did any abide in his fear and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise that called upon him? for the Lord did not despise the prayer of Isaac, when he intreated the Lord concerning his seed, in which all the nations of the earth should be blessed. (Gen. xxv. 21.) But he granted him his request. But after this, many a time did the children of Israel sin against the Lord: but at the same time he despised not the fervent prayer of his servant Moses concerning them. Therefore he said, that he would destroy them had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. So we see that the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much; for it appears that by his prayers, that the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. (Exod. xxxii. 11, 14-Psalm cvi. 33.) Now my dear friends, we see that prayer is to some good effect, and for the encouragement of women as well as the men, I will not leave out this passage of Scripture, as follows:-And although Eve broke the holy law of God, and was in one way the cause of the transgression; but notwithstanding, although this be the case of the woman, yet at the same time there is a Saviour provided for the woman as well as for the man; and God will not despise, nor reject the pious prayers of his hand-maids. For in the book of Samuel you may find how that by prayer Hannah obtained grace in the sight of her God. Now you may see in this chapter, that how her adversary provoked her to make her fret, because she had no child. And it appears that when Hannah was in the house of the Lord, that she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore; and she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine hand-maid, and remember me, and not forget th ne hand-maid; but will give unto thine hand-maid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; for she did not pray to be heard of men, but to be heard of God; for she poured out her soul before the Lord, and the Lord heard her, and granted unto her, her request, and gave her a son, and she called his name Samuel, because she asked him of God: and when she had weaned the child, she brought him unto the house of the Lord, and she left him there in the hands of the Lord, according to her vow. (1 Sam. i.) And the Lord loved him, and was with him, and he revealed his will unte

him in the visions of the night, and he became a prophet, mighty in word and power. So you see by prayer and faith in the Lord, this woman obtained a righteous person, which was a blessing and a leader of the Church of God; and he was as a father unto Israel, and a comfort to them in the time of their distress, for they besought him to pray unto the Lord for them, when their enemies pressed sore upon them: and Samuel prayed unto the Lord for the, when he offered the sucking lamb, and the Lord heard his prayer out of his holy habitation, and delivered his people Israel out of the hands of their enemies. (Sam. vii. 9.) So we see what good this woman done by prayer, which is the gift of God; therefore it is an encouragement for the females to follow her steps, that is, to pray for all things which are needful for their soul's salvation. And again we may see the power of prayer, for it brings the life and spirit of God into our souls: for remember how that good old Elijah prayed to the Lord for the widow's son which was dead, that the soul of the child might come into him again, and the Lord heard his prayer; and Elijah stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the vo.ce of Elijah; and the soul of the ch ld came into him again, an he revived. (1 Kings xvii. 21, 22.) Therefore brethren, we see the result of prayer by this good man, and we see also, how it brings the tender mercy of God home to our souls; for he is a Father to the fatherless, and a comfort, and a help to the widow is our God in his holy habitation. And again, by the prayer of Elijah, the Lord sent down fire and convinced the wicked that there is no help in strange gods. (1 Kings xviii. 38.) And Elijah was a good man, and done wonders on the earth, and by prayer and faith in his God, he was taken up from the earth, by the appearance of a chariot of fire, into the everlasting heaven, and by prayer Elisha obtained grace to be blest with the spirit of Elijah, and it was so that by this Holy Spirit of prayer, that he wrought miracles, and wonders on the earth, and Elisha was a man of great faith in his God, for he feared God, and not man, and by the spirit of the Lord, he divided the water of Jordan, and by the spirit of the Lord, he also healed the unwholesome waters, and by his righteousness he set an example for the wicked, and showed them the vengeance of the Lord. (2 Kings ii.) And also in the time of draught, Elisha by the spirit of the Lord, brought

water into the valley abundantly to satisfy the king's armies. (2 Kings iii.) And by faith and prayer to God he wrought those things, and he multiplieth the widow's oil, and he raised the dead to life again, ev n by the power of the spirit of the Lord. (2 Kings iv.) And when the king of Syria warred against Israel, by prayer Elisha smote his army with blindness. (2 Kings vi. 18.) He was a min blest with an excellent spirit from the Lord; it appears that whilst he lived, that he was not moved by any man, neither could any king or prince or an army of men bring him into subjection; and by prayer this good man wrought many more mighty acts, that are not to be found in this Book, but you may find them in the second Book of the Kings of Israel. An again, in another place we may read of the prayer of good Hezekiab, and how he prayed when the enemy pressed hard upon h m: and we see by his prayer how the Lord delivered him and his people out of the hands of their enemies. (2 Kings xix.) But you have an account of this in my Book called The Power of God against the Wicked. But again, you may read how he prayed unto the Lord his God, when he was sick and near unto death, an how he spoke of his integrity, and the Lord head and accepted his prayer, and added unto his days fifteen years. (2 Kings xx.) So you see my friends by prayer and faith in the Lord, we may obtain great help in the time of distress and afflictions.

And again, you may read for yourselves in the second of Chronicles, what comfort and help the people received of the Lord by the prayer of Jehoshaphat. (chap. xx.) We read and see in another place the eff ct of prayer, that is, how Jonah prayed when he was in the fi h's belly, and the Lord had mercy upon Jonah, and it is said, that the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry lan. O then doch not the spirit of the Lord penetrate into the deep waters ? O Jonah, Jonah, how great was thy salvation in wh ch the Lord wrought out for thee in thy davs. (chap. i. 10.) And by repentance and prayer, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, before it be too late, we may be delivered from the belly of destruction, an I when we pray, how humble we ought to be, for we have oftimes great cause to pray as good old Jacob did, for he owned and acknowledged his unworth ness, and said, I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies, and of all thy truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant. But at the same time the Lord did bless him, and delivered him out of the hand of his bro

ther Esau, and caused them to see each others face in love and peace. (Gen. xxxii.) But for further encour gement my friends, look into the Psalms of David, and there you may read some of the most admirable prayers of this pious man; and if you look into this little Book, you may read as follows-how he poured out his soul to God, and the consólation which he receive thereby: My voice saith he, shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord in the mo nang will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. But ob erve what he saith as follows, For thou art not a God thath th pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee. (Psalm v. 34.) Therefore by these words, we may see that he knew that if he did not pray in sincerity and in truth, God would not hear hm: therefore, we may rely upon the prayers of David to be very sincere, and of great impo.tance, as follows:-And in sickness, an distress, he prayeth, and saith, O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed. (Psalm vi.) You may see by this, that David knew that God was just, and that he was, or is angry against sin, and that by his d.vine justice, he will not .et it go unpunished; but, on the other hau 1, he knew that he is merciful, and that is by a mediator, which is Christ, our Saviour. And by fai.h the Lord heard David's prayer, and had mercy upon him, and wrought out his salvation. But David, like unto a Christian, still found a cor.upt nature working about within, and the chastening hand of Goi upon him: therefore, he had oftimes great cause to cry out to the rock of his salvation. And again, he saith, Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. And for thy name sake, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. Look upon mine affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins. Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. And by faith, he still p evails in prayer, and saith, My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. (Psalm xxv.) Draw me n t away with the wicked, saith he, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. (Psal.n xxviii. 3.) Now, speaking of such characters as these, may God Almighty overthrow their enterprise, and deliver his people out of their hands, and bring them to his land of rest safe from the deceitful tongue. An my frien's read for yourselves the 38th Psalm, and you will find how David poured out his soul to God in his

distress; and in the 51st Psalm you may find how David maketh a deep confession of his sins, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba, the wife of Uriah, and had caused him to fall by the sword of the children of Ammon, to the intent that he may have concealed his own wickedness, and in his Psalm, he crieth out in the anguish of his soul, and saith, Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation. And David prayed with contrition of heart, and God pardoned his sin. But for further information concerning this sin that David committed, you may find in the Book of Whoredom, and the Fall of the Righteous, and in the Book called Repentance you may read his prayer, and there you see how he prayed for mercy from his Goi, and although David fell into this great sin, yet God knew the desire of his soul, and had mercy upon him: for surely I think that he remembered his prayers, and that of when he said, one thing have I esired of the Lord that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. (Psalm xxvii. 4.) And again, he craveth the help of God, and breaketh out and saith, When my heart is overwhelmel: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 1xi. 2.) Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort thou hast giv. n commandments to save me. (Psalm lxxi. 3.) And in another place, the Psalmi t saith, I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side: I will not fear: what can man do unto me? (Psalm cxviii. 5, 6.) Now I believe my friends that David's prayers were to some great effect; for he seems to have prayed nearly all the way to heaven. Cast me not off in the time of old age: forsake me not when my strength faileth. (Psalm lxxi. 9.) Neither doth it appear that the Lord did cast him off in his old age; for he saith, I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me; and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. (Psalm lxxxvi. 12.) And now, remember what David saith towards the end of his days, when he speaks of the things which God delighteth in towards the children of men. Although, saith he, my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all