dent. The Lord can blast your enterprize, though managed with never fo much wifdom and contrivance. You are not only to look to God as the author of fuccefs, but as the director and guide of the action. It is by his conduct and bleffing, that all things come to pals. If your defigns fucceed not, you are prefently ready to afcribe it to ill fortune, and fay, you had bad luck; when indeed you ruined it yourfelves, in the first moulding it, by undertaking it without asking counfel of God: "In all thy ways acknowledge him," Prov. iii. 6. (6) Pray for fuccefs upon your lawful employments and defigns, and own it to be from the Lord. You have an excellent pattern in Abraham's fervant, Gen. xxiv. 12. "O Lord God of Abraham thy "servant, send me good speed this day." He reverences the fovereignty of providence, and acknowledges fuccefs to be a flower of the imperial crown, and the bridle that God hath upon the reasonable creature, to difpofe of the fuccefs of human affairs. I look on that bufinefs or design in a fair and hopeful way to prefper, wherein we have engaged God to be with us, by afking his counfel, and recommending the fuccefs to his bleffing. Thefe are the mercies you are to pray for.

Secondly, Next I will fhew you what influence prayer hath into those mercies you are to pray for; and it hath much every way. To be fhort, it hath a threefold influence into them.

(1.) It is a proper and effectual mean to obtain and procure them. God will have every thing fetched out by prayer, Ezek. xxxvi. 37. "I will yet for this be inquired of by the houfe of Ifrael, to do it for "them." God gives not our mercies for prayers, nor will he give them without our prayers. This is the ftated method in which our mercies are conveyed to us; and therein the wisdom and goodness of God are eminently discovered. His wifdom in making us to fee the Author of every mercy in the way of receiving it, and fecuring his own glory in the difpenfing of every mercy: His goodness to us, in fweetening every mercy this way to us, and raising its value in our estimation. Prayer coming between our wants and fupplies is a fingular mean to raife the price of mercies with us, and engage us to due improvements of them. So that is an idle pretence for any to fay, God knows our wants, whether we pray or not; and if mercies be decreed for us, we fhall have them, though we afk them not for though God knows our wants, yet he will have us to know them too, and fenfibly to feel the need of mercy. And though prayer be altogether needless to his information, yet it is very neceflary to teftify our fubmiffion; And though it is true, if God have decreed mercy for us, we shall have it; yet it is not true, that therefore we need not to pray for it: For decrees exclude not the fecond means, nor render the creature's duty unneceffary. "I know the thoughts that I think towards you, faith the "Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected "end. Then fhall ye call upon me, and ye fhall and go pray “me, and I will hearken unto you," Jer. xxix. 11, 12. So that

unto

it is plain, mercies must be expected in the way of prayer, that being God's appointed way, and ftated method in the difpenfing of them. (2.) As prayer hath influence into the procuring of our mercies, fo it hath a fingular influence into the fweetening of them: no mercies received fo fweet as thofe that are There is a twothe knee. upon fold sweetness men tafte in their earthly enjoyments: one is natural, and that those that never eye God in them, may relish as much as others; the other is fpiritual and fupernatural, refulting from the confideration of the way in which, and the end for which they are given: and I am confident, fuch is the refreshing sweetness of mercies coming in the way of prayer, that they derive a thousand times more fweetnefs from the channel through which they come, than they have in their own natures. So that it was rightly obferved by him that faid, A believer tastes more fweetnefs in the common bread he eats ' at his own table, than another can do in the confecrated bread he ⚫eats at the Lord's table.' And then,

(3.) Prayer hath a fanctifying influence upon all our enjoyments, you obtain and therefore no wonder it makes them fo fweet: what this way, you obtain with a bleffing, and that is the fweetest and best part of any enjoyment. So you find, 1 Tim. iv. 5. every creature is fanctified by the word of God and prayer One mercy of this kind is better than ten thousand promifcuously dispensed in the way of common providence by thefe no man knows love or hatred; but these surely come from God's love to us, and end in the increase of our love to him. So that you fee prayer hath a manifold influence upon our mercies: But it is not any kind of prayer that doth thus procure, fweeten, and fanctify our mercies to us: fome men's prayers rather obftruct than further their mercies; but if it be the fervent prayer of a righteous man, directed by the rule of the word to the glory of God, we may fay of fuch a prayer as David faid of Saul's fword, and Jonathan's bow, it never returns empty*.

Thirdly, I fhall fhew what aid and affiftance the prayers of others may give to the procurement of the mercies we defire; for you fee this inftance in the text, it was the united joint-prayers of the difciples with Paul, that on this occafion was judged neceffary.

Now confidering prayer according to its ufe and end, as a mean of obtaining mercy from the Lord; the more difpofed, apt, and vigorous the means are, the more furely and easily the mercies are obtained which we pray for. There may be much zeal, fervency, and strength in the prayer of a fingle faint: Jacob alone may wrestle with God, and as a prince prevail; but much more in the joint, united force of many Jacobs. Vis unita fortior; if one can do much, many can O what may not a bleffed combination of holy and humble spirits obtain from the Lord! If one man's heart be dead and out of tune, another's may be lively and full of affection. Befides,

do more.

* If the good, ask good it is in a good manner, and for a good end.

God delights in thofe acts of mercy moft, by which many are refresh'ed and comforted; and where there is a common stock of prayers going, like a common adventure in one fhip, there the return of prayer, like the return of such a ship, makes many glad hearts. Certainly it is of great advantage for the people of God, to engage as many as they can to pray for them. When Daniel was to obtain that fecret from the God of heaven, Dan. ii. 17, 18. he makes ufe of his three friends to improve their acquaintance with God and intereft in God for him upon that occafion. "Then Daniel went to his houfe, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mithael, and Azariah his companions, that they would defire mercies of the "God of heaven concerning this fecret." Some Chriftians have greater intimacies with God than others, they are special favourites in the court of heaven; and what an advantage it is to be upon their hearts, when they are with God, judge ye. I remember St Bernard having spoken of the due frames and tempers that Christians should strive to work their hearts into, when they are engaged in this work of prayer, concludes with this request, Et quum talis fueris, memento mei. And when thy heart (faith he) is in this temper, then remember me. Oh! it is a fingular mercy to be interested in their prayers that are in fpecial favour with God! It is true, Jefus Chrift is the great favourite, for whofe fake all prayers are heard: and without his interceffion, the interceffions of an Abraham, a Mofes, a Jacob, fignify nothing; but in the virtue of his interceffion, the interceffions of others may be fingularly advantageous to us. Job's friends were good men, but yet they must go to Job, and get his prayers for them before God would be intreated for them, Job xlii. 8.

And, indeed, upon the contrary, it is a fad fign that God designs not to give us that mercy which he takes off our own hearts, or the hearts of others from praying for. When he faith, Pray not for fuch a man, or for fuch a mercy for him, the cafe then becomes hopeless, the mercy is fet, and there is no moving it, Jer. xiv. 11. But if once a fpirit of prayer be poured upon you, and upon others too in your behalf, you may look upon the mercy as even at the door, and count it as good as if it were in your hand. And thus you fee what the mercies are you fhould pray for; what influence prayer hath upon them; and what aflistance the prayers of other Chriftians may contribute to the obtaining of them; that fo your hearts may be excited and encouraged, not only to pray for yourselves, but to engage as many as you can to feek the Lord for you, as you fee Paul here did, when he was undertaking his dangerous voyage. In the next place I fhall apply it.

Ufe 1. And, firft, This may ferve fharply to reprove the generality of our feamen, who mind every thing neceflary to their voyage, except prayer, the principal thing; who go out in voyages without aíking God's leave or bleffing. And here three forts of perfons fall under conviction, and just rebuke.

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Firft, Such as do but mock God, and delude themfelves by heartSome there be that dare not lefs, dead and empty formalities. altogether flight and neglect prayers, but pro forma, they will do fomething themfelves; and it may be as a compliment, or, at most, as a cuftomary thing, will defire the prayers of others: but, alas! there is no heartinels or fincerity in these things; they are no way affected with the fenfe of their own wants, fins, or dangers; they never understood the use, nature, or end of prayer. We blame the blind Papifts, and that justly, for their blind devotions, who reckon their prayers by number, and not by weight; and truly, there is but little difference between theirs, and fome of our devotions. It is * St Auguftine's counfel, "Do you learn to have in your hearts what. every one hath in his lips." O that you would once learn to be in earneft with God! to pray as men that understand with whom you have to do; and what great things you have to tranfact with God! ah, my friends, you may believe it, that if ever you had felt the weight of fin upon your confciences, and had had fuch fick days and nights for it, as fome have had, you would not afk a pardon fo coldly and indifferently as you do. If you did but know the benefit of God's prefence with you in troubles, how fweet it is; or could but apprehend how terrible a thing it is to be left of God, as Saul was, in the day of diftrefs, you would weep and make fupplication for his gracious prefence to go forth with you; and would fay, with Mofes, "If thy "prefence may not go with me, then carry me not hence." But, alas! thele things appear not to you in their reality and importance. And hence is all that wretched formality and deadnefs of fpirit.

Secondly, It rebukes much more fuch as wholly flight and neglect prayer, as a ufelefs and vain thing; who undertake defigns without prayer, not at all acknowledging God in any of their ways. And it is justly to be fufpected, there are multitudes of fuch practical atheists among feamen, as well as other orders of men. Poor men ! my heart mourneth over you; you are certainly a forlorn set of men, who live without God in the world. It was anciently faid, "he that would "learn to pray, let him go to fea +" But now, how long may a man be at fea, before he hear a praying feamen! Let your families from which you part, witness what confcience you have made to seek God, as you have been here directed, before your outfet: it is faid, Deut. xxxiii. 18. to the tribe of feamen, "Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy "going out." But in this cafe we may invert the words, and fay, Mourn, O ye feamen, in your going out. How deplorable a cafe is this? Let your cabins witnefs what confcience you make of the duty of prayer: you can talk and fleep there, but when did you pray there? You there hear the voice of God in the roaring feas; but when did God hear your voice in prayer? You fee the wonders of God in the

• Difcite babere in corde, quod omnis bomo habet in lingua. Aug. in Pf. 32.
† Qui nefcit arare, difcat navigare,

deeps, wonders of creation, and wonders of prefervation; but mean time you yourselves are the greatest wonders that are to be feen in the fea: men immediately depending upon God for their lives, liberties, and efates, every moment, and not once owning r acknowledging him by prayer.

The very * Heathens will rife up in judgment against you, and condemn you. I remember Plato brings in Alcibiades asking Socrates, How he ought to exprefs his refolution and purposes? To whom he thus anfwereth; "Before every undertaking thou must fay, "If God will." And we know the eastern nations would undertake nothing of moment, without first acknowledging God by prayer. The Greeks Guy Ow, by the leave or bleffing of God, is known to all. The Turks will condemn fuch as you are, for they fail not to pray five times a day, how urgent foever their business be. The blind and fuperftitious Papifts will condemn you, with whom it is a proverb, Mafs and meat hinder no man. Oh! whither will you turn? and who fhall comfort you, when trouble comes upon you? Wonder not at croffes and disappointments in your bufinefs; how can you expect it should be otherwife, as long as God is neglected, yea, difowned? Say not, this is the fruit of ill luck, but of your profane neglects. If the fuccefs of all your business depends upon God (as none but Atheists dare deny) then certainly the directest and readiest courfe a man can take to deftroy all, is to difengage God by a finful neglect of him. The moft compendious way to ruin, is to forget God, and caft off prayer. "Pour out thy fury (faith the prophet) upon the heathen

that know thee not, and upon the families that call not upon thy "name." Jer. x. 25. Will nothing less than extremity make you cry to God? Wonder not then, if God bring you unto that extremity which your profanenefs makes neceffary for your awakening.

Thirdly and lafly, How much fadder, and more deplorable, is the cafe of thofe that not only neglect to call upon the name of God by prayer, but do alfo wound his name through and through by their curfed oaths and blafphemies? who inftead of going on board praying, as Paul here did, go on board curfing, fwearing, and blafpheming his great and dreadful name; not going from their bended knees, but drunken ale-benches, to the fhip.

O the admirable patience of God! O the power of his long-fuffering! that ever that fhip fhould fwim one hour above water, that carries fuch loads of fin and guilt within it! It is noted in Gen. iv. 26. in the days of Seth, "That then men began to call upon the name of the "Lord." Some tranflate the word ph invocation, or prayer, and fome profanation; then began profanenefs in calling upon the name of the Lord. In a mournful feeling of this dishonour done to God by it, Seth calls the fon that was born to him in those times, Enoch, or Sorrowful. Sure I am, however the word be here to be tranflated,

* Άλλα πως χρη λεγειν ; cui refpondet Socrates. Ότι εαν Θεός εθέλη. Plato in Time.