was nearest to Christ of any saint that ever was, and near unto Christ in this; for Jesus Christ in heaven hath the names of all saints in his breast, as the high priest had, and makes intercession for them. Paul maketh intercession for all the churches, and for many particular persons; he was abundant this way; and what a large time did he then spend in private prayer! Oh, think of the largeness of Christ's heart for us in his intercessions; as he knows his sheep by name, so every one that comes to God by him, he ceaseth not always to intercede for them, even every one of them in particular; as it follows there, 'He ever lives to make intercession.'

Since I heard of your faith and love, I have not ceased, &c.-From this coherence observe, The remembrance of eminent faith and love in Christians, or in churches, should provoke us to give thanks to God for them, and to pray much for them. And withal, it is a great encouragement to every saint to be very holy. For then God will stir up the hearts of many, to pray for them that are so, and the Holy Ghost will bring them to remembrance. Paul makes an argument for himself, Heb. xiii. 18, Pray for us,'why?' for we trust we have a good conscience in all things, willing to live honestly.' Seeing in all things we have a good conscience for the time past, but willing for the time to come to preserve it, you shall not lose your prayers in your praying for me. And in his Epistle to Timothy, he telleth him, that this moveth him to pray for him without ceasing; remembering, saith he, thy tears and thy faith, 2 Tim. i. 3, 4. Those that have much,

shall have much added to them, and that by the prayers of others for them. And to that end God will stir up many to pray for them. This, among others, is a great motive and encouragement to holiness. Thou desirest many prayers for thee, this is the way to procure them.

Second duty, Giving of thanks.-By prayer we shew our dependence upon God for what we want. In thanks, we return an acknowledgment to God of what we have already received. Thanks is for mercies bestowed and past; and prayer is a seeking of God for mercies to come.

Now, first, mark the coherence. The words he had immediately before uttered were, that God had done thus and thus for them, 'to the praise of his glory.' And so it is as if he had said, The end of all the benefits God bestoweth being to the praise of his glory, and I, having this praise of his glory in mine eye and heart, as dearest to me, and having heard of your faith and love, cease not to give thanks for you.' My brethren, the highest way that we in this life are able to give glory to God is by thankfulness, Ps. 1. 14, 15, compared with ver. 23, Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows to the Most High and call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.' And this glorifying is offering thanks so, ver. 23, Whoso offereth praise doth glorify me.' So that now you are obliged unto this duty, upon the highest obligation, because of all duties else it doth tend so much to the glory of God.—I have despatched the two duties.

The second thing in the word is, his constancy in praying; 'I cease not.' The meaning is this: In every prayer, as oft as I have prayed solemnly, which I have not ceased to do, I have not ceased to give thanks to God for you; so Phil. i. 4, 'Always, in every prayer.' If we seek a great blessing at God's hand, we cease not praying for it till we have an answer. The parable so teacheth us, Luke xviii. 1. And then

Obs. The observation is, That (which we are wanting in the performance of) great mercies, either upon ourselves or others, which we are bound to thank God for, we should do it without ceasing a long while after. When

you are to seek to God for a great mercy, then you cease not to make mention of it in your prayers; but the Apostle, you see, ceaseth not to give thanks they are both alike to the glory of God. And according to your prayers, so are your mercies; great and long prayers bring down in the end great and lasting mercies. And on the other hand, if your mercies be great and lasting, your thanksgivings should be great also.

Besides the reason I formerly mentioned,—that thanksgiving glorifieth God so much, and is to the praise of his glory,-take the measure of the duties themselves. Prayer and thanksgiving are of an equal latitude; they are both duties of the first commandment. And as we say of God's attributes, they are all of a like extent; so are those duties that are duties of the first commandment. It is a shame for us, that if we have been long and much in prayer for great mercies before we obtained them, we should make short and small work of our thanksgivings for them; that when you have not ceased to be instant in prayer to obtain them, you should cease to give thanks for them when you have received them. The glory of God is concerned alike in both. If they be great mercies, and such as have influence into the whole course of a man's life, whereof he hath the daily benefit, he should not cease to remember them, and to give thanks for them daily. If they be occasional mercies, they should work as occasional afflictions do. It is not to be said that every affliction a man should be continually thinking of, or making use of. No, but they are specially to operate till another affliction cometh. A man should make use of the last. So it is in mercies and thanksgivings. God stroweth some benefits, some mercies in our life, as a rhetorician doth flowers in his orations, here and there, up and down. Now the last mercy, till God hath put down that mercy by some greater, we should still remember it. Only, on solemn days of fasting, upon God's calling thereto by some eminent affliction, we should then take notice and a survey of as many former afflictions as we can call to mind, to humble ourselves under God's displeasure in multiplying of them. And thus of mercies, in days of thanksgivings.

Secondly, There are two words to shew this constancy: 'I cease not,' applied to his giving thanks, and 'always,' spoken of his prayings; and either denotes a constant set solemnity of praying and thanksgiving, but especially both joined do import it; which was morning and evening, as the worship of old was, 'night and day,' 2 Tim. i. 3. And though Daniel prayed thrice, and others seven times, yet the general constant custom, principle, and manner of the private worship of all the Jews was twice a-day, being conformable to the public institution of the sacrifices and incense twice a-day, which was termed 'continual sacrifice;' by which 'pray continually' may be interpreted, which was the rule of Paul's practice, Acts xxvi. 7, Unto the which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come.' But of that I have spoken more upon Phil. i. 4.

SERMON XIX.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. -VER. 17.

I COME now to the 17th verse, and that is the prayer itself which Paul here did put up for them, 'since he heard,' &c.

I will give you the division of the words, and some short analysis of them. First, here is the person whom he prayeth to, that is, God; whom he doth set forth under the apprehension and notion, for the strengthening of his faith, for the obtaining of what he asks,-as we are always to do in prayer,—of 'the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of glory.'

Secondly, you have the things he prayeth for. Concerning which, in the general, all the things he prayeth for are spiritual knowledge, he mentioneth nothing else: "That he would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,' so saith the 17th verse; and that he would give you enlightened eyes, as I shall shew you the words may be read, and I think are rather to be read, 'that you may know what is the hope of his calling,' &c., so saith the 18th verse. In general you see it is for knowledge. More particularly, here are four things he doth especially pray for :

1. For the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God; which, as I shall open to you, I take it is in personal communion with God. 2. That they might know what is the hope of his calling; what grounds they had to hope for eternal life, that they might see more clearly into them every day than other.

3. That they might have great and enlarged apprehensions working in their hearts, and telling their spirits, of the riches of glory which God had laid up for them. That ye may know,' saith he, 'what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance,' &c.

4. That they might know the power that was engaged, and had begun to work in them, that would subdue all their lusts, that would never leave them till it had brought them to the same place where Christ was. Whereas they might look upon themselves as men, and sinful,—and how shall we come to this glory you speak of?-he prayeth that they might know the exceeding greatness of that power which works in those that believe, even the same that wrought in Christ in raising him from the dead. And, further to encourage them, he setteth forth Jesus Christ, not only in glory, raised up by the power of God, and that the same power is engaged to raise them up, but he setteth him forth as their Head, in whom therefore they have interest, who sat at the right hand of God in the heavenly places,-so saith the 20th verse, and whose heart was engaged to them. For, saith he, ver. 23, you are the fulness of Christ, and Christ will not lose one of them. That they might know all these things, and live in the comfort of them; this is the sum and matter of the Apostle's prayer.-So much now for the short and brief analysis of the words to the end of the chapter.

But I come to the first thing which is in the 17th verse. He prayeth that they might have the 'Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.' The person he prayeth to I shall handle afterward, because the understanding of it hath influence into what followeth, as well as this first petition; why God is called the 'God of Christ,' why the Father of glory;' why Paul setteth him up under both these considerations to strengthen his faith, that these particulars shall be granted, I will shew this afterward; but I will now handle what is meant here by giving them the 'Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.' For the opening of this, and likewise of all the rest, I will give you these general premises :

First, As I said, the thing he prayeth for is knowledge. He doth not mention grace and holiness, not in all this prayer; yet it is most strongly included in it, and it is the most necessary effect and concomitant of that knowledge he prayeth for here.

Secondly, That he doth not pray so much that they might increase more and more in the knowledge of their interest in God and in heaven, though some think that that is the meaning of the 'hope of their calling;' but the main thing he prayeth for is, that they might know the things themselves; that they might know God, that they might know what riches of glory is laid up for them in heaven, have enlarged apprehensions of the things themselves to be known, and so that they might know the 'power that works in them that believe,' &c.

Thirdly, That the things he prayeth for here were things that befitted the state of grown Christians. He doth not pray for them as for men to be converted. No; for it is a prayer he framed for them since he heard of their faith and love,' of whom he had said, they were sealed' too 'with the Spirit of promise;' as in the former verses. Now, my brethren, this the Apostle doth; he considereth with himself to what pitch Christians that are to grow in grace should be brought, and what is the greatest means to cause them to grow in grace; and for the working and effectual knowledge of these things he prayeth here. He doth not pray that they might know sin, as in the first conversion, that they might repent and believe, &c. But he prayeth that they might increase in the knowledge of him,' in an experimental communion with God and acknowledgment of him; for so, as I take it, it is to be meant, as I shall shew you afterwards. He takes the utmost things that his own light reacheth to, and he putteth them into his prayer for these Ephesians. And read all the prayers that he makes for others in several epistles, as Col. i. 10, Phil. i. 9, and they all fall short of the prayer here. The Apostle's mind is more filled with a higher and a further light; he expresseth more glorious things; his eye was upon the utmost pitch of Christianity which he would have these Ephesians aim at, and which he desired God to bestow upon them.

And yet, in the last place, let me tell you, that here is nothing that he doth pray for, but that common Christians, vulgus Christianorum, the Ephesian women and men, all the saints there, were capable of. This I put in, because of the word revelation, which might seem to carry things to somewhat extraordinary, proper unto apostles. What is the meaning of it I shall shew afterward.

Now, my brethren, take an observation or two before I come to the particulars.

Obs. 1.-The first is this, That spiritual knowledge is the great, the main thing in the working of grace, or in the increasing of grace. He mentioneth not a word of holiness, but you see all he prayeth for is knowledge; but it is

He certainly prays

such a knowledge as no carnal heart in the world hath. for the highest thing, and the best thing he could pray for, that his light suggested to him. He prayed for holiness elsewhere with knowledge; but here you see for knowledge alone, because knowledge in the Scripture sense includeth the affections, includeth the whole heart to be carried after it— true knowledge doth; to know things as a man ought to know them, as the Apostle distinguisheth it in 1 Cor. viii. 2, to know the truth as 'the truth in Jesus,' as the truth is in the things themselves. The more knowledge and light a man hath in his understanding, the more his whole life is carried after such a knowledge. He need pray for nothing else if he have such a knowledge, for all else will fall in with it.

Look in all the prayers he makes for the churches: for the Philippians, chap. i. 9, 10, he prayeth that their 'love may abound,' but how? In all Knowledge and sense, an experimental knowledge, that sees and tastes the things that a man knows,-'that you may approve the things that are excellent,' so saith ver. 10. So for the Colossians, chap. i., he prayeth, that they might walk worthy to all well-pleasing,' so at the 10th verse; but at the 9th verse first he prayeth they may be filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding.' So that still, I say, observe, that all his prayers in these epistles, it is for knowledge in the first place, that is the main spring of all the rest.

My brethren, there is indeed a notional knowledge, or, as I may call it, a phantasmatical knowledge of spiritual things-that is, whereby a man knows them; but it is by such a kind of light as is in any knowledge and science whatsoever, whereby he knoweth the rationality of things, but by images as the fancy delivereth up to the understanding to work upon, by hearsay. But then there is a real knowledge that bringeth down the things into a man's heart. Saith Paul, 2 Cor. iii. 18, With open face we behold the glory of the Lord as in a glass, and are changed into the same image.' Put but the difference in the similitude that the Apostle expresseth it, and you shall see how all knowledge falleth short of spiritual knowledge, which changeth the heart. Take a man now that is a rational divine, and no more; he knoweth the truth of the Scripture, and the reason and the harmony that is between one principle and another, as a man doth of things by hearsay, and the understanding works upon the reason that is in them, and the concordance and harmony that is in them. Take a temporary believer, and his knowledge hath more life in it; it is as the knowledge that one hath of a man in a dream; he hath heard much of a man, and he dreams of him, and fancieth him to be such a man, and thinks he sees him lively and really, and is affected by being in his presence. But spiritual knowledge the Apostle expresseth to 'beholding as in a glass.' Now mark, if you were looking in a glass, and a man you never saw before stood behind you, and you see his face, here now is such a real sight as putteth down all hearsays, all pictures, all dreams of a man; yet you do not see this man face to face. Now vision in heaven is seeing God face to face; but, saith he, in the meantime we behold him as in a glass. We have a real knowledge of him through the artifice of the Holy Ghost, and this knowledge now changeth the heart into the same image; therefore no wonder if the Apostle here prayeth for spiritual knowledge, and for that only, for these Ephesians.

There is a knowledge, my brethren, by way of gifts, that is in Christians, that is not this spiritual knowledge. Men may have large gifts, and yet be babes in respect of this knowledge, and they themselves be saints. That instance of the Corinthians is full to this purpose. The Apostle telleth