The Cure of Church Divisions, Directions · Direction 27
DIRECT. XXVII.
Take heed of mis-judging of the Answers of your prayers, and of taking those things to be from God, which are but the effects of your prejudice, passion or weakness of understanding.
THis is a sin, which I know not whether I may say is more common with many godly persons, or more injurious to God, or more pittiful as to themselves.
It is so common, that it is hard to meet with many women and passionate Christians, who are earnest in prayer, but sometimes they run into this mistake, and judge ungroundedly of the answer of their prayers, by such feelings and strong apprehensions of their own, as never came from the spirit of God at all.
And it is a great wrong to God, to be made the author of mans infirmities and errours, and of that which is contrary to his word.
And yet it is a very pitiful case as to the offenders; because it is usually the sin of persons that are very upright and honest in the main, and that are very serious in their prayers to God; and of such as have naturally such weakness of reason and strength of affection, as that they are less blemeable, though less curable than others are.
To understand this matter the better, I pray you consider, that Prayer is not to change Gods mind; but to make us the meet receivers of his mercies: And this it doth by exciting and exercising those apprehensions and desires, which make us fit by valuing them to improve them. Therefore such principles, dispositions and desiers as are in us, Prayer doth excite and exercise: And every man prayeth according to his own judgement, disposition and affection. And that apprehension and affection, which is most stirred up and exercised, is most felt. And that which is most felt, doth most take us up, and is most observed: And so we think that it is the impulse of Gods spirit, and the answer of our prayers, when it is but the operation of our own spirits, and the sensible activity of our former principles.
There are very few that take their impulses and resolutions, for the spirits answer of their prayers, but they had before an understanding most inclined to that opinion, or else a byas upon their affections, bending them that way; or something in themselves which occasioned the scales to turn that way.
Obj. But I did bring my mind to a pure impartiality, and prayed to God that he would shew me the truth, be it what it would be: and that if this were not right, he would blast it and never suffer it to go on: And the more I prayed, the more I was confirmed, that this is the right.
Answ. All this may be, without any of Gods approbation of the conclusion which you think is his answer to your prayers. For whilest you prayed that God would turn your mind from it, if it were not right; yet at that time your judgement was inclined to it; or your affections at least: And it is an easier thing to speak impartial words in prayer than to get an impartial unprejudiced mind. And when you think that your mind is brought to an impartiality, alas, there may be many deep roots of prejudice which you observe not: And there is scarce one of a thousand who thinketh that he prayeth with a pure impartiality, but his opinion, disposition, inclination, interest, or secret affection, doth byas and ponderate his mind, more to one side than to the other.
But if you were never so willing to know the truth, yet there are passions in you, and corruptions, and ignorance and former errours, which may all do much to hinder you from knowing it, and may breed many false apprehensions in your mind; and yet may cherish them with as dear an espousal and affection, as if they were certainly from God.
And moreover, you have been gilty of former sins: And whether God for any of them, may leave you to run into mistakes, you know not. Or whether any present self-conceitedness may occasion him to leave you to mistakes.
But the principal part of my answer is this God hath no where promised to reveal all his truth to you, because you desire him so to do. It is not every prayer of yours, which he hath promised to hear and grant; but only those which are agreeable to his will: His will is either his Decree, his Command, or his Promise. Though the first be not it that is meant in the text, yet it is certain that your prayers cannot change Gods decrees. The will of his command doth more concern the sense of the text; but it is only a negative which may hence be gathered; that is, that if your prayers be contrary to Gods commands, they are your sins and have no promise of his grant. But it will not follow that God will grant all the prayers which are put up in obedience to his laws: But only that you shall be no loosers by such obedience; but he will give you that, or something which shall be as good for you. It may be Gods command that godly children should pray for the lives of their sick parents; and that parents pray for the conversion of their ungodly children, and that we pray for all men: And yet it doth not follow that we shall have the very thing which we obediently pray for. But it is his Promising will which is the measure of our hope, as his Commanding will is the rule of our obedience. Whatsoever he hath promised, he will certainly give us. Now God hath no where promised in his word, that he will reveal the true meaning of every text of scripture, to every godly person that asketh it. Praying is but one of the means which God hath appointed you to come to knowledge. Diligent reading, hearing, and meditation, and counsel of the wisest is another means. Even to dig for it as for silver, and to search for it, as for hidden treasure, and to continue so doing, and wait at the posts of wisdoms doors, that knowledge may come into you by degrees in time. God hath not promised you true understanding, upon your prayers alone, without all the rest of his appointed means: Nor that you shall attain it by those means, as soon as you desire and seek it; For then prayer would be a notable pretense for laziness, and they that would not be at the labour, of study, meditation, or conference, might save all their pains, and go to God and ask wisdome of him and he would give it them. Even as idle beggars think without working, to get an alms to maintain them in their slothfulness. If instead of all our reading, hearing, and meditation, we could but pray, and so get all the knowledge which other men study, labour and wait for, it would be too cheap a way to wisdome. Solomon that got it by prayer extraordinarily, commandeth us very great diligence to get it.
It is very considerable, not only that Christ increased in wisdome in his youth, but also that he would not enter upon his publick Ministery (as is aforesaid) till he was about thirty years of age. When it had been more easie for Christ to have got all knowledge by two or three earnest prayers, than for any of us.
Moreover you must pray according to Gods will of precept, not only in the matter but in the manner of your prayers. And there may be more selfishness, and many other corruptions in the manner of them than you discern.
And there are many things which submissively you may lawfully pray for, which God hath never promised you at all: You may pray for the life of the sick, and for the conversion and salvation of all your relations, and of thousands of others which God will not give you. Otherwise all the relations of every true Christian should be saved, yea and all his enemies and all the world.
To apply all this, It may be you are in doubt whether this or the other be the meaning of such a text of scripture? Or whether you should joyn with such a Church, in the use of such preaching and prayers or not? And when you have prayed earnestly, you are confirmed for one way and against the other. And perhaps all this is but to be confirmed in your errour: For first, you came with a secret prejudice; secondly, or you came with distempered affections; or with such a fear of going one way rather than the other, that the very fear doth much to cause your apprehensions. Thirdly, or you come with the gnilt of former sin. Fo…rthly, or you have some partiality on your spirit, and a secret inclination to one side more than to the other; or some overvaluing of your own understandings, persons or prayers. Fifthly, Or you are lazy and presumptuous; and think God must teach you that in one hour, and at a wish or prayer, which others better than you must learn with prayer and twenty years study, diligence and patience. Sixthly, or you think God must needs resolve you of that which he never promised to resolve you in. Where hath he promised upon all your prayers, that ever he will teach you in this life the sense of every text of Scripture? If ever he promised this he will perform it. And is it to One Christian, or to every praying Christian that he hath promised it? If to every one, why are we not all of a mind? Why be not all as wise as you? What need we Commentaries duplicate page duplicate page then? Or what need have others of your Revelations: If it be but to some, who be those some? And how shall we know them? And how know you that you are one of them? And why do not those some, condescend to write an infallible Commentary upon all the Bible, when they themselves are taught it of God, that so we may doubt and differ no more?
But if you say that it is not the meaning of every text that God hath promised to make known to you when you pray, but of some few, how will you know which those few be? And where is the promise which maketh this difference? Except only that to all true Christians, he hath promised to reveal so much as is necessary to their salvation. But if you will pray for more, your belief of your success must not go beyond the promise. If you will promise to your selves, you must perform for your selves?
Obj. But hath not God bid us believe that we shall receive what ever we ask, and promised to believers that they shall receive it?
Answ. He hath first made a Law to command you prayer, and then made a promise to grant, what you pray for, according to his will, that is, according to his command and promise, and hath made your believing of this promise, one of the conditions of his fulfilling it to you. So that if you believe not his power and promise you shall not have right immediately to the thing promised. But if you pray and believe and withall use those other means with diligence and patience which God hath appointed you, you shall know in that measure as is suitable to your state (For God hath not promised the same measure of knowledg to all true believers.) So that this is all that the promise giveth you, and not that you shall know all that you pray to know, and that immediately.
Obj. But then you leave us at utter uncertainty, whether we have the answer of our prayers or not?
Answ. Not so. But the answer of your prayers must not be tried by your conceits but by Gods rule. If you p…ay for that which you have neither a command nor promise for, your prayer is sin, and your answer can be nothing but Gods rebuke, or your own delusion. But if you pray for that which you have a command for, but no particular promise, then you have only the General promise that your prayer shall not be lost, but shall bring down either the thing you pray for, or something else which the wisdome of God seeth to be best for you and others; and to his ends. And this is all that you can warrantably believe. But if you pray for that which hath both a command and a particular promise (as the pardon of sin, and necessary grace and life eternal to a believer) you may be sure that this prayer shall be granted in kind. So that you are not to judge of the answer of prayers, by your feelings and passions and impulses, but by the promise of God, which you must believe will be fulfilled what ever you feel: Faith and not feeling must tell you whether your prayer be accepted.
Nay if you should receive health or wealth or gifts for your selves or others, when you have prayed for them; you cannot tell whether it be a merciful answer to your prayer, or a judgement, unless you try it by faith according to the promise. I have nothing now to say of the case of miracles, but this: If God promise a miracle, you may believe it because it is promised: If he perform it without a promise, then either you must not believe it till it is done, or else your faith must be a miracle also; And then the faith it self is its own justification. But miracles are now so rare, that all sober Christians will take heed how they expect them, or over-hastily believe them; and especially how they take their own belief for a miracle. All the talk that some men make of a particular faith, may be tried by what I have here said.
To conclude, the warning which I give you in this case, is from long and sad experience. I have known too many very honest hearted Christians, especially melancholly persons and women, who have been in great doubt about the opinions of the Millenaries, the Separatists, the Anabaptists, the Seekers, and such like, and after earnest prayer to God, they have been strongly resolved for the way of errour, and confident by the strong impression, that it was the spirits answer to their prayers, and thereupon they have set them into a course of sin. If you say, How know you that they were mistaken? I will tell you how. First, Because they have been resolved contrary to the word of God. And I know, that Gods spirit did first make a standing Rule, to try all after-impulses by; And what ever impulse is contrary to that Rule, is contrary to Gods spirit. The Law and the testimony are now sealed, and all spirits to be tried by them. Isa. 8. 20. Secondly, Because I have found their impulses contrary to one another. One hath been resolved for Infant baptism, and another against it: One hath had a revealation for a prelacy, like the order of Aaron, and the Priests, and another against all Prelacy.
One hath been confident of an answer of prayers for Antinomianism, and another against it for Arminianism: One for publike Communion, and another to detest it: And both came in, in the same way. And Gods spirit is not contrary to it self. Thirdly, Because I have seen abundance of prophesies of things to come, which people have this way received with the greatest confidence to prove all false. Fourthly, Because I have staid till many of the persons have found by experience that they were deceived, and have confessed it with lamentation. And fifthly, because perhaps I know more of the nature of prejudice, affection, melancholy, feminine weakness, and self-conceit, and of tempting God in the way of prayer, and of satans transforming himself into an Angel of light, than every Reader will know till they have paid for their learning.