A Treatise of Prayer and Divine Providence, Chapter 3 · Section 3
SECT. III.
Of Gods anſwering, and of his hiding himſelf from Prayers.
THe third clauſe in the Query to be unfolded now follows, viz. Gods anſwering of, or hiding from Prayers. For the helping of the unclean in this particular, I ſhall propound and inſiſt on two things: 1. The variety of the ways, or behavior of God towards the prayers of men. 2. The diverſity of the grounds, or impulſives, whereupon he walketh in …hat diverſity of ways. The unfolding of theſe two will (I hope) ſerve much for the clearing of this ſubject.
Firſt, Of the diverſity of the ways, or behavior of God towards the prayers of men. The ſuppoſition, that the carriage or way of God towards mens prayers is various, I need not labor to prove; it will be confeſt. The matter to be ſtood on is, What that Variety is? It hath two parts in the general very obvious to apprehenſion, to wit, 1. His inclining, appearing to prayer: 2. His declining, hiding from prayer. But beſides, there is a great diverſity under each of theſe; God doth many ways appear to, and many ways hide from prayers: his appearing is of divers ſorts, his hiding is of ſeveral kinds. I will begin with the former, Gods appearing to prayer; and therein conſider the ſeveral ways of his inclining or appearing to prayers, or to perſons praying. Theſe are to be comprehended under two heads: The firſt is in hearing, or receiving the prayer: The ſecond is in making a return, or giving anſwer to prayer. Both theſe the Pſalmiſt exemplifies to us together: I ſought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. And again, This poor man cryed, and the Lord heard him, Pſa. 34.4 6and ſaved him out of all his troubles. There is firſt hearing, and ſecondly delivering: firſt hearing the prayer, or cry; then delivering, or ſaving the perſon.
Firſt, God inclines or appears to prayer when he receives or hears it, when he gives it admiſſion or audience; this is at the putting up or preſenting of the prayer: Whiles they are yet ſpeaking, I will hear. It's ſaid unto Daniel, Iſai. 65.24From the firſt day that thou didſt ſet thine heart to underſtand, Dan. 10.12and to caſt thy ſelf before thy God, thy words were heard. This act of reception of prayer, though in ſome ſort it be more largely extended (as will after be ſhewed) is (prop…rly taken) an act of ſpecial grace, and paternal favor, which God appropriateth and exerciſeth to thoſe perſons and prayers that are good in his ſight, and well-pleaſing to him.
The Word of God ſetteth forth the Lords entertainment, and acceptance of prayers, with great variety of expreſſions, and thoſe very ſavory and ſweet; as if it ſtudyed to point it out as an act of very great worth, and a thing very notable and affective: when it is thus, the Scripture ſaith of prayers, They come, and aſcend up before God: Neh. 8.4 Acts 10.4.31 Pſa. 18.6they come up for a memorial before God. David ſaith, His cry came before God, even unto his ears. The Prieſts, the Levites, when they aroſe and bleſſed the people (at Zedekiahs Paſſover) the Text ſaith,2 Chro. 30 27 Their voyce was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto Heaven. And when it is thus, the Scripture ſaith of God, in relation to prayers: His ears are open to their cry: He harkens, and hears: Pſa. 34.15 Mal. 3 16 Pſal. 86.1 10.17 66.16 102.17 Prov. 15.8 Cant. 2.14 Pſa. 145.18 Lam. 3.57 Job 33.26 Iſai. 30.19 Jer. 31.20 Mal. 3.16 Jer. 29.14 Ezra 8.23 Gen. 19.21 Cant. 2.14He bows down his ear, and hears: He cauſeth his ear to hear: He attendeth to the voyce of prayer: He regardeth, and despiſeth not their prayer: The prayer is his delight: the voyce is ſweet. And it ſaith of God, in relation to the Petitioner; He is nigh: He draweth neer to them that call upon him: He is favorable: He is very gracious to them at the voyce of their cry: He doth earneſtly remember them ſtill: His bowels are troubled for them: A book of remembrance is written before God for them: He is found of them: He is entreated of them: He accepteth their face; their countenance is comely. In ſuch terms as theſe the Scripture travelleth to deliver, and explain to us the reſp…ct and welcome which God gives to his childrens prayers: And this is the firſt part of prayers ſucce…s, or taking with God, it's heard or received.
The ſecond is Gods anſwer, or making return to prayer: The Lord appears to prayers by anſwering them; and this is the appearance whereof we are more ſenſible: this is that we find in the Prophet; Then ſhalt thou call, and the Lord ſhall anſwer; thou ſhalt cry, Iſai. 58.9and he ſhall ſay, Here am I. David tells us, That when in his diſtreſs he called upon the Lord, Pſal. 18 6and cryed unto his God, he heard his voyce out of his Temple, and his cry came before him, even unto his ears: that was the firſt effect of prayer, of which before: It then follows, He bowed the Heavens alſo, and came down, and darkneſs was under his feet; and he rode upon a Cherub, and did fly, yea he did fly upon the wings of the wind: the Lord alſo thundered in the Heavens, &c. yea he ſent out his arrows, &c. that's the latter effect, the return and anſwer: the Lord did viſibly and mercifully appear for his help and reſcue, as is there figuratively and largely ſet forth.
There were indeed times when God did return anſwers to his people audibly, or ſenſibly; by appearances, or voyces; as he did by viſion to Abraham and others; by voyce or viſible token to Moſes and the High-Prieſt in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and from above the Mercy-ſeat; and by Dreams, by Ʋrim, by Prophets from time to time, to his people Iſrael; and ſometimes by Angels to ſome of them. But theſe returns, ſome of them were peculiar to thoſe times, others were then extraordinary, and now much more extraordinary; and neither then were, much leſs now are, to be looked for. There is another way of return which is more common and conſtant, and that is by his workings: of this David makes relation, I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me, and heard my cry: He brought me up alſo to an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and ſet my feet upon a rock, and eſtabliſh'd my goings. This his raiſing out of the pit, and ſeating upon a firm ſtanding, is the active anſwer of God to Davids prayer. Now this return of prayer is divers ways made; and the ſeveral ſorts of it muſt be well noted. I ſhall diſtinguiſh them thus: There is a threefold anſwer of prayer; or return is made thereto three ways: 1. By way of obſignation: 2. By way of performance: 3. By way of commutation. Theſe three ways God anſwereth the prayers of his ſervants when they are faithfully put up, and grounded as before was ſhewed; that is, ſome one (at leaſt) of th…ſe three ways.
The firſt way is obſignatory: this is an anſwer by way of teſtimony, or aſſurance of acceptance, and audi…ce of the prayer that hath been offered up to God; or by way of Earneſt, or pledg of future accompliſhment. God is pleaſed many times, before he perform the requeſt of his ſervants, to give them immediately, or upon their ſeeking to him, a pledg that they are heard, and ſhall have an iſſue of their deſires: This he doth uſually, when the performance is to be at ſome diſtance of time; and the Petitioner muſt bear ſome delay for it; then he vouchſafes often to give (as it were) a Bill of aſſurance under his hand in the interim for it. But what is it that God doth give in pledg? why, ſomething ſtill that is both valuable and ſuitable: Some fire (as it were) comes down from Heaven upon the Altar, and conſumes their ſacrifice, Pſa. 20.3in teſtimony of acceptance. This obſignatory anſwer may be by divers effects or ways.
1. By an inward taſte or teſtification from God, of his good-will and love to the Suppliant: Elihu ſaith, He ſhall pray unto God, and he will be favorable unto him, Job 33.26and he ſhall ſee his face with joy. When Jacob had prayed, and wreſtled all night, and had got the victory and bleſſing yielded him, He called the name of the place Peniel (that is, the face of God,)Gen. 32.30 for I have ſeen (ſaid he) God face to face. The requeſt that he had been conflicting about, was, to be delivered from the hand of Eſau his Brother; he had it granted, and in aſſurance he ſhould find it fulfilled the day following in the reconciled face and embracements of his Brother, he hath immediately the ſight of Gods face, and the light of his countenance ſhewed him; and this made him go on with boldneſs of heart, though with a halting thigh, from Peniel to meet his Brother. The Prophet Daniel, when he had faſted, and made his ſupplications unto God,Dan. 9.13 10.11 8.26 10, 1, 14 7.28 8.27 had ſeveral times an Angel appearing to him, and telling him, He was greatly beloved, to wit, of God; the viſions ſhewed him were for many days, and the time appointed was long: and ſome of them were ſad, and unpleaſing unto him: But in the interim, and for a cordial, he had this meſſage ſent him from God, that he was a man in high favor with God.
2. By a removal of that ſorrow, dejection, fear, or anxiety of ſpirit, that before might poſſeſs and fill him that prayed. Hannah, having poured forth her prayer and tears, and uttered her vow before the Lord in Shiloh, and received that good preſage from Eli the Prieſt of her Petition;1 Sam. 1 18 it's ſaid, She went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more ſad: ſhe thenceforth had a light heart; her fretting, her unchearful look, her meatleſs meals were now layd aſide. There is a promiſe to them that ſeek God, That he will make them joyful in his houſe of prayer: Iſai. 56.7 30.19as he will beſtow thoſe bleſſings upon them which they crave, ſo he will for earneſt make them joyful before they go out of his houſe. And in the ſame Prophet; Thou ſhalt weep no more; he will be very gracious unto thee at the voyce of thy cry. David praying, and being in a very heavy taking, having his Soul caſt down within him, and deep calling unto deep at the noiſe of Gods water-ſpouts, and all his waves and his billows going over him: that is, he being, as it were, overwhelmed in a Sea of ſorrows; evils flowing upon him like waves one at the heels of another; had this reviving giving him:Pſa. 42.4, 7, 9 Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindneſs in the day time, and in the night his ſong ſhall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. The Lord will command his loving kindneſs; that is, he will diſpatch it forth to him inſtantly, as a winged Meſſenger, and Harbinger of a good iſſue of his prayers and afflicting griefs: And whil'ſt he is praying, the ſong of God ſhall come into, and recreate him; his own prayer, and Gods ſong, ſhall joyn company together, and both at once aſſociate him. The Souls under the Altar, that cry, how long O Lord, &c. they are put to ſtay ſome time for their vindication;Apoc. 6.11 Eccleſ. 9.7, 8 but, in the mean ſpace, it's ſaid, White robes were given unto every one of them: Thoſe white robes might betoken a chearful habit of ſpirit, a good meaſure of alacrity put into them during their ſufferings, yet to be prolonged, in aſſurance of their anſwer and releaſe in due time to come.
3. By a continuation of the Spirit of prayer, or an exerciſe of it: When the hands are ſtill ſupported in their lifting up to God, or raiſed and ſtretched out higher towards him; when the motions, vigor, and vehemency of prayer are renewed or redoubled in the hearts of Gods ſervants, it is a token from God that it ſhall not be in vain, but to ſome purpoſe and effect that they call upon him.Hoſ. 12.3, 4 When Jacobs ſtrength in wreſtling with the Angel was ſo great, and did hold out until day break, and he was ſo ſet that he would not let the Angel go until he had bleſſed him; this was a ſtrong argument of his power and prevalency with God; and that he ſhould prevail with men alſo, with his Brother Eſau, and all his Troop. The pouring upon the Houſe of David, Zec. 12.10and upon the Inhabitants of Jeruſalem the ſpirit of grace and of ſupplications, is put in the Prophet as a fore-running preſage and introduction to many great mercies to them. The Apoſtle brings in this as a clear earneſt to Believers, of deliverance from ſins and ſufferings, and of receiving the glory and redemption of the body expected, and groaned after; That the Spirit helpeth our infirmities, and maketh interceſſion for us (in prayer) with groanings which cannot be uttered. Rom. 8.26As it is a ſpecial favor, and a good ſign to a people, that God gives to his Prophets the opening of the mouth (in declaring his Word,)Eze. 29.21 ſo it is alſo that he beſtows upon them a mouth opened wide, and a voyce loud, and lifted up in prayer: Open thy mouth wide (ſaith God to his Iſrael) and I will fill it.Pſa. 81.10
4. By an erected confidence; and it may be a clear foreſight and evidence, that the Petition is diſpatched in Heaven, and ſhall aſſuredly be accompliſhed in time on Earth: This pledg God doth ſometimes vouchſafe his faithful ones upon their ſeeking of him, and before he work to the effecting of their prayers: as it is in the Pſalmiſt, Lord, thou haſt heard the deſire of the humble, Pſa. 19.17thou wilt prepare their heart; or (as the Margin) thou wilt eſtabliſh their heart: that is, When they have poured out their deſires unto thee, thou wilt give them a ſeal of ſucceſs, by ſetting impreſſions of confidence and evidence of it upon their hearts. This we often find in David: in one part of his Pſalm he is praying, weeping, complaining, expoſtulating, and deprecating the dejections and deſertions of his Soul for lack of audience; and by and by, before any thing be done about the affairs or particulars of his prayer, he is lifted up, and compoſed in full aſſurance of having his requeſts, yea triumphs in them, as already embraced: Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity, Pſa. 6.8, 9 13.5, 6 … 20.6 42.11 142.7for the Lord hath heard the voyce of my weeping, the Lord hath heard my ſupplication: But I have truſted in thy mercy, my heart ſhall rejoyce in thy Salvation: I will ſing unto the Lord becauſe he hath dealt bountifully with me: Now know I that the Lord ſaveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy Heaven, with the ſaving ſtrength of his right hand: Why art thou caſt down, O my Soul? why art thou diſquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I ſhall yet praiſe him: The righteous ſhal compaſs me about, for thou ſhalt deal bountifully with me. Cornelius the Centurian, in one of his Faſt-days, and whil'ſt he was praying, had a viſion of aſſurance, in which an Angel told him, Cornelius, Act. 10.30 Luk. 1.13 Philem. 22thy prayer is heard; and the like had Zacharias the Prieſt in the Temple at the time of prayer. The Apoſtle Paul alſo, being in priſon at Rome, conceived ſuch a confidence of his being given up to the Chriſtians at Coloſs, by way of enlargement, upon their prayers, that he ſends out of his priſon to Philemon at Coloſs to prepare him a lodging with them there.
This may be ſufficient for the illuſtration of the firſt way of the Lords anſwering prayer, to wit, by way of Obſignation, or Aſſurance, wherein we have noted four inſtances or acts.
I come to the ſecond kind of anſwer, which is by way of performance; this is when the thing entreated for in prayer is accompliſhed: This is the moſt ſenſible and moſt noted way of prayers return from Heaven to the Petitioner: David deſcribes it in that his benedictory Pſalm:Pſa. 20.1, 4 21.2 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, &c. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counſel: and in the next Pſalm to that, Thou haſt given him his hearts deſire, and haſt not withholden the requeſt of his lips. It will not be unneceſſary to obſerve the ſeveral methods of this anſwer of performance: 1. Sometimes it is inſtantaneous, or diſpatched all at once; it is finiſhed in one compleat act; as when Samuel cryed unto the Lord for Iſrael at what time the Philiſtins Army ſtood ready to give the on-ſet upon them, it is ſaid, The Lord heard (or in the Margin) anſwered him; 1 Sam. 7.9 10and, as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philiſtins drew neer to battel againſt Iſrael; but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philiſtins, and diſcomfitted them, and they were ſmitten before Iſrael. 2. Somtimes it is ſucceſſive, or effected by degrees; when the ſervants of the Lord in their ſtraits and needs call upon him, he often helps them gradatim, or by ſucceſſive ſteps. Two ſteps more frequently he makes in this work: 1. He ſends ſtrength and ſupport under and during the affliction, or want of the benefit deſired. 2. And then after he gives them deliverance from it, he looſens the bands of their diſtreſs, and they eſcape out of it: both theſe we have diſtinctly noted in divers Scriptures, as in that of the Pſalm, He ſhall call upon me, and I will anſwer him, (and mark the degree of the anſwer which follows,) I will be with him in trouble, (there's the one,) I will deliver him, and honor him, (there's the other.) And again, In the day when I cryed thou anſweredſt me, and ſtrengthened me with ſtrength in my Soul: there's the firſt, preſent ſupport in his exigence, which is further amplified after; Though I walk in the midſt of trouble, Pſa. 138.3 7thou wilt revive me: and then follows in the next words, recovery out; Thou ſhalt ſtretch out thine hands againſt the wrath of mine Enemies, and thy right hand ſhall ſave me. This double ſtep of relief from God to his people upon their prayer, is notably ſet forth in the Prophet Malachi: When the ſtate of things was grown ſo forlorn,Mal. 3.14 &c. as that the ordinary ſort of Faſters and Prayers concluded it a vain thing to ſ…ve God, and a profitleſs courſe to keep his Ordinances, and to walk mournfully before him; yet there were ſome left that truly feared the Lord, that ſpake often one to another in mutual corroborations unto piety, and that thought upon the Name of God in diligent and conſtant calling upon it: and obſerve the iſſue; theſe have a twofold day ſet for them, and in them have thoſe 2 degrees of help from God ſucceſſively: 1. There is a day when God makes up his Jewels, (or, as Druſius interprets) a day when he makes Judgment, or proceeds in Judgment,) and in that day, they, ſaith the Lord of Hoaſts, ſhall be my Jewels, and I will ſpare them, as a man ſpareth his own ſon that ſerveth him: that's the firſt day, and firſt ſtep of ſuccor. The Lord will own them for his in the evil day, he will take care of them as of his choyceſt and preciouſeſt goods; and he will moderate their ſhare of troubles, and ſupport them therein: ſo that (as it is in the next words) there ſhall be a palpable difference put and diſcerned betwixt them, and the wicked in their ſufferings. 2. There is another day cometh after, a day that ſhall burn as an oven; and in this latter day is that other ſtep of the help of thoſe fearers and ſeekers of God; that is, their deliverance and full ſatisfaction: For, in that day, the proud, yea and all that do wickedly ſhall be ſtubble; and the day that cometh, ſhall burn them up, ſaith the Lord of Hoaſts, that it ſhall leave them neither root nor branch: But unto you that fear my Name ſhall the Sun of Righteouſneſs ariſe with healing in his wings, — and ye ſhall tread down the wicked; for they ſhall be aſhes under the ſoles of your feet, in the day that I ſhall do this, ſaith the Lord of Hoaſts.
I will further note, that the latter of theſe two degrees of Gods return to prayer, viz. Deliverance out of trouble, or fruition of the thing asked, may have its ſeveral degrees alſo: As, 1. When God raiſeth up the means and ſecondary cauſes which he will uſe, and ſets himſelf to work by them: 2. When he doth carry on and conſummate deliverance with them. This order he purſued in bringing Iſrael out of Egypt, upon the hearing of their cries and groans; he firſt appears to Moſes in Midian, and gives him a Call, Commiſſion and Inſtructions to go into Egypt and fetch them out: I have heard (ſaith he to them out of the burning Buſh) their groaning, Acts 7.34and am come down to deliver them; and now come, I will ſend thee into Egypt: And then Moſes and Aaron being joyned together in Egypt, and after many goings in there, unto Pharaoh for diſmiſſion of them, and many additions of oppreſſions upon the Iſraelites, and many miraculous plagues upon Pharaoh, his People, and Land, they are led, or poſted out of Egypt in one night: And in the recovery of the ſame people, long after, from their captivity and ruines under the Babylonian, the Lord propoſeth in his promiſe ſeveral degrees: as in the Prophet Hoſea; And it ſhall come to paſs in that day, I will hear, ſaith the Lord, Hoſ. 2.21, 22, 21I will hear the Heavens, and they ſhall hear the Earth, And the Earth ſhall hear the Corn, and the Wine, and the Oyl, and they ſhall hear Jezreel; and I will ſow her unto me in the Earth, and I will have mercy on her, &c. Such a ſeries of cauſes and operations the Providence of God doth often go through in delivering his people. This is ſpoken figuratively in the Prophet; not as if the Heavens, and the reſt of the inferior Creatures here, had a voyce, or did pray: and we muſt not underſtand it as ſpoken of the order of Gods receiving, but of his performing prayers: In order of receiving prayer, God immediately and only hears Jezreel, his people; but in order of anſwer and execution, he firſt hears, or anſwers the Heavens, that is, puts efficacy and influence into them; and then, by them, into the Earth, and by the Earth into its fruits, and ſo comes home to Jezreel: and then alſo Jezreel muſt be ſown in the Earth, that is, muſt be caſt into the ground, and lie under the clods of affliction, and be in appearance as dead for a time, and then ſpring up, and be reſtored. The ſmoke of incenſe which came with the prayers of the Saints, Rev. 8.4.and aſcended up before God out of the Angels hand, by it and them were procured the ſeven following Trumpets. Now theſe Trumpets, the iſſue and execution of thoſe prayers, ſounded ſucceſſively one after another, and did accompliſh thoſe prayers by ſo many degrees; and the term of their ſucceſſion and continuance, ere all be finiſhed, is ſuppoſed to be for many years, yea divers ages.
Thus of the ſecond way of prayers receiving its anſwer, and the ſeveral ſteps of it.
The third, and laſt, is that of Commutation. The Lord doth ſometimes hear and anſwer the prayer, when he doth not give the very thing prayed for: There is an anſwer by way of exchange, to wit, when God gives in lieu of that which is asked another thing, which is as good, or better for the party. God grants Petitions, either formally, or by way of equivalency: he returns unto him that prayeth, either that which he prayeth in kind, or the ſame in weight and value, though not in kind. Our Saviour teaching us how to pray, withall informs how we may expect to be heard: Pray to thy Father which is in ſecret, Matt. 6.6.and thy Father which ſeeth in ſecret ſhall reward thee openly: He doth not ſay, thy Father ſhall preciſely do the very thing requeſted, but he ſhall reward thee; he ſhall give thee a full return, and retribution of thy prayer, one way or other: he ſhall reward thee openly, or evidently, though not identically: He ſhall anſwer thy Petitions, if not by way of punctual execution, yet by way of compenſation of them; if not by way of literal conceſſion, yet by way of counterballancing: And when it is thus, the prayer is truly and ſufficiently anſwered; although it be ſomwhat varyed, yet we cannot ſay it is denyed; God in ſo doing doth not fruſtrate our requeſts, but rectifie our choyce. Samuel being at Bethlehem to anoint one of Jeſſes ſons to be King,1 Sam. 16.6 when they were come before him, he look'd upon Eliab as the man; he look'd upon him for his countenance, and the height of his ſtature; but God put him by, and the reſt that followd, until David, the yongeſt of the eight, came, & him he appointed to be anointed: So it is with us, when we pray, we ſometimes fix our eyes, and faſten our affections and wiſhes upon one particular, when God ſees another fitter, and puts that in the room; and when it is thus, the countenance, face, or individual form of our Petition (as in Samuels caſe) is altered, but not the benefit. We have one of the ſame ſtock and kind, though not the ſame thing*As old Iacob layd not his hands of bleſſing, as Ioſeph would have guided them, but layd the right hand upon the younger ſon, whom Ioſeph did ſet at his left; So often doth God take off his hand of bleſſing from the thing we prayed for, and lays and diſcovers it in another more for our good. And as God, giving Iſaac the power and priviledg to bleſs a ſon, though Iſaac he intended it for Eſau, yet God unbeknown to him, tranſmitted it to Iacob, yet ſo, as the bleſſing was not loſt: Thus it is in our prayers for bleſſings both upon our ſelves and others. Mr Goodwins Return of Prayers, cap. 9. ſ. 4.
We may note divers ways of Gods making this Commutation; particularly three: 1. In regard of Perſon: 2. In regard of Matter: 3. In regard of Means.
1. In regard of Perſon: David faſts, and prays, Pſa. 25.13and humbles his Soul for his perſecutors, and his prayer is returned into his own boſom: He intended it for them, it is converted to his own benefit.2 Sam. 12 15 David again beſeecheth God for his firſt child by Bathſheba, when the Lord had ſtruck it with ſickneſs, nevertheleſs that child dyes; but the Lord gives him in ſtead thereof another child, a ſon, a Solomon, one whom the Lord loved, and choſe to ſit on his Throne after him. So it pleaſeth God in mercy to transfer the prayers of his ſervants from one to another, from others to themſelves: If Noah, Daniel, Ezek. 14.14and Job cannot deliver the Land, when it hath treſpaſſed grievouſly, neither ſon nor daughter in it, yet they themſelves ſhall be delivered.Luk. 10.5, 6 If the Diſciples benediction of peace reſt not upon the houſe into which they enter, it ſhall turn to them again. The Lord heard Joſiah praying for Judah and Jeruſalem; 2 King. 22 19but not to the deliverance of them from Judgments, but to his own taking away from the evils to come.
2. The change may be in regard of Matter: As, 1. When carnal things are begged, God ſometimes makes his return in ſpiritual things; when earthly and temporal bleſſings are asked, he turns them in heavenly and eternal mercies. The Diſciples after Chriſts Reſurrection asked him, Lord, wilt thou at this time reſtore again the Kingdom to Iſrael? Act. 1.6, 7they meant it of the civil Freedom, Property, and Dominion of their Nation in Canaan. Chriſt our Saviour refuſes to anſwer them poſitively to that, telling them, It is not for you to know the times and the ſeaſons which the Father hath put in his own power: but in ſtead of their ſatisfaction in that demand, he gives them a promiſe of the Holy Ghoſt, and of aſſiſtance, enlargement, and ſucceſs in their function: But ye ſhall receive power, after that the Holy Ghoſt is come upon you, and ye ſhall be witneſſes unto me, both in Jeruſalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermoſt part of the Earth. The two ſons of Zebedee come to Chriſt, deſiring him to grant them to ſit, the one at his right hand, Mark 10.35the other on his left in his glory: Our Saviour declines the grant of that requeſt, but in the place of it he promiſeth them that they ſhould drink of his cup, and be baptized with his Baptiſm. Now certainly the grace, ability, and honor ſo to do, was far more deſirable and acceptable in a true eſtimate, then all that earthly glory of Chriſt, which thoſe brethren fancyed and affected, and ſuppoſed was to come preſently. Moſes, when God had ſentenced him never to go into the promiſed Land of Canaan, beſought God with great importunacy for the reverſion of that ſentence, and for a paſſage over into that Land; the Lord would not hear him, but ſaid, Let it ſuffice thee; Deut. 3.23ſpeak no more to me of this matter: But what was it wherewith he would have him ſufficed? it was this, He ſhould go up to the top of Piſgah, and thence take a view of all the quarters of that Land, and ſo dye where he was. Now by this means Moſes was conſidered well enough in his Petition, though it were not given him to his wiſh: for he was eaſed of his heavy and often bemoaned charge over that people, and removed from the tireſom Wars of Canaan, then beginning, into reſt and peace in a better Canaan, that is, the heavenly. A worthy Divine obſerves, That oftentimes the very denyal (of the particular) breaks a mans heart, and brings him neerer to God, and puts him upon ſearching into his ways and eſtate, Mr Goodwins Return of prayer, ch. 9. ſ. 3.and in his prayers to ſee what ſhould be amiſs therein, which alone is a great mercy, and better then the thing; ſeeing by the loſs of that one thing he learns to pray better, and ſo to obtain a hundred better things afterward.
Secondly, In requeſts for ſpirituals, ſometimes one benefit is asked, and another of that nature is ſubſtituted for it, which is equivalent to it. The Apoſtle Paul, moleſted with the thorn in his fleſh, 2 Cor. 12.7the meſſenger of Satan buffeting him, went to God in prayer, and beſought him thrice over, that it might depart from him: In ſtead of that removal begged, the anſwer is, My grace is ſufficient for thee; for my ſtrength is made perfect in weakneſs. Here the Apoſtle obtained the ſpiritual help he asked, in ſubſtance the ſame, but not in the very ſame way, or ſpecial kind; he had given him, not the removal of the temptation, but the ſupplement of divine grace to countermand it; not the taking off of the Enemy, or the dart that ſtruck him, but the armor to fence, and wave it off the Souls life.
Thirdly, Sometimes in deprecations, and prayers for deliverance from trouble,Phil. 1.29 in ſtead thereof it is given to the ſervants of God to ſuffer; that is, they are enabled to ſuffer with confidence, patience, joy, ſtedfaſtneſs, profit, in wiſdom and holineſs, i. e. with confidence. Jeremiah, or the Church of Judah in the Lamentations, Lam. 3.55 &c.ſaith, I called upon thy Name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon; thou haſt heard my voyce: But how? Thou dreweſt neer in the day that I called upon thee; thou ſaidſt, Fear not: He, or they, would have been raiſed up out of their dungeon, but the Lord heard them another way; he diſpelled their fears of drowning, or pining, in it: he miniſtred unto them a ſupply of confidence; he raiſed them out of the dungeon of dread and terrors. In like manner our bleſſed Saviour in his Paſſion and Agony, He offered up prayers and ſupplications, Heb. 5.7with ſtrong crying and tears, unto him that was able to ſave him from death, and was heard, in that he feared. The ſubject of his prayers, as appears in the Goſpel, was, That he might be ſaved from that hour; That that cup, if it were poſſible, might paſs from him. Exauditis precibus liberatus a metu, Beza (i. e.) confirmatus fuit ut omnem pavorem mortis depoſuerit. Idem.The Apoſtle ſaith, He was heard, in that he feared; or, as Beza readeth, His prayers being heard, he was delivered out of fear: when the bitter cup of his agony, deſertion, and death drew nigh, his Soul was troubled; he began to be ſore amazed, and to be very heavy; His Soul was exceeding ſorrowful unto death. Under theſe horrors, he conditionally, if it might ſo be, and with ſubmiſſion to his Fathers will, deſired to avoyd thoſe ſufferings; He was heard, in that he feared; not by his Fathers removing then, or preventing of the ſufferings, but by a vanquiſhment of thoſe terrors, by a greatneſs of ſtrength and might beſtowed on him, to wade through and tread that dreadful winepreſs. 2. With Patience: Job was jealous of his ſons, that in their circular feaſting they might ſin, Job 1.5.20and curſe God in their hearts; for the expiation whereof, he every day ſent and ſanctified them, and in the morning offered burnt-offerings according to their number: Notwithſtanding this his care and devotion, the ruine of his children would not be prevented; yet, although he could not ſcape it, he had a plentiful meaſure of patience, and acquieſcence under the hand of God in it miniſtred unto him. When he receives the tydings of it, and all his other loſſes together, He fell down upon the ground, and worſhipped; he bleſſed the Name of the Lord, and he refrained all charging of God fooliſhly. 3. With Joy; David would fain have beged of God his childs life,2 Sam. 12 and recovery from ſickneſs; he could not do that, but dye it muſt; but upon its death, when his ſervants judged, by his taking on at its ſickneſs, that upon the ſudden hearing of his death he would have miſchieved himſelf*How wil he then hurt himſelf? marg., he contrarily could bear it with an admirable temper, not only with moderation of grief, but with alacrity, and the exerciſe of piety. 4. With Stedfaſtneſs: The Apoſtle willeth us, Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and ſupplication, Phil. 4.6, 7with thanksgiving, let your requeſts be made known unto God. And the conſequent upon this, which he promiſeth for certain, is, And the peace of God, which paſſed all underſtanding, ſhall keep your hearts and minds through Chriſt Jeſus: q. d. If ye do not obtain your deſires in particular at all, or not inſtantly, yet the peace of God,Praeſidio erit, Bez. foreign, ſhall be a gariſon in your hearts, to fortifie and keep them; and it ſhall keep both your hearts and minds, your minds from vexing cares, and your hearts from piercing ſorrows, or fears. 5. With Profit, both in wiſdom and holineſs: The Lord aſſures his praying people this gracious iſſue of their cries; Though he give them the bread of adverſity, Iſai. 19.20 &c.and the water of affliction, yet ſhall not their Teachers be removed into a corner any more; but their eyes ſhall ſee their Teachers, and their ears ſhall hear a word behind them, ſaying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when they turn to the right hand, and when they turn to the left: They ſhall defile alſo the covering of their graven Images of ſilver, &c. The ſum is, they ſhall enjoy the publique Miniſtry and Ordinances, and the guidance of the holy Spirit, and be rid of the monuments of Idolatry, and be brought to Reformation. Daniels prayer brought not himſelf out of Babylon preſently, neither prevented they his peoples calamities under the ſeveral ſubſequent Monarchies; but this he gained of them, He had many a heavenly and important viſion and meſſage by Angels. The like is promiſed to Jeremiahs prayers:Jer. 33.3. Call unto me, and I will anſwer thee, and ſhew thee great and mighty (or hidden) things, which thou kneweſt not. And the primitive Chriſtians that underwent ſuch firy and bloody perſecutions, though their prayers could not avert them, yet they obtained the looſing of the ſeven ſeals, Rev. 5.8.and the opening and reading of the written Book, which was ſhewed John in the hand of him that ſat on the Throne by the Lamb, which containeth in it many weighty Viſions and Prophecies concerning the Chriſtian Church from thence unto the Worlds end. Thus God heareth prayers in way of exchange of the matter prayed for divers ways; and in ſo doing he moſtly gives better things then thoſe he waveth, and ſo makes his Petitioners not only ſpeeders by his anſwer, but gainers by his exchange.
3. The Commutation may be in regard of Means: When we have a mercy aſſured us by promiſe, we may and muſt uſe means for the atchieving of it; and in the uſe of the means we are to pray (with ſubmiſſion) for a bleſſing upon it, unto the attaining of the thing promiſed by it. Now when we have thus prayed, God may ſee cauſe to vary the means; that is, lay aſide that which we ſelect, employ, and bring before him in our prayers, and take up other; and by this means, of his own choyce and exchange accompliſheth his promiſe, and our expectation and prayer, in regard of the mercy aymed at. This Commutation, as it is ordinary, ſo it may well paſs with us, ſo far as Gods agency and anſwer to prayer is concerned in it; in as much as the means inſerted in our prayer in order to its end: and though we be tyed to the uſe of that means which is lawful and preſent, yet neither is God himſelf, nor the end to be attained, ſo tyed. If it pleaſe God to put by the means which he hath given us to uſe, and our hearts and deſires are therefore upon, and to intermit other, and effect the end promiſed and prayed for thereby, we have our expectation and our prayer alſo in equivalency. I would not be miſunderſtood; I know there is now adays a queſtion raiſed, Whether, or how far a means moſt righteouſly employed by God, but ſinful as unto its own interpoſition and acting, may be owned, and concurred with: But there is no queſtion to be made (as I think) but that the event produced by ſuch a means (if it were lawfully deſired and prayed for, though expected and ſought by other means) may be acknowledged, and acquieſced in as from God, and in return of prayer. Though we may not uſe, or joyn iſſue with unlawful agents and actions, yet we may receive and enjoy a benefit by the providence of God accompliſhed by them. When the Prophet Jeremiah was looſed out of priſon by Nebuzaradan, the Captain of the guard to the King of Babylon, he might well take it as the fulfilling of Gods promiſe, and anſwer to his prayer, whether that Captain or his maſter had any right over the place he was then in,Jer. 40.1 c. 15. 11, 15 or Jeremiah could own them as Proprietors thereof or no. Believers may well embrace Chriſt crucified, as the accompliſhment of Gods promiſes, and the deſire of all Nations for their Salvation, although the warrantableneſs of thoſe mens actions, and power to do it that did it, and confederation with them, might be denyed with abhorrence: But enough of this caution by and by. Prayer is, and hath been anſwered by an exchange of the means. Abraham, having the great Promiſes and Covenant of God made unto him, and to his ſeed, he prayed for Iſhmael, then born of Hagar the bond-woman,Gen. 17.17 That (as it ſeems) he might be the child, and heir of the promiſe: The Lord (though he heard him in part for Iſhmael too) would not yield to that, but would have a ſon yet unborn, and of Sarah, to be the ſeed of promiſe. Moſes would fain have been the man to have gone and conducted Iſrael over Jordan into Canaan, and prayed for it;Deut. 1.37 38 but the Lord otherwiſe and better diſpoſed of him, and appointed Joſhua his ſervant to that office. David had fully purpoſed,1 Chro. 28 2, &c. and devoted his endevors to build a houſe for the Name of God; the Lord accepts of the intent of his heart, but will not let it go on, but transfers the honor of that work from him to his ſon Solomon.
We have thus the third way of Gods anſwering prayers, viz. by Commutation and Equivalency: The ſum and iſſue whereof is, although God do alter from the letter of the prayer, either in reſpect of the perſon, matter, or means eyed by the Petitioner, yet he obſerves a proportion and equality to, if he do not tranſcend the thing prayed for, in making his return: and in altering thus, He (who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think) conſidereth,Eph. 3.20 and procureth the good of them that pray,Exardit ſaepe ad profectum non ad votum, Aqui. in Joh 9. Permittas ipſis expendere numibus quid conveniat nobis rebuſque ſit utile noſtris. Juvenal. Saty. 10. Joh. 12.27, 28 Mat. 26.33 and he fulfilleth the ſubſtance, drift, and ſcope of their prayers, to wit, the advancement of his own glory, the Churches good, and their own comfort and profit: and if theſe be any ways brought about by their prayers, they muſt needs acknowledg themſelves anſwered. Chriſt our Saviour, when in his extreameſt diſtreſſes he prayeth to his Father, to ſave him from that hour, and to let that cup paſs from him, he doth immediatly and with the ſame breath pray, Father, glorifie thy Name: and nevertheleſs, not as I will, but as thou wilt, and thy Will be done. By theſe latter Petitions he doth not croſs or contradict himſelf in the former, but reduplicates, illuſtrates, and gives his words a due ſignification and latitude: and as his practice, ſo was his doctrine of prayer, and it deſerves to be obſerved: when he would teach his Diſciples to pray by a copy, or pattern, he delivers them a platform, wherein are comprehended all things requeſtable, not in ſpecial terms, but reductively under ſhort and general heads; and in the very mold or ſtructure of that prayer informs us thus much, That as in framing our prayers we are to reduce and ſquare all our Petitions to thoſe heads, though we vary in particulars, as occaſion requires; ſo we muſt expect God to do in the anſwer: and we muſt obſerve, and reckon our anſwer, rather by thoſe heads, then our own occaſional and expatiated requeſtings.
The ſeveral ways whereby God appeareth unto his peoples prayers, have been thus far ſet forth: It now follows on the other hand to ſpeak of his declining or hiding from prayers, and the various ways thereof: Theſe being anſwerable to thoſe of his appearing to prayer, there will be the leſs need of much labor to diſcover or dilate upon them.
1. This hiding may be in reſpect of audience or reception of prayer, when the Lord refuſeth to receive, or rejecteth and repulſeth the prayer; when he gives it no entrance to him, nor countenance: He ſaith to the people of Judah, When ye ſpread forth your hands, Iſai. 1, 15 Jer. 14.12 Lam. 3.56 Pſa. 27.8, 9.66.10.I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear: when they faſt, I will not hear their cry: and when they offer burnt-offerings, and an oblation, I will not accept them. This is that which the Church deprecates, or deſires God, that it may not be to her; Hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. So doth David, Thy face Lord will I ſeek: Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy ſervant away in anger: And elſewhere he giveth God thanks that it was not ſo with him; Bleſſed be God which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
2. There is a hiding from prayer in regard of anſwer or return, when the effect or fruit of prayer is not received from God; when it is, as ſometimes it was with the Prophets of Baal, 1 King. 18 29They cryed aloud, but there was neither voyce, nor any to anſwer, nor any that regarded: So the Lord ſaith, it ſhall be with obſtinate ſinners; Then they ſhall call upon me, Prov. 1.28 Pſa. 18.41but I will not anſwer; they ſhall ſeek me early, but they ſhall not find me: And ſo it was with Davids adverſaries, They cryed, but there was none to ſave them, even unto the Lord, but he anſwered them not. And this obſtruction of prayer, may be,
1. In reſpect of Obſignation, when there is no evidence to the Soul of audience: As, 1. When there is no ſign of favor: Bleſſed be God (ſaith David) that hath not turned away my prayer, Pſa. 66.21nor his mercy from me: It was a token to him that his prayer was not turned away from God, becauſe Gods mercy was not turned away from him. Of the Hypocrite it's ſaid,Job 27.9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? will he delight himſelf in the Almighty? It is an argument God hears not him, becauſe he finds no delight in God. 2. When there is no animating, no drop of comfort to the ſpirit: In the day of my trouble (the Pſalmiſt complains) I ſought the Lord, Pſal. 77.2my Soul refuſed to be comforted: I remembred God, and was troubled; I complained, and my ſpirit was overwhelmed. 3. When there is a declining or drooping in the ſpirit of prayer:Job 27.10 Will the Hypocrite always call upon God, ſaith Job? It was ſo in the Prophets time, even with Gods people:Iſai. 64.7 And there is none that calleth upon thy Name, that ſtirreth up himſelf to take hold of thee; for thou haſt hid thy face from us, and haſt conſumed us becauſe of our iniquities. And it was ſo in part with David ſometimes: I am weary of my crying, my throat is dryed; Pſa. 69.3mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. 4. When there is no diſcovery of Gods intent or reſolution concerning our prayers: This was the Churches caſe, as ſhe expreſſeth it; We ſee not our ſigns, there is no more any Prophet, Pſa. 74.9neither is there any among us that knoweth how long.
2. In reſpect of performance: ſo the people of Judah were fruſtrate; Behold the voyce of the cry of the daughter of my people, becauſe of them that dwell in a far Country: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? The Harveſt is paſt, the Summer is ended, and we are not ſaved: Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no Phyſician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
3. In reſpect of exchange, or any conſideration in lieu of the thing: So they ſay in the Prophet, It is in vain to ſerve God, Mal. 3.14and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hoaſts? No advantage, no return comes by prayer and faſting any way.
God may be ſaid to hide himſelf from prayer all theſe ways. But I muſt further add a diſtinction or two, that I may not leave this matter too indifferent and promiſcuous.
Firſt, We may obſerve that Gods hiding from prayer is, 1. Sometimes real, and ſo in deed. 2. Sometimes only in appearance, or in the apprehenſion of men.
1. It is ſometimes real; as in all thoſe places of Scripture where the Lord threatens or owns it ſo to be, and often gives the reaſon from mens provocation why it is ſo: As for inſtance in that of the Prophet, Behold the Lords hand is not ſhortened that it cannot ſave, Iſa. 59.1, 2neither is his ear heavy that it cannot ſave, but your iniquities have ſeparated between you and your God; and your ſins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Here the hiding and diſtance from prayer is real on Gods part.
2. It is at other times but in appearance only and in humane apprehenſion: God hears ſometimes, yea and anſwers, when he ſeemeth not ſo to do; or when men do think and believe that he doth not: and, in this caſe, the defect is in mans ſenſe and perception. Now God is accounted not to hear his ſervants prayers, when indeed he doth: 1. Either in the judgment of others: Thus David relateth often the concluſion which his Enemies, or the ſpectators of his condition made of him, that he was rejected and diſowned of God; as in the rebellion of Abſalom, whiles David was in his flight and prayer, there were divers that ſtood looking on, and cenſuring him as an abject from God: There be many which ſay of my Soul, there is no help for him in God: Pſal. 3.2 42, 3. &c. 71.11.And in his Exile through Sauls perſecution, when he was panting and craving after Gods preſence in his houſe, his adverſaries upbraided him, ſaying, Where is now thy God? and this filled him with tears continually, and pierced him like a ſword. And in another Pſalm, penned (as is thought) during Abſaloms inſurrection, his Enemies ſpeak again him, and conſult, ſaying, God hath forſaken him, perſecute and take him, for there is none to deliver him: but this is not ſo ſtrange, that others in their malignant judgments ſo apprehend it. 2. Or in the ſenſe or conceit of them that pray: Even the people of God themſelves when they pray, and God hears them, they may deem themſelves unheard, unanſwered; they may take themſelves to be denyed of God, when he graciouſly receives their prayer: Sometimes God harkens to, and anſwereth them, but they hear not him, they are deaf to their anſwer. We are ordinarily better acquainted with our own prayers then with Gods performances, and are more ſenſible in asking, then in receiving or diſcerning our ſucceſs. As ſometimes Gods promiſes or predictions are fulfilled, yea and we are actors in the fulfilling of them, but we ſee it not, (thus was it with the Jews in relation to Chriſts death,Acts 3.17, 18.13.27 Joh. 12.14, yea it was ſo with the Diſciples themſelves in ſome circumſtances concerning Chriſt,) ſo are our prayers grounded on the promiſes. How often do we find David in the ſame Pſalm one while complaining, Lord, how long, Pſa. 6.3 10.1 13.1 22.1 43.2how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long wilt thou hide me for ever? Why ſtandeſt thou afar off? why hideſt thou thy face in times of trouble? why art thou ſo far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day time, and thou heareſt not, &c. Why doſt thou caſt me off? why go I mourning becauſe of the oppreſſion of the Enemy? and uſing the like expoſtulations; and by and by, ere he breaketh off his ſpeech, he correcteth himſelf; he ſeeth, and is ſatisfied that the Lord hath heard him;Pſa. 6.8 10.17 13.6 22.24 43.5 and declareth, The Lord hath heard the voyce of my weeping, the Lord hath heard my ſupplication, the Lord hath delt bountifully with me: Lord, thou haſt heard the deſire of the humble; he hath not despiſed nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cryed unto him, he heard: Why art thou caſt down, O my Soul? &c. I ſhall yet praiſe him who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Here was no want of hearing, but want of perceiving the entertainment and ſucceſs of prayer. We are ſo dull that God muſt not only give us our prayers, but give us eyes to diſcern them; he muſt not only hear our prayers, but give us ears to hear his anſwer to them. We are ſo inſenſible and inconſiderate, as not to own, yea and to charge God with want of advertency, when all is well, and to our deſires, if we had eyes and hearts to ſee and underſtand. David therefore makes this ingenuous recollection and acknowledgment of his imperfection (once for all) as touching this caſe; For I ſaid in my haſte, I am cut off from before thine eyes; nevertheleſs thou heardeſt the voyce of my ſupplications when I cryed unto thee. Pſa. 31.22I ſaid in my haſte; here he clears and wipes off the many dark and erroneous conceits and ſpeeches he had in his troubled moods uſed of God, in relation to his prayer; and ſtates the point aright betwixt God and him, confeſſing Gods audience even at the inſtant when he had cryed and complained for want of audience, and acknowledging his own blind precipitancy in apprehending and uttering the contrary.
There are two occaſions whereupon the people of God are apt thus to miſconceive the iſſue of their prayers; 1. The continuance or increaſe of their afflictions upon them, or the delay of their expectations and deſires: They judg of their audience and acceptance with God by the preſent courſe of their providence; and will needs gather, his ear is not open to them, his face is not towards them, if his hand do not inſtantly help them, if his arm be not made bare for them, and in their ſight, if his candle do not ſhine upon their head: Thus did Job, and his ſpeech of it is notable; If I had called, and he had anſwered me, Job 9.16, 17yet would I not believe that he had harkened to my voyce; and why? For he breaketh me with a tempeſt, and multiplyeth my words without cauſe, (or as Tremel. without remedy: others interpret without rendering a cauſe.) Job could not believe Gods hearing him, becauſe he found it not in his preſent outward eſtate, but felt what he thought ſpoke the contrary, to wit, a ſtorm and tempeſt of adverſities, renewed ſtrokes and inciſions of the lancing knife of Gods ſpiritual Chyrurgery. Mr Caryls Notes upon this place are; God may be doing us good when the ſigns he gives us may ſpeak evil; he hears and anſwers us praying to him, when we think to hear him thundering terribly againſt us. Afflictions continued is no evidence that prayer is not heard, yet uſually it is very inevident to an afflicted perſon that his prayer is heard: prayer may be heard and anſwered when greateſt afflictions are upon us; even while we are praying, the Lord may be thundering, he may be breaking us when we are beſeeching him. So he. The Church in the Lamentations ſaith unto God,Lam. 3.42, 43 Thou haſt covered thy ſelf with a cloud, that our prayers ſhould not paſs through: and ſhe apprehended ſo upon this ground, Thou haſt covered with anger, and perſecuted us; thou haſt ſlain, thou haſt not pityed: Becauſe God hath covered them with anger againſt their ſins, therefore they collected he had covered himſelf with a cloud againſt their prayers: Becauſe he had perſecuted them, therefore their prayers pierced not to him. 2. Again, ſometimes it is becauſe of the amplitude or greatneſs of the ſucceſs of their prayers, and the extraordinarineſs of Gods workings for them: When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream: Pſa. 126.1, 3the Lord hath done great things for us. Their deliverance was ſo great that they were ſurprized and amazed with it, it overcame their conceit and belief. When Peter was ready to be brought out to his death,Acts 12. and the Church had prayed inſtantly and without intermiſſion for him, the Lord by an Angel brought him out of priſon, and he preſently came to the houſe where the Saints were aſſembled together, and praying for him; but when he knocked at the door, and the Damſel knowing his voyce, ran in and told them he was there delivered up to their prayers, it was incredible to them; they ſaid of the maid, Thou art mad; they ſaid of his appearance, It is his Angel: when their eyes ſaw him, They were aſtoniſhed. Great returns cannot eaſily or quickly find entrance and credit in our minds: they are like the great draught of fiſhes which the Diſciples caught upon the command of our Saviour to caſt forth the net; when they had taken it, the net brake, and their ſhip began to ſink with it: ſo are our hearts on ſuch an occaſion; they cannot well at firſt receive, they cannot land with, or hold with the larger incomes of prayer.
This is the firſt diſtinction neceſſary to be obſerved; there is alſo another to be added.
Secondly, We muſt again diſtinguiſh, when the Lord doth indeed and really hide himſelf from prayer; This may be, 1. Either by way of abſolute and flat denyal of the prayer: 2. Or only in way of delay, or deferring for a time. This difference ſhould be well heeded: every real hiding of God from prayer is not negative, is not a rejection and caſting of it back as denyed; and every denyal is not final and reſolute. God doth often defer what he intends to grant, nay what he hath already granted in Heaven; yea, ſometimes he hath in a ſort expreſly denyed the Petition, when it hath indeed been but in effect a delaying, and the repulſe hath been in order to a conceſſion. When the woman of Canaan cryed ſo vehemently upon our Savior in behalf of her daughter vexed with a Devil,Mat. 15:22 and he gave her a treble put off, the end proved it was no peremptory denyal, but only a delay, for the tryal and manifeſtation of her great faith.
When the Iſraelites, under their ſore diſtreſs by the Philistins, and others, cryed unto the Lord with confeſſion of their ſin in forſaking him and ſerving Baalim; and the Lord anſwered them, that for thoſe their ſins relapſed into, after many former deliverances in the like caſe, he would now deliver them no more: Let them go and cry unto the gods whom they had choſen, Judg. 16.10, &c.and let them deliver them in the time of their tribulation: This was not a ſimple abjection, or a concluding denyal, but a ſharp and minatory rebuke to work them to a more ſerious humiliation and reformation, and to make way (ſo) for a better anſwer to their prayer, which afterwards they had. It hath been alway ordinary with God to ſuſpend the anſwer of thoſe prayers which he doth preſently hear and aſſent to, and to put a diſtance of time betwixt the grant and the execution of them, and that for many good reaſons, which may come to be diſcovered in their place. To give ſome inſtances, Daniel faſts and prays for the return of the captivity in the firſt year of Darius, and he prays, That the Lord would ha…ken, and do, and not defer; but God did defer until the firſt year of Cyrus, which was two years current*Dan. 9.1 19. Darius imperium accepit, A. M. 3466. imperavit annis duobus. Cyrus Monarchia potitus eſt. A. M. 3468 Vide Annales Uſſer. pag. 145, 146. Dan. 10.2 12.13 Luk. 18.7. And again, at another time of his faſting and praying he is told in a Viſion; That from the firſt day he ſet his heart to underſtand, and to chaſten himſelf before God, his words were heard: yet he continued mourning three full weeks; and the Angel appearing to him in the end thereof, telleth him, his anſwer was ſtopped in the way, juſt ſo long, to wit, one and twenty days: God doth hear his own Elect, which cry day and night unto him under their preſſures; but there is a long bearing with their adverſaries interpoſed betwixt his hearing and avenging of them.Rev. 6.10, 11 The Souls under the Altar that cry with a loud voyce, How long, O Lord, holy and true, doſt thou not judg and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the Earth! They were heard, but withall they are told, They muſt reſt for a little ſeaſon, until their fellow ſervants alſo, and their Brethren that ſhould be killed as they were, ſhould be fulfilled: This little ſeaſon of ſtay for the iſſue of their prayers is computed by a very judicious Commentator to be above a hundred years.Mr Mede, who begineth the fift Seal an. 268. and the firſt Trumpet (which he makes the beginning of the anſwer of their cry) an. 395. See his Key, Comment. part 1. pag. 52. 81, 85.
In the Song of Solomon the Spouſe twice had loſt her beloved, and miſſing, ſought him, and ſeeking was yet diſappointed for ſome time of meeting with him; yet this miſſing, and not finding,Cant. 3.1.5, 6 was not a dereluction or divorce, but a ſtepping aſide of him only for a time. The prayers of the Saints in the Book of the Revelation are reſembled by the ſmoke of Incenſe; Rev. 8.3.5their anſwer or return, by voyces, thunderings, lightenings and earthquakes: There is in this reſemblance a great congruity to the work of Nature; for ſmoke, or ſuch hot and dry vapors aſcending into the upper region, do produce thunder and lightening (which are the voyce of God,) and incloſed in the Earth, do cauſe Earthquakes: but as there is naturally a good time after the exhaling of theſe vapors, for the altering and forming of them ere they break forth into Thunder, Lightening, or Earthquakes: ſo it is with the Saints prayers; there is often an intervall of time betwixt their aſcent and effect: and as it is the folly of the vulgar, to think, when they ſee ſmoke or vapors gone up out of their ſight, that they are quite vaniſhed or annihilated; ſo is it for us to judg thoſe prayers of none effect, that are a good while a working above, ere they come down in viſible impreſſions here below.
I have thus endevored to ſhew the diverſity of the ways of God towards the prayers of men, both in appearing to, and hiding from them. The ſecond thing propoſed now is to follow, viz. the diverſity of grounds or impulſives whereupon he doth either: This will not hold us long, as being not altogether ſo various and intricate. Firſt, for the Lords appearing unto prayer, the difference of grounds may be thus taken: He doth appear to prayer, 1. In Anger: 2. In Favor.
1. God doth ſometimes hear and grant mens prayers in anger; he gives men their deſires, and it is ſometimes not in mercy, but in diſpleaſure:Numb. 11 20, 33 Pſa. 78.21 26.106.15 1 Sam. 8.21, 22 ſo God gave quails to Iſrael in the wilderneſs; he ſent them out of wrath, and wrath was the ſauce with which they did eat them: Thus alſo God gave a King to Iſrael in the days of Samuel. Queſtionleſs the Quails were in themſelves very good, and wholeſom food, and did not naturally engender the plague; but they asked them luſtfully,Satius erat non audiri a Dominó quam cum carnibus ejus indignationem vocare. Calv. not for need; and diffidently, not in faith; and God gave them accordingly, out of anger, and with the plague: they were the laſt meat that many of them ever ate; they brought them to their graves, the graves of them that luſted. Doubtleſs Monarchy was and is in it ſelf a good Government, and was promiſed long before as a bleſſing to that people, and (as it appeared by the ſequel) was intended them ſhortly as a mercy, and it is as a mercy promiſed to the Church of after times:Gen. 17.6, 16 2 Sam. 7.8 &c. 23.3, &c. 2 Chro. 2 11 Iſai. 49.23 Rev. 17.16 21.24 but they asked a King, not by vertue of, or in the way of promiſe, but rebelliouſly, ambitiouſly, diſtruſtfully; and God gave them a King ſuitably, Saul, an impious, tyrannical, deſpairing King.
And we may note, God gives ſometimes evil and unlawful requeſts in wrath, or for correction to others beſides the askers. The curſes or enchantments of malice, or witchery, God ſometimes brings to paſs, as means of puniſhment or affliction to thoſe againſt whom they are intended by the maleficous:Judg. 9.20 Vide Calv. Inſtit. l. 3. c. 20. S. 15 Thus he gave ſucceſs to Jothams curſe upon the men of Sechem: Thus he yielded to Satans deſire againſt Job in his goods, children, and body; and thus our Saviour granted the Devils requeſt touching entering into the Gadarens herd of ſwine:Mat. 8.32 yea, Satan had his deſire of Peter, ſo far as to have him to ſift him as wheat, Luk. 22.31though not to deſtroy his Faith.
2. God appeareth to prayer in mercy and favor, and this may be more ways then one: It may be, 1. Out of his general goodneſs, and common pity: God hath a propenſion to ſhew mercy, a diſpoſition to extend favor towards all, as they are his creatures, as they are in want and miſery,Vide Aqui. 22. qu. 83 Art. 16 Job 34.28 Exo 22.23 Gen. 21.17 as they may put forth and expreſs their natural deſires before him: He heareth the cry of the afflicted, ſaith Elihu: I will ſurely hear their cry, ſaith he himſelf of the widow and fatherleſs child: God heard the voyce of the lad Iſhmael. Under this notion are thoſe hearings and deliverings taken to be of the ſolitary, hungry, thirſty, and harborleſs; of the impriſoned,Pſalmus docet non carere effectu preces quae tamen fide in coelum non penetrant. Colligit enim quas incredulus non minus quam piis neceſſitas extorquet preces ex naturae ſenſu; quibus tamen Deum propitium eſſe ex eventu demonſtrat. Calv. Inſtit. l. 3. c. 20. ſect. 15. & ſcultet. de prec. c. 15. p. 54. of the ſick, and of the Sea-beſtormed, Pſa. 107. yea, out of this univerſal commiſerativeneſs God is ſaid to hear the cry of brute beaſts, as of the young Lions, of the young Ravens; nay to hear inanimate Creatures, as the Heavens, the Earth, the Corn, Wine, and Oyl. Thus it comes to paſs, that many times very wicked men have their deſires and prayers in temporals granted them. The Lord took notice of Ahabs humbling himſelf upon Elijahs reproof and denunciations; and becauſe of it he ſaid,1 King. 21 29 He would not bring the evil upon his houſe in his days. Wicked Jehoahaz, delivered of God into the hands of the Syrian Kings,2 King. 13 4, 5 He beſought the Lord, and the Lord harkened unto him, and the Lord gave Iſrael a Saviour; ſo that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians. Iſrael (in the Pſalmiſt) when they under his Judgments ſought God, and returned, and enquired early after God, though it was but in flattery and hypocriſie;Pſa. 78.34 Yet he being full of compaſſion, forgave their iniquity, and deſtroyed them not.
2. God appeareth to prayer out of that favor which is ſpecial and more peculiar; he heareth the faithful ſeekers of him, his own children, from a neerer impulſive, out of a dearer reſpect and conſideration which he beareth towards their perſons, out of a federal and fatherly love; and he embraceth their prayers not only out of a general, but out of a ſpecial benevolence; nor meerly with benevolence, but with complacency and acceptation; their prayers are as ſweet as incenſe to him. To the dwellers in Zion the Prophet ſaith,Iſai. 30.19 He will be very gracious unto thee at the voyce of thy cry: Theſe are the different grounds of Gods hearing prayer.
Secondly, For Gods hiding from prayer, he doth it alſo upon the like different grounds: 1. It is ſome, yea moſt times out of wrath; and that is either, 1. Judicial, or a wrath of loathing and hatred; a full, pure, unallayed anger; ſuch he bears to carnal wicked men, and to their prayers,Zech. 7.12 13 as it is in the Prophet, 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. 2. Or Paternal, and Conjugal; the wrath of a Father or Husband, a wrath tempered with, and in time overcome, and ſwallowed up of love, intimate and peculiar love; a wrath joyned to bowels of mercy; ſuch is that in the Prophet,Iſai. 57.17 18 For the iniquity of his covetouſneſs was I wroth, and ſmote him; I hid me, and was wroth, &c. I have ſeen his ways, and will heal him; I will lead him alſo, and reſtore comforts to him, and to his mourners. Such a wrath as is again expreſt by the Lord in the ſame Prophet, In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, Iſai. 59.8but with everlaſting kindneſs will I have mercy on thee, ſaith the Lord thy Redeemer. Mark well the great difference of this wrath from that which is againſt others: it is the preſent wrath of a provoked Husband againſt an offending Wife, by which ſhe is widowed, caſt off, and ſo barren and deſolate (in her prayers) for a time, (for ſo are the words before,) The Lord hath called thee as a woman forſaken, and grieved in ſpirit, and a wife of youth, when thou waſt refuſed, ſaith thy God. Again, it is a little wrath, and but for a moment, and a ſmall moment: The ſum is, it is a moderated anger, mixed with a dear relation and band of affection to them; and it is a ſhort, and quickly cooled, and forgotten wrath.
2. This hiding from prayer is ſometimes out of mercy; yea, it may be in ſpecial favor, and the favor in withholding may be greater then it would have been to have granted the thing prayed for. It may ſeem otherwiſe, but the very truth is, God doth ſometimes deny his peoples prayers in indulgence and mercy to them: they not ſeldom are ſet upon that which would be hurtful for them, and ask the things which would be very bad for them to have: in this caſe the want of their deſires is better then the grant; and God conſulteth their good, ſheweth them favor in withholding their wiſhes from them. Rachel was exceſſively bent to have children, Give me children (ſaith ſhe) or elſe I dye: Well, at length ſhe had her longing, but what came of it? ſhe dyed of child-bearing; her ſecond child was her Benoni, the ſon of her ſorrow; ſo named by her ſelf: he was her bane and death. As God giveth ſometimes in anger, ſo he withdraweth and denyeth ſometimes in good-will and love. As the natural father will give none but good gifts to his children; he will not give his ſon a ſtone, a Serpent, a Scorpion, for Bread, for a Fiſh, for an Egg: So neither will our heavenly Father. If the natural father will not exchange good petitions into bad gifts, much more will our heavenly Father ſuſpend bad Petitions, or exchange them into good gifts*Deus quaedam negat propitius quae concedit iratus. Auguſt. Fideliter ſupplicans Deo pro neceſſitatibus hujus vitae & miſericorditer auditur, & miſericorditer non auditur. Quid enim infirmo ſit utile magis novit medicus quam aegrotus. Auguſt. apud Aquin. 22. qu. 83. art. 15. Quid enim ratione timemus, aut cupimus? Quid tam dextro pede concipis ut te conatus non paeniteat, vo…que peracti? evertere domos totas optantibus ipſis dii faciles; nocitura toga, nocitura petuntur militia. Juvenal. Saty. 10. Mr Goodwin, Return of Prayer, Chap. 9. Sect. 3.. A worthy Author ſaith, Oftentimes ſome great croſs is prevented by the denyal of a thing which we were urgent for; if we had had many of our deſires, we had been undone: So it was a mercy to David that his child was taken away, for whoſe life he was yet ſo earneſt, who would have been but a living monument of his ſhame.