The publican's prayer had nat much rhetoric or eloquence in it, ' God be merciful to me a sinner,' Luke xviii. 13, and yet God accepted it. He prayed much, though he spake little, and God did not turn a deaf ear upon him. That God that once accepted a handful of meal for a sacrifice, and a gripe of goat's hair for an oblation, and the poor widow's^ two mites, as if they had been two millions, will certainly accept of what thou art able to do, though thou dost fall short, yea, much short, of what thou oughtest to do, Lev. ii. 1, 2, and vi. 15, Luke xxi. 3. ' Lord,' saith Luther, ' thou commandest me to pray. I cannot pray as I would, yet I will obey ; for though my prayer be not acceptable, yet thine own commandment is acceptable to thee,' If weak Christians would but put forth in prayer that little strength they have, God would quickly renew their spiritual strength ; he would certainly carry them on from strength to strength ; he would still, by secret assistances and secret influences, help them on in their heavenly trade, Isa. xlix. 20-22, Ps, Ixxxiv. 7. As a loving indulgent father will take his little child in his arms, and carry him on in his way homeward, when his strength begins to fail him, and he can walk no further, and the way proves dirty, slippery, or uneven, so doth God by his : Hos. xi. 3, ' I taught Ephraim also to go ' (as a nurse doth the infant), ' taking them by their arm.' When God's poor children come to a foul way, or a rough place, he takes them up in his own arms, and helps them over the quagmire of crosses, and the difficulties of duties, and over all that straitness, and narrowness, and weakness of spirit that doth attend them in their closet performances.
It is observable, that when the king of Israel was to shoot the arrow, he did put his hand upon the bow, and Elisha did put his hand upon the king's hand, 2 Kings xiii. 16. So when we go into our closets, we are to put up our hand, and then the Spirit of God likewise will put his hand upon our hand, he will put his strength to our strength, or rather to our weakness : Rom, viii. 26, 'Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities,' lifts with us, or helpeth together. The Greek word- euvav- 7iXa/ji,<^%viTa/ doth properly signify such a help, as when another man of strength and ability steppeth in to sustain the burden that lieth upon our shoulders, be it a log, or a piece of timber, setting his shoulders under it, to lift up, and bear part of it with us, or to help us as the nurse helpeth her little child, upholding it by the sleeve. When a poor Christian sets himself to closet prayer, or to mourn, or to believe, or to obey, &c., then the Spirit comes in with new help, and new influences, and new assistances, and so carries him on in all these noble services. That child that doth but stammer at flrst, in time will speak plainly and fluently. Oh how many Christians are there that now can pray with much freedom, liberty, and fluency, who at first could only sigh out a prayer, or stammer out a prayer, or weep out a prayer ! Thou sayest thou cannot pray, but didst thou but stir up thyself to obey that com- mand. Mat. vi. 6, as well as thou canst, thou dost not know but that a power may go forth with the command, that may enable thee to act suitable to the command. In Mat, ix, 1-9, Christ bid the palsy man rise and walk : ' Take up thy bed, and go unto thine house,' The palsy man might have objected, 'Alas ! I am carried by four, I am not able to stir a limb, much less to rise, but least of all to take up my bed and
Mat. VI. C] the privy key of heaven. 225
walk, &c. Oh but he rouseth up himself as well as he could, and a power went forth with the command, that enabled him to do what was commanded. So Mat. xii. 10-14, there was a poor man that had a withered hand, and Christ commands him to stretch forth his hand ; he might have repUed, * My hand is withered, and if I might have as many worlds as there be men in the world, to stretch it forth, I could not stretch it forth ; yea, if my very life, if my very salvation did lie upon stretching forth my withered arm, I could not stretch it forth.' Oh ! but he throws by all such pleas, and complies with Christ's com- mand as well as he could, and a power Went forth and healed his hand. O sirs ! if you would but pray in your closets as well as you can, you do not know but that such a power and virtue might flow from Christ into your hearts, as might carry you on in your closet-duties, beyond ex- pectation, even to admiration ;' others have found it so, and why not you, why not you ? Well ! remember, that God is no curious nor critical observer of the incongruous expressions that falls from his poor children when they are in their closet-duties ; he is such a Father as is very well pleased with the broken expressions and divine stammerings of his people when they are in a comer. It is not a flood of words, nor studied notions, nor seraphical expressions, nor elegant phrases in prayer, that takes the ear, or that delights the heart of God, or that opens the gates of glory, or that brings down the best of blessings upon the sonl ; but uprightness, holiness, heavenliness, spiritualness, and brokenness of heart: these are the things that make a conquest upon God, and that turns most to the soul's account. But,
(5.) Fifthly Thou sayest thou canst not pray, hut if thou aH a child of God, thou hast the SpiHt of God, and the Spirit of God is a Spirit of prayer and supplication. That all the children of God have the Spirit of God is most evident in the blessed Scriptures. Take these for a taste : Zech. xii. 10, ' I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the in- habitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication ;' Ps. li. 11, ' Take not thy Holy Spirit from me ;' Eom. viii. 15, * Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father;' 1 Cor. ii. 12, 'We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God ; that we might know the things that are freely given to tis of God ;' 1 Thes. iv. 8, ' Who hath given unto us his Holy Spirit ;' 1 John iii 4, ' Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us;' chap. iv. 13, 'Hereby we know that we dwell in him,, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.'
That all the children of God have the Spirit of God, may be further made evident by an induction of these seven particulars.