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XLIX. To Mr. J. J. Esq.
SIR,
I Received those sparkes of piety you pleas'd to send me in a manu∣script, and wheras you favour me with a desire of my opinion concerning the publishing of them; Sir I must confess that I found among them many most fervent and flexanimous strains of devotion; I found som prayers so piercing and powerfull that they are able to invade Heaven, and take it by violence, if the heart doth i'ts office as well as the toung: But Sir, you must give me leave (and for this leave you shall have authority to deal with me in such a case) to tell you, that wheras they consist only of requests being all supplicatory prayers, you should do well to in∣tersperse among them som eucharisticall ejaculations, and doxo∣logies, som oblation•…•… of thankfulnes; we should not be allwayes whining in a puling petitionary way (which is the tone of the time now in fashion) before the gates of Heaven with our fingers in our eyes, but we should lay our hands upon our hearts and break into raptures of joy and praise, a soul thus elevated is the most pleasing sacrifice that can be offer'd to God Almighty, it is the best sort of in•…•…ense: Prayer causeth the first showr of rain, but praise brings down the second, the one fructifieth the earth, the other makes the Hills to skip; all prayers aim at our own ends and in∣terest, but praise proceeds from the pure motions of love and gra∣titude, having no other object but the glory of God, that soul which rightly dischargeth this part of devotion may be said to do the duty of an Angell upon earth. Among other attributes o•…•… God, praescience or fore-knowledge is one, for he knowes ou•…•… thoughts, our desires, our wants long before we propound them▪ And this is not only one of his attributes but prerogative royall, therfore to use so many iterations, inculcatings, and tautologie•…•…, as it is no good manners in morall Philosophy, no more is it i•…•… divinity, it argues a pusillanimou•…•… and mistrustfull soul: of the two, I had rather be overlong in praise, than prayer: yet I wou•…•… be carefull it should be free from any Pharisaicall babling; pray∣er compar'd with praise, is but a fuliginous smoak issuing fro•…•…