The Spiritual Favorite at the Throne of Grace, Part 3 – Part 4
It is an excellent skill and art in Prayer, to have strong Arguments.
THen the suit comes off easily:It is an an excellent skill and art in prayer to havestrong argumēts. As in Psal. 90. It is a prayer of Moses the man of God, and yet the least part of the Psalme is prayer: Teach us to number our dayes, &c. That is all the petition, though the petition be short, yet it is efficacious when the heart is warmed and strengthened with strong reasons before; when the heart is elevated and raised with the consideration of the Majesty and the truth of God; and when the heart is strengthned with strong convincing reasons, that God will heare, when wee presse him with his word: I say, when the heart is thus raised and warmed, all the petitions come easily off.
Therefore it is an excellent thing, Beloved, to study the Scriptures, and to study all the arguments whereby holy men have prevailed with God in Scripture, and to see in what case those Arguments were used; they are of use and force to prevaile with God.
It is a pittifull thing now, for Christians under the glorious light of the Gospel, to come to God only with bare neked petitions (if they come from a true heart, they have their force that GOD should regard them) and have not reasons to presse God out of his own word, they cannot bind God with his own promise, nor with Arguments that hee hath been bound with before.Simile. Let a child but cry to the father or mother, there is reliefe presently for the very cry: but if it bee not one that is a child but is of growne yeares, the Father lookes for arguments that are mooving to presse him with: So here, Nehemiah he presseth God with moving & strong arguments, and hee repeates and forceth them; hee doth not onelyonly alleadge them, but inforceth them, Oh Lord I beseech thee let thine eare he attent to the prayer of thy servant, and of thy servants that desire to feare thy name.
He desireth God to bee attentive. Hee presseth God, and indeede he doth it to warm his owne heart: forwhen we have humbled our heart low enough, and broken it with the consideration of our own unworthinesse; and then warmed it with the consideration of Gods goodnesse, and strengthened it with the consideration of Gods promise and truth; then wee are sure of a gracious successe.
Let thine eare bee attent to the prayer of thy servant, and of thy servants.
How did they know that they were thine?
Because there was no other people in the world that knew God but they. And hee knew that the Saints where ever they were had a spirit of prayer, and would remember the case of the Church; therefore he saith remember my prayer, and the prayer of thy servants: For if the prayer of one righteous man prevaile much, much more the prayer of many. If there had beene but ten righteous in Sodome, Sodome had beene preserved. Now this hee aleageth to God, remember the prayer of thy servant, of mine, and the prayer of thy servants. As Tertullian an anciant Father saith very well,Tertul. when men joyne together, they offer a holy kind of violence to God: prayer is a kinde of wrastling, and contending with God, a striving with him. Let me alone saith God to Moses. It is a binding of him with arguments, and promises of his owne; and it is so forcible that he desires (as it were) to bee let alone: Now if the prayer of one, be a wrestling, and striving and forcing of him, as it were against his will, (that he said, Let me alone; as if he could doe nothing except he gave over praying) What are the prayers of many, when there is a multitude of them?
Therfore we may looke for a comfortable issue of our prayers, and humiliation, that is performed at this time. The desires of so many Christian soules touched with the spirit of God, and with the case of the Church (which God doth tender) cannot bee unefectuall, it must needs draw plenty of blessings from heaven. I will not enter into the common place of prayer, having spoken of it upon another occasion: but surely you see the holy man Nehemiah stood so much upon it, that hee hoped to speede, because hee, and others prayed; (holy Daniel, and others with him) It was such a gracious messenger to send to heaven for helpe and for all good, that Daniel, though it cost him his life, that he should be cast into the Lyons den, hee would not omit it for his life. Take away prayer, and take away the life and breath of the soule; Take away breath, and the man dies: as soone as the soule of a Christian beginnes to live he prayes. As soone as Saul was converted, behold hee prayeth. A child as soone as hee is borne, hee cryes; and a Christian will not loose his prayer for his life, as we see in holy Daniell. For what is all the comfort that he hath, but that that is derived from God? and God will be sued unto for all the favours hee bestowes: Whatsoever is from his favour it comes as a fruit of prayer (for the most part) though he goe beyond our desires many times: yet ordinarily what we have if we bee his children, we have it as a fruit of prayer. Therefore I beseech you let us be stirred up to this dutie, as we see Nehemiah here, remomber the prayer of thy servant, &c.
And when wee pray to God, let us presse him, as we see here, bee attentive, verse 6. and here againe, be attentive, he presseth upon God. It is no sinfull tautologie to come againe and againe. God loves to heare the same song againe and againe; this musicke is nottedious, but pleasing to him. And this pressing is for us to warme our hearts, perhaps one petition will not warme them, and when they are warmed by a second, let us labour to warme them more and more, and never give over till we have thoroughly warmed our hearts, Be attentive, be attentive to my prayer, and if mine will not prevaile, be attentive to the prayers of others, let the praiers of al prevaile, The prayer of thy servant, and of thy servants.
But how doth he make it good, they are thy servants?
They desire to feare thy name.
EMptie relations have no comforts in them: Empty relations have no comforts in them.To professe ones self a servant, and not to make it good that he is a servant. Wee must make good the relatiō we stand in to God, before wee can claime interest in the favor of God by our relation. Servants and Christians, and professors; here are glorious titles, but if they be emptie titles, if wee cannot make them good when we come to God with them: we cannot say we have any interest in God from emptie titles, it is rather an aggravation of our sin.
God will be honored in all those that come neare him, either in their obedience, or in their confusion: therefore here, the holy man did not thinke it enough to say, Thy servant, and thy servants, but who desire to feare thy name.
He goes to make it good that he was the servant of God, not from any outward thing, but from his inward disposition, the feare of God, which I will not now stand to speake largely of. God requires the heart,Religion most seene in the affections. and Religion is most in managing and tuning the affections, for they are the wind that carries the soule to every dutie.Simile. A man is like the dead sea without affections: Religion is most in them. The Devil hath braine enough, hee knowes enough; more then any of us all; but then he hates God, hee hath no love to God, nor no feare of God, but onelyonly a slavish feare, he hath not this reverentiall feare, childlike feare. Therefore let us make it good that wee are the servants of God, especially by our affections, and chiefely by this of feare, which is put for all the worship of God: it is put in stead of those conditions spoken of ver. the 9 If you turne to me; and keepe my Commandements and doe them, then I will make good my promise: Now (saith hee) taking up the same strength of argumēt; We desire to feare thy name. As if hee should have said, we turne to thee, and obey thy Commandements, & desire to doe them; it is all one, wee desire to feare thy name: for those that feare God, will turne to him, and to desire to obey his Commandements and to doe them, it is all one as to doe them. If a man should doe them and not from the feare of God, all were nothing but a carkasse of obedience. I will not stand longer on that.
How doth hee make it good, that hee feared the name of God?
He makes it good from this, that hee had good desires, Wee desire to feare thy name. We desire it for the present, and for the time to come; whence we will observe two or three things shortly, as may be vsefull to us. First of all out of this, that this desire to feare the name of God, is brought as an argument to prevaile in prayer, We may observe that,