At one time God comes in at the first at another time not till seven times it is Gods prerogative And take this note it is a true sign of a gratious spirit though God defer yet still for the soul to cling to God to think well of God and of the wayes of God of the duty of prayer it is an excellent sign the ready way to find favour with God You have sometimes two beggers follow you for alms one perhaps hath true need pure need and is of a soft tender spirit the other is a sturdy rugged beggar you deny them both he that hath pure need hath a soft tender spirit he thinks he is unworthy that the other man should be bountifull to him and he fals a weeping yet he thinks well of the man will be ready to beg of him upon another occasion he hath good thoughts of him But the sturdy begger rails breaks into an angry passionate mood he will ask no more who of them is like to prevail the soft spirit that hath an ingenious disposition or the sturdy spirit that soon breaks off Thus there are many passionate hearts that are not froward with men but with God they come ask mercy of God but their hearts are stiff and froward sturdy if they have not that they would they presently break off say why should we wait on God and cry it is in vain to seek the Lord. But now a gracious tender ingenious disposition though the thing come not that he prayes for he justifies God in all and speaks well of God and well of prayer and loves that still and waits on God in that way this is the soul that is likely to prevail But further to answer from the text it may be thou hast not sought God Seek ye me saith God It may be it is somewhat else that thou hast sought in prayer then God though thou name God in thy prayer it may be thy heart hath been after creature-helps and thou hast made more account of the help of the creature of Armies and strength thou hast made account that they would do it rather then prayer and if there be no help but prayer thou thinkest it but a dry businesse A carnall hearted man when he hears of an army of twenty thousand men well clothed and the like he thinks much may be done but for the prayers of Gods people they think they be nothing Now if thou have sought help by creatures rather then by God thou hast not sought God all the while Or if it have been but outward safety that thou hast sought and not the face of God thou hast not sought God Seek my face saith God Psalm 27. This is the generation of them that seek thy face O Jacob. Psalm 24. Thou seekest not God without thou seek Gods face without thou seek God for himself And ordinarily God is not sought but thy estate is sought and thou cryest out for the danger thou art in Therefore thou hast no cause to say it is in vain look to thy prayers take up thy prayers again Do as the fishermen do if they find that there comes nothing up that they do not catch they take up their net it may be there is a hole a rent in the net And so the Angler if the fish do not bite he takes up the bait it may be there is somewhat wanting on the hook So look to thy prayers it may be it is not God that thou hast sought take them up and see what is amisse in them Another answer is this it may be thy prayers 〈…〉 fore no marvell if nothing but vain come of them Surely God will not hear vanity Job 35.13 If there be nothing but vanity how canst thou expect that God should hear them The word here in vain it is the same word in Genesis 1. At the first all was without form and void a confused chaos So ordinarily our prayers are without form and void that is there is nothing but vanity a confused lump a chaos Not that God regards so much the setting of a mans words in form handsomely for the grones and sighs of the spirit of God are accepted though they be not methodicall as the making of a speech to men God looks not to that But they are without form and void that is that is a vain thing that hath no end or not a good end Many pray and they know not why but because others do but they propound not the true end of prayer I appeal to thy conscience when thou hast gone to pray to God hast thou propounded this end I am going to tender up that worship and homage that I a poor creature ow to the infinite glorious first being of all things you call your families sometimes to come to prayer never think what you do what you aim at I and my family are now going to seek the great God in prayer I am now going to joyn with my father or my master now that we are altogether in this family to tender up that worship and homage that we poor creatures ow to that infinite glorious first being of all things whereby to testifie our high respect and esteem of him Now if thy prayer be a customary way of prayer it is vanity it hath not a right end It may be thou goest to prayer meerly to satisfie conscience Or some have this by end in prayer a wicked end that is they think to satisfie God for their former sinfull wicked wayes They take libertie in company to drink and please the flesh and as they served themselves then so now they will serve God and set one against another Sometimes they will give liberty to the flesh to take contentment that way but they will not alway do so sometime they will be devout and serve God There is no man so wicked as to be alwayes in the acts of wickednesse but they think God must have his turn and they must have their turn sometimes And this is the prayer of many people to put their sinnes in one scale and so many devout prayers in the other scale and the one shall poize the other This is vanity this is not the end of prayer Then a thing is vain when it is empty when there is not substance in it Now when the heart is empty in prayer there are words and they are wind the Lord sees not the strength of thy spirit thou dost not set thy self before the Lord in prayer thy expressions are meerly empty God doth not see thy expressions filled with the graces of the Spirit this is vanity Take heed of vain expressions when there is nothing but nature in prayer though there be never so much earnestnesse in prayer if there be but a naturall spirit it is vanity we must pray in the spirit as the Scripture speaks And take heed of sluggishnesse in prayer that makes it vanity The breath that comes from life
onely tell them that they should seek me but I shewed by what way and means they ought to seek me in a right manner that my speaking to them might not be in vain For if a Minister come in Gods name to put you upon any duty and exhort you to do such and such a thing and barely tell you what you should do without showing how you should do it where you shall have strength and in what manner you should do it he shall speak in vain There are abundance of Sermons in vain when onely good things are commended to people and they are taught what they should do but not the way how and the manner and where they should have strength to do it then the word is in vain But saith God I said not unto you in vain that is I did not onely bid you seek me but I taught you the way how and in what manner you should seek me Thirdly and lastly I suppose that the principall scope of the holy Ghost is that which the words plainly present to our view I required not the seed of Jacob to seek me to no purpose that nothing should come of it but I required that they should seek me and they have found abundance of good by seeking of me So then this point ariseth plainly out of the words When God requires a people to seek him he will make it good to them that it shall not be in vain Before I open this point I will give you a Scripture or two one in the old Testament and another in the new Deut. 4.7 For what Nation is there so great who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for Here is an experiment of the fruit of seeking God and it is spoken to shew the honour of Gods people the priviledge of the seed of Jacob and the eminent condition they were in God is nigh to them in all things they call upon him for therefore they are not required to seek God in vain So Matth. 21.22 And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive A very strange expression Here might seem to be a tautologie One would think that it had been large enough to have said Whatsoever ye shall ask ye shall receive but here is all things whatsoever We would not speak so in ordinary language I will give you all things whatsoever Yet it may be this may be intended and I believe it is And all things here is the generall promise that all things that ye ask ye shall receive and whatsoever may referre to particulars every particular thing that ye ask ye shall receive You will say Any one that understands reason or Logick knoweth that particulars are included in the generall But there is this illogicall reasoning of unbelief that though we agree to the premises in generall yet when we come to particulars we think they will not be made good to us I suppose you find your unbelieving hearts so irrationall that though they believe the generall promise yet when it comes to particulars and you cannot but say that such a particular is in the generall yet your hearts will not come up to it Therefore our Saviour saith not onely all things in generall but also whatsoever in particular So Jam. 5.16 The effectuall fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much There is but one word in the originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the working prayer but it is translated by two effectuall fervent Surely then prayer and seeking of God is the ordinance which he hath appointed for the turning about of the great affairs of the world This is the engine that doth it inwardly There are indeed a great many outward wheeles used but the spring of all is within prayer turns all about God never made use of any created power so much as of this He never did such great things by any created power as by the ordinance of prayer The Word is appointed for the converting of souls but a great part of the blessing of the Word dependeth on prayer In the opening of this point I will First give you some evidences of it Secondly shew you what great things prayer will do Thirdly wherein the efficacy and power of it lyeth Fourthly the objections of troubled unbelieving spirits against it And then come to apply all The evidences hereof are first the many famous records in Scripture of the noble and glorious exploits of prayer If any of you should come to me to ask as that King did of the prophets servant 2. Kings 8.4 What great things hath thy master done so what great things hath prayer done in the world truly we might spend houres and dayes in returning you an answer a great part of holy Scripture being spent in this very argument And it is a very good exercise for you in the night when you cannot sleep or at other times when you are troubled to do as that King did Esther 6.1 call for the book of the Records of prayer You that reade the Scriptures mark what you reade The word of God will tell you how prayer hath stopped the Sunne in the firmament opened heaven and shut it again raised from death to life opened the prison doores and what not Secondly all Gods people are able to tell you great stories of what they have gotten by prayer This poor man cryed saith David of himself Psalm 34.6 and the Lord heard him Who is it that cannot tell histories of Gods gracious dealing with him upon his seeking of him To be sure our Nation hath many things to say this way and every particular godly soul hath many things to say they would not lose their income of prayer for all the world Thirdly surely it is not in vain to seek God for there was never any faithfull seeker of him that ever would leave off but would continue as long as he lived seeking him he would seek his face evermore if it had been in vain he would have left off When we see a Bee stick on a Flower and will not be driven off or if she be driven off she will come again we conclude certainly it finds honey there So all the Saints of God that have ever sought God truly they would never be beaten off this way Let the world do what it will persecute them set spies to watch them in their meetings of prayer let it punish and imprison them let all the malice and rage of men be against them yet they cannot hinder them either from praying in their closets or from injoying the benefit of the communion of Saints in prayer Daniel had rather lose his life then be kept from his prayers though but for a day but pray he would and that openly yea three times a day as he was wont he would not forbear one time He did stick to prayer finding honey and sweetnesse in it Oh how unlike are we to Daniel
heirs to all that Abraham had that is as far as concerns them therefore they that are his heirs are heirs likewise of the world So the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 3.18 All are yours and you are Christs and Christ is Gods So that God and the creatures are theirs here is a mighty priviledge Again the priviledges that they have in all the good of the Covenant of grace Whatsoever good there is in the Covenant of grace all the rich promises in the Covenant of grace are the priviledges of the godly It is admirable priviledges that the precious promises in Scripture speak of to have interest in them all Besides not onely the promises btu the immunities that come from the Covenant of grace as this that they are not to stand or fall for their eternall estate by any thing that they are able to do themselves they are freed from this their eternall estate hangs not on that which they can do Whereas others that are not saints that are not in the Covenant of grace their eternall estate hangs on their endeavours and actions God dealing with them according to the Covenant of works being in that condition though they may be such as may after come to be saints and as God hath elected and in love may look on them as he intends towards them but for the present they are in such a condition as that they know not but that their eternall estate depends on that which they do themselves Now to be delivered from this to have this immunity that such a thing of such a consequence as our eternall estate should depend upon a sure foundation upon that which is done by Christ and done already it is an infinite priviledge Others cannot challenge to themselves this priviledge that God will accept of their endeavours do what they can yet not being in the Covenant of grace those indeavours are not accepted That it pleaseth God to accept the will for the deed it is one of the priviledges of the saints that comes by the Covenant of grace but it belongs not to others they have not to do with this immunity and priviledge So I might name divers others but then I should go out too far Again this is a glorious priviledge of accesse to the throne of grace to come to God in prayer God gives them the key of all his treasures to come and open them and take what they will it is a glorious privilege that belongs to the saints in any condition God gives them a gracious praying heart and that is the key of all the treasures of God of all the excellencies of God that they have liberty to come and take out what they will be it unto thee as thou wilt These are the excellent of the earth that have these priviledges Again they are the excellent in earth in regard of that which comes from them As the work of grace is so excellent as hath been spoken of so every gracious action that comes from a gracious heart there is a wondrous excellency in it There is not any one gracious action but it hath more excellency then heaven and earth Not onely grace it self but any action that comes from grace hath more of God in it and God more delights in it then in all other things in heaven or earth It is an expression of Luther though he were a great advancer of faith yet he was also of holinesse as well as of faith therefore speaking of any gracious work of a godly man or woman saith he preciosa c. it is more precious then heaven and earth And then he goes on with another expression I had rather be able to perform any one gracious act of the poorest woman or maid of the poorest Christian that is then to be able to do all that ever Alexander or Julius Caesar had done The least act that comes from faith from a sanctified heart he had rather be able to do it then to get all the victories of Julius Caesar and Alexander all their triumphs and trophies were nothing to the least breathing of the work of grace in those that are godly that which comes from them are exceeding excellent Now I reason they must needs be excellent that have such excellent things come from them As when there were such excellent things came from the body of Paul that had such virtue in them that noted that there was a great deal of excellency that God conferred upon that Apostle and a gread deal of honour that was put upon him So when there comes flowing such precious liquor such precious things from the saints as any holy action is it shews that there is a great deal of excellency in them Which by the way should teach us to abound in holy duties though our actions as they are from us corrupted we look on them as despicable yet know that God looks on them as the most glorious things in the world any breathing of a gracious heart therefore he despiseth not the broken heart nor the sighing of a contrite spirit Psalm 51. God can despise Monarchs and Princes of the world but God cannot despise a broken heart nor any breathings from ti Though thou mayest despise it thy self and look on it as despicable the Lord cannot despise it he sees so much excellency in it though it be mixed with thy corruptions yet there is that remainder of excellency in it if there be but so much as may denominate it a gracious act it is a glorious thing in the eye of God Lastly to name no more the excellency of the saints appears in this the great use that they are of in the world As especially this is one thing that God attains in them his great aim and end in creating the whole world Were it not for a few gracious men and women what glory should God have in all the world They are those that hold up the glory of God in the world by which God hath his glory actively for that is it that God aims at It is true God can force glory in spight of mens hearts he will be glorified in spight of Devils but God hath no active glory but from gracious godly people I speak of the inferiour world it is onely the godly that God hath glory from Therefore were it not for them God in some kind had made all the world for nothing Now those that are imployed in such a great work and are of this great use in the world as to bring to God that which he made the world for the main and great end that he made heaven and earth for certainly these are principall in Gods esteem and excellent God can say I have my end in these Take any town where there are but two or three that are godly what glory hath God but of these So for other places where hath God glory but for a few contemptible ones They are these that God glorifies in high and great services these are