The Spiritual Favorite at the Throne of Grace, Part 5 – Part 6
Those that will prevaile with God in prayer, must look to the bent of their soules for the time to come, and for the present.
REgard thy servants that desire to feare thy name: Those that will prevaile in prayer must look to the bent of their affections.For to come to God without such a f…ame of soule as this, to desire to please God in all things for the presēt, & for the time to come, it is to come as Gods enēy; & wil God regard his enemies? When one comes with a purpose to live in any sin, without a desire for the time to come, to regard all Gods Commandements, he comes as Gods enemie: hee comes as it were with his dagge to shoote at God, hee comes with his weapon. Who will regard the petition of a man that comes to wound him at the same time? Whe… a man comes to God with a purpose to sinne, he comes to wound God at the same time as an enemie, and is hee like to speede? For what are our sinnes, but that that makes us enemies to God? they are oposite to him as can be, they make us hateful to God. Therfore we must be able to say with good Nehemiah, when we come to God to make it good that wee are servants indeede, We desire to feare thy name. As Ieremias tells them, Ier. 7. Will you steale and oppresse and commit adultery, and yet stand before me? will you doe this and this villany, and stand before me? What hast thou to doe (saith God) Psalme 50. to take my name into thy mouth and hatest to be reformed? If we hate to be reformed, and do not desire to serve God for the time to come, what have wee to doe to take his name into our mouthes, especially in the holy exercise of prayer? Psalme 66. If I regard iniquitie in my heart, the Lord will not heare my prayer. If a man doe but regard to live in iniquitie for the time to come, the Lord will not heare his prayer. Therefore if wee will bee able to prevaile with God in our petitions, we must say with holy Nehemiah, Wee desire for the time to come to feare thy name. I beseech you let us remember it.
And then (to omit other things) Wee desire to feare thy name, we see that
REligion,Christianity consists especially in holy desires. especially is in holy desires.
The greatest part of Christianity is to desire to bee a sound Christian with all his heart. Religion is more in the affections of the soule, then in the effects and operations: It is more in the resolutions, and purpose of the soule, then in any effects wee can yeeld to God. There is much desire in al our performances: therefore saith the holy man here, We desire to feare thy holy name.
Why are desires, such trialls of the truth of Grace?
Because they are the immediate issues of the soule:Holy desires the imediate issues of the soule. desires, & thoughts and such like▪ they are produced immediately from the soule without any help of the body, or without any outward manifestation, they shew the temper and frame of the soule. Thereupon God judgeth a man by his desires; and that which he desires, if it bee a true desire, hee shall have and be partakers of. The godly man desires to serve God all the dayes of his life; and for ever hee shall doe it: a wicked man desires to offend God if he might live everlastingly: God lookes upon him as his desire is, he shall not alway sinne here: but because hee hath an infinite desire of sin, he shall bee punished, in hell eternally; God lookes upon him as he desires, God values men by their desires.
But how are the truth of these desires knowne?
I will name a few signes.Tryall of desires whether true. The truth of those desires may be tryed thus,If constant if they be constant desires, and not flashes: for then they come from a new nature. Nature is strong and firme: Art is for a turne, to serve a turne: when men personate a thing they doe it not long; creatures that are forced to doe so and so, they returne to their own nature quickly: but when a man doth a thing naturally, he doth it constantly. So constant desires argue a sanctified frame of soule and a new creature; they argue that the image of God is stamped upon the soule. Therupon wee may know that they are holy desires, that that they spring from a holy soule, if they be constant, if they be perpetuall desires, and not as a torrent that is vented for the present on a sudden, and then comes to nothing after: they are constant.
And likewise,If strong and growing. if these desires be hearty strong desires, and not onelyonly strong but growing desires; desire upon desire; desire fed with desire still, never satisfied till they be satisfied. Strong and growing desires argue the truth of desires: as indeede a childe of God hath never grace enough, never faith enough, never love enough, or comfort enough, till he come to heaven. They are growing desires more & more: the Spirit of God that is the spring in him, springs up still further and further, till it spring to everlasting life, till it end in heaven, where all desires shall be accomplished, and all promises performed, and all imperfections removed, till then they are growing desires still. Wee desire to feare thy Name, and to please thee in all things.
Againe, true desires, they are not onelyonly of the favour If for grace as well as mercy.of God, but of graces for the altring of our nature: as Nehemiah here, he desires not the favor of God so much, as he desires to feare Gods Name. Now when desire is of graces, it is a holy desire. You have not the worst men, but would desire with Balaam, to dye the death of the righteous, &c. that they might injoy the portion of Gods people: but to desire grace, that is opposite to corrupt nature, as fire and water, this is an argument of a holy principle of grace in us, whence this desire springs, when we desire that, that is a counter poyson to corrupt nature, that hath an antitipathy to corruption. Therefore, when a man from the bottome of his heart can desire, oh! that I could serve God better, that I had more liberty to serve him, that I had a heart more inlarged, more mortified, more weaned from the world; Oh! that I could feare God more. And of all graces, if it be a true desire, it is of such graces as may curbe us of our sinfull delights, and restraine us of our carnall liberty, and knit us neere to God, and make us more heavenly minded: the desire of these graces shew a true temper of soule indeed.
True desire is carried to grace as well as glory, If more for holinesse then happines in heaven.and the desire of heaven it selfe. A true spirit, that is touched with grace, with the Spirit of God; it desireth not heaven it self so much for the glory, and peace, and abundance of all contentments, as it desires it, that it is a place where it shall be freed from sinne, and where the heart shall be inlarged to love God, to serve God, & to cleave to God for ever: and as it is a condition wherein he shall have the image and resemblance of Iesus Christ perfectly upon his soule: Therefore wee pray Thy Kingdome come, that is, we desire that thou wouldest rule more and more largly in our soules, and subdue all opposite power in us, and bring into captivity all our desires and affections, and let thy Kingdome come more and more. Let thy will be done by us, and in us more and more, In earth as it is in heaven. Here is a sweet prayer now serving to the first petition, the hallowing of Gods name, when we desire more to honour God, and to that purpose that he may rule in us more, and make us better: these desires argue an excellent frame of soul, as we see in Nehemiah, our desire is to feare thy Name.If accompanied with desire after the means that convey grace.
True desires are likewise to the meanes of salvation▪ and to the meanes of salvation as they convay grace, as sincere milke; as you have it 1 Pet. 2.1 Pet. 2. As new borne babes, desire the sincere milke of the Word. Where a man hath holy desires of any grace, and hath them in truth, hee will desire those meanes, whereby those graces may most effectually bee wrought in his heart: therefore hee will heare the word, as the word of God; hee comes not to heare the Word because of the eloquence of the man that delivers it, that mingles it with his owne parts, hee comes not to heare it as the tongue of man: but he sees God in it; it is the powerfull Word of God, because there goes the efficacie of the Spirit with it, to worke the graces he desires.
Therefore a man may know by his tast of divine truth, whether he desire grace: hee that desires grace, desires the meanes that may convay grace, and especially so farre as they convay grace. As new borne babes desire the sincere milke of the Word. You cannot still a childe with any thing but milke, he desires no blending or mixing, but onelyonly milke: so a true Christian desires divine truthes most; because the Spirit of God is effectuall by them, to worke grace and comfort in him. I will not inlarge my selfe in the point.
The comfortable observation hence is this,Vse. that weak Christians,Comfort for weake christians. that finde a debilitie, and faintnesse, and feeblenesse in their performances; hence they may comfort themselves, by their desire to feare God, and to worship God, and to serve him: if their desires bee true. Therefore in Isaiah 26. the Church alledgeth it to God, in the way of thy judgements have we sought thee, &c. The desire of our soules is towards thy Name: they bring it as a prevailing argument to God. So when we come to God, The desire of our soules is toward thy Name. Lord our indeavours are weake and feeble, but the desire of our soules is to thy name, and thou wilt not quench the smoaking flax: therefore wee come to thee with these weake and poore desires that we have: The Lord will fulfill the desires of them that feare him, Psal. 145.Psal. 145. If they be but desires, if they be true, and growing, and constant desires, and desires of grace as well as of happinesse, as I shewed before.
The reason why God accepts them, is partly because they spring from his owne spirit: these desires they are the breathings of the spirit. Why God accepts of desires. Because they are the breathings of his Spirit.For even as it is in places where fountaines and springs are digged up,Simile. they are knowne and discovered by vapors, the vapors shew that there is some water there, some spring, if it were digged up: so these desires, these breathings to God for grace and comfort, these spirituall breathings, they shew that there is a spring within, and spirit within, whence these vapors and desires come; therefore they are accepted of God, because they spring from his owne Spirit.
And because they are pointed to heaven-ward,Because they manifest the change of the soule. to shew that a man is turned; for it is put here instead of turning, Turne yee to me, saith the Lord; and he answereth here instead of turning, My desire is to feare thy name. Because, when the desire is altered, then the frame of the soule is altered, a man is turned another way; the desire is the weight of the soule. What carries the soule, but desire? Now when the soule is carried another way then before, it argues an alteration of the frame, therefore it pleaseth God to accept of thē.
I beseech you let us often enter into onr owne soules, and examine what our desires are, which way the bent of our soules is; what cause we would have to flourish and prevaile in the world, Christs, or Antichrists, for God esteemes us by the frame of our desires: Who desire to feare thy Name.
And prosper I pray thee thy servant this day.
NOw he comes to his petition, Prosper I pray thee thy servant this day. Hee doth not capitulate with God for particular matters much, (for he knew hee had to deale with an all-wise God) but hee commends his petition in generall, Prosper I pray thee thy servant, &c. He was to attend the King, and he was in his attendance to mind the state of the Church, for the re-edifying the walls and gates of Ierusalem: now saith he in generall, Prosper thy servant, he leaves it to God, how, and in what manner, being to deale (as I said) with an infinite wise God: onelyonly he prayes in generall, prosper thy servant this day.
He comes againe with his relation of servant, The true knowledg of our relation to God a meanes to strengthen faith in prayer.to teach us alway when wee come to God, to looke in what relation we stand to him, whether we be true servants or no: what work we doe for him, in what reference we doe what we doe, whether we doe it to please him as servants, or no. I said something of the relation of servant before: I will adde a little here, because he repeates it foure or five times in this short prayer.
In all our services wee should looke to God: for our ayme in our workes shew what they are,Simile. whether they come from servants, or no. As the stamp upon a token makes it, if there be a good stamp on it, it is not the matter that makes it current. A stamp on silver makes it current as well as gold, though the metall of gold be better. So when things are done, because God commands them, to please God, as a service to him: this makes it good that we are servants indeed, that the relation is good. When we goe about the service of the Church or Country, or place we live in, to thinke I doe God service here, and doe it as a service to God, who will be honoured and served in our service to others: herein I am a good servant, though the matter of my service be a common, base, and meane matter; yet it hath a stamp upon it, it is Gods will, God hath placed and planted mee here, and he will be served of me in this condition at this time, though the matter of it bee an ordinarie thing. I know it may helpe the good of the Church: it hath reference to the will of God, and the good of the Church. Thus if wee doe what wee doe with an eye to God in the place where hee hath set vsus, that wee doe it as to him, we are Gods servants whatsoever the worke is.
And let us remember oft to thinke of it, to bring it in our prayers: Master (say they when they were ready to be drowned) dost thou not care that we perish? They put him in minde of the relation they were in to him. So when we can put God in minde of our relation, Father, we are thy children, Lord, we are thy servants; it will strengthen our faith and hope of all good. Will a Master suffer his servant to miscarrie in his service? surely God will never turne away true hearted servants, that have served him a long time. It puts us in minde of our duty, and serves to strengthen our faith: for as it is a word of fervice on our part, so it is a promising word of all good from God. Doth he expect, that Masters should bee good to their servants because they have a Master in heaven, and will not the great Master of Heaven be good to his servants? you see how he followes the relation.