12. III. That God, who never slumbereth nor sleepeth, needs not to be awakened by our cries, fastings, and watchings; but that these exercises are profitable for man, to awaken and rouse him from the sleep of sin. Ps. 33:18; 34:15.
13. IV. That God is a thousand times more ready to give, than man is to receive. Jer. 32:41.
14. V. That the goodness and mercy of God towards mankind are infinite (Ps. 103:12), but that the negligence and sloth of men in praying, seeking, and knocking, are excessive. Matt. 7:7.
15. VI. That God is impartial and just in all his works, and is by no means the cause of our blindness, infirmities, ignorance, or miseries; but that wretched man himself is in fault, by neglecting to pray or to seek. Deut. 32:4; Ps. 92:15.
16. VII. That the true worshipper may at all times and in all places, offer up his prayers in spirit and in truth to God the Father, through Christ, provided he do not hinder himself. John 4:21, 23; Luke 18:1, etc.
17. VIII. That whosoever neglects prayer, deprives himself of the blessed opportunities of speaking to God. Ps. 19:14. Thus the sinner inflicts punishment on himself.
18. IX. That the diligent worshipper doeth good to himself; not of himself but by the prevenient grace of God, which is freely given to all men without exception.
19. Let him that is unacquainted with the preceding heads of meditation, know that he is still far from Christ, and has tasted but little of the truth. He who knows them, and believes them not, is guilty of a very great sin; and, lastly, he that believes them and yet is inactive, and does not stir up himself to the practice of them, but, on the other hand, lives on from day to day, in a state of doubt and indifference, is a great sinner, and shall be beaten with many more stripes than he who knew not his Lord's will, and therefore did it not. Luke 12:47. Let the one last mentioned look carefully to himself, that he may be seriously converted, and not perish in his sins.
A PRAYER.
O Lord, and merciful Father, awaken me by thy Holy Spirit, that I may not only know those things, but may practise them by a lively faith, and become a true worshipper in spirit and in truth. Amen.