Redeemer find a soul upon its knees before the Lord Oh the hearty welcom it will give unto its God! This is the time he waited for he was got into a corner was sighing for his sins pleading for mercy breathing after grace and panting for glory and behold what a quick return doth his God make Even while he is speaking and praying the Lord doth send a guard of Angels to conduct the soul into eternal Mansions where God and the soul shall part no more Blessed for ever happy is that soul whom its Lord when he cometh shall find so doing Now consider of it Whether state would you be found in And do not you know his Coming may be sudden and unexpected Would you be found under neglect or in the faithful performance of a duty Would you not be carried from your Closet-devotion to eternal communion with God Oh then take our Lord's most wholsom counsel Take ye heed watch and pray for ye know not when the time is Mark 13.33 I might here challenge Christians also not only for their neglect of but careless performance of this duty of Closet-prayer with what sorry shifts do we put off God How hard dead unbelieving distracted are our hearts in secret God takes much pleasure in Adverbs it pleaseth not God that a duty be done except it be well done Many satisfie their own consciences that they have prayed but consider not how they prayed there 's a curse on such as do the work of God negligently Jer. 48.13 Mal. 1.14 and that have in their flock a male and offer to the Lord a corrupt thing And it 's a fearful thing to get a curse upon our knees when we come for a blessing Look to it God takes notice how you pray the Devil stands under your Closet-window and heareth what you say to God in secret all the while studying how he may commence a suit against you for your duty Like those that come to Sermons to carp or catch at what the Preacher saith or as one saith like a cunning opponent in the Schools while his adversary is busie reading his position he is studying to confute it and oh what advantage do we often give Satan to trip us and take us tardy What occasion do we afford him to accuse us to God and to our selves while we have our filthy garments on us Yea remissness in our duties brings decay in grace Tradesmen may go behind hand by being careless in their dealings as well as by being much out of their shops Alas what sad decay is in our souls for want of closs and constant communion with God We have very perverse hearts we have much ado with them when we would do good evil is present it is our great sin we are so much out of order even upon our knees Satan sends his imps to haunt and torment ment us he jogs our hand when we are to write a Letter to Heaven in our prayers so that we can scarce make sense of what we present to God Our thoughts are unfixed ranging abroad like a Spaniel to a thousand objects so that sometimes we have lost our selves and know not where we are Oh let us lament our vain and trifling spirits in secret duties and turn us unto God for help as a Servant when the child he tends is troublesom and will not be ruled by him calls out to the Father to come to him who no sooner speaks the word but all is whist with him our God can set in order our unruly spirits only he will be called upon by earnest Prayer Thus much for this use CHAP. V. The Third Vse is of Instruction SECT I. MY next and main work is to help us in the duty of Closet-Prayer by propounding some helps and rules for our direction which I shall reduce to these four heads viz. 1. Preparatives to it 2. Essentials in it 3. Circumstances about it 4. Consequences upon it 1. Look to your State and standing If you be not real Saints you are not fit for this spiritual duty Your Relation must be changed by converting grace Hence the Text saith Pray to thy Father See then that God be your Father in Jesus Christ else you cannot truly cry Abba Father If we must be reconciled to our Brother before we offer our gift much more to God for how can two walk together except they be agreed I deny not but a carnal soul should retire himself into a corner examine his state fall down on his knees and beg converting and pardoning grace and thus they must acquaint themselves with God that they may come before him for unsound unconverted sinners have no right as children to call to the King of Heaven though as creatures they may and must seek unto God yet they worship afar off 'T is the gracious Christian only that prayeth acceptably wicked mens prayers are abomination an hypocrite shall not come before him John 13.16 And indeed till you be real Saints you 'l have no mind to buckle close to this duty truth of grace will capacitate you for secret approaches to God strength of grace will elevate you to God and evidence of sincerity will make you come boldly to the Throne of Grace Therefore try your state inquire what relation you have to God or else expect no familiarity with him God will not take the wicked by the hand to lead them into these Chambers of communion the throne of iniquity hath no fellowship with him Our Lord Jesus marrieth none but Widows that are divorced from all other Husbands and he opens his heart to none but his betrothed Spouse her he leads into a solitary place and speaks to her heart Oh sirs come over clearly to God by closing with Christ renounce your selves get united to him and then come and welcom to enjoy communion with him in Closet-Prayer 2. Dispatch other things off your hearts and hands Let not your earthly occasions intrude into your Closet-Exercises Say to the cares and affairs of the world as Abraham to his Servants Stay there while I go and worship the Lord yonder Or as Nehemiah in another case I am doing a great work and I cannot come down to you So do thou say I have appointed other times and seasons for attending worldly businesses let me alone with my God every thing is beautiful in its season Communion with God is as much as I can attend at once I must not be diverted by other objects the business I am about is of the greatest importance I must consult how I may attend upon the Lord without distraction and worldly matters have distracted me in God's service and have cost me many a tear therefore get away from me Why should the work of the Lord cease Why should I be hindred from my God What can you afford me that can be worth one hours communion with my God Thus do you actually renounce the world for you cannot mind two things at once And observe it If
Book called An help to better hearts for better times Pag. 196 197. read more of this Subject there are some separating duties that prepare for others as examination meditation prayer and they do prepare by stirring up the grace of God and providing an heavenly assistance to begin with us in the duty If thou canst not always have separating time betwixt other occasions and Gods worship yet have some separating thoughts ere thou enter upon the duty thou art not fit else to meddle with wisdom Thus he 'T is true some have not the leisure that others have yet so much preparation is necessary for every duty as may withdraw the heart from other objects and weight the Spirit with a due sense of the work we have in hand and sometimes this may be done suddenly yet as for such as have more time to work upon their hearts and state their souls case by mustering up themselves to the work neglect a duty and cannot groundedly expect the Lords presence and this I conceive is the reason why the Lords people miss of God in secret Prayer at least one reason is because they do not make such conscience and take such care of preparing their hearts as they ought Ah Christians when you come into your Closet sit down and pause a little before you fall down upon your knees clear up your state shake off other business set your selves in Gods presence and muster up your sins or wants or mercies you purpose to spread before the Lord a Client will consider all his matters before he come to state his case to his advocate a poor patient will bethink himself how he is that he may tell his ailings to his Physitian and a petitioner will not go hand over head unto his Prince but order his cause before hand that he may plead it more effectually And shall not we much more prepare our selves to wait upon the God of Heaven SECT III. Directions concerning the essentials of secret Prayer 2. THe second sort of rules is concerning some things essentially requisite to the right performance of the duty of secret Prayer which you are to look to in the duty and these are such as are required in all sorts of Prayer viz. that it be performed 1. With the heart 2. By the help of the spirit 3. According to Gods will 4. In the name of Christ 1. Secret Prayer must he hearty Prayer an heartless duty is a worthless duty yea the whole heart must be ingaged in it Psal 119.10 With my whole heart have I sought thee It is the heart that God chiefly looks after Prov. 23.26 My Son give me thy heart nothing else can please God if the heart be wanting if the heart be ingaged in the duty he will rather dispense with other weaknesses where there 's not wilful negligence Observe it in that worship of God we perform with others a mans gifts may be of use though his heart go not along with his voice but in Closet-Prayer it doth no good at all except the heart be ingaged therefore God principally requires the heart in other duties in this he only requires the heart for the voice is not necessary To love and serve the Lord our God with all our heart Mark 12.30 33. soul mind strength is a keeping of the Law and more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices We should pray with every faculty of the soul and with the utmost strength of every faculty Mat. 15.8 9. God deserves and requires our strongest affections That 's but a vain worship that 's performed without the heart right attendance on God is an ingaging the heart to approach to God Christians Jer. 30.21 in all your addresses to God mind the object of worship let the subject worshipping and object worshipped be closly united look beyond the duty it 's one thing to have communion with an Ordinance and another thing to have communion with God in an Ordinance Gods dear Children know what this means for sometimes they are more taken up with expressions affections or some accidentals in the performance than with the object of worship they should be intent upon But this is very dangerous for whatsoever interposeth betwixt the soul and God to divert the thoughts from God is an Idol 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 70. Ezek. 14.3 These men have set up their Idols in their hearts Sept. reads it they have put their thoughts upon their hearts i e. They have committed Idolatry with their own imaginations instead of worshipping God their minds have stuck upon something short of God after which they have as it were run a whoring even in the duty I shall not deliver that as the sense of the place yet it may be an useful note I fear many of us are guilty of a kind of spiritual fine-spun Idolatry by heterogeneal thoughts in holy duties that pluck us from God when we are approaching to him The Lord humble us for this and fix our thoughts upon God that we may say as the Church Isa 26.8 The desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee Cyprian saith Cogitatio omnis secularis carnalis at sced nec quicquam tunc animus quam id solum cogitet quod precatur ideo sacerdos ante OrationeÌ„ prefatione praemissa parat sratrum mentes Dicendo sursam corda ut dura respondet plebs Habemus ad Dominum ad moneatur nihil aliud se quam Dominum cogitare debere Câ—p. Serm. de orat Dâ—m p 246. every secular thought must depart and the mind must be taken up with nothing but what we are about he tells the practice of the Church in his time was that the Minister before Prayer prepares the peoples mind saying Sursum corda Lift up your hearts and they answer Habemus ad dominum we have them up to the Lord whereby saith he we are admonished that in Prayer we must think of nothing but the Lord What the Minister said to the People do you say to your selves Sursum corda lift up your hearts Let every one say I am now worshipping an Heart-searching God Oh that my heart were with God Ascensus mentis ad Deum Luth. Collâ—q myst fol. 239. The Ancients saith Luther finely described Prayer to be an ascent of the mind to God Oh that I did experimentally know what this means in Syntaxi i. e. in coupling and joyning of my heart to God Lord gather in my roving and wandring spirit This is the first direction Mind the frame of your hearts 2. Implore and expect the Spirits assistance Prayer must be by the Spirits inlarging influence hence it is called the spirit of grace and supplication Zech. 12.10 Rom. 8.26 it helps our infirmities by making souls to cry out Abba Father with unutterable groans A Christian should spread the sails of his soul for the gales of Gods grace which will carry the praying Saint apace towards God yea and
God 3. Obj. But I am a Servant and must obey my Master I am kept too hardly at work to get time for secret Prayer I am called to work betimes dogged to it all the day Answ Though you be servants to do mens work yet not slaves to their lusts in that respect you must not be the Servants of Men if you be Servants you are the Lords Free-men if free yet you are Christs servants 1 Cor. 7.22 23. Remember you have a Master in Heaven no mortal creature can discharge you from your attendance on God You must do Gods work as well as your Masters and your Masters work for God's sake Eph. 6.6 7. Oh sirs do not neglect your duty to God to pleasure men Can your superiour answer for your neglect Or interpose betwixt flaming wrath and your sinning souls But I am afraid some lay the blame on Masters when the fault is in themselves Deceive not thy self by accusing others to clear thy self this was Adam's fault Think not that anothers rigour can excuse thy neglect Let me tell you there 's never a servant so strictly watch'd but might steal some time from his Master for his God and yet do him no wrong Only see that you be prudent in chusing such seasons as may not justly provoke your Master or prejudice his occasions And be often in your callings lifting up your hearts to God be content with your condition had you more liberty it may be your hearts would not be in so good a frame But let me bespeak Masters indulgence to poor and pious Servants oh hinder them not in any good work rather put them upon it encourage them in it bless God that you have praying servants this is a hopeful presage of good success Let not your servants fare the worse but the better for being God's servants 4. Obj. But I have no Closet to pray in no convenient room for secret Prayer I have a little house a busie full family and cannot retire my self Answ A good good heart will find room either within doors or without a gracious soul will seek out places to pray in any sorry cote will be a Bethel where it can injoy its God or if he cannot get to it under the roof he will with good Isaac walk out into the fields to meditate and to pray Could Heathens and Idolatrous Jews plant groves for their superstition in an Apish imitation of Abraham's practice And cannot a Bird of Paradise take its flight out of some Wood or Arbour into Heaven But most need not make this silly slight excuse they have good roofs to be in and need not worship God sub Dio in the open air few of us but we have convenient rooms but most of us want affectionate hearts to visit God therein But Christians make good use of your houses to serve God therein else they may justly spue you out and leave you harbourless and then what a dreadful sting and guilt will follow you whither-soever you go Oh consider London's flames and ruines your houses are no better built nor more secured from the like Catastrophe do not weaken their foundations by wilful neglects or scandalous sins 5. Obj. But I know some good Christians that never use it yea that maintain it in their judgements that it is not necessary except in some extraordinary cases What say you to that I Answ I never yet met with such persons that had the face of Religion that ever spoke against the ordinary practise of this duty of Closet-Prayer I confess I have met with some who being urged to Family-Prayer have put it off with this evasion that they would pray in their Closets how well the God of Heaven knows But if any professors judgement be so far bribed to plead for the flesh in this neglect the Lord rebuke them and forgive them they know not what they say This is a lamentation that there 's scarce any truth so sacred or duty so spiritual but it hath been contradicted in these licentious daies Some have pleaded against Family-Prayer Catechising Christian-meetings and what not But they can produce no solid arguments do not you follow their example contrary to plain Scripture precepts and precedents Many were produced for confirmation most whereof were not only in extraordinary cases but were an ordinarie practice And can you find the day that affords not some special matter to occasion you to make addresses to God in secret Prayer If you be sensible and observant surely you will see great need for such retirements in ordinary practice Remember this that you follow no man but as he follows Christ but I am sure our precious Saviour used this practice SECT III. More Objections answered 6. Obj. BUT I find not my heart affected or prepared Is it not a tempting of God to go when the spirit doth not move me I Answ 'T is a dangerous mistake to think you may not go to duty but when the spirit moves you For it may be long before it stir the spirit bloweth where and when it listeth You are therefore to lay your selves in the way of the spirit call in its aid which ordinarily comes when souls do their duty Holy performances are as it were the walk of the spirit the air where he breaths and be sure he is most likely to be found in his own way and walk but you cannot expect him in the neglect of plain duty Try this way put God to 't plead his promise you cannot think to be warm if you run from the fire If you have not an appetite to pray you must pray for an appetite for neglect or omission of a duty never fits but alwaies unfits for a duty If you 'll heed your trifling spirits and accept every excuse which they make you shall never pray If you play the truant one time you 'll have less mind to go to God the next time guilt makes you afraid and you dare not come near that God whom you have wronged as Adam run from God and Peter would thrust Christ from him when conscious of guilt How dare you look God in the face whom you have slighted Besides you 'll find that neglect of duty doth not make the next performance more easie but more difficult It will as one saith require more time and pains for you to tune your instrument than for another to play his lesson And is it not more likely God should come to you in pains-taking than total omission Do you not read in the Psalms how often David begun faintly and ended triumphantly Try the Lord and see if he be not better than you expect 7. Obj. I but saith a poor soul I meet with temptations when I go to God in secret Satan assaults me I am timorous and dare not be alone or in the dark but am afrighted Answ 'T is a sign the duty is good because so bad a spirit opposeth it the more Satan sees a duty is for the souls advantage
commotion a secret conclave or locked Parlor where no company is to come 2. Shut thy door this word imports yet a further degree of secrecy q. d. That thou maist make thy self to be less observed shut up thy self in a room let none come at thee to disturb thee in thy conversings with God bar the door and make it fast yea let none over-hear thee in thy retired devotions For observe it in true Closet-Prayer there should be an including of the voice as well as the body some pray so loud in their chambers that they may be heard into the streets this is not properly Closet-Prayer since it doth not attain the end of this retirement which is an approving the heart only to God and avoiding all shews and occasions of hypocrisie and vain-glory for it is all one as to this end whether the body be seen or the voice be heard Only remember this is spoken of secret Prayer for it doth not exclude publick Prayer in a congregation where the body is seen and voice is heard Yet it doth by a kind of Synecdoche require self-denial singleness and sincerity in all kind of Prayer Unae specie simplicitatis pro toto genere posita publick private secret for one part or sign of uprightness in the duty is put for the whole shutting the door for integrity of heart in the whole management of this great Affair 3. Here 's the object of Prayer Pray to thy Father Thy business is not with men but with God seek therefore to please and injoy him Nor yet art thou to fetch a compass and pray to Saints and Angels but go straight to God in the name of Christ and be sure thou look upon him as under the sweet relation of a tender Father yea Quod nomen nemo nostrum in oratione auderet attingere nisi ipse nobis sic permisset oâ—are Cyprian Serm. de Orat. Dom. p. 414. Thy Father Oh a sweet word a blessed word and such a word as we durst not have taken into our mouths had it not been for Christ's glorious undertaking to purchase for us the adoption and this gracious commission and in the platform of Prayer the prescription and for God the Father's voluntary condescention Come then and fear not poor Disciple of Christ come with filial affections and the Spirit of Adoption and thou art sure to speed for this paternal relation imports affection provision condescention and compassion If thou wilt be a Child to him he will be a Father to thee 2 Cor. 6.18 4. Here 's the Arguments and incouragements to this duty of secret Prayer 1 Thy Father sees in secret All 's one to him whether you be in a publick Church or private Closet God whose eyes are ten thousand times brighter than the Sun sees you in the one place as well as in the other and though men see you not yet content your selves with this That God and your consciences are competent witnesses of your uprightness with whom you have to do and from whom you have your reward 2. He will reward thee openly There 's two things in this expression 1. They shall be rewarded 2. They shall be openly rewarded So that men shall say Verily there is a reward for the righteous verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth Psal 58.11 The Scribes and Pharisees do all their works to be seen of men and of men they have that sorry reward you do yours in the sight of God and from him you shall receive your abundant and eternal recompence Though men see you not fear not you shall be seen and accepted by him that searcheth hearts and knoweth the mind of his spirit But of these more anon The sum and design of the Text is this Thou my Disciple seest the plausible practices of thy hypocritical Pharisees to gain credit and applause they perform their private duties in publick places as Markets and Synagogues that they may pass among men for eminent Saints and they are generally so esteemed that 's their reward But thou that hast given up thy name to me in the profession of my Name take my counsel for regulalating this sweet Duty of secret Prayer Let none see what thou goest about steal time from all observers withdraw thy self into some Closet or private place and when thou hast made all fast do thou set thy self in the presence of God approve thy heart to him lay open thy bosom before him tell him all thy grievances and though no creature is privy to thy secret groans yet be sure that all thy desires are before God and thy groaning is not hid from him and he takes notice of thy tears and reserves them in a bottle by him to be rewarded in a visible manner in a seasonable time thy labour is not in vain thy work is with the Lord and thy reward with thy God SECT III. Doctrines raised and cleared THere are many Doctrines lye couched in the words I shall but hint them and pitch upon one 1. Prayer is a choice part of religion it s a piece of natural worship though the right ordering of it is by institution yet 't is a main part of Religion Therefore often put in Scripture for the whole service of God He that calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved Rom. 10.13 A prayerless soul is graceless 2. Prayer is a duty much abused There 's scarce any thing so much perverted and corrupted as this choice duty by formality hypocrisie superstition base and by-ends as is clear by these Pharisees many wayes and their younger brethren the Papists at this day Masses Dirges Invocation of Saints c. 3. There are several sorts of Prayer Both as to the kinds modes and circumstances The Apostle distinguisheth of Supplications Prayers Intercessions and giving of Thanks 1 Tim. 2.1 There 's also Publick-Prayer Family-Prayer and Closet-Prayer Now a Christian must pray with all Prayer and Supplication Eph. 6.18 The last is here insisted on 4. A Christian must do nothing for praise or applause especially in matters of Religion It is a base prostituting the highest things of God to our beastly lusts It is to feed an humour and damn the soul with that which should save it Let no Christians as the Pharisees here make Prayer truckle to their credit Phil. 2.3 Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory 5. There are set and stated times of Prayer This is hinted in this word When when thou prayest A time there must be for it though the point of time is not determined yet a time must be set apart for the duty every day a Christian must chuse out the fittest time for the duty by the due use of his liberty and discretion 6. Circumstances are of great use in all our actions The streets are proper places to walk talk buy and sell in but not so fit for Prayer the Church is a fit place for publick devotion not so for a solemn performance of
talked with him Gen. 15.12 Chap. 17.3 came to him and he again discoursed familiarly with God 2. Isaac The son of the Promise a very contemplative man therefore 't is said Gen. 24.63 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Locutus est ore vel coâ—de cogitavit proprie significat submissa voce loqui utoâ—antes That Isaac went out to meditate in the field at even-tide The word signifies as well to Pray as Meditate 't is likely he did both in some solitary Walk where he conversed with his God The Chaldee translates it by praying but the Greek by exercising himself i. e. both in meditation and prayer And truly there is a near affinity betwixt these two sweet duties and 't is usual for a devout soul to fall out of the one into the other in its retirements Soliloquie in the heart helps to a colloquie with God Locus precibus ubique commodus maxime in solitudine ubi sensus de piis meditationibus minus a vocantur Pareus in loc But here observe Isaac's oratory which he had in the field which he used for more privacy There saith Pareus he continually poured out prayers to God and at this time more earnestly for the happy success of his servant a singular example of piety A place it was every way fit for prayer especially in solitude where the senses are less drawn off from pious meditations Some think he was returning from his devotions and then 't is worth noting What a speedy reward of his piety and effect of his prayers was granted Would all young men take the like course for a Wife they might meet seasonably with a Rebeckah in mercy 3. Jacob is a famous instance of this choice exercise few like him he was put to flee but they could not drive him from his God They had their meeting-places and intercourse where none saw particularly that remarkable time Gen. 32.24 Jacob was left alone And there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day 'T is likely Jacob had sent his houshold away on purpose that he might wrestle with God alone I shall not dispute whether Jacob had any extraordinary natural strength of body I am sure he had abundance of spiritual strength of grace nor shall I take notice of the Hebrews subtil disputes concerning this man Hosea tells us it was an Angel yet withal he tells us That by his strength he had power with God Hos 12.3 4. Therefore this was God himself the creating Gen. 48.16 not a created Angel even Jesus Christ the Angel that redeemed him from all evil whom Malachi calls The Angel of the Covenant Mal. 3.1 It was God himself Elohim whom Jacob overcame in this stupendious monomachia or conflict But how did he thus prevail The Text saith with prayers and tears he wept and made supplication Now he had gotten God to a side as it were and none came to distract him or to part this strong and blessed duel he is resolved to stick to his hold and not let God go till he blessed him And good Jacob came off a Noble Conqueror and from that purchased the famous name of Israel Oh unequal matches Oh unparallel'd conquest The seemingly-adverse combatant was Jacobs only assistant and the conquered was the invincible Jehovah and no other seconds or spectators but the Infinite God and Worm Jacob. 4. Moses was a choice man of God whom the Scripture characterizeth as a non-such Deut. 34.10 There arose not a Prophet since in Israel like unto Moses whom the Lord knew face to face And this intimate acquaintance was obtained maintained and exercised by this secret conversing with God How often do we find the Lord and his servant Moses together And none with them yea Moses only must come near and the rest must worship afar off Exod. 14.12 And what business have these familiar friends one with another Why sometimes the Lord speaks to Moses sometimes Moses speaks to God in secret prayer See both together in Exod. 32.9 10 11. A strange Scripture God and Moses had been conversing with each other in the mount fourty dayes God tells Moses the people had made them a molten calf and he was angry and would consume them and bids Moses let him alone as though Moses had bound the hands of omnipotency Nay then thinks Moses if my poor people be in this hazard since I am with God I 'le ply the throne of grace and improve my interest for them and then he falls closs to the work and besought the Lord his God and said At this time he alone stood in the gap Psal 106.25 and prevailed by his intercession to turn away Gods wrath from Israel Here was a work and this was the fruit of secret prayer 5. David the man after Gods own heart was a man much skilled in secret or closet meditations and prayers Hence some of his Psalms of Prayer and Praise were first composed in Caves Wildernesses and solitary places Psal 142. Title is Maschil of David a Prayer when he was in the Cave And this is for instruction to us so Maschil signifies Yea he purposely compiles the 102. Psal as a pattern to all that may be in his case that is solitary As a Pelican in the Wilderness an owl in the desart or a sparrow alone upon the house top v. 6 7. Then they are to pray as he did and to pour out their complaint before the Lord Yea upon a declaration of Gods covenant designs of mercy to David and his house the good man went either into some private room in his own house or into the Tent before the Ark and there set himself first to meditate then to pray for he did both as that Scripture clearly intimates 2 Sam. 7.17 27. And oh what memorable fruits of secret Prayer had David frequently Surely he felt the sweetness of it both in his soul and body in his spiritual estate and political affairs Therefore he commends it to all Psal 4. Commune with your own heart upon your bed or in your bed-chamber and there also offer the sacrifices of righteousness And put your trust in the Lord ver 4.5 SECT V. Five more Instances produced 6. ANother example from Scripture of the performance of this duty of secret prayer is the famous man of God Elijah who wrought many miracles and was mighty in prayer for so the Apostle James testifies of him Chap. 5 17 18. that he could shut and open Heaven he had as it were got the Key of the Clouds to open the windows of Heaven that it might rain or not rain according to his word But how came he by this power Why certainly he had great acquaintance with his God in secret Take one instance what his practice was 1 King 17.19 to ver 24. It is the memorable History of raising the Widow womans dead Son It was a great undertaking none but God could raise the dead God is to be implored by earnest Prayer no
CHAP. II. The Reasons to prove that Closet-Prayer is a Christian-Duty SECT I. The first Reason of the Point ALl the Reasons that I shall make use of at this time for the proof of this Doctrine and clearing secret Prayer to be a duty shall be fetcht out of the Text and they are these 4. Rea. 1. The conveniency of privacy for Prayer 2. The Relation betwixt God and a Saint 3. Gods Omniscience seeing in secret 4. Gods Munificence rewarding 1. The great conveniency there is in privacy for Prayer and the good providence of God bestowing upon us private Rooms which implicitly call us to the performance of that duty For there is in retirement a great advantage for the managing of any work of wisdom Prov. 18.1 Through desire a man having separated himself seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom i. e. He that is really studious of true Piety will voluntarily sequester himself to prosecute it This was anciently the well-meaning design of a Monastick life which since hath been wofully abused But yet certainly there is a very great advantage in solitariness for carrying on a religious business Take only two at present which are advantages particularly referring to this duty of Prayer whereunto secrecy contributes 1. Self-expostulations and self-abasing gestures and expressions when a Christian in Prayer finds his heart hard dead dull distracted or any way out of order he may in secret make a pause and begin to commune with his own heart examine the matter lament the cause chide his untoward heart and charge his wanton spirit to keep close to his God in duty Thus David Why art thou cast down O my soul Awake Psaltery and Harp I my self will awake early My soul wait thou upon God Nothing more familiar in the Psalms than such intercisions and diversions from the work in hand to raise up the heart to an higher tune in Prayer and Praises And this may be of singular use for by such heart-reasonings and debates a Saint may wind up his spirit and get better prepared for the remaining part of the exercise Now such a work as this would not be so seasonable and convenient when others joyn in the duty So also for bodily postures sometimes for an evidence of greater humiliation a Christian finds it requisite to prostrate himself before the Lord And use such gestures as would not be fit in the sight of others therefore Closet-Prayer is very necessary where a Christian may use his discretion as God shall direct him for the humbling quickning raising and melting of his heart before the Lord alone That 's the first advantage 2. It is a wonderful help against distraction When we are as it were out of the noise of the world we are then fitter for attendance upon God The affairs discourses troubles and confusions of a family if within hearing are a great hindrance to the duties of Meditation and Prayer Experience testifies this a man cannot study or cast accounts in a croud or throng of People When we are intent upon any business how little a noise diverts us It may be this was the reason why that hospitable Gentlewoman in 2 King 4.10 would have a Chamber built for her welcom-guest the Prophet Elisha yea built upon the wall for she might judge him to be a contemplative man and though she might have lodging-rooms in her house yet she might look upon that at a little distance as more commodious for his devotions and meditations as being out of the noise of houshold-business and hurryings An active fancy quickly closeth with any diversion in our attendance upon God Therefore ought we to study to attend upon the Lord without distraction When Abraham went to worship in the Mount he left his servants below in the valley lest they should obstruct his communion with God When Moses was to go up unto the Lord though Aaron Nadab and Abihu and the seventy Elders went further than the People yet the Text saith They should worship afar off but saith God Moses alone shall come near the Lord Exod. 24.1 2. Observe it when Moses had parted with his company and was alone then he should come near the Lord common professors worship not God at all acceptably sincere Saints worshipping God with others are comparatively far off but souls in a corner or Closet are admitted to come near God and have sweet intimacy with him as I shall shew anon Yet mistake me not not as though I preferred secret Prayer alone before publick Prayer with others for as God delights in the joint prayers of his People so a soul may enjoy God in communion of Saints and is ordinarily more carryed out to God than in private according to the helps and advantages he hath with others yet when the heart is in frame there is usually more intimacy exprest betwixt God and the Christian in secret than with others Yet further mistake not not as though solitariness free'd us from all distractions iâ— we take our hearts with us we shall have a principle of diversion and need neither noise nor visible objects to hinder us from God And this those that have magnified solitariness most have found by sad experience and left upon record Take an instance Locus secretus eligitur quia solus Dei judicio â—eâ—unia suut agenda singularem inspectorem adjutoremque Deum volunt haec habere câ—…tamina neque in agon bus aliquibus periculosus militatur Propâ—er hoc Solitudo carent arbitris Eremus assentaterum satellitio vacua à jejunanâ—e Christo el gitur ut non cum carne sanguine sed cum spiritualibus nequiâ—iis dimicâ—tur amotis minorum occasionibus homo cum Diabolo colluctetur soli sint in palastra Christus Antichristus Spiritus Antispiritus Neque putet homo se evasisse pericula cum in eremum venerit quia quanto saltilius tanto difficilius à Teâ—tatore invaditur qui cogitationum foribus assilens omnia virtutum germina in ipso ortu strangulare molitur Cyp. De jejun teâ—tat Christi Prope init pag. 300 301. Verum siberius anima expedita obviat impugnanti ubi compedes impedimentorum defueriat aspectus irritamenta non noveriat Securiorque est congressus ubi singuâ—a non vellicant dimicante nec inebriant animum lenocinio voluptatum vid. plur Cyprian speaking of Christs fasting and being tempted in the Wilderness chusing that place for its secrecy because saith he Fastings are to be observed so as God alone may be Judge and in such contests as these we are to call on God alone as spectator and helper And shews notably the danger of vain-glory and advantages of secrecy yet adds Let not a man imagine he hath escaped all dangers when he comes into a Wilderness or solitary place because he is invaded by the tempter so much the more difficulty because more subtily who sitting before the doors of the thoughts seeks to strangle all the buds of vertue
joy i. e. No creature on earth is privy to the secret groans or sweetest solace of a retired Saint That 's the second Reason SECT III. The third Reason is drawn from God seeing in secret ANother Reason is drawn from Gods Omniscience and Omnipresence the Text saith Thy Father sees in secret And the strength or force of this argument lyes in these four particulars 1. God sees in secret Therefore he takes notice whether thou pray in secret yea or no He looks after thee as it were when thou goest into such a chamber and solitary place and saith That soul hath now an opportunity a convenient place and fit occasion to wait upon me and will he not Will he be always so busie in other company that I must have none of his fellowship Must his converse be so much with men that he can spare no time for communion with God Nay will he go so often into such a room to do such and such a business and can he never find a time to go down upon his knees and visit me Hath he so much to do in the world that he hath no leisure to look up to Heaven Do his worldly occasions still thrust out spiritual meditations Will he never set himself solemnly to transact betwixt my self and him in Prayer and Meditation the most important business of his soul Ah sirs the Omnipresent God takes notice of all your motions into and out of your chambers and expects that sometimes at least your souls should wait upon him And why should Christians frustrate his expectation 2. God sees in secret Therefore he hath seen thy secret sins and sins in secret Thy closs and Closet-wickedness is naked and open before the piercing eyes of an all-seeing God therefore should thy Closet-tears and Prayers testifie thy sound and saving repentance For this is a rule in practical divinity that sorrow for sin must bear some proportion to the nature and circumstances of the sin both as to degree and circumstances of time and place Manassch humbled himself greatly for his great abominations So for place and manner them that sin openly must be rebuked before all and testifie their repentance before the Church 1 Tim. 5.20 So if the sin be private or less known the rule in Mat. 18.15.16 is to be observed for private admonition and confession And consequently secret sins must be secretly mourned for When thy sins are known to none but to God and thine own conscience thou art not bound to discover them to any other but to God in an hearty secret repentance except in some few cases Here then comes in secret prayer and godly sorrow Well then there 's none of us without our secret sins and God sees them all though never so privily committed we may hide sin from men we cannot hide it from the Lord he sets our secret sins in the sight of his countenance Psal 90.8 His eyes are open upon all the wayes of man and who knows all the errors of his life Job 34.21 21. Jer. 32.19 Pro. 5.10 Therefore must we get alone and enumerate all the sins we know of and desire God to shew us what we do not know and with holy David breath out that devout Petition Psal 19.12 Cleanse thou me from secret faults 3. God sees in secret Therefore thou dost not lose thy labour though men know not where thou art or what thou art a doing yet thy God takes notice of thee thou dost not thy good works incognito though thy groans are not seen or heard by men yet they are well known to thy God Psal 38.9 Lord all my desire is before thee and my groaning is not hid from thee As if David should say Lord I many times withdraw my self into a Closet or retired place and there I open before the Lord the sorrows of my soul I pour out my heart like water before the face of the Lord Lam. 2.19 Sometimes in the night-watches or in solitary places none knows what I am doing no eye sees no ear hears my briny trears or bitter out-cryes but the all-seeing God hides not his eyes from my tears stops not his ears to my cryes but knows my groans yea my very desires Observe it There is not a believing Prayer but it is upon the file and on record in Heaven though offered up by an obscure person in an obscure place yea God knoweth the meaning of his spirit in the hearts of his people Rom. 8.17 though the troubled Saint cannot tell whether it be indeed the spirit of God or no But this know that secret prayers in a chamber are as well known to God as open prayers in a publick Church heart-ejaculations are owned by God as well as loudest acclamations God took notice of Hezekiah when he turned his face toward the wall and wept and prayed and saith God I have heard thy Prayer I have seen thy Tears Isa 38.5 Though men did not much take notice God did yea more he expresseth his approbation and acceptation of these sacrifices in secret But of that anon 4. God sees in secret Therefore Closet-Prayer is a solemn acknowledgment of Gods omniscience and omnipresence When you pray in a corner you testifie your faith in Gods ubiquity and look upon him as filling Heaven and Earth and this God commands us to believe yea would have us to lye under the sense hereof Hence that vehement expostulation Jer. 23.24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord Do not I fill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord Yes saith the believing soul I know thou art every where no thought can be with-holden from thee therefore I wait on thee here all 's one where I am for wherever I am I cannot run away from thee and wherever I am I may approach unto thee And the Lord is nigh to broken hearts and praying souls Psal 34.15 17 18. He is not far from every one of us but his special presence is with his Saints in duty David composeth a Psalm of God's Immensity Psal 139. Wherein he shews 1. Gods omniscience in the six first verses Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up rising c. 2 Gods omnipresence ver 7. to ver 14. Whither shall I go from thy spirit If to Heaven thou art there c. Darkness and light are both alike to thee And what use doth holy David make of this Heavenly doctrine surely if God will be with him wherever he is he is resolved to be with God v. 18. When I awake I am still with thee i. e. by secret prayer and meditation when I lye down I commend my soul and body to thee and when I rise up I meditate of thee when I go to sleep I pray when I awake I am with God by holy and precious thoughts So that I am still with God all my dayes in all places conditions relations companies I am still with my God and as a good man
all one Spirit as well as all one Father And is not this a Spirit of Grace and Supplication And is it not that which on all occasions draws the Soul to its Father 'T is said of Paul when newly converted Behold he prayeth Act. 9.11 Others do not see it but I know it there he is in a corner sighing and seeking me Go Ananias enquire for him he is now one of you a real Convert for Behold he prayeth A Soul praying in secret is worthy observation there 's an Ecce put upon it Behold he prayeth And why should we that pretend to be Saints be unlike our brethren 3. Are you not herein unlike your selves in former times When God did at first work upon your hearts did you not then run to God in a corner Did you not set your selves intently to the duty of secret Prayer How often did God find you by your selves sighing sorrowing weeping bleeding breathing after God pouring out your hearts like water before the face of the Lord And your heavenly Father pitied you spoke very kindly to you wiped off your tears cheared your hearts heard your prayers and made those dayes of grief times of love Oh the sweet embraces that then were betwixt your souls and God Have you forgotten such a Chamber Such a Closet such a Barn such a Wood Where you sometimes walkt and meditated sometimes fell prostrate and wept before the Lord till you had no more power to weep If you have forgotten those blessed days your God hath not He remembers thee the kindness of thy youth the love of thine spousals when thou wentest after him in a solitary Wilderness Jer. 2.2 Canst not thou remember the day when thou wouldst rather have been with thy God in a private Room than upon a Princes Throne Yea thou thoughtest thou wast to do nothing else but cry and pray in secret thou wast at it every day yea many times a in day How comes it to pass that there 's such a change That thou dost so rarely go to visit thy old friend in a Corner Is he changed Is he not so good and kind as he was wont to be Hast thou found any fault in God Or art not thou blame-worthy What 's become of thy ancient Spirit of Prayer Why dost thou forget thy sweetest wrestling-place Why dost thou not inquire for these good old wayes of communion with thy God SECT III. Saints neglects further reproved 4. LEt me further expostulate with Gods Children that are rarely exercised in this duty of Secret-Prayer Do you not deprive your selves of many sweet refreshments Have not your souls had sweet experience of ravishing incomes in secret duties How many pleasant morsels have you eaten alone Have not these stolen waters been sweet And would they not be so again if you would open the same sluice Oh what hints of love might your souls have that no creature would know of Secret influences are conveyed to souls in secret duties these you block up by neglect Ah sirs Are the consolations of God small to you Is communion with God of no worth Why are you so unwilling to take pains to go to your Father Especially when you know he hath a kindness for you Have you ever lost by such duties Will not your gains infinitely countervail your pains Ask those that use it most they will tell you it is the sweetest time they spend Yea cannot your own experience attest it Did you ever lose your labour when you set your selves about the work in good earnest Hath not this closs and privy trading with God brought in much spiritual profit Beloved friends you little consider the good you miss of for want of performing this excellent duty But that 's not all 5. Do you not by neglect of secret prayer expose your selves to many sad temptations Watching and Prayer are singular helps against temptation Mat. 26.41 I have heard that Satan hath openly professed that he hath watched when some of Gods children have gone out without Closet-Prayer and that day he hath gotten great advantage against them sometimes by tripping up their heels and casting them down from their excellency into some gross iniquity sometimes tormenting their hearts with blasphemous or soul-perplexing injections Sometimes God hath left them to fall into some afflictive snare laid by this subtil Fowler which hath cost them many bitter pangs all this and much more hath been the fruit of such neglects Christians Have you not found this too true by sad experience When you have gone abroad without calling on God hath not God secretly withdrawn from you Hath not Satan obtained his designs upon you Have not your hearts been growing out of frame Some lust increasing grace decaying and your souls at the brink of some astonishing fall When you have gone out in the morning without a good breakfast with God Have you not been apt to gather wind and vanity to the prejudice of your souls health If you ingage not God by Prayer to go with you What security have you for that day If God leave you the Devil may do what he list with you and hamper you in a thousand snares and sins 6. Doth not your neglect of secret Prayer argue little love to God Or delight to be in his Company When persons have a dear affection to each other they love to be together Love delights in union and communion Yea when persons love intirely they withdraw from other company that they may injoy each other with more indeared familiarity the presence of a third mixeth the streams of Communication and mars their intimate communion And if you did passionately love the Lord would you not withdraw from others that your souls might injoy some fresh and refreshing intercourse with your best Beloved How can you say you love him when you have no mind of his company If you did indeed love him Cant. 3.5 you would hold him and not let him go Amor meus pondus meum until you had with the Spouse brought him into the Chambers of intimate communion and solitary recesses Love is the weight of the soul and draws it to the object beloved If your hearts were ravisht with him you would take more pleasure in conversing with him you would bless God for an opportunity of injoying him But this strangeness speaks a great defect in this noble grace And would you be esteemed such as love not God What a sad thing is it to be low and scant in love to God under such strong engagements to love Poor soul have not those silken silver cords of love which have been cast about thee drawn thee nearer and bound thee faster to thy God than thus Have not such bellows and incentives kindled and increased thy spark of love into a flame Lament thy sin and shame thy self before thy God for this decay of love and dangerous neglect 7. Do not you by these omissions declare your selves ingrateful to the grace of God It 's Gods
you leave any matters of the world tarrying for your attendance the thought of them will attend you and make you cut your duties short and run away before your hearts be warmed Therefore if it may be dispatch them however rid your hearts of them The Heathen left their shooes at the Temple-doors to shew that all earthly occasions and affections must be left behind when we go to God Let vain or busie thoughts have there no part Bring not thy Plow thy Plots thy Pleasures thither Christ purg'd his Temple so must thou thy heart All worldly thoughts are but thieves met together To couzen thee Herbert SECT II. Two more Preparatives to Secret Prayer 3. SEt your selves in Gods presence Although you be not within the view of any mortal creature yet the eternal God sees what you are a going about So saith the Text Your father sees in secret darkness or clossness hides not from him and 't is more that one God sees you than if all the men on earth gazed at you His eyes are ten thousand times brighter than the Sun and he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity Heb. 1.13 Psal 26.6 Psal 66.18 therefore wash your hands in innocency before you compass his altar For if you regard iniquity in your heart God will not hear your prayer Therefore set the Lord always before you especially now you are setting your selves before the Lord if that Caveat was enough to beget reverence in an Heathen Cave spectat Cato Cato sees thee Oh what reverence would the sense of Gods omnipresence beget in thy heart if duly weighed Christians weight your spirits with such meditations as these God's eye is never off me I am daily walking in the Sun but now I am setting my self to pray in secret I come to appear before God in a special manner I may deceive men and my self but God will not be mocked I had need now engage my heart to approach unto God that 's the thing he looks for Oh for a spirit suitable to such a Majesty whom I come to worship Lord draw out my affections unite my heart excite my graces that my whole Soul may be carried after God Thus commit thy works to the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established Psal 37.5 Prov. 16.3 when thou art setting thy face towards a duty where thou art sure to meet Satan and carry with thee a corrupt deceitful heart let God know from thy mouth whither thou art going what thy fears are Never saith one doth the soul march in so good order as when it puts it self under the conduct of God and never is it so awful as when it sets it self under the eye of God Gen. 17.1 I am God Almighty walk before me and be thou perfect When you sensibly discern you are kneeling before God will not this make you perfect sincere and grow holier If you think God be not in your Closets what do you go to pray there for And if you know he sees you there why do you not think so and set your selves as in his presence The child will stand demurely before his Father the Scholar before his Master and so will the gracious Soul before God in duty if sensible of his presence 4. Muster up your thoughts and wayes Our thoughts and affections are like the strings of an Instrument out of tune and therefore we must take some pains to wind and skrue them up This is that which Zophar adviseth to Job 11.13 to prepare the heart and then stretch forth the hands And for this end it would not be amiss when you come into a private room to pray in secret first to read some portion of Scripture which may be of use to compose your spirits and like David's harp to Saul drive away your wild imaginations yea the word read may afford you suitable matter of prayer to God More particularly let me add one experienced Help which is this When you are addressing your selves to God in secret Prayer endeavour to fix your thoughts upon some particular subject to inlarge upon there 's no question but you have sometimes one special errand to God sometimes another if you observe your condition well be sure to mind that whether it be to confess some predominant sin to beg pardon of it power against it You may have in your eye some grace that you need more than ordinarily and see your weakness and defect therein c. Now do not satisfie your selves in running out into generals only but set your selves to plead the cause of your souls in that very case which you have found out by serious inquiry would most ingage you at that time to go to God about expatiate principally upon that subject And this I conceive to be a taking to our selves words which the Holy Ghost directeth us to Hos 14.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Verbum res negotium Vid. Buxt lex in Prayer not a form of such and such phrases but some special subject matter to speak to our God about the word in Hebrew imports so much Now an intent and earnest pursuit of such a special subject at the Throne of Grace is of use in these two respects 1. You will find it an help against distractions wandrings withdrawings from God when you purposely set your selves to mind one thing you 'l be more intent upon it and lay out more pains about it than when you allow your selves liberty in variety of matter When the stream runs one way Vis unita fortior 't is stronger than dispersed into several channels so when the Christian unites his strength to plead with God about a particular business he is usually more warm and affectionate and so less subject to distraction 2. It will help you to enlarge your selves in spreading particular cases before the Lord in pat and proper expressions even before others as you have a call and opportunity and this is that which is called the gift of Prayer which is of singular use when a person can particularly and pathetically lay open a condition plead with God improve promises and rationally expostulate even with the Almighty about a spiritual or temporal concernment This holy Art is got by a frequency in secret Prayer and particular pleading for a mans own soul This is the last preparatory think before-hand what business you have to God in a peculiar manner and drive that nail as it were to the head you cannot think to speak of all things to God at one time but take that which is of present emergent use and importance and set your selves to inlarge upon that follow that home till you feel your hearts be warmed and affected and so have some tokens for good that God will return a sensible answer You 'l say Must we thus prepare our selves before every duty of secret Prayer we have not time for it I shall answer this in the words of my dear and reverend Father Angier His
reach the ear of God for he knoweth the mind of the Spirit Phil. 3.3 Jude 20. This is that which is called a worshipping God in the spirit a praying in the holy Ghost i. e. either as to the matter of the Prayer dictated by the Spirit or as to the manner of praying the soul being actuated by the holy Ghost See Mark 11.36 13.11 For I conceive it may import the former as well as the latter as other Scriptures compared hold forth Alas flesh and blood will put up such petitions as God will not accept or in such a manner as is no way suitable to his spiritual Nature The truth is Christians you will but bungle at the work without this help of Gods Spirit and God will take notice of you except he hear his own language do not think you can wrestle out the business your selves you must be beholding to God for help in Prayer as well as for hearing your Prayer your own spirits will not carry you to Heaven that which is from the earth is earthly and riseth no higher than earth but the holy Ghost will elevate your souls to God Therefore I beseech you Sirs beg the Spirit yield to its motions improve its operations say when you are going to duty Lord now stir up thy self and stir up thy grace in my heart Awake oh North-wind and come thou South blow upon thy Garden Cant. 4.16 My Soul that the spices thereof may flow out that graces may be exercised and exerted Lord I am low flat hard send the powerful arm of thy blessed Spirit to work all gracious dispositions in me and raise up my affections to thee I see I am below the duty and infinitely below thee in the duty but thou and thou alone canst raise me up quicken soften my dead and rocky heart come Lord and shew thy powerful Arm let it appear what God can do for a sorry worm Oh lift me up to thee that my soul may enjoy some sweet communion with thee Send thy spirit to fetch in my wanton wandring heart Oh for some fire from Heaven to burn up my sacrifice or else it will lye like a lump of flesh and be no true Holocaust of pure Incense before thee Let thy Spirit scatter these mists of ignorance and drive away these flies of distracting thoughts that my heart may be with thee and my performance may be as sweet savour in the nostrils of God SECT IV. More Essentials in secret Prayer A Third ingredient in Prayer is that it be according to God's will it must have a warrant from the Word a word of Precept or Promise or Example must be the ground of our petitions a command is our warrant a promise our incouragement an example is our tract and the footsteps of the flock wherein we must walk He that asks amiss shall not speed but if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us and then we know we have the petitions that we desired of him 1 Joh. 5.14 15. Now we ask according to his will when both the matter of our petition is aright and our end in asking is Gods glory and our own or others spiritual good otherwise if we ask of God what we conceit to be a mercy and have not asked counsel at God's mouth or ask so as to consume it upon our lusts we may well meet with a denial My friends you may not say what you please in the presence of God Consider God is in Heaven you are on Earth therefore be not rash with your mouth and let not your heart be hasty to utter any thing before God let your words be few and well weighed Eccles 5.2 The work you are about is a solemn business do not ramble in extravagant desires of unlawful things think not that God will patronize your lusts and when you have asked that which you conceive is according to his will refer it wholly to his Will say The Will of the Lord be done submit your selves to his dispose for time manner means and all circumstances for giving of it ask temporal mercies conditionally and spiritual Comforts with submission to Gods will learn that petition Thy will be done to pray it as well as say it Indeed Luther could say Let thy will be done but he come off with this My will Lord because my will is melted into thine there 's but one will betwixt us Let God's will be your will 't is fit it should be so our heavenly Father is wiser than we Consider Haec repraesentatio debet esse submissa humilis alias enim non esset precatio religiosa à creatura subdita ad supremum Numen Creatorem directa sed vel imperium superioris ergo inferiorem vel quasi familiaris collocutio quatis est inter aequales Ames medull theol lib. 2.6 p. 255. a man cannot pray in faith for that which he hath no warrant to ask Besides Amesius saith If a man come not with an humble submission to Gods will it were not a religious prayer directed to the supream Creator but a kind of command by a superiour to an inferiour or a familiar discourse as amongst equals Therefore let us humbly plead Gods Will as Abraham did Gen. 18.27 Further consider the design of Prayer is not to incline God before unwilling to our mind and desire for with him there is no variableness nor shadow of change but that we may obtain of him by Prayer what we know afore-hand he is willing to give Lastly consider we Christs example Mat. 26.39 If it be possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt This is right praying to ground our petition upon a promise yet freely to leave all at Gods feet to dispose of us as he sees good Our prayers and Gods promises should point towards each other as those two figures 9 and 6. Promises do bend downwards and after the same motion must our prayers ascend upwards so will there be a blessed harmony and seasonable return This is the third Direction Let your Prayers be warranted by the Word 4. Improve your Advocate Joh. 14.13 Whatsoever you ask in my name that will I do To ask any thing in his name is not rudely customarily or complementally to conclude with these words Through Jesus Christ our Lord c. but in confidence of his merit and intercession to call upon our heavenly Father as Daniel pleads for the Lords sake Dan. 9.17 For since the Fall none can come immediately to God but through a Mediator nor are we to fetch a compass by the groundless invocation of Saints and Angels I hope you have otherwise learned Christ I am most afraid in the practick part that in particular acts at least precious Souls are in danger to miscarry especially in Closet-Prayer when a Christian is got alone and there finds a sweet gale of the blessed Spirit helping his heart to mourn for sin bewail
husbands wives apart Zech. 12.11 12. And of gracious souls to be like Doves of the valleys every one mourning for his iniquity Eze. 7.16 There must be joynt-Prayers and separated Prayers together and apart Let not Christians be content to find Christ in a Corner for themselves but let them do what they can that others also may enjoy him this was the frame of the Church or believing Soul Cant. 3.4 When she had found him I held him saith she and would not let him go until I had brought him into my Mothers house i. e. into more publick assemblies And truly Christians that man hath not found Christ at all that would not have all others to find him Oh thinks the Christian in his retirement that others did but feel and injoy what my soul hath sweet experience of would to God my Husband Wife Brother Father Child Neighbour would but try this course a while Oh what advantage would they get by it Though I eat these sweet morsels alone yet fain would I have others to partake with me In things of this world persons are apt to grudge others any benefit by what they have stoln from others a view but in spiritual advantages there 's no envy and if there be it proceeds not from Grace but from corrupt Nature the more grace the less envy and when envy is gone persons will be communicative Take away envy Tolle invidiam mea tua sunt tua mea and mine is thine and thine is mine true Grace or Charity is kind envieth not 1 Cor. 13.4 Now this I am perswading to that they that have found Christ would be so charitable to souls as to communicate the knowledge of him and the way to enjoy him unto others Thus doth Andrew come to Simon and Philip to Nathaniel and both of them were as a man finding a jewel and cannot contain overjoyed and cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have found him We have found the Messias Joh. 1.41 45. And when the poor woman of Samaria had been privately conversing with Jesus down she threw at least left behind her her water-pot and all in haste went to the City and said to the men Come see a man which told me all things that ever I did Is not this the Christ John 4.28 29. Thus do you sirs promote and propagate this choice duty commend it unto others practice and so you may be instruments of good CHAP. VII Concerning the matter or words of Prayer SECT I. THere is one thing yet remains which it may be expected something should be spoken to and that is The matter in praying or words of Prayer Whether it be lawful or requisite to use a form or no Most judge Videas Ames Cas Cons lib. 4. c. 17. p. 190. that as forms are lawful so prescript words may be requisite to some young beginners in Religion and other Christians of weak parts that cannot express their desires to God in fit words to help their rudeness yet Christians ought to press after more growth and proficiency that they may lay aside those Crutches and arrive at that gift of Prayer that may be of singular use As for Closet-Prayer Practical Catech. pag. 277. Dr. Hammond doth assert it that every one may ask his own wants in what form of words he shall think fit And indeed all particular cases incident and variable can scarce be comprehended in one constant form besides in secret Prayer God doth not so much stand upon phrases or pat sentences as the workings of the heart in sighs and groans which are the best Rhetorick in his ears It 's inquired Whether we may use the Lords Prayer I answer we may use it as other prayers in Scripture but I conceive the principal end of it is not to be rehearsed every time we pray but an example platform or directory according to the contents whereof we must direct our prayers Therefore for the further help of young professors I shall briefly touch at the several branches of that admirable compendious rule of Prayer you have in Mat. 6. ver 9. to v. 14. And the rather because it may seem to refer chiefly though not only to Closet-devotion what I shall say to it may be a practical analysing of it in its several parts and branches 1. For the preface Our Father which art in Heaven You may thus make use of it Infinite and Eternal Majesty the Maker of Heaven and Earth who dwellest in the highest Heavens and in the lowest hearts who seest all things here below and art a God that hearest prayers I am a poor worm at thy foot-stool looking up to the Throne of thy Grace cast a Fatherly eye up on me and though I be by Nature a Child of wrath yet through Jesus Christ make me thy child by Grace and Adoption teach me to cry Abba Father with holy reverence and filial confidence raise my heart to Heaven beget in me Faith in thy promises love to my brethren and due apprehensions of thy Soveraign power and gracious condescention that praying by the help of thy Spirit in the name of thy Son I may obtain good at thy Fatherly hands Secondly for the Petitions 1. Petition Hallowed be thy Name Thus O my God I have dishonoured thee all my days by my ignorance pride hardness and unthankfulness and I am unapt and unable to glorifie thee but do thou glorifie thy self in my conversion and salvation help me to know and adore thee to make an high account of thy titles attributes ordinances to believe thy word admire thy works in mercy or judgment help me with spiritual thoughts becoming my holy profession with divine lips speaking good of thy Name and a suitable conversation to walk before the Lord Holy God destroy Atheism Ignorance Idolatry and Profaneness magnifie thy Name through the World and direct and dispose all things to the advancement of thy glory by thy over-ruling providence and thy infinite wisdom 2. Petition Thy Kingdom come Thus improve it Lord I must confess that by nature I am dead in sin and a bond-slave to the Prince of darkness who rules in my heart and leads me captive by ignorance errour disobedience but do thou by the power of thy grace cast out the strong man take possession of my heart sway thy blessed Scepter in me bring my whole man to obedience destroy Satans kingdom propagate the Gospel among all Nations purge thy house furnish thy Church with officers orders and pure ordinances make Kings nursing Fathers to it convert sinners confirm Saints comfort the sad hasten thy second coming to judgement and the blessed Kingdom of Glory 3. Petition Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Thus Holy Majestie I acknowledge my natural ignorance of thy will impotencie to obey it yea enmity and antipathy against it my best services are imperfect my spirit repining under thy hand and my will wilfully resisting grace and rushing into sin but Dear Lord
positive Scripture-warrant to bind my conscience I dare not do otherwise I may say If I be deceived thou hast deceived me but I am sure plain Texts are no cheats I cannot otherwise understand such a Command and oh my God since thou hast thus ingaged me in thy work wilt thou suffer me to miscarry therein 4. He pleads a particular promise I will deal well with thee Surely a comprehensive word containing in it all that Jacob wanted Thus must a Christian search the Scriptures get hold of a promise spread it before the Lord whether for spiritual grace inward comfort or outward supply as thus Lord I find a promise in such a place to a person in my very case pat and pertinent to my very condition as if it had been calculated purposely for me in this juncture now Lord make it good to my Soul and Seed thou hast made it good to others in my state and why not to me Am not I an heir of promise And must not I have a share therein 5. Jacob lays himself under the sense of his own unworthiness I am not worthy saith he of the least of all thy mercies This is the property and excellency of a Saint to nullifie himself and Omnifie God as I may so say thus Abraham in his pleading calls himself dust and ashes and the Centurion judged himself not worthy that Christ should come under his roof Thus then abase thy self Lord I am not worthy to enjoy any common mercy not fit to lift up mine eyes to thee less than the least of thy mercies behold I am vile I am not only destitute of merits but full of demerits Hell is my desert I can challenge nothing as mine but sin and the fruits thereof Lord I condemn my self do not thou condemn me and cast me from thee 6. He is affected with Gods faithfulness in the performance of his promises acknowledging the truth of God shewed to his servant There is mercy in Gods making a promise to Abraham Mic. 7.20 truth in making it good to Jacob. Well then with Jacob thus plead Lord 't is true there was nothing of desert in me to engage thee either to make or keep thy gracious promise but sure the word is gone from thee yea and notwithstanding all my treachery and unfaithfulness thou hast kept it to this day Oh keep it still it depends wholly on thee let not my vanity alter the course of thy mercy but pardon and accept as thou hast done from my Aegypt until now 7. Jacob further recounts his former meanness his low condition With my staff I passed over this Jordan I came hither in a poor contemptible manner a sorry pilgrim thus do you plead Truth it is Lord thy grace is absolutely free there was neither wit nor wealth to move thee to do what thou hast done I can remember the time when I was as sorry and silly a creature as was in all the Countrey there was no capacity in me to do thee any remarkable service thou didst not set thy love upon me for any natural or moral accomplishments even so Father because it pleased thee and wilt thou now forsake me Thou mightest have done that at easier rates 8. Here 's Jacob's Stone of memorial for by-past and present mercies Now saith he I am become two bands i. e. two great companies of wives children servants flocks herds I may say These where had they been 'T is strange to see poor worm Jacob thus rich oh the bounty of God! So do thou say Lord take notice what thou hast done for me must all this be in vain Wilt thou throw away these good things Wilt thou not rather crown these gifts with continuance of thy kindness Wilt thou return to do me hurt after thou hast done me all this good Dost thou not remember my convictions consolations my fears tears doubtings refreshments Oh the passages of love betwixt thee and me Shall I be the grave of these mercies Lord forget me not 9. Here 's his sense of approaching danger Deliver me I pray thee from the hand of my Brother for I fear him c. A Brother offended is harder to be won than a strong City Jacob's danger was a spur to his Prayer A pursued Hart runs fast for shelter so do thou Soul when afraid flie to the Lord and say Oh my God I have deadly enemies within without my case is forlorn desperate I have none to run to but thy self Hast not thou said that in thee the fatherless find mercy Other refuge fails me no man cares for my soul Lord relieve deliver this sinful wretch else I go down into the pit 10. Once more doth Jacob plead the promise and inlarge the granted Charter Thou saidst I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the Sea Thus do you still seek out suck sweetness from and put in suit the promises by earnest prayer In this manner Lord hast thou not promised an heart of flesh a broken heart Why then is my heart hardened from thy fear Dost thou not say thou wilt give thy holy Spirit to them that ask it This Lord I want to be a spirit of truth and illumination a spirit of prayer and supplication a spirit of grace and sanctification and of satisfaction Oh bestow this mercy upon me Dost thou not promise to take away my inqiuities by pardoning Grace for thine own Name sake And to subdue my corruption and increase grace and bring me to glory Lord remember thy word unto thy servant in which thou hast caused me to trust Thus much for helps in pleading with God and for that use of Instruction CHAP. VIII An Vse of Exhortation urged SECT I. THe last Use is for Exhortation to put us on to the performance of this sweet duty of Closet-Prayer My beloved friends I beseech you suffer the word of Exhortation you see the work before you you see a plain Scripture-warrant for it you have heard many Instances of Scripture-patterns you see the manner of the performance let none now plead ignorance or look upon it as needless or make excuses or evasions Is it not equal and reasonable Is it not worth the while to converse with your God in a Corner Look over the reasons of the Doctrine and see if there be not some weight in them But besides those I shall propound to you these expostulatory Motives 1. Would you not be such as make conscience of every commanded duty You are no real Saints unless you have respect to all Gods Commandments Psal 119.6 If you pick and chuse in your obedience you are hollow-hearted hypocrites And can you deny this to be a duty And will you stand dodging with God Must he raze this Sentence out of the Bible to humour your conceits and sloth Is not Closet-Prayer a Christian duty Dare you argue against it Out of what Topicks will you fetch your Arguments And do you acknowledge it to be a duty and
will not practise it Your own mouths will condemn you What needs any more Witnesses But if you be real Saints I dare say you do approve of it and practise it sometimes and why are you not constant in your obedience Is it not the property of a Saint to do righteousness at all times Psal 106.3 Oh consider this and do not either neglect a command or omit this known duty 2. Would you not have the truth of grace cleared up in your souls Surely there 's no Christian but would arrive at Assurance and this is one way to evidence sincerity being much with God in secret duty As he grieves truly that grieves without witness Ille doâ—…t vere qui sine teste dolet so those religious actings are most evidential of grace that are least obvious to the view of men and whereby a Christian approves his heart only to the heart-searching God Here 's the true Israelite that can Rom. 2.28 with Jacob converse with God alone and seeks his praise not of men but of God Observe it a Christian ordinarily hath not that comfort in a duty exposed to others view which he hath in that he performs betwixt God and his own Soul For there 's most danger of selfishness in the former and more self-denial in the latter The wind of applause may blow men far in a creditable performance but humility and sincerity is most evident in secret Appeals to God Consider this Christians you run to Sermons Ministers good Books and take much pains to try your state by marks and signs make tryal of this more compendious course to clear your state be much with God in Closet-Prayer 3. Would you not be found in the practice of the power of godliness Oh then fall closs to Closet-Prayer Alas sirs hearing Sermons reading Scriptures discoursing religiously praying in the family may be done only for fashion sake and the person that doth them may have no more than the form of godliness Mistake me not I do not condemn the practice of these nor them that do them as formalists for that God forbid they are Scripture duties but the outward part of these may be done without the power of godliness but to struggle with a man 's own heart to wrestle with God in a Corner to meditate and give up a mans self to these duties as in the presence of God oh this shews something of the power of grace and life of holiness This is heart-work and that 's hard work costly duties spiritual exercises which is more than to offer God thousands of Rams or a first-born Son David would not offer that to God that cost him nothing and shall we be content with the ordinary duties which may be consistent with an easie plodding formality 4. Would you not have your hearts cased under pressing burdens Are you in love with your sorrows would you not be rid of them Behold I shew unto you an excellent way to get ease which is a recourse to God in secret Prayer I have heard some precious Christians say that when any thing hath lyen upon their hearts ready to overwhelm them they have run to God in a corner and there have left their load and thence have gone with good Hannah and have been no more sad And experience tells us that when any pressing affliction lies upon us if we can unbosom our selves to an intimate friend though not a word of counsel or comfort pass from him yet that opening of our hearts doth ease as vomiting doth an oppressed stomack And hence saith Job I will speak that I may be refreshed And Scripture backs this in Phil. 4.6 Be careful in nothing but in every thing make your requests known to God and unload your cares and fears into the bosom of God but how Why by Prayer and Supplication in Thanksgiving lay your load on God by Prayer and he will bear it 5. Would you not obtain boldness in access to God and familiarity with him Oh go often to God in Closet-Prayer Princes take more state upon them when conversing with their favourites before others but when none are present they open their hearts more familiarly to them I know Abraham saith God he and I are well acquainted he is my friend he visits me often and shall I hide any thing from Abraham I 'll take him to a side and tell him my whole heart so will God to you he will communicate much to you and you may say any thing to him you are not strangers to him but may come into his presence boldly and he will make you welcom Heb. 4.16 On the contrary what a dreadful thing will it be to have strange thoughts of God in duty or at death Strangeness betwixt God and a soul is a sad uncomfortable thing Wicked men are total strangers to God gracious souls little imployed in secret prayer are little acquainted with God and worship afar off but sincere souls conversing much with God in secret attain to abundance of intimacy with the Lord and is not that a mercy worth a World 6. Would you not have the sins of others to bring wrath and judgment on the place Oh then let your souls weep and pray in secret places as Jeremiah did Chap. 13.17 This is the last and safest way to be delivered from the guilt of open crying sins in the Land even a mourning for them in prayer before the Lord thus did Lot and David Paul and all Saints Yea Moses's solitary prayer interposed betwixt flaming wrath and offending Israel thus did he stand in the gap and you may make an attonement for the Nation a gift in secret may pacifie that wrath that 's already broken out against us Wicked men sin in secret let us mourn in secret yea they sin openly let us lament privately The truth is 2 Kings 17.9 secret sins may undo a Nation except the cry of the Saints secret prayers be louder than the cry of wicked mens secret sins Oh fall to it Arise cry out in the night in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord Lam. 2.19 7. Would you not have your own secret sins set in the light of God's countenance Psal 90.8 then repent and pray alone humble your souls in secret for your secret sins Are you not conscious to your selves of much secret guilt And doth not God expect that you should set your selves to mourn over them and cry to God for pardoning grace in secret Eccl. 12.13 Do you not know that God will bring every secret thing to light in the great day of accounts Nay God may punish you openly 2 Sam. 12.12 as he did David for his secret sin Well then anticipate that sad severe judgment by judging your selves and deprecating his righteous judgment I may say to thee Soul as Solomon bespeaks Shimei Thou knowest all the wickedness which thy heart is privy to and where are thy prayers and
thou should'st take God's part and plead for obedience Paul doth so Rom. 7.15 16. Though he saith What I would that do I not But what I hate that do I yet saith he I consent to the Law that it is good i. e. I take patt with God and joyn with Gods will against my corrupt and carnal affections that would draw my neck from under this heavenly yoke And if you have not something within you that takes part with Gods revealed will you are not of God But a principle of grace doth facilitate and make easie the hardest duties because there is a likeness betwixt holy hearts and holy performances Love makes every thing easie hence it comes to pass that Christs yoke is easie Mat. 11.30 His ways pleasant and his commandments not grievous 1 Joh. 5.3 If thy heart were right duties would be sweet to thy soul 't is no burden to eat drink sleep the acts of nature are delightful to persons in a right temper if they be not nature is opprest and out of order A child of God in duty so far as regenerated is like a man in his calling or a creature in its proper Element Besides wert thou more accustomed to duty in secret it would be more familiar to thee and less irksom We see by experience Use makes heavy things light we hardly feel the weight of our cloaths because fitted to us and constantly carried by us when as the same weight upon our shoulders would trouble us Christians consider all Christian duties are not of equal difficulty yet withal observe it Duties that are hardest to go through many times bring in the sweetest income And so is this the profit of it will abundantly recompence for your pains in it Be sure when a duty is lined with difficulty and your corrupt hearts draw back and have most averseness to it there is something of God in that duty and God aims you more than ordinary advantage by it Therefore do not say a word against it but stir up your selves spur on your hearts shake off sloth and run to God whatever Satan the World or Flesh say to the contrary thus much for the Objections SECT V. Some Cases of Conscience briefly answered THere are yet four Cases of conscience I shall briefly propound and Answer 1. Case Whether may not an hypocrite or graceless soul perform this duty of Closet-prayer and what difference is there betwixt a real Saint and an unregenerate person in this work I Ans It is possible a carnal man may pray in secret but with these differences 1. He is urged to it by the challenges of an accusing conscience he is as it were dogg'd to 't he dare not but do it but a Child of God hath a gracious principle inclining him to it from love to God and a desire to please and enjoy him Yet through the remainders of corruption there 's much unwillingness in the best so that sometimes a Saint must even force himself to the performance 2. An hypocrite will not thus pray always Job 27.9 10. 'T is but in some pang or under some pressing affliction and when this good mood is over he takes his leave of God till whipt to him again by the like But a child of God is in some measure constant and diligent in the duty though he may have sinful omissions and intermissions yet never a total cessation from duty Grace works the heart God-ward and the soul is not content without Him 3. An hypocrite doth not make conscience to get his heart up to God in the duty he is content with the work done words said but a real Saint hath most ado with his heart that 's the hardest piece of the work he dare not leave that behind him and he hath much ado to get it up 4. A carnal man keeps his round in formal duty but gets nothing he prays to little profit or purpose and indeed doth not much study to gain a spiritual good But a child of God is a great gainer he gets at sometimes communion with God communications from God Oh what good doth his soul meet with Though not always yet at sometimes 2. Case Whether may a Christian bind himself to the performance of this duty of Closet-Prayer at stated times Or suppose a Christian miss his times designed for that work what must he then do Ans To the former that in general thou mayst and must swear and vow that thou wilt keep Gods Commandments Psal 119.106 so doth David And in Scripture we are bid to make vows and pay them to the Lord Psal 76.11 Vowing our selves and all that we have to God is necessary Sequestring some part of our time to his service is requisite And in some cases for some persons it may be expedient to bind and task our selves by an holy resolution to take so much time at least every day for Gods worship yea at such a time as may be judged most commodious by our experiences And this may be a good help to keep in our treacherous hearts from delay or dallying But to ingage our selves to a particular hour so punctually and unalterably as not to take another may not be so safe partly because our times are in Gods hands and we know not what intervening Providence may fall in to prevent our performance whereby conscience may be intangled in a perplexing labyrinth besides our outward occasions and the frame of our Spirits may discover a greater fitness at another season Yet though I would not have Christians bring a snare upon their souls by Vowing yet I humbly conceive that they may consult conveniences and design some time for that work and purpose God willing to keep an hour of Prayer And if they be hindered by a journey or any unexpected unavoidable occasions they must mourn for it as their burden redouble their diligence another time not plead needless diversions lift up ejaculations to God keep a praying frame of spirit and God will graciously pardon and entertain them 3. Case How may a Christian know that he enjoyeth communion with God in Closet-prayer Ans Communion with God is twofold 1. As to Graces 2. As to Comforts Sometimes a Christian may feel the joy of Gods salvation have the sweet kisses of his mouth smiles of his face seals of the Spirit and the lively springings of joy and ravishing pleasures these carry their own evidence along with them But all have not these nor any at all times therefore the surest way is to inquire after communion with God with reference to the exercise of grace in duty then hath a child of God true fellowship with God when by the sweet assistance of Gods Spirit his mind is knit to the object of worship the understanding is fruitful in spiritual and suitable thoughts when the will and affections are carried out in strong and panting desires and longings after God When the heart is throughly broken in the sense of sin melted into godly sorrow