the mischief of it but thy seek to deprive others also of this blessed Priviledge Psal 53. whilest they say either There is no God or that He sees not hears not regards not his Supplicants It is therefore the undoubted concernment of every State to suppress and banish Atheism with all the Fautors of it But hitherto of the first particular the Person whose good Example we have here before our eyes That Religious and pious King David who was always sensible of his Obligations to God and how impossible it was for himself or any other Prince to be safe and secure without the aids of Heaven In the Second place we are to consider further of him in Conjunction with the Holy Practice here resolv'd upon I will call on the Lord. Calling upon God is a Phrase sometimes put in Scripture for all Religion as it is usual there for some signal act to stand for and expreress all the rest of the kind But here we are to understand it in its most proper importance viz. an Invocation by Prayer and Supplication unto God whereby he betakes himself to the Divine Protection begging Safety and Deliverance from him And the words are rendred by Interpreters in several Tenses As to the Time past Invocabam Piscator I did call on the Lord so was I saved from mine Enemies And Thus we have it afterwards Vers 6. In my Distress I called upon the Lord and cryed unto my God He heard my voice out of his holy Temple and my cry came before him even into his ears The effects of which audience are magnificently set forth in the following Verses See Verse 7. to vers 16. Dr. H. Par. How he express'd the Wrath of an All-powerful God able to make the World to Tremble nay to burn and consume it interposing his hand as signally as if he had descended in a black thick Cloud with a mighty wind and the appearance of Angels in shining Garments with tempestuous showers of Hail and Fire with Thundrings and Lightnings as with Arrows and fiery Darts and finally with the same Notoriety of his Presence as when the waters of the Sea were driven back by a strong East-wind and the Deep turned into dry ground for the passage of his People Israel Others read it in the present Tense Jun. Trem. Vatabl. Invoco or Invocare soleo I do call upon the Lord This is my constant Practice and Custom I call upon the Lord so am I safe from mine Enemies See the 142d Psalm The Prayer of David when he was in the Cave When he poured out his Complaint before God and shewed him his trouble How a Snare was privily laid for him in the way wherein he walked and he had none that he could trust to for Refuge none that regarded or cared for him His Soul in Prison and his Persecutors about him stronger than he But he betakes himself to This his wonted Practice vers 5 c. I cried unto Thee O Lord I said Thou art my portion in the land of the living Attend unto my cry for I am brought very low deliver me from my Persecutors for they are stronger than I bring my Soul out of Prison that I may praise thy Name Others again read it as we do LXXII Vulg. Lat. both in our Old and New Translation in the Future Tense Invocabo I will call on the Lord. And thus what was his Religious Practice and Custom in times past and at present becomes also his pious and holy Resolution for the Time to come as we find it frequently elsewhere repeated by him Psal 55. Having spoken of the Hellish Plots of some that had been his Intimates and Familiars from which he hardly saw any humane possibility of escaping I mourn in my complaint saith he because of the voice of the enemy because of the oppression of the wicked The enemy crieth so and the ungodly cometh on so fast for they are minded to do me some mischief so maliciously are they set against me My heart is disquieted within me and the Fear of Death is fallen upon me Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me and horror hath overwhelmed me and I said O that I had wings like a Dove for then would I flee away and be at rest Lo then would I wander far off and remain in the Wilderness I would hasten my escape from the Fiery storm and Tempest Destroy O Lord and divide their tongues for I have seen violence and strife in the City Day and Night they go about it upon the walls thereof mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it Wickedness is in the midst thereof deceit and guile depart not from her streets For it was not an Enemy that reproached me an open professed and known Enemy then I could have born it neither was it he that hated me that did magnifie himself against me then I would have hid my self from him But it was Thou a man mine Equal a Man according to my rank as the Margin reads it my Guide and mine Acquaintance We took sweet Counsel together and walked to the House of God in company You see what a copious and pathetical description he gives of his imminent Danger and Troubles See now his Resolution under all This the Sanctuary he betakes himself unto vers 16 c. As for me I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me Evening and Morning and at Noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice He hath deliver'd my Soul in peace from the Battail that was against me for there were many with me He reckon'd upon God alone as a mighty and strong Host and from his former experience he concludes for the Future Yea even God that endureth for ever the same God still shall hear me and bring them down even to the Pit of Destruction Again Psal 86. Bow down thine ear O Lord saith he hear me for I am poor and needy Preserve my Soul for I am Holy thine Anointed one whom thou favourest as the Margin hath it O thou my God save thy servant that trusteth in thee Be merciful unto me O Lord for I cry unto thee daily or all the day Rejoice the Soul of thy servant for unto thee O Lord do I lift up my soul This we see was his devout Practice Then for his Resolution so to continue vers 7. In the Day of my Trouble I will call upon thee for thou wilt answer me I will turn you but to one place more Psal 116. which begins with an hearty Profession of his Affections to God from the sense of his Mercies and Deliverances as this 18th Psalm doth I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplication because he hath inclined his ear unto me which supposeth his former practice of This Religious duty Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live in my days saith the Margin viz. all the days of
saith he and set a Watch against them the Enemies day and night because of them 'T is an excellent Rule of Hierocles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In Pythag. What we endeavour let us pray for and what we pray for let us also endeavour There must be all along saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an union of Prayer and Endeavour we must neither be for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Atheistical and Godless or graceless Endeavour nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Idle and inoperative Prayer Now having said thus much of the General Qualifications which must accompany our Calling upon God to render it successeful Let me yet annex Two more that are very proper to our publick Devotion And so our Prayers will still be the more prevalent if attended 1. With Fasting And 2 With Unanimity First Fasting is to be added unto Prayer both as a Means to render us more attentive and fervent in the same and as a Testimony of our Humiliation before God in the Confession of our Sins and judging our selves unworthy to be any longer sustained in Life by God chastening and afflicting our Souls in his presence by voluntary Penance for our manifold Transgressions and Excesses There are some Devil 's not to be cast out Mat. 17.21 but by Prayer and Fasting as our Blessed Saviour acquaints us And we may well reckon the Devil of cruel Treachery and Perfidiousness in that number This hath been the constant way of the Church of God in all great Exigencies by Fasting together with Prayer to call upon God as you may read in Ezra Nehemiah Esther Isaiah Daniel c. Turn ye to me Joel 2. saith the Lord by his Prophet Joel with all your heart and with Fasting and with Weeping and with Mourning and rent your Heart and not your Garment that is not your Garment only Let there not be only the external signs of Humiliation and Mourning but the Thing signified by them both Sign and Thing signified together who knoweth if he will return and repent and leave a Blessing behind him This to be sure is the likeliest way of speeding He addes therefore Blow the Trumpet in Sion sanctifie a Fast call a solemn Assembly Gather the People sanctifie the Congregation assemble the Elders Gather the Children and those that suck the Breasts Let the Bridegroom go forth of his Chamber and the Bride out of her Closet Let the Priests the Ministers of the Lord weep between the Porch and the Altar and let them say Spare thy people O Lord. Where we find That the Fast must be general when we call upon God for a General Blessing and all that are concerned in the Effect should be also in the Means to it And whatever some vain people judge of the needlesness or Indifference of Fasting God takes it extremely ill if any under publick Calamities comply not with this Prescription In that day saith the Prophet Isa 22.12 13 14. did the Lord God of Hosts call to weeping and to mourning and to baldness and to girding with Sackcloth and Behold Joy and Gladness slaying Oxen and killing Sheep eating Flesh and drinking Wine And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of Hosts surely This iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die saith the Lord God of Hosts Secondly We are to call upon God with Consent and Unanimity that we may be as joint Supplicants besieging Heaven as it were with an holy Violence in our united Importunities for Mercy So the Prophet Zephaniah hath it Zeph. 3.9 That they may call upon the Name of the Lord to serve him with one consent or with one shoulder And thus we read of the Primitive Christians Act. 2.1 They were all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with one accord in one place And when St. Peter was in Prison Ch. 12.5.12 Prayer was made without ceasing or instant and earnest Prayer was made of the Church unto God for him Many were gathered together Praying To such Assemblies now as These that Promise of our Blessed Saviour reacheth with Advantage Mat. 18.19 20. I say unto you that if Two of you shall agree on Earth touching any thing that they shall ask For where Two or Three are gather'd together in my Name there am I in the midst of them Much more then where there are many Two's and Three 's a whole Nation at the same time upon their knees together if other requisits are not wanting may they be sure of obtaining that thing which they ask in particular or somewhat better in the room of it This is the advantage of publick and common Prayers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ignatius calling upon God in and with his Church that he would send both King and People help from his Sanctuary and strengthen them out of Sion Psal 20. And thus much now for the second point the Duty or Practice here resolved upon calling upon the Lord with those several qualifications which will render it most effectual and successful It remains in the Third place that I add a few words also of the special Character annexed unto the object of our Psalmists invocation Who is worthy to be praised I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised The word is capable of a double rendring Who is worthy to be praised or whom I praise And accordingly Expositors render it differently but both waies to a purpose very fit to be observed diligently by us lxxii 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in 2 Sam. 22. but here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Lat. accordingly Invocabo Dominum laudabilem vel laudatum laudans invocabo 1 I will call on the Lord who is Omni laude dignissimus worthy of all Praise the most lovely Object of Veneration And so it trains us up to the highest thoughts of that Adorable Object we call upon Worthy to be praised is the Sum and Abstract of all his Perfections together and therefore prompts us to Approach unto him with Good and Valuable Thoughts of him not as a cruel Tyrant delighting in his Creatures Miseries and Torments not as an hard Master with-holding from his Servants more than is meet but a most Gracious Lord as willing as he is able to Help and Relieve us a most Indulgent Father as far above all Earthly Parents in Wisdom Power goodness and readiness to hear and supply his Childrens wants as Heaven is above Earth And here I might observe to you farther that it is the Holy Prudence of Pious Men frequently exemplified in Sacred Writ to call upon God under such Appellations Titles or Attributes as are most agreable to the matter of their present Petition and fittest to Animate and Encourage their Hopes of receiving from him So doth the Psalmist here in effect I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised viz. as for his Power and Wisdom and Goodness at all times so for his abundant Mercy which I have already had a
frequent experience of c. 2 I will call upon him whom I also praise tendring up my Thanksgivings for mercies already bestowed while I offer up afresh Petitions for renewed favours from him and thus gathering encouragement from what I have already received to continue my Dependence chearfully upon him and Faith in him for the future There is a great consent of Interpreters this way I will praise the Lord and call upon him So the Arabic In a Song or Hymn I pour out Prayers So the Chaldee See Dr. H. Vicars Decapl in Loc. I will call upon him with Praises So R. Sol. Praising him with Prayers So Apollinarius i. e. joyning of Praises and Requests Doxologies and Letanies together When I shall have praised him first for his past Benefits I will then call upon him for those yet to come So a Latin M. S. Having celebrated the Lord with these Encomium's viz. of the precedent Verse I will now call upon him So Clarius Invocabo laudatum I will call upon him being praised that is in a Poetical Phrase Dr. H. I will first praise him and then call upon him He signifies hereby as Mr. Calvin Notes preces suas laudibus mistas fore That his Prayers shall be mingled with Praises and Thanksgivings according to that of the 116 Psalm I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord Vers 13. And again Offer the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and call on the Name of the Lord Vers 17. So is the Apostolical Direction Phil. 4.6 In every thing by Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God We are at the same time to testifie both our Gratitude and Dependence and Thankfulness for what we have received is one effectual way of obtaining what we want I will therefore call on the Lord with a grateful acknowledgment of his former Goodness gathering encouragement from thence still to continue my Petitions unto him who hath already so well deserved of me The Mercies he hath vouchsafed me hitherto are not only so many Essaies of his power and readiness to relieve me Dr. H. Par. but also so many Pawns and Pledges for the future and therefore to my Songs of Praise I chearfully add my most Humble and Earnest Requests And thus doing never fail of a Gracious return from him Which leades us to the second part of the Text namely the Psalmist's motive to his Resolution and Practice from the assured good success of it So shall I be safe from mine Enemies And this I shall little more than gloss upon Be mine Enemies never so Potent and Formidable for Multitude never so many an Host of Devils and Sons of Belial for Power never so strong for Malice never so spiteful and cruel for Policie never so cunning in their Assaults never so violent in their Confederacies never so combined in their Plots never so secret I shall nevertheless be saved from them all and remain secure by the Divine interposure on my behalf Dwelling in the secret place of the most High Psal 91. I shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty There shall no Evil befall me neither shall any Plague come nigh my Dwelling for he shall give his Angels charge over me to keep me in all my waies He will Answer me whensoever I call will be with me in Trouble will Deliver and Honour me with long life will he satisfie me and shew me his Salvation All Salvation is of the Lord and he hath a peculiar regard in his saving Providence unto Kings Psal 144.10 It is He that giveth Salvation unto Kings that delivereth David his Servant from the hurtful Sword And the like Acknowledgment we have in the close of this 18th Psalm Great Deliverance giveth he to his King and sheweth Mercy to his Anointed to David and to his seed for ever Even the succession of Anointed ones the whole race of Kings throughout all generations St. Chrys Liturg They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 preserved by him by whom they Reign But yet God expects to be sought unto by them too that they own and acknowledge their need of his Help and put themselves into a capacity of receiving it in the most becoming posture from him That therefore is the Ground of the Psalmists Resolution I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be safe from mine Enemies And that we may all in a proportion gather the like encouragement unto this Duty of calling upon God in our Distresses and Troubles we are to remember that he is stiled in general Psal 65. The hearer of Prayers unto whom all Flesh therefore is to come that he hath bid us Ask Seek Knock with promise that he who asketh shall receive and he that seeketh shall find and to him that knocketh it shall be opened That He hath assured If we who are Evil know how to give good Gifts to our Children much more will He our Heavenly Father give Good things to them that ask him Whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall he saved saith the Prophet Joel Joel 2.32 Act. 2.21 Rom. 10.13 and it is thrice quoted for Confirmation in the New Testament And the promise refers to as black and dismal Times as we can well imagine viz. such as attended the Siege of Jerusalem by the Romans When there were the dreadful Appearances of Blood and Fire and Pillars of Smoke the Sun turned into Darkness and the Moon into Bloud even the great and terrible Day of the Lord come upon them Nevertheless in these circumstances the promise is left Whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be Delivered And for our farther Confirmation as to the publick invocation of God with the Congregations of his Saints in his Holy Temple we may cast our Eyes on the several passages of King Solomon's Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple the House of Prayer which God himself testified his Acceptance of Hearken then 1 Kings 8. saith he unto the Supplication of thy Servant and of thy people Israel when they shall pray towards this place and Hear thou in Heaven and Forgive and Do that all the People of the Earth may know thy Name to fear thee as do thy People Israel c. We under the New Testament to be sure are nothing short of them in real Priviledges nay God hath reserved some better thing for us For though we have not their Temple yet we have their God as near unto us in all that we call upon him for we have the Holy Spirit whereby we cry Abba Father making intercession within us and we have a most powerful Advocate at God's right hand Jesus Christ the righteous by whom we may come with Confidence to the Throne of Grace Hebr. 4.16 that we may obtain Mercy and find Grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for our most seasonable Relief in the
A SERMON PREACHED ON THE Fast-Day NOVEMBER the xiii th 1678. Being appointed for Fasting and Prayer BY BENJAMIN CAMFIELD Rector of Aylston near Leicester LONDON Printed by J. Macock for Henry Brome at the Gun at the West-end of St Pauls MDCLXXVIII Imprimatur Carolus Alston R. P. D. Hen. Episc Lond. Ã Sacris Domesticis A SERMON ON PSALM xviii v. 2. but in the last Translation v. 3. I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be safe from mine Enemies IT is not long since we were Assembled on the fifth of this Month to Bless and Praise God for his wonderful Mercies to this Kingdom in the seasonable Discovery and Defeating of our Romish Enemies most wicked and accursed Powder-Plot which had it taken effect all had been Entomb'd on a suddain in one common Ruine And now upon notice publickly given That the same kind of Agents are at work again in another way to Destroy both His Sacred Majesty and with Him our Liberties and Religion we are by the warrant of Authority met together here this day to call upon that God who alone is able to protect and save us and whose undeserved goodness we have had so much experience of hitherto that he would be pleased graciously to continue yet to defend both our King and Country and bring to light still more and more all secret machinations against his Majesty and the whole Kingdom To which purpose therefore I could not think of any thing more pertinent and agreeable both to Direct us in our present Duty and Encourage us to the same than the words I have read from the Royal Psalmist I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be safe from mine Enemies This Psalm was a Publick Form of Devotion Composed and appointed by King David for the solemn seasons set apart to Commemorate his manifold Deliverances and Victories for all the dayes wherein God had delivered him as the Chaldee Paraphrast hath it And it hath the Honour to be twice Registred in Holy Writ with very little variation in the words of it For you may read it in the 22d Chap. of the 2d Book of Samuel as well as here in the Book of Psalms From whence we may plainly collect That however some of This Generation quarrel and except against set Forms of Divine Worship and Service to cast dirt upon the established Religion and make way for New-fangled Devices of their own rather than Godly Edifying in Love and Unity yet it was not so in the Church of God from the Beginning but both a publick Form was wont to be prescribed and upon like occasions one and the same Form was without scruple made use of And that by the Counsel and Countenance of no meaner a Person than King David himself who is recommended to us as an eminent Servant of God both in his private and Regal Capacity Acts 13.22 a man after Gods own heart as he himself hath testified of him So much we have sufficiently intimated in the very Title of this Psalm which was inscrib'd to the chief Musician or Prefect of Musick the Master of the Choire to be sung upon publick Solemnities To the chief Musician A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord who spake unto the Lord the words of this Song in the Day that the Lord deliver'd him from the hand of all his Enemies and from the hand of Saul And he said See Dr. H. in loc Viz. as followeth that is A Publick Form of Worship or Religious Acknowledgment indited by David that eminent Servant of the Lord in Commemoration of those many Preservations and Victories which God had vouchsafed him and his now quiet settlement in the Kingdom of Israel and Judah by the interposure of the Divine Providence in subduing the Philistines Syrians Moabites and Ammonites that rose up against him in quieting the Rebellion of Absalom his son Absalom soon after which it is recorded 2 Sam. 22. but especially in rescuing him out of the malicious bloody hands of Saul This he composed and committed to the chief Musician as a suitable service for those solemn Dayes wherein there should be occasion to commemorate his Deliverances and Victories And to that purpose it continues registred in the Book of Psalms among many other as a Pattern and Example unto all Posterities and a Justification as I said beyond all contradiction both of the lawfulness and expediencie of Publick Forms of Devotion and the use or Repetition of the same Forms upon like occasion I shall not now go about to unravel the Contexture of the whole Psalm because I would not divert your attention from that plenty of good and proper Meditations which the Text alone suggests unto us Wherein we have these two principal parts 1. David's holy Resolution or Practice I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised And 2. The Motive he had thereunto from the assured success of it So shall I be saved or safe from mine enemies Of which therefore now by God's help I shall treat in order as they lie And First of the Psalmist's holy Resolution or Practice I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised Wherein we may consider yet more distinctly these three Particulars 1. The Person whose Example we have before our eyes together with the Circumstances of his Condition I King David the Servant of the Lord preserved and deliver'd by him from many potent Enemies already and yet not without the Fear and prospect of others succeeding afresh and growing up in the room of them 2. The Act or Practice it self resolved upon Calling upon the Lord which as I shall take occasion to shew you was all along his most Religious Custom as well as Resolution in like Cases for the Future And then 3. The special Character here annexed unto the Object of his Invocation Worship and Devotion The Lord who is worthy to be praised I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised First The Person here spoken of the I in the Text. That is David a pious and Religious King styled in the Title of the Psalm The Servant of the Lord as I told you Religion we see is not a vile or mean Performance is not a thing below the Highest and most eminent Monarchs of the World no disparagement at all unto their Greatness but that which is indeed the chiefest Ornament in their Diadem and Crown of Glory They have the same Essential Dependence upon God with other men and He the same Right and Title of Soveraignty and Dominion over Them being King of Kings and Lord of Lords Nay They have an Obligation above others to serve and Honour God Almighty not only as his Reasonable Creatures and Dependents like unto others but as his peculiar Ministers and Servants in their Sacred Office as Kings exalted and upheld by him in that their Dignity Again Their Necessity as well as
my trouble distress and calamity more especially And so he goes on to fortifie his Resolution by a further Commemoration of his former practice This way and the blessed success of it The sorrows of Death compassed me and the pains of Hell gat hold upon me as we have it also in the 18th Psalm I found trouble and sorrow then called I upon the Name of the Lord O Lord I beseech thee deliver my Soul Gracious is the Lord and righteous yea our God is merciful The Lord preserveth the simple the plain honest upright man who relieth on him when he is void of counsel to help himself I was brought low and He helped me There is nothing certainly more proper in a Time of Affliction Calamity and Trouble than this Religious practice of Calling upon the Lord. Jam. 5.13 Is any among you afflicted saith St. James let him pray Psal 50.15 Call upon me saith God himself in the day of trouble I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me Such therefore was the message of King Hezekiah unto Isaiah the Prophet 2 King 19.3 4. This is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy wherefore lift up thy Prayer for the Remnant that is left Even Nature at such a time of extremity prompts us to this piece of Religion The Atheistical Poet acknowledgeth it to be the common Practice of Mankind Multóque in rebus acerbis Acriùs advertunt animos ad Relligionem Lucret. l. 3. Men in their Pains and Adversities are very apt to cry out Lord help us This the Prophet notes in a people that were otherwise forgetful of God Lord Isa 26.16 17. in trouble have they visited thee they have poured out a Prayer when thy Chastening was upon them Like as a woman with Child that draweth near the time of her deliverance and cryeth out in her pangs so have we been in thy sight O Lord. You have many Instances together in Psal 107. how men cry unto God in their troubles and he delivereth and saveth them out of their Distresses particularly of them who go down to the Sea in Ships when the stormie wind ariseth and they are at their wits ends Vers 27 28. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble Hence we have a common Proverb Qui nescit orare discat navigare He that knows not to Pray let him go to Sea where the sight of so many Dangers ready to swallow up and devour him is supposed to be sufficient to teach him This Lesson Unless he have contracted an unnatural Hardness and senslesness both of God and Death the Fears of Shipwrack will awaken him to Prayer The Mariners Jonah 1.5 we read in the storm cryed every man to his God and the Ship-master comes to Jonah and saith unto him Verse 6. What meanest thou O sleeper arise call upon thy God if so be that God will think upon us that we perish not And we find them all afterwards importunately at their Prayers They cryed unto the Lord and said Verse 14. we beseech thee O Lord we beseech thee The Disciples in a Tempest awaken our Blessed Saviour saying Lord Matth. 8. save us we perish This I say is the natural and constant Practice of All that have any regard to themselves or sense of a Deity that have not sinn'd themselves into a blockish stupidity past feeling in the time of imminent Troubles and Dangers and Calamities to call upon God And this is urged by Salvian as a strong Conviction against the Denyers of God Almighty's Providence Lib. 1. p. 17. Cur ad coelum quotidiè manus tendimus c. Why stretch we our hands daily towards Heaven Why seek we the Mercy of God by our repeated Prayers Why do we run to Temples and Churches Why do we supplicate on our knees before Altars Nulla enim nobis est ratio precandi si spes tollitur impetrandi We have no reason at all to pray if we have no hope left us of speeding by it And the Heathen Seneca before him managed this argument against the Epicureans who allow'd of such kind of insignificant Deities who neither heard nor regarded the Prayers of their Supplicants Nec in hunc furorem omnes mortales consensissent alloquendi surda numina inefficaces Deos. De Benef. l. 4. c. 4. It is no ways likely or credible saith he that all mortals should consent together in such a point of Madness as this is continually to call upon Deaf Gods and such as can Do nothing for them Nevertheless it must be granted that all who call upon God do not speed in their Requests because as St. James hath it Jam. 4.3 they ask amiss Ye ask and receive not saith he because ye ask amiss And therefore it will be requisite before I leave this subject to shew you briefly what are the qualifications of such a Calling upon God as we may be assured of the Good effects of These Qualifications now are reducible unto Three heads The First concerning the Object of our Invocation whom we are to call upon That must be the Lord and the Lord only Secondly As to the Person Praying He must be Righteous at least in the Evangelical sence that is a True Penitent Thirdly As to the Prayer or Invocation it self That must be with Humility and Reverence with Faith with Sincerity with Forvency with Charity with Perseverance with a due Submission to the Divine Will tendred up to God in the Name of Christ and attended with Endeavours agreeable to our Prayers I shall little more than touch upon the particulars they are so many and I would not prevent my self in what else remains But yet it is plainly necessary that I say somewhat of them because without attendance unto These things our Prayers will certainly prove ineffectual and vain Oblations And as good you know not at all as to no purpose First then The Object of our Invocation must be the Lord Jehovah the True and Living God and none besides him I will call on the Lord. Prayer is a piece of Divine worship peculiar unto God and which we cannot without peril of Idolatry give unto any other And therefore it is one of the Arguments used by the Antient Fathers as well as Modern Divines to prove the Deity of our Blessed Saviour because we are taught to Call upon his Name So we read of St. Stephen Act. 5.59 They stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying Lord Jesus receive my Soul Saying Lord Jesus he called upon God That is owned his Deity And this is the Paraphrase whereby Christians were at first known They that called on this Name Act. 9 14-21 1 Cor. 1.2 All that in every place call on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ Carmen Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem As Plinie reports of them L. 10. Ep. 97. Whatsoever we Religiously call upon we either find or make a God to our selves
by that very invocation The Lord then is He whom we are to direct our Prayers unto the Living God and not Dead Idols the Lord of all and not any of his Creatures not the best of them Saints or Angels As for Idols you may remember what Elijah said to Baal's Priests 1 King 18.24 Call ye on the Name of your Gods and I will call on the Name of the Lord. Verse 26. Accordingly they called on the Name of Baal we read from morning even until noon saying O Baal hear or answer us But there was no voice neither any that answered And Elijah mocks them upon it Verse 20. Cry aloud for he is a God he is talking or meditateth that is in a deep study or be is pursuing or he is in a journey or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked Their Idols Psal 115. saith the Psalmist of the Heathen are Silver and Gold the work of mens bands They have mouths Psal 135. but they speak not eyes have they but they see not ears but they hear not c. They that make them are like unto them so is every one that trusteth in them O Israel trust thou in the Lord He is their Help and their Shield c. q. d. Aid and Defence is to be had from Him and from him only We must renounce all Confidence and Dependence upon any other thing whatsoever Psal 20.7 8. Some trust in Chariots and some in Horses but we will remember the Name of the Lord our God They are brought down and fallen but we are risen and stand upright Prov. 18.10 The Name of the Lord is a strong-Tower the Righteous runneth into it and is safe God is offended when we seek other Refuges Hos 7.10 11. The Pride of Israel saith the Prophet testifieth to his Face and they do not return to the Lord their God nor seek Him for all this Ephraim also is like a silly Dove without heart They call to Egypt They go to Assyria c. Jer. 17.5 6 7 8. Thus saith the the Lord Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the Heath in the Desert c. Blessed be the man who trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is For he shall be as a Tree planted by the Waters c. It is the Character of the Ungodly Lo Psal 52.8 This is the man that took not God for his Strength but trusted unto the multitude of his Riches †See Psal 62.8 9 10. Neither may we call upon Saints or Angels to help us Rev. 19.10 22.9 for they are all God's Creatures and Servants as well as we they refuse this Worship at our hands and bid us give it unto God only whom they together with us adore I may here use the words of Eliphaz which yet some of the Romish Church have been so absurd Chamier Panstrat Vol. 2. l. 2. c. 2. as to quote for the invocation of Angels Call now Job 5.1 if there be any that will answer thee and to which of the Saints wilt thou turn Secondly As to the person invocating he must be Righteous at least in the Gospel acceptation that is a sincere and hearty Penitent For God heareth not Sinners John 9.31 viz. Such as continue in a course of Sin Prov. 15 8-29 The Prayer or Sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to him Unto the wicked saith God Psal 50. What hast thou to do to take my Covenant into thy mouth seeing thou hatest to be reformed Prov. 1.28 c. 28.9 To such he threatens They shall call upon me but I will not answer He that turneth away his Ear from hearing the Law his Prayer shall be an abomination To such he saith again Isa 1.15 c. When ye spread forth your Hands I will hide mine Eyes from you Yea when ye make many Prayers I will not hear Your Hands are full of Blood Wash you make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine Eyes cease to do Evil learn to do Well seek Judgment relieve the Oppressed judge the Fatherless plead for the Widow Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord. That is upon these terms and no other Vers 19 20. we may meet as Friends If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the Land but if ye refuse and Rebel ye shall be devoured with the Sword for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Seek the Lord Ch. 55.6 7. while he may be found call ye upon him while he is near but to that end let the Wicked forsake his way and the Unrighteous man his thoughts Ch. 58. ◠c. Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer Thou shalt cry and he shall say Here I am If thou takest from the midst of thee the Yoak Verse 6. c. the bands of Wickedness before spoken of Jam. 5.16 'T is the Prayer of a Righteous man that availeth This our Psalmist was very sensible of Therefore saith he I will wash mine hands in Innocence so will I compass thine Altar O Lord. Psal 26.6 The Eyes of the Lord are upon the Righteous 34.15 and his Ears are open to their Prayers 66.18 If I regard Iniquity in my Heart the Lord will not hear me And in this very Psalm Psal 18.20 c. The Lord rewarded me according to my Righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God or not departed from my God as the wicked doth for all his judgments are before me and I did not put his Statutes from me I was also upright before him and kept my self from mine Iniquity Eschewed mine own wickedness Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my Righteousness according to the cleanness of my Hands in his Eye-sight And yet this Psalm was most probably indited if we keep to the series of the History See Dr. H. in Loc. where 't is first recorded 2 Sam. 22. after the Commission of those great Sins of Adultery with Uriah's Wife making him Drunk contriving his Death and Living for some considerable time before Nathan came to him from God under this guilt These many expressions therefore of his Universal Uprightness must be Interpreted and Understood as the Scripture elsewhere speaks with the exception of that matter of Uriah 1 Kings 15.5 David did that which was right in the Eyes of the Lord and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite And we are farther to remember That for that too he had Repented before the Composure of this Psalm And Repentance when sincere restores to God's
Favour and Acceptance as if we were Innocent Thirdly For the Prayer or Invocation it self that must be the Exercise of all sorts of Graces and not the Labor of our Lips only But Isa 29.13 more especially this Holy Incense must have these following perfumes in it 1 It must be with Humility and Reverence With Humility in a deep sense of our Unworthiness and Distance from God as Creatures but much more as Sinners No one loves a proud Begger Jam. 4.6 1 Pet. 5.5 Such God is said to look on afar off But he giveth Grace sheweth Favour to the Humble Psal 9.12 10.17 â—b 22.29 He heareth the desire of the Humble and will not forget their Cry but will save them And then there must be a Reverence to That Majesty which we approach unto That is a Due we know to all our Betters See Malachi 1.8 Let us therefore have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably Hebr. 12.28 with reverence and godly fear 2 With Faith Heb. 11.6 Without Faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh unto God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him So St. James directs If any of you lack Wisdom let him ask of God Jam. 1.5 6. who giveth to all men liberally but let him ask in Faith nothing wavering where yet Faith seems to import rather a stedfast adhering to the Christian Profession See Dr. H. in loc than a General Belief of God's Being Attributes or Promises 3 With Sincerity Not out of feigned lips Psal 17.1 or Lips of Deceit but in Truth The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him 145.18 to all that call upon him in Truth or Faithfully And this is that which the Prophet Isaiah expresseth by calling on God with all the heart Then shall ye call upon me Isa 29.12 and ye shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you and ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart And St. Paul styles it Calling on the Lord out of a pure that is 2 Tim. 2.22 an honest and upright heart 4 With Zeal and Fervencie For it is good alwayes Gal. 4.18 saith the Apostle to be zealously affected in a good matter But he that asks coldly teacheth another to deny his Requests We can never think or hope that God will attend to those cold and drousie Prayers which we hardly attend unto or mind our selves in the utterance of them 'T is the fervent Prayer of a righteous man that availeth much Our Blessed Saviour speaks a Parable to learn us the Force of Importunity both with God and Man St. Luk. 18. We are to pray as those that are in good earnest and sensible of the Great Concerns we call upon him about and therefore to excite and stirre up all the Powers of our Souls thereunto that we be not among Those of whom the Prophet complains There is none that calleth upon thy Name Isa 64.7 that stirreth up himself to take hold on Thee 5 With Charitie for without This we are nothing 1 Cor. 13.1 3. and nothing profits us But Blessed are the merciful Matth. 5. for they shall obtain mercie With the merciful Thou wilt shew thy self merciful saith our Psalmist Psal 18.25 But he shall have Judgment without mercie Jam. 2.13 who hath shewed no mercie With the same measure we mete to others God will measure to us again And therefore he saith Give and it shall be given to you Luk. 6.38 Forgive and it shall be forgiven But if ye forgive not neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you If thou bring thy gift to the Altar go thy way first be reconciled to thy Brother c. Prov. 21.13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the Crie of the Poor he also shall crie himself and shall not be heard 6 We must continue our Importunity with Perseverance without Fainting and growing weary not contenting our selves with having once petitioned Psal 25.5.37.7.86.3 c. 123.2 but following on our Suit and waiting patiently still upon God from day to day untill he have Mercy upon us To this purpose our Blessed Saviour spake a Parable That men ought alwaies to pray Luk. 18. and not to faint And yet 7 We must pray with a due Submission of our selves unto God's Will and Wisdom not confining him to any particular ways or methods of our own devising Permittes ipsis expendere Numinibus Quid Conveniet nobis rebusque sit utile nostris Remarkable was the Resignation of King David's Spirit unto God Almighty's pleasure If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord 2 Sam. 15.25 26. he will bring me again but if he Thus say I have no delight in Thee behold here am I let him do to me as seemeth good unto him 'T is the Petition our Blessed Saviour hath taught us Thy will be done and such was his own Example to us Father if it be possible let This Cup pass from me Nevertheless not what I will not as I will but Thy will be done We must own that God is Righteous in whatsoever befalls us and be ready to apologize for his Providence 'T is of his Mercie alone that we are not consumed and our only Hope is That his Compassions fail not 8 We must be sure that we tender up our Requests unto God in the prevailing Name of Jesus Christ his Beloved Son our Great and only High-Priest Mediator and Advocate by whom we have received the Atonement and who ever liveth to make intercession Dan. 9.17 18. Not for our Righteousness saith the Prophet Daniel but for the Lord's sake Propter Christum as Castalio there notes so we are taught to conclude all our Prayers The Direction and Encouragement comes from our Blessed Saviour himself Joh. 14.13 14. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name that I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son If ye shall ask any thing in my Name I will do it Do all therefore in the Name of Jesus Christ Col. 3.17 saith the Apostle giving thanks to God and the Father by him Lastly Our Prayers must be followed with suitable Endeavours We must not only Ask but seek and knock too that is enquire after the most probable and likely Means and be diligent and industrious to remove the Impediments in our way Mr. Hooker's Serm. in the end of Bishop Sandersons life as a Reverend Person ingeniously Glosseth on Those words We must be like the Good Pilot that hath his hand to the Helm as well as his Eye to Heaven We must not be lazy and idle Petitioners like the Countrey-man in the Fable that contented himself barely with crying out to Hercules to help him out of the mire Remarkable is That of Nehemiah Nehem. 4.9 Nevertheless we made a Prayer unto our God