acquaintance with God in this? Surely not. Thirdly, Hell is a state wherein the damned can never actually satisfy God's justice ; for their debt being infi- nite, and they but finite, they will ever be paying, but the last farthing can never be paid, which is the only reason they lie for ever in ])rison. But Christ, the saints' paymaster, discharged their whole debt at once, and took in the bond, which he nailed to his cross, leaving no back reckoning unpaid, to bring the believer afterward into any danger from the hands of Divine justice. Now as an ingenuous debtor desires his freedom at bis creditor's hands, that thereby he may be capable of paying his debt, as well as to escape the misery that himself should endure by his imprisonment ; so an ingenuous soul (and such is every saint) deprecates hell, as well with an eye to God's glory, as to his own ease and happiness. Oh, saith he, send me not to blaspheme thee among that wretched crew of damned souls and unclean spirits, when I so much desire to join with the choir of holy angels and saints in singing hallelujahs to thy holy and glorious name.
CHAPTER LVI.
OF rMPRECATORY rRAYER, AND HOW TO BE PERFORMED.
The third branch in petitionary prayer is imprecation. A kind of prayer this is, wherein the Chrisaan imprecates the vengeance of God upon the ene- mies of God and his people : on such a solenni en-and are the saints' prayers sometimes sent to heaven, and speed as eiFectually as when they go to obtain blessings for themselves and the church of God. And no wonder, for they are perfumed with Christ's merits, and thereby are as acceptable to God as any other jjut up in his name. ' And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God,' Rev. viii. 4. Now what kind of prayers these were is clear by the next words, ' And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth, and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.' By which is signified the dreadful judgments which God, in answer to his saints' prayers, would bring upon the wicked, whose bloody persecutions of the church, and fury against the truth of God, made the saints to cry to heaven for vengeance upon them ; and it should inevitably come, as thunder, lightning, and earth- quakes, that can be resisted by no power or policy of the greatest monarch on earth. Thus, as at the firing of cannon planted against a city, you may see its wall come tumbling down, so upon the prayers of the saints, great judg- ments were certainly to befall the enemies of God and his church. Now, the path wherein the Christian is here to tread being very narrow, he is to be the more cautious that he steps not awry. He is in this like one that drives a chariot on the brow of a steep hill, who, if he hath not a quick eye and steady hand, may soon be lost. The highest strains of the saint's duty run nearest the most dangei'ous precipices, as the most mysterious truths are soonest per- verted into the most damnable errors. I shall therefore lay down a few par- ticulars, which may serve as a rail to encompass tlie Christian in this duty, for the better securing him from falling into any miscarriage about it.
Section I.- — ^Take heed thou dost not make thy private particular enemies the object of thy imprecation : we have no warrant, when any wrong us, to go and call fire from heaven upon them. We are bid indeed to ' heap coals upon the enemy's head,' but they are of love, not of wrath and revenge. Job set a black brand upon this, and clears himself from the imputation of so great a sin, — ' If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him : neither have I suffered my mouth to sin, by wishing a ciu'se to his soul,' chap. xxxi. 29, 30. He durst not wish his enemy ill, much less de- liberately form a wish into a prayer, and desire God to curse him. Our Saviour hath taught us a more excellent way. Matt. v. 44 : ' Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that de- spitefully use you.' I know this is counted a poor, sheepish spirit by many. What ! go and pray for them '! No, send them the glove rather, and be re- venged on them in a duel, by shedding their blood. This is the drink-offering which these sons of pride delight to pour out to their revenge, or else cui"se them to the pit of hell with their oaths. O tremble at such a spirit as this ! --
Wlill ALL I'ltAYEK AND SUPl'LICATION. 7<^