^ Maximilian's motto was, Tene tnensuram, et respiee finem, keep thyself within com- pass, and have always an eye to the end of thy life and actions.
* Lord, saith Austin, whatever thou hast given, take all away ; only give me thyself, Isa. 1. 11 ; Zech. vii. 6 ; Amos v. 22 ; Hosea vii. 14. Many heathens, as Aristides, Cato, Themistocles, with divers others, did unfeignedly many great services for the common good, and not for their own gain ; but yet they could not hit the mark, the white, divin'i glory ; and so their most glorious actions were but glorious sins, and would never turn to their souls' accounts.
» It was a sweet saying of one, * 0 Lord ! I never come to thee but by thee ; I never go from thee without thee.' [Ambrose, Epist. 116. — G.]
Rom. VIII. 32-34.] heaven on eaeth. 497
(3.) The third p^^opeHi/. Thirdly, You may judge what prayer that is that accompanies salvation by corhsidering the difference that is be- twixt the 'prayers of the godly and the wicked. Now the difference between the prayers of the one and the other I shall shew you in the following particulars.
The first difference. First, Gracious souls do trade and deal vjith God in prayer, only upon the account and credit of Christ.'^ They beg mercy to pardon them, and grace to purge them, and balm to heal them,- and divine favour to comfort them, and power to support them, and wisdom to counsel them, and goodness to satisfy them, but all upon the account of Christ's blood, of Christ's righteousness, of Christ's satis- faction, and of Christ's intercession at the right hand of the Father, Rev. iv. 10, 1 1. They seek the Father in the Son, they present their suits always in Christ's name, for so is the will of Christ : John xiv. 13, 14, ' And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.' John xv. 16, ' Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he will give it you.' Chap. xvi. 23, ' Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.' oTt offa av aiTrisriTi. The Greek is pregnant, and may be read not only ' Whatsoever,' but also ' How many things soever ye shall ask or beg of the Father in my name, he will give them to you.' There is no admission into heaven, except we bring Christ in our arms : Eph. ii. J 8, ' For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.' The Greek word signifies ' a leading by the hand.' It is an allusion to the custom of princes, to whom there is no passage, unless we be brought in by one of the favourites.^
Plutarch reports, ' That it was wont to be the way of some of the heathens, the Molossians, when they would seek the favour of their prince, they took up the king's son in their arms, and so went and kneeled before the king.'
Ah, Christians ! Christ is near and dear unto the Father ; the Father hath determined to give out all his loves and favours through his Son ; if you bring Christ in the ai-ms of your faith, you gain the Father's heart, and in gaining his heart you gain all. The father's mercies melt, his bowels roll, his heart turns, his Compassions are kindled upon the sight of his Son's merits and mediation. As Joseph said to his brethren, ' Ye shall not see my face unless you bring your brother Benjamin,' so says God, you shall not see my face unless you bring the Lord Jesus with you.*
Now gracious souls, in all their prayers, they present Jesus Christ before the 'Father, and upon his account they desire those things that make for their external, internal, and eternal good. Ah ! but vain men
* It is a notable saying Luther hath upon the 130th Psalm : Often and willingly, saith he, de I inculcate this, that you should shut your eyes and your ears, and say, You know no God out of Christ, none but he that was in the lap of Mary, and sucked her breasts. He means none out of him.
* r^iirayuyriy. As no access, 80 no acceptance without Christ, Eph. i. 6, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. ^ Plutarch : Pyrrh., i. 6, &c. — G.
* Af Joseph.said, ' See not my face, except you bring Benjamin with you,' so says God, See not my face, except you bring Jesus with you, Gen. xlii. 20-34 ; and as David said, to Abner, 2 Sam. iii. 13.
498 HEAVEN ON EARTH. [ROM. VIII. 32-34.
treat and trade with God in prayer upon the account of their own worth, righteousness, worthiness, and services : Isa. Iviii. 2, 3, * Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did right- eousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God. They ask of me the ordinances of justice, they take delight in approaching to me : Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not ? Wherefore have we afflicted our souls, and thou takest no knowledge X Here you see they stand upon their own practices and services, and expostulate the case with God in an angry manner, because God did not answer their hypocritical performances. So the proud pharisee stands in prayer upon his own worthiness and righteousness: Luke xviii. 11, 12, 'The pharisee stood and prayed thus" with himself: God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.'^ So did those hypocrites in Mat. vi. 23 stand very much upon their outward services and performances, though they were but shining sins, but filthy rags.
The second differeTice. Secondly, Souls truly gracious pray more to get off their sins than they do to get off their chains. Though bonds did attend Paul in every place. Acts xx. 23, as himself speaks, yet he never cries out, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from my bonds, but, ' O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from my sins, from this body of death ?' Rom. vii. 23. David cries not Perii, but Peccavi; not I am undone, but I have done foolishly, Ps. li. 4. But wicked men strive in prayer more to get off their chains than to get oft' their sins; more to be delivered from enemies without than lusts within ; more to get out of the furnace than to be delivered from their spiritual bondage, as the scriptures in the margin do evidence.*
The third difference. Thirdly, The stream and cream of a gracious man's spirit runs most out in prayer after spiritual and heavenly things, as is abundantly evident by those prayers of the saints that are upon record throughout the Scripture, Ps. iv. 6, 7, and xxvii. 4 ; but the stream and cream of vain men's spirits in prayer nms most out after poor, low, carnal things, as you may see in comparing the following scriptures together, Hosea vii. 14, Zech. vii. 5-7, James iv. 3, &c.