That great infirmity of human nature, with which the best men are frequently disturbed, “Inattention, and wandering thoughts in prayer," Mr. Bonnell had very well considered; he himself not being entirely free from it. It is what he often complains of with great passion, and for which he prescribes the properest remedies. His meditations upon wandering thoughts in prayer are too many to be here inserted; yet a few of them I cannot pass over. They shew a mind so deeply affected with the sense of its imperfections; so desirous to have its burdens removed; yet so patient and submissive under them; that they must need make due impressions on every devout reader.

His complaints of

"Lord," says he in one place, "it is being disturbed but a few hours ago, that I was tri

with wandering thoughts in

prayer; with the

remedies he pre

scribes for that infirmity.

umphing in thy favour; and in the blessed liberty thou gavest me of attending upon thee. What have I done since to make myself so miserable, and lose all this privilege; that from being attentive to a whole prayer, I can now scarce attend to a few sentences? Surely watching unto prayer consists in carefully avoiding all those things that have too strong an influence on our minds and affections, and are apt too forcibly to take up and engage our thoughts. But there is no watching against bodily disorders, which God thinks fit to send upon us, (O that they may be all in mercy!) and which make every trifle harass our thoughts as much as an important affair.

66

Pity me, O God of all pity, who puttest pity into the hearts of men towards one another; and who yet

are influenced but by slender drops of thy overflowing ocean of goodness. Fain would my heart come before thee; fain would my thoughts ascend to thee, and stay themselves upon thee: but like feathers thrown up into the air, a cross wind of earthly distractions comes and hurries them away, and scatters them over all the earth. If there is pain in life, surely it is to desire to serve thee, and not to be able. But the desire shall certainly prevail at last; for thou art in the desire, but the inability is not from thee."

Again, in another place, he thus expresses himself:

"It seems an intolerable burden to me, to be thus distracted in my devotions by worldly things, and makes me impatient, till I may get more out of the way of them, by changing my employment and station in the world. Yet the thought of this itself is damped, when I consider these two things: first, that bodily indispositions may make my head as unfit to attend on holy things, in the midst of the greatest leisure, and most sacred employment, as worldly business does now; and that even then, charity will oblige me to descend to the worldly matters of my friends: orphans, widows, and distressed persons must be assisted and relieved. Secondly, What shall become of the rest of mankind; of my Christian brethren, who remain under the same circumstances in which I am now; and from which they cannot get free, though perhaps I may? Must they not go to heaven, nor have comfort on the earth in the worship and service of God? God forbid! Why then should not I be content to bear my burden in life as well as

they; and struggle with difficulties in common with them? this is not the place of our enjoyment, but of our warfare; therefore I will humbly prepare myself to the combat, O my God: and when thou seest me ready to go on to fight, in obedience to thy pleasure, thou wilt order for me what thou knowest for the good and comfort of my soul."

Thus you see that all Mr. Bonnell's advances in the divine life, did not raise him above the infirmities of humanity, and the incumbrances of flesh and blood. And this is matter of great peace to the pious but weak Christian, who labours under the same difficulties, and is apt to be too much dejected when assaulted by vain and worldly thoughts in prayer. For these are trials which will exercise the faith and patience of the greatest favourites of God; and from which only heaven will entirely set us free. then if we would have peace of mind under these disturbances, we must not only pray against them with Mr. Bonnell's zeal, but endeavour, as he did, to prevent or remove them. And some of the remedies which he prescribes for this disease, are these that follow:

But

"The happiest means of gaining recollection when we pray, is to have nothing to do but to pray. It is so hard to compose our thoughts, which are apt to fly after every trifle, and to find innumerable things to take them off from their duty; that we must go to work by art, and deal with them as we do with irrational creatures; some of which (as hawks and horses) we hoodwink, when we would keep them intent on particular matters. We must shut all

other businesses out from our minds at that time. We must neither have any thing to do ourselves, nor expose ourselves to be disturbed by others. We must not only enter into our closets, but shut our doors about us. The great art to attain this happiness lies in saying, 'I have nothing to do this half hour, but to wait on my God.' For if we determine ourselves to no time, but are in haste to do something else, as soon as we have done our prayers, it is a great hazard if ever we are recollected. This is spoken of the orderly course of our devotions, when we have nothing amiss in our bodies or minds. But if either care, trouble, or indisposition, distract our thoughts, and make them apt to ramble from our duty, there will be more pains still requisite: it is not enough to set ourselves a certain time, but we must lay aside so much at large, as will be necessary to recite our devotions attentively. If when your mind is in a good frame, a quarter of an hour is sufficient for this; you are not to think much, if now you can be able to do it in a whole hour. That is, if you can recite your devotions so in an hour, as to be able to attend to each article of them. For taking in the large intervals, in which (in such a case) your thoughts will be quite lost, and roving far away from the matter they are about, and in which time you proceed nothing at all in your devotions; and that many times you will be forced to repeat that same sentence over and over again, before you will be able to acquit yourself of your duty, and attend to what you say thrice your usual time, or more, may well be supposed to be spent; and it is well if you come

off so. From which we see, that patience is a virtue as necessary sometimes in devotion as in afflictions; and the want of patience does as often make our devotions defective, as the want of recollection.

"Another rule to prevent distractions in prayer, is to give no way to vain amusements out of it. By vain amusements, I mean, thinking of things that never will be, or perhaps never can be; mere chimeras. It is a good mastery of our thoughts, to be able to reject these immediately, as soon as we reflect that our minds are busied about them: for, perhaps, our minds may be not a good way in them before we take notice of it. It is enough then, when we find it, to cast them out, and say, 'Away with this vain amusement: to what purpose this chimera? Why do I spend time and thought about it, who have so many necessary things to take up both?'" Again, in another place, he advises thus.

"If thou art troubled with inattentiveness, and wandering thoughts in prayer, consider whence they spring, and that will discover what they are. If they are such, as depend upon any affection, or passion in thy heart, which is not yet mortified as it should be; then, believe me, they are unclean birds, and pollute thy sacrifice. If they spring from any thing that is thy burden, and which thou labourest to subdue; it is still a little better. Be not discouraged, cast them from thee calmly, beg pardon, and pursue thy duty. If they be the thoughts of business, in which thy affections are not concerned; only that thou art unhappily engaged in an over-multiplicity of affairs; rid thy hands by degrees, as fast as thou canst, that