Secondly, /or the dijftciilty of praijer with faith ; our Lord saw that there was no work more difficult to be done, and therefore he so presseth it with arguments.
The causes of the difficulty of praj'er I take to be these : —
(1.) First, Because our profaneness and natural corruptions do most shew themselves in this action. Hence herein are those many and often complaints of our deadness, dulness, and hardness of heart in prayer, and of those world of things which violently, we know not whence, and suddenly thrust themselves into our mind;?. The devil helps also, and thrusts on, incensing* our corruptions.
(2.) Besides, this puts us down and out of heart from praying with assurance to be heard. The conscience of guiltiness gives stabs to our prayers. In this combat, the Egyptian or Israelite must die. If a man let loose himself to some gross sin, he shall be sure to find it in his prayer, sometimes to terrify him ; sometimes to deaden his spirits, to weaken his faith ; yea, at the best he shall be found not to pray with any life : as Mr Perkins tells us of a man who had stolen a sheep, who for all this, though he went on in his devotions, found no rest until he had confessed the same ; till then the beast was ever in his way (c). Yea more, what checks and • reproaches are then in the heart, sent close home by the accusing conscience ! As, what ! Wilt thou go unto God, and think to be heard ; thou, so wretched and profane a creature ; thou, that hast so often broken thy vows and pro- mises ; thou, that knowest so much of thy master's will, and doest so little; thou, that hast sinned against conscience and knowledge ; that art so soiled and defiled with wallowing in the mire of sin ?
Thus, though a man have prayed earnestly and often, it is not an easy matter to wash ofi" the stain of sin, and quiet the conscience. As after a storm on the sea, though the tempest be gone, yet there is not by and by a calm, there will be a rolling and tossing of the waves up and down a long while after ; so, to believe that God will hear our prayers, and that he hath done away all our sins out of his sight, it is not by and by done, there is a rolling and a stain of sin, that will toss up and down a long time after our prayers are done. Will you see the proof of this in one of the best saints, who was tossed thus for our comfort ? The prophet David, after his great sin, and that he had confessed the same, 2 Sam. xii. 13, he had an absolution pronounced unto him by the prophet Nathan : ' The Lord also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die.' What could be more, and what now may hinder his joy ? ' Blessed is he whose transgression is for- given, and whose sin is covered,' Ps. xxxii. 1. But yet you see how the waves roll, and are troubled, though the storm be over ; as Ps. li., how is he vexed ! how earnestly doth he pray for mercy ! — that ' his iniquities might be blotted out ;' that his sin might ' be cleansed ;' that he might ' hear * That is, ' inflaming.' — G.
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the voice of joy and gladness ;' that * the bones which he had broken might rejoice;' that God would not 'cast him from his presence, nor take his Spirit from him;' that he would 'restore unto him the joy of his salva- tion,' &c.
What was the cause of all this stir ?
(1.) The filthiness of sin discovered, the Majesty offended, the punish- ment due, the scandal which came to others, to the dishonour of God by the party offending, together with the odious stain and filth which that sin left behind upon the soul, was such, that the greenness and yet smarting of the wound did not suffer him thoroughly to apprehend and fetch home the consolation. As we see, if a wound be raw, though suppling oil be brought unto it, and though it be applied with a light hand, which is com- mendable in that art, yet being touched, because of that rawness it smarts still ; so the conscience being wounded, and the sore raw still, sin appearing like a monster in his colours, the punishment due apprehended, and the bitter belches thereof yet arising, though the comforts of God be like sup- pling oil applied by the hand of the skilful surgeon, to allay and cure the same, yet the comforts not being digested, nor able so soon to expel the former impressions, the Spirit being but raw in them, and the conscience of their own unworthiness being great, no comfort can fasten, but many fears remain in them for a long time.
(3.) Thirdly, Because there is a marvellous ignorance in us of the nature and dealing of God ; not that we can be altogether ignorant of him, who is so glorious in all his creatures, filling heaven and earth with the majesty of his glory, yea, and is so good unto us ; but as it is one thing to give rules of war, and another to practise the rules, so it is one thing to speak of God bravely, and another thing to practise those things we know and speak of. For when we have need to ask and beg of God those great and rich mercies to salvation, which should support and help us in all storms, diving into the use and depth of his attributes, in place thereof we draw unto ourselves a narrow scantling,* and false image of God, judging of him not as he is, but as we conceive him to be, like one of us. Which we see the Lord reproves, Isa. Iv. 7 : there God saith, ' Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on him ; and to our God, for he will abun- dantly pardon.' And then it follows: 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.' Is there sense in this ? Dost thou ask what the sense is ? As if he should say, alluding to thy senseless ignorant objections. What man could pass by these and these things ! what father could pass by these ofl'ences in his child ! how then shall I look for pardon of God ? Unto this he answers. Measure not my working by scantling* the same after the proportion of any creature, or anything in his imagination, unless, I say, he have had his light from God, for my mercy outstrips all your conceits. Hence our prayers are weak and cold, because we make false images of God. But this point I shall meet with anon, therefore I let it pass.