Now I come to the reasons, which are two : first, ' every one that asketh * Qu. 'them'? — Ed. t Qu. ' meting?' that is, ' measuring.' — Ed.
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receiveth ; ' as if he should say, for the Lord exempts no man that doth not disable himself. This promise, we must understand, is not a thing chained to some function, as most promises are, but this is as the Lord's common. All must and may pray, and are heard, always reserved the former exceptions.
The second is taken from fatherly compassion, so raising us up unto God, in and from whence these small streams we have flow, being much more abundantly merciful than any bowels of compassion which may be in us. *
But chiefly I would have you consider how here in this place our Lord doth press this matter again and again, assuring us we shall be heard in our prayer, of purpose, as it were, to hold up our heads above water, which in this our weary journey are so ready to sink. One would have thought this a very large charter, 'Ask, and je shall receive; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you;' and yet because he knew the difficulty of the same as well as the necessity, that it is a hnrd and a great task to pray in faith aright, and yet a thing absolutely needful, he follows it therefore, and presseth it home with several supporting arguments, which, God willing, we shall come to in their places.
First, we must consider of the necessity of faith in prayer. For he that comes to God must believe that he is a ' rewarder of them that diligently seek him,' Heb. xi. 6 ; and St James shews us, that he who asks must ask in faith, or else we speed not, James v. 15. Thus Jehoshaphat encourageth his fearful army to believe in God, but first he was encouraged himself. It was told him, and he told it them, that they should not need to fear ; God was on their side, he would fight for them ; and yet after this, Jehosha- phat shews how they must come by this deliverance : ' Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper,' 2 Chron. xx. 20.
Brethren, it is true, the glory of God is put into our hands, as it were, to extend the same in obedience to every precept we are enjoined to observe ; that so others, 'seeing our good works, may glorify our heavenly Father.' But most of all in believing we glorify him, and set forth his praises, because hereby we seal unto the truth of all the rest ; where by the contrary, if we believe him not, it is the greatest dishonour and disgrace that may be ; yea, John saith, ' Such a one hath made God a liar,' 1 John v. 10. Will you see an instance, how heinous this sin was in one of the best saints, in whom frailty no question for our comfort was suffered? Moses, Num. xx. 10—12, was bidden to speak to the rock, that water might come forth to that murmuring multitude ; but in anger he smites twice on the same, uttering these words, 'Hear now, ye rebels, must ive fetch ye water out of this rock,' as though if it came not, he was excused ; and if it came, so, there it was. But for this, we know, he was not suffered to enter into the land of Canaan. We must trade in faith in all our actions, or we shall suffer loss in all ; when by the contrary, if we go on in this, we shall have mercy unto mercy.
We read. Acts xiv. 9, that Paul, as he preached at Lystra, seeing an impotent cripple look on him stedfastly, in whom he saw faith to be healed, that by and by he made him stand up, and cured him ; this was bred, no question, in him by the Spirit of God, but the special means thereof was hia attending on the word preached. This attention, prizing, and valuing of the word, is a near way unto it ; when by the contrary, the infidelity of men doth, as it were, bar up the way against themselves, that the power
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of the Spirit is not so lively in working amongst them : as we see Christ says of those he conversed amongst, that because of their unbelief, he could not do any great works amongst them ; the infidelity of these, as it were, hindering him, bound his hands in a manner, they being uncapable thereof. Lo ! what a necessity there is of faith in prayer, and how loathsome that stain of infidelity is ! If our faith fall, all doth fall to the ground ; if this abide, all goes well. Wherefore, as in war men take others' bonds and promises without further specialties, so do thou with thy God ; take his bond, and go boldly unto him : believe his promise ; there is a necessity thereof, it stands thee on thy life so to do.