more we pray for our people, the better shall we be instructed what to preach to them. The apostles, to take us off from all other occasions, gave themselves to prayer and the word;' Acts. vi. 4. Prayer is in the first place. It is not personal, but ministerial prayer for the church, and the progress of the gospel.

What shall we pray for?

1. For the success of the word that we preach unto them. This falls in with the light of nature. We are to pray for the success of the word unto all the ends of it; and that is for all the ends of living unto God, for direction to duty, for instruction in the truth, for growth in grace, for all things whereby we may come to the enjoyment of God. We should pray, that all these ends may be accomplished in our congregations, in the dispensation of the word, or else we sow seed at random, which will not succeed merely by our sowing; for let the husbandman break up the fallow ground and harrow it, and cast in the seed, unless showers come, he will have no crop; in like manner, after we have cast the seed of the gospel, though the hearts of men are prepared in some measure, unless there come the showers of the Spirit upon them, there will be no profiting. Therefore let us pray, that a blessing might be upon the word. The ministers of the word preach, and would be accepted with the people; take this 'arcanum' of it, pray over it, and it is the only way to have it accepted in the hearts of the people: Follow it on with prayer.

2. We are to pray for the presence of Christ in all our assemblies; for this is that whereon depends all the efficacy of the ordinances of the gospel. Christ hath given us many promises of it, and we are to act in faith concerning it, and to pray in faith for it in our assemblies, which is a great ministerial duty; and if we do it not, we are ignorant of our duty, and are willing to labour in the fire, where all must perish; we fight at hazard, for all the efficacy of the ordinances of preaching, and praying, doth not depend upon any thing in ourselves, of our gifts, notions, parts, fervency, but it depends only upon the presence of Christ. Make this your business to pray mightily for it in the congregation, to make all these effectual.

3. Our prayers should be with respect unto the state

and condition of the church. It is supposed, he that is a minister is satisfied he hath some measure of understanding and knowledge in the mysteries of the gospel, that he is able to conduct the best of the congregation unto salvation; that he knows their measure, their weakness, and their temptations; that he knows the times and seasons in which they are exercised and exposed, whether times of adversity or prosperity; and, as far as possible, knows how it is with their persons. And we ought to suit our prayers according to all we know concerning them, and be satisfied in it, that Christ himself will come in to recover them who are fallen, to establish them who stand, to heal them who do backslide, to strengthen them who are tempted, to encourage them who are running and pressing forward to perfection, to relieve them who are disconsolate and in the dark and we have of all these sorts in our churches. And our prayers should be for a communication of supplies unto them, continually in all these cases.

Thirdly, It is incumbent on men who are pastors and teachers of churches, to preserve the truth and doctrine of the gospel, that is committed to the church, to keep it entire, and defend it against all opposition. See the weighty words wherewith the apostle gives this in charge unto Timothy, 1 Tim. vi. 20. O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust.' And, 2 Tim. i. 14. That good thing,' Tǹv Kaλǹν πаρAKATAÐǹêην, ' that good depositum,' that good treasure, 'that is committed to thee, keep by the Holy Ghost, which dwelleth in us.' This charge is given to all of us who are ministers, keep the truth, that good, that blessed thing. 'It is,' saith the apostle, 'the glorious gospel of the blessed God, that is committed to my trust;' 1 Tim. i. 11. And it is committed to all our trust; and we are to keep it against all opposition. The church is the ground and pillar of truth, to hold up, and declare the truth in and by its ministers. But is that all? No; The church is like the tower of David made for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men ;' Cant. iv. 4. The ministers of the gospel are shields and bucklers to defend the truth against all adversaries and opposers. The church hath had thousands of bucklers and shields of mighty men, or else the truth had been lost. They are not only to declare it in

the preaching of the gospel; but to defend and preserve it against all opposition; to hold up the shield and buckler of faith against all opposers.

But what is required hereunto?

1. There is required a clear apprehension in ourselves of those doctrines and truths which we are so to defend. Truth may be lost by weakness as well as by wickedness: if we have not a full apprehension of the truth, and that upon its own proper grounds and principles, we shall never be able to defend it. This is to be attained by all ways and means, by the use especially of diligent prayer and study, so that we may be able to stop the mouth of gainsayers.

2. There is required love of the truth. We shall never contend earnestly for the truth, we shall never buy it and not sell it,' whatever we know of it, unless our love and value of it arise from a sense and experience of it in our own souls. I fear there is much loss of truth, not for want of light, knowledge, and ability, but for want of love.

I have the advantage of most here present in this, that I know the contest we had for the truths of the gospel, before our troubles began, and was an early person engaged in them; and knew those godly ministers that did contend for them as for their lives and souls; and that all the opposition that was made against them, was never able to discourage them. What were these doctrines? the doctrines of eternal predestination, effectual conversion to God, and the obduration of wicked reprobates by the providence of God. These truths are not lost for want of skill, but for want of love. We scarce hear one word of them; we are almost ashamed to mention them in the church; and he that doth it will be sure to expose himself to public obloquy and scorn: but we must not be ashamed of truth. Formerly we could not meet with a godly minister, but the error of Arminianism was looked upon by him as the ruin and poison of the souls of men: such did tremble at it, wrote and disputed against it. But now it is not so; the doctrine of the gospel is owned still, though little taken notice of by some among ourselves, the love of it being greatly decayed, the sense and the power of it almost lost; but we have got no ground by it; we are not more holy, more fruitful than we were in the preaching those doctrines, and attending diligently unto them.

3. Let us take heed in ourselves of any inclination to novel opinions, especially in, or about, or against such points of faith, as those wherein they who are gone before us and are fallen asleep, found life, comfort, and power. Who would have thought that we should have come to an indifferency as to the doctrine of justification, and quarrel and dispute about the interest of works in justification, about general redemption, which takes off the efficacy of the redeeming work of Christ, and about the perseverance of the saints; when these were the soul and life of them who were gone before us, who found the power and comfort of them. We shall not maintain these truths unless we find the same comfort in them as they did. I have lived to see great alterations in the godly ministers of the nation, both as to zeal and value of those important truths, that were as the life of the reformation; and the doctrine of free-will condemned in a prayer, bound up in the end of your bibles: but now it is grown an indifferent thing, and the horrible corruptions we suffer to be introduced in the doctrine of justification, have weakened all the vitals of religion. Let us, for the remainder of our days, 'buy the truth and sell it not;' and let us be zealous and watchful over any thing that should arise in our congregations.

Bring one man into the congregation who hath a byopinion, and he shall make more stir about it than all the rest of the congregation, in building up one another in their most holy faith. Take heed lest there be men arising from ourselves, speaking perverse things; which is to make way for grievous wolves to break in and tear and rend the flock.

4. There is skill and ability required hereunto, to discover and be able to oppose and confound the cunning sophistry of the adversaries. Great prayer, watchfulness, and diligence are required, that we may be able to attend unto these things. And those who are less skilled, may do well to advise with those who are more exercised in them, to give them help and assistance.

Lastly, I shall mention one duty more that is required of pastors and teachers in the church, and that is, that we labour diligently for the conversion of souls. This work is committed to them. I should not mention this, but to rec

tify a mistake in some. The end of all particular churches, is the calling and edification of the catholic church. Christ hath not appointed his ministers to look unto themselves only; they are to be the means of calling and gathering the elect in all ages: and this they principally are to do by their ministry. I confess there are other outward ways and means whereby men have been, and may be converted. I find by long observation, that common light, in conjunction with afflictions, do begin the conversion of many, without this or that special word: and persons may be converted to God by religious conference. There may be many occasional conversions wrought by the instrumentality of men, who have real spiritual gifts for the dispensation of the word, and are occasionally called thereunto. But principally this work is committed unto the pastors of churches, for the conversion of souls. Take this observation, the first object of the word is the world. Our work is the same with the apostles, the method directly contrary; the apostles had a work committed to them, and this was their method: the first work committed to the apostles was the convincing and converting sinners to Christ among Jews and Gentiles; to preach the gospel, to convert infidels; this they accounted their chief work. Paul made nothing of administering the ordinance of baptism, in comparison of it. Christ did not send me,' saith he, to baptize, but to preach the gospel;' 1 Cor. i. 17. In comparison, I say, preaching was their chief work. And then, their second work was to teach these disciples to do and observe whatever Christ commanded them, and to bring them into church order; this was their method. Now the same work is committed unto the pastors of churches, but in a contrary method. The first object of our ministry is the church; to build up and edify the church. But what then? Is the other part of the work taken away, that they should not preach to convert souls? God forbid. There be several ways whereby they who are pastors of churches do preach to the conversion of souls. 1. When other persons that are unconverted do come where they are preaching to their own congregations (whereof we have experience every day), they are there converted to God by the pastoral discharge of their duty. No, say some, they preach