this pour into thy wounds, when in hell thy conscience shall fly in thy face, and tell thee tliou hadst not been there if thou had in time have humbled thy soul before God, and sought his favour in that way which cost Christ his blood ! Either thou must be dispossessed of this dumb devil, or it will be thy damnation. And who dies with less pity than that malefactor, who will not so much as go down on his knees, or open his mouth to cry for mercy, though the Judge on purpose defer the pronouncing of the sentence, and break up tlie court, to see whether his proud spirit will stoop to ask his life at his hands? You know how angry Pilate was when Christ was silent, John xix. 10: ' Speakest thou not unto me ? Knowcst tliou not that I have power to crucify thee, and power to release thee?' Alas! poor creature, he could do nothing for or against him ; and therefore Christ neither feared him, nor owed him so much as to bestow a word upon him. The warrant for Christ's death was sealed in heaven, and he, with the rest of Christ's enraged enemies, were but God's servants to do the execution according to the determinate counsel of God. But how much more reason hath the great God to be provoked by thee, and say. Wilt thou not speak to me, — pray to me? Dost thou not know I have power to save or damn, — to deliver thee to the tormentor, or keep thee out of his hands? Or dost thou suppose that God is bound to save thee, pray or not? If he doth, I promise you he shall do more for thee than for others ; yea, than for his own Son, who made strong cries and supplications to be saved by him. God hath laid the method of salvation, and think not that he will make a blot in the counsel of his will for thy pleasure : what he hath written shall not be reversed ; yea, though others shoidd be so kind, out of pity, to pray for thee, yet if thou be thyself a praj-erless soul, thou shalt die the death. If they were Noah, Samuel, and Daniel, that stood up to beg thy life, they should not be heard for thee. Prayers by proxy in this case will not prevail. When the Israelites came beg- ging to Samuel for his prayers, mark what caveat he annexeth, — ' Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart,' 1 Sam. xii. 24. As if he had said, Do not set me to do that for you which you will not do for yourselves ; it is not all the interest my prayers have in heaven will keep the wrath of God from falling on you, if you be wicked ; therefore, ' fear the Lord, and serve him;' that is, pray and obey him. Fear often denotes the worship of God. Gen. xxxi. 42, God is called the ' fear of Isaac ;' that is, the God whom he feared and worshipped. So Jer. x. 7 : ' Who would not fear thee, O King of nations ?' that is, worship thee, because the worshipping of God results from the reverence and fear we have of him. Christ ' was heard in that he feared,' Heb. v. 7 ; that is, his religious fear was expressed in his strong cries, which he groaned forth to God in his agony ; therefore so long as you are pi'ayerless, you live without the fear of God. And what will not such a wretch dare to do ? Even anything that Satan shall command him, though it be to go to a wizard. WHien Saul had given over inquiring after God, we hear him knocking at the devil's door, and asking counsel of a witch. O take heed of living so near the tempter ! If Satan might have his wish, surely it would be this, that the creature might live prayerless ; for by this he should do the greatest spite possible to God, in that he makes the creatiu'e set him at nought in all his attributes, and have the greatest advantage against the sinner. Now he hath thee as sure as the thief hath the ti-a- veller, when he hath thrown him into a ditch fast bound, and stopped his mouth, so that he cannot cry for help. In a word, thou art free booty for Satan, to satisfy his lust upon thee. He that prayeth, invites God into his acquaintance, and soon shall have it; as we see in Paul, who had Ananias sent from God to him : but he that lives in the neglect of this duty, gives the devil fuller possession of him. Thou art the man most fit for him to make an atheist of. I should not wonder that the devil persuades thee there is no God, who already livest in such defiance against him, as cannot but make the belief of a Deity dreadful to thy thoughts. Herod was soon persuaded to cut off John's head, because, when alive, he so troubled his conscience ; and it is to be feared thou wilt easily bi3 drawn to attempt the stifling all thoughts of a Deity from whom thy con- science expects to hear nothing that can please thee. It is probable thou hast much of the atheist in thee already, or thou dare not deny God that part of natural worship, which they that know him least give imto him. I am sure the Scripture lays tliis brat of irreligion at the door of atheism. The fool would
g34 PRAYING ALWAYS, ETC.