Section II. — God deserves the prime and strength of thy .soul shoukl be bestowed on him in thy prayers. First, he gave tliee the powers of thy soul, and all thy affections. Such thou art, as thou wert in the idea of the Divine mind. Now, may not thy Maker call for that which was his gift? He that made the inanimate being, and coufmed the narrow soul of brutes to act upon some low, sensitive good, ennobleth thee with a rational appetite and spiritual affections. Now, wilt thou not employ tliose divine powers in the worship of thy (iod, from whom thou hadst them ? It were hard that f Jod should l)e denied what himself gave. ' I came to my own,' saith Christ, ' and they woidd not receive me :' thus here, I came to my own creature, he had his life from me and brings a dead heart unto me. Suppose a friend should give you notice that he will ere long be at your house, and send you in before-hand a vessel of rich wine, would you be unwiling to broach it for his entertainment ? Expectest thou a better friend to be thy guest than God? The psalmist calls ujjon us to ' serve the Lord with gladness,' and what is his enforcement ? ' Know ye that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us,' Psa. c. 2, 3. Who plants a vineyard, and expects not to drink of the wine? If God calls our corn and wine his, he therefore expects to be served with them ? nuich more with our love and joy, for surely he allows us not to alienate the best of his gifts from him. AVhcn thou art therefore going to pray, call up thy affections which haply are asleep on some creature's lap, as Jonah in the sides of the ship,— 'Awake, sleeper, and call upon thy God.' Secondly, he deserves thy afi'ections, ' because he gives thee his ; he is jealous of, because he is zealous for thee. ■ Well may he complain of thy cold prayers whose heart is on a flame of love to thee. High and admirable are the expressions with which he sets forth his love to his peojile ; whatever he doth for them is with zeal. In protecting of them, ' as birds flying, so will the Lord defend Jerusalem;' that is, swiftly: as a bird flies to her nest, when she perceives her young in danger : in avenging them of their enemies, ' the zeal of the Lord shall perform it :' in hearing their prayers, he doth it with delight : in forgiving their sins, he is ready to forgive, multiplies to pardon : when they ask one talent, he gives them two. Jacob desires a safe egress and ingress : God doth this, and more, for he brings him home with two bands. He gives not the least mercy, but he draws forth his soul and heart with it : even in his afflicting providences, where he seems to shew least love there his heart overflows with it: 'What shall I do unto thee, O Ephraim? My bowels are turned within me.' Thirdly, He is a good paymaster for his people's zeal : ' He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him,' Ileb. xi. G. Never did fervent jjrayer find cold welcome with him. Elijah's prayer fetched fire from heaven, because it carried fire to heaven. The tribe of Levi for their zeal were preferred to the jii'iesthood, — and why ? Surely they who were so zealous in doing justice on their brethren, would be no less zealous in making atonement for them by their sacrifices. Most men lose the fervency and strenoth of their desires by misplacing them : they are zealous for such things as cannot and persons that often will not, pay them for their pains. O how hot is the covetous man in his chase after the world's pelf! He pants after the dust of the earth, and that upon the heads of the poor; but what reward hath he for his labour ? After all his getting, like the dogs in pursuit of the hare, hemisseth his game, and at last goes poor and supperless to bed in his grave : he dies a fool, Jer. xvii. 11. How many court spaniels (that luive fawned and flattered for some scraps of preferment) have at last been rewarded with the fatal stroke of the headsman, or a consumptive death in their prince's favour ! which made that ambitious cardinal say too late, if he had been as observant of his heavenly Master as he had been of his earthly, he should not have been left so miserable at last. In a word, do we not see the superstitious person knocking his breast and cutting his own flesh, out of a zeal to his wooden god, that hath neitlier ear to hear, nor hand to help him? Now, doth not the living (iod, thy loving Father, deserve thy zeal more than their dead and dumb idols do theirs? For shame, let us not be cold in his worship, when the idolater sweats before his god of wood; let not the worldling's zeal in pursuit of his earthly manmion leave thee behind in serving thy God.
750 I^ THE SPIRIT.
CHAPTER VI.
SOMETHING BY WAY OF HELP, TO RAISE OUR AFFECTIONS IN PRAYER.