning with Christ, is an illustrious Member of the Church Triumphant, is an Honour to the Church Militant. Whence proceeds so miraculous a Change, a Change of Name, a Change of Nature? A Change from Saul to Paul, from an extraordinary Sinner to an extraordinary Saint? From the Prayers of a Christian, from the Sighs, Tears, and Prayers of a persecuted Christian, a Christian persecuted by Saul himself, a Christian expiring under a Mountain of Stones thrown at him at the Instance of Saul; To the Prayers of St. Stephen we owe this prodigious Conversion. While the Jews animated and encouraged by Saul, who stoned St. Stephen with all their Hands, by taking care of all their Clothes, were answering to the cruelty of his intentions, the Saint lifted up his Hands and Eyes to Heaven, raised his dying Voice in a lamentable, but engaging Accent, and as if he had been the Echo of his Lord upon the Cross, cried out to Him, as he did to his eternal Father, Ignosce illis quia nesciunt quid faciunt. His Prayers were heard in Heaven, Jesus saw the Supplicant, Jesus stood visible to the Saint, attentive to his Prayers, and granting his Petition. The Prayers of St. Stephen wrought the entire Conversion of St. Paul.  
St. Augustine, whom we likewise must needs acknowledge a perfect Convert, at the Prayers and Tears of Monica his holy Mother; St. Augustine, I say, once the labour of her Womb, now the delight of her Soul, whom she brought forth a Sinner, and made a Saint, introduces our B. Saviour addressing himself thus to the great St. Paul before his Conversion: O Saul, 
Aug. Ser. 1. de Sanctis. 4.  olim quidem te perdere debui, sed Stephanus meus oravit pro te. Saul, I should have destroyed thee long ago, had not my Stephen's Prayers prevailed so far, as to disarm my Anger against thee. O Saul, why dost thou persecute me? Thou art blindly bend against me and mine, and yet at the Intercession of Stephen, I'll create thee my Servant. O Saul, lupe rapax; O Saul, thou ravenous Wolf, thou hast devoured my Sheep: Expecta paulisper, & digeres; Stay a while, and thou shalt digest what as yet overloads thy Conscience. Dicam plane, (continues the great S. August. S. Augustine, a most delicious Flower sprung likewise from the Root of Prayer) Elisus est filius perditionis, & erectus est vas electionis; The Son of perdition is thrown down, to rise up a Vessel of Election. Nam si Stephanus sic non orasset, Ecclesia Paulum non haberet; For if Stephen had not Prayed in this manner, the Church had never been honoured with the Merits of Paul. Sed ideo erectus est Paulus; But Paul was thus raised to that sublime Sanctity and Perfection, Quia in terra inclinatus exauditus est Stephanus; Because St. Stephen with bended Knees called not for Vengeance, but Mercy for Paul. Sic auditus est Stephanus ut ejus oratione deleretur peccatum, quod commisit Saulus; Heaven so far condescended to the Intercession of Stephen, that it granted an ample Pardon to the Crimes which Saul had committed.  
I think, after such an Example, none ought to doubt of the absolute Necessity of Prayer; of Praying for ourselves, of Praying for the good of others. Heaven, that acquiesced to the Prayers of S. Stephen for St. Paul's Conversion, we may justly hope will never deny any thing, that conduces to the good of our own, or Neighbours Souls. Petite & accipietis; Ask, and you shall receive. Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo dabit vobis; If you shall ask any thing of the Father in my Name (says the Son), he'll grant it to your Prayers. But since he intimates here a Method of Prayer, to be true to my Promise, and to render this Discourse as prosicuous as my Time will permit, I'll supersede a farther Explication of St. John Damascens Definition, to leave you in a few words the Manner how to Pray. Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis; If you ask the Father any thing in my Name, he'll grant it you.  
Many Christians, notwithstanding the several Admonitions, the several Incitements they have received, to addict themselves to this devout, this holy Exercise of Prayer, notwithstanding that they are well instructed in the Manner, are still plunged so far in the Cares and Concerns of this World, that they will not so much as afford themselves a Moment of their Time, though they steal whole Hours for Pleasure or Pastime, for an Employment as obligatory as proficuous. As many, if not more, (so predominant is Ignorance now adays over Spiritual Concerns) fall short of the Method, know not how to Pray: the most that do, find not Heaven to answer their Expectations, because they correspond not with their Prayers to its Desires. That I may not be wanting to the Necessities of all upon so great an Exigency, I shall in the Conclusion of this Discourse, Excite those to Pray, that do not; I shall inform those of the Manner, that know not how; I shall, to the best of my Endeavours, rectify the false Measures others have taken of Praying amiss.  
To this purpose, you flaming Seraphins, that veil your Eyes with your Wings, as not being able to bear that inaccessible Brightness, that is darted from the Countenance of an infinite Majesty; That shroud with Wings your Feet, in awe and acknowledgement of the Greatness of God; That have two Wings more to be ready upon Command; That cover your Eyes with two, your Feet with two, that Fly with two: Give me leave to adapt your Wings to Prayer, to fit it for its appearance before the Throne of the God you adore. Let Prayer be a Seraphin amongst you, place her in your Choir, when her Wings likewise are fitted to her, when she burns with that Love you are inflamed with Seraphins by Nature are all in Love, in Love with God; their Love is incompatible, is inconsistent with Sin. That Prayer therefore admit not of Sin, is the first Condition. Seraphins veil their Faces, veil their Feet, in Consideration of God's infinite Greatness; of their own infinite Littleness or Lowness, in respect of his infinite Height, which is the Second Condition necessary to Seraphical Prayer. Seraphins ask nothing for us, but what conduces to the Honour and Glory of God; what tends to the Salvation of our Souls, the Third Condition. Seraphins Present their Petitions in the Name, through the Merits of Jesus, the Fourth Condition. Seraphins are always upon the Wing; Duabus volabant, the Fifth and Last Condition to make Prayer a Seraphin.  
First then, 
I. Condition.  that Prayer may fit itself for a Seraphin, Sin must be banished out of the Soul. Si cor nostrum (saith St. John, a Seraphin for Love, 
1 Joan. 3.21.  for the Love of Jesus) non reprehenderit nos, fiduciam habemus ad Deum, & quicquid petierimus accipiemus ab eo; If our Hearts or Consciences do not check or accuse us, if our Souls are not defiled with Sin, Fiduciam babemus, we may have Confidence, we need not fear; our Petitions shall be granted, our Desires crowned, our Prayers heard; we shall obtain whatever we ask. Our Consciences reprehend us (saith St. Gregory) as often as we Sin, 
S. Greg. Mor. l. 17. c. 11.  as often as we swerve from the Commandments of God. Our B. Saviour states the Condition for the Advantage of Prayer, Si manseritis in me, If you dwell in me; 
Joan. 15.7.  If you live by Grace or Charity a Member of my Body, Quodcunque volueritis, petetis & fiet vobis; Ask what you please, you shall obtain it. Do not therefore (D. Christians) rely upon your Prayers, if your Prayers are not grounded on the Innocence of your Lives. Ne offeratis ultra sacrificium frustra; 
Isa. 1.13.  Offer not up any more your Sacrifice in vain, (said God to the Jews, by the Mouth of his Prophet Isaiah;) Your Incense is an abomination to me: If you lift up your Hands to Heaven, I'll turn away my Face, because your Hands are full of Blood. Lavamini, mundi estote auferte malum cogitationum vestrarum; Wash, purge, and cleanse yourselves from the Defilements of Sin; take from my sight your evil Cogitations. 
S. August. Conc. 3. in Psal. 30.  The great St. Augustine to this purpose addresses himself thus to a Sinner in Prayer; If God should say to a Sinner, Behold, you have called upon me, I come, but whither? Where will you provide a place fit to entertain me? Do you think I can brook Tantas sordes conscientiae tuae? such an unclean, such an unsanctified Soul? Should you invite a Servant of mine to your House, would not you, to save your Credit, take care to remove whatsoever is disgustful out of his sight? Would not you make it clean, set it in order? Certainly you would. Yet you have the confidence to invite me to your Soul, in the manner I now behold it, full of Rancour and Malice, full of Fraud and Rapine, full of Pride and Ambition, full of Anger, Lust, and Blasphemy; to your Soul, the Centre of Iniquities. If you have a mind God should enter to inhabit there, provide for his coming, cease to offend, implore his Pardon for your past Transgressions, begin to love him as the Seraphins do. Love is the Soul of a Seraphin; Love aught to be the Soul of your Prayer.  

TWO Condition.  Secondly, Consider the Grandeur, the Majesty of God; Consider yourself, how little, how like to nothing; Consider what God is, Consider what you are. The Wings before the Face and Feet of a Seraphin, are these or the like Considerations. That Seraphin upon Earth St. Francis, Prayed in this manner; Quid es tu dulcissime Domine Deus meus, quid ego vermiculus & pauper servus tuus? What art thou, my Lord my God What am I! A worm, thy poor and wretched Servant. With what Patience, with what Humility, does an innocent and poor Wretch wait at the rich Man's Door? With what Submission does he appear before him? With far more Respect, with greater Awe should we beg an Alms at the Gates of God's Mercy. As the Eyes of a Handmaid or Slave are fixed upon the Hands of her Mistress, as she reads from thence her Instructions what to do; 
Psal. 122.2.  Sicut oculi ancillae in manibus Dominae suae: So should our Eyes steadfastly regard the Grandeurs of the Almighty, and from thence take an occasion to plead for ourselves, till he is graciously pleased to condescend to the relief of our Infirmities.  
Thirdly, 
III. Condition.  The Seraphins never Intercede for us at the Throne of Mercy, but in Matters that redound to their Maker's Honour, and the Good of us. Happy were the Christian Soul, that would thus state her Petitions; Ah unfortunate mistake of many, that with the Sons of Zebedee, know not what they ask! Some desire Health, some Riches, others to be disencumbered from the Burden of their Afflictions, some Preferments, Dignities or Honours; But never consider, with profound Submission to the inscrutable Secrets of Divine Providence, whether the Sickness they labour under, the Poverty they are in, the Troubles they are oppressed with, their low or mean Condition, be not more suitable to the Will of God, more conducing to the Salvation of their Souls. How many now are tortured with unquenchable Flames, for the abuse of that Health the Almighty in anger conferred upon them? (For through a just Indignation he grants many Petitions, which he, according to the Dictates of his infinite Mercy, had most graciously denied)? How many with Dives, want Water to cool their burning Tongues, who, had they been contented with a less sensible Poverty then that of Lazarus, would now have been Lodged in the Bosom of Abraham? How many have fallen headlong, like those Morning Stars, Lucifer and his Associates; have set in an eternal Night, because with the Pinions of an irregular Ambition, they endeavoured to mount above their native Sphere? How many had exchanged the Burden of their temporal Miseries or Afflictions, had they born them with Resignation and Patience, for an Eternal Weight of Glory? Many times the everlasting Happiness or Misery of a Soul is annexed to a Good or Bad Petition. We ought not therefore to square our Requests according to the Dictates of our own inordinate Appetites, we ought to render them conformable to the Will of Heaven. But whatsoever we importune the Almighty for, let it be desired with profound Submission, in the Name, through the Merits of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus.  
Fourthly, 
IV. Condition.  Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis.; If you ask the Father any thing in my Name, he will grant it you. He says we can do nothing without him; 
Joan. 15.5.  Sine me nihil potestis facere. We can expect Salvation upon no other Account then his: Our own Merits avail us nothing, but by virtue of his Passion, and precious Blood shed for us upon the Cross. 
August. in Manual. cap. 21.  Quicquid ex me mihi deest (saith St. Augustin) usurpo ex visceribus Domini mei Jesu Christi, quoniam misericordiae affluunt, nec desunt foramina per quae Effluant. Whatsoever is defective in me, is supplied from the Bowels of my Saviour's Mercy; His Blood wants not Channels to convey itself to my Soul: It streams yet in greater abundance through his Wounds upon the Cross, then through his Pores in the Garden. Hence it is that our Holy, our Unerring Mother the Church, concludes her Prayers, Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 'Twas he that Redeemed us from the Slavery of Sin, He is the Door of Heaven, through Him we must enter, which we shall certainly do, if Perseverance crowns our Prayers.  

V. Condition.  Lastly, Perseverance, represented in those Wings of a Seraphin, with which he is constantly upon Duty. Christ many times grants to our Perseverance, what he denies to our Prayers. The Apostles ran to the Sepulchre of our Lord, as well as Magdalen; but She only had the honour and happiness of seeing him in Person, because She stayed. Had the Cananean left our Blessed Saviour at that sharp Repulse she first received, her Daughter had never been Dispossessed: Neither had Jacob the Patriarch been blessed by the Angel, had not he struggled with him till the dawning of the Day. God denies us many times, or seems not to hear us, to try our Patience, to make proof of our Constancy and Perseverance, to experience the Faith we have in him. He seems not to hear us at all Times, or upon all Occasions, to convince us of our own Misery, of what we are ourselves, if left to ourselves. Grace would lose its estimate or value, Heaven would sink beneath our Care or Consideration, if every Sigh or Tear, if a few Words, altho' the faithful Interpreters of a sincere Intention, could obtain what they ask at every turn. 
Matth. 11.12,  Coelum vim patitur & violenti rapiunt illud; We must storm the Empyreum, if we have a mind to gain it; We must endeavour to take Happiness by force, by force of a constant Prayer. None will ever have their Temples impaled with a Crown of Glory, that have not persevered in the Combat. 
2 Tim. 2.5.  Nemo coronabitur, nisi qui legitime certaverit.  
We have had an Idea (D. Christians) of the Excellency of Prayer, of the Advantages we may reap from the constant Exercise of Prayer. We are convinced, I suppose, of the Necessity of Prayer; We have been furnished with the Conditions requisite for Prayer. If we admire it for its Excellency, we should embrace it as an Advantage; Nay, we ought to comply with so necessary an Obligation, since we are not ignorant of the Manner how to discharge ourselves. I was not Master of Ceremonies myself, when I placed Prayer amongst the Seraphins. A Learned Author tells us, That a Person constantly addicted to so pious an Employment, has not only the Love of a Seraphin, but likewise enjoys the Perfection of each Hierarchy of every Quire. He is a Cherubin in his Knowledge; a Throne, inasmuch as his Soul is the Seat or Residence of God, the Temple of the Holy Ghost; A Domination, in the Government of his Passions; A Power, in the Dominion over the Infernal Spirits; A Virtue, in his miraculous Life, in his Life of Miracles; An Archangel, in his Heroic Erterprises; An Angel, in his Prompt Obedience to the Commands of his Sovereign; A Person, in fine, devoted to Prayer, is a wonderful Epitome of all Heaven. Who would not after this addict themselves to Prayer? That holy Bishop of Geneva, St. Francis Sales, taxes those that will not, of the want of common Sense. But the foolish and unwise shall perish, (saith the Psalmist); 
Psal. 43.11.  Simul insipi ens & stultus peribunt. Men may be ashamed of their supine Neglect, in a Business of such Moment and Concern, while they show themselves so eager in the pursuit of Toys and Trifles. If its charming Excellency does not invite us, let its Advantages engage us, let its Necessity oblige us. For its Advantages (saith St. Ambrose) Vberior est gratia quam precatio, semper enim Dominus plus tribuit quam rogatur; God is more liberal of his Grace, than we of our Prayers; he always confers more upon us, than we require, than we look for or expect. Abraham desired a Son, and obtained over and above the Measure of his Petition, a numerous Progeny from his Loins, a Progeny as numerous as the Stars; Obtained a Blessing never to be mentioned but with Joy: The Redeemer of the World came from the propagation of his Seed. Jacob the Patriarch begged God would be pleased to furnish him with Necessaries, with Aliments for the Body, and was stored with Riches in abundance, was honoured with the Company of Ascending and Descending Angels. Solomon Prayed for Wisdom, and received Omnia bona pariter cum ea, An affluence of all good things with it. Ezechias Prayed for his own Recovery, when sick to death, which was granted, with an addition of Fifteen Years, and the Promise of a glorious Victory over his Enemies. The Samaritan desired Water, but obtained Grace. The Centurion begged of our Blessed Saviour to restore his Servant's Health; Our Lord cured the Body of the Servant, and the Soul of the Master. The Thief upon the Cross desired only to be remembered when our Saviour came to his eternal Kingdom, whereas our most gracious Lord promised him on that very Day to place him in Paradise.  
Add now to these Advantages, with those above mentioned, the strict Obligation, the pressing Necessity. A Soul without Prayer, is like a City in time of War without Guards, without Walls, without either Food or Ammunition, which the Enemies may take and Plunder as they please. S. Augustin and St. Ambrose, the greatest and Learnedest Doctors of the Church, both centre in this Opinion, That a Person stands in as much need of Prayer as of Grace, to attain Salvation. St. Ambrose farther assures us, That Prayer is as much the Life of the Soul, as the Soul is the Life of the Body. Hence I rationally and evidently conclude, That as the Soul is essential to the Life of the Body, Prayer is as essential to the Life of the Soul. The Body without a Soul, is but a foul and ugly Carcase, the Leave of a Man, the Food of Worms and the Grave. The Soul without Prayer is dead, detestable in the sight of God and his Angels, whose Grave will be the nether Hell, whose Worms those Stings of Conscience which shall never die. As we take all Care possible therefore to preserve Nature, the union of the Soul and Body; since we are not ignorant of the Means, we ought to take all Care possible to preserve Grace, by a constant Exercise of Prayer. Should you deny your Body its necessary Food, the Soul takes Wing, and leaves the Skeleton; Should you deprive your Soul of the Sustenance of Prayer, Grace quits the barren, the unhospitable Soil; the roaring Lion, the ravenous Wolf, the infernal Serpent, each from Hell, every Beast of Prey, Omnes bestiae sylvae, do not pass through only, but inhabit there. Let us Pray therefore always (D. Christians) as our Blessed Saviour has enjoined us, 
Luc. 18.1.  Sempe rorare; not always upon our Knees, with Hands erected, with Eyes lifted up to Heaven, that Ceremony at all times is neither necessary nor convenient: Let us Pray always, by a constant union of our Souls always with God: Let us Pray always, by doing what we do, for the sake of God: Let us Pray always, by bearing our Sufferings for God: Let us Pray always, by desiring what we desire, may redound to the Honour of God: Let us Pray always, by loving what we love for the love of God: Let us Pray always, in fine, by rendering our Thoughts, Words, and Works, constant Effects of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Prayer then and Grace will be individual Companions: Grace will be acquired at the Instances of our Prayers; Glory will be the due Reward of Grace. 
Psal. 18.1.  Gratiam enim & Gloriam dabit Dominus; For the Lord (says the Psalmist) will give Grace and Glory.  
Which God of his infinite Mercy grant to the Prayers of your most Sacred Majesty, to my Prayers, and to the Prayers of all that hear me, In Nomine Patris & Filii & Spiritus Sancti. Amen.  
FINIS.