The Doctrine of Practical Praying, Chapter 34
CHAP. XXXIV. Of Deprecation.
NOw followeth Deprecation, which is called foreign. The evil which we do deprecari, that is, desire either to be delivered from, whether in whole, ut avertatur, that it may be averted, or in part, ut mitigetur, that it may be mitigated if it be upon us; or to be kept and preserved therefrom if we be in any danger thereof, ut antevertatur, that it may be prevented, is either the evil of sinne or the evil of punishment. In the former we pray that our sinnes may be removed and taken away, that is, that we may be delivered either from the guilt of sinne, which is our justification; or from the fault andOf confession of our sinnes, and that it is most profitable and necessary. De confessione peccat. Serm. 66. De Tempor. corruption, which is our sanctification.
In prayer for the forgivenesse of sinne these things specially are required: First, in the action it self, confession of sinnes. And of this Augustine speaketh excellently: Hortatur nos saepius Scriptura ad medicamenta fugere confessionis: Non quòd Deus indigeat confessione nostrâ, &c. The Scripture doth often exhort us to flee to the medicine of confession, not that God needeth our confession, unto whom all things are present which we think, speak and do; but because we cannot otherwise be saved unlesse we confesse penitently that which we have done amisse negligently. He that accuseth himself in his sinnes, the devil hath not whereof to accuse him in the day of judgement. If at least confessing he do by repenting blot out what he hath done, and doth not again renew them, &c. Let the sinner whilest he liveth confesse the sinnes which he hath committed, because confession is fruitlesse in hell, neither doth repentance there profit to salvation. Behold, now is the day of salvation, now is the time acceptable to God; now is the time of pardon to the penitent: but after death there will be a time of vengeance for those that neglect to confesse their sinnes. For all wicked men have bitter repentance in torments, but it doth not profit thē for pardon: but their conscience to…tureth them for the increase of their pains which they suffer, &c. All hope of pardon consisteth in confession. So A… fratres in Eremo, Serm. 30. O honto, ne tardes converti ad Deum, &c. O man, saith he, do not delay to turn unto God. Examine thy mind, search all the secrets of thy heart; consider before thou comest to confession that thy heart hath sinned in coveting evil things, thine eye in beholding vanity, thy mouth in speaking falshood, thine eare in hearing lies, thy hand in perpetrating blows and murders, &c. Let therefore thine heart gri…ve, thine eye weep, thy mouth pray without inter…ssion, thine eare heare the word of God, thine han… give alms, &c. thy feet come to Church, thy knees bow and labour, &c. And do not deferre it: For God hath prom…sed pardon to the penitent, but he hath not promised life till to morrow to him that delayeth it. Thus much Augustine.
Now this confession is both prositable and necessary. It hath the promise of forgivenesse: So to the hiding of our sinnes is pardon denied, 1. John 1. 8, 9. If we deny our s…, we deceive our selves, and there is no truth in us; but we bewray our selves to be hypocrites: If we consesse our sinnes, he is faithfull and just to forgive our sinnes, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousnesse. Prov. 28. 13. He that hideth his sinnes shall not prosper; but he that … and forsaketh them shall have mercy. We see this verified in the example of David: For while he concealed his sinne, the hand of the Lord was heavy upon him to afflict him, Psal. 32. 3, 4. but when he confessed and acknowledged his iniquity, the Lord forgave him his sinne, vers. 5. Assoon as David reproved by Nathan confessed his sinne, the Propher presently assureth him that his sinne was forgiven, 2. Sam. 12.
Now this confession is to be made of unknownHow this confession is to be made. sinnes generally, Psal. 19. 13. of known sinnes particularly, together with the aggravating circumstances, Psal. 51. 4, 5. and in both we are freely to acknowledge what we h…ve deserved …or the same, Ezra 9. 6, 7. Dan. 9. 4, 5. that judging our selves we may not be judged of the Lord, 1. Cor. 11. 31. and that the Lord when he judgeth may be justified, Psal. 51. 4. To which purpose we are to abhorre our selves in dust and ashes, Job 42. 6. and to behave our selves before the Lord as Benhadad and …is followers before Ahab the King of Israel, 1. Kings 20. 31. And that this confession may be made accordingly,That examination should go before conf…sion. we are in our preparation both to try and examine ourselves by the law of God, to find out our sinnes which we are seriously to confesse, Lam. 3. 40, 41. and also labour that we may see and feel our miserie in respect of them, that labouring and being wearied under the burden of them, we may out of an humble and contrite soul poure out our supplications unto the Lord. The neglect whereof is reproved Jer. 8. 6.
And that we may obtein forgivenesse we are alsoCharity and repentance required before con…ssion, and aft…r. to come in charitie, being as desirous to forgive our brethren that have offended us as we desire to be forgiven of the Lord, Matth. 6, 14, 15. See Ecclus 28. 2, 3. 1. Tim. 2. 8. foreign, without wrath. And likewise we are to repent of those sinnes the pardon whereof we desire: For that is pretended in our asking forgivenesse, that is, both to be sorie for our sinne past, and to promise and purpose unfeignedly amendment for the time to come.
And both these duties of charity and repentance are likewise to be practiced in our lives after we have craved forgivenesse at the hands of God. For as touching the dutie of charity in forgiving others; If after we have desired forgivenesse, and in our conceit have obteined pardon, if we deal unmercifully with our brother, whom we will not forgive, it will be an evidence against us that our sinnes indeed were not pardoned, Matth. 18. 23, to 35. And for the other duty of repentance; A man cannot have assurance of the forgivenesse of his sinne which he doth continue in: For God doth not remit the sinnes which we our selves retein; He that confesseth and forsaketh his sinne shall have mercy, Prov. 28. 13.
And as we are to pray for the forgivenesse of sinne or taking away of the guilt, so we must also pray that we may be delivered from the corruptions and preserved against tentations alluring unto sinne for the time to come. And as we are to pray against corruptions and tentations, so must we in our lives strive and fight against our corruptions and resist tentations, avoyding also occasions of evil; otherwise how can we ask that of the Lord which we our selves will not yield unto in our practice.
So much of prayer against malum culpae, theOf prayer against the evil of punishment. evil of sinne. There is also prayer against malum poenae, the evil of punishment, both spirituall and temporall and also eternall. The spirituall is, when God doth punish sinne with sinne, blinding the eyes of men, and hardening their hearts, and giving them over to a reprobate sense. The temporall, when God doth either for chastisement, or triall, or punishment, afflict men with the afflictions and calamities of this life: against which sort this kind of deprecation is most usuall. Psalmus foreign, Nè perdas; Psal. 57, 58, 59, 75.
But in this kind of prayer especially we must wholly submit and resigne our selves unto the good will and pleasure of God, who knoweth what is good for us better then our selves; with p…tience and comfort to bear what it shall please God to lay upon us, after the example of David, 2. Sam. 15. 26. and of our Saviour, Matth. 26. 39, 42. For herein especially that is verified Rom. 8. that we Vide Aug. …pist. 121.know not what to ask. For to be afflicted is not simply evil, but contrariwise worketh for the good of them that are afflicted, Rom. 8. 28. Insomuch that David professeth that it had been good for him that he had been afflicted, Psal. 119. 71. and Jeremy, Lam. 3. 27. yea, David pronounceth the man blessed whom the Lord doth chastise and nurture in his law, Psal. 94. 12.
Deprecation of calamities is often joyned with Lamentations particularly bewayling their state, and Expostulations. Example of the former in the Lamentations of Jeremie. Expostulations are vehement interrogations of the afflicted expressed from their grief, whereby they expostulate with God concerning the greatnesse or continuance of their afflictions, Psal. 22. 1.
But here we must take heed that our expostulation be a lively fruit of a strong faith, lest perhaps it do degenerate into open murmuring and repining against God: David, Psal. 22. 1. and our Saviour Christ being assured that the Lord is his God, and therefore calling him, My God, my God, expostulateth with him why, b…ing h…s God, he had forsaken him. So much of Petition or Prayer.