The Sinners Sanctuary, Sermon 40
SERMON XL.
Rom. 8.15.
—VVhereby we cry, Abba, Father.
ALL that know any thing of Religion, must needs know and confess that there is no exercise either more suitable to him that prosesseth it, or more needful for him, then to give himself to the exercise of prayer: but that which is confessed by all, and as to the outward performance gone about by many, I fear it is yet a mystery sealed up f…om us, as to the true and living nature of it. There is much of it expressed here in few words, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The divine constitution and qualification of this divine work, is here made up of a temper of fervency, reverence, and confidence. The first I spoke of before, but I fear our hearts was not well heated then, or may be cooled since. It is not the loud noise of words that is best heard in Heaven, or that is constructed to be crying to God: No, this is transacted in the heart more silently to men, but it striketh up into the ears of God: His ear is sharp, and that voice of the souls desires is shrill, and though it were out of the depths, they will meet together. It is true, the vehemency of affection will sometimes cause the extension of the voice; but yet it may cry as loud to Heaven when it is kept within. I do not presse such extraordinary degrees of servour as may effect the body; but I would rather wish we accustomed our selves to a solid calm seriousnesse and earnestnesse of spirit, which might be more constant then such raptures can be, that we might alwayes gather our spirits to what we are about, and avocat them from impertinent wandering…, and fix them upon the present object of our worship: this is to worship him in spirit, who is a Spirit.
The other thing that composes the sweet temper of praye…, is reverence: and what more suitable? whether you consider Him or your selves? If I be your Father where is my honour, and if I be your Master where is my fear? Mal. 1.6. While we call him Father, or Lord, we proclaim this much, that we ought to know our distance from him, and his superiority to us: and if worship in prayer carry not this character, and expresse not this honourable and glorious Lord, whom we serve, it wantes that congruity and suitableness to him that is the beauty of it. Is there any thing more uncomly, then for children to behave themselves irreverently and irrespectively towards their Fathers, to whom they owe themselves? It is a monstruous thing even innature, and to natures light: O how much more abominable must it be, to draw near to the Father of spirits, who made us, and not we our selves, in whose hand our breath is, and whose are all our wayes; in a word, to whom we owe not only this dust, but the living spirit that animats it, that was breathed from Heaven, and finally, in whom we live, and move, and have our being, and well-being, to worship such an one, and yet to behave our selves so unseemly and irreverently in his presence, our hearts not stricken with the apprehension of his glory, but lying flatt and dead before him, having scarcely him in our thoughts whom we speak to, and finally, our deportments in his sight, are such, as could not be admitted in the presence of any person a little above our selves, to be about to speak to them, and yet to turn aside continually to every one that cometh by, and entertain communication with every base creature; this, I say, in the presence of a King, or Nobleman, would be accounted such an absurd incivility, as could be committed; and yet we behave our selves just so with the Father of spirits.
O the wandrings of the hearts of men in divine worship! while we are in communication with our Father and Lo…d in prayer, whose heart is fixed to a constant attendance and presence, by the impression of his glorious holinesse? whose spirit doth not continually gadd abroad, and take a word of every thing that occurrs, and so marrs that soul-co…espondance? O that this word, Psal. 89.7. were written with great letters on our hearts, God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the Saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him: that one word, God, speaketh all. Either we must convert Him in an idol, which is nothing; or if we apprehend Him to be God, we must apprehend our infinit distance from Him, and his unspeakable, inaccessible glory above us. He is greatly fea…ed and reverenced in the Assemblies that are above, in the upper Courts of Angels, those glorious Spi…its who must cover the feet from us, because we cannot see their glo…y; they must cover their faces from Him, because they cannot behold his glory, Isa. 6. what a glorious train hath he, and yet how reverend are they? they wait round about the Throne, above and about it, as Courtier… upon their King, for they are all minist…ing spirits, and they rest not day and night to adore and admire that holy one, crying, holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of his glory. Now, how much more then duplicate page duplicate page should he be greatly feared and had in reverence in the assembly of his Saints, of poor mortal men, whose foundation is in the dust, and dwell in clay; and besides drink in iniquity like water? there is two points of difference and distance from us, He is nearer Angels, for Angels are pure spirits, but we have flesh, which is furthest removed from his nature: And then Angels are holy and clean; yet that is but spotted to his unspotted holinesse; but we are defiled with sin, which putteth us farthest off from him, and which his holinesse hath greatest antipathy at. Let us consider this, my beloved, that we may carry the impression of the glorious holinesse and Majesty of God on our hearts, when ever we appear before him, that so we may serve and rejoice with trembling, and pray with reverence and godly fear: if we apprehend indeed our own quality and condition, how low, how base it is, how we cannot endure the very clear aspect of our own consciences, we cannot look on our selves stedfastly without shame and confusion of face, at the de…ormed spectacle we behold, much lesse would we endure to have our souls opened and presented to the view of other men, even the basest of men; we would be overwhelmed with shame if they could see into our hearts? Now then, apprehend seriously what He is, how glorious in holinesse? how infinit in wisdom, how the secrets of your souls are plain and open in his sight? and I am perswaded, you will be composed to a reverend humble and trembling behaviour in his sight.
But withall, I must add this, that because he is your Father, you may intermingle confidence; nay you are commanded so to do, and this honours him as much as reverence; for confidence in God, as our Father, is the best acknowledgment of the greatnesse and goodnesse of God, it declareth how able he is to save us, and how willing, and so ratifieth all the promises of God made to us, and setteth to a seal to his …aith…ulness: there is nothing he accounts himself more honoured by, then a souls full resigning it self to him, and relying upon his power and good-will in all necessities, casting its care upon Him, as a loving Father, who careth for us. And truly, there is much beauty and harmony in the juncture of these two, reioycing with trembling, confidence with reverence, to ask, nothing doubting, and yet sensible of our infinit distance from him, and the disproportion of our requests to his Highnesse. A child-like disposition is composed thus, as also, the temper and carriage of a Courtier hath these ingredients in it. The love of his Father, and the …avour of his Prince, maketh him take liberty, and assume boldnesse, and withall he is not unmindful of his own distance from his Father, or Master, Let us draw near with full assurance of faith, Heb. 10.22. There is much in the Scripture, both exhorted, commanded, and commended, of that foreign, that liberty and boldnesse of pouring out our requests to God, as one that certainly will hear us, and grant that which is good. Vnbelief spoileth all, its a wretched and base-spirited thing, that can conceive no honourable thoughts of God, but only like it self; but faith, which is the well-pleasing ingredient of prayer: the lower thoughts a man have of himself, it maketh him conceive the higher and more honourable of God, My wayes are not as your wayes, nor my thoughts as your thoughts, but as far above, as the Heaven above the Earth, Isa. 55.8. This is the rule of a believing souls conceiving of God, and expecting from him: and when a soul is thus placed on God, by trusting and believing in him, it is fixed, My heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord, Psal. 112.7. O how wavering and inconstant is a soul, till it fix at this Anchor, upon the ground of his immutable promises? It is tossed up and down with every wind, its double-minded: Now one way, then another; now in one mind, and shortly changed: and indeed the soul is like the Sea, capable of the least or greatest commotion, Iam. 1.6, 7, 8. I know not any thing that will either fix your hearts from wandring in Prayer, or establish your hearts from trouble and disquiet after it, nothing that will so exonor and ease your spirits of care as this, To lay hold on God as All-sufficient, and lay that constraint on your hearts, to wait on him and his pleasur…, to cast your souls on his promises that are so full and so free, and abide there, as at your Anchor-hold, in all the vicissi…udes and changes of outward or inward things. In spiritual things that concerns your salvation, that which is absolutely necessary, you may take the boldnesses to be absolute in it, and as Iob, though he should slay me, yet will I trust in thee; and as Iacob, I will not let thee go till thou blesse me: But either in outward things, that have some usefulness in them, but are not alwayes fittest for our chiefest good; or in the degrees of spiritual gifts, and measures of graces, the Lord calls us without anxiety to pour out our hearts in them unto him; but withall we would do it with submission to his pleasure, because he knows best what is best for us. In these, we are not bound to be confident to receive the particular we ask, but rather our confidence should pitch upon his good-will and favour, that he will certainly deny nothing that himself knows is good for us: And so in these we should absolutely cast our self without ca…efulnesse upon his loving and fatherly providence, and resign our selve… to him to be disposed … in them as he sees convenient. There is sometimes too much limitation of God, and peremptoriness used with him in such things, in which his wisdom craves a latitude both in publick and privat matters, even as mens affections and interests are ingaged; but ordinarily its attended and followed with shame and disappointment in the end: and there is on the other hand intollerable remisseness and slacknesse in many, in pressing even the weightiest petitions of salvation, mortification, &c. which certainly ariseth from the diffidence and unbelief of the heart, and the want of that rooted perswasion, both of the incomparable necessity and worth of the things themselves, and of his willingnesse and engagement to bestow them.
The word is doubled here, Abba, Father, the Syriack and Greek word signifying one thing, expressing the tender affection and love of God towards them that come to him. He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him deligently; so he that cometh to God must believe that he hath the bowels and compassion of a Father, and will be more easily inclined with our importunat cryes, then the fathers of our flesh: he may suffer his children to cry long, but it is not because he will not hear, but because he would hear them longer, and delights to hear their cr… oftener. If he delay, its his wisdom to appretiat and endear his mercies to us, and to teach us to presse our petitions, and sue for an answer.
Besides, this is much for our comfort, that from whomsoever, and whatsoever corner in the world prayers come up to him, they cannot want acceptance: All Languages, all Countreys, all Places are sanctified by Jesus Christ, that whosoever calls upon the Name of the Lord, from the ends of the earth, shall be saved: And truly it is sweet meditation to think, that from the ends of the earth, the cryes of souls are heard; and that the ends is as near Heaven as the middle; and a Wildernesse as near as a Paradise; that though we understand not one another, yet we have one loving and living Father that understands all our meanings; and so the different Languages and Dialects of the members of this body make no confusion in Heaven, but meet together in his heart and affection, and are one perfume, one incense, sent up from the whole Catholick Church, which here is scattered on the earth. O that the Lord would perswade us to cry this way to our Father in all our necessities!
FINIS.
End of the text · Hugh Binning, The Sinners Sanctuary (1670)