Section V. — God is so free and redundant in communicating his mercy, that he exceeds his people's modesty in asking. He gives them commonly their prayers with an overplus, more than they have faith or face to ask; as Naaman, when Gehazi asked one talent, would needs force two upon him. Abraham asked a child of God, when he wanted an heir in whom he might live when dead : now God promises him a son, and more than so, a numerous oflspring ; yea, more still, that in his offspring all the 'nations of the earth shall be blessed.' Jacob desired but God's care, under the protection of which he might go and return safely, with food and raiment enough to keep him alive, Gen. xxviii. 20. Well, this lie shall have ; but God thinks it not enough, and therefore sends him home with two bands, who went out with little besides his pilgrim's staff. Solomon prays for wisdom, and God throws in wealth and honour, 2 Chron. i. 10. The woman of Canaan begs a crumb, and Christ gives her a child's portion ; she came to have her sick child made well, and with it she hath the life of her own soul given her: yea, Christ puts the key of his treasure into her own hand, and leaves her, as it were, to serve herself, — ' Be it unto thee even as tliou wilt,' Matt. XV. 28.
CHAPTER XII.
Satan's endeavour to interrupt in prayer, by wandering thoughts ; and his design both against god and the saint therein.
The second design Satan hath against the Christian, is to interrupt him in the duty, when he can by no means keep him from it. It is hard to steal a prayer, and the devil not know what thou art going about. He watches thy motions, and is at thy heels wherever thou goest : if thou art about any evil action, he is at thy elbow to jog thee on, or before thee, to remove every stone out of the way, that the bowl may go the more smoothly on, and thou mayest not be sick of the enterprise by the obstacles thou meetest in the way. Ahab had but a plot hatching in his thoughts of going up to Ramoth-Gilead, and presently Satan hath knights of the post, whom he sends to bid him go up and prosper. David himself had but some proud thoughts stii'ring him up to num- ber the people, — Satan takes the advantage, and works with the humour now moving, whereby it soon ripened into that sore, which God lanced with so sharp a judgment as the loss of seventy thousand men. Now he is as skilful and ready at hand to disturb a holy action, as to promote a wicked one. When the sons of God come to present themselves before the Lord, Satan forgets not to be among them; he scruples not to be present when you worship God ; indeed, he is first there, and last thence. Sometimes thou shalt find him injecting motions of his own : sometimes wire-drawing thine : when he sees a vain thought, a sin sprung by the wanton fancy, he will help thee to pursue the chase. He will always be at one end of every inordinate motion of thy heart ; either the father to beget, or the nurse to bring them up. These are so many and diverse, that we may as well count the atoms we see in a sunbeam, as number and sort this miscellaneous heap of roving thoughts which are incident to the Christian in prayer. Some- times he will inject such as are sinfid, proud, filthy, yea, blasphemous; not that he hopes to find entertainment in the Christian's heart for such guests, much less to make a settlement of them there with the gracious soul's consent, but to make a confusion in his spirit, whereby, as upon some sudden fright, the holy exercise he is now about may be hindered. Sometimes he will prompt thoughts, holy in themselves, which, at another, he would oppose with all his might, but now most likely to find welcome, and serve his purpose, being, though good fruit, yet brought forth in a bad season. I believe none that have any acquaintance with this duty, and their hearts in it, are altogether strangers to Satan's sleights of this nature.
Now he hath a double plot, one levelled against God, another against the Christian.
Section I. — Against God. The devil knows very well, that not the least part of his tribute of honour is by the Christian paid upon his knees in this
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