menu_book Chapter 34

CHAPTER XX. PART 2. eight the third rule to be added is that he who comes into the presence of god to pray must divest himself of all vain glorious thoughts lay aside all idea of worth in short discard all self-confidence humbly giving god the whole glory lest by arrogating anything however little to himself vain pride cause him to turn away his face of this submission which casts down all haughtiness we have numerous examples in the servants of god the holier they are the more humbly they prostrate themselves when they come into the presence of the lord thus daniel on whom the lord himself bestowed such high commendation says we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness but for thy great mercies

o lord hear o lord forgive o lord hearken and do defer not for thine own sake o my god for thy city and thy people are called by thy name this he does not indirectly in the usual manner as if he were one of the individuals in a crowd he rather confesses his guilt apart and as a suppliant betaking himself to the asylum of pardon he distinctly declares that he was confessing his own sin and the sin of his people israel daniel nine verses eighteen to twenty david also sets us an example of this humility enter not into judgment with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified psalm one hundred forty three verse two in like manner isaiah prays behold thou art wroth for we have sinned in those is continuance and we shall be saved but we are all as an unclean thing

and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags and we all do fade as a leaf and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away and there is none that calleth upon thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee for thou hast hid thy face from us and hast consumed us because of our iniquities but now o lord thou art our father we are the clay and thou our potter and we all are the work of thy hand be not wrath very sore o lord neither remember iniquity for ever behold see we beseech thee we are all thy people isaiah sixty four verses five to nine you see how they put no confidence in anything but this considering that they are the lord's they despair not of being the objects of his care

in the same way jeremiah says o lord though our iniquities testify against us do thou it for thy name's sake jeremiah fourteen for seven for it was most truly and piously written by the uncertain author whoever he may have been that wrote the book which is attributed to the prophet baruch but the soul that is greatly vexed which goeth stooping and feeble and the eyes that fail and the hungry soul will give thee praise and righteousness o lord therefore we do not make our humble supplication before thee o lord our god for the righteousness of our fathers and of our kings hear o lord and have mercy for thou art merciful and have pity upon us because we have sinned before thee Baruch, two, verses 18 and 19, also chapter 3, verse 2, 9. In fine, supplication for pardon with humble and ingenuous confession of guilt forms both the preparation and commencement of right

prayer, for the holiest of men cannot hope to obtain anything from God until he has been freely reconciled to him. God cannot be propitious to any but those whom he pardons. Hence it is not strange that this is the key by which believers open the door of prayer, as we learn from several passages in the Psalms. David, when presenting a request on a different subject, says, Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. According to thy mercy remember me for thy

goodness sake, O Lord. Psalm 25, verse 7. Again, look upon my affliction and my pain and forgive my sins. Psalm 25, verse 18. Here also we see that it is not sufficient to call ourselves to account for the sins of each passing day. We must also call to mind those which might seem to have been long before buried in oblivion. For in another passage the same prophet confessing one grievous crime takes occasion to go back to his very birth. I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother

conceive me. Psalm 51 verse 5. Not to extenuate the fault by the corruption of his nature, but as it were to accumulate the sins of his whole life, that the stricter he was in condemning himself, the more placable God might be. But although the saints do not always in express terms ask forgiveness of sins, yet if we carefully ponder those prayers as given in Scripture, the truth of what I say will readily appear, namely that their courage to pray was derived

solely from the mercy of God, and that they always began with appeasing him. For when a man interrogates his conscience so far as he from presuming to lay his cares familiarly before God that if he did not trust to mercy and pardon, he would tremble at the very thought of approaching him. There is indeed another special confession. When believers long for deliverance from punishment, they at the same time pray that their sins may be pardoned, for it were absurd to wish that the

effect should be taken away while the cause remains. For we must beware of imitating foolish patients who, anxious only about curing accidental symptoms, neglect the root of the disease. Nay, our endeavor must be to have God propitious even before he attests his favor by external signs, both because this is the order which he himself chooses, and it were of little avail to experience his kindness, did not conscience feel that he is appeased, and thus enable us to regard him

as altogether lovely. Of this we are even reminded by our Savior's reply. Having determined to cure the paralytic, he says, Thy sins are forgiven thee. In other words, he raises our thoughts to the object which is especially to be desired, that is, admission into the favor of God, and then gives the fruit of reconciliation by bringing assistance to us. But besides that special confession of present guilt which believers employ

in supplicating for pardon of every fault and punishment, that general introduction which procures favor for our prayers must never be omitted. Because prayers will never reach God unless they are founded on free mercy. To this we may refer the words of John, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1 verse 9 Hence, under the law, it was necessary to consecrate prayers by the expiation of blood, both that they might be accepted and that the people might be warned that they were unworthy of the high privilege until, being purged from their defilements, they founded their confidence in prayer entirely on the mercy of God. 10. Sometimes, however, the saints in supplicating God seem to appeal to their own righteousness,

as when David says, Preserve my soul, for I am holy. Psalm 86, verse 2. Also Hezekiah, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth. and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight isaiah thirty eight first two all they mean by such expressions is that regeneration declares them to be among the servants and children to whom god engages that he will show favor we have already seen how he declares by the psalmist that his eyes are upon the righteous and his ears are open unto their cry psalm thirty four verse sixteen

and again by the apostle that whatsoever we ask of him we obtain because we keep his commandments john three verse twenty two in these passages he does not fix a value on prayer as a meritorious work but designs to establish the confidence of those who are conscious of an unfeigned integrity and innocence such as all believers should possess for the saying of the blind man who had received his sight is in perfect accordance with divine truth and god heareth not sinners john nine verse thirty one provided we take the term sinners in the sense commonly used by scripture to mean those who without any desire for righteousness are sleeping secure in their sins since no heart will ever rise to genuine prayer that does not at the same time long for holiness those supplications in which the saints allude to their purity and integrity correspond to such promises that they may thus have in their own experience a manifestation of that which all the servants of god are made to expect

thus they almost always use this mode of prayer when before god they compare themselves with their enemies from whose injustice they long to be delivered by his hand when making such comparisons there is no wonder that they bring forward their integrity and simplicity of heart that thus by the justice of their cause the lord may be the more disposed to give them succor we rob not the pious breast of the privilege of enjoying a consciousness of purity before the lord and thus feeling assured of the promises with which he comforts and supports his true worshippers but we would have them to lay aside all thought of their own merits and found their confidence of success in prayer solely on the divine mercy eleven the fourth rule of prayer is that notwithstanding of our being thus abased and truly humbled we should be animated to pray with the sure hope of succeeding

there is indeed an appearance of contradiction between the two things between a sense of the just vengeance of god and the firm confidence in his favor and yet they are perfectly accordant if it is the mere goodness of god that raises up those who are overwhelmed by their own sins for as we have formerly shown chapter three sections one and two that repentance and faith go hand in hand being united by an indissoluble tie the one causing terror the other joy so in prayer they must both be present this concurrence david expresses in a few words but as for me i will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy and in thy fear will i worship toward thy holy temple psalm five for seven under the goodness of god he comprehends faith at the same time not excluding fear for not only does his majesty compel our reverence but our own unworthiness also divests us of all pride and confidence and keeps us in fear the confidence of which i speak is not one which frees the mind from all anxiety and soothes it with sweet and perfect rest such rest is peculiar to those who while all their affairs are flowing to a wish are annoyed by no care

stung with no regret agitated by no fear but the best stimulus which the saints have to prayer is when in consequence of their own necessities they feel the greatest disquietude and are all but driven to despair until faith seasonably comes to their aid because in such straits the goodness of god so shines upon them that while they groan burdened by the weight of present calamities and tormented with the fear of greater they yet trust to this goodness and in this way both lighten the difficulty of endurance and take comfort in the hope of final deliverance it is necessary therefore that the prayer of the believer should be the result of both feelings and exhibit the influence of both namely that while he groans under present and anxiously dreads new evils he should at the same times have recourse to god not at all doubting that god is ready to stretch out a helping hand to him for it is not easy to say how much god is irritated by our distrust when we ask what we expect not of his goodness hence nothing is more accordant to the nature of prayer than to lay it down as a fixed rule that it is not to come forth at random but is to follow in the footsteps of faith

to this principle christ directs all of us in these words therefore i say unto you what things soever ye desire when ye pray believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them mark eleven verse twenty four the same thing he declares in another passage all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive matthew twenty one verse twenty two in accordance with this are the words of james if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of god that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him but let him ask in faith nothing wavering james one verse five he most aptly expresses the power of faith by opposing it to wavering No less worthy of notice is his additional statement that those who approach God with a doubting,

hesitating mind, without feeling assured whether they are to be heard or not, gain nothing by their prayers. Such persons he compares to a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. Hence, in another passage, he terms genuine prayer, the prayer of faith. james five verse fifteen again since god so often declares that he will give to every man according to his faith he intimates that we cannot obtain anything without faith in short it is faith which obtains everything that is granted to prayer this is the meaning of paul in the well-known passage to which dull men give too little heed how then shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard

so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of god romans ten verses fourteen and seventeen gradually deducing the origin of prayer from faith he distinctly maintains that god cannot be invoked sincerely except by those to whom by the preaching of the gospel his mercy and willingness have been made known nay familiarly explained twelve this necessity our opponents do not at all consider therefore when we say that believers ought to feel firmly assured they think we are saying the absurdest thing in the world but if they had any experience in true prayer they would assuredly understand that god cannot be duly invoked without this firm sense of the divine benevolence but as no man can well perceive the power of faith without at the same time feeling it in his heart what profit is there in disputing with men of this character who plainly show that they have never had more than a vain imagination the value and necessity of that assurance for which we contend is learned chiefly from prayer everyone who does not see this gives proof of a very stupid conscience therefore leaving those who are thus blinded let us fix our thoughts on the words of paul

that god can only be invoked by such as have obtained a knowledge of his mercy from the gospel and feel firmly assured that that mercy is ready to be bestowed upon them what kind of prayer would this be o lord i am indeed doubtful whether or not thou art inclined to hear me but being oppressed with anxiety i fly to thee that if i am worthy thou mayest assist me none of the saints whose prayers are given in scripture thus supplicated nor are we thus taught by the holy spirit who tells us to come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need hebrews chapter four verse sixteen and elsewhere teaches us to have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of christ ephesians three verse twelve this confidence of obtaining what we ask a confidence which the lord commands and all the saints teach by their example we must therefore hold fast with both hands if we would pray to any advantage

the only prayer acceptable to god is that which springs if i may so express it from this presumption of faith and is founded on the full assurance of hope he might have been contented to use the simple name of faith but he adds not only confidence but liberty or boldness that by this mark he might distinguish us from unbelievers who indeed like us pray to god but pray at random hence the whole church thus prays let thy mercy o lord be upon us according as we hope in thee psalm thirty three verse twenty two the same condition is set down by the psalmist in another passage when i cry unto thee then shall mine enemies turn back this i know for god is for me psalm fifty six verse nine again in the morning will i direct my prayer unto thee and will look up psalm five verse three from these words we gather that prayers are vainly poured out into the air unless accompanied with faith in which as from a watch-tower we may quietly wait for god

with this agrees the order of paul's exhortation for before urging believers to pray in the spirit always with vigilance and assiduity he enjoins them to take the shield of faith the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of god ephesians six verses sixteen to eighteen let the reader here call to mind what i formerly observed that faith by no means fails though accompanied with a recognition of our wretchedness poverty and pollution how much soever believers may feel that they are oppressed by a heavy load of iniquity and are not only devoid of every thing which can procure the favor of god for them but justly burdened with many sins which make him an object of dread yet they cease not to present themselves this feeling not deterring them from appearing in his presence because there is no other access to him genuine prayer is not that by which we arrogantly extol ourselves before god or set a great value on any thing of our own but that by which while confessing our guilt we utter our sorrows before god just as children familiarly lay their complaints before their parents

nay the immense accumulation of our sins should rather spur us on and incite us to prayer of this the psalmist gives us an example heal my soul for i have sinned against thee psalm forty one verse four i confess indeed that these stings would prove mortal darts did not god give succor but our heavenly father has in ineffable kindness added a remedy by which calming all perturbation soothing our cares and dispelling our fears he condescendingly allures us to himself nay removing all doubts not to say obstacles makes the way smooth before us thirteen and first indeed in enjoining us to pray he by the very injunction convicts us of impious contumacy if we obey not he could not give a more precise command than that which is contained in the psalms call upon me in the day of trouble psalm fifty verse fifteen but as there is no office of piety more frequently enjoined by scripture there is no occasion for here dwelling longer upon it

ask says our divine master and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you matthew seven verse seven here indeed a promise is added to the precept and this is necessary for though all confess that we must obey the precept yet the greater part would shun the invitation of god did he not promise that he would listen and be ready to answer these two positions being laid down it is certain that all who can willingly allege that they are not to come to god directly are not only rebellious and disobedient but are also convicted of unbelief inasmuch as they distrust the promises there is the more occasion to attend to this because hypocrites under a pretence of humility and modesty proudly condemn the precept as well as deny all credit to the gracious invitation of god nay rob him of a principal part of his worship for when he rejected sacrifices in which all holiness seemed then to consist he declared that the chief thing that which above all others is precious in his sight is to be invoked in the day of necessity

therefore when he demands that which is his own and urges us to alacrity in obeying no pretexts for doubt how specious soever they may be can excuse us hence all the passages throughout scripture in which we are commanded to pray are set up before our eyes as so many banners to inspire us with confidence it were presumption to go forward into the presence of god did he not anticipate us by his invitation accordingly he opens up the way for us by his own voice i will say it is my people and they shall say the lord is my god zechariah thirteen verse nine we see how he anticipates his worshippers and desires them to follow and therefore we cannot fear that the melody which he himself dictates will prove unpleasing especially let us call to mind that noble description of the divine character by trusting to which we shall easily overcome every obstacle o thou that hearest prayer unto thee shall all flesh come

psalm sixty five verse two what can be more lovely or soothing than to see god invested with a title which assures us that nothing is more proper to his nature than to listen to the prayers of suppliants hence the psalmist infers that free access is given not to a few individuals but to all men since god addresses all in these terms call upon me in the day of trouble i will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me psalm fifty verse fifteen david accordingly appeals to the promise thus given in order to obtain what he asks thou o lord of hosts god of israel hast revealed to thy servant saying i will build thee an house therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee second samuel seven verse twenty seven here we infer that he would have been afraid but for the promise which emboldened him so in another passage he fortifies himself with the general doctrine he will fulfill the desire of them that fear him psalm one forty five verse nineteen nay we may observe in the psalms how the continuity of prayer is broken and a transition is made at one time to the power of god at another to his goodness at another to the faithfulness of his promises

it might seem that david by introducing these sentiments unseasonably mutilates his prayers but believers well know by experience that their ardor grows languid unless new fuel be added and therefore that meditation as well on the nature as on the word of god during prayer is by no means superfluous let us not decline to imitate the example of david and introduce thoughts which may reanimate our languid minds with new vigor fourteen it is strange that these delightful promises affect us coldly or scarcely at all so that the generality of men prefer to wander up and down forsaking the fountain of living waters and hewing out to themselves broken cisterns rather than embrace the divine liberality voluntarily offered to them the name of the lord says solomon is a strong tower the righteous runneth into it and is safe joel after predicting the fearful disaster which was at hand subjoins the following memorable sentence and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the lord shall be delivered

this we know properly refers to the course of the gospel scarcely one in a hundred is moved to come into the presence of god though he himself exclaims by isaiah and it shall come to pass that before they call i will answer and while they are yet speaking i will hear this honor he elsewhere bestows upon the whole church in general as belonging to all the members of christ he shall call upon me and i will answer him i will be with him in trouble i will deliver him and honor him my intention however as i already observed is not to enumerate all but only select some admirable passages as a specimen how kindly god allures us to himself and how extreme our ingratitude must be when with such powerful motives our sluggishness still retards us wherefore let these words always resound in our ears the lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him to all that call upon him in truth psalm one hundred forty five verse eighteen

likewise those passages which we have quoted from isaiah and joel in which god declares that his ear is open to our prayers and that he is delighted as with a sacrifice of sweet savour when we cast our cares upon him the special benefit of these promises we receive when we frame our prayer not timorously or doubtingly but when trusting to his word whose majesty might otherwise deter us we are bold to call him father he himself deigning to suggest this most delightful name fortified by such invitations it remains for us to know that we have therein sufficient materials for prayer since our prayers depend on no merit of our own but all their worth and hope of success are founded and depend on the promises of god so that they need no other support, and require not to look up and down on this hand and on that. It must therefore be fixed in our minds that though we equal not the lauded sanctity of patriarchs,

prophets, and apostles, yet as the command to pray is common to us as well as them, and faith is common, so if we lean on the word of God, we are in respect of this privilege their associates. for God declaring, as has already been seen, that he will listen and be favorable to all, encourages the most wretched to hope that they shall obtain what they ask, and accordingly we should attend to the general forms of expression, which, as it is commonly expressed, exclude none

from first to last, only let there be sincerity of heart, self-dissatisfaction, humility, and faith, that we may not by the hypocrisy of a deceitful prayer profane the name of god our most merciful father will not reject those whom he not only encourages to come but urges in every possible way hence david's method of prayer to which i lately referred and now o lord god thou art that god and thy words be true and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant that it may continue for ever before thee second samuel seven verse twenty eight so also in another passage let i pray thee thy merciful kindness be for my comfort according to thy word unto thy servant psalm one hundred nineteen seventy six and the whole body of the israelites whenever they fortify themselves with the remembrance of the covenant plainly declare that since god thus prescribes they are not to pray timorously

genesis thirty two verse thirteen in this they imitated the example of the patriarchs particularly jacob who after confessing that he was unworthy of the many mercies which he had received of the lord's hand says that he is encouraged to make still larger requests because god has promised that he would grant them but whatever be the pretexts which unbelievers employ when they do not flee to god as often as necessity urges nor seek after him nor implore his aid they defraud him of his due honor just as much as if they were fabricating to themselves new gods and idols since in this way they deny that god is the author of all their blessings on the contrary nothing more effectually frees pious minds from every doubt than to be armed with the thought that no obstacle should impede them while they are obeying the command of god who declares that nothing is more grateful to him than obedience hence again what i have previously said becomes still more clear namely that a bold spirit in prayer well accords with fear reverence and anxiety and that there is no inconsistency when god raises up those who had fallen prostrate

in this way forms of expression apparently inconsistent admirably harmonize jeremiah and david speak of humbly laying their supplications before god in another passage jeremiah says let we beseech thee our supplication be accepted before thee and pray for us unto the lord thy god even for all this remnant on the other hand believers are often said to lift up prayer thus hezekiah speaks when asking the prophet to undertake the office of interceding and david says let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense and a lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice the explanation is that though believers persuaded of the paternal love of god cheerfully rely on his faithfulness and have no hesitation in imploring the aid which he voluntarily offers they are not elated with supine or presumptuous security but climbing up by the ladder of the promises still remain humble and abased suppliants fifteen here by way of objection several questions are raised

scripture relates that god sometimes complied with certain prayers which had been dictated by minds not duly calmed or regulated it is true that the cause for which jotham imprecated on the inhabitants of shechem the disaster which afterwards befell them was well founded but still he was inflamed with anger and revenge. Judges 9, verse 20. And hence God, by complying with the execration, seems to approve of passionate impulses.

Similar fervor also seized Samson when he prayed. Strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. Judges 16, verse 28.

for although there was some mixture of good zeal yet his ruling feeling was a fervid and therefore vicious longing for vengeance god assents and hence apparently it might be inferred that prayers are effectual though not framed in conformity to the rule of the word but i answer first that a perpetual law is not abrogated by singular examples and secondly that special suggestions have sometimes been made to a few individuals whose case thus becomes different from that of the generality of men for we should attend to the answer which our saviour gave to his disciples when they inconsiderately wished to imitate the example of elias ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of luke nine verse fifty five we must however go farther and say that the wishes to which god assents are not always pleasing to him but he assents because it is necessary by way of example to give clear evidence of the doctrine of scripture that is that he assists the miserable and hears the groans of those who unjustly afflicted implore his aid and accordingly he executes his judgments when the complaints of the needy though in themselves unworthy of attention ascend to him

for how often in inflicting punishment on the ungodly for cruelty rapine violence lust and other crimes in curbing audacity and fury and also in overthrowing tyrannical power has he declared that he gives assistance to those who are unworthily oppressed though they by addressing an unknown deity only beat the air there is one psalm which clearly teaches that prayers are not without effect though they do not penetrate to heaven by faith psalm one hundred and seven verse six also verse thirteen and nineteen for it enumerates the prayers which by natural instinct necessity extorts from unbelievers not less than from believers and to which it shows by the event that god is notwithstanding propitious is it to testify by such readiness to hear that their prayers are agreeable to him nay it is first to magnify or display his mercy by the circumstance that even the wishes of unbelievers are not denied

and secondly to stimulate his true worshippers to more urgent prayer when they see that sometimes even the wailings of the ungodly are not without avail this however is no reason why believers should deviate from the law divinely imposed upon them or envy unbelievers as if they gained much in obtaining what they wished we have observed in chapter three section twenty five that in this way god yielded to the feigned repentance of ahab that he might show how ready he is to listen to his elect when with true contrition they seek his favor accordingly he upbraids the jews that shortly after experiencing his readiness to listen to their prayers they return to their own perverse inclinations it is also plain from the book of judges that whenever they wept though their tears were deceitful they were delivered from the hands of their enemies therefore as god sends his son indiscriminately on the evil and on the good so he despises not the tears of those who have a good cause and whose sorrows are deserving of relief

meanwhile though he hears them it has no more to do with salvation than the supply of food which he gives to other despisers of his goodness there seems to be a more difficult question concerning abraham and samuel the one of whom without any instruction from the word of god prayed in behalf of the people of sodom and the other contrary to an express prohibition prayed in behalf of saul Genesis chapter 18 verse 23 and 1st Samuel 15 verse 11. Similar is the case of Jeremiah, who prayed that the city might not be destroyed. Jeremiah 32 verse 16. It is true their prayers were refused, but it seems harsh to affirm that they prayed without faith. Modest readers will,

I hope, be satisfied with this solution. That is, that leaning to the general principle on which God enjoins us to be merciful, even to the unworthy, they were not altogether devoid of faith, though in this particular instance their wish was disappointed. Augustine shrewdly remarks, how do the saints pray in faith when they ask from God contrary to what he has decreed? namely because they pray according to his will not his hidden and immutable will but that which he suggests to them that he may hear them in another manner as he wisely distinguishes

this is truly said for in his incomprehensible counsel he so regulates events that the prayers of the saints though involving a mixture of faith and error are not in vain and yet this no more sanctions imitation than it excuses the saints themselves who i deny not exceeded due bounds wherefore whenever no certain promise exists our request to god must have a condition annexed to it here we may refer to the prayer of david awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded psalm seven verse six for he reminds us that he had received special instruction to pray for a temporal blessing End of section 34. Recording by Nicola Cain.