A Treatise of Prayer and Divine Providence, Chapter 4 · Section 5
SECT. V.
Of the firſt ſort of Cauſes of Gods hiding from prayers.
HAving made this obſervation of both the ſorts of Cauſes layd together, I now proceed to ſpeak of them ſeverally. 1. Of the former, namely, the Reaſons ariſing from man, or the meritorious Cauſes on mans part. Concerning this head of Reaſons, I ſhall endeavor to ſhew four things. 1. That ſin is a cauſe of Gods hiding from his peoples prayers. 2. Whoſe ſins. 3. What ſpecial ſins for kind. 4. Certain circumſtances in ſin that help forward this effect.
1. That ſin is a cauſe of this deportment of the Lord towards his praying people. I ſhall not need to ſay much to this, it is a thing ſo evident: It is plainly declared by God; It is freely acknowledged by the people of God themſelves.
1. It is expreſly declared by God:Iſai. 59.12. Your iniquities have ſeparated between you and your God; and your ſins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Jer. 33 5.For all whoſe wickedneſs I have hid my face from this City. Becauſe they trespaſſed againſt me, Ezek 39.23, 24.therefore I hid my face from them. According to their uncleanneſs, and according to their tranſgreſſions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. And predict…vely:Mic. 3.4. Then ſhall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them, he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themſelves ill in their doings.
2. The conſciences of the people of God have given teſtimony to this againſt themſelves. So the Church of Iudah under her Babylonian preſſures:Lam. 3.42 43 We have tranſgreſſed, and have rebelled; thou haſt not pardoned: Thou haſt covered thy ſelf with a cloud, that our prayers ſhould not paſs through. Iſai. 64 7For thou hast hid thy face from us, and conſumed us, becauſe of our iniquities. David elegantly expreſſeth this, where he ſaith,Pſal. 65 3. Verba iniquitatum prevaluerunt mihi. Foord. Ar. Mon. pelican. Muſc. Iniquities prevail againſt me; or (as our margent with other Interpreters read) the words of iniquities prevail againſt me. He had in the verſe next before uſed this compellation to God, O thou that heareſt prayer; and, with relation unto that ſtile, he is conceived to intend this ſpeech, The words of iniquities prevail againſt me. We ſee iniquities ſpeak; they have a voyce, yea a cry. As our prayers ſpeak, and cry for us; ſo, if iniquity have dominion over us, it will ſpeak, yea clamour, and clamouring prevail againſt us. As God is a hearer of prayer, ſo he is a hearer of the cry of ſin: As he receives the ſuits which our prayers preſent for us, ſo alſo he admits the bills which our ſins put in againſt us: As he hath an ear of mercy open to the one, ſo hath he an ear of juſtice and holineſs open to the other. And it is but equal, that as the preſentment of our wants or wrongs by prayer, ſo the accuſation of our ſins (which are injuries done unto God) ſhould have acceſs to him; yea, and that God himſelf ſhould firſt be vindicated, and the ſin expiated and removed, and we our ſelves ſet right in the Court of Heaven, upon our repentance, ere our prayers for us ſhould have a hearing and return from God.
2. The next thing is, Whoſe ſin it is that may cauſe God to hide himſelf from his ſervants prayers? I anſwer:
1. It is very ordinarily their own ſin that do pray. I will give no other inſtances for this then thoſe even now given out of Iſaiah, Ieremiah, the Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Micah; look but over them again, and you will read in every of them, that, as ſin was the motive of Gods hiding from thoſe prayers, ſo the ſin was theirs whoſe were the prayers.
2. It is oftentimes the ſin of others: As,
1. Theirs for whom the prayer is put up to God: As in the interceſſions of the ſervants of God for others, they may pray for others out of duty to Gods Command, and pious affection to them, and their prayer may be regular, and it may be acceptable to God, and yet the Lord may hide himſelf from it (in regard of granting the benefit to the perſons prayed for;) and the reaſon may be the ſins of thoſe perſons.1 Sam. 15.11 Samuel cryed unto the Lord all night for Saul, but Sauls diſobedience, in his expedition againſt the Amalekites, ſuffered not Samuel to prevail for him.Ezek. 9.8, 9 Ezekiel prayed for Ieruſalem, when the ſix men, the Executioners of Gods wrath, were ſent out into it, with their deſtroying weapons in their hands; but the full meaſure of the Lands and Cities ſins would not admit of a reſcue, though it was Ezekiel that prayed. Iſraels Golden Calf ſtood up, and made ſuch a breach for Gods anger againſt them,Exod 32.31, &c. that though Moſes his choſen ſtood before him in it, yea and turned away his wrath, (as to the deſtroying of them,) yet he could not obtain for them a total remiſſion of puniſhment: The Lord anſwered him, Nevertheleſs in the day when I viſit, I will viſit their ſin upon them: And the Lord plagued the people, becauſe they had made the Calf, &c. Many a dear Saint of God, and many a holy prayer of ſuch, hath been non-ſuited in Heaven by the over-poyſing ſins of them for whom they have interceded.
2. Or the ſin may be theirs who are in near relation to the perſons prayed for. We may find that ſometimes the wickedneſs of bad friends, or alies, hath made more againſt men, then the prayers of their godly friends could make for them. Joſiah and Jeremiah (both very choyce ones, the one for a Prince, the other for a Prophet) they both prayed for Judah about one time; but the ſins of Manaſſeh, the grandfather of Joſiah, and the King of Judah, were too ſtrong for them both; they are mentioned, as the prevailing reaſon againſt both their prayers*2 Kings 22.15, 16, 17, with 23, 25 26 Jer. 14.19 & 15.1, 2, 3, 4..
3. The third thing propounded to conſideration, is, What ſins in ſpecial do provoke God to hide himſelf from his peoples prayers?
The Scripture brands a multitude of ſins, by name, and ſpecial note, with this effect: Let us view the particulars: And for that end I will put them into three ranks: 1. Sins againſt Piety, or duty to God. 2. Sins againſt the ſecond Table. 3. Sins in or about Prayer it ſelf.
1. Sins againſt Piety: Unto this rank belong theſe ſins following.
1. Idolatry, or the ſetting up and giving divine Worſhip unto thoſe that are no Gods: For this peruſe that ſtory in Judg. 10. In ſhort, it is thus: The Lords anger waxed hot againſt Iſrael, and he ſold them into the hands of the Philiſtins, and of the Ammonites. The Iſraelites, under their oppreſſions and diſtreſſes by them, cry unto the Lord, with confeſſion of their ſin: The Lord anſwers them, That, ſeeing after and notwithſtanding many former deliverances from the like evils, they had now forſaken him, and ſerved other gods, therefore he will deliver them no more; let them go, and cry unto, and be delivered by the gods which they have choſen. This was the dolorous repulſe which in a day of tribulation they received for their ſins of Idolatry: For this ſin it was that God declared he would neither hear his people of Judah praying for themſelves, Jer. 11.10, &c.nor his Prophet Jeremiah praying for them. See alſo for this Ezek. 20.31.
2. Covenant-breaking with God: As in that example I laſt mentioned, of Judahs and Jeremiahs prayers: They were rejected for this, as one cauſe: The houſe of Judah have broken my Covenant, which I made with their fathers; therefore, &c. And though they ſhall cry unto me, I will not harken unto them, &c. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them, &c.
3. Abuſe of Religion to carnal ends: This was the ſin of the Prophets of Judah, and for it they are ſentenced with this Judgment: They make my people to err; Mic. 3.5, 6 7they bite with their teeth, and cry peace; and he that puteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war againſt him: Therefore night ſhall be unto you, that ye ſhall not have a viſion; and it ſhall be dark unto you, that you ſhall not divine; and the Sun ſhall go down over the Prophets, and the day ſhall be dark over you: Then ſhall the Seers be aſhamed, and the Diviners confounded; yea they ſhall all cover their lips, for there is no anſwer of God.
4. Contempt, neglect, waxing weary of, ſlothfulneſs in, or falling off from the ſervice of God.Mal. 3.14. The people in the Prophet Malachi complain, by way of taxing God; It is vain to ſerve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hoaſts? And wherefore do they thus charge God? what was the cauſe of this obſtruction of their prayers? If they had looked well about them, they might have found it in themſelves, and in thoſe very ſervices which they complained to be diſregarded in; as the Prophet before (in the firſt, ſecond, and third Chapters) had made it manifeſt againſt them: They were grown to despiſe Gods Name; to pollute and account contemptible his Table; to offer the blind, the lame, and the ſick for ſacrifice; to profane the Name of God; to eſteem his ſervice a wearineſs, and to ſnuff at it: the Levites were departed out of the way; they had cauſed many to ſtumble at the Law; they had corrupted the Covenant of Levi: Iudah had profaned the holineſs of the Lord, which he loved from the days of their fathers; they were gone aſtray from Gods Ordinances, and had not kept them; they had robbed God, namely, in tythes and offerings. No marvel their devotions proved ſo vain and unprofitable to themſelves, when they were ſo vile and curtalled, as they were done unto God; they had no worſe then they brought. When the Spouſe (in Solomons Song) gave her ſelf to ſluggiſhneſs,Cant. 5.3, 6. and would not ariſe from her bed when ſhe was called up by her Beloved; this moved him to withdraw from her door, and to abſent himſelf from her, when after ſhe would have entertained him, and, miſſing, ſought him. The ſet time for God to favor Sion (in regarding the prayer of the deſtitute,Pſal. 102. and in hearing the groaning of the priſoner) is, when his ſervants take pleaſure in her ſtones, and favor the duſt thereof: that is (as I underſtand) when the ſight and face of Gods houſe and ſervice is amiable to them; and the very duſt, the humbleſt and meaneſt part of it, is delightſom.
5. Loathing of, refuſing to harken, and diſobedience to the Word of God. Solomon ſaith, He that turneth away his ear from hearing the Law, Prov. 28 9 Chap. 1.24 28, 29 30.even his prayer ſhall be an abomination. And, Becauſe I have called, and ye re-refuſed; I have ſtretched out mine hand, and no man regarded, &c. Then ſhall they call upon me, but I will not anſwer; they ſhall ſeek me early, but they ſhall not find me, &c. See the verifying of this in Zech. 7.11, 12, 13. What congruity is there, that men ſhould look to be heard of God, when they will not harken to him? Upon theſe terms is audience promiſed by our Saviour to his ſervants:Joh. 15.7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye ſhall ask what you will, and it ſhall be done unto you.
6. Carnal ſecurity, or putting confidence in a temporal portion, as in wealth, ſucceſſes, or advancements. This ſin was Davids cloud: In my prosperity I ſaid, I ſhall never be moved: Lord, Pſa. 30.6, 7by thy favour thou haſt made my mountain to ſtand ſtrong: Thou didſt hide thy face, and I was troubled.
2. The next rank of ſins is, of thoſe againſt the ſecond Table: In it, as cauſes of this effect, are,
1. Blood-guiltineſs. When you ſpread forth your hands, Iſai. 1, 15I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. See alſo for this, Iſai. 59.2, 3.
Iſai. 58 3, 6.2. Oppreſſion, injuſtice, and violence. Wherefore have we faſted, ſay they, and thou heareſt not? &c. Is not this the Faſt that I have choſen? to looſe the bands of wickedneſs, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppreſſed go free, and that ye break every yoke? They have filled the Land with violence, &c. Ezek. 8.17 18therefore though they cry in mine ears with a loud voyce, yet I will not hear them. You may read alſo, Iſai. 59.2, 4, 7. And, for Magiſtratical and Martial Injuſtice, take that of Micah: Hear, I pray you, O Heads of Jacob, and ye Princes of the Houſe of Iſrael; Mic. 3.1, &c.Is it not for you to know Judgment? who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their fleſh from off their bones: who alſo eat the fleſh of my people, and ſtay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as fleſh within the cauldron: Then ſhall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them; he will even hide his face from them at that time. Let men of this quality and crime look to it: As they have their time to act their miſchiefs and cruelties, and may proceed from one degree of violence to another, until they have even made meat of their inferiors; ſo God hath his time of deſerting them, and of refuſing to hear their cry.
3. Unmercifulneſs,Prov. 21.13 or uncharitableneſs to the poor and afflicted: Who ſo ſtoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor; he alſo ſhall cry himſelf, but ſhall not be heard. The people of Judah, making complaint of God to himſelf,Iſai. 58.3, 6, 7 Wherefore have we faſted, and thou ſeeſt not? &c. The Lord diſcovers to them the cauſes, to wit, the defaults of their Faſts; Is not this the faſt that I have choſen? &c. Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are caſt out to thy houſe? when thou ſeeſt the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thy ſelf from thine own fleſh? Cornelius the Centurion, Act. 10.2, 4, 31as he prayed to God alway, ſo he gave much alms to the people: and we may take notice, as alms and prayers (and that in anſwerable proportion, praying alway, and much alms) were joyned together in his practice; ſo they were by God, in his acceptance of him: So the Angel told him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God: On the contrary, if we forget to ſhew mercy to men, together with our prayer to God, we may look that God may forget, and withhold his mercy from our prayers.
4. Covetouſneſs: This was one of Judahs ſins, and of the bolts that kept out their prayers from God:Iſa. 1.57.17 For the iniquity of his covetouſneſs was I wroth, and ſmote him; I hid me, and was wroth, &c. A greedy deſire to, and over-faſt holding of earthly things, as it hinders our deſires and affections from aſcending upwards to Heaven, ſo it ſtops on prayers from coming downwards from thence, in anſwer to us:Matt. 6, 23 Dr Hammond prac. Catec. This is that evil eye, which (in our Saviours ſentence) makes the whole body full of darkneſs, and that great darkneſs: and the darkneſs in that place means a privation of the ſight of thoſe treaſures and benefits that are layd up in, and come down from Heaven.
5. Pride: Elihu in Job tells us, There they cry, but none giveth anſwer, Job 35.12, 13becauſe of the pride of evil men: Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it. Pride is vanity, or a lye; by it we either fooliſhly aſſume to our ſelves what we have not, or impiouſly aſcribe to our ſelves what we have, and deny our dependance on, or beholdingneſs to God: And it is but ſuitable, that if we take to our ſelves that excellency which we have not, we ſhould go without that which we would obtain; and if we deny God the glory of what we have received, and with it be lifted up in our ſelves, he may well cut us ſhort of what we ask, and would receive of him. Agur entreated God not to give him riches, laſt being full, Pro. 30.8, 9he ſhould deny God: A proud man is too full in himſelf to be fit to receive any thing at the hands of God: and it is far better (even for us) that God ſhould deny us in ſome of our prayers, then that we ſhould deny him in his benefits. David ſaith, The Lord respecteth the lowly, Pſa. 138.6but the proud be knoweth afar off: and Peter, 1 Pet. 5.5that God reſiſteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. The Apoſtle Paul was in danger of being exalted above meaſure through the abundance of revelations: and therefore, when, for the prevention thereof, there was given to him a thorn in the fleſh, the meſſenger of Satan, to buffet him; and for that thing he beſought the Lord thrice, 2 Cor. 12, 7, &c.that it might depart from him: He was not inſtantly heard (as to the removal of that evil,) the ſame end (in all probability) that brought it, to wit, the cure of pride, continued it upon him, and prevented his prayers from that way taking effect, leſt the plaiſter being taken off, the ſore might gather, and ſwell again.
3. The third rank of ſins are thoſe that may be in or about prayer it ſelf: theſe are many: The moſt remarkable may be theſe; 1. Praying without a ſight and diſcovery of the ſins that lie againſt us: The Lord ſaith, I will go and return unto my place, till they acknowledg their offence, and ſeek my face: With ſeeking of the face of God there muſt go along a finding out, and owning of our ſin, and in particular our offence, that is, the ſpecial ſin we are moſt guilty in, and moſt ſtands up againſt us before God: We are all readier to ſee our wants then our ſins; like Malefactors before a Judg, apter to petition for a releaſe, then to confeſs our faults. Ioſhua and the Elders of Iſrael lay upon their faces, and prayed before God, upon their diſcomfiture as Ai; but they were not aware of Iſraels ſin in the accurſed thing: the Lord therefore bids them get themſelves up,1 Kin. 8.38 and go hunt out that. Solomons requeſt was, that God would hear what prayer and ſupplication ſoever be made by any man, or by all his people Iſrael, which ſhall know every man the plague of his own heart: Sin is the plague of the heart; this plague muſt be known that prayer may be heard; and every man muſt know the proper plague or ſin of his own heart: this is a peſtilence that too often walketh in darkneſs, as to mens taking notice of it.
2. Unhumbledneſs of heart: There is to be in all, eſpecially in our ſolemn and extraordinary prayers, an humbled Spirit, in regard of needs, judgments, and ſins: So the Lords promiſe upon Solomons prayer runs,2 Chro. 7 14 If my people, which are called by my Name, ſhall humble themſelves, and pray, &c. and ſo it was before to Moſes; If then their uncircumciſed hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the puniſhment of their iniquity, &c. The want of this affectedneſs of heart was one cauſe, that though the people of Iudah ſought God dayly, and faſted, and afflicted their Souls by bodily interdiction, yet the wrath of God would not be averted; They bowed down the head as a bulruſh, Iſa. 58.3, 5and ſpred ſackcloth and aſhes under them, but they ſtill found pleaſure in ſin.
3. Hypocriſie, word, or lip-devotion, without the power of piety (to wit, the true love and fear of God, and ſeeking after him) in the heart: Of the Hypocrite Iob ſaith,Job 27.9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Solomons prayer (which ſeems to be the ſquare, both according to which we ſhould pray, and God will accept and hear) was,2 Chro. 6 30 and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whoſe heart thou knoweſt: The thing intimated hereby (as I conceive) is this, Men that pray ſhall have a return from God, not meerly according to their preſent form of prayer, but according to the univerſal courſe of their lives: If their prayer be for its compoſure good, and their ways be good too, they may expect from God a good anſwer; but though that be good, if they be peccant in theſe, they can look for no good anſwer; and the reaſon here may be, for that God looketh at, and for the heart, and the integrity of it; and there is not any ſuch true character, or picture of a mans heart, as is the general courſe and frame of his ways; it and theſe do exactly anſwer each other, as do the ſignet and the impreſſion.
4. The propoſing of indirect, by, and unworthy ends in prayer: The Apoſtle ſaith, Ye ask, and receive not, becauſe you ask amiſs, that you may conſume it upon your luſts: Jam. 4.3It is intolerable that holy and godly deſires (for the matter of them) ſhould travel to, and traffique with Heaven, to ſerve and bring in proviſions for ſenſual or vile luſts. The Lord taxeth it upon Iſrael, that they cryed not unto him when they howled upon their beds; Hoſ. 7.14they aſſembled themſelves for corn and wine: their end was not God, it ſeems, but their own belly. It was an hainous crime for any man of Iſrael to make a perfume like to that which was holy, Exo. 30.37 38and compounded for the incenſe of the Sanctuary; or to turn it to a civil and private uſe, as for himſelf to ſmell to; this was to be puniſhed with cutting off from his people: Accordingly it muſt needs be very diſpleaſing unto God for a man to convert the ſacred incenſe of prayer from its own proper and religious end to any carnal or ſinful purpoſe or deſign.
5. A contentious, quarrelous, or malicious heart in prayer: Our bleſſed Saviour thus inſtructs us for prayer; And when you ſtand praying, Mark 11.25forgive, if you have ought againſt any, that your Father alſo which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespaſſes; but if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in Heaven forgive your trespaſſes. A Rule to be well taken notice of at all times, eſpecially in theſe warring and jarring times, wherein there is not only party againſt party (in more diviſions then can be muſtered up,) but even prayer againſt prayer: and if withall there ſhould be ſtrife and rancor within, and ſo heart againſt heart, (as alaſs, how hard is it to be avoyded! who can hope it is any better among many?) This default would be enough it ſelf alone, both to keep back their prayers from them, and to bind on their ſins upon them: As two perſons cannot walk together, except they be agreed; ſo neither can their prayers aſcend up to Heaven together, except they be agreed: the one, at leaſt (and if both be from a ſtrife-enflamed Cenſer, what ever the matter be, both) muſt needs be ſhut out. The Apoſtle wills, That men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting, 1 Tim. 2.8or without wrath and diſceptation; and ſo both terms may exclude debate in devotion. When Iſrael went to war in their Land againſt the enemy that oppreſſed them, the Prieſts were to blow an alarm againſt the enemy with both the Trumpets of the Sanctuary; Num. 10 9and then they ſhould be remembred before the Lord their God, and be ſaved from their Enemies: But what might be expected if they ſhould ſound Trumpet againſt Trumpet, and Prieſt againſt Prieſt?
6. Infidelity, or weakneſs of Faith, or truſt in God: The Apoſtle James requires us to ask in Faith, nothing wavering; for let not that man (that wavereth) think that he ſhall receive any thing of the Lord. Jam 1.6, 7 Mr Medes Diatr. part 2. p. 297This wavering (ſaith one) is when we reel from God to reſt upon ſecond means. It is a hard matter to uſe friends, wiſdom, or ſtrength, and not to relie upon them; and it is as hard to go to God in prayer, and ſincerely and ſtedfaſtly to truſt in him: It is wont to be ſaid, we muſt uſe the means, but truſt in God; but the uſual practiſe is to invert that, and to uſe prayer, uſe God, but truſt in the means. Our Saviour ſaith, that God will avenge his own Elect which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them, Lu. 18 7, 8he will avenge them ſpeedily: nevertheleſs when the Son of man cometh, ſhall he find Faith on the Earth? How is this? Can it be long, and yet ſpeedy? We muſt take it in divers reſpects, or in relation to divers perſons: It is long in the account and ſenſe of them that pray; but it is ſpeedy to the wicked, that are the ſubjects of that avenging. It is long, becauſe God waits for ſtrength of faith, as well as aſſiduity of cries in his Elect: it is ſpeedy, becauſe God is quicker in coming on in his work, then they are in their advance of faith: Though he bear long, yet he comes ſooner then their faith is ready; for when he cometh, he ſhall ſcarce find faith in the Earth.
7. A continuance of ſin in heart and life: If I regard iniquity in my heart, Pſa. 66.18the Lord will not hear me, ſaith David. And the Lord tells Iſrael, Lev. 26, 27 31If ye will not for all this harken unto me, but walk contrary unto me, I will bring your Sanctuaries unto deſolation, and I will not ſmell the ſavor of your ſweet odors. Their ſweet odors were an emblem of prayer; and the time of their Incenſe-offering was their time of prayer*Pſa. 141 2 Luk. 1.10: ſo that it is as much as if he had ſaid, I will not accept your prayers. This the Prophet Daniel renders as the reaſon of the accompliſhing of the ſeventy years captivity, and of the Lords hiding ſo long (in that particular) from his people and their prayers: All this evil is come upon us, Dan. 9.13yet made we not our prayers before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities. The people before, and all along during the captivity, did pray (as I have before noted) but they did not ſo pray, as withall to turn from their iniquities; and therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil (ſaith he in the next words;) or, as ſome render, Therefore hath the Lord been diligent, Rolloc. in loc.and perſevering in that evil, which he hath brought upon us: that is, therefore he hath gone on in judgment againſt us, and would not be entreated. We may note it in all experience, a courſe of prayer, and a courſe of ſin, cannot ſtand together; I mean, they cannot both ſtand in force together, but either prayer will beat down ſin, or ſin will keep down and enervate prayer; neither do they ordinarily ſtand together (for any time) in regard of practice, but either prayer will break off the courſe of ſin, or ſin will break off the cuſtom of prayer. What the Apostle ſaith, of the Spirit and the fleſh, that they mutually luſt againſt one another, Gal. 5.17the ſame may be ſaid of prayer and ſin, they combate and conflict each againſt other, and that until the one be brought down.
We have thus ſeen what ſins in ſpecial are cauſes of Gods hiding from prayers, and we have had them diſtinguiſhed in three ranks, namely, ſins againſt piety, ſins againſt the ſecond Table, and ſins in or about prayer: and under each of theſe have been muſtered up divers particulars.
The fourth thing propounded to conſideration was certain circumſtances in ſin, which help forward this effect, and move God the rather to it. Theſe are,
1. Incorrigibleneſs in ſin, or a going on in ſin, notwithſtanding and in contradiction unto ſpecial means applyed for reformation; as, when the Word of the Lord is ſent out, and publiſhed unto a perſon, or people, for a direct conviction and rebuke of the ſin or ſins committed, and lived in, and for the calling of men to repentance of, and recovery from them; or, when the Judgments of God have come and lien upon men perſonally, domeſtically, or nationally, in any kind, as a witneſs againſt, and correction for the ſin; or any other means hath been uſed; and yet, nevertheleſs, men perſiſt and obſtinately perſevere in their evil ways. This was Iſraels and Judahs aggravation of their ſin, and it added weight to, and furthered the Lords hiding from their prayers: But they refuſed to harken, Zech. 7.11 12, 13.and pulled away the ſhoulder, and ſtopped their ears, that they ſhould not hear; yea, they made their hearts as an adamant ſtone, leſt they ſhould hear the Law, and the words which the Lord of Hoaſts hath ſent in his Spirit by the former Prophets: Therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of Hoaſts: Therefore it came to paſs, that as he cryed, and they would not hear, ſo they cryed, and I would not hear, ſaith the Lord of Hoaſts. When the Lord declared to Iſrael, Hoſ. 5.15.by the Prophet Hoſea, that he would go and return to his place, that is, that he would withdraw his preſence and audience to a great diſtance from them; this was one thing which brought it on, They have done ſo and ſo,Verſe 2. though I have been a rebuker of them all. And the ſame is alledged againſt that people, in the Prophet Iſaiah, as concurring to this effect; I hid me, Iſai. 57.17and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart; or (as the late Annotations) becauſe he went on frowardly, Divines Annot. 2 Edit.&c. And ſo their froward and obſtinate running on in their ſin, was not the conſequent, but the antecedent, and reaſon why God was wroth, and, being angry, hid himſelf from them.
2. Preſumption, or an adventuring to do an act, or run a courſe, againſt the expreſs and particular prohibition or warning of God by his Meſſengers againſt the doing thereof: As when Iſrael in the wilderneſs would needs go up to fight with the Amorites, Moſes relating it to them afterward, ſaith, And the Lord ſaid unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight, Deut. 1 42 &c.for I am not among you, leſt ye be ſmitten before your enemies. So I ſpake unto you, and ye would not hear, but rebelled againſt the Commandment of the Lord, and went preſumptuouſly up into the hill, &c. and ye returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not harken to your voyce, nor give ear unto you.
3. Scandalous ſinning. David, when the Lord had ſtruck the child that Ʋriahs wife bare unto him with ſickneſs, beſought God for the child, and faſted, and lay all night upon the Earth, but nevertheleſs the child dyed; and the ſpecial reaſon why the Lord was ſo inexorable to him in this particular, Nathan the Prophet had before given him: Howbeit, becauſe by this deed thou haſt given great occaſion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child alſo that is born unto thee ſhall ſurely dye *David was not heard, becauſe it ſtood not with the rule of divine juſtice, that ſo ſcandalous a ſin, which made the enemies of God to blaſpheme ſhould not have an exemplary puniſhment. Mr Mede Diatrib. part 2 pag. 298.. Thoſe ſins of the people of God which do open the mouths of the profeſſed Adverſaries of Religion to reproach the Name of God, are more then ordinarily obſtructive of prayer. It is time for God upon the remittance of ſuch by them to manifeſt his ſpecial diſ-favour in ſuch an effect, that ſo he may vindicate that Name of his which his people call upon from the aſperſion of their ſin. As God upon this ground refuſed to hear David, ſo did he, for the like cauſe, deny the petition of another (as eminent for nearneſs to, and favor with him, as he) to wit, Moſes: He beſought the Lord very pathetically for leave to go into, and ſee the Land of Canaan, but the Lord would not harken unto him in it, but he muſt dye beyond Jordan; and what was the reaſon? the Lord tells it Aaron and him, Becauſe ye beleeved me not, Numb. 20.12. & 27.14to ſanctifie me in the eyes of the children of Iſrael. By his ſin at the waters of ſtrife a ſcandal was given unto the people, reflecting upon God himſelf; and therefore when mention is afterward made of this ſin, and the ſentence of God upon it (as it is often noted in the ſacred Story) it is ſaid, that God was angry with Moſes for the peoples ſakes *Deu. 1.37 3.26 4.21 Pſa. 106.32. It is to be underſtood to have been, not for the peoples fault, but for his own ſin, which was an evil example, and a God-diſhonoring offence unto the people. In the days of the Prophet Malachi, and in his Prophecy, it appears there was an ill ſucceſs of prayer (I have divers times mentioned it,) and this was one cauſe of it, the not hallowing duly the Name of God, Mal. 2.2, 3 8, 13.their contempt and vilifying of it; and, in particular, the Prieſts and Levites are taxed therewith, the Lord ſaith unto them by name, If ye will not give glory unto my Name, I will curſe your bleſſings. Theſe bleſſings may ſignifie, either the bleſſings beſtowed on them by God, or the bleſsings or prayers which they offered up to God, and wherewith they bleſſed the people; or both (ſay the late Annotations:) the latter of the two ſenſes, as it aptly ſuiteth to the preſent purpoſe, ſo it is not incommodious to the words and drift of them: The prayers of them that ſerve God, and in ſpecial of the Miniſters of his houſe, are blaſted for their ſcandalous ſins. In the very next words he ſaith, I will ſpread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your ſolemn Feaſts; and one (or it) ſhall take you away with it. The Lord will abhor them, and make them an abhorring and a ſhame unto men, that deſpiſe and detract the glory of his Name. They that pollute and beſmear, as with dung, his ſolemn Feaſts and Sacrifices by their profaneneſs,Druſius in loc. Con. temptus nominis mei adducet vos ad iſtam contemptum, q. d. par pari, &c. he will caſt them out of his ſight, and cauſe them to be carried out, like as the intrails and excrements of the beaſts that were killed for ſacrifices on thoſe days in the holy place were carried out of the Camp or City. It ſhal take them away to it, that is (as Druſius ſaith the Hebrew ſcholia expounds it) the contempt of my Name ſhall bring you to that contempt. A little further he ſaith to the ſame perſons, Ye are departed out of the way, ye have cauſed many to ſtumble at the Law, (and in the ſequel) inſomuch that he (the Lord) regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. The errors of the Prieſts are very prevalent cauſes (by way of pattern or patronage) of others, many others falls, and therefore may juſtly become cauſes of the non-acceptance of ſacrifices, and of the non-audience of prayers with God. To this I will add one example more, and it is ſtill of the ſame degree of perſons. What was the cauſe of thoſe diſmal events unto Iſrael in Eli's time? that notwithſtanding they fetched the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh into their Camp, after their firſt defeat,1 Sam. 4.2, &c. yet they received a ſecond, and greater, a total overthrow by the Philiſtins? The Ark of God ſaved them not; yea, it ſelf was taken, and in it the glory departed from Iſrael; the preſence of God was (in a ſence) removed from them: the cauſe was principally the ſins of thoſe that bare the Ark, the Prieſts, the two ſons of Eli; according as the Lord had before, twice over, by two ſeveral Prophets, declared to Eli: And what were their ſins? Beſides the groſs nature of them, impious violation of the ſacrifices, and whoredom, this was their aggravation, through them men abhorred the offering of the Lord; 1 Sam. 2.17, 24.they made the Lords people to tranſgreſs: Their ſins were groſs and flagrant ſcandals and ſtumbling blocks to the people, both to deter them from the worſhip of God by ſacrifices, and to draw them to commit the ſame crimes. I have the rather noted this way of ſinning, as prejudicial to the ſucceſs of prayer, becauſe our times and people abound with ſcandalous ſins, and that our Moſeſes and Davids, our Prieſts and Levites (I mean our Superiors and Leaders in Magiſtracy and Miniſtry) may be put in mind how pernicious the ſcandals of perſons of their rank are unto others, and how obſtructive of the prayers and votes put up unto God.
4. Sinning after prayer, and whileſt we are in expectance of our anſwer. This manner of ſinning is of a ſpecial malignity to hinder the taking effect of prayers, at leaſt for the time. When we have drawn as near to God as we can by any ſolemn and ſerious ſeeking unto him, and while we are wai…ing, he is preparing or working for the fulfilling of our petitions, if in the interim we fall to ſin, and eſpecially if it be any groſs or preſumptuous ſin, this may well interrupt and daſh our fair expectations; this calls back our prayers (as it were) in their going up, or meets the anſwer in its way to us, and cauſeth it to return back again to Heaven. This ſeems to be the ſence of that caution uttered by the Pſalmiſt, when he ſaid, I will hear what God the Lord will ſpeak; for he will ſpeak peace to his people, Pſal. 85.8.and to his Saints: But let them not turn again to folly. That caution, let them not turn again to folly, may as fitly be applyed to the time betwixt his ſervants praying, and the Lords ſpeaking peace, that is the time of their harkening for an anſwer of peace, as to the time after he hath ſpoken peace to them; and ſo it layeth forth to them the danger of running into any ſin (eſpecially the folly that they had fallen into, and have in ſeeking unto God profeſſed repentance of) then when they are looking towards Heaven, and attending for the fruit of their ſupplications unto God; their ſo doing may prevent the Lords ſpeaking peace unto them. Thus it fared with Iſrael: They in Egypt, and under their yoke of bondage, cryed and groaned, and their cry came unto God, and God heard their groaning, and upon it he appeareth to Moſes, Exo. 3 7, 8telling him out of the buſh, I have heard their cry, and am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egytians, and to bring them up out of that Land, unto a good Land, and a large, unto a Land flowing with milk and honey, &c. and accordingly the Lord did bring them out of Egypt, and even to the borders of Canaan preſently after: But when they ſhould have received the other part of their prayers and hopes, and of the Lords promiſes, to wit, poſſeſſion of that good Land,Numb. 14 & 26 64. their ſin at Kadeſh, upon the return and report of the Spies concerning that Land, put betwixt them and it, and for the ſame the Lord had well-nigh utterly diſ-inherited them of it, and deſtroyed them with the peſtilence; but, however, they were ſo far pardoned, yet they were made to wander in the wilderneſs until forty years, and the lives of all the men that came out of Egypt, ſave Caleb and Joſhua, were expired together. Such and ſo long an interruption was cauſed by the interpoſition of their ſin betwixt their prayers and the Lords performance, even when they were at the very brink thereof.
5. Laſtly, Apoſtatical ſinning, or ſinning by way of Apoſtacy, or falling off from God and his ways after an embracement of them. When men have once owned themſelves to God, profeſſed, and happily covenanted to be his, and to ſerve him, and to walk in, and keep his ways; their turning back from this their devoted relation and courſe into a practiſe of ſin (chiefly if broadly oppoſite to the ſame,) this will turn back their prayers from Heaven without entrance or anſwer. Thus the Prophet Azariah forewarned Aſa, 2 Chron. 15.2and his people: The Lord is with you while you be with him; and if ye ſeek him, he will be found of you; but if you forſake him, he will forſake you. And the ſame Item had David left with his ſon Sololomon: 1 Chro. 28 9 Deu. 31.16And it was long before that alſo foretold by Moſes unto Iſrael; and ſo it proved to be, and was verified to that people upon their ſeveral revolts from God, both in the times of the Judges, and particularly that before Jeptha's deliveranceaJudg. 10.13: And in Samuels time, in the Lords forſaking his Tabernacle at Shiloh upon their revolting carriagebPſal 78.59, 60.: And alſo in the rejection of the State of Judah, and their prayers, in the Prophet Jeremiahs time, for ſeventy years, which was for their reiterated ApoſtaciescJer. 11.10 11. & 15.1, 6. & 18.15, 17.: And in the fruſtration of the prayers of that people, when, after the captivity, they had obtained a return and reſettlement in their Land, and in the priviledges of the houſe of God, but were found again to be departed from the Ordinances of GoddMal. 3 7 14. Of all the ways of ſinning that are, this is one that doth (as it were) naturally, and by a kind of near proportion, procure this effect. Thoſe that profeſs, and vow themſelves unto the Lord, though they call upon him with their lips in their need, yet if their feet be declined from his ways, if they have left off following him in his ſervice and Commandments, they muſt look for a withdrawing on Gods part.