The Dead Saint Speaking to Saints and Sinners Living, Treatise 5 · Character 6 – Character 3
6. Character.
A heart ſincere in Prayer, is a praying heart. That is, a heart carried out with deſire of the thing it prayes for. Prayer is nothing elſe but an expoſition of the ſoul, or the ſoul in paraphraſe; the ſoul expreſſed, the inſide of the ſoul turned outward.
It is ſaid of Hanna's Prayer, 1 Sam. 1.15. that ſhee poured forth her ſoul, ſhee expreſſed what her ſoul deſired, ſhewed the deſires of her ſoul.
True Prayer is an earneſt and inlarged deſire for the obtaining and injoying of the things wee pray for.
Object. But you will ſay then, all our hearts are ſincere, for who is it that doth not deſire the things hee prayes for?
Anſw. But my Brethren, give mee leave a li…tle, and I ſhall ſhew you this is not ſo ſtrange a thing as you ſeem to make it. I ſhall ſhew you, that it is poſsible for a man to pray, and not deſire the things hee prayes for. I will evidence this unto you in theſe three great Requeſts. 1. In the deſire of Grace. 2. In the deſire of ſubduing lusts. 3. In the deſire of Heaven.
1. Grace.1. Thou prayeſt for Grace, but thou doſt not deſire Grace in the beauty and extent of it. Thou mayeſt deſire common Graces, as many Parents for their Children: God give them Grace, ſay th… but by that they mean no more than common graces, that they may bee honeſt, no Whores, no Theeves, &c. for if once God change them, and work Grace indeed in them, there is none more hatefull to them of all their Children, than ſuch are. I have heard of a deſperate wretch, that when hee came to dye, hee gave good portions to all his Children ſave one, and to him hee would give no more but twelve pence; and being demanded what was the reaſon, hee made anſwer hee was a Puritan; I have heard him ſay, ſaith this wretch, that hee had a Promiſe to live on, let us now ſee whether a Promiſe will maintain him.
Thus you may deſire Grace common, and general grace, as many deſire for their Children, but ſpiritual and ſaving grace thou canſt not deſire, thou haſt no heart to that.
You ſhall hear what St. Auguſtine ſaid of himſelf in his confeſſions after his converſion. I prayed ſaith hee in my unregeneracy that God would give mee grace.Da mihi continentiam. Noli mudo. Lord, ſaith hee, give mee chaſtity, but ſaith hee, my heart ſaid, not yet Lord, not yet. For I feared leſt God would too quickly hear mee, and cure mee of my incontinency, which I would rather have fulfilled than extinguiſhed.
And by this you may take the meaſure of your own ſpirits, try your ſelves, read your own hearts,Grace in the. the next time you go to prayer. You Pray for grace, but ſee if you bee willing to have grace, firſt in the extent of Grace, all grace;1 Extent. would the covetous man bee liberal? would the Drunkard bee ſober? would the unclean perſon bee chaſt? would the Proud man bee humble, the Contentious man bee peaceable? otherwiſe thou deſires not grace in the extent.2 Power. 2 Would you have grace 1 In the power of grace, to live preciſely and exactly before God; What not to yeild to a word, to a thought of ſinne? alas! this they account damnable preciſeneſs, this they cannot cloſe withall. Go thy way, Pray as often as thou wilt for grace, aſſure thy ſelf, thou doſt not deſire grace in the extent and power of it, if thou favoureſt any one corruption, if thou wilt not live exactly and preciſely in the world. Thou wouldeſt think it no mercy, if God ſhould grant thee what thou prayeſt for. Thou prayeſt for Faith, but wouldeſt thou have it? no ſuch matter, why faith purifies the heart, faith ſanctifies the ſoul; it will not ſuffer one corruption one luſt to bee in thy heart, and now doſt thou deſire faith? no ſuch matter. Aſſure your ſelves, if at any time you deſire grace, it is not grace, under a right notion of grace. It is not grace in the extent of grace, nor grace in the power of grace.
It is again, not a ſpiritual, but a naturall deſire of grace, thou deſires it but in ſome preſent diſtreſſe, it may be when thou lyeſt on thy death bed, and ſeeſt there is no comming to heaven without it. Thou cannot deſire it for it ſelf.
2 Thou prayeſt for the ſubduing of thy luſts,2 In deſire … Power againſt luſt. and corruptions, but doſt thou deſire what thou praieſt for? wouldſt thou think it, if God ſhould anſwer thee, to be a mercy? I am confident, that till thy heart bee changed, thou wouldſt think the anſwer of ſuch a requeſt no mercy; Would the Drunkard think it a mercy to bee rid of his cups? The Covetous man, would hee think it a mercy, to be rid of his Mammon of unrighteouſneſſe? No, there is no ſuch matter. I dare be bold to ſay, there is not that luſt which a wicked man would think it a mercy to be rid of. Alas! Thou doſt not deſire to be rid of thy luſts, thou canſt not live without them; thou canſt not ſubſiſt without them, when thou doſt pray againſt them, thou doſt but diſſemble with God, there is no ſuch matter, thou doſt not deſire it. If at any time thou doſt deſire it, it is when thou haſt done with it, or it is in a ſtorm only, and then not becauſe thou hateſt it,Non ſub in…uitu mali, ſed minoris boni. but becauſe thou dareſt not keep it, as you know the Merchant caſts away his goods, not becauſe hee judgeth them evil in themſelves, but becauſe if hee keeps them, he cannot preſerve a greater good, his life. Hee doth not part with them out of hatred to them, for he even throws over his heart with them, but becauſe hee ſees the keeping of them cannot ſtand with his preſent ſafety; for after the ſtorm and danger is over, hee would bee glad to get them again, if he could. There are many who thus part with their ſinnes, as the Merchant with his wares, only in a ſtorm, when they lye on their ſick beds, or under ſome wrack of Conſcience, for fear of hell, or as Jacob parted with Benjamin, becauſe otherwiſe hee ſhould ſtarve, neceſſity drove him to it, or as Phaltiel parted with Michal, becauſe otherwiſe hee ſhould looſe his head, hee did not part with her out of hatred, but out of fear, the King ſent for her, and if hee had detained her, it might have coſt him his head, therefore (out of fear) hee parted with her, though hee wept after her.
3 In deſire of heaven. Extrema Chriſtianorum deſiderantur, quamvis non Exordia.3 You Pray for heaven, and one would think you did deſire this, wee ſay, the end of a Chriſtian is deſirable, though not the beginning, the reſt, though not the labour; you ſee Balaam hee wiſhed hee might dye the death of the righteous, though he had no heart to live their lives. So that one would think they did deſire heaven.
But indeed as long as thy heart is corrupt and unregenerate, thou doſt not deſire heaven, if thou knoweſt what heaven is. If a man ſhould ask thee, thou who ſayeſt, thou deſireſt heaven, what doſt thou think heaven is, it would I think, poſe thee. But it may bee thou wilt ſay, thou conceives heaven to bee a place of pleaſure and delight, a place free from all miſeries and troubles, and the like. For this is the utmoſt heaven thou canſt deſire: Thou lookeſt on it and deſires it,A place free from paenal not from ſinful evils. as a place of peace and reſt, not of grace and holineſs. If I ſhould now tell thee; that heaven is to be rid of all thy luſts and corruptions, I beleive heaven would not be ſo deſirable to thee. Thou deſireſt heaven, but tis under a falſe notion, a heaven ſuitable to thy ſelf, and thats the leaſt of heaven. I have told you not long agoe, abſtract and take from heaven, what a corrupt heart doth ſee, and think to bee heaven, and that's heaven indeed to a godly man. To what I have ſaid of another ſubject, I will now adde this. That didſt thou know the company of heaven,Heaven not deſirable to corrupt hearts for its 1 Company. the imployments of heaven, the injoyments of heaven, thou canſt never deſire heaven, thy heart being corrupt.
1 The company of heaven, ſhall I tell you? there's none of your mind there. And it is no great happineſs to bee in ſuch a place, where they are all of different minds from you. Two cannot walk together, ſaith the Prophet (they cannot-live together, take delight together) unleſs they bee agreed. Now there is no agreement between the company of Heaven and thy ſpirit, as it is corrupt. See what the company of Heaven is, enquire what they are.
Firſt, There is God, and do you think there is any agreement betwixt God and you; why, hee is holy, and thou art unholy, hee is pure, thou art impure, &c. and without holineſs, no man can ſee God.
Secondly, There is Chriſt, there are the glorious Angels; all theſe are thine enemies, as thou art in a natural condition.
Thirdly, There are the bleſſed Saints, and thoſe are ſuch as thou haſt deſpiſed, ſuch as thou haſt perſecuted here in the World, ſuch as thou couldeſt never indure upon Earth, but flye from and avoid, is this company deſireable in Heaven? no ſuch matter. If they bee now hatefull to thee, while they have ſomething of thy ſelf in them, (they have corruptions in them, as well as thou, though not under the power of them as thou) Oh how hateful would they be, when theſe corruptions are removed, when they are better, and thou worſe! But what's this to torment thee, in compariſon of the preſence of God? in them is but the ſpark of holineſs, in God thoſe eternal fires of holineſs, and if the ſpark bee a torment, what is the fire? As the Prophet ſpeaks, Who ſhall dwell with everlaſting fires.
2. Look upon the imployments of Heaven,2 Imployment. and ſee if thoſe bee deſireable to thee in thy natural eſtate.
There is keeping of an eternal Sabbath, there is praiſing and glorifying God to all eternity, and would not this bee a tedious thing to thee? canſt thou indure to praiſe God for ever, when now a ſtaff of a Pſalm is burdenſome, to keep an eternal Sabbath, when a duty is tedious to thee?
3. Adde to this the injoyments of Heaven;3. For its injoyments. and here I can name nothing which thou wouldeſt think it a mercy to injoy;
Them wee branch into four particulars.
1. Shall I ſay you ſhall injoy God there;1. God. who though happineſs to a gracious heart, yet a torment to a corrupt ſpirit. I have read of the Iriſh Earth, that no venemous creature can indure to live upon it; that if a man ſhould make a circle of Iriſh Earth, and put a little Engliſh Earth in the midſt of it for a center, if a Toad, or any venemous Creature were upon the Engliſh Earth, it would dye there, rather than come upon the Iriſh ground. I tell thee, the Iriſh Earth will better brook a Toad, than Heaven a ſinner, or a ſinner Heaven.
2. You ſhall injoy freedome from ſin, never ſin more.2. Freedome from ſin. Not to ſin is here our Law, hereafter it ſhall bee our Nature. And is this a mercy to bee rid of ſin? ſin, which is meat and drink now? what, can the Drunkard be willing to be rid of his cups? the unclean perſon of his Dalilah? the covetous man of his bags? can hee think an eternall divorce from ſuch things, hee loves ſo dear, a mercy?
3. You ſhall injoy perfection of Grace, to bee ſwallowed up with holineſs.
4. An eternal Sabbath.
And theſe are things which certainly a corrupt heart doth not deſire.
And ſo you ſee, it is poſsible for a man to pray for thoſe things which hee hath no deſire, were granted.
Therefore the Character is firm, that it is the ſign of a ſincere heart in prayer, when hee doth truly deſire the thing prayed for.
And thus much for the ſixth Character.
7. Character.
The ſeventh and laſt. A ſincere heart in Prayer doth not only deſire, but truly indeavour the compaſsing of the thing prayed for; Oculum ad ſidus, manum ad clavum.As the wiſe Mariner, hee hath not only an eye to the Star, but his hand alſo upon the Helm, or as the Plow-men of Sparta, they had one hand up to Ceres, whom they feigned the Goddeſſe of Corn, and the other upon the ſtilts of the Plow; they joyned plowing with praying. So here, a ſincere heart, hee doth not only pray, lift up his heart to Heaven, but hee puts alſo his hand to the work, to compaſſe what hee prayes for; doth hee pray for pardon of ſin? hee labours to get his Faith more ſtrengthened in aſſurance of pardon. Deſires hee ſubduing of corruption? hee makes uſe of Chriſt, &c. Deſires hee grace? hee is carefull in the uſe of all means, &c. Pſal. 5. I will direct my Prayer, and look up, foreign The words are very emphatical, there are two military words uſed in that place; the firſt to ſet or put an Army in array. So hee would order his Prayers, and then hee would look up, and ſtand ſentinel.
Gods power and grace muſt not exempt us from the uſe of the means, but make us more diligent in the uſe of all means to have our deſires accompliſhed.
Exod. 17.Wee read that Joſhuahs ſword, and Moſes prayer were to go together; if the ſword had gone out without Prayer, if they had fought, and had not prayed, they had not prevailed, for God will not bee neglected; if the Prayer had gone up, and the Sword had not gone out, had they prayed, and not fought, they had not had ſucceſſe, for God will not bee tempted; but both theſe went together, and then Gods bleſſing was on them.
So here, ſhould wee indeavour and not pray, wee can look for no good, wee go out in our own ſtrength, and cannot prevail; and ſhould wee pray, and not indeavour, wee may expect the ſame ſucceſſe; God will neither bee tempted nor neglected: But if wee joyn them both together, if the hand back the heart, indeavours ſecond our deſires, wee may expect Gods bleſſing on us.
This is the laſt Character, A ſincere heart is conſcionable in the uſe of all means, for the accompliſhing the things prayed for.
3. Part. Clear ſincerity in matter of mourning.There is yet a third Particular, wherein to clear the ſincerity of your hearts, and that is in matter or mourning. I told you, that it was poſsible for a man, not only to pray, but to ſeem to mourn too, and yet his heart bee unſound. You read of the Iſraelites, they did not only pray, but they joyned faſting to prayer, as you ſee in the next words to my Text, but more plainly, Zach. 7.5. When yee faſted and mourned in the fifth Month, did you at all faſt to mee, ſaith the Lord? There was faſting, and mourning joyned to faſting, yet hearts unſound. There is falſe mournings, as well as true; Crocodile tears, falſe tears, as well as falſe prayers. And therefore it behoves us to try the ſincerity of our hearts, in mourning for ſin.
Wee will lay down theſe Characters of it.
1. Character.Characters of ſincere mourning.
A ſincere mourning, is a deep mourning; a ſad and ſerious ſorrow for ſin. Such a ſorrow as doth deeply affect the heart, with the thoughts and apprehenſions of the burthen and bitterneſs of ſin.
A ſincere mourner hath ſad and deep apprehenſions of the nature, demerit and filthineſs of ſin; he looks upon ſin as an offence againſt a juſt, a pure, a holy God; as the breach of a pure, a holy, and an eternal Law; as a wounding and crucifying of Chriſt; as a grieving and ſadding of the ſpirit of Grace, as a wounding and undoing his own ſoul for ever. Which deep and inward thoughts of the nature of ſin; work deep, and inward mourning for ſin. The heart is wounded, the ſoul humbled and grieved, his ſpirit melted and peirced within him for ſin, which hee hath committed againſt God. It is not his tongue only that repents in expreſſing and confeſſing, his eyes in weeping, but his heart in deep and inward mournings for ſin. Another may make more noiſe, more cryings, roarings, howlings; but his ſorrow is more inward, more ſecret, more ſtill, and yet more deep. As you know the deepeſt waters run the ſtilleſt, ſo the deepeſt ſorrow makes leaſt noiſe. So that is the firſt, a ſincere mourning, is a deep mourning. An Hypocrite, his mournings are but ſhallow mournings, hee hath but ſhallow and fleeting thoughts of the nature and demerit of ſin; hee may ſay with Pharaoh, I have ſinned, or cry out in a ſtrait, Lord have mercy upon mee, or hang down his head like a bulruſh for a day, or roar upon the preſent rack of trouble for a time, but he never hath any deep and ſerious thoughts of ſin, as ſin. His prayers are howlings, and his mournings are roarings. Gods people they mourn like Doves, wicked men they bellow like Bulls under the apprehenſion of ſin.
2. Character.
A ſincere mourning, is an univerſal mourning, hee mourns for all ſins.
A ſincere mourning, is an univerſal mourning, hee mourns for all ſins.
As hee hates all, ſmall and great, ſo hee mourns for all, yea for ſuch ſins is his heart affected, which another mans light doth not diſcover to bee ſins.Peccata vaſtantia conſcientiam. An unſound heart may mourn for ſome greater ſins, ſuch as have made great wounds and gaſhes in his conſcience: but for ſins, quotidiana incurſionis, for omiſſions and common frailties, wandring of thoughts, imperfections in duty, deadneſs, coldneſs, unbeleef, theſe gnats can hee ſwallow, his light doth not diſcover theſe to bee ſins.
Nay, yet further, A ſincere mourning is not only an univerſal mourning, that hee mourns for all ſinnes of his own, but hee mourns for other mens ſinnes as well as his own, he hath a fountain within him, which runnes over to the good of others. Wee have read of ſome who have mourned for their own ſinnes, and yet have been unſound. You ſee Pharaoh, Ahab, Judas. But wee never read of any who were grieved with, and have mourned for the ſinnes of others as well as his own, but their hearts were ſound. Lot his righteous ſoul was grieved for the ſinnes of Sodome, and yee know his heart was ſound, hees called Righteous Lot. David hee mourned for the ſinnes of others, yea ſuch as were his enemies,Pſ. 119.139 as hee ſaith, Rivers of tears runne down mine eyes, becauſe mine enemies keep not thy Law: And you know David was ſincere, God tells us hee was a man after his own heart, and the heart of David was ſingle and ſincere with God. The like I might tell you of Moſes, of Samuel, of Daniel, Nehemiah, and others; hee that mourns only in relation to guilt and hell, that mans Ciſtern runnes out only for his own houſe. Hee mourns for ſinne no farther than it doth reflect upon himſelf, and ſo not for ſin as ſin, but ſin as it is evil to him, as it binds him over to the wrath of God, and eternal damnation.
But hee that mourns for ſinne, in its own nature, as an offence to an holy, pure, gracious God, his fountain runs over to the uſe of others, hee goes and mourns over other mens ſins as well as his own. Wee read the Angels, they rejoyce at the converſion of a ſinner. What is the ground? do they receive any further addition of good thereby? no they are full, but therefore do they rejoyce, becauſe God is further glorified. And if joys were capable of ſorrows, heaven of tears, they would upon the ſame ground mourn for the ſinnes of mee, becauſe thereby God is diſhonoured. And if wee could ſee God as they do, our hearts would bee filled with grief, our eyes with tears, to ſee, the God ſo great, ſo gracious, ſo holy; to bee abuſed and wronged by wicked men, though wee no way guilty of their ſinne. Thus a ſincere heart hee mourns for other mens ſinnes as well as his own, he is grieved when his enemys do break Gods laws, not ſo much becauſe they hurt or wound him, but becauſe they diſhonour God and wound their own ſouls. It troubles him to ſee men ſwear and lye, to joyn hearts & hands together againſt God, his cauſe, his Church, his people, his Miniſters, not becauſe they hurt him, but ſtrike againſt God, and ſo but beat themſelves againſt a rock, and break themſelves, do that which will turn to their own ſhame, and ſorrow at the laſt, which is the beſt end that can bee expected of ſin.
3. Character.
3 Sincere mourning is a mourning for ſinne, a ſorrow for ſin.
Sorrow is like Mercuries influence, good if joyned with a good Planet, bad if it bee joyned with a bad Planet. It was good in Peter, it was naught in Judas, good in David naught in Ahab: In the one it was worldly, in the other it was a godly ſorrow, the one was a ſorrow for the evil of puniſhment, th… other for the evil of ſinne:Flagella dolent quare flagellantur non dolent. The one roared under preſen… laſhes, the judgement and puniſhment of ſinne, as Auguſtine ſaith, They lament the evil cauſed, not the evil cauſing; the evil of pu…hment, the preſent laſhes, not the evil of ſinne. You ſhall ſee the difference of it in Pharaoh and David. God you ſee puniſhed Pharaoh for ſinne, plague upon plague, judgement upon judgement, and hee crys under the laſhes, the preſent judgement. Oh! take away this plague, take away this death alſo; take away theſe lice, theſe Caterpillars, &c. but there was not a word of ſin.
But I have ſinned, ſaith David, 2 Sam. 24. to, 27.I beſeech thee take away the iniquity of thy ſervant, One would have thought hee ſhould have prayed to have the plague removed, which was then on the people. But hee ſaith take away this ſinne, not this plague; nay in the 17th verſ. Continue the plague if thou pleaſe, againſt mee and my fathers houſe, only pardon mine iniquity. Why thus, becauſe hee ſaw ſinne a greater evil than the plague, and therefore deſires rather to be rid of the ſin, than the puniſhment of it. Here was now a vaſt difference between the ſorrows of the one and the other. Take away this plague, ſaith Pharaoh, but continue the ſinne: Take away the ſinne, ſaith David, though thou continue the plague. The one hee mourned under the preſent laſhes, the other under ſinne. Sincere mourning is a mourning for ſinne, and not for ſinne as clad with wrath, but for ſinne abſtractly, ſinne in its own nature, not for ſin in its damning, but for ſin in its defiling nature.