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we do to be saved!-(3.) To fervent and importunate prayer. Vehemency of desire, warmth of affection, and earnestness of expression are from him. His language is, Awake thou sleeper, and call upon thy God! (4.) To holiness of heart, and newness of life. One reason why he is called the holy Spirit, is. because all holiness is from him. He first infuses holy principles, and then actuates them. It is equally true in a spiritual as in a natural sense: none can keep alive his own soul.-Lastly, to all acts of evangelical obedience. He excites the will, and gives the power: both the inclination and ability are from him. Hence that promise, I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgmenis and do them. All extraordinary stirrings in the church, or particular souls, are owing to divine quickenings. The Lord is my strength, says Habakkuk, and he will make my feet like hind's feet. IV. Make some improvement.

1. Hence we may learn the proper deity of the Spirit. He that doth the works of Deity, must have the perfections of Deity. He who acts in a Godlike manner, must be God. Christ appeals to his works for his divinity; and the Spirit's operations prove him to be infinitely above and beyond any created being.

2. See why God's word and ordinances have no greater efficacy. The presence and power of the Spirit is wanting. The report of the gospel is not believed, because the arm of the Lord is not revealed. The most persuasive address is not sufficient without, the influence of the Spirit. In his light we must see light and in his strength perform spiritual duties.

3. Let us pray earnestly for the quickenings of the divine Spirit. If thus favoured, let us ascribe it to him, give him the glory, and take care that we do not provoke him to withdraw. Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed to the day of

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redemption. More is implied here than is expressed : fall in with his motions, hearken to him as an instructor, and cherish him as a comforter.

Finally To prayer let us join the use of means. Quickening grace is so precious a thing, that we cannot be too earnest in the pursuit of it. The Spirit uses a variety of means, and therefore if one mean does not do we should try another. The angel stirring the water did the cure, but the poor cripples were to lie by the pool.

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"THE blessed Spirit, like the wind,
Blows when and where he please;
How happy are the men who feel
The soul enlivening breeze.

He forms the carnal mind afresh,
Subdues the power of sin,
Transforms the heart of stone to flesh,
And plants his grace within.

He sheds abroad the Father's love,
Applies redeeming blood,

Bids both our guilt and grief remove,
And brings us near to God.

Lord, fill each dead benighted soul
With light, and life, and joy!
None can thy mighty power control,➡
Thy glorious work destroy."

Motives to enlarged Prayer.

SERMON II.

GOD

PSALM LXXX. 10.

Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

here speaks by David what that eminently pious king had often found verified in his own experience: I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears-Blessed be God who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from

David therefore could more earnestly press a duty which he had found so beneficial, and more boldly deliver a promise which had been once and again fulfilled to himself. Open thy mouth wide then, oh christian, and God will fill it.

To open the mouth signifies, in general, to speak with freedom, in an audible manner, and with confidence. However there are cases in which this would be improper. I was dumb, says David, and opened not my mouth. We must neither slander our neighbour, nor quarrel with God; must neither justify our own conduct before him, nor find fault with his proceedings; must neither excuse sins committed, nor complain of judgments inflicted. In these respects many men's mouths are open when they ought to be shut. But there is a way in which we ought to open our mouths, and open them wide, and this is

both a duty and a privilege. We should do this in speaking for God. Oh ye Corinthians, says the apostle, our mouth is opened to you, our heart is enlarged. But especially in speaking to God in prayer, we are encouraged to do it with enlargedness of heart, so as to ask for much and expect much at his hands.

In the following discourse I shall explain the exhortation in the text-shew the import of the promise-and the restrictions with which it requires to be understood.

I. Explain the exhortation: Open thy mouth wide. -This implies

1. Warmth and fervency in prayer. To open the mouth is in effect to open the heart, that it may be both engaged and enlarged. We read of some who cried unto God, but not with their heart: they lifted up the voice, but not the soul. (Hos. vii. 14.) There was an outward earnestness and importunity, but an inward indifference and coldness; a vehemency of utterance, but no intenseness of desire. This is called howling, and not praying. We may be said to open our mouths wide when our affections are quick and lively, and there is a correspondence between the feelings of the heart and the request of the lips; or when we really pray, and not merely seem to do so. This is strongly and beautifully expressed in Psalm cxix. 131. I opened my mouth and panted: for I longed for thy commandments. This may allude to children when hungry, to persons in a burning fever, or to dry and parched land in hot and sultry weather, and expresses vehement and passionate desires, vigorous and forcible motions of the soul after God, as if it were so stretched out that it was ready to break : so indeed it is expressed in another part of this psalm. My soul breaketh for the longing it hath to thy judgments at all times. Of all desires, those after spiritual blessings should be the strongest, as being the most satisfying and lasting.

2. It implies a holy fluency and copiousness of expression, so as to order our cause before him, and fill our mouths with arguments. When the good man gets near to God, he has much business to transact with him, many complaints to make, and many blessings to implore; and as such seasons do not frequently occur, he is the more careful to improve them. He then pours out his whole soul, and is at no loss for words; for when the heart is full, the tongue overflows. Sorrow and distress will even make those eloquent who are naturally slow of speech: but for this we are particularly indebted to the holy Spirit, who maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. It is not said with joys and comforts, but with groanings, and such as cannot be uttered. The groanings of a sick man are often the presages of death; but those of the christian are a sign that he is alive, and shall live for ever. The Spirit of God not only excites praying graces, but also furnishes with praying expressions; not only inclines to prayer, but gives liberty in prayer; and when that is enjoyed, the mouth may be said not only to be opened, but opened wide.

3. Enlarged hope and expectation. We may be too irreverent in our approaches to God, and too peremptory in our applications; but if the matter and manner of our prayer be right, we cannot be too confident in our expectations from him. Hence the language of the psalmist: I have called upon thee: for thou wilt hear me, oh God. A humble diffidence of ourselves, and a believing dependence upon God, are necessary to acceptable prayer. By the former we express our unworthiness, and by the latter we proclaim the generosity of our benefactor. Open thy mouth wide then, oh christian; stretch out thy desires to the uttermost, grasp heaven and earth in thy boundless wishes, and believe there is enough in God to afford thee full satisfaction. Not only come, but

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