[7.] Seventhly, Labour for a greater effusion of the Holy Sjnrit; for the greater measure any man hath of the Spirit of God, the more that man will delight to be with God in secret : Zech. xii. 10, ' And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications ;' vers. 12-14, 'And the land shall mourn, every family apart ; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart ; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart ; the family of the house of Shimei apart, and their wives apart ; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.' Joel ii. 28, 29, Isa. xliv. 3 ; mark, in the last of the last days, when men shall be generally under a greater effusion of the Holy Spirit than ever, then they shall be more given up to secret prayer than ever. There will never be such praying apart, and such mourning apart, as there will be when the Lord shall pour out most richly, gloriously, abundantly, of his Spirit upon his poor people. Now, every one shall pour out his tears and his soul before God in a corner, to shew the soundness of their sorrow, and to shew their sincerity by their secresy ; for ille dolet vere, qui sine teste dolet, he grieves with a witness, that grieves without a witness.
Certainly, the more any man is now under the blessed pouring out of the Spirit of Christ, the more that man gives himself up to secret communion with Christ. Every man is more or less with Christ in his closet, as he is more or less under the anointings of the Spirit of Christ. The more any man hath of the Spirit of Christ, the more he loves Christ, and the more any man loves Christ, the more he delights to be with Christ alone. Lovers love to be alone. The more any man hath of the Spirit of Christ, the more his heart will be set to please Christ. Now, nothing pleaseth Christ more than the secret prayers of his people : Cant. ii. 14, * O my dove that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret * Plin. Hiat,, lib. ii. cap. 103 [Rather 106, the lake of the Salentini, near Manduria. — G.]
Mat. 71. 6.] the privy key of heaven. 297
places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice ; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.' And therefore such a one will be much in secret prayer. The more any man hath of the Spirit of Christ, the more his heart will be set upon glorifying and exalting Christ. Now, nothing glorifies Christ more, nor exalts him more, than secret prayer ; and therefore the more any man hath of the Spirit of Christ, the more that man will be found in secret prayer.
There are many persons who say, they would be more in their closets than they are, but that they meet with many hindrances, many occa- sions, many diversions, many temptations, many oppositions, many difficulties, many discouragements, which prevent them. Ah, friends ! had you a greater measure of the Holy Spirit upon you, none of these things should ever be able to hinder your secret trade heaven-ward. Had you a more rich anointing of the Spirit upon you, you would never plead, there is a lion in the way, a lion in the streets, Prov. xxvi. 13; but were there a thousand lions between you and your closets, you would either step over them, or make your way through them, that so you might enjoy communion with Christ in your closets. But,
[S.] Eighthly and lastly, As ever you would keep close to private prayer. Be frequent in the serious consideration of eternity. Oh see eternity standing at the end of every closet-prayer, and this will make you pray to purpose in your closets.
O sirs ! every work you do, is a step to a blessed or to a cursed eternity. Every motion, every action in this life, is a step toward eternity. As every step that a traveller takes brings him forward to his journey's end, so every step that a man takes in the secret ways of righteousness and holiness, such as closet duties are, they bring him nearer to his journey's end, they bring him nearer to a blessed eternity. Look, as every step the sinner takes in a way of wickedness, brings him nearer to hell ; so every step that a saint takes in a way of holi- ness, brings him nearer to heaven. Look, as every step that a wicked man takes in the ways of unrighteousness brings him nearer to a cursed eternity, so every step that a godly man takes in a way of righteous- ness, brings him nearer to a blessed eternity.
Zeuxis, the famous painter, was so exceeding careful and cautious in drawing all his lines, that he would let no piece of his go abroad into the world to be seen of men, till he had turned it over and over, and viewed it on this side and that side, again and again, to see if he could spy any fault in it ; and being asked the reason why he was so curious, and so long in drawing his lines, answered, ^temitati jnngo, I paint Tor eternity.' O sirs ! we all pray for eternity, we fast for eternity, we read for eternity, we hear for eternity, we wait for eternity, we weep for eternity; and therefore oh how curiously, how exactly, how wisely, how faithfully, how carefully, how diligently, how unweariedly, should we be in all our closet duties and services ; seeing that all we do is in order to eternity i Friends ! you must all ere long be eternally blessed, or eternally cursed; eternally happy, or eternally miserable; eternally saved, or eternally damned ; eternally accepted, or eternally rejected. And therefore what infinite cause have you frequently to shut to your closet-doors, and to plead mightily with God in a corner, for the lives ' See Index, sub nomine, for other references to this. — G.
298 THE PRIVY KEY OF HEAVEN. [MAT. VI. 6.
of your poor, precious, and immortal souls, that tbey may be eternally saved in the great day of our Lord Jesus. O sirs ! when any hin- drances to closet-prayer present themselves to you, seriously remember eternity, and that will remove them.
It is related of one Pachomius, that whensoever he felt any unlawful desires to arise in his mind, he was wont to drive them away with the remembrance of eternity.*