A Godly and Learned Treatise of Prayer, Chapter 10
CHAP. X. None but the faithfull can pray effectually and acceptably.
NOw how necessarie it is that he which prayeth acceptably should be a righteous or faithfull man indued with some measure of true faith and unfeigned repentance, it may appear both by manifest reasons and manifold testimonies of holy Scriptures: wherein the promise of hearing the prayer is restrained to the righteous, and all hope of being heard denied to the wicked.
First then it is necessary that he who calleth upon God should be indued with faith: For how shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? Rom. 10. 14. and, Without faith it is impossible to please God, Heb. 11. 6. and likewise with repentance: For unlesse a man repent he reteineth a purpose to go on in sinne; and this his impenitencie or sinne not repented of is as a wall of separation between God and Isa. 59 1, 2. John 9. 31.him. God heareth not impenitent sinners, as hereafter we shall shew.
Secondly, before our prayers or other actions can be accepted of God, our persons must be accepted in Christ: Neither can the fruit be good while the tree is bad: neither can we hope to prevail with God by intreaty, whiles we do not desire to be reconciled unto him; but as we were born the children of wrath, so his wrath abideth upon us, John 3. 36. and we do continue in our enmitie against God.
Thirdly, there is no accesse to God but through Christ by the holy Ghost, Ephes. 2. 18. and 3. 12. But the unbelieving and impenitent sinner, as he hath no part in Christ, so is he void of the holy Ghost.
Fourthly, it cannot be but that the prayer of the unbelieving and impenitent sinners is very absurd and odious in Gods sight, because they ask many …imes such things as they do not desire, and promise such things as they do not mean to perform, and bear the Lord in hand that they be such men then whom they are nothing lesse, going about to deceive the Lord with their mouthes, and with their lips speaking lies unto him, Psal. 78. and in all their prayers and praises concerning spirituall things playing the notorious hypocrites before God. For the manifestation whereof let us take a brief survey of the Lords prayer, whereof the impenitent sinner is not able to utter one word aright; and if not of that then of none, for that is the summe of all.
First therefore they call God their Father inThat the impenitent is not able truly to utter any petition in the Lords Prayer. Christ, when as they are nothing lesse then his children: For he that committeth sinne is of the devil, 1. John 3. 8. and, his children they are whose works they do, John 8. They say, Our Father, Give us, as though in brotherly love they prayed for the whole brotherhood of the faithfull, whereas they being void of Christian charitie seek onelyonly themselves, and have no part in the communion of Saints. They direct their prayers to God who is …n heaven, infinite in majestie, glory and power, themselves being on earth vile and base creatures, Eccles 5. as if they came in great humility in respect of their own unworthinesse, and reverence in respect of the glorious majestie of God; whereas indeed they rush into the presence of God with lesse regard, and speak unto him with lesse reverence then they would to a mortall man, who is but a little their superiour. They call him Father, noting his love, which art in heaven, noting his power, as if they believed that their prayers should be granted, as being assured that God is both willing and able to grant their desires, and yet have no faith in God, and therefore call not upon him aright in whom they have not believed.
In the first place they beg the advancement of Gods glory, as if that were more deare unto them then their own good; whereas in truth they have no zeal of Gods glory, but unto it preferre the obteining of any worldly and sinfull desire. They pray that his name may be sanctified, which they do daily pollute with their mouthes, and by their lives do cause it to be blasphemed. They desire that his kingdome may c…me, and that his will may be done, as though they did first seek the kingdome of God and his righteousnesse, whereof indeed they have no studie or care, but are wholly addicted to worldly desires. They pray that the kingdome of grace may be advanced, and that God would rule and reigne in them by his Spirit according to his word; when they are in the number of those who say, We will not have this man to reigne over us, resisting the spirit, and casting the word behind their backs. They pray that the kingdome of glory may be hastened by the speedy coming of Christ unto judgement, and ye…desire nothing lesse then the second coming of Christ. They desire that Gods will may be done, which themselves will not do. The will of God is their conversion and sanctification, that they should abstein from those sinnes whereunto they are more specially addicted: but though they know it to be the will of God that they should turn unto him, they will not turn; that they should leave their speciall sinnes, they will not leave them, as the drunkard his drunkennesse, the whoremaster his fornication, &c. and yet like egregious hypocrites do pray that they may do the will of God as it is done in heaven, that is, after an angelical manner, readily, chearfully, speedily, uprightly, faithfully, constantly, fully; when as in truth they do the will of God no otherwise then the devils in hell, which howsoever in respect of their intent rebell against the will of God, yet if you respect the event, they become (maugre their spite) the instruments to bring to passe that which God hath willed and decreed.
They crave bread at the hands of God, as if a small thing would content them, when they desire excesse of riches, neither can be satisfied with abundance. They crave daily bread, or, as the word signifieth, such a portion of temporall blessings as God shall judge most expedient for them; as if they meant not to be their own carvers, but in these outward things resigned themselves into the hands of God, and submitted themselves to his fatherly providence, when they are such as have set down with themselves that they will be rich, 1. Tim. 6. and will come to great matters whether God give them good means or not, and will frame their own fortune. They beg for a day, as if they would depend upon God for tomorrow, & yet distrustfully hoard up for many yeares. They desire temporall things to be given them of God, and yet seek them by wicked and unlawfull means.
They desire God to remit their sinnes, as if they repented of them; which they still retein, as if they did in mockery desire the Lord to forgive the sinnes which they will not forgo. Yea, they desire the Lord in hypocrisie so to forgive them their trespasses, as they forgive those that trespasse against them, when as they nourish hatred and a desire and purpose of revenge: & so in stead of obteining mercy and forgivenesse at Gods hands, they call for the fierce wrath and vengeance of God to be executed upon them.
They desire that God will not lead them into tentations, and yet themselves run into tentations, and seek occasions of evil. They desire that they may be delivered from evil, and yet wilfully go on in evil, and will not be reclaimed, as though they had made a covenant with hell.
They ascribe kingdome to the Lord, and yet will not obey him as his subjects; power, and yet neither fear nor trust in him; glory, & yet do not glorifie him
They subscribe to their prayers and say Amen, as though they unfeignedly desired and assuredly believed that their requests should be granted, when as they neither desire that which in hypocrisie they ask, nor believe the granting of that which without faith they have begged. And finally, in all these requests they draw neare to the Lord with their mouth, and with their lips do honour him, but they remove their hearts farre from him, Isa. 29. 13.
It is evident therefore, that as the prayer of the righteous is acceptable to God as the evening sacrifice, Psal. 141. 2. so the prayer of the wicked is detestable unto him. Which may further be proved by expresse testimonies of the holy Scriptures. The sacrifice of the wicked, saith Solomon, is an abomination to the Lord; but the prayer of the righteous is acceptable unto him, Prov. 13. 9. and again, v. 29. The Lord is farre from the wicked, but he heareth the prayers of the righteous. The same doth David testifie Psal. 34. 15, 16. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his eares are open to their crie: but the face and angry countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The man which had been blind, John 9. 31. delivereth this as a received truth in the Church of the Jews: This we know, saith he, that God heareth not sinners, that is, impenitent sinners: but if a man be a worshipper of God and doeth his will, him he heareth. Wherefore it is manifest, that the promises made to them that call upon God, are restrained and (as it were) appropriated to the godly. And therefore whosoever desireth to pray unto God with hope to be heard, must turn unto the Lord by repentance, and lay hold upon Christ by faith, unfeignedly purposing amendment of life: For the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth unto it and is exalted, or set in safetie, Prov. 18. 10.
But it will be objected, That the promises are generall;That all promises are limited with the condition of faith and repentance. and therefore belonging to all they are not to be restrained to some. I answer, That they and all other promises of the Gospel are to be understood with the condition of faith and repentance, which many times are expressed, and where they are not, they are alwayes to be understood, as restraining the promises to the faithfull. For whereas Joel saith, chap. 2. 30. that whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, our Saviour restraineth it to the righteous, Matth. 7. 21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, (that is, which calleth upon me) shall enter into the kingdome of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven: and the Apostle, Rom. 10. 13, 14. to the faithfull; But how shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And whereas our Saviour saith, That whatsoever ye shall ask in my name the Father will grant it, John 16. 23. that also is restrained in the 1. epistle of John 3. 22. to the righteous; Whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight. And so our Saviour, John 17. 7. If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.
As for the wicked, the Lord denieth to heare them, though they cry loud in his eares, and make many prayers unto him: Isa. 1. 15. When ye spread forth your hands (saith the Lord to the impenitent Jews) I will hide mine eyes from you; ye…, when ye make many prayers I will not heare: whom notwithstanding upon their repentance he promiseth to heare and to receive into favour, v. 16, 17, 18. So in Ezek. 8. 18. Though they cry in mine …ares with a loud voice, yet will I not heare them. Psal. 18. 41. & Micah 3. 4. They shall cry unto the Lord, but he will not heare them; he will even hide his face from them for their wickednesse. Jer. 14. 12. When they fast I will not heare their cry. Neither doth he onelyonly refuse to heare them, but the godly also praying for them, 1. Sam. 16. 1. Jer. 15. 1. Ezek. 14. 14, 20. and therefore forbiddeth many times the godly to pray in their behalf, Jer. 14. 11. or if they do he protesteth that he will not heare them, Jer. 7. 16. and 11. 14. When as therefore impenitent sinners do call upon God and are not heard, let them not think that the Lord is not able to heare or help them. Behold, saith the Prophet Isaiah, chap. 59. 1. the Lords hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his eare heavy that he cannot heare; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sinnes have hid his face from you that he will not heare. And then he descendeth to particulars: For this mercy of hearing our prayers is not onelyonly denied unto ungodlinesse in generall, but also to particular sinnes; as contrariwise it is promised to particular graces, which being linked together in a golden chain, are each of them severall evidences of a true faith:
As first to Cruelty & Oppression, Isa. 1. 15. Though ye make many prayers I will not hearé, for your hands are full of bloud. And not to cruelty onelyonly, but also to Unmercifulnes, & Want of pitie towards the poore: For, he that stoppeth his eare at the crying of the poore, shall cry himself and not be heard, Pro. 21. 13. Whereas contrariwise those that be mercifull shall find mercy with God, Matth. 5. 7. Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am, Isa. 58. 9. If we love not in word and tongue alone, but in deed and truth, hereby we may have confidence before God, 1. John 3. 18, 19.
Secondly, to Want of love in forgiving offenses; and contrariwise: Mark 11. 25. When ye stand praying, forgive if ye have ought against any, that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Thirdly, to the Not-hearing or hearkening to the word of God: For as we heare so we shall be heard; Prov. 28. 9. He that turneth away his eare from hearing the law, his prayer shall be abominable. For as we speak unto the Lord in prayer, so the Lord speaketh unto us in the preaching of the word: and therefore good reason it is that if we will not heare the Lord when he speaketh unto us, he should not heare us when we speak unto him, as the Prophet Zacharie saith, chap. 7. 13. It is come to passe, that as he cried and they would not heare, so they cryed and I would not heare, saith the Lord. On the other side, If the word of Christ abide in us, we may ask what we will and it shall be granted us, John 15. 7. If men harden their hearts against the word of God, the wisdome of God hath threatned not to heare them, Prov. 1. 24. He covereth himself with a cloud that our prayer should not passe through, Lam. 3. 44. But if men humble themselves before God and tremble at his word, being of humble and contrite hearts, the Lord hath promised to heare, Psal. 66. 2. and 34. 18. and 51. 17. The prayer of the humble pierceth the clouds, Ecclus 35. 17. If men choose not the fear of the Lord, the Lord will not heare them, Prov. 1. 28, 29. on the other side, He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him; he will also heare their cry and will save them, Psal. 145. 19.
Neither doth the Lord refuse to heare those alone who are open and notorious sinners, but those also which making outward profession of pietie do play the hypocrites: Job 27. 9. Will God heare the cry of the hypocrite when trouble cometh upon him? To which purpose there is a notable saying of David, Psal. 66. 18. If I regard wickednesse in my heart, saith he, the Lord will not heare me. Whereas contrariwise, if men would walk uprightly before God, he would denie unto them nothing that is good, Psal. 84. 11.
Wherefore it behoveth every one that nameth the name of Christ to depart from iniquitie, 2. Tim. 2. 19. and to purge his hands from sinne, Jam 4. 8. and to wash them in innocencie, Psal. 26. that so he may without doubting lift up holy hands unto the Lord, 1. Tim. 2. 8. foreign, 2. Tim. 2. 22. Heb. 10. 22. with true hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: Mala conscientia januam nobis claudit, An evil conscience shutteth the gate against us, Calv. Institut. 3. 20. 7. §.
But against this doctrine it may be objected, ThatObject. the Lord many times heareth the wicked when they call upon him; and therefore that the promises made to prayer are not peculiar to the godly, but common to them with the wicked.
For answer hereunto we are to remember, ThatAnsw. God heareth not the wicked for spirituall blessings. prayers are made unto God either for spirituall blessings belonging to a better life, or for temporall blessings apperteining to this corporall life. The former are peculiar to the children of God, as belonging to their inheritance, and are never bestowed on the wicked, who never have so much grace as truly to desire them; and therefore if they do at any time ask them, they do pray in hypocrisie, asking with their lips that which they do not desire with their hearts nor labour for in their lives.That God often heareth the wicked for temporall benefits; and how.
As for temporall benefits, I cannot deny but that the Lord many times in respect of them doth grant unto the wicked their hearts desire. But yet even in these also there is great difference betwixt the Lord his hearing of the godly and the wicked. For in temporall matters the Lord heareth men either as a gracious and loving Father, or as a mercifull Creatour, or as a severe Judge.
1. In speciall favour as a gracious Father in Christ he heareth his faithfull children, ever subordinating their good to his own glory; not alwayes satisfying their carnall or worldly desires, but alwayes granting their requests as shall be most for his glory and their spirituall and everlasting good: under which conditions our prayers for temporall blessings ought alwayes to be framed, and being so conceived they are ever granted.
2. As a mercifull Creatour the Lord heareth men crying unto him in their extremity: And thus he heareth all sorts of men, but especially the godly: for he is the saviour, that is, the preserver, of all men, but chiefly of the faithfull, 1. Tim. 4. 10. The godly have a promise of deliverance when they call upon God; Psal. 50. 14, 15. and 145. 19. and 91. 15. and 34. 17, 19. So have not the wicked; Psal. 51. 16. and 18. 41. Yea, in many places, as ye have heard, he threatneth that when they cry unto him in their trouble he will not heare them. The affliction and deliverance of the godly do both turn to their singular good; Rom. 8. 28. and being delivered they glorifie God, consulting with themselves what to render unto the Lord for his benefits, and taking the cup of salvation, that is, of thanksgiving for their salvation and deliverance; Psal. 116. 12, 13. The wicked not being bettered by their affliction, are many times delivered according to their desire, the Lord giving them over as incorrigible: Isa. 1. 5. Jer. 2. 30. and when they are delivered they seek not to glorifie God, nor repent of their sinnes, but return to their vomit, making shew of repentance no longer then the hand of God is upon them: And so both their affliction and deliverance (through their own default) turneth to their ruine. Notwithstanding deliverance out of affliction when men cry unto God is a common benefit, the Lord hearing and delivering men of all sorts as a mercifull Creatour and Preserver, as is testified Psal. 107. where it is often repeated, that divers sorts of men when they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, he doth deliver them out of their distresse. But because many are unthankfull, th… … Ghost doth as oft repeat this exclamation, O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodnesse, and declare the wonders which he doth for the sonnes of men. For though the Lord doth hate the wicked in respect of their sinnes, and therefore many times doth refuse to heare and to deliver them; yet he loveth them as his creatures, and therefore sometimes as a mercifull Creatour he doth deliver them: And thus he promiseth to heare the cry of the poore, the fatherlesse, and the widow, because he is mercifull; Exod. 22. 23, 27. Psal. 22. 24. And howsoever the cry of men in distresse cannot many times besaid to be a prayer, but onelyonly that voice which the extremity of their grief expresseth from them, yet it is vox creaturae clamantis ad Creatorem, the voice of the creature crying to the Creatour; and the Lord as a mercifull Creatour heareth the same. So he is said to have heard the cry of the child Ishmael, Gen. 21. 17. And thus also he heareth the cry of the young ravens, and lions, and of the rest of the creatures, giving them their sood in due season, Psal. 147. 9. and 104. 21, 27, 28. and 145. 15. Which I do the rather note for the comfort of the faithfull: For if the Lord doth heare the cry not onelyonly of carnall men but also of those creatures which want reason, yea sometimes of the devil himself, Mark 8. 12. Job 1. and 2. how shall he not heare the cry of his own children?
3. As a severe Judge the Lord heareth the wicked,God heareth the wicked as a severe Judge. granting unto them temporall things in his wrath, which it were better for them to want. Thus he granted flesh to the impenitent Israelites, & fed them with quails: but while the flesh was bet…een their teeth he struck them with a grievous plague, and they were burned in Kibroth-hattaavah, that is, the graves of lust, Num. 11. 31. So in his anger, when they would needs have a king, he granted a king unto them, 1. Sam. 8. 7. Hos. 13. 11. And thus when worldlings, whose hearts are wholly addicted to earthly things, desiring and begging them, the Lord in his anger giveth them over to their own lusts, and satisfieth their desire, giving them their portion in this life, Psal. 17. 14. where they receive their good things, Luke 16. 25. and all the consolation they are to look for, Luke 6. 24. whereas to them that first seek Gods kingdome and his righteousnesse, he doth not onelyonly give that which principally they seek; but also by way of advantage over and besides he giveth them temporall blessings as shall be most convenient for them.
So that in spirituall things the wicked are not heard, but the godly. In temporall when he seemeth to denie the request of the godly, he heareth them in speciall merciemercy, though not ad voluntatem, yet ad utilitatem, not to their will but profit: and when he seemeth to grant the prayer of the wicked,August. ad Probam, Epist. 121. he heareth them in judgement, ad voluntatem, though not ad utilitatem, to their will not their profit; impiis concedens iratus quae piis negat propitius, granting in his wrath that to the wicked which in his mercy he denieth to the godly.