The Case and Cure of a Deserted Soul, Chapter 21
CHAP. XXI. Third meanes to retaine a divine preſence, is prayer, in which care muſt be had of the riſe carriage end of it.
THirdly,Direct. 3. Beg. aſſiſting grace take this direction, beg his aſſiſting grace; prayer is the way to get it; in the ſight of thy deadneſſe, look up to the God of life, and pray with David, Make me to go in the path of thy Commandement, for therein doe I delight, encline my heart unto thy teſtimonies, and not to covetouſneſſe, turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way, quicken me after thy loving kindneſſe, ſo ſhall I keep the teſtimony of thy mouth, heare my voice according to thy loving kindneſſe, O Lord quicken me according to thy Iudgement, conſider how I love thy precepts, quicken me O Lord according to thy loving kindneſſe, Pſal. 119.35, 36, 37, 88, 149, 159. When you finde your ſpirit willing, yet weak, that you cannot walk in your way without help, then go to God, and pray as David, Vphold me according to thy word that I may live, hold thou me up, and I ſhall be ſafe, and I will have reſpect unto thy ſtatutes continually. Pſal. 119.116, 117.
In your prayer for help, I will propound three things conſiderable, for better direction;In prayer look to the riſe, which muſt be
the riſe carriage end of your deſire.
1 The riſe muſt be 1. Strong deſire of walking with God.a ſtrong deſire of walking with God: Then you are like to prevaile when you come in truth, help is often deſired out of cuſtome, and in this way many prayers are loſt, therefore get thy heart to love the way, and when thy heart is with God, his hand will be with thee; this argument David uſed in ſeeking help of God: Make me to goe in the path of thy Commandement, for therein I doe delight, Pſal. 119.35. Let thine hand helpe me for I have choſen thy precepts, ver. 173. With my whole heart have I ſought thee, oh let me not wander from thy Commandements. ver. 10. Take heed leſt your hearts draw back when you ſeem to crave his gracekQuae ratio eſt ut ſuſurremus deſpici à domino preces noſtras, cum praecepta ejus deſpiciantur à nobis? Quid dignius? Quid juſtius? Non audivinus, non audimur; non reſpeximus, non reſpicimur. Salvian. de Provid. lib. 3., that you may walke in his wayes, for in ſuch God hath no pleaſure.
2 The riſe muſt be neceſsity: Neceſſity.bee ſenſible of your owne inſufficiencylCertum eſt animas auxilio divino opus habere in hac vita, & in altera. Cham. t. 3 l. 26. c. 9. §. 11. Vide Pariſ. de virtut. cap. 11., taking heed of truſting to your owne ſtrength; I have ſhewed the evill of it before: Truſt in the Lord with all thine heart, and leane not to thine own underſtanding, in all thy wayes acknowledge him, and he ſhall direct thy paths. Prov. 3.5, 6. But be ſtrong in the Lord, and the power of his might. Epheſ. 6.10. He that ſeeth and conſidereth the multiplicity and ſpiritualneſſe of duties, the variety and activeneſſe of corruptions, the ſwarmes and violence of tentations, &c. which lye in his way, will ſee hee ſtands in need of a greater ſtrength then his owne, that he may break through, walk on, and perſevere unto the end, and he will be forced to uſe ſuch language, as you finde, Pſal. 143.7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Heare me ſpeedily O Lord, my ſpirit faileth, hide not thy face from me, leaſt I be like unto them that go down into the pit, cauſe me to know the way wherein I ſhould walk, for I lift up my ſoule unto thee, teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God; thy Spirit is good, lead me into the Land of uprightneſſe, quicken me oh Lord for thy Names ſake, &c. and he will cryout as he, We have no might againſt this great company that commeth againſt us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. 2 Chron. 20.12. Neceſsity muſt make you beggars, you muſt ſee that you cannot live upon the ſtock which you have received, God hath not given you ſo much, as that you ſhould be able to ſubſiſt without him; …e more indigent and poore you are, …e more welcome you are to God, the needy ſhall finde favour, He filleth the hungry with good things: goe then, and take up Davids words, I am poore a… needy, make haſt unto me oh God, thou are my help and my deliverer, oh Lord ma… no tarrying. Pſal. 70.5. and ſay as Moſes, If thy preſence goe not with us, corry us not hence: for wherein ſhall it bee knowne here, that I and thy peoples have found grace in thy ſight? Is it … in that thou goeſt with us? Exod… 33.15, 16. Goe with the Apoſtle and pray much, and you ſhall ha… like anſwer from heaven, My grace is ſufficient for thee, 2 Corinth. 1… 8, 9.
2. Looke to the cariage of your prayer.The carriage and managing of your requeſts in this caſe muſt be… right, with confidence in the mig… and mercy of God: you have abundant cauſe of chearefulneſſe in comming to him; for beſides this, th… it is his glory to heare, and that … interceſſor who hath taught us … pray that we bee not ledde into temptation, but to bee delivered from evil… and prayed for us himſelfe, is with him,mChriſtus inter nos petitor, cum patre dator, non utique nos hortaretur ut peteremus, niſi dare vellet. Aug. Ser. …9 de verb Dom. Erubeſcat humana pigritia, plus vult ille dare quam nos accipere, ib. and deare to him; conſider this is Gods glory, that the life and ſtrength of his people depends upon him, he helped Ieſus Chriſt our head, Eſay 42.6. and if he ſhould not helpe you, the work would not be perfected: and ſo all that Chriſt hath done would come to nothing. God hath called you to this way, and hath appointed you by it to come to him, ſo that his end ſhould fayle if he help not; for this cauſe you have but little in your ſelves, that you might live dayly upon his almes, God leaves in you neceſſitynDonum habitualis gratiae non ad hoc datur, ut per ipſum non indigeamus ulteruis divino auxilio &c. etiam in ſtatu gloriae quando gratia erit omnino perfecta, homo divino auxilio indigebit, hic autem aliqualiter gratia imperfecta eſt, in qua…tum hominem non totali, or ſanat. Aquin. Sum. 12. q. 109. a. 9., that he may better ſhew his mercy, he will uphold what his hand hath built; you have experience of his preſence; if he had not beene with you, you had not now beene with him; his promiſe is with you, Loe I am with you alwayes, even to the end of the world. Matth. 28.20. It is a full promiſe, like a ſtreame of living waters running in the Church for ever; he ſaith not I will be with you, but I am with you, that we might be confident of his conſtant preſence, and he hath laid up much treaſure in this promiſe, and therefore bids us looke well into it; exciting by th… word Lo, which he ſets as a Beacon o… a hill, or as a ſpeciall marke upon the head of this promiſe, as having much in it. Therefore come unto God in much aſſurance, he hates ſuſpitions and jealouſies; Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtaine mercy, and finde grace to helpe in time if neede, Heb. 4.16. This may be your comfort, that what you have not is your ſelves you have in God, and what you have in God is yours by promiſe; goe then and ſue God upon his owne bond, God will be ſoughtoPoterat nobis etiam non orantibus dare ſed oratione noſtra nos voluit admonere à quo accipiamus haec beneficia. Aug de bon. perſev. c. 7., prayer is the key of the promiſe, Ezech. 36.36, 37. Though God be our friend, he may paſſe by us if he be not called in, but when he is going from us prayer takes hold: when Chriſt made as if he would have gone further, being come to I maus, The diſciples conſtrained him, ſaying, abide with us, and he went in to tar… with them, Luke 24.28, 29. David found God when he …ought him, In the do when I cryed thou anſweredſt me, and ſtrengthenedſt me with ſtrength in my ſoul. Pſal. 138.3. When the angell ſounded glory to God, he proclaymed peace; and expectation or hope to us, as ſome reade it, Luke 2.14.pforeign, non a foreign ſed a foreign, expecto unde foreign expectatio. Lud. de Dieu.
3. The end of your deſire muſt bee obſerved, for if your end be wrong, you are not like to ſpeed; take heed of drawing downe the things of God to your ends, for this is evill, Looke to the end.it is a making of God to ſerve you; for the end rules, and all that leads to it, is beneath it; the and is above the meanes, and all the meanes, as Iacobs ſonnes ſheaſes, bow to Ioſephs ſheafe, doe homage to the end; they are all for the ends ſake, and what a thing is this, to ſet God in a ſervility to our deſignes? if the veſſells of the temple might not be put to common uſe, how much leſſe the help of grace? take heed therefore of ſeeking your ſelves, and deſiring aſſiſtance to advance your ſelves, this is to deſire God to lend his help againſt himſelfe, and to make his Spirit the ladder of our ambition, it is as if a Pyrat ſhould crave ayde of his Prince, to rob his Country; or as if a ſubject ſhould pray his Soveraigne to help him, to lift the Crowne from his head, to ſet it upon his owne head: you may ſeeke your ſelves, your owne ends are allowed you, but they muſt keep their place, God muſt be your laſt end, come then and ſay, Lord help me that I may honour thee; I owe all to thee, but I can doe nothing without thee; if I have life from thee, I will live to thee; what I receive from thee, I will lay out for thee: reſtore unto me the joy of thy ſalvation, uphold me with thy free Spirit: this is Davids prayer, but what is his end: Then will I teach tranſgreſſors thy wayes, and ſinners ſhall be converted unto thee Pſal. 51.12, 13. As if he had ſaid, helpe me by thy hand, and I will help others Draw me, and I will bring company with me: we will run after thee, Cant 1.4. Againe, the words following alſo ſhew the like ſpirit in him; O Lord open thou my lips, and my mouth ſhall ſhen forth thy praiſe, Pſal. 51.15. as if he had ſaid, my tongue is like an inſtrument prepared, if thy mercy may but touch the ſtrings, it ſhall ſound forth thy name; I will runne the way of thy Commandements, when thou ſhalt enlarge my heart, Pſal. 119.32. Hold thou me up and I ſhall be ſafe, and I will have reſpect unto thy Statutes continually, ver. 117. Thus bee you faithfull with God, and his helpe will not fayle you, but while your eye is on him, his hand is with you.