17. Part 3, Chapter 1. Unregenerate Persons' Prayer
PART III.
CASES OF CONSCIENCE RESPECTING PRAYER
CHAPTER I.
UNREGENERATE PERSONS’ PRAYER.
Having handled the two former parts respecting the duty of prayer, and the modification and qualifications thereof, we now come to the last part of this discourse about prayer, namely, to speak of some cases of conscience, in respect to the incessant practise of this duty of prayer. The first case respects the persons who are to obey this indefinite injunction; whether only regenerate persons are bound thus to pray; or that it be not also a duty which lies, even upon unregenerate persons to endeavor obedience to this injunction; “Pray without ceasing;” or if such persons should endeavor the practice of this duty, how far forth they may come up to it, and be carried out in the obedience thereof; and likewise what success may come thereof, whether their prayers may not be heard and answered of God, or how far God may hear and answer even their prayers. The case itself doubtless may lie sad upon some spirits, which either suspecting, or concluding, out of some dismal horrors of heart, their estate to be but the estate of mere natural persons, they question whether the injunction does lay a bond upon them to obey it, though they may desire to come up to the obedience of it; especially, considering that the Scripture requires that such as pray, should pray in faith, and believe that they shall receive what they ask: “Whatsoever ye ask, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” And this they cannot do, finding no assurance of any interest in God, nor being able to persuade themselves that Christ died for them in particular; and through this mistaken fancy, that there can be no true faith without such a firm persuasion and assurance that Christ is theirs, they are kept off, and scarce dare pray, conceiting that they are not qualified and fitted yet for it; they cannot lift up pure hands without doubting. Besides, God says, that “the sacrifice (prayer) of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.” And they think that they are such wicked ones in themselves, and can or will God take a prayer in good part from such as they are? Surely no. Neither will Satan, the enemy of prayer, neglect the opportunity to present to them the strictest of the qualifications required of such as seek God by prayer, and that unless they could come up to that strictness of the rule, (which is laid straight, that the people of God may by little and little come as near to it as they can) and that forthwith; at first, setting about the work, it is not for such as they are to attempt the same; and better were it for them to sit still and be silent; and so would (if possible) take them off from using means to be better, and make them resolve never to seek after a better estate than what they are in already; the devil knowing right well, that God who orders such or such an end of good to his people, orders such and such good means to be used, for attaining that end. But such suspicions of tender hearts, being mostly groundless surmises, need not, must not discourage any from prayer, iii whom the Lord bath wrought a pliableness of heart to the mind of God therein, and a desire to obey his injunction thereof; this is to them an inward call and invitation of God to call upon him. The more tremblingly they set about this duty, with sense both of their own unworthiness and unfitness to perform it, the fitter they are for it. And suppose the worst, that their surmises have real ground, yet verily, the more sad they see or suspect their estate to be, the more need have they to seek God by prayer. When wicked Simon Magus did discover the falseness of his heart, Simon Peter does not now forbid him to pray, but he enjoins him to pray God, if perhaps the thought of his heart may be forgiven him. If there be any possibility of a man’s salvation, if there be but a perhaps left of pardon, and that of one at present in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity; as such a one is bound to repent, so also to pray. Some will be ready to put off these injunctions of prayer, as such as concern puritans; but as for such as they are, what boot is it for them to pray? It was reckoned among the profane speeches of them of old: “What profit should we have if we pray to him?” Yea, but some now hold it as their judgment, that it is to no purpose for unregenerate persons to pray; because indeed they are not bound to pray. They may as well join in the rest of the speeches there condemned and branded for profaneness, and maintain that they ought not to desire the knowledge of God’s ways, they ought not to serve him, they ought not to pray to him, and therefore may say to God, “Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways; and what is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit is it if we pray to him?” An unregenerate heart of itself, averse from any way of God, and not subject to the law of God, would gladly have such a tenet to hold up against God and his servants, to excuse them from seeking unto God by prayer, as not bound to do it.
Let us therefore give answer to the several branches of the case propounded, and show, 1. That an unregenerate person is bound to pray. 2. That such a one may be strangely carried out in prayer. 3. That God may hear and answer his prayer.
1. Then, that an unregenerate man is bound to pray, is evident from this indefinite injunction, “Pray without ceasing;” whether regenerate or unregenerate. The wicked man, who is charged to forsake his evil ways and thoughts, is first charged “to seek the Lord whilst he may be found, to call upon him whilst he is near.” All flesh shall come to God, whether they are good or bad persons. For first, it is a duty which lies upon all men, as created and made by God. It is a natural worship. It is that which the law of nature, as well as that of the word of God, doth put men upon. Hence, even the most Pagan people all do call upon some God: “The mariners cried every man to his God.” “They pray to a God that cannot save.” Among other “things contained in the Law, they do this also by nature.” If they omit calling upon God, their natural conscience will accuse them for it; or if they do call upon God, it will so far excuse them and encourage them in it; other natural men who live under the light of the word, if they neglect it, sin both against the light of nature, and the light of the word of God. Heathens and other natural men will be damned for this sin of not calling upon God. Hence are they twice imprecated against, as under that consideration of not honoring God, so of not calling upon him; as highly sinning in the one as well as in the other: “Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that know thee not, and the families that call not on thy name.” Unregenerate persons, as well as others, are bound by the first commandment, to have no other gods but God, and therefore bound to worship the Lord only, and no other God but him alone; and therefore to love him and no other God; to fear him and no other God; to trust in him and no other God; to pray to him and no other God, as they are bound to make no graven images of God; to worship the true God only with his own instituted worship, and not any other of men’s inventing; and as they are likewise bound not to take God’s name in vain.
2. Prayer is a means ordered by the Lord, even for the obtaining of regenerating grace: “A new heart will I give you,” etc., compared with “Thus saith the Lord, I will yet for this be sought (or inquired of) by the house of Israel to do it for them.”
God will give even first grace, in the use of his own appointed means, and that is in a way of seeking for it. Hence also God owneth this as his own appointed means for obtaining other blessings of his, as deliverance from dangers, supplies of wants, and the like, though the persons which pray are unregenerate. So when seamen of all sorts, whether ungodly or godly, are in storms and dangers, they cry “unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distress.” If it were simply sinful in them, being unregenerate, to cry and pray to God, he would never thus encourage them, or others in their case, to cry then unto him. Uzziah sought God in the days of Zechariah, and when he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper; if he had been downright godly, he had sought God all his days: yet though an hypocrite (so unregenerate) as long as he does that which is for the matter of it right in God’s sight: “He sought God— God prospereth him. Uzziah did what was right in God’s sight, as Amaziah his father did,” which was not with a perfect heart for the manner of doing it, yet the seeking of God even by such a one, whose heart is not perfect with God, is in itself considered, that which is right in God’s sight, and a due and direct means to prosper, in what such a one takes in hand. “When he crieth unto me (namely, as one oppressed, as one in necessity, be he who he will, regenerate or unregenerate) I will hear him, for I am merciful.” That scoffing lad Ishmael was an unregenerate person, yet when in distress, and crying to God, the angel said to Hagar, “Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is ;“if it had been simply sinful, and that which Ishmael ought not to have done, the angel would never have encouraged Hagar from such an argument, as God’s hearing Ishmael’s cry.
3. God may and does bestow praying abilities upon unregenerate persons. He gives to some the gift of prayer, to whom he never vouchsafes the spirit of prayer. The gift of prayer is as common to hypocrites, as the gift of prophecy. “Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, (is large and earnest in prayer to me,) shall enter into heaven.” Unregenerate ministers, magistrates, parents, masters, tutors, may have such a gift of prayer, by the use whereof others may be instructed, helped, and encouraged in a way of prayer, yea, in a right way of prayer; and if he give such a gift, surely he rebukes the use of it. That slothful servant, though a reprobate, yet having gift and talent, he is damned for not improving it.
4 That practice or religious performance must needs be a duty, even of unregenerate persons, the omission or neglect whereof is charged by the Lord upon them for their sin, (for if it were not an anomia or transgression of some rule of God, it could not be sin,) but the omission or neglect of prayer, or calling upon God, even by unregenerate persons, is charged upon them by God as their sin; therefore the performance of that service of calling upon God was their duty. The assumption is evident: when the apostle would prove the unregenerate Jew and Gentile to be under sin, he proves it by this, that” There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” The workers of iniquity have it charred upon their very consciences, as that which they cannot bear know to be their sin. “that they call not upon God: do not the workers of iniquity know that they eat up my people as bread? They call not upon God.” It is charged as the pride of the wicked: “The wicked is so proud, that he seeketh not God.” The hypocrite that is blamed for ceasing to call upon God (will he always call upon God?) should rather have been blamed for calling upon God at all, if it had not been any duty of his to pray. To like purpose we might argue, that the neglect of it by the unregenerate, as well as regenerate Jews, is bewailed by Daniel, as their sin: therefore the contrary was their duty. “All this is come upon us, yet made we not our prayer to God.” Besides, also, if it had not been in itself good, and a duty even for an unregenerate person to pray, but had been in itself sinful; the Psalmist never need to have made that imprecation against him: “Let his prayer be turned into sin.” Besides, the Psalmist would never have urged God so to affright and persecute his enemies by his judgments, that they might at length be forced to seek his name, if it had been in itself sinful. But “the prayer of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.” So is the “plowing of the wicked sin.” Not simply in themselves, for then an unregenerate man should not plow, nor labor in his calling; yea, he should not cat his meat, nor sleep, etc. “For to the impure and unbelieving is nothing pure.” But it is so in-respect of the defects of other qualifications required to the holy use and exercise of such things; namely, want of faith, love to God, repentance for sin, etc. “Their sacrifices were an abomination to the Lord;” yet in themselves commanded duties, and enjoined to every Jew, whether he were unregenerate or regenerate. God once enabled Adam, and in him all his posterity, to call upon him; and though be, and we in him are become bankrupts, and disabled to do that service and homage, yet our Lord and Master may, and does require it of us, and accounts it our sin to neglect it. It is every one’s duty to understand, and so to believe in God, as well as to seek him; but the omission of that duty of understanding and believing God, hinders not, but that the omission of that other duty of seeking God becomes a sin to every one.
2. An unregenerate man may be strongly and largely carried out in prayer, as it is said of them, who did but flatter God with their mouth, for their heard was not right with him; they sought God early, namely, when he slew them, when they were in fear of their lives. So may profane mariners be very earnest in prayer then. “Cry unto the Lord.” “When your fear cometh,” etc., “then shall you seek me early, but shall not find me.” Those spoken of in Isaiah lviii., joined long and large prayers with their fasts. An hypocritical Pharisee could not spend his time in his fasting days, unless enlarged in prayer. Those hypocrites that devoured widows’ houses had such a gift in prayer, that they could be very large and long in prayers: “And for a pretence make long prayers.”
3. Unregenerate persons may be full of praising and thankful expressions in their prayers. The unjustified Pharisee’s prayer was rather a thanksgiving. He prayed thus: “God, I thank thee, I am not as other men.” Those unregenerate ones among the Jews also, who cried so earnestly, did sing as loud as Moses and Aaron. “Then believed they his words, and sang praises to him;” but not rightly, for “they forgot his works, and waited not for his counsel.” “They lusted in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.” Only lost what is now said, may raise some doubt in the hearts of any truly regenerate, the example of the Pharisee’s thankful prayer, will yield matter of distinction and differencing of the unregenerate persons in his praises from the regenerate.
1. The unregenerate person, in his thanksgiving before God, pretending to lift up God in his praises, does intend to lift up or exalt himself. Hence Christ, who knew the spirit of this Pharisee in his praises of God, renders him thus: “Whosoever exalteth himself.”
2. The main in their eyes, and so in their thanks, is some inherent excellency, not those imputed mercies, not Christ and his righteousness, and propitiation and the pardon of sin, God’s favor, acceptance, etc. No word of these in the Pharisee’s thanks, but that “I am not as others, unjust; I fast, I pay tithes,” etc. They are the saints, whose hearts, being most affected with those mercies, do break out into cordial prayers for them.
3. Such men rest in some common eminences and excellences, above others. The Pharisee passes others, he is not as other men, and that sufficeth him: no word of a serious petition for the supply of such or such wants, of this or that grace, or for the increase thereof, or for the subduing of such or such corruptions. He grounds his rejoicing upon another’s falling short of him, and into sins from which he is restrained. He “shall have rejoicing in himself, and not in another.”
4. Such men respect more the gift, than the giver; and trust more in that, than in him. They trust in themselves that they are righteous, when they say, God, we thank thee. They make the gifts their God, and they adore and admire the giver only for the gifts’ sake, and do not admire the gifts for the giver’s sake, as true converts, and spouse-like spirits do.
5. Such men are very ambitious in their thankful acknowledgments. They make God’s praises but as a stirrup to get up into men’s esteem, and as a bridge by which to convey to themselves human praises. Hence this temple-acknowledgment, in the most conspicuous place.
6. Such men will in the midst of their thanksgivings be with heart and mouth too (sometimes) censuring, and putting contempt upon others, falling short (as they conceive) of their excellences; though those other be better men than themselves, as this gracious publican was, than the Pharisee—so says this seemingly thankful Pharisee: “God, I thank thee, that I am not as this publican;” not such a wretch.
3. Unregenerate men may be carried out with some faith, as well as fervency in their prayers. The nine, as well as the tenth, who was truly gracious, cry as loud as he, and believe as strongly upon the word of Christ as he, that the Lord Jesus had granted their request of healing, and go a great way to Jerusalem as men already cured, to show themselves to the priest when yet they were not then actually cured; they set forward in the journey upon that errand, upon confidence of Christ’s word, as if they had been cured at the very instant wherein lie spake, and yet not at that very instant, but afterwards, even as they journeyed towards Jerusalem from that part of Samaria, were they actually cured. As an unregenerate man, who has not love, may have the gift of the faith of miracles, so as to remove mountains, so may they exercise that faith in such a way, expecting answers of prayer in cases of wonder. They that cast out devils, did it by invocation upon the name of the Lord, accompanied with such a faith for hearing them, and helping them: “And in thy name cast out devils.” And as an unregenerate man may have that common temporary faith; may believe for a time, so may he for a time act such a faith in prayer, or the like, in matters only of a common nature, and not such as are properly saving; as for clearing up pardon of sins, subduing secret corruptions, sanctifying afflictions, an holy rescue or issue from temptations.
Third. God may in some sort, and in some cases, hear unregenerate men’s prayers; both such prayers as they put up to the Lord with others, or by themselves alone. Prayers put up by them with others, may be heard in a saving way and manner by the Lord; though not in a saving manner to themselves, yet in a saving way to the saints which join with them in the prayers which they put up. Matthew says, the centurion came unto Christ beseeching him to heal his servant; but Luke expounds it, that he sent to the elders of the Jews to beseech Christ to do it; he joined with them in the request; it was his, but it was presented by those proud hypocritical and unregenerate elders, who breathed none of the centurious faith, or humility, as appears by their plea with Christ from the centurion’s worthiness, saying, “that he was worthy that he should do this for him,” yet the Lord Jesus heard, and graciously answered the good centurion’s hearty desire, and consented to the substance of the prayer. They that presented the poor palsied man to Christ with a tacit desire of cure, had (some of them at least) a faith of miracles for his cure; but the man himself no doubt had a further desire, even of his soul’s cure, with the pardon of his sins: “And when Jesus saw their faith, he saith to the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven;” the man’s grievous disease might trouble his friends; but this was his greatest trouble, in the want of pardon of sins; and his desire and faith was accordingly carried out, and this soul-mercy of his pardon and peace is given in as an answer in common to them all. “When he saw their faith, he saith to the palsied man, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Abiathar, who proved a treacherous and bad man, yet if he made inquiry of God for his counsel about distressed David, or about David in a strait, God gives a gracious answer for David, who by him seeks unto the Lord for his counsel; and surely the desires of faith are acceptable to God, and successful, whether expressed in others’ prayers, wherein believers joined, or in their own alone: “He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him.” The fruit of no one ordinance of God does depend merely and only upon the worthiness and goodness of such as chiefly act in it. Christ authorized the twelve disciples, and Judas among the rest, to preach the Gospel. And so, as that if they came to worthy ones, humble souls, ready to receive their doctrine, their peace was to come upon them: “If the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it,” even all kind of bliss to their souls also, which you petition for in your prayers, and hold forth in your preaching, that shall come upon it. Let the preacher be unworthy himself, yet if the hearers be worthy, their peace comes on them. The Gospel, and Gospel ordinances are the power of God to salvation to the believing hearer and partaker, be the minister regenerate or unregenerate. The cup in the Lord’s Supper, “is the Communion of the blood of Christ” to the worthy receiver, be the minister, whom the people called to dispense the same to them, regenerate or unregenerate; and so in prayer God’s corn- passions are to his people’s miseries; for redress whereof, the prayer is made, be the man that is the mouth of the people therein, godly or ungodly. Notable is that example of wicked Jehoihaz. “Jehoihaz besought the Lord, and the Lord heard him: for he saw the trouble of Israel wherewith the king of Syria troubled them.” Nor would God ever show such respect to prayers put up by unregenerate persons in behalf of his people or any of them, if it were (as some say) a sin to join with an unregenerate minister, parent, master, husband, etc., in their prayer. And since every hypocrite, how godly soever he is taken to be by the most judicious Christians, yet is an unregenerate person, if an hypocrite; and since he that we judge to be truly godly, yet it is very possible he may be an hypocrite, we cannot be infallibly sure in any ordinary way, of another’s saving estate, but only in the judgment of charity we may esteem such or such a one truly godly; so that if we sin if we join in prayer with an unregenerate person, we cannot assure ourselves but that we sin in joining with any other at all, because we cannot ordinarily be so assured, that another with whom we would pray, is regenerate; and so a man must now turn an absolute separatist indeed. As for other prayers, which do more personally respect themselves, and are uttered by themselves, although the parties be unregenerate, yet the Lord may hear the same; the Lord as a master, grants the request of that hypocritical servant, though not as a Father. “O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee the debt, because thou prayedst me.” So those rude mariners, crying in distress, are heard of the Lord. So was mocking Ishmael heard in his cry. God may, and does put forth wonderful works for persons who cry to him as they are the children of men, though not as the children of God, many of them. “O that men would praise him for his wonderful works which he doth for the children of men! Though those that sought him when he slew them, had not hearts right with God, yet he being full of compassion forgave their iniquity,” (i:e. as to the punishment deserved by it, even utter ruin, he passed over that,) he destroyed them not utterly. God likes also to own the righteous causes even of unrighteous persons, and to set himself against their affliction. “They have caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he hath heard their cry.” Though many of the children of Abraham, of Isaac and Jacob in Egypt’s bondage, were themselves unregenerate, yet they crying also, were heard, out of respect to their godly ancestors, and the covenant of God made with them: “I have heard the groanings of the children of Israel, and have remembered my covenant.” Sometimes God hears such persons’ prayers the rather, that they may afterwards be instruments of his people’s good; and sometimes that he might the rather encourage all sorts to pray to him: “O thou that hearest prayer, to thee shall all flesh come.” Sometimes the persons at present unregenerate, are elect, and God in hearing them, will look to his own thoughts of prayer which he has towards them, and so will be found of those which sought him not aright. But in case the parties be reprobates, what hearing does God afford to any prayers of theirs?
It is first in common things, and such which, at least, are not properly saving mercies unto them, for so God hears not sinners. If any object that evil servant’s pardon granted upon his request, I answer, the master forgave him the debt, not simply, but in respect of the consequent vassalage and imprisonment presently deserved by it. Some interpret the place to be spoken in reference only to the main intent of Christ, that if a man forgive not his neighbor offending, and begging his mercy, God will never communicate to him any saving benefit of his mercy in Christ. An implacable spirited Christian is at present in a state of damnation.
2. The hearing which the Lord does lend to such, is from his general providence and pity, and rather as a sovereign and master, than from any particular grace, and as a father; for so he hears not sinners; yea he hears them, rather to leave them without excuse, and to take a fuller blow at them afterwards, as in the case of that evil servant.
3. The Lord uses not to give any suitable grace as the success of their prayers; so he hears oniy saints, and not sinners, especially reprobates; he changed not the servant’s heart with his condition.
4. God sometimes hears them in displeasure and anger: “I gave them a king in mine anger.” He gave them their desire, but sent leanness into their soul; their soul is blasted, they were hardened in pride and security thereby, and the thing itself given is blasted to them in the use of it, becoming a snare, and vanity, and in the deprival of it vexation of spirit.