The Day, & the Work of the Day▪  
A Brief DISCOURSE, ON What Fears, we may have at THIS TIME to quicken us; What Hopes there are for us at THIS TIME to comfort us:  
AND What Prayers would be Likely to turn our FEARS into HOPES.  
WITH Reflections upon Time and State, now come upon the Church OF GOD, And Collections of certain Prophesies relating to the present Circumstances of New-England.  
Uttered on a FAST, kept in Boston, July 6th. 1693.  
By COTTON madder.  
Boston Printed by B. Harris, for Samuel Phillips. 1693.   

The Day, and the Work of the Day.  
discoursed on a Day of Prayer kept in the Old-Meeting-House, at Boston, the 6th day of the 5 m. 1693.  It is written in Job. XV. 4. 
Thou Castest off Fear and Restrainest Prayer before God.  
IN the Dismal and the Cloudy Dayes, which are now come upon us, there are especially two things exceeding Seasonable; namely, Fear and Prayer.  
I. The Frame of all the most a●… eeable to this aweful Day, is FEAR. As Fear is the peculiar Plague of th●… Unhappy Times that are now rolling over us; for we are fallen into those Times whereof it was long sinc●… foretold, in luke. 21.26. Mens heart will fail them for Fear, and for Looking after those things which are coming o●… the Earth: So, Fear, 'tis to be the peculiar Grace of these Times: thes●… are the Times, wherein every one that would be safe, must follow the pattern of him, concerning whom we are informed, in Heb. 11.7. Being warned of God, of things not seen as yet, moved with Fear, he prepare 〈…〉 an Ark, to the Saving of his House. There are, and one of the Ancients, tho' he saw not all things, could yet see that there ever were, four sorts of people in the world. There are some who, neither Hope nor Fear: Such are Atheistical Transgressors, to whom neither the Favour of God is Comfortable, nor His Anger Formidable. There are some who, Fear but Hope not; such are Despairing Transgressors; to whom the Dreadful thunderings of Mount Sinai, arrive without the Joyf Tidings of Mount Sion. There are some who, Hope but Fear not; Such are Presuming Transgressors, who as the Heathen usually endowed their Gods with Vices like their own, so these may have it spoken by God unto them, Thou thoughtest I was altogether such an one as thyself. But there are some who both Hope and Fear: because God is Good, therefore He is their Hope, and because He is Just, therefore He is their Fear 〈…〉 yea, They Fear the Lord and Hi●… Goodness; and, They Hope that bein●… a God of Righteousness, He will Hear them. Such all people should be, and all pious people will be; especially Now at a Time, when every David would see more than ordinary cause to say, as in Psa. 119 120. Lord, my Flesh Trembles for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy Judgments.  
II. And what then should be the Work most agre●able to this Crying Day, but PRAYER? It is the Intercalar verse of that Psalm, which runs over the chief Concernments of human Life, Psal. 107.6, 13, 19, 28. Then they cried unto the Lord in their Trouble, and He delivered them out of their Distresses. Truly all our Concernments do at all Times call for such Intercalations; but especially at these Times, when we may say, with the Dying Martyr, Pray, Pray, Pray, never more need than Now! The Great God, is now doing of those things, whereof He says unto us, as in Amos 4.12. Because I will do this, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel: But in what posture dare we meet our God, unless in Prayer upon our Knees? There are several Keys of our Welfare; I do not mention the Jewish Enumeration of them, for there are more than Four of those Keys, which the God of Heaven still keeps in His own Hands. We have extraordinary occasions for the Turning of those Keys; but it is Prayer that must Jog the Infinite Hand, which has the Turning of them. Briefly, we are in a Time, of Difficulties, wherein we can have none but Refuges of Lies, except we do in Truth come unto, that Experience, in Psal. 34.6. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his Troubles.  
Well then, To Quicken both our Godly Fear, and our Fervent Prayer, I have now red you a Text, which cannot be unseasonable.  
One of Jobs Comforters, is here managing a Disputation against that Afflicted Saint, wherein, methinks, he deals but roughly with him; thereunto Instigated, no doubt, by misunderstanding certain passages in the Discourse of Job. It is the Lot of many a good man, to have many an Ill Charge injuriously made upon him. Defamations, the fruit of misconstructions, are among the most usual Trials of the Innocent. Holy Job is here charged, first, with Speaking unwisely, then, with Acting wickedly. As to the Latter, in our Text, he is Indicted, for Neglecting both the Inward and the Outward Worship of God. Fear, is by a Synecdoche put for all the Inward, and Prayer, by a like Synecdoche put for all the Outward. The style of our Text, is indeed so Oriental, that we might as lawfully as usefully, illustrate it, with a very various Paraphrase. But we shall confine ourselves to the sense most obvious in our own Translation.  
The first Article of the Charge is, Thou Castest off Fear. By that Fear is meant Eminently, The Fear of God. When we say, The Word, we use to mean, The Word of God; as if there were no Word but Gods; for indeed there is none so considerable as that Word. Thus, The Fear, here spoken of, may note, The Fear of God; inasmuch as there is no Fear to be like that, wherewith we are to Fear Him who can Cast both Body and Soul into Hell.  
●ut in the mean time, what ground for this Charge? I answer, The Charge seems grounded on those Expressions, of Job, wherein he complains, That the Righteous are destroyed with the Wicked, and, That the Tabernacles of Robbers prosper. Or, on those, wherein his Challenges made unto the most High God, have a sort of peremptoriness, not agreeing to that Lowliness of mind, with which the Fear of God would cause us to speak of all His Managements. Wherefore some of the Ancient and Eastern Versions carry it, as if it were here intimated that Job had been speaking to God, without the Modesty that became a poor Worm of the Dust!  
The Second Article of the Charge is, Thou Restrainest Prayer before God. What is here Translated Prayer, is promiscuously to be Englished, either Meditation, or Supplication; and indeed, those are such Twins that the same Name would well befit both of them; one of them would still be Insignificant without the other; I may say of them, They are Lovely and Pleasant in their Lives, and in their Deaths they are not Divided.  
But again, What ground for this Charge? I answer, The Writers among the Jews tell us, That the Charge is grounded on those Expressions of Job, that seemed a Denial of Providence. To Deny Providence, is to Extinguish Prayer, for ever. Men will not be the Diligent seekers of God, except they Believe that God is a Rewarder of them who diligently seek him. Men will soon Leave off the seeking of God, if they don't Believe that God will cut off them that seek Him not. Now Jobs Assertions, as taken, yea, mistaken, would yield such Consequences, as this, That Prayer is to be Restrained, that is, Withdrawn, and Lessened, before God.  
But let all issue then in this Lesson That Prayer may not be Restrained, Fear must not be Rejected.  
When was it that Jacob set himself to Wrestle with the mighty God of Jacob? It was when, as we red, in Gen. 32.7. He was greatly Afraid and Distressed. When was it that Jehoshaphat not only called upon the God of Judah himself, but called upon all Judah to do so too? We red in 2 Chron. 20.3. He Feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a Fast. It is written of Hezekiah, in Jer. 26.19. Did he not Fear the Lord, and Besought the Face of the Lord? It is the Fear of God, which is to put men upon seeking the Face of God; for which, there are two Propositions which now demand a room in your Considerations.  

PROPOSITION I.  
PRAYER to God is a Duty to be by no means Restrained among the Children of men. As for Prayer, 'tis indeed such a Moral Duty, that they who are sunk into the deepest Abyss of Immorality, will scarce utter or mutter an Objection against it.  
There is not only the Light of Scripture, Enforcing this Duty, but there is the Light of Nature too. 'Tis said, in Jer. 10.25. Pour out thy Fury on the Heathen, that know thee not, and on the Families that call not on thy Name. So that the Heathen themselves, who Know not God aright, yet Sin against the Light of what Knowledge they have, when they do not Call on the Name of God. It is the Law of our Creation, that we should pray to God as our Preserver, no less than our Creator; and so Engraven is this Law in the Heart of every Rational Creature, that the most Lawless Nations of men, count it the most Rational Thing imaginable for them, to wait upon their Creator with their Devotions.  
It will only be expected that we now answer two inquiries.  

The First Enquiry. What is the Prayer that must have no Restraint?  
I Answer, PRAYER, is the presenting of our Desire to God in Christ, for His Mercy, in his Time and His Way, and His Measure, to be obtained. That we may speak yet more distinctly.  
First, The Object of Prayer, is GOD in CHRIST. It were a detestable Idolatry to make a proper Prayer,( which is, The acknowledgement of a first cause) unto any besides that God, whose Name alone is JEHOVAH, the Infinite and Eternal First Cause of all Things; a Daniel would sooner be torn to pieces with Hungry Lions, and the Children of God would sooner broil to Death in the Furnace heated by the Type of Antichrist, than commit such an Idolatry. It is the Rule in Math. 4.10. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only thou shalt serve; and the Devil himself could not gainsay that Rule. Who should be the Object of Prayer, but the Hearer of Prayer? Now the Hearer of Prayer, must needs be an Omnipresent One, able at once to receive the Supplications of many Thousands from all Quarters of the Universe; and He must be an Omnipotent One, able to Rescue all, to Supply all, the miserable. But there is none besides our God, Who fills Heaven and Earth; none besides our God, For whom nothing is too hard; and hence This our God challenges it as His Title, in Psal. 65.2. O Thou Hearer of Prayer! Why so? Because 'tis He alone, to whom we may say, O Thou Helper of men! Yea, but This God is not now to be Addressed from sinful men, but in and by and through the Lord Jesus ●HRIST. He that is the Truth, hath with it said unto us, in Joh. 14.6. I am the Way; no man comes unto the Father but by me. As the Lord of Egypt said unto the Sons of Jacob, Ye shall not see my Face, except ye bring your Brother with you: So does the King of Heaven say to all the Seed of Jacob, I mean, The Generation of them that seek Him; He saith, I will not Look upon you, unless you bring your Jesus with you. What are we to do with our Prayer? we have an Angel in Heaven, the Great Uncreated Angel of the Covenant, unto whom we must carry and commit the Incense of our Prayer; yea, our Prayer will be no Incense, but the rank, filthy, loathsome Nidor, of the Flesh, which attends all our Sacrifices, will make our Prayer become an Abomination unto Him who dwells in the Holy of Holies, except this Blessed Angel perfume it, with his Intercessions. We red in Rev. 8.4. The Smoke of the Incense which came with the Prayers of the Saints, ascended up before God, out of the Angels Hand. Prayer was of old made with an Eye towards the Temple; Why, 'tis the Lord Jesus Christ who is the true Temple of God; it is in Him that there dwells the fullness of the God-Head Bodily.  
Secondly, For the Nature of Prayer, 'Tis, A presenting of our Desire. In every Prayer, there is the Desire of some Good Thing; yea, but something more than such a Desire is also requisite; it must be a Desire some how brought forth unto the Lord. Prayer is that, whereof 'tis said in Phil. 4.6. Let your Requests be made known unto God. Sometimes the Desire becomes a Prayer only in our Minds: the silent out-goings of the Soul and Will to God, are a most speaking Prayer. A Prayer may be made with Unuttered Groans, yea, with Unutterables. Thus 'tis said, in Lam. 3.41. Let us Lift up our Heart unto God in the Heavens. This is indeed the main Ingredient of every Prayer; 'tis the most Ominous Defect of any Prayer, when the Heart shall be found wanting there. But sometimes also the Desire becomes a Prayer in our Mouths: the Arrows of Prayer are shot into Heaven with the bow of the Tongue. A Prayer should often be a Cry, and this, Going out from Unfeigned Lips. Thus 'tis said in Hos. 14.2. Take with you words, and Turn Turn unto the Lord: Prayer should frequently become Articulate; and indeed a main part of the Homage due to God, from and for the Organs of Speech which He has given us, is to Articulate Prayer unto Him.  
Thirdly, For the Matter of Prayer, 'Tis Mercy to be obtained according to the pleasure of God. The Outcry of Prayer, is, for Mercy; the Language of it, is that in Psal. 51.1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy Loving Kindness. But the Mercies of God for which our Prayer is to be concerned, are more particularly what the Scriptures of God have taught us to Implore. We are to Pray by Book; but it is the Bible that is our Prayer-Book. And the more special Platform of Prayer which our Lord has given us, in this Book; that I mean, which is commonly called, The Lords Prayer; 'tis that which we are to make the more special Directory of our Prayers. We are a●vised in 1 John 5.14. If we ask any thing according to his Will, He Heareth us. The Preceptive Will of God, must in all our Prayers be attended unto; about all the Commandments of that, our Prayers are to be, O that my ways were directed to keep them; about all the Promises and all the threatenings which ratify those Commandments, our Prayer is to be, That we may not miss the one, or meet the other! But then, the Providential Will of God, must also be submitted unto, in all our Prayers. We should in our Prayers be content that God bestow His Blessings upon us, When He will, and, How He will, and, In what proportion He will: Our Prayers are to be Beggings, wherein we must own, 'Tis not for us to know the Times or Seasons, nor may we Limit the Holy One of Israel!  
This is PRAYER. Hac petitur Caelum via! But then,   

The Second Enquiry.  
What is the Restraint of this Prayer?  
I Answer, The Restraint of Prayer, is the Omitting or Abating of such Prayer, as we are obliged unto.  
Prayer is Restrained, when it is altogether Omitted. They Restrained Prayer, to whom it was by the Apostle said, in Jam. 4.2. Ye Ask not. And Prayer is Restrained when it is Abated of what it either hath been, or should be. When the People of God had so Restrained Prayer, it was by the Prophet said, in Dan. 9.13. We have not made our Prayer before the Lord our God. The Restraint of Prayer, is the Neglect of such Prayer as is required in the Rule of Prayer. Men do Restrain Prayer, when their Prayer, for the Quality of it, is not according to that Rule, in Jam. 5.16. The Prayer of a Righteous man, made with an Inwrought vehemency. Men do Restrain Prayer, when their Prayer, for the Duration of it, is not according to that Rule, in luke. 18.1. That men ought always to Pray, and not to Faint. Men do R●strain Prayer, when all the sorts and kinds of Prayer, are not performed by them, according to that Rule, in Eph. 6.18. Praying always, with all Prayer, and Supplication, in the Spirit, and watching thereunto, with all perseverance, and Supplication for all Saints. But why is this called, A Restraint? A Restraint notes, The keeping in of a Thing, that would fain break out. There are two Things that would cause Prayer to break forth; namely, Gods Command, and mans Conscience. The Command of God would fetch it out. It is the Edict of Heaven, in Isa. 55.6. Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call ye upon Him, while He is near. Indeed, it is the Command lying every where, the whole Bible over; That the Eternal God should be Eternally Prayed unto. You'l see Prayer bespoke, in the Sacred Pages, dip where you will. But then, the Conscience of man would would also push it out. There is mention of some, in Rom. 1.18. Who h●ld the Truth in Unrighteousness. Altho' many a man be so Unrighteous, as to Live without Praying unto God, yet his Conscience within him, holds this for a Truth, It should be otherwise: even a Pagan Plato, a Pagan Proclus, have written Treatises, entitled, Concerning Prayer. So, when Prayer is Neglected, there is a Violence done, to hinder both of these Motives, from having of their Efficacy; thus Prayer is Restrained in the Neglect. But,    

PROPOSITION II.  
There should be a Gracious an● a Devout FEAR in our Soul, 〈◇〉 be the Spur of our Prayer to o●… God; a Fear that must not be Rejected. We have two things here to Think upon.  

The First Question.  
What is that Prayer-quickning Fear, which must not be Rejected?  
For Answer, What Fear, but the Fear of God? even that Fear, which is in the Oracles of Wisdom, so often Celebrated as, The Beginning of Wisdom? We red in Psal. 111.10. The Fear of the Lord, is the Beginning of Wisdom, and a good Understanding, have all they that do His Commandments. Among the Things Commanded by our God, there is none more Notable than that of Prayer; now 'tis the Fear of God, which helps men unto the Understanding, to do such a Thing. When it is here said, Thou hast cast off Fear, it is by some Translated so, Thou hast cast off Religion. The Fear of God, is a principle of Religion in the Heart of man; a principle of Respect unto the Commands and Praises of the Great God. It is an Old Testament Name, for the whole of Religion; but this Fear of God, includes a Love to God, a Faith on God, a Joy in God, as well as a Fear of Him. This is the Fear, that must not be Rejected. More particularly, This Fear imports, A dread of those Mischiefs that follow upon a Distance from God. This is a thing of such universal Mixture and Figure in Religion, that all Religion receives a Denomination from it; what said the Psalmist, in Psal. 78.27, 28. Lo, They that are far from thee, shall perish; but it is good for me to draw near unto God. We should have such a Fear of Perdition, in being far from God, as to Resolve that we will Draw Near, and Get Near, and Keep Near, unto Him all our Dayes. This is the true Fear of God! Briefly, we should have a Filial Fear of those Rods wherewith our God chastises them that break His Laws. When the Laws of God were given unto His Israel, then Moses Hearing the Thunders and the Trumpets, and seeing the Lightnings, and feeling the Earth-quakes, which gave a shadow of the Fiery Day; whereas God will Avenge the Violations of those Laws, he cried out, I exceedingly Fear and Quake. We should accordingly Entertain the Laws of God; with an Exceeding Fear of such Fiery Plagues, as we may foresee likely to fall upon those who Transgress the Laws, that are so Holy, and Just and Good. Here is the Fear that should Inflame our Prayer to our God! But then,   

The Second Question.  
Wherein appears the Influence of this Fear, upon the Non-Restraint of Prayer?  
For Answer, First, To Restrain Prayer is to Despise the End of Prayer; but the Fear of God, will not let a man Despise a Thing so Transcendently, so Superlatively Glorious.  
I am now happily fallen upon the Discussions of that    

CASE. What is the END of PRAYER?  
We know, It is not for the Information of Almighty God, that we Spread our Ails before Him; nor do we pled with Him, to move in Him, any Affections or Compassions like those which are in ourselves▪ But then,  
One End of Prayer, is, That we may Reverently Realize the Attributes of that God, who is greatly to be had in Reverence by those that come about Him. 'Tis a Veneration of God, as well as a Petition to God. Our God whose Throne is in the Highest Heavens, would be Enthroned in the High Thoughts of our Souls; now 'tis by Prayer that we are put upon the Forming of such God-Adoring Thoughts. It was said, of a very praying man, in Heb. 11.27. He saw Him, who is Invisible. In Prayer 'tis, that we, Lift up our Eyes, and so we have a more Distinct Sight of the Unseen God, in the serious and suitable Thoughts of Him, so Raised in our minds.  
Again, Another End of Prayer, is, That we may reduce into Christian practise, the chief Doctrines of Christianity. As now, to instance in one or two; There is the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Unity of the God-head; the Mystery of God beholding Himself with an Essential Perception, producing thence an Essential Satisfaction and so Three Persons in one God; This is a most profound Speculation! But in Prayer, this Incomprehensible Mystery, becomes practically Observable and Applicable. 'Tis said in Eph. 2.18. Thro' Christ, we both have Access, by one Spirit unto the Father. Such a process of Soul-affairs there is in our Prayers: First, God the Father as a Judge, does by the Spirit of Bondage drive us to the Lord Jesus Christ, as our Mediator: and then, the Lord Jesus Christ, as our Mediator, does by the Spirit of Adoption carry us back to God, as our Father. So the Trinity becomes as clearly manifested unto us, as it was on the Banks of Jordan, to the Spectators of our Lords Baptism, whither Athanasius did of old sand the Antitrinitarians. Thus, the whole Mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, with all the methods of Reconciliation between God and us, and many more such Illustrious Mysteries of Godliness, are most practically Illustrated in this piece of Godliness, our Prayer unto our God.  
Moreover; A Third End of Prayer is, That we may Express and Profess our dependence on the God, who made us Depending Beings. What said the Psalmist? in Psal. 62.8. Trust in him at all Times, ye People. Well, but how shall People show their Trust in God? It follows, Pour out your Heart before him. Our Out-poured Souls in Prayer, declare, That we must ascribe to God, all that we have, all that we hope, all that we ask; that nothing is owing to any Blind Chance at all. When we do by Prayer go to God, That He would Give us our Daily Bread, We do thereby say, That our Bread is none of our own till He give it us. 'Tis thievery to take any thing without the Owners Leave. Wherefore 'tis said, Every Thing is Sanctified by Prayer; why, by Prayer for every thing, we do say, That God is the Right Owner of that Thing; That we may not meddle with it, except God will allow us to have it; Yea, That we cannot come at it at all, except God confer it upon us.  
Furthermore; A Fourth End of Prayer is, That we may nourish an Humble Communion with the God, who Humbles Himself to take Notice of us. 'Tis in Prayer that we come to a marvelous Familiarity with the Lord our God, and arrive to that privilege in Job. 22.21. Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace. The Intercourse between the Great God, and the Worms of the Dust, in this Exercise, is indeed most Inexpressible! Hence Prayer is called, A Visit unto God; God and man becoming Friends, most Friendly Visits are in this way mutually given to one another. And this Communion with God, not only Emboldens our Access to Him, while we Live; of our Neighbour 'tis said, Withdraw thy Foot from thy Neighbours House, Lest he be weary of thee, and so Hate thee; with our Maker 'tis not so; No, He tells us, The oftener you come, the more welcome to me! So it Emboldens our Retreat to God, when we Dy. Oh! that my Hearers would sufficiently Lay to Heart, what I am now going to say unto them! I say unto you, That it will be a Dreadful Thing for a Soul Departing to appear before a God whom it has altogether been a Stranger unto. A Devout Soul going before God, may rejoice with a most Heavenly Triumph, saying, My God, I know thee! This is the God, with whom I have spent many a good Hour, before my coming hither; much Prayer does procure for us, this Felicity! O but for a wicked Soul, at its Expiration to think, I am about meeting with a God, unto whom I never did in all m Lif● speak one solicitous word, about my Eternal Interests! 'tis an horrible Agony that must amaze that wicked Soul.  
Once more; A Fifth End of Prayer is, That we may preserve such a good Order of Soul, as is necessary in order to our Happiness. It is said of some, in 2 Tim. 2.22. They call on the Lord, out of a pure Heart. It is by Prayer, wherein we Call upon the Lord, that the Heart is made pure and kept what it is made. They that are often in the presence of Princes, must be a●●ayes Trim, Neat, and in a fit posture. By much Prayer to the Great King, we maintain such a posture of Spirit, as is intended when we are bidden to Pray always. It is by our Disorderly Walking, that we gr●w shy of God; as when Adam had sinned, he then got out of the way; and if we were not so shy of God, we should Walk less Disorderly. Yea, by Prayer we Lay new and strong Engagements upon ourselves unto Well doing. We speak unto ourselves, when we so speak unto our God. When we Pray and say, Our Father which art in Heaven, we do after a sort Preach to ourselves, and say, O my Soul, do thou Love and Serve, and Rely upon God, as thy Heavenly Father! When we say, sanctified be thy Name, we ●… ay, O my Soul, Do thou Sanctify that Holy Name! When we say, Thy Kingdom come, we say, O my Soul, Do ●… how be a Loyal Suhject of that Kingdom! When we say, Thy Will be done, we say, O my Soul, Do thou never contradict that Will! Thus 'tis, that we become gloriously prepared for the Favours of God: which is indeed ●… he Thing that He is waiting for. Lord, Thou wilt prepare the Heart of ●… he Humble, cause thine Ear to Hear ●… hem.  
Finally, A Sixth End of Prayer, ●… s, That we may Support, yea, Un●… oad our Hearts under our Griefs. What is Prayer, but the Disburthen●… ng of the Soul? We are Invited, in 〈…〉 Pet. 5.7. Cast all your care upon God: and it is Explained, in Phil. 4.6. Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by Prayer, and Supplication, with Thanksgiving, Let your Requests be made known unto God. By Prayer it is, that we Transmit our Care; and so we Interest our God in every thing that were otherwise too hard for us. When was it that the sorrowful Hannah became no more sad? It was when she had poured out her Soul unto the Lord. All unuttered Care, is like the Imprisoned Air; it makes a grievous Disturbance. When we have carried all our Cares unto God, by Prayer, we may come away with Triumphant Souls from the Throne of Grace, and Leave all our Troubles, all our Sorrows, all our Fears behind us there. Our Prayer will be our Hearts ease; and for this cause 'tis that our kind God, would be the God of our Prayer. Well, The Fear of God will never permit a man, to have a Low Esteem of such Inestimable Benefits. But,  
Secondly, If Prayer be Restrained, What good cause can be assigned for that Restraint? In truth, None but such as argues that men have cast off the Fear of God. As now,  
I am sure, Men don't Fear God, if they don't feel that they Want God. But this may be said of all Prayerless Ones. As they of old, in Jer. 2.3. They said, we are Lords, we will come no more at thee; so these; They say, We can do well enough without the Lord. They are not sensible of their own Weakness, their own Darkness, and their continual wretchedness without the continual Conduct of God.  
Again, I am sure, men don't Fear God, if they are not willing to Serve God. But this also may be said of all Prayerless Ones. As it was complained, in Isa. 43.22. Thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob, but hast been weary of me, O Israel▪ So when men are not every Day Calling on God, they therein proclaim themselves Weary of Him. And what an unworthy thing is this! The Lord may demand of us, Wherein have I wearied thee? What is there that shoul●… make thee loth to wait upon me?  
I add, It is by casting off the Fear of God, that men break thei●… Peace with God. Now if men●… Peace with God, were not broken●… their Prayer to God, would not be remitted. The Psalmist found it so, in Psal. 32.3. When I kept silence, my Bones waxed old, thro' my Roaring all the Day long. When our Prayers are silent, there is probably some Old Roaring Guilt Lying upon us. Many complain, They do not, they cannot Pray; a Prayerless Drowsiness has overtaken them, and they know not what's the matter with them. Why, 'tis well if there be not some unrepented Sin upon you, Grieving the Holy Spirit of God; it is That which is a Quench-Prayer in your Souls.  
Lastly, What Fear of God can there be in them, that say, There 〈…〉 no God at all? But such an Atheist 〈…〉 the Wretch, that Lives wholly ●… ithout Prayer to God. Hence, we ●… nd those things conjoined, in Psal. ●… 4.1, 4. The Fool hath said in his heart, ●… here is no God; it follows, They call ●… ot upon the Lord. When a man ●… hall cast such a Contempt upon the God that made him, as to offer no Prayers unto His Maker, 'tis because ●… f a cursed Atheism Lurking and Working in the Heart of such a Fool. The worst of Infidels, are not ●… arried away with so much of Infi●… elity. But,  
Thirdly, The Fear of God, would certainly produce Prayer to God, if ●… hat Fear were not Rejected, but maintained, manifested, Exercised. Those things go together in Psal. ●… 45.18, 19. The Lord is nigh to all ●… hem that call upon him, He will fulfil ●… he Desire of them that Fear Him. If men Fear God, they cannot but be Desirous to Call upon Him. What ●… s every Godly Man? He is a Praying man. So we are  told, in Psal. 32.6. Every one that is Godly shall pray unto thee. A man does no sooner begin to have the Fear of God in his Heart, but it may be said of that man, Behold, he preys! As for the Prayerless man, he does neither Obey the Precept, nor Credit the Power, nor Adore the Goodness, of God; and I may say, How dwells the Fear of God in such a man. If men did Fear God, they would also Love the God whom they Fear. But that would cause them to say after the Psalmist, in Psal. 116.1, 2. I Love the Lord, therefore I will call up●n Him as long as I Live. Again, if men did Fear God, they would likewise Trust the God, whom they Fear. But that would cause them again to say after the Psalmist, in Psal. 116.10. I believed, therefore have I spoken; i.e. I have prayed. To have done, The Spirit of God is in them that have the Fear of God. Now, that Spirit is, The Spirit of Grace, and of Supplication. Men have the Grace to be much in Supplication when that Spirit has once Renewed them, and possessed them; they have then a Spirit for Prayer continually. Thus you see a fair way made for our Designed   

APPLICATION.  
Well then, Let our Fears this Day Stimulate and Animate our Prayers; and let us therefore Entertain just Fears, that we may thereby Enliven our Prayers. Our Fear is this Day to deal with us, as Jonahs Master did by him; 'tis to come and say unto us, What meanest thou, O Sleeper? Arise, and call upon thy God. Fear is a passion, which the alwise God, who Forms the Spirit of man within him, has most wisely put into us. When that passion comes to be well placed and well acted, we then become highly Reasonable; when Sanctified, we become Eminently Religious. That passion is the Engine which I would Employ this Afternoon, to fetch those Prayers wherein we now are, To pour out water before the Lord.  
I am directed in judas 23. Some Save with Fear. It is very certain, That we cannot be Saved without Importunate Prayer unto our God. Saved, said I? No, we cannot but be destroyed, but be ruined, but be Plunged into inextricable Confusions. Well, 'tis by the Fear of this, that our Prayer should be now Invigorated.  
We red of an Angel, in Rev. 14.6, 7. An Angel Flying in the midst of Heaven, having the Everlasting Gospel, and saying with a Loud Voice, Fear God, and give Glory to Him, for the Hour of His judgement is come; and worship Him! I shall endeavour so far to Imitate that Angel this Afternoon; that here I Stand in the midst of this Great Congregation, which make a little Heaven upon Earth; here I have the Everlasting Gospel in my Hand; and with a Loud Voice, I demand of you, to Fear God, because that Hour of his judgement is now come upon the World; and Oh! Fear Him so, as to give Him the Glory of the Worship, and especially of the Prayer, that is due unto Him.  
To speak more particularly,  
I. Let our Personal Fears, Restrain us from the Sin of Restraining those Personal Prayers, which God forbid, that any one Person among us all, should Live without. Are there no particular persons with us, who Restrain that Prayer, which the Fear of God calleth for? 'Tis to be Feared, that there are many such. 'Twere well, if most of us were as Innocent as Job was, of the Fault here Imputed unto Job. Alas, Here is an Indictment laid, For, that not having the Fear of God before thine Eyes, thou hast Restrained Prayer before God: But how many are there, who cannot pled, Not Guilty, to that Indictment? Do they Pray? I wonder, For what it is? For Spiritual Blessings? No, they are the profane Esaus by whom such things are all Despised. For Temporal Blessings? No, they feed on such Fruits, without ever giving a Look up to the three from whence they fall. Do they Pray? I wonder, Where it is? In their closerts? No, They will Sin against God in Secret, but not in Secret Seek the Face of that God. In their Houses? No, They'l Eat there; Drink there, Smoke there, and Sin there, but not by Calling upon God there make Bethels of them. Do they Pray? I wonder When it is? Not in the Mornings; they are then in too much hast of Business for it. Not in the Evenings; they are then too weary, too sleepy, too Listless for it. But Let them now admit of a few Expostulations with them.  
First. As for Prayer in your Retirements, Let Fear drive you to it. If the Angels of God, that are Invisibly present at this Instant here, might become Audible to the whole Assembly, could they not point out incredibly many, one after another of us, and say, 'Tis a good part of a week at least since those persons, were upon their Knees Retired for Secret Prayer before the Lord! How few Solomons are there, in Retirements, plying the Throne of Grace, for Divine Wisdom and Knowledge to be vouchsafed unto them! How few Nehemiahs are there, in Retirements, Beseeching the God of Heaven to Bless all their Undertakings! How few Jacobs are there, in Retirements, Crying to God, that neither they, nor their Children, may miscarry! And how few Nathanaels! Nathanael knew what it was to be alone under a Fig three, conversing with God; and our Lord said, of him, in Joh. 1.47. beholded, An Israelite indeed, in whom is no Guile. But you that have no such a Retired Conversation with God, may then Fear, that you are not Israelites, that you are but Hypocrites, before Him. What saith our Lord? Pray to thy Father which is in Secret. So then, you that go without Secret Prayer from Day to Day, may Fear, whether God be your Father or no; but if God be not thy Father, man, what a Black Father hast thou? You are worse than Balaam himself, of whom 'tis reported, That he went alone, to meet the Lord: and you may then Fear, that you shall never have Balaams wish, To Dy the Death of the Righteous. Yea, on the Day, when you go abroad without Secret Prayer, you may Fear what the Righteous God may Leave you to; to what Sins, what Plagues, the Justice of God may Leave you in that Cloudy Day. Such a Day to poor Origen, became the Day of his Lamentable Fall, at which all Ages have been since Amazed. That your Fear may be the more stirred, I'l Report unto you, That an Ancient Professor belonging to this very Church, in whose House we are now together, after many years of good Repute with good people became a Drunken Sot, for which he was from this Holy Society Excommunicated. After the Censure, he fell into bitter horror and Anguish of Soul, and at length died in astonishing Circumstances; but some of his Dying Words were to this purpose; I often prayed unto God, for a mercy, which He still denied me; at Length I grew Angry at God: whereupon I grew slacken in my Secret Prayers, and abated my Acquaintance with the Lord: ever since which, He hath dreadfully forsaken me, and I know that He hath now no mercy for me. Now, Let all Hear and Fear.  
Secondly. As for Prayer with your Families, Let Fear drive you to That also. There was an Earth-quake in Switzerland, that Shook down all the Houses in a Town, except one piece of one House, wherein a good man was then at Prayer with his Family. Suppose an Earth-quake in our Boston should quickly shake down all the Houses that have not Family Prayer constantly going in them, count me not uncharitable for saying, I am Jealous there would be a very terrible Desolation! How few Ohed Edoms are there, that are with their Families paying a daily Respect unto the Ark, the Christ of God? How few Cornelius's are there, that Calling their Families together more than once every day, do Pray in the midst of their Houses? How few Parents and Masters, do Continue in Prayer, with a frequency like that of the Continual Offering under the Law? And how few do like those in Math. 19.13. Bring their Little Ones unto the Lord Jesus Christ, that He may Bless them? You that thus do say unto the Most High, Depart from our Dwellings! may justly Fear lest by Death and Fire, He quickly Turn you out of them. Yea, you may Fear lest the Flying Roll o● Curses, do Fly into those Dwellings, where there is no Prayer for Blessings to keep them out. The very Turks themselves, do uphold something of a Family-Worship among them; and what may those pretended Christians then Fear, whose Houses are upon this Impious Account, Far from Fear? It is an eager and a raging pursuit after, the World, which thus chokes the Family-Prayers of our Neighbourhood: But I would gladly be at the pains to writ that Admonition, in Capitals, on the Walls of every such Habitation, WHAT IS A MAN PROFITED IF HE GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD, AND LOOSE HIS OWN SOUL! One would Fear to Live in the House of such a Philistin, whereof one may say, Surely there is no Fear of God in this place. And one would think, the Owner of such an House may Fear the Everlasting Regret that will be upon him, when his domestics at last shall follow him, in the Fiery Burning Lake below, hideously Crying in his Ears, Why did you never teach us to pray? Your never praying with us, has brought us to this horrid place of Torment after you! But  
Thirdly, Let every manner of Person be put upon all manner of Prayer, in the Fear of God.  
You might indeed upon this topic be argued with: Let the privilege and advantage of Prayer, inspire you with a very prayerful Disposition of Soul. The privilege of Prayer, how high is it! Prayer, it is, as we red in Heb. 1●. 22. A Drawing Near to God. The Immortal King of Heaven, when He bids us to pray, does hold out His Golden sceptre unto us, and say, Sinners, you may Draw Near; tho' you have by your Sins Forsaken me; yet you may by your Prayers Draw Near again unto me; and ask me now far more than the Half of a Kingdom, I am ready to bestow it upon you. Accordingly, The Advantage of Prayer, how rich is it! Our God has Assured us, in Isa. 45.19. I said not unto the Seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. In vain! Truly No; most Gracious Lord; Thou hast said, Seek the Lord, and ye shall Live. There is in the Covenant of God, and Ensurance-Office Erected; where, every one, that Ventures in the Ship of Prayer, has the Returns of his Ventures gloriously secured unto him. I may tell you, That our Merciful God, will rather work Miracles of Mercy, than Leave the Prayers of His Children Unanswered. Fires have been Quenched, Lions have been Muzzled, Prisons have been Opened, Dead men have been Raised, reins have been fetched, and the World it selt has been stopped in its Diurnal Whirl, at the Prayers of men Subject unto like passions with ourselves. Prayer, 'tis that which gains a sort of a Victory, even over the Invisible World; the Almighty God Himself says to Prayer, Except thou Let me alone, I cannot proceed with Destroying Dispensations; and Prayer says to the Almighty God Himself, I will not Let thee Go, except thou Bless me. Let our Di●tress be what it will, That is the Relief, in Psal. 50.15. Call upon me, and I will deliver thee. What sorts of Blessings have we a value ●or? Why, Prayer would fetch them all. Would we have our Souls, to be Blessed in very dead? A Praying Soul, will be a Thriving Soul. Much Prayer, as it were keeps the Soul in a Breathing Sweat, which by Degrees does consume all the Distempers of it. In our Prayers, all our Graces come to be Exercised, and so to be Strengthened, so to be Perfected. Prayer, 'tis taken in 3 Joh. 2. for the Fair Wind, which will bring a Prosperous Voyage to the Heaven-born, Heaven-bound Soul. Again, A Praying Soul, will be a Joyful Soul When Daniels perplexities drove him to Prayer, there was that Cheering Message brought from Heaven unto him, in Dan. 10.23. Thou art greatly Beloved. There is an iceland in the Mediterranean, whereof they say, The Sun will be sure to shine upon it once every every day throughout the year. Truly if you Pray much, you will be Likely thus to have the Light of Gods Countenance upon you every day. Once more, A Praying Soul will be a Saved Soul. O the vast Gains of Prayer! It is that whereof we are advised, in Rom. 10.13. Whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord, shall be Saved. So then, Salvation, Spiritual and Eternal Salvation itself is ours, if we'll pray hard for that Salvation! Yet further; would we have our Bodies, our Estates, and all our affairs, under the perpetual Blessings of Heaven? Prayer would befriend our Universal Welfare. These are the proffers of our God unto us, in Psal. 91.15. He shall call upon me, and I will deliver him, and Honour Him, and with Long Life will I satisfy him. When Saul perceived how much David was in Prayer, he said, Thou shalt do great Things. Thus to those of us, that are keeping the Wheel of Prayer in a perpetual motion, it may be said, Great Things are to be done for such a man! Finally, would we have Blessings to be showered from on High upon our Families? No Children are more known to be the Blessed of the Lord, than the Children of the most Praying Parents: We cannot Lay up a better Portion for our Children, than a Stock of Prayers. Yea, By Prayerfulness we may not only Get Blessings, but Be Blessings too. A praying Noah, a Praying Job, a Praying Daniel, these are the Gap men of the places where they Live; these are they who Deliver Islands.  
But if none of This move you, then let Fear do it. O be Afraid of the Miseries, the Inexpressible, the Inconceivable Miseries, whereto a Prayerless Life Exposes you. Don't you Tremble? To such Leviathans, I would speak in the words of Austin, Man, It should make thee Tremble, that thou hast not an Heart to Tremble. If Prayerless, then Wicked; for 'tis said, in Psal. 18.4. The Wicked, will not seek after God But are you not then Afraid of the Woes that belong unto the Wicked? Wo to them, it shall be Ill with them! They Live under the direful Curse of God all their Days; and at last, under that Curse they Dy. But what will then become of them? red and again Tremble! We are  told, in Psal. 9.17. The Wicked shall be Turned into Hell, and all the Nations that Forget God The Prayerless to God, are the Forgetful of God. But are you not Afraid? We are Warned, It is a Fearful Thing to Fall into the Hands of the Living God. They that while they Lived, would not Lift up their Hands in Prayer to God, shall when they Dy, fall into the Hands of that Living God: Then! They that never prayed before, shall Pray, and Cry, and Beg, for the Compassions of the Great God, for whom they once cared not; they shall unsuccessfully do it, With the Groans of a Deadly Wounded Man. But will you not Fear such a Fearful Thing as this? O be not a People, So Foolish and Unwise! And now, I pass on to say,  
II Let us not Cast off those General Fears, that should prevent the Restraint of those General Prayers, which ought generally to be going every where among us. I need not quote Nazianzen as my Authority for that Assertion, That there is nothing so Fearful as to be without Fear. But I will add, That our being without Fear, will render us without Prayer, and then our Condition would be Fearful indeed unto Extremity. Wherefore, in one word, O Let not FEARLESS and PRAYERLESS, be the Character of New-England.  
This Fearless and Prayerless Temper,( Distemper, I should rather say,) is that SECURITY, which is the usual Fore-runner of the most Horrible Desolations. Tho' Job could say, The Thing which I greatly Feared is come upon me, yet with us it is mostly otherwise; The Thing which we Least Fear is most Likely to come upon us; and the Thing is then most Ready to come, when we do Least Fear it. Mark what I say, You cannot in all the Book of God, pitch upon any People Remarkably secure, but presently you'l find a remarkable Stroke of Heaven, in judgement upon those unhappy Sleepers. When the Old World was Drowned in Security, then 'twas that their Foundation was Overflown with a Flood. And so still 'tis, in Our World; That men are never so near cutting in pieces, as when they sing, The Bitterness of Death is over! See 1 Thes. 5.3. Indeed I cannot easily, forbear the Outcry, which Honest G. Parisiensis made Long ago; O Security! Thou art my first Enemy, and my worst Enemy; for thou killest my Fear, which is my best Guardian. But let me then with a just Revenge, assay the Killing of that Enemy! For the Cure of this fatal Security, and as well, for the Directing, as for the Reviving, both of our Fears, and of our Prayers, I have two things to Lay before you. I say first,  
I. We are in such Fearful Circumstances, as may justly give Loud alarms unto the Blackest of our Fears; and because unto our Fears, therefore also unto our Prayers. 'Tis not only the threatening Drought now upon us, that bespeaks our Fears and our Prayers; tho' that be something. As they of old once, Trembled for the Great Rain, we are this Day, Trembling for want of Rain. The Inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon were afraid of being in Ill Terms with Herod, because, Their Country was nourished by his country. We seem this Day to be in Ill Terms with that Great King, By whose Country our Country is nourished: And are we not Afraid? But we have other things, which have an Aspect upon us very formidable. We should be glad, of, Tokens for Good; but instead thereof it may be said, as in Psal. 65.8. They who dwell in the uttermost parts, are afraid at thy Tokens:  
Particularly,  
First, Let not Fear be east off: Are we not Afraid, Lest the Confusions which are to over-set and overwhelm, the whole World, in these Latter Dayes, do Come hither also. There is yet a Third Wo, wherewith Mankind is to be most horribly plagued, for its Opposition to the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ; a Wo, in comparison whereof, all the horrendous Desolations, brought first by the Saracen Locusts, and then by the Turkish horsemen, upon the Roman Empire, were but easy things. And what? Is that Kingdom of our Lord so Loved, so Studied, so Embraced among ourselves, that we need not Fear being reached by that astonishing Wo? I would to God it were so. Tho' it will be a Joyful Day for them that are to be Refreshed by the presence of the Lord, yet it will be a woeful Day for them that Know not God, and obey not His Gospel. The Fields will grow loth to nourish those Rebels; There shall be Famines. The Air will grow Loth to let them breath; There shall be Pestilences. The Eyes of Heaven will grow loth to behold them: The Lights of Heaven shall be Darkened. The Earth will grown under the Burden of them; There shall be Earth-quakes in divers places. There is to be Expected indeed, a further Accomplishment of that word, in Heb. 12.26. Yet once more, I Shake, not the Earth only, but Heaven also. It is a Day of Earthquakes, and should it not be a Day of Heart-quakes too? Literal and Natural Earth-quakes are like to be multiplied in the approaching Age. The Subterranean Fires that are shortly to assist the Conflagration of this Globe, will get head apace, and Earth-quakes more stupendous than the Late one upon our miserable Neighbours, will be thereby occasioned. As it was with a Burning Mountain, that our God gave out His Law unto the Jewish World, so He terrified the World, with another Burning Mountain, when He gave out His Gospel unto the gentle World. Throughout Europe and Asia and Africa, people were then filled with Horrid Consternations, at the Fiery Eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, as the Historians of those Times Report unto us. Why, our God is now coming to Judge the World for the Contempt of His Law, and of His Gospel; and He will in a more affrighting manner set the World in a Burning Fire, at His Coming: A Fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very Tempestuous round about Him. Proper Earthquakes, will probably abound in the Near Advances of That Notable Day of the Lord. But be sure, Metaphorical Earthquakes, there will be E-now; State-quakes, Church-quakes, Nation-quakes, will now Rage at a mighty rate As Jonah ran through Ninive, proclaiming, Yet Forty Days and the Great City shall be Overthrown. So do I now run thro' New-England, and proclaim, There is a Great City going to be Overthrown; and yet within less than Twenty Years, the greatest Shakes are like to be given unto the World, that ever happened from the first Foundation of it.  
Secondly. Let not Fear be cast off: Are we not Afraid, Lest when the Storms of Divine Vengeance do burst and break upon our own Sinful Nation, some Drops of the Storms do fall upon our Heads. The Profanity, the Debauchery, the Superstition, wherewith our Nation has been infected, have Long been making a Loud Cry in the Ears of the Lord God of sabbath; So that he seems to say, as in Jer. 5.9. Shall not I visit for these things, saith the Lord: Shall not my Soul be avenged on such a Nation as this? And when the Holy God shall visit for those things, it will be well, if Showers of Blood be not Rained on a Land, where the Blood of His Dear Son has been treated as an Unholy Thing. Hence 'tis that many Thinking Men, in the Nation at this Day, are Looking upon one another with paleness in their Faces▪ and wishing, O that we had Wings like a Dove! But especially, when they Look back upon the fierce Persecutions, which formerly flamed in that Land against the Pure Worship of our Lord, they conceive that they may see, Wrath coming unto the uttermost. And how shall a share in that Wrath upon the Mother, be now avoided, by the most Resembling of all her Daughters?  
Thirdly. Let not Fear be cast off: Are we not Afraid, Lest the Cup of that Fury, which has already dissipated as Glorious Churches as any of Ours, be likewise given unto ours. We have most Appalling Intimations given unto us, not only in the Wasting and the Doleful Disasters that have come upon the other Plantations of the English America; such Disasters as cause the most considerable Personages among them, to writ from thence unto us, The Divine Providence almost seems to have forsaken this side of the World, and Left us unto the Treasures of Wrath, which we have been Long Laying up! But also in the Scatterings, that have elsewhere befallen, The Holy People. We may value ourselves upon our Ecclesiastical Settlements & Ornaments, & upon the wonderful Appearances of God, in the first production of them; whereof a CHURCH HISTORY, might indeed most profitably be[ and is] Endeavoured Yea, but our Lord may say unto us, I have not found thy Works perfect before God! And who can say, How far that Holy God, may proceed in punishing us, yet seven times more for our Iniquities? in punishing us, above the Rest of the Families of the Earth? When we see what has befallen others, our Lord says to us, as in luke. 13.3, 5. Except ye Repent, ye shall all Likewise perish. Let me then say to you, Go to Shiloh! and again, Go to Asia! and once more, Go to the European Churches! especially Go to France, where the greatest Scourge of the World, more than seven years ago, coined Medals, on which 'twas bragged, That he had then Reduced no less than twenty Hundred Thousand Calvinists, from the Protestant Religion. A worse, thing surely than the Cutting of so many Throats! Behold, the Warnings of God unto Us in these Ends of the Earth, by the Desolations thus made in the Earth.  
Fourthly. Let not Fear he east off: Are we not Afraid, Lest we come ourselves to See, the mischiefs which our Ancient Seers have often foretold unto us. Every Wise man, is a Prophet: We have had such Wise men, on many Opportunities, especially some Anniversary Ones, here Prophesying, I assure you, No Smooth things unto us: in all which, it has not been a rash Enthusiasm, it has been Scripture, it has been Reason, that has Inspired them. They have done according to their Commission, in Isa. 58.1. Lift up thy voice like a Trumpet. And what has been the Voice of the Trumpet? Not Uncertain, but Universally concurring in this thing. Reformation, or Desolation! Reformation, or Desolation! and, I pray, where do we find much of the demanded Reformation? Besides this, our Old Men, without any vain Dreams, have made their moral Prognostications upon our manners. We have had an Hooker, long since Prophesying unto us,, That God would punish the Wanton Spirit of the Professors in this Country, with a sad want of Able men, in all Orders among them. We have had a shepherd, long since Prophesying unto us, That such a Dismal Night was towards us, and such sore Afflictions, as would fill our Hearts with an Anguish equal to the worst, in any of our Forefathers Days. We have had a Norton, Sighing over us, What is the Counsel of the Lord concerning the Churches of New-England, is a matter of solemn and aweful Meditation. And some other persons, not inferior, have not stuck to say, We fear the Gospel will g● the Lord Jesus will depart from these Coasts, within a little while. Let thy Heart ache, O New-England, Lest this Day of thy Watchmen come upon thee▪  
Fifthly. Let not Fear be cast off: Are we not Afraid, Lest our Unreformed Iniquities, bring down upon us, most Irretrievable Calamities. What are our Iniquities? Even those very Crimes for which, 'tis said, The Wrath of the Lord arose against His People of Old, until there was no Remedy You have them, in 2 Chron. 36.14, 16. First, The People Transgressed very much, after all the Abominations of the Heathen. And have not we shamefully Indianized, by being one of the most Lying( if not like the Indians, also the most Idle) People almost in the Universe? Again, They polluted the House of the Lord. And have not the Scandalous, Damnable, Miscarriages in multitudes of our Church-Members done so too? Or, is not the cursed Contempt cast upon the Table of the Lord by such multitudes as Turn their Backs thereupon, a further doing so? Once more, They misused the Prophets. And how feelingly might many of our discouraged, reviled, Cheated and Starved Ministers complain of such Usage, if they loved Complaining? Yea, may not we Boston, even call Sodom our Sister, for our Pride, our fullness of Bread, our Abundance of Idleness, and our Oppression of one another? See whether thy Face, O Town Once( and well if not justly still!) called Lost Town, to hers, be not, Qualis decet esse Sororum! For my part, I freely confess, my particular Indisposition to be moved by many things that are often accounted, Prodigies; but this I say; These Iniquities are the worst of Prodigies. A thousand Comets Blazing over our Heads, or views of Armies Fighting in the Air, would be less Cloudy Premonitions of Impending Evils, than these Prodigious Iniquities. But that which heightens the Prodigy is this; That some of our Faults have most Naturally a Tendency to ruin us. I speak not of our Contention: tho' what can be Naturally consequent upon it, unless This, That when many Little Birds are pecking at one another, the Kite may prey upon them all? But I'l speak of our Ingratitude. It is well known, That the greatest Instruments of Saving the Lands, the Lives, the most precious Liberties of this People, are acknowledged but with the worst of Abuses for all their Services; cruel Malice and Slander, is now commonly known by the Name of Country-Pay for the most of them that Lay this People under the most Eternal Obligations. What now can follow Naturally, but this; That our Tired Benefactors, will make all the sensible part of Mankind join with them in saying, We will never be the Healers of such a People!  
Sixthly, Let not Fear be cast off: Are we not Afraid, Lest Indian Hatchets are to fetch yet more Blows at the Root of our three? When the Philistines bore hard upon Saul, 'tis said, His armor bearer was sore afraid: and what shall we be, that are surrounded with Bloody Philistines? Our God has been doing to us what He denounced, in Deut. 31.25. I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a People. I will provoke them to Anger with a Foolish Nation. And those Foolish Nations that yet Survive of that No People, seem Reserved for a further Scourge unto us, who have been so Foolish, as to neglect very much of the Gospellizing of those Nations. Had we done as much, as the French have done, for the Proselyting of the Indians, in our East, we had not seen more than a whole Province there Consumed by their Depredations; and God knows, how far we may at some time or other be so Chastised, for our like Omissions, in some other Quarters! A twentieth part of the Treasure spent in our Wars with the savages, would have gone far towards the Civillizing, and the Christianizing of them all: and then we had been delivered from such Wars for ever. God is to be praised indeed that so many of His Dear Servants have traveled so far in that matter. But the most of our People, seem to Blow upon such Undertakings; or at least, have no Spirit for it: So that if Good Old Gildas were alive among us, he would threaten us, as he did his Country-men, when he  told them, That God would make the Pagan Saxons, an heavy plague unto them, for their doing so Little towards the Conversion of those miserable Pagans.  
Seventhly. Let not Fear be cast off: Are we not Afraid, Lest the Great Wrath of the Devil which hath been upon us, do remain for more than a Short Time among us. I Remember, 'tis affirmed by Claber Radulphus, That about the Time, when Antichrist was breaking in upon the World, People were scared almost out of their Wits, with a Fiery Dragon, seen sometimes to Fly about the Air. Truly, That Fiery Dragon, the Devil, has been most sensibly Flying about us, within this year or two, in the matchless Exchantments and Possessions, that have abounded in our Neighbourhood. But into what Passions, into what Mistakes, into what Enormous Disorders, has this Descent of the Devil precipitated us, instead of driving us, to a more Trembling Walk with God? The Evil Angels being now so much ranted off as they are, 'tis well if the n●xt Stroke be not that in Psal 78.49, 59. He cast upon them the Fierceness of His Anger, Wrath, and Indignatoon, and Trouble, by sending Evil Angels among them. And what's the Next News? He made a way to His Anger, He spared not their Soul from Death, but gave their Life over to the Pestilence, We have been in an Egyptian Darkness, buffeted by Evil Angels, and buffeting one another upon the Impulse of those Angels. God forbid, that the next Thing should be, such an Egyptian Pestilence, as will hardly Leave an House without one Dead Person in it! What if the Angels of Death, should next shoot the Arrows of Death, in at our Windows, with Epidemical Contagions? This I know; A Learned Man Writing against the Regard of Omens, yet about Apparitions of Spectres, has this passage; Perhaps God will have these Apollyons to be seen, as it were upon the Stage before Execution; that men may consider into whose Hands, in likelihood, their Iniquities have betrayed them.  
Lastly. Let not Fear be cast off: Are we not Afraid, Lest the Rising Generation here, do Barbarously Degenerate into the Plant of a strange Vine? There is indeed nothing to be more dreaded among us, than that thing, in judge. 2.10. There arose another Generation, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the Works which He had done. Alas, Alas! What becomes of our young People? O my God, what wilt thou do with my miserable Generation? As for many Hopeful Persons, among our Youth, Such as, the Learned shepherd of Charlstown, the pious G●okin of Cambridge, the Excellent denizen of Ipswich, God snatches them away to Heaven, with a premature Mortality. But as for many Other persons among them, they become Wild, Lewd, Mad, and every way Exorbitant; They are like the Sons of Eli, The Sin of the Young Men is very great before the Lord; and accordingly, The Plague of the Lord upon those young men, both at home and abroad, becomes very great! Yea, in the Edges of the Land, they begin to Paganize: 'tis horrible to be spoken, but let the Regret at it, be what it will, it must be spoken; There are Villages of New-England, that have a sort of white Pagans in them. Here then, are our Fears! But  
II. Altho' we have these Fears upon us, yet our Fears are to be mixed with Hopes: and if they are vented in Prayers, they may very well be mixed with Hopes. The Uplifted Hands of our Prayers this Day, must have Hope, as well as Fear, for the two Supporters of them. As Paul said about Mourning, so would I say about Fearing, in 1 Thes 4.13. Do not as others that have no Hope. The Kind Emperour, of old ordered it, That none should go Dejected from the Presence of the Emperour. Nor, must I now suffer you, to Go Dejected from the Presence of the Eternal King, upon whom we are this Day attending. When Daniel was, as we now are, Weary with Fasting, an Angel Flew from Heaven, till he was even Weary too( as the Original has it) with the Swiftness of his Motion, to bring him some comfortable Tidings. As Weary as I am, yet I must offer you some Comfortable Things before we part; and I am to tell you, There are Hopes as well as Fears for our Land.  
But, what Hopes? I Reply,  
First, We have Hopes in the sovereign Grace of our most Gracious God. O what an Heart-breaking Word is that, in Isa. 57.17, 18. For the Iniquity of his covetousness, was I wrath, and smote him: and he went on frowardly in the way of his Heart: And what? must all now be Lost? No; There is yet Hope in Israel! You shall see what sovereign Grace can do. It follows, I have seen his Ways and will Heal him. And now, Lord, Be it unto thy People according to this thy Gracious Word!  
I R●ply, Secondly; We have Hopes in the hastening Time of Reformation, which our God will Hasten in his Time. If the Man of Sin Entred his Last Half Time, or his last Hundred and Eighty Years, as no doubt he did, at the Reformation, which Commenced about the Year 1517. We may then have a Lively Hope, that we are within a very few years, of a Reformation, more Heavenly, more Extensive, more Glorious, than the Church of God has ever yet been favoured with. But shall we be forgotten in this Time? We may presume that neither God, nor the King, will then forget us.  
I Reply, Thirdly; We have Hopes in the Yearly and Holy Fruits of our college; that Blessed Nursery of our Israel. The Lord may say unto us, I have Raised up of your Sons for Prophets; for which that man among us, who is not now greatly Thankful to God, is not worthy the Name of, A New-Englandman. There is a most Hopeful produce of Scholars arising out of that Society; Y●ung men, admirably Accomplished in all parts of Literature; Young men of most Enlarged Sou●s; and, which is better still, Young Men, full of Piety; no Strangers to the New-Birth; nor unacquainted with High Experiments in practical Religion; such as know what it is to be continually Fasting as well as Praying for the Blessing of God, not upon themselves alone, but upon all concerned in them. Destroy not that People; saith our God; is there not a Blessing among them? And as for You, Brethren, that are thus coming on; Be Encouraged and Know, That the God of your Fathers has a greater work for you to do for Him, than what He has yet employed your Fathers in.  
I Reply, Fourthly; We have Hopes in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ on Board of our Bark. A Little Vessel could not be sunk, by all the Blast of Hell, while our Lord was with His Disciples in it. Why, our Lord has very few Disciples in this whole Haemisphere of the World, but what are in this Little Vessel. Shall we then perish? No, That we shall not; if we now do, by our Prayers Awaken our Lord unto the Saving of us.  
But after all; when the worst comes to the worst: Yet, Surely I know it shall be well with them that fear God, that Fear before Him. Let us have much of that Fear within us, and let that Swallow up every other Fear. Qui Deum timet, ●… um omnia timent. The Fear of God will give us▪ Room among His Alamoth, or His Hidden Ones; and then we may without Fear Sing the Forty Sixth Psalm, which Luther used, when Things looked with a bad face abroad; Sing, We will not Fear, tho' the Earth be removed, and tho' the Mountain be carried into the midst of the Sea. Our God, is now, I believe, upon the Resurrection of His Witnesses: altho' former Attempts about that Resurrection have been Abortive, yet now, with His Dead Body they shall arise. It is therefore likely to be a Day of more than ordinary Indignation upon an Impious World; but if we are now fitted and acted by the Fear of God, and if that Fear carry us forth to to all due Testimonies for His Truths and Ways, He will say unto us, Come, My People; Enter thou into thy Chambers, and Shut thy Doors about thee.   
FINIS.   

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