A Godly and Learned Treatise of Prayer, Chapter 33
CHAP. XXXIII. Of the reall object of prayer, or the things to be prayed for.
THe object reall, or the thing which we do ask, is either undetermined and not particularly expressed, or else it is determined and expressed in particular. The former, when in generall or in indefinite terms we desire the Lord to heare us; Psal. 4. 1. Heare me when I call; have mercy upon me, and heare my prayer: Psal. 5. 1, 2. and 28. 1, 2. and 54. 2. and 55. 1, 2. and 61. 1. and 86. 1. and 88. 2. and 102. 1, 2. and 130. 1, 2. and 141. 1, 2. and 143. 1.
The object determined is either the glory of God or our own good. The advancement of Gods glory is to be asked both absolutely and first. Absolutely, I say, without any condition or respect of our own good, which we must subordinate to the glory of God, and not the glory of God to it. If therefore the glory of God and our own good come in comparison or in question whether should give place, we ought to preferre the glory of God before our own salvation. Example, Exod. 32. 32. Rom. 9. 3. For the glory of God is the chief end, and our good is no otherwise to be desired then it is referred thereunto. But as we are to ask it absolutely so also first: First, both in order, as our Saviour hath taught us, this being the first petition of the Lords prayer; and first in degree, that is, chiefly, because the end is alwayes better and more excellent then those things which are referred to the end: foreign.
The things which we crave for our selves (under which word I comprehend all men) is either the bestowing, continuing and increasing of some good, or else deliverance or preservation from evil. In which regard prayer is either foreign, precatio boni, prayer for good; or foreign, deprecatio mali, deprecation of evil. foreign,Pag. 147. Prayer is the desiring of good concerning holy things made unto God, saith Basil. Phil. 4. 6. 1. Tim. 2. 1.
It was said before that the matter or object ofObject. our prayer must be good; how then can prayer admit a distinction in respect of good and evil.
The avoiding or taking away of evil is good: Amotio Answ.mali habet rationem boni, Removing of evil hath the reason of good: And, as the Oratour saith, Bellum est cavere malum, It is a good thing to shun evil. And hereupon the benefits of God are distinguished into positive, which are reall benefits; and privative, which is deliverance or preservation from evil. The good things which we crave for our selves belong either to the obteining of a better life, or for the mainteining of this life: the former are commonly called spirituall blessings, and the latter temporall.
The spirituall blessings (I mean so many as are necessary to salvation) we are to ask absolutely; because such spirituall blessings are absolutely subordinated to Gods glory and mans salvation. And secondly, among those things which we crave for our selves they are first to be desired and sought, Matth. 6. 33. And that order our Saviour observeth in the Lords prayer, teaching us after the glory of God, in the next place to seek our own chiefest good. For by the kingdome of God we are to understand both the kingdome of glory and the kingdome of grace. The kingdome of glory cometh to us in our glorification, the kingdome of grace in our vocation, whereby we are brought out of the kingdome of Satan into Gods kingdome; and secondly in our justification, whereby we are both indued with the priviledges of his kingdome, which are the righteousnesse of God imputed, peace and joy in the holy Ghost, Rom. 14. 17. and also intituled unto the kingdome of heaven. And by doing the will of God on earth as it is done in heaven, is meant the righteousnes of God so farre as it is by us to be performed, or the righteousnesse of sanctification, which is both the cognizance of all true subjects of the kingdome of grace, and the proper note of all the heirs of the kingdome of glory, Acts 26. 18. and 20. 32.
As touching temporall benefits; Some have denied that they are to be asked of God; as the Marcionites and Manichees: others have doubted concerning the same; as Chrysostome and Basil, as being unworthy either for us to seek and ask of God, or for him to give unto us. But our Saviour, when he biddeth us first seek the kingdome of God and his righteousnesse, implyeth that temporall things are to be sought also in a secondary respect: For, as Lyra saith, Primum relativè dicitur ad secundum. Cùm ergò dicit, Primò quaerendum, significavit quòd hoc posteriùs quaerendum non tempore sed dignitate (id est, secundariâ quâdam ratione) illud tanquam bonum nostrum, hoc tanquam necessarium nostrum; necessari…m autem propter illud bonum: FIRST is relatively spokenAugust. De serm. Dom. in m…nte, l. 2. with reference to a latter: And therefore when he saith that we must seek it first, he implyeth that this is to be sought afterwards, not in respect of time but dignity (that is, in a secondary respect;) that as our good, this as necessary. For whereas it may be objected, that temporall benefits are not quaerenda sed adjicienda quaesitis, not to be sought, but to be added to things sought; I answer, That God hath promised to adde these things, but not to those that tempt God in neglect of prayer and other means, but to such as seek them in a secondary respect. Whereunto we may adde the practice of the godly; Gen. 28. 20. 1. Kings 8. 33, 35, 37. Prov. 30. 8. and the precept of our Saviour Christ, teaching us to say, Give us this day our daily bread. It cannot be denied but that in asking temporall things many do erre, either asking them chiefly or absolutely; but as we must ask and seek them in a secondary respect, so also conditionally, so farre forth as they stand with the glory of God and our own spirituall good.
But these outward things are not to be cared for,Object. and therefore not to be prayed for.
Christ doth not forbid curam providentiae, sed Answ.foreign, curam solicitudinis & diffidentiae, the care of providence, but carking care and diffidence. Phil. 4. 6. Be nothing carefull, but in all things let your requests be manifested. And where they think these things unworthy the Lords gift, they must understand that his providence submitteth it self to the lowest creature; and he giveth food to all even the basest creatures.
The mind in and by prayer is to be lifted up toObject. God, and not to be depressed to things below: But when we pray for temporall things the mind is not elevated but depressed.
When we so ask temporall things for themselves,Answ. resting in them as the end, our mind is depressed and our heart is set upon them, but not so when they are asked as means to further Gods glory and our own spirituall good.