6. That God will both accept of our persons and prayers in Christ, the son of his love, in whom he is well pleased : Eph. i. 6, 'Who hath accepted us in the Beloved, to the praise of his glorious grace ; * this is the proper ground of prayer. Christ was sparingly revealed in the old testament, yet when they prayed, they looked towards the temple, where were the figures, and symbolical representations of Christ ; yea, some of them spake out : Dan. ix. 17, ' Now therefore, 0 our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary, that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.' Jesus Christ was a mediator to the church in the old testament, but sparingly known ; but now to us he is plentifully made known: Eph. iii. 12, 'In whom we have boldness, and access with confidence, by the faith of him.' Our encouragement of pleading, and our hopes of acceptance, must be gTOunded upon his merit and intercession, and the Father's love to him, and to poor sinners in and through liim.
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7. Out of all this there resulteth an actual reliance upon God, according to these terms, for the acceptance of our persons, and the answer of all our requests and supplications: 1 John v. 15, 'And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.' Keep to the rule of prayer, ask the things that are agreeable to God's will and conducible to his glory, and fit for us to receive in our station, and then though they be ever so difficult, ever so many in number, ever so presently needed, we are confident we shall have the petitions we ask. Indeed it doth not open a door for us to expect the fulfilling of all our desires, and promises of our own making ; if we interpret it so, it is horrible presumption, as you know it is to forge a bond ; this maketh for God's dishonour, and is an ungrounded confidence ; but ask regularly, according to God's will, you may be sure God will grant what you ask.
But how can we thus rely upon God, and have confidence that we shall be answered in all our particular requests, since mercies asked are so various, some absolutely promised, and some only conditionally, and temporal things are not always granted in kind.
Ans. 1. Prayer may be heard when it is not answered with success ; Daniel was heard as soon as he prayed : Dan. ix. 23, ' At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth ; ' but yet, Dan. x. 12, 13, there was some stop, and some time before it could be brought about. The Lord heareth presently, but giveth in comfort afterwards ; prayer put up in Christ's name gets a hearing presently, and in time gets an answer. God will exercise our faith for a while, to believe this, though we see it not; and he will exercise our. patience for a while, to wait for his leisure, and in the meantime enjutijageth us to believe that pra3^er is heard, when it is not answered[^oi'k<3l in kind. Therefore we must distinguish between God's hearinr/is a^'answering the prayers of his saints ; God v/ill take his own \h 2^nd time for giving in answers of prayer to his people. Mordecai&fe name stood in Ahasuerus's books some time before his honour was conferred upon him. You may not hear of God for a good while, but you shall hear of him at length. Abraham prayed for a child, but many years inter- vened before he had him in his arms. Our Lord Jesus Christ was heard as to the success of his death, in the victory over his enemies, but not as to the taking away of the cup : Heb. v. 7, ' Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared,'
2. We may be sure that prayers are granted, so far as they are asked regularly : 1 John v. 14, ' And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.' What is it to ask according to his will ? It concerns the j)erson, the matter, the manner, and the end of prayer ; si honi jictant bona, bene, ad bonum.
[1.] The person or the petitioner, he must be one that serveth God: 1 John iii. 22, ' And whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.' He that serveth God and pleaseth God is sure to be accepted ; so James v. 16, 'The effectual iiervent prayer of a righteous man
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availeth much.' What have others to do to come in Christ's name ? Naturalists speak of a jewel of great virtue, which, being put into a dead man's mouth, loseth all its virtue ; so prayer, though it be of vronderful use and virtue, yet put into the mouth of a dead man, one that is dead in trespasses and sins, and is not made alive by Christ, it is of no virtue and efficacy with God.