Divine Comforts, Chapter 3
CHAP. III. A Second Character of the Subject of Comfort, Prayer.
2. THe Sacred Penman here was a Man of Prayer, the whole Pſalm is a ſolemn Addreſs to God; and 'tis not like the fumbling of one unaccuſtomed thus to converſe with the Divine Majeſty; the Genius of it gives abundant evidence that it hath been a familiar and frequent practice with ſuch gravity of Expreſſion, with ſuch liberty of Spirit, with ſuch a holy Parrheſy and Confidence, with ſuch variety of Arguments, with ſuch endearments of affection does he plead with God, as one that long had liv'd upon the trade, and was a good Proficient in this heavenly art of Wreſtling with God. And indeed 'tis generally under this Duty, that the Lord adminiſters the ſolace and ſatisfaction of his Love to revive a drooping Heart. Whoever is unacquainted with Prayer, is utterly an alien from Divine Peace. Thoſe that live moſt with God in this exerciſe, receive moſt from God, enjoy moſt in him, to ſweeten their Spirits, under all their Sorrows; his Promiſe engaging him to be found in a way of Peace and Contentation, of all thoſe that diligently ſeek him. Beſide that his own Glory engages him to anſwer the Petitions of Peace which are put up in the Name, and put into the Hands of his only Begotten, to be preſented to his Majeſty, perfumed with the Incenſe of his Mediation, Joh. 14.13. Whatever ye ſhall ask in my Name that will I do. Wherefore? is it becauſe you ask, or for the merit of your Devotions, or the ſtrength of your Faith, or the fervency of of your Spirits, or the forcibleneſs of your Arguments, or the urgency of your Importunities, &c.? No, but I will do it that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Oh gracious Redeemer! Oh precious Promiſe! Oh bleſſed Hope! How ſtrong and rich are thy Conſolations? eſpecially conſidering the relation which this Promiſe ſtands in to another immediately ſucceeding it, viz. that of a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, which our bleſſed Mediator prevail'd with his Father to beſtow, that he might give us an Experiment of the prevatence of Prayer, ver. 16. I will … the Father, and he ſhall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. As if he had ſaid, my perſonal Prayer you ſhall to your ſatisfaction find effectual, but this further aſſurance will I give you, that the Prayers you put up in my Name, ſhall be no leſs efficacious than thoſe I my ſelf preſent in mine own Perſon; for upon my requeſt you ſhall be endow'd with the ſame Spirit that breaths out mine, and my Merit is not confin'd to my Perſon, the vertue thereof will be extended to your pleadings in my Name, through the co-operation of that Holy One, who ſhall be your aid, and with unutterable groans cointercede for you. Indeed this Heavenly Dove comes only in at the Window of Prayer; but we muſt put forth our hand to take it, and heartily, humbly, believingly to beg it, is as little as we can do; if we ſluggiſhly put our hand into our Boſom, and refuſe this labour, we together with it reject the Olive Branch of Peace: But who in his wits would not beg with all manner of Prayer, Publick, Private, Secret, Mental, Vocal, with a Form, without, when he may be aſſured if he ask to receive, that his Joy may be full, Joh. 16.24. This 94th Pſalm and the reſt, moſt of them ſeem in their compoſure to be deſign'd by the Penmen for Privacy, though God had a further deſign in them, viz. to make them Publick, and part of the Canon of Scripture, for the guidance of his Church in all Ages; and aſſuredly, he is a ſtranger to heavenly Comforts, who is a ſtranger to ſecret Converſes and Communion with God. 'Tis true, God by bringing theſe ſecret breathings of holy Souls after himſelf, in theſe Pſalms to a more publick uſe, and making their private Forms of Prayer as it were the common Liturgy of his Church in all Generations, may ſeem graciouſly to intend the honour of his publick Worſhip by the Church, ſince he hath pickt out that for Catholick advantage, which in reality was a Treaſure in all their private Devotions, pretermitting the reſt. For that more were compoſed by them, I no more doubt than that other Books were made by Solomon, beſides thoſe preſerv'd in the Holy Writings. And that Forms of Humane Compoſure, as well as Divine Inſpiration, were made uſe of by holy Souls, without impeach of any crime therein; particularly without the guilt of Idolatry, (the ſenſleſs ſottiſh charge of ſome againſt a Form) is demonſtrable from the New Teſtament, where Chriſts Diſciples beſeech him to teach them to pray as the Phariſees and John taught theirs. They taught them Forms and ſo did he; theirs Humane, his Divine. But if this were ſo foul a crime, ſo odious to God, would he (who is ſo ſevere againſt Phariſes upon other occaſions, even in relation to their Prayers) give it the honour of an approving Imitation, and not rather chaſtize it with the Scorpions of a bitter rigorous reproof, and check his Diſciples deſire to be Idolaters, or ſymbolize with them? I could demonſtrate irrefragably, that this whimzy would abſolutely turn all Vocal Prayer whatever out of the Church, if it were as true as it is abominably falſe; but this is no place for it.
The choice which God made for the Church of theſe more refined ſuſpirations of pure and heavenly Souls, that in a zealous ardour of divine and raiſed affection, lifted up themſelves towards his holy Habitation, in theſe Forms of his own dictating and directing by his holy Spirit, and his applying them to publick uſe, are a teſtimony that he accounts the honour of more to be more honour, and his reſerving the beſt for the Church, when others are loſt, declares, that he expects the beſt from it. His own is to him always moſt acceptable, and adminiſtring hereof to his Church, to offer before him, he evidences that he would have its Offerings to be always acceptable, and in this proviſion he gives the Publick a preference to any thing perſonal, which alſo he further advances by making theſe publick Miniſtrations the ordinary means to beget ſpiritual Life, and therefore Peace. But then nevertheleſs, the benefit of that which we enjoy in Publick, depends upon what we are in Private; and the main buſineſs of Church Offices and Ordinances, is to make us inwardly and ſecretly ſound and ſolid Chriſtians For God no more regards outward publick Semblances, without Sincerity, than a whited Sepulchre; his general end is to make us upright Nathanaels, Iſraelites indeed in whom there is no guile, not gilded Hypocrites; and no better are we, whatever our viſible Sacrifices may be, if yet we retain our Chambers of Imagery in private, and do not break down the Idols of our Hearts; ſtriving to be inwardly before God, what before Men we appear to be outwardly; which we ſhall never do, if we take not our Hearts to task in ſecret. Let us blow never ſo many Trumpets before our ſelves, ruffle and brave it as triumphantly as is imaginable, in the phantaſtry of our Silk and Satten Devotion, before Men; yet if our heavenly Father never meet us in a Cloſet, if there we have nothing acceptable to preſent him, if we take no pains there to dreſs up our inward Souls for his embraces; labouring to the utmoſt to prepare our Work within there, when we deſign to build him a publick Temple, that the ſavour of our more retired Communion with God may abide upon our Spirits, and the perfume of that Incenſe, which we offer within the Veil, may aſcend, and become a viſible Cloud without; if not thus, I am affraid, that at the great reckoning, for all our Trimming and Gallantry, the Crowns and Garlands of our publick Sacrifices, we ſhall ſtand in querpo, and be found no better than Phariſees.
The Pſalmiſt's Prayer was firſt a ſecret ere it became a publick Application to God. Learn then, Oh my Soul, to begin there, and make it thy firſt and main buſineſs, to approve thy Heart ſecretly, to the Searcher of Hearts; and by Communing with it and God alone, deal effectually with it, that he, who ſees in ſecret, may ſee, that it is in good earneſt. Be much with God in thy Meditations before, that thou mayſt not have thy ſtraggling Thoughts to gather up and fix, when thy Affections are to enter into a vigorous purſuit after Grace and God. See that there be not a reſerved Luſt within, that would hide it ſelf from the Lord, when thou ſhouldſt make thy unreſerved Acknowledgments. Let not thy Confeſſions be a bare heartleſs enumeration of thy Sins, but the real exerciſe of true Repentance, leaſt they paſs only for ſelf Accuſations, and thine own Mouth produce the Teſtimony againſt thee, which will caſt and condemn thee. O learn inwardly to loath in thy Heart thoſe hateful Vomits which thy Mouth caſts out, that thou mayſt return to them never, never. Learn to loath thy ſelf for the ſake of the naſty Filth and Rottenneſs, nay the Venom, the Toads, the Fiends that thou harboureſt within, and what thou loatheſt reſolve utterly, eternally to relinquiſh and abandon, (from this very day forward) as an offence and abomination to the Lord.
But thou muſt not only in thy receſſes and perſonal converſes with God, fly from and abhor thy Sins as Styx that ſcalding River of Brimſtone in Hell; that's not all,Rom. 12.9. foreign. thou muſt fix and eſtabliſh thy ſelf by Reſolution and Grace invariably for God and Goodneſs, and for that end endeavour that all thy Petitions, may be the exerciſe of Faith, without which thou ſhalt receive nothing at the Hands of the Lord. Cold Petitions only beg denials, and faithleſs ſet a ſeal upon thoſe denials, to render them irreverſible. Chriſt in the days of his Fleſh, offered up ſtrong cries, Heb. 5.7. Well they might, the ſtrength of Iſrael dwelt in his Fleſh, Job. 1.14. Col. 2.9. the fulneſs of the Godhead fill'd him with Vigour and Power. But the ſtrength of thy cries, Oh my Soul, is thy Faith, the condition of the Promiſes; yet not abſolutely in it ſelf but relatively to him; thy Faith is the ſtrength of thy Prayers, and He the ſtrength of thy Faith. The Golden Scepter of Divine Grace and Love, will never be held out to any who bring not this Teſſera or Token; produce this, and then, What is thy Petition, Oh Soul? and it ſhall be granted, and what is thy Requeſt? it ſhall be performed even to the half of the Kingdom. Nothing binds the Hands of Miracle-working, helping, healing Power, but Unbelief, Mat. 13.58. Mark 6.5. One Evangeliſt ſays he did, another he could do no mighty Work, becauſe of their Ʋnbelief. But to Faith all things are poſſible, becauſe to God, who hath promiſed upon that condition. Nothing therefore, Oh my Soul, doſt thou want but Faith. Thus am I drawn unawares to that which ſhould be another Ingredient of the Character.