Twenty Sermons, Sermons · Sermon 14
HEB. 4.16.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
IN handling heretofore the Doctrine of the conversion of a sinner, I declared and shewed you what man's misery was, and what that great hope of mercy is that the Lord proposeth to the greatest sinner in the world. I shewed unto you …he means whereby we may be made partakers of Christ; and th…t wa… by the grace of faith, which doth let fall all other things in a man's self, and comes with an open and empty hand, to lay hold on Christ, and fill it self with him. I shewed you also the acts of Faith as it just…fies.
And now because it is a point of high moment, wherein all our comfort stands, and in which it lies, I thought good to resume it all again, so far as may concern our practice, that we may see what the work of God's Spirit is from the first to the last, and the conversion of a sinner from the corruptions and pollutions of the flesh in which he wallowed; and to this purpose have I chosen this place of Scripture, wherein we are encouraged by God's blessed Word, that whatever we are, though accursed, and the greatest sinners in the world; and that whatever we want, we should come to God's throne of grace.
And we are to think that whatever sins are or have been committed, and though our sins are never so great, yet that they are not so great as the infiniteness of God's mercy; especially having such, not only an Intercessor, but Advocate to plead the right of our cause, so that Christ comes, and he pleads payment; and that however our debts are great, and we run far in score, yet he is our ransome; and therefore now God's justice being satisfied, why should not his mercy have place and free course? This is the great comfort that a Christian hath, that he may come freely, and boldly to God, because he comes but as for an acquittance of what is already paid. As a debtor will appear boldly before his creditor, when he knows his debt is discharged, he will not then be afraid to look him in the face. Now we may come and say, Blessed Father, the debt is paid, I pray give me pardon of my sins, give me my acquittance. And this is that boldness and access spoken of, Rom. 5.2. In whom we have access by faith.
Now that I may not spend too much time needlesly, come we to the ground and matter in the words: Wherein there is
1. A preparative for grace.
2. The act it self whereby we are made partakers of the grace of God.
First, the preparatives are two, The Law and the Gospel, and wrought by them.
The first preparative.
1. Wrought by the Law. The Law works in a time of great need, or rather by the operative power of the Law convincing us of sin, we are made sensible of our need and deep poverty: This is the first preparative, for a man to be brought to see he stands in great need of God's mercy, and Christ's blood; so that the sinner cries out, Lord, I stand in great want of mercy. His eyes being thus opened, he is no longer a stranger at home, but he sees the case is wondrous hard with him; so that he concludes, unless God be merciful unto me in Christ, I am lost and undone for ever. This is the first preparative; and till we come to it, we can never approach the throne of grace. The second is,
2. Wrought by the Gospel: I see I stand in great need; but by this second preparative we see a Throne of grace set up, and that adds comfort unto me: If God had only a throne and seat of Justice, I were utterly undone; I see my debt is extremely great; but the Gospel reveals unto me, that God of his infinite mercy, hath erected a Throne of grace, a City of refuge, that finding my self in need, my soul may fly unto.
And now to fit us for this, God's blessed Spirit works by his Word, to open unto us the rigour and strictness of the Law, and our wants; to enlighten our understandings, that we stand in great need; to win our affection, and open the Gospel and its comforts.
Therefore, first, for the time of need: The Law reveals unto us our woful condition, to be born in sin, as the Pharisee said, and yet not able to see it. Every man may say in generalities, I am a sinner; yet to say, and know himself to be such a sinner as indeed he is, to stand in such need; that he cannot do. This one would think to be a matter of sense, but unless God's Spirit open our eyes, we can never see our selves to be such sinners as we are; or else what is the reason that the child of God cries out more against his sin and the weight thereof after his conversion, than he did before? What, are his sins greater or more, than they were formerly? No, but his Light is greater; his eyes are opened, and now he sees more clearly what sin is. When the Sun shines, and its rays come in, what a number of motes do we discover, which before we saw not? Not as if the Sun-beams made them, or the Sun raised the dust; no, there are here as many motes, and as much dust flying about, as if the Sun shined here: What is the matter then; Why this; the Sun discovers them to us. So that here is the point, Our sins in our souls are as motes in the air, and are not more than they were before conversion; but we cannot see them, till the glorious beams of God's Spirit shine upon us. The sight of sin, and of the danger that comes by it, is the work of God's Spirit. The Spirit discovers sin unto us, Joh. 16.8. When the Spirit cometh, he shall convince the world of sin: the word is foreign, the Spirit shall convince them: And the same word is used, Heb. 11.1. where Faith is said to be the evidence of things not seen, foreign. Heretofore we had a slight imagination of our sins; but to have our mouth stopped, and to be convinced, is not a work of flesh and blood, but of God's Spirit, Rom. 3.19. Till we are awakened by his Spirit, we cannot see, nor feel the mountains and heaps of sins, that lie upon our souls. Thou art dead in sin, Rom. 8. Thou art in bondage; and to know it, is a work of the Spirit, not of nature. The spirit of bondage, what is that? Why, however we are all bond men, until the Son hath made us free, in a woful estate, slaves to sin and Satan; yet till God's Spirit convince us, and shew it us, and make us know it, we shall sleep secure, are not afraid, but think our selves the freest men in the world, and see not this to be a time of need. This therefore is the first preparative, when God brings his people by Mount Sinai, Heb. 12.18. For you are not come unto the Mountain that may be touched, and that burned by fire, nor unto the blackness, and darkness, and tempest: so Gal. 4.25. Mount Sinai is made a figure of the Law, which begets bondage. Not that Mount which might be touched, and that burn'd with fire, where was the sound of the Trumpet, and voice of words, such a sound as never before was heard, nor never will be till one day we shall hear the same. The sound of the Trumpet which sounded at the delivery of the Law, Exod. 19.19. where it is described; for when the voice of the Trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, that Moses heard, it was such a noise, a great noise at first, but it grew higher and higher, and at last it came to that heighth that it was almost incomprehensible; then Moses spake: And what spake he? The Holy Ghost sets not down what he spake in that place. Look in Heb. 12.21. So terrible was the voice, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake, Such a kind of lightning and loud voice this was; the Lord commands such a voice as this, Esay 58.1. Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a Trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. When God shall sound with the voice of the Trumpet of his holy word, of his Law, and shew thee that thou art a trayterous Rebel, and there is an Execution gone out against thee, body and goods: when God sounds thus to a deaf ear of a carnal man, then cometh the spirit of bondage of necessity on him, which shews that we have a time of need. The Law must have this operation before thou comest to the Throne of grace. None will flie to the City of Refuge, till the revenger of blood be hard at his heels: Nor any to Christ, till he sees his want: Thus the Lord makes us know our need by turning the edge of his Axe towards us. Offenders when they are brought to the bar at Westminster for Treason, have the edge of the Axe turned from them; but wh…n they have received the sentence of condemnation, and are carried back to the Tower, the edge of the Axe is turned towards them. Thus is it here; The Law turns the edge of God's Axe towards us; and therefore it's said of S. Peter's Hearers, Acts 2.38. That they were pricked to the heart. The Law puts the point of God's sword to our very breasts as it were, and brings us to see that we stand in great need of a pardon, This is the first preparative; when God enlightens our minds to see our dangerous estate; and then there must of necessity follow fear, and desire to be rid of this condition; for the will and affections always follow the temper of the mind: And hence, when a man hath a false perswasion, that he is in a good case, that he is safe and well, what works it but pride, presumption, confidence and security? So on the contrary, when this perswasion appears to be delusion, contrary effects must follow. If a man be in health and jollity, and on a sudden be proclaimed a Traytor, that he must lose his life and goods, is it possible it should be thus, and he not wrought on, nor have any alteration? So when news comes from the Law, that thou art a dead man, and everlastingly must perish, the Law then works wrath, that is, it manifests unto us the wrath of God. When it is thus, there follows a shaking and trembling, and it's impossible but with Moses thou shouldst exceedingly quake and tremble.
2. For all this, there is a Throne of Grace erected; God hath not forgotten to be merciful, though thy sins be never so great: This is the next preparative for faith, namely, the discovery and acknowledgment of the Gospel of Christ Jesus. We see in in Ezra 10.2. We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the Land; yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing; we have trespassed; What then? must we be the subjects of God's wrath? No: Yet notwithstanding though we have committed this great offence, there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. What though we have provoked God to indignation, must we be the matter for his wrath to work on? No: There is balm in Gilead? Jer 8. ult. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no Physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? What though then we are sick to death? yet there is an help in time of need. And this knowledge of the people, that there is a Throne of grace, is the first comfort comes to a miserable and sinful soul. A man that hath a deadly disease, though the Physician do him no good which he hath made use of, yet this he comforts himself in, when he sees a Physician that hath cured the same disease, he sees then there is some hope. Thus it is with a sinful soul. When the welcome news of the Gospel comes, after the Law hath discovered his disease, and says, Be not discouraged, there is a Throne of grace prepared for thee: God hath a seat of justice to deal with Rebels and open Traytors; but if thou art weary of thy estate, if thou wilt submit to God, take Christ for thy King, and cast down all thy weapons, if thou wilt live like a subject, he hath prepared a Throne of grace for thee. Christ is thy Attourney in the Court to plead for thee; he is not as the Papists make him, so stout, and one that takes such state on him, as that a man may not come near him. This is the highest injury that can be offered to Christ, to think that any creature hath more mercy and pity than he hath: It is to rob Christ of the fairest flower in his garden, when we rob him of his mercy and pity. Mark that place in Heb. 4.15. that we may not think him austere, We have not an high Priest that cannot be touched with our infirmities, with the feeling of our infirmities.
Christ is no hard-hearted man; when you were his enemies he loved you, insomuch that he humbled himself, and suffered death, even the death of the Cross for you. And he hath the self same bowels in Heaven that he had on earth; he wept over Jerusalem, and the self-same weeping heart carried he to Heaven with him, the self same weeping eyes: Believe not then the Papists, that he is so hard-hearted, or so stately, and that his Mother is more ready to speak for us; fie on it. This is to pervert the Gospel, and make Christ no Christ. We have not an High Priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, Heb. 2, 17, In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest, &c. Alas, poor soul, saith Christ, what the malice of the Devil is, I know by mine own experience in the flesh; for Christ was tempted in all things according to us, sin only excepted. I know what the temptations of the world are; but whereas we have three enemies, the Devil, the world and the flesh, only the two former were his. Christ had the temptations of the world and the Devil, not of the corrupt flesh; for he had no corrupt flesh: A man that hath been himself in terrible Tempests on the Sea, when he sees a storm, out of his own experience he pities those that are in it; when as others are not a jot moved: for he hath seen that consternation of mind, which on every side appeared. That —plurima mortis imago: wherereas others having not been there, lay not their miseries to heart. Christ having suffered himself, and being tempted as we were, in sensible of our miseries; and therefore never count it boldness to come boldly to him, that gives thee this encouragement: Come boldly to the Throne of grace. We must understand that all this is before faith, we must
1. Know that we have a need.
2. That there is a Throne of grace, when God enlightens my conscience, and encourages me to come. And thus having spoken of the preparatives, I come to the work, the main thing it self. Now this is,
2. The Act, Coming; this coming is believing; as the feet which carry a man to the place he would be in; his feet carry him nearer and nearer. If a man cannot be cured but by the Bath, his feet must carry him thither. Now faith is the legs of the soul, the feet that carry us unto Christ: whereas we are afar off, and draw back as all unbelievers; now by believing we draw near. Now as unbelievers draw back, so believers draw forward; and therefore John 1.12. and John 6.35, To come to Christ and to believe in him are the self-same thing. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Coming is there made an act of faith, and the same thing with it: The one is the expl…cation of the other; thy coming to Christ is thy believing in him. When thou hearest of a Throne of grace, and seest the Lord of glory stretching out his golden Scepter, come and touch it, take the benefit of the King's pardon. If a man know there is such a Throne of grace, he must come unto it; And now begins faith to work.
And that thou mayst understand it the better, know that faith then begins first to work, when thou settest the first step towards the Throne of grace. And this is the hour in which salvation is come unto thy house, Luk. 19.9. None can come to me, saith Christ, except my Father draw him. If thou seest a vertue to come from Christ, and to draw thee as an Adamant, and thou feelest that loadstone working on thee, then begins faith: It makes thee draw near to Christ; whereas before thou wert a stranger: Till then thou art like thy Grandfather Adam, thou runnest away, and thinkest thy self most secure, when thou wast farthest from God; but now thou seest no comfort, unless thou draw nigh unto him; now as the Apostle saith, Phil. 2.13. It is he that worketh in us the will and the deed; this must must be wrought in us by God.
First, a will, then the deed; and then it is not only I would do such a thing, but I do it: God works not only the will of coming, but the deed of coming; and all his acts are acts of faith, and have a promise; God makes no promise, till we be in Christ; till we have faith, we are no heirs of the promise; when a man sets his face towards Jerusalem, and begins to set himself to go to Christ, all he doth then hath the promise; not a tear now that he sheds but is precious, God puts it into his bottle; not a cup of cold water, that now he gives, but shall have a great reward; this is a blessed thing, when every thing we do hath a promise annexed to it, when every step we step hath a promise made to it. Now then the will is the first thing that is wrought in us; this is that which makes the act of faith, that is, I have a will, a resolution to do this: And the Apostle makes it more than the very deed it self, 2 Cor. 8, 10. as I may so say, For this is expedient for you, who have begun before not only to do, but to be forward. So we translate it, but look in the Margent, and it's rendred, (to be willing) foreign, as the Greek hath it; as if the will were more than the deed it self; for a man to come unwillingly, 'tis nothing worth; the ground-work is the will, which is a greater matter than the deed. Nothing more separates a man from Christ, than to say, I will not have this man to reign over me, Luke 19.14. But if thou canst frame thy will that it shall go perpendicularly on the object, and accept Christ on the terms offered, that's faith; and that hath the promise. And therefore the Scripture compares it to conjunction with Christ. And as in the Sacrament, we spiritually eat his flesh and drink his blood; the conjunction is between Christ and his Church. And therefore the Scripture compares our conjunction by faith to the mystery of wedlock. What makes a marriage? it's consent. Wilt thou have this man to be thy Husband? she answers, I will; that expression makes the marriage. The knot is knit by this mutual pledging of troth, all other things are but subsequents of it. So God saith, Wilt thou have my Son? Thou shalt have with him all his wealth, though for a time thou must go bare, and fare hard; yet thou shalt have a Kingdom: When a man considers deliberately, here is the loss, I must deny my self, and obey him, but I shall have a Kingdom, God's blessing, and peace of conscience; All things considered, casting the best with the worst, then the resolutioa is, this is a true saying, worthy of all acceptation, &c. I'll take him on any terms, be they never so hard, for I shall be a saver in the end: when we take Christ, as it were, with all his faults; such his Cross, and the afflictions of the Gospel seem to our carnal apprehensions: though to S. Paul these were the chief, indeed the only matter of his boasting: God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, Galat. 6.14.
When, I say, we can thus take Christ, this is the Will, &c. this is the will which God requires. There is another comparison in Scripture, John 6.35. it's compared to hunger and thirst. Believing was expressed by coming. Believing is expressed by hungring and thirsting. So when I see such a will and desire after Christ, that I hunger and thirst after him, that a hungry man longeth not more for bread, nor the Hart thirsteth more for the water-brooks, than my soul doth for Christ; why then there is a promise made unto us; and a promise is never made unto us, till we be in Christ. Matth. 5.6. Rev. 22.17. Esay 55.1. We find promises in them all; in Mat. 5.6. Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, they shall be filled. Consider here what the nature of hunger and thirst is; they shall be filled, which implies they were empty before, but now they shall be filled. Suppose now I am not filled with Christ, what am I without him? No, I want him; yet there's a blessing to the hungry and thirsty, and there's no blessing without faith. If we be not heirs of the faith, we cannot be heirs of the blessing. Dost thou find in thy self an hungring and thirsting after Christ? Thou art blessed, this faith will save thee. Now faith will say, I am wonderfully pained, faint, and even starved, that I cannot be filled with Christ; yet be content man, thou shalt be filled with him; in the mean while thou hast him, and hast blessedness with him, and shalt be blessed. It's said, 1 John 3.13. These things have I written unto you that believe in the Name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the Name of the Son of God. Mark how the Apostle distinguishes these two things; thou believest on the Name of Christ, yet sayst thou, though I believe, I am not sure of my salvation, I do not know it. Why, let not that much trouble thee, that's a consequent of it, and that the assurance will follow after; therefore you should not confound it with believing: These things have I written unto you that ye might know, &c. then there is a conclusion to be deduced from the premisses, so that a man may have full hold of Christ, and yet not be fully assured of his salvation. So t…en here is the will, which is the first thing.
But the Lord works the deed also. And whereas it is said that God takes the will for the deed, the place had need be well understood: When we say God takes the will for the deed, it is not alwayes true, unless it be thus understood. When a man hath done to the utmost of his power what he is able, hath endeavoured by all means, then God will take the will for the deed; but if there be ability in me, and I do not as much as I am able, I do not my utmost endeavour, then God will not take it; but now God works the will and the deed; when a man comes to the Throne of grace, and sets forward in his journey towards God, the first thing he doth is to come to the Throne of grace with Christ in his arms, and then having fast hold on Christ, he hastens & delays not, having hold as Joab on the horns of the Altar, 1 King. 2.28. He hastens, he sees it's no time to delay, he sees its now a time of need; and Need, as the old proverb is, makes the old wife trot. Is it not need to make hast (when the pursuer of blood follows) to the City of Refuge? who would make delays and demurs, and not run as fast as his legs would carry him? As soon as I apprehend my need, and see the golden Scepter stretched out, then I come with might and main with Christ in my arms, and present him to the Father, and this is the approaching and drawing near in the Text, to the Throne of grace.
But now when I am come thither, what do I say there? What shall I come and say nothing? The prodigal soon resolved to go to his Father, and say, I will up and go, there's the will; and say, there's his Speech. The believer is not like to the Son that said to his Father, I will go, but went not; but when his Father bids him come, he will come; he will not only say so, but will draw near, and then he hath a promise, He that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out, Joh. 6.37. But when we come thither, what must we do? why we must take unto our selves words, according to the Prophets expression, Hos. 14.2. Take unto you words, and go unto the Lord, and say, Take away all our iniquities, and receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of our lips. When he comes to the Throne of grace, the thing that he doth, is, he presents unto the Father Christ, bleeding, gasping, dying, buried, and conquering death; and when he presents Christ to him, he opens his case, and confesses his sin to the full, and says, Lord, this is my case: As a beggar when he comes to ask an alms of you, he will make a preface, and tell you his extremity; Sir, I am in great want, I have nor tasted a bit of bread in so many days, and unless you help me by your charity, I am utterly undone. Now when these two concur, that there is true need in the beggar, and liberality in him, of whom he begs, it encourages the beggar to be importunate, and he prevails; you may know when the beggar hath need by his tone, accent or language: The needy beggars tone and accent is different from the sturdy beggars that hath no need; but yet, though the beggar be in great misery, if he see a churlish Nabal go by him, he hath no heart to beg, and follows him not, nor begs so hard, because he hath but little hope to attain any thing from him. But I say let both these meet together; first, that the beggar is in great need, then, that he of whom he begs, is very liberal, it makes him beg hard; but now cannot he pray without book? Think not that I speak against praying by the book; you are deceived if you think so; but there must be words taken to us besides, which perhaps a book will not yield us. A beggars need will make him speak, and he will not hide his sores; but if he hath any sore more ugly or worse than another, he will uncover it; good Sir, behold my woful and distressed case, he lays all open to provoke pity. So when thou comest before God in confession, canst thou not find out words to open thy self to Almighty God, not one word whereby thou mayst unlap thy sores, and beseech him to look on thee with an eye of pity? I must not mince my sins, but amplifie and aggravate them, that God may be moved to pardon me; till we do thus, we cannot expect that God should forgive us. A great ado there is about auricular confession, but it's a meer bable; It were better to cry out our sins at the high Cross, than the confess in a Priests ear. Thou whisperest in the Priest's ear; what if he never tell it, or if he do, art thou the better? Come and pour out thy heart and soul before Almighty God, confess thy self to him as David did, for that hath a promise made to it, Psal. 51.4. Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, that thou may be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou judgest. Why so? Why, one main cause why we should confess sin, is to justifie God. When a sinner confesses, I am a child of wrath; and of death, if thou castest me into hell, as justly thou mayst, I have received but my due; when a man does thus (as the King's Attourney may frame a Bill of Inditement against himself) he justifies Almighty God. He gives God the honour of that justice, which at the present he executes in pouring horrour into the conscience of the sinner, and hath farther in store in providing the Lake of fire and brimstone for the impenitent. Thus did David, Against thee, against thee, &c. Now when we have thus aggravated our misery, comes the other part of begging, to cry for mercy with earnestness, and here's the power of the Spirit. It's one thing for a man to pray, and another thing for a man to say a prayer, but to pray and cry for mercy, as David did, in good earnest, to wrestle with God, to say, Lord, My life lies in it, I will never give thee over, I will not go with a denial; this is termed foreign, this is the work of God's Spirit. I named you a place in Jude, ver. 20. where the Apostle exhorts, but ye beloved, build up your selves in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost; there's the prayer of the faithful, to pray in the Holy Ghost. And in the Ephesians we read of an Armour provided for all the parts of a man's body, yet will not serve the turn, unless prayer come in as the chief, Ephes. 6.18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance, &c. This is the prayer of faith, that procures forgiveness of sins; we must pray in faith, and in the Spirit; that is the language, which God understands. He knoweth the meaning of the Spirit, and knoweth none else but that: Many men are wondrously deceived in that which they call the Spirit of prayer. One thinks it is a faculty to set out ones desires in fair words, shewing earnestness, and speaking much in an extemporary prayer. This we think commendable, yet this is not the Spirit of prayer. One that shall never come to Heaven, may be more ready in this, than the child of God; for it is a matter of skill and exercise; the Spirit of prayer is another thing. The Spirit helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; the Spirit it self makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered, Rom. 8.26 What shall we think then, that the Holy Ghost groans or speaks in prayer? No: but it makes us groan, and though we speak not a word, yet it so enlarges our hearts, as that we send up a volley of sighs and groans which reach the Throne of grace. And this is the Spirit of prayer, when with these sighs and groans I beg, as it were, for my life. This is that ardent affection the Scripture speaks of. A cold prayer will never get forgiveness of sins; it's the prayer of faith which prevails. The prayer of the people availeth much, if it be foreign, fervent. In the Ancient Churches those that were possessed with an evil spirit, were called foreign, because that caught them up, and made them do actions not sutable to their nature; Prayer is a fire from Heaven, which if thou hast it, will carry all Heaven before it; there is nothing in the world so strong as a Christian thus praying: Prayers that are kindled with such a zeal, are compared to Jacobs wrestling with the Angel, Hos. 12.4. whereby he had power over the Angel. The Prophet expounds what this wrestling was, he wept and made supplication unto him; he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with him. This is the wrestling with God, when thou fillest Heaven with thy sighs and sobs, and bedewest thy couch with thy tears as David did; and hast thy resolution with Jacob, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. God loves this kind of boldness in a beggar, that he will not go away without an answer. As the poor Widow in the Parable that would not give over her suit, so that the Judge though he feared not God, nor cared for man, by reason of her importunity, granted her desire. Mark the other thing in the Apostle, he bids us pray with the Spirit, and with perseverance; and he that cometh thus hath a promise made to it: He that calleth on the Name of the Lord shall be saved. Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will hear thee; it's set down fully, Matth. 6.7. Ask and you shall have, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be as opened. One would think this were idem per idem, but it is not so. He bids us ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, &c. There is a promise annexed to asking, seeking and knocking, but it is also proved by universal experience; for every one that asketh, &c. It's very man's case; never any man did it yet, that hath lost his labour, in not attaining what he asked. If thou hast it not yet, thou shalt have it in the end; it is so fair a petition to ask, to have thy sins pardoned, that God would be friends with thee, and that Christ would make thee love him: and that God would be thy God, that God delights in it. This is the point then; Suppose God answer not presently, yet knock still, seek still; that is perseverance, the thing whereby it is distinguished from temporary asking. The hypocrite will pray in a time of need and adversity, but his prayer is not constant, Job 27.10. Will the hypocrite always call upon God? If they come and seek God, and he will not answer, as Saul did, they will try the Devil. God would not answer Saul, and he presently goes to the Devil. It's not so with God's children; they pray, and pray, and wait still; they pray with the Spirit, and with perseverance; God deals not always alike with his children, but differently; sometimes he answers presently, sometimes he makes them wait his leisure, Psal. 32.5. I said I would confess my sins, (says David) and my transgressions, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin; so Dan. 9.21. When he set himself to seek God, even while he was speaking and praying, the man Gabriel appeared unto him, and touched him about the time of the evening oblation. Before the word was out of his mouth God was at his heart, and presently sends him a dispatch. The like we see in Esay 65.24. Mark what a promise there is; It shall come to pass that before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. This is a great encouragement; but it may be God will not always do this, and what's the reason? Why, he hath a wonderful great delight to be wrestled withal, and to hear the words of his own Spirit; nothing is more delightful to him than this, when the Spirit is earnest, and will not give over. I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me, Gen. 32.26. It's said in the Canticles, honey is under the lips of the Church, Cant. 4.11. Why so? it's because there is no honey sweeter to the palate, than spiritual prayer to God. And therefore God delays to answer thee, because he would have more of it. If the Musicians come and play at our doors, or windows, if we delight not in their Musick, we throw them out money presently, that they may be gone; but if the Musick please us, we forbear to give them money, because we would keep them longer, for we like the Musick. So the Lord loves and delights in the sweet words of his children: and therefore puts them off, and answers them not presently: Now God's children, let him deny them never so long, yet they will never leave knocking and begging; they will pray, and they will wait still, till they receive an answer. Many will pray to God, as prayer is a duty, but few use it as a means to attain a blessing. Those who come to God in the use of it as a means to attain what they would have, they will pray, and not give over; they will expect an Answer, and never give over petitioning till they receive it.