have their paper offices where transaction between one State and another are kept so the Lord hath his prayer-office where he keeps all the prayers of his Saints that ever were put up to him Revel 8.3 Another Angel came and stood at the Altar having a golden censer and there was given him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints Where were those prayers of all the Saints that he must take a censer and offer incense with God had them recorded with him and now they were to be offered to him And see what great things follow upon the offering of the prayers of the Saints vers 4. The smoak of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand And the Angel took the censer c. and there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake These followed upon the prayers of the Saints It signified the time wherein all should come in remembrance before the Lord as if an Angel were offering yea Christ the Angel of the Covenant hath a time to take the prayers presented long ago and to offer them to God with his own incense They are all recorded in heaven therefore they are not in vain When a petition is taken and put upon record the petitioner petitioneth not in vain his petition is not thrown out God doth take all the petitions of the Saints and recordeth them they are all filed up in heaven Yet further there is no faithfull petition but God puts his fiat to the bottom of it at the instant that it is put up to him There is a decree in heaven issued out for mercy at the very instant that the petition is put up God dealeth not with us in this kind as men do who are counted very gracious if they please to tell us they will consider of our petition no but your petition is presently granted A petitioner when there is time taken to consider of his petition trembles and shakes for fear it should not be granted but the petitions of the Saints of God are granted presently When Daniel had been seeking God at the evening sacrifice an Angel comes to him and tells him that at the beginning of his prayer there was a decree to grant it and that he was sent to him at the beginning of his prayer Dan. 9.23 Psa 56.9 When I cry unto thee then shall mine enemies turn back this I know for God is for me Did not David cry oft and yet his enemies did not turn their backs when he cryed He cryed oft when his enemies prevailed yet he saith When I cried then mine enemies turned back and this I know why for God is for me The meaning must be this that at that instant that he cryed there was a decree in heaven the thing was done He looked on it as done even as certainly as if he had seen it with his eyes This is the reason that the Saints after they have prayed though the thing be not actually done fall to praising and blessing of God We have a notable example in Iehoshaphat of whom we read 2. Chron. 20.3 that being in a great fear bad set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Iudah He did not seek God slightly but set himself to seek the Lord. And what his prayer was ye may see from vers 6. to 12. And Iehoshaphat said O Lord God of our fathers art not thou God in heaven and rulest over all Kingdomes Mark how he pleadeth with God for the Covenant he had made vers 8. Speaking of the Sanctuary they had built for his names sake If when evil commeth upon us as the sword judgement or pestilence or famine we stand before this house and in thy presence for thy name is in this house and cry unto thee in our affliction then thou wilt hear and help He urgeth the promise made to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple For that prayer of Faith which Solomon made and God accepted hath the strength of a promise in it O our God saith he wilt thou not judge them for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us neither know we what to do but our eyes are upon thee Though he profest that his enemies were so many that he knew not what to do and that they had no might to resist them yet after his prayer was done and before the battell began when he had consulted with the people he appointed singers unto the Lord that should praise the beauty of holinesse as they went out before the Army and to say Praise the Lord for his mercie endureth for ever vers 21. Mark he had not yet gotten the victory the battell was not fought yet as soon as he had ended his prayer he praised the Lord for his mercie indureth for ever He made account that the thing was done It was decreed in heaven Therefore surely the people of God are answered when they call upon him Nay it is not onely decreed but ere long God will satisfie his people fill their longing souls with goodnesse Psal 107.9 A time shall come when they shall they say their prayers are heard and that they have enough Yea the Lord giveth more sometimes then his people mention in their prayer they ask temporall blessings and he bestoweth spirituall yea he giveth them himself and that is all in all Surely then the prayers of the Saints are heard and answered But wherein lyeth the efficacy of prayer What makes prayer so powerfull with God One thing is because God delighteth in mercy and in communicating himself to the children of men He taketh more pleasure in doing good then any can in seeking it yea then any can in enjoying it from him Our hearts cannot be so strongly set to seek for any mercy from God as he is to communicate mercy to us Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage he retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercy Mic. 7.18 Another thing that rendreth prayer so effectuall is Gods Covenant and promise to his people It was the speech of Alchimedes Give me a place to set my Engine in and I will shake the whole earth Let prayer have a sure foundation to set foot on and it will do mighty things Now the promises are the foundation of prayer whereof we have great abundance Numb 23. You shall find abundance of promises to the Saints of God when Balaam was brought to curse the people But in Deuter. 33. there are admirable promises There is none like unto the God of Iâ—shurun who rideth upon the heaven in thy help and on the skie in his excellency The eternall God is his refuge and underneath are the everlasting armes and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee and shall say destroy them Israel then shall
God should put him off with a portion in this world and especially you that have great portions in this life have done God little service you know there are many poor people that live upon almes have done God more service then you you have most cause to fear they that are Rulers and Governours have mighty cause to fear unlesse they have good evidence in their hearts Chrysostome upon the 13. of the Hebrews speaking of those that are Governours saith I wonder that any Governour should be saved he hath such a speech there I will not say so but there is a great deal of hazard Christ tells us that a man that hath a great portion in this world though it is possible he may have more hereafter yet it is doubtfull whether he shall inherit heaven It was the counsell of one to a King saith he I desire but this favour that every day you would think of this Text what profits it a man to gain the whole world and to loose his own soul spend some little time in considering of it every morning when you arise and every night when you lie down what will it advantage me to be great here and miserable hereafter The same councell I give to you daily pray to God to make you understand what there is in this Text that there are a generation of men who have their portion in this world only Secondly if you would not have your portion here labour to take off your hearts from all outward comforts he that will be rich shall fall into many temptations know it is not necessary you should have an estate in this world but it is necessary you should make your peace with God it is necessary I should provide for my soul but how things go with me here is not so much necessarie Thirdly set the glorie of Heaven and eternitie daily before your eyes and be trading for higher things then the world affords many poor people go up and down the streets crying some mean thing and think it well if they get 18 d. in a whole day but a rich Merchant can go out in the morning and make a bargain and perhaps get 500. l. in an houre he trades somewhat like so the men of this world labour for the meat that perisheth but a godly man hath communion with God and in a quarter of an hour gets that he would not loose for thousands It was a speech of Cleopatra to Anthony thou art not to fish for Gudgeons and Trowts but thou art to angle for Castles and Cities so may I say if thou hast an immortall soul with thee thou art not so much to angle for meat and drink and cloaths to make provision for the flesh but for heaven and immortalitie The next thing is this Honour God with thy substance Lay out thy portion here for God O that I could but convince you of one principle of divinitie more and that is this that there is more excellency and good in one vertuous action then there is in all the creatures in heaven and earth besides the blessed Angels and glorious Saints above I say others of the Saints excepting these take all creatures Sun Moon Stars Seas Earth all the Pearls Iewels of the world Pearls put them all together yet this is true divinitie that there is more excellency in one vertuous action then there is if thou hadst all these things to be thy possession if men were convinced of this they would be abundant in good works Thou thinkest it a brave thing to have so much coming in by the year do but one good action for God out of an upright principle ANd there is more excellency in that one action then there is in thy great revenue if thou hast 1000. times more added to it Me thinks this should make them that are rich to be rich in good works so saith the Scripture Charge them that are rich in this world that they be rich in good works O there is a richnesse in good works as well as in great revenues O improve lay out thy estate now for God Ambrose saith upon that place of the rich man is it not more honour that so many children shall account you as their Father then that so many pieces of gold shall call you their Lord These pieces of gold do as it were call you Lord there are 2. or 3. children shall call you Father and is it not more excellent to have a couple of poor Orphans while you are alive in this world to call you Father then to have so many bags of gold call you Mr O therefore give a portion to 6. and to 7. Again if you would not be put off with a portion in this world be sure that all the services you perform to God be choice services if you expect choice mercies let your services be choice services be sure all your works be supernaturall works you 'le say how shall I know that if I had time I could make it out clear A supernaturall work is that that hath a supernaturall principle done to a supernaturall end and in a supernaturall manner A supernaturall principle that is grace which makes it suitable to my heart not that I do it out of conviction of conscience only and a supernaturall end that is when I ayme at God and not at my self in any dutie But what is this supernaturall manner of serving God I shall explain it thus Seneca in giving his rule how to know the affections when they are naturall and when not saith you shall know a naturall affection by this if it be kept with in bound it is naturall if it be out of bounds it is not naturall I 'le make use of it in another way when you come to the service of God if you think to limit God in his service this is but a naturall service you 'l go so far and there stop but if it be a supernaturall service you 'l let out your hearts if it were possible infinitely to God you cannot be infinite that is true but you 'l propound no bounds nor limits to your service this is indeed the truth of grace when it hath the impression of gracious infinitenesse upon it infinitenesse is that whereby God is without all limits so when the soul is without all limits and bounds in the way of grace it is desirous to honour God if it were possible in an infinite way these are supernaturall works Lastly would you not have your portion in this world be willing to cast away whatever of your portion you have got sinfully this in the name of God I declare as a speciall thing therefore take it home with you what ever man or woman in this place would not have his portion in this world but would have his portion in the world to come whatsoever of thy portion thou hast got in a sinfull course cast it away presently never sleep with it lye not down one
excellency put upon that thing As in the law if it were but a piece of wood in the Tabernacle if it were but a Badgers skin if it were but brasse or goats hair or any such thing that were meane in it self yet if it were once consecrated and made holy to God they looked upon it as having a great deal of excellency on it Now I reason thus if a piece of wood or a little hair or leather consecrated to God had an excellency in it what then hath an immortall soul that hath the graces of the spirit as so many pearls in it when that is consecrated set apart to God to the glory and praise of his grace to all eternity here must needs be much excellency and most eminent preheminences When a thing is consecrated we look on it no more according to the quality of the thing but to the consecration As I remember I read of some people in India that when they have but lost an Apes tooth that was consecrated to their god they will give an unspeakable summe of money for the redemption of it again because it was a thing that was consecrated to their god So I read of another that being raised from a mean birth he took this way to make himself to be highly esteemed of the people he had a golden bason that he used to wash his feet in he took that and made an idoll of it and consecrated it and then every one fell down and worshipped it when it was consecrated Nay saith he if this which was mean before it was set apart to this use comes so to be honoured then I that am mean by birth being set apart to the government may as well be honoured by you Thus then if the superstition and will of man having consecrated a thing thinks he puts so much excellency on it how much more when God himself and the great and speciall work of the holy Ghost that he is designed to it is a speciall work of his office to consecrate souls to God and to set them apart to himself what an excellency must this needs be that is put upon them They are the excellent of the earth That is the second Thirdly if we consider that relation that the Saints have to God they are the nearest relations that can be exprest Of children to parents they are the children of God Of a spouse to her husband they are the spouse of Iesus Christ the second person in Trinity and in that regard they are more nearly united to God then the Angels themselves are in being the spouse of the Son of God Yea the very members of his body they have a nearer relation in that respect to the divine nature to the second person in Trinity then the Angels themselves for they have not such a relation as this therefore they are the excellent of the earth Again fourthly if we consider the great priviledges that the Saints have we shal see them the excellent of the earth Not to speak of their deliverance from sin and guiltinesse and those immunities that they have from others But consider they have this priviledge that God in all his attributes and works he is continually working for their good There is this excellent prerogative of the Saints there is no attribute of God but it is continually working good to every Saint of God There is no work of Gods providence but it works and acts continually for their good It would be a mighty excellent honour put upon any man if but such an honourable assembly as the Parliament should take thought for such an one and all their purposes and plots and councels all the time they are sitting should tend to the good of such an one in particular taking notice in particular of him It is that which I said all your wisdome and power and mercy and faithfulnesse and the infinite alsufficiency of God is continually every moment working not onely for the good of those that love God in generall but for every particular Saint of God God takes speciall notice of them and sets all his attributes continually on work for their good wellbeing And the heavens continually work for them They have this priviledge that the whole world is made for them God hath given them the world they are the heirs of the world as it is said of Abraham he was the heir of the world Rom. 4. Abraham had little himself yet he had the world Now the children inherit their fathers estate if the world were Abrahams inheritance then it is the inheritance of every child of Abraham for so the children of Abraham are heirs to all that Abraham had that is as far as concerns them therefore they that are his heirs are heirs likewise of the world so the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 3.22.23 All are yours and you are Christs and Christ is Gods So that God and the creatures are theirs here is a mighty priviledge indeed Again the priviledges that they have in all the good of the Covenant of grace Whatsoever good there is in the Covenant of grace all the rich promises in the Covenant of grace are the priviledges of the godly Saints It is admirable priviledges that the precious promises in the Scripture speak of to have interest in them all Besides not onely the promises but the immunities that come from the Covenant of grace as this that they are not to stand or fall for their eternall estate by any thing that they are able to do themselves they are freed from this their eternall estate hangs not on that which they can do Whereas others that are not saints that are not in the Covenant of grace their eternall estate hangs on their endeavours and actions God dealing with them according to the Covenant of works being in that condition though they may be such as may after come to be Saints and as God hath elected and in love may look on them as he intends towards them but for the present they are in such a condition as that they know not but that their eternall estate depends on that which they do themselves Now to be delivered from this to have this immunity that such a thing of such a consequence as our eternall estate should depend upon a sure foundation upon that which is done by Christ and done already it is an infinite priviledge Others cannot challenge to themselves this priviledge that God will accept of their endeavours do what they can yet not being in the Covenant of grace those endeavours are not accepted That it pleaseth God to accept the will for the deed it is one of the priviledges of the Saints that comes by the Covenant of grace but it belongs not to others they have not to do with this immunity and priviledge So I might name divers others but then I should go out too far Again this is a glorious priviledge of accesse to the throne of grace to come to God