and places round about them ; ' Israel shall be a blessing in the land of Assyria,' Isa. xix. 24. They are compared to a fountain, which is a common benefit. Now, one way wherein the godly are eminently serviceable to others, is, by the mterest thej' have in God, and the prevalency of their prayers with him : ' By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted,' Prov. xi. 11 ; that is, by their fervent prayers, which draw down a blessing from heaven upon it. God bless- eth by command ; he ' commanded the blessing, even life for evermore,' Psa cxxxiii. 3. The saints bless when they pray, Numb. vi. 23, 24, ' On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee.' Thirdly, God gives a signal testimony of his favour to his saints' prayers for others. 1. He doth great things, at their request, for others. How often did Moses i-everse divine plagues that were executed on Egypt ! even as often as Pharaoh had a heart to beg his prayers. How long did Abraham beat the market for Sodom's preservation ! He brought it down to ten righteous men ; could that wicked place have but aflbrded that number, it had not been turned to ashes. 2. When their prayers obtain not a mercy for a people, nothing else can help them : therefore God, to express his peremptory resolution, and iiTe- versible decree to punish Israel, tells them, ' Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people,' Jer. xv. 1 ; thei'eby intimating their case desperate. If the prayei's of such holy men could not pre- vent the fall of his wrath impending, much less should they with their own power and policj' shift it off. Indeed, when God is fully set upon a vindictive Avay, he takes them off from praying: Jer. vii. 16, ' Pray not thou for this peo- ple,— for I will not hear thee ;' and even in this he shows at what rate he values his people's prayers, which makes him loth they should bestow their pains in vain. ' Pray not thou for this people ;' as if he had said. Let them pray if they will ; I can, without any regret, reject their prayers ; but I am unwill- ing thou shouldst i^ray in an unaccepted time, for that which I have no mind to give. 3. When the saints' prayers bring not back witli them the mercy for others, yet God is careful that his people should not have the least suspicion that the denial proceeds from any disrespect he hath to their persons ; therefore sometimes he gives the thing they desire, only changes the subject ; thus, what God denied Abraham for Ishmael, he gave him abundantly in Isaac : sometimes, again, what he denies for others, he gi-ants to themselves ; thus David's prayer for his enemies returned into his own bosom.
Section IV. — Now, in praying for others. First, May thy heart be deeply affected with their state and condition. God loves mercy better than sacrifice : to draw out our souls in giving an alms, is greater charity than to draw out our purse ; so in prayer, be sure thy soul be poured out, or else thou art a deceiver, thou wrongest both God and him tliou prayest for. Before Christ prayed for Lazarus, he was ti-oubled : ' Behold how he loved him,' said those about him, who were witness to his groans and tears. Then thou wilt pray fervently for others, when thy heart is warmed into sympathy with them. Secondly, Prefer spiritual blessings in thy prayers for others, before temporal. Is it a sick friend ? If health be all thou beggest for him, thou art not faithful to him ; he may have that, and be the worse for it : ask a Christ, grace, and glory for him ; then thou dost something to purpose. Surely this our Saviour meant in his method of curing the man sick of the palsy. Matt. ix. 2, ' Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee.' He first brings him the news of a pardon, as a mercy infinitely of more worth than life or limbs, thereby tacitly reproving his friends, wlio took more care to have his body healed, than his sold saved. Is it the nation ? Aim at more than deliverance from outward judgments. The carnal Jews could say, ' Give us water, that we may drink,' Exod. xvii. 2 : but thought not of their sin, to beg repentance for, and pardon of it. that was the cry of the creature ; but this is the voice of a saint. Thirdly, Be not discour- aged in your prayers for others, though an answer doth not presently overtake them. Thou prayest for a rebellious child, or carnal friend, who yet continue to be so ; take heed thou dost not presently think them past grace, and give over the work. Samuel saw the people he prayed for mend but slowly, yet hear what he saith, 1 Sam. xii. 23, 'God forbid I should cease praying for you.' I have heard of some that have been laid forth, yea, buried, before they were dead, by their over-hasty friends. Be not thou thus cruel to the souls of thy
780 -^^"^ SUPPLICATION FOR ALL SAINTS