But how doth he make it good, they are thy servants ?
' They desire to fear thy name.'
Emjy relations hare no comforls in them : to profess one's self a servant, and not to make it good that he is a servant. We must make good the relation we stand in to God, before we can claim interest in the favour of God by our relation. Servants, and Christians, and professors— here are glorious titles ; but if they be empty titles, if we cannot make them good when we come to God with them,— we cannot say we have any interest m God Irom empty titles,— it is rather an aggravation of our sin.
God will be honoured in all those that come near him, either in their obedience, or in their confusion. Therefore here the holy man did not think It enough to say, ' Thy servant, and thy servants, but who desire to tear thy name.
He goes to make it good that he was the servant of God, not from any outward thmg, but from his inward disposition, ' the fear of God,' which I will not now stand to speak largely of. God requires the heart ; and reli- gion IS most in managing and tuning the affections, for they are the wind tbat carries the soul to every duty. A man is like the dead sea without aflections. Religion is most in them. The devil hath brain enon^rh, he knows enough, more than any of us all. But then he hates God. He hath no love to God, nor no fear of God, but only a slavish fear. He hath not this reverential fear, childlike fear. Therefore let us make it good that we are the servants of God, especially by our afiections, and chiefly by this oi tear, which is put for all the worship of God. It is put instead of those conditions spoken of verse the 9th, ' If you turn to me, and keep my com- mandments, and do them,' then I will make good my promise. Now, saith He, taking up the same strength of argument, * We desire to fear thy name. As it he should have said, we turn to thee and obey thy command- ments, and desire to do them. It is all one. ' ' We desire to fear thy name, for those that fear God will turn to him ; and to desire to obey his commandments and to do them, it is all one as to do them. If a "man sJiould do them, and not from the fear of God, all were nothing but a carcase of obedience. I will not stand longer on that.
How doth he make it good that he feared the name of God "> He makes it good from this, that he had good desires. ' We desire to tear thy name.' We desire it for the present, and for the time to come • whence we will observe two or three things shortly, as may be uselul to us. First of all, out of this, that this desire to fear the name that ° ^^ brought as an argument to prevail in prayer, we may observe
VOL. VI.
98 THE SPIRITUAL FAVOURITE
Those that icill prevail uith God in prai/er, must look to the lent of their souls for the time to come, and for the present.
' Regard thy servants that desire to fear thy name.' For to come to God without such a frame of soul as this, to desire to please God in all things for the present, and for the time to come, it is to come as God's enemy ; and will God regard his enemies ? When one comes with a purpose to live in any sin, without a desire for the time to come, to regard all God's com- mandments, he comes as God's enemy, he comes as it were with his dagg* to shoot at God, he comes with his weapon. Who will regard the petition of a man that comes to wound him at the same time ? When a man comes to God with a purpose to sin, he comes to wound God at the same time, as an enemy, and is he like to speed ? For what are our sins, but that that makes us enemies to God ? They are opposite to him as can be, they make us hateful to God. Therefore we must be able to say with good Nehemiah, when we come to God, to make it good that we are servants indeed, ' We desire to fear thy name.' As Jeremiah tells them, Jer. vii. 10, * Will 3'ou steal, and oppress, and commit adultery, and yet stand before me ?' Will you do this and this villany, and stand before me ? * What hast thou to do,' saith God, Ps. 1. IG, seq., ' to take my name into thy mouth, and hatest to be reformed ?' If we hate to be reformed, and do not desire to serve God for the time to come, what have we to do to take his name into our mouths, especially in the holy exercise of prayer ? Ps. Ixvi. 18, ' If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear my praj'er.' If a man do but regard to live in iniquity for the time to come, the Lord will not hear his prayer. Therefore, if we will be able to prevail with God in our petitions, we must say with holy Nehemiah, ' We desire for the time to come to fear thy name.' I beseech you, let us remember it.