The Right Use of The Name of God in Prayer, Title page – Preface
The Right use of that ARGUMENT IN PRAYER FROM The Name of GOD; On behalf of a People that profess it.
By John HOWE Minister of the Gospel.
LONDON, Printed for Brabazon Aylmer, at the Three Pidgeons, over against the Royal Exchange in Cornhil, 1682.
The PREFACE.
NO sort of men have ever pretended to Religion, who have not allowed unto Prayer a very eminent place in it. And so much a deeper, and more Potent Principle is Religion, in the nature of Man than Reason, (though both are miserably perverted, and infeebled) that the former doth secretly prompt men (especially in great distresses) to Pray, and expect relief by Prayer, when the way wherein it is efficacious, cannot so well be explicated, or apprehended by the other.
And as Prayer hath ever been reckon'd a very principal part of Religion. So hath Intercession for others been wont to be accounted a very fit and proper part of Prayer.
In the general, Prayer is most evidently, a duty of Natural Religion, a Dictate of Nature, which every mans own mind suggests to him, or may be appeal'd to about it: (should not a people seek unto their God?) Whence that personated, eloquent Patron of the Christian cause, urging for the conviction of his Heathen Adversary, the common practice of people in their extremities, to lift up (even untaught) their hands and eyes to Heaven, fitly sayes of it, Vulgi iste naturalis est Octav. apud Min. F.sermo, that they do herein, as it were, but speak the language of nature.
Now hereupon, the impression of that Primitive Law of Nature, (not quite worn out from the mind of man, even in this his very degenerate state) to love our neighbours as our selves, doth as a natural instinct, secretly prompt us to pray for others, whom we cannot otherwise help, (especially such to whom we have more peculiar Obligations, who are in a more especial sense our neighbours) as (at least, in our last necessities) we do for our selves.
In which recourse to God, whether for our selves or others, we are led by a sense of our own impotency, and dependent state, from a deeply inward apprebension of a Deity, that is (as Epicurus himself seems constrain'd to acknowledge concerning the Idea of God,) even proleptical, or such as prevents reason. So that we do not, being urg'd by the pinching necessity of the case, stay to deliberate, and debate the matter with our selves, how this course should bring relief, but do even take it for granted, that it may; by an apprehension that is earlier in us, than any formal reasoning about it, and being Prior to it, is also not supprest by it, but prevails against it, if there be any thing in reason objected, which we cannot so clearly answer.
Yet, when we do bring the matter to a rational discussion, we find that in our conception of God, we have the apprehension of so perfect, and excellent a nature, that we cannot suppose he should be mov'd by any thing Foreign to himself, or that we can inform him of any thing he knew not before, or incline him to any thing, to which his own nature inclines him not. And therefore, that though the wise and apt course of his Government over intelligent creatures requires that they should be apprehensive of their own concernments, (whether personal or that belong to them as they are in communities,) and pay a solemn homage to his sovereign power and goodness, by supplicating him about them, yet that if he hear their Prayers, it must not be for their sakes, but his own. Therefore also, it cannot upon strictest reasoning, but seem most dutiful to him, and hopeful for our selves, that our Prayers should be conceiv'd after such a tenour, as may be most agreeable unto that apprehension.
The Holy Scriptures, and the Divine Spirit do both aim at the recovery of Apostate man, and the repairing the decayes of his degenerate nature, and do therefore (besides what was necessary to be added) renew the Dictates of the Law of Nature, the One more expresly representing them, the other impressing them afresh, and reimplanting them in the hearts of all that are born of God. Therefore that External Revelation of the mind and will of God doth direct, and his Blessed Spirit (which is pleased to be in all his Children the Spirit of Grace and Supplication,) doth inwardly prompt them, not only to pray (in reference to their single and common concernments) but to form their Prayers after this Tenour; Which is to be seen in their so frequent use of this Argument in Prayer, from the Name of God.
Whereupon, in a time when we are so much concern'd, to be very instant in Prayer, not only each of us for himself, but for the Body of a People, upon whom that Holy Name is called. I reckon'd it seasonable to shew briefly the import and right use of this Argument; and to that purpose have taken for the ground, the following Text of Scripture.