there is a faith required in the promises of God there is a faith required in the providence of God to thinke that every particular thing is ordered by it There is also a faith in all the threatnings of God Now for the manner of propounding when the Scripture comes to propound any thing it propounds it thus and no more as you see in Moses he writes nothing but In the beginning God made heaven and earth c. And so the Apostles write Such a thing was done Iesus Christ was borne of the Virgin Mary Thus and thus he did Now when the naked object is propounded other writers what they deliver or write is rationall They use Reasons and arguments to convince men of those things which they deliver But when the Scripture sets downe any propositions of faith it doth but barely propound them for there is the Majesty of God and authority of God in them to confirme them But now here you will demand the proposition being but nakedly laid downe in the Scriptures what will enable a man to beleeve it I answer that certainly there is a mighty power that goes out from God from Christ that enables thee to beleeve with this efficacy that where the obiect is set before thee there goes out a power from him to worke faith in thy heart whereby thou truly beleevest it and so it appeares in thy life we thinke we beleeve those things but our lives doe manifest the contrary namely That there is not a powerfull faith wrought in us for all the errours of our lives though we observe them not arise from hence that these Principles are not throughly beleeved if they were it could not bee that there should bee such inconveniences in the lives of men Therefore consider if this faith be wrought in thee whether such a power hath gone out to worke such a faith that hath changed thy whole course as it will doe if it bee once wrought in thee by the power of Christ So also consider whether there hath a vertue gone out from him to worke love in thy heart to the Lord for otherwise it is certaine that there is no man in the world that is able to love God or to come neere him for all love riseth from Similitude there must bee an agreement and similitude betweene those two that love Now every man by nature is as contrary to Gods pure nature as fire is to water and without an almighty power to change his nature and to worke a particular affection of love in him he can never be able to love God therefore it s the baptisme of the holy Ghost I will baptize you with the holy Ghost and with fire that is with the holy Ghost which is fire I will multiply thy sorrowes and thy conceptions That is the sorrowes of thy conceptions Now love is as fire in the heart and one fire must beget another And therefore you have it in the common proverbe Love is a thing that cannot be bought with mountaines of gold and silver yet if thou bee in Christ there goes out a vertue from him that stampes upon thy heart this holy affection that breedes in thee this holy fire of love so that thy heart cleaves to him thou lovest him with as true with as genuine as naturall and as sensible love as thou lovest any friend as thou lovest any creature in the world Consider if this bee wrought in thee or no. And so for thy knowledge there is also a power in it consider whether any such vertue hath gone out from Christ to make the knowledge which thou hast powerfull You will say what is that That is to bring on these truths which thy heart assents unto to bring them with that evidence and fulnesse of demonstration that thou shalt yeeld unto them and practise them according to thy knowledge Beloved there is much knowledge among us but who practiseth according to his knowledge We know God but wee glorifie him not as God and the reason is because there hath not gone a power with that knowledge to make it lively and effectuall to passe through all the faculties of the soule and to overrule them for if there were such knowledge it would alwayes draw affection and practise with it So likewise consider whether there hath gone a power from him to mortifie thy lusts Whosoever is in Christ hath crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts not to lay them asleepe onely but to mortifie and subdue them See likewise whether there hath a power gone out from Christ to helpe thee to overcome the world The lusts of thine eyes the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life for whosoever is in Christ overcomes the world and all that is in the world The world hath many things to worke upon us and to resist and oppose us It hath persecutions it hath disgraces it hath slanders and reproches which it casts upon holy men and upon the holy wayes of God And the men that are actours in this are the divels factours though they thinke not so as the Apostle Iames expresseth it Their tongues are set on fire of hell to devise slanders and false reports and to fasten them upon holy men especially upon the Ministers of the Gospell and so upon all the wayes of God I say they are the divels factours though they thinke not so and those that beleeve them are the devils receivers the one hath the devill in his tongue the other in his eare But the Lord hath appointed this This is one thing whereby the world fights against the wayes of God to discourage men and to hinder them that they might be stumbling blockes to them So it was with Christ he was the falling of many in Israel by reason of this so was Paul as a deceiver and yet true c. Consider if thou hast this efficacy put into thy heart that thou art able to overcome this that thou art able to overcome all the offences and persecutions all the slaunders and reproaches that are cast upon the wayes of God and notwithstanding that to think well of them and to walke in them and practise them Likewise as it hath these things on the one hand so it hath pleasures preferments glory riches credit and all things of that nature on the other art thou able to overcome all these So to shut up this point prosecute it no further thus you shall know whether you be in Christ for that is the point We have assurance in him that if wee aske any thing wee shall be heard but first we must be in him now to know whether we be in him as you haue heard there must be an act of ours and secondly an act of his which is this power that goes out from him to change to take and comprehend us So much for the first thing Now for the second if a man will apply or
will give thee all the riches and all the glory in the world if you will part with Christ consider whether thy heart be ready to deny whatsoever hee offers to thee as he will bee sure to offer that which will be most sutable to thy disposition whether thy heart hath taken this resolution to it selfe Christ is my chiefest treasure I will part with all therefore I will part with liberty with life with goods with credit with pleasures with profits with whatsoever is neere and deare unto me rather than I will part with the Lord Iesus If this be thy hearts resolution and minde then Christ is thy chiefe treasure that 's the second thing 3 Thirdly consider what is thy cheife joy and delight what is thy life I put them together for that which is a mans chiefe joy indeed is his life For wee know life is nothing else but that joy that the heart hath whereby it is nourished and fed as it were for life is not to have body and soule joyned together to bee a living man in that sence we usually take life for if that were life then those in hell should not bee said to dye the death for you know in hell there is a conjunction of soule and body and yet men are not said to live there for it is death which is the punishment of sinne and indeed you shall finde that there is something a mans heart cleaves unto wherein hee rejoyceth which is the same with his life Therefore looke as the Soule enlivens the body so the conjunction of the present things which he reckons his joy that is his life enliven his soule he cannot live without them Now if Christ bee thy chiefe joy thou wilt finde this that thou canst not live without him as men are wont to say of their delights Such a man cannot live without such a thing so it is true of every man that hath taken Christ he is not able to live without him This life is no life and therefore if there be but a separation betweene thee and Christ if a mans conscience bee as it were clouded for a time hee findes no rest hee doth as the Spouse in the Canticles She seekes from one place to another and gives her selfe no rest till she finde him and why because it was he whom her soule loved So you shall finde Beloved whatsoever it is that your soules love whatsoever you make your chiefe joy you will take no rest but as farre as you love and enjoy it Therefore for the finding of this whether Christ be thy life and thy chiefe joy consider what it is that thy thoughts feed upon every wicked man every man that is out of Christ there is something that his thoughts feed upon some things there are in contemplation of which the soule so laceth it selfe some pleasures that are past present or to come the very thinking of these are the greatest ioy of his heart he roules them under his tongue even as a Servant that hath got some dainty bit out of his Masters presence and eates it in a corner so the soule of a man hath out of Christ some secret some stolen some unlawfull delights that it feeds upon and delights in Consider therefore well with thy selfe what breakfast thy morning thoughs have that I may so say what breakefast they have every morning what is that Pabulum that food of thy soule wherewith thy thoughts and affections are nourished and refreshed from day to day whether it be some carnall pleasure some reflecting on thy state upon thy wealth upon thy friends or whether it be on Christ. See as David exercised it whether be they thy songs in the night time All carnall men have something past whereby they comfort themselves something present whereby they cheare up their hearts something to come something in hope So every man that is in Christ hee hath the comforts of the spirit the meditation of the priviledges that he hath in Christ the hope of Gods favour These are his appointed food these are the things that his soule feedes on in secret yea the very workes that he doth that seemes to be the hardest part of a Christians life the very workes that hee doth in serving the Lord from day to day even that is his meate and his drinke that is it is as sweet and acceptable to his soule as meate and drinke is to the hunger and thirst of his body Now consider with thy selfe whether it be so with thee whether that which is thy continuall feast without which thou canst not live bee Christ or the assurance thou hast that he is thine and thou art his whether it bee the priviledges thou hast in him and the things that belong to the kingdome of God See whether these be thy life the things without which thou couldst not live or whether it bee some thing else some stollen delights some unlawfull pleasures some thing else that thy soule and affections are set upon This is the next thing by which thou maiest try thy selfe whether thou belong to Christ or no to consider whether he bee thy chiefe joy whether thy soule bee most filled and satisfyed with him And this is the third thing 4 The fourth is to know whether he be thy chiefe Refuge If thou bee one that hath tooke him and received him I say he is thy chiefe refuge For every man hath some refuge some castle or other to which his soule retires in all difficult and doubtfull cases by reason of that indigency that insufficiency to which the nature of man is subject There is something that hee must have to leane vnto marke it for mankinde is like that generation which the Wiseman speakes of You know it is sayd of the Connyes they are a generation not strong and what then and therefore they have their burrowes to hide themselves in I say such is the generation of mankinde he is a weake creature a generation not strong therefore there is something that he must leane to something out of himselfe some sufficiencie besides himselfe some strong hold some refuge every man hath I say every man hath some refuge or other whither he thinkes his soule may goe and there hee may have succour in cases daungerous and in troubles Now consider what is thy refuge whither thy heart runnes in all such cases to what wing to what strong hold In dangerous cases you see every creature hath some refuge or other The Child runnes to his Mother The Chickens runne to the henne The Fox to his earth the Connyes to their burrowes so every creature to their severall corners and receptacles proper to them I say so it is with every man so hath every one of you to whom I speake there is somewhat that is a secret refuge to which your hearts fly Now consider whether that be Christ or somewhat else A covetous man or rather a man of this word he hath wealth for his
the prayer of a Saint and the prayer of a wicked man it may be if you looke upon the petitions or whatsoever is in the prayer it selfe you shall finde some times the prayer of a godly man more cold and lesse fervent the petitions are not so well framed as the wicked mans yet because this comes from such a person the Lord regards it not you know the condition is mentioned Iames fift The prayer of the righteous man availeth much if it be fervent Now as this is required in the person so there is somewhat required in the prayer also that is that it be fervent and faithfull that it be fervent you have it in the same place The prayer of a righteous man availeth much if it be fervent that is it must be a prayer made from the sence of the misery that is in us and from the mercie of God when a man takes a thing to heart that he prayes for and comes with confidence to be heard for that makes him fervent This the Lord will have and also he will have it faithfull Iames the first when the Apostle exhorts them to prayer if any man want wisdome saith he let him aske it of God but then marke he carefully puts in this condition see that He pray in faith that is beleeue that it shall be done unto him now this faith includes repentance for no man can beleeve that he shall be heard except hee make his heart perfect with God If he allow any sinne in himselfe he cannot beleeve vpon any good ground therefore when I say it must be faithfull that also is included we must regard no wickednes in our hearts for in such a case the Lord heares not hee heares not sinners So that this you must remember First the person must be righteous and the prayer must be fervent and faithfull Secondly the other Condition you shall heare in the Text it must be according to his will you must not thinke whatsoever you aske if you aske it loosely at Gods hands that it shall presently be graunted you No saith hee it must be according to his will if you aske fire from heaven that is not according to his will and therefore you see they that aske it were denyed it with this reason you know not what you aske Likewise to sit at his right hand and at his left in heaven which was another request of the Disciples he puts them by with this You understand not what you aske of the Father and therefore it must be according to his will And that is the second Thirdly we must aske it in time in due season so the promise is true Knock and it shall be opened to you but you know the foolish Virgins knockt it was not opened to them what was the reason of it because they askt when the time was past for there is a certaine acceptable time when the Lord will be found and when that oportunitie is past he is found no more It is true that this life is the time of grace but God in his secret counsell hath appointed a certaine time to every man which is the acceptable time the day of grace therefore he saith unto them This day if you will heare this day if you will come and seeke unto mee if you will pray unto mee I will heare you when it 's past the Lord suffers not the doores to stand open alwayes his eares are not alwayes open therefore that condition must be carefully remembered you must aske in time It is a condition that should be carefully thought on by us For for the most part we fly to prayer as Ioab did to the Altar hee went not to it for devotion for then hee would have done it before but when hee was in distresse when hee was in extremity then he fled to it and therefore you know what successe hee had by it it saved not his life So we goe not to prayer for devotion that is out of love to God to do him that service but for the most part wee doe it out of selfe love when wee are in extremitie or distresse we passe the acceptable times he requires and we goe to him in a time of our owne For there is Gods time and there is our owne time Gods time is to come to him when we may doe him service in our youth in our strength in the flower of our graces Our time is to goe to him when we need him Will not a friend say when we never come to him but when wee have extreame need of him why doe you come now you were not wont to visit me before this is not out of love to mee Even the very same answer the Lord giveth Goe to your Idolls saith hee those that you served in the time of peace and see if they can helpe you The fourth and last condition is That wee referre the time the manner the measure of granting our petitions to the Lord. That is wee must not thinke to be our owne carvers to thinke if it be not granted in such a manner such a measure or such a time presently the Lord hath rejected our petitions No he that beleeves makes no hast That is he waites upon God he stayes himselfe upon God he is content to have it in that time in that manner and measure as best pleaseth the Lord For the truth is we know not our selves what is meete for us we are unto the Lord just as the Patient is to the physitian The patient is importunate with him for such things to refresh and ease him But the physitian knowes what best belongs to him and when to give him such things in what manner and in what measure So the Lord knowes best what to doe Many times he doth the same things that we desire though he doe it not in the same manner Even as the physitian he quencheth often the thirst with Barberries or with such kind of conserves what though it be not with drinke is it not all one so the thirst bee quenched Is it not all one whether a man be hindred from striking me or if I have a helmet to defend the blow Somtimes the Lord keepes not off the enemy but then hee gives us a helmet to keepe off those blowes to beare those injuries and evills that are done to us hee is a wise physitian hee knowes what manner what measure and what time is best therefore that must be referred to him Now these conditions being observed you must know that this great priviledge belongs to every Christian That whatsoever prayers hee makes on earth he is sure to be heard in heaven It is a wondrous priviledge that which wee have all cause to stand amazed at that the Lord should so farre regard the sonnes of men to grant them such a Charter as this no more but aske and have and whatsoever you pray for it shall be done to you But
be graunted and that they are not only graunted for my sake for saith he the Father himselfe loveth you and hath a great affection to you that is in naturall parents there is a naturall affection to their Children So if I were not immediatly to present your petitions though that bee not excluded yet saith he the father hath such an affection to you that he cannot choose but heare you I say not saith he that I will aske the father for the father himselfe loves you So that this is the second reason which this promise is there backed with the love of the father That hee cannot find in his heart to deny us even for that affection that he beareth to us We will adde a third Reason that wee meet here in the same Chap. 16. Iohn 23. In that day you shall aske in my name verily verily I say unto you yee shall aske the father in my name and he will give it you It is brought in upon this occasion when our Saviour Christ was to goe from his Disciples they were ready to complaine as we see in the verses before they were ready to say with themselves alas what shall we doe when our Maister shall be tooke from our head Our Saviour answers them you shall do well enough doubt you not for though I be not with you yet saith he goe to the father in my name and whatsoever you aske of him you shall have it So that hee answers that objection when a man is ready to say It s true I know that a father is exceeding loving to his Children But it may be my carriage hath not beene such I am full of infirmities I haue much in me that may turne the love and affection of my Father from me Put the case you have yet Christ adds this for your comfort If saith he the Father will not doe it for your sake yet doubt you not if you aske in my name he will doe it doe we not see it usuall among men That one that is a meere stranger to another if hee get a letter from a friend he thinkes to prevaile and hee doth so because though it be not done for his sake it may be he is a stranger one that deserved nothing at his hands yet such a friend may deserve much And when we goe to God in the name of Christ this answers all the objections whatsoever you can say against your selves it is all satisfied in this I goe in his name I am sure he hath supply I am sure he is no stranger I knowe he hath deserved it c. Last of all as he loves us and because we aske in the name of Christ is ready to heare us we will adde this that he is ready to heare us for his owne sake he is a God hearing prayer saith the Psalmist that all flesh might come to him even for this cause he heares that men might be encoraged to come and seeke to him for if the Lord should not heare then no flesh would come unto him that is men would have no encouragement no helpe therefore he saith he is a God hearing prayer doubt ye not he will doe it for this purpose that hee might have men to worship him that men might come and seeke unto him Besides that he shall be glorified Thou shalt call upon mee in the day of trouble I will heare the and thou shalt glorifie mee now the Lord is desirous of glory it was the end for which he made the world But in not heareing our prayer hee loseth this glory by heareing our requests the more we are heard the more glory and praise we render unto him Likewise he doth it for the Spectators sake Moses often presenteth that Reason Lord doe it What will the Heathen say and left thy name be polluted among them they will say thou hast brought out a people and wast not able to deliver them So David often there are many instances in that I say for the lookers on sake he is ready to doe it All this is enough to perswaide our hearts that hee is ready to heare us that when prayers are made to him on earth So the conditions be observed they are surely heard in heaven Now to apply this First if the Lord be so ready to heare then this should teach us to be more servent in this duty of prayer than commonly we are for to what end are such promises as this but to encourage us to do our duties when wee heare that prayer is of so much efficacie that it prevailes with the Lord for any thing shall we suffer it to lay by as it were and not make use of it If a drug or a pretious balme were commended to us and it were told us that if we made use of it it would heale any wound it will heale any sickenes and this and this vertue it hath Will a wise man suffer it to lay by him will he not use it and see what vertue it hath And when it is said unto us that prayer is thus prevalent with the Lord that it is thus potent that it is thus able to prevaile with him for any thing shall we not make use of it when we are in any distresse when wee need any thing when we have any disease either of souleor body to heale Let us flye to this refuge that himselfe hath appointed If a King of the earth should say to a man I will be ready to doe thee a good turne make use of me when thou hast occasion he would be ready enough to do it Now when the Lord of heaven saith aske what you will at my hands and I will doe it shall wee not seeke to him and make use of such a promise as this Beloved we are too backward in this we should be more aboundant in this duty than we are we should make more account of it For whatsoever the case be if you doe but seeke to the Lord if thou doest but set downe thy resolution with thy selfe Well I see it is a thing if I looke upon the creature and the meanes I have little hope of but the Lord is able to doe it and therefore I will goe to him I will weary him and I will not give him over I will not give him nor my selfe any rest till I have obtained it I say it is impossible thou shouldest faile in such a case Onely remember to be importunate for an importunate suiter he cannot deny You know the parable of the unjust Iudge You know also the parable of the man that is in bed with his children when the widdow was importunate when shee knockt and would give him no rest he gives her redresse the other riseth and giveth his friend as many loves as he will saith the Text yea though she were not his friend for this is the meaning of it If saith he the Lord had not much love to you if he had
not such an affection if you did not come to him in the name of Christ whom he loves in whom he is ready to grant whatsoever you aske if hee were not a friend to you yet for your very importunity he is ready to doe it As the unjust Iudge for that is the scope of the parable he had no minde to grant the widdowes request he had no Iustice in him to move him he had no mercy nor compassion yet for very importunity he graunted it Remember and observe the condition for this is commonly a fault among us when we goe to prayer we thinke that the very putting up of the prayer will doe it No there is more required than so As it is the error of the Country people when they heare say that such an herbe is good for such a disease they are ready to thinke that howsoever it be tooke or applyed it will heale the disease no it must be applyed in such a manner it must be used in such a fashion So it is with prayer you must not only doe the duty and therefore when we exhort you to it not onely to call upon God for men are ready enough to do that especially in the time of distresse but with these conditions I have named You knowe Gehazi when he had got the staffe of Elisha he went to the Child but it was not the staffe that could raise the child from death to life there was something more required So in prayer it is not meere prayer that will do it there is something else there must be other conditions that must be observed For we are wont to do with it as those Conjurers were wont to do with the name of Iesus they thought if they used the name of Iesus it was enough but yee know what answer the Spirit gives them Iesus we know and Paule wee know but who are yee so I say wee are wont to do in this case wee thinke it is enough to make our request and that is all No there is somewhat more required you must make your request in such a manner as ye ought Then I adde this further that when thou makest them in such a manner yet thou must not thinke to be heard for thy prayers sake that is another thing we are apt to faile in When wee have made fervent prayers and have beene importunate with the Lord wee thinke now surely we shall not faile No you must know this the promise is not made to the prayer but to the person praying You shall not finde throughout the whole scripture that any promise is made thus because wee pray fervently we shall be heard but it is made to the person praying the prayer is but the instrument but the meanes by which the blessing is conveyed to us is a meanes without which the Lord will not doe it for the promise is made to the party A cold prayer so there be no neglect in it so a man seeke the Lord and pray as well as he can it will prevaile sometimes as well as a fervent prayer Who indites the petition who makes the prayer fervent surely not thy selfe but the Holy Ghost he makes request in us sometimes he makes thee more fervent hee enlargeth the heart more sometimes againe the heart is more straitned in the performance of this duty but both may come from the same Spirit Not but that we have cause of much comfort when wee are able to pray fervently for this is a ground of our comfort that when we pray fervently it is an argument that the Holy Ghost dwels in our hearts and that our prayers are dictated by him it is an argument that our prayers come from a holy fire within And therefore fervent prayer may give us hope of being heard but yet it is not meerely the prayer but because it is an evidence that it comes from a right principle that it comes from the regenerate part and is made by the assistance of the Holy Ghost it is not the very fervencie that prevailes And therefore when you heare this that the Lord is ready to heare I say make that use of it be fervent in this duty remember the conditions and yet withall know that you are not heard for the very prayers sake but for Iesus Christ his sake He makes every prayer acceptable he mingles them with his sweete odours And if you object O but I am a man full of infirmities You know how it is answered in the Fift of Iames saith he Eliah when hee was heard he was a man and a man subject to passions and to the like passions that wee are As if he should say do not thinke that Eliah was therefore heard because he was an extraordinary Prophet for it was because the Lord had made a promise to him and hee comes and urges that promise to the Lord and therefore the Lord heard him So saith he should every one of you if you have the promise you may goe and urge it as well as Eliah did though you be subject to many infirmities Eliah was even so You know there are infirmities and passions expressed in the Scriptures that hee was subject to And this is the first use we are to make of it to be freqvent and fervent in this duty since wee have such a promise Secondly if wee have such a promise then wee should learne hence when we have put up our prayers at any time to make more account of them than wee doe for the truth is that we pray for the most part for fashion sake many a man saith thus with himselfe I will seeke the Lord if it doe mee no good it will doe no hurt but if wee made that account of our prayers as we should we would performe this duty in another manner but wee doe not make that account of them as we ought We thinke not with our selves that the prayers that wee make are surely heard there be many evidences of it what is the reason that when wee seeke the Lord we doe it so remisly that we have scarce leasure to make an end of our prayers we are so ready to hasten and goe about other businesse wee are ready to turne every stone to use all meanes to seeke the creatures with all diligence but who prayes to the Lord as hee ought to worke his heart to such afervent performance of that duty as he should men have scarcely leasure for it is usuall with them when they have businesse to doe and enterprises to bring to passe they are exceeding diligent to use all meanes and yet are remisse in the chiefe what is the reason else that wee see the doores of Princes and great men so full of suiters though there be porters set on purpose to drive them away but the gates of heaven are so empty It is indeed because we do not beleeve our prayers are heard wee do but make our prayers for fashion What is the