374

not be fully affured of his falvation. So then here is the will, which is the first thing.

But the Lord works the deed alfo. And whereas it is faid that God takes the will for the deed,the place had need be well understood: when we say God takes the will for the deed, it is not alwayes true, unleffeic be thus understood. When a man hath done to the utmoft of his power what he is able, hath endeavoured by all means, then God will take the will for the deed; but if there be ability in me, and I do not as much as I am able, I do not my utmost endeavour,then God will not take it; but now God works the will and the deed; when a man comes to the Throne of grace, and fets forward in his journey towards God, the firft thing he doth is to come to the Throne of grace with Chrift in his armes, and then having faft hold on Christ, he haftens and delayes not, having hold as Foab on the horns of the Altar. He baftens, he fees its no time to delay, he fees its now a time of needs and Need, as the old proverb is, makes the old wife trot. Is it not need to make hafte (when the purfuer of blood follows) to the City of Refuge who would make delays and demurs, and not run as faft as his legs would carry him? Affon as I apprehend may need, and fee the golden Scepter ftretched out, then I come with might and main with Chrift in my vmes, and prefent him to the Father, and this is the approaching and drawing near in the Text, to the Throne of grace,

But now when I am come thither, what do I fay there? What shall I come and fay nothing? The prodigal foon refolved to go to his Father, and fay, I

will

will up and go, there's the will; and fay,there's his fpeech. The believer is not like to the fonne that faid to his father, I will go, but went not; but when his father bids him come, he will come, he will not onely fay fo, but will draw near,and then he hath a promife, He that cometh to me, I will in no wise caft off. But when we come thither,what must we do? why we must take unto our felves words, according to the Prophets expreffion, Hof. 14. 2. Take unto you words, and go unto the Lord, and fay,Take away all our iniquities, and receive us gracionfly, so will we render the calves of our lips. When he comes to the Throne of grace, the thing that he doth, is, he prefents unto the Father Chrift bleeding, gafping, dying, buried, and conquering death, and when he prefents Chrift to him, he opens his cafe, and confeffes his fin to the full, and fayes, Lord, this is my cafe: As a beggar when he comes to ask an almes of you, he will make a preface, and tell you his extremity, Sir, I am in great want, I have not tafted a bit of bread in fo many dayes, and unless you help me by your charity, Iam utterly undone. Now when these two concur that there is true need in the beggar, and liberality in him of whom he begs, it encourages the beggar to be importunate, and he prevails; you may know when the beggar hath need by his tone, accent or language: The needy beggars tone and accent is different from the sturdy beggarsthar hath no need; but yet, though the beggar be in great mifery, if he fee a churlish Nabal go by him, he hath no heart to beg, and follows him not, nor begs fo hard, because he hath but little hope to attain any thing from him. But I fay let both thefe meet toge

ther;

ther; firft, that the beggar is in great need, then,that he of whom he begs, is very liberal, it makes him beg hard; but now cannot he pray without book? Think not that I fpeak against praying by the book; you are deceived if you think fo; but there must be words taken to us befides, which perhaps a book will not yield us. A beggars need will make him fpeak, and he will not hide his fores; but if he hath any fore more ugly or worse than another, he will uncover it; good Sir,behold my woful and diftreffed cafe, he layes all open to provoke pity. So when thou comeft before God in confeffion, canft thou not finde out words to open thy felf to Almighty God, not one word whereby thou mayft unlap thy fores, and befeech him to look on thee with an eye of pity? I must not mince my fins, but amplifie and aggravate them, that God may be moved to pardon me, till we do thus, we cannot expect that God fhould forgive us. A great ado there is about auricular confeffion, but its a meer bable; It were better to cry out our finnes at the high Croffe, than to confeffe in a Priefts eare. Thou whispereft in the Priests care; what if he never tell it, or if he do,art thou the better? Come and poure out thy heart and foul before Almighty God, confeffe thy felf to him as David did, for that hath a promise made to it,Pfal. 51.4. Against thee, thee onely have I finned, and done this evil in thy fight, that thou mayft be justified when thou fpeakeft, and clear when thou judgeft. Why fo? Why, one main caufe why we fhould confeffe finne, is to justifie God. When a finner confeffes, I am a childe of wrath, and of death, if thou cafteft me into hell, as justly thou mayft, I have received but my

due:

due: when a man does thus (as the Kings Atturney may frame a Bill of Inditement against himself) he juftifies Almighty God: Thus did David, Against thee, against thee, &c. Now when we have thus aggravated our mifery, comes the other part of begging, to ery for mercy with earnestneffe, and here's the power of the Spirit. It's one thing for a man to pray, and another thing for a man to fay a prayer. 'Tis the eafieft thing in the world to fay a prayer, but to pray and cry for mercy as David did, in good earnest, to wrestle with God, to fay, Lord, My life lies in it, I will never give thee over, I will not go with a denial,this is termed for, this is the work of Gods Spirit. I named you a place in Fude ver. 20, where the Apoftle exhorts, but ye beloved, build up your felves in your moft holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost; there's the prayer of the faithful, to pray in the Holy Ghost. And in the Ephefians we read of an Armour provided for all the parts of a mans body, yet all will not ferve the turn, unleffe prayer come in as the chief, Ephef. 6. 18. Praying alwayes with all prayer and fupplicarion in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perfe verance, &e This is the prayer of faith, that procures forgiveneffe of finnes, we must pray in faith, and in the Spirit, that is the language which God undertands. He knoweth the meaning of the Spirit,' and knoweth none elfe but that: Many men are wondroufly deceived in that which they call the Spirit of prayer. One thinks it is a faculty to fet out ones defires in fair words, fhewing earneftneffe, and fpeaking much in an extemporary prayer. This we think commendable, yet this is not the Spirit of prayer.

C

Ccc

One

One that fhall never come to heaven, may be more ready in this than the childe of God; for it is a matter of skill and exercife; the Spirit of prayer is another thing. The Spirit helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought the Spirit it felf makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered, Rom. 8. 26. What hall we think then, that the Holy Ghost groans or fpeaks in prayer? No: but it makes us groan, and though we fpeak not a word, yet it fo enlarges our hearts, as that we fend up a volley of fighs and groans which fit the Throne of grace. And this is the Spirit of prayer, when with these fighs and groans I beg as it were for my life. This is that ardent affection the Scripture fpeaks of. A cold prayer will never get forgiveneffe of fins, it's the prayer of faith which prevailes. The prayer of the faithful availeth much, if it be vegfern, fervent. In the Ancient Churches thofe that were poffeffed with an evil fpirit, were call'de, because that caught them up, and made them do actions not futable to their nature; Prayer is a fire from heaven, which if thou haft it, will carry all heaven before it; there is nothing in the world fo ftrong as a Chriftian thus praying: Prayers that are kindled with fuch a zeal,are compared to Facobs wrestling with the Angel,Hof 12. 4. whereby he had power over the Angel. The Prophet expounds what this wraftling was, he wept and made fupplication unto him, he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with him. This is the wrestling with God, when thou filleft heaven with thy fighs and fobs, and bedeweft thy couch with thy tears as David did, and haft this refolution with Faceb, I will not

bet