[3.] Boldness to go unto God. The voice of sinners in them- selves, if once acquainted with the terror of the Lord, is, — " Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" Isa. xxxiii. 14. And no marvel;* shame and trembling before God are the proper issues of sin. God will revenge that carnal, atheistical boldness which sinners out of Christ do use towards him. But we have now " boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and hving way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh : and having an high priest over the house of God, we may draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith," Heb. x. 19, 20. The truth is, such is the glory and terror of the Lord, such the infinite perfection of his holiness, that, on clear sight of it, it will make the soul conclude that of itself it^ cannot serve him; nor will it be to any advantage, but add to the fierceness of his destruction, once to draw nigh to him. It is in Christ alone, and on the account alone of his oblation and intercession, that we have any boldness to approach unto him. And these three advantages have the saints of communicating their minds unto the Lord Christ, which he hath provided for them, because he delights in them.
To touch a little by the way, because this is of great importance, I will instance in one of these, as I might in every one, that you may see the difference between a spiritual revealing of our minds unto Christ in this acceptable manner, and that praying upon con\action which others practise; and this shall be from the first, — namely, the assistance we have by the Spirit.
Is^. The Spirit of Christ reveals to us our oiun wa?i<s, that we may reveal them unto liim: " We know not what we should pray for as we ought," Rom. viii. 26; no ^teachings under those of the Spirit of God are able to make our souls acquainted with their o"vvn wants, — its burdens, its temptations. For a soul to know its wants, its infirmities,
' Gen iii. 8, 9.
' Josh. x.\iv. 19; E.\otl. xx, 19; Deut. v. 25, xviii. IG; Isa. xxxiii. 14; ]Mic. Ti. G, 7. * Isa. xxxviii. 14.
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is a heavenly discovery. He that liath this ^assistance, his prayer is more than half made before he begins to pray. His conscience is affected with Avhat he hath to do ; his mind and spirit contend within him, there especially where he finds himself most straitened. He brings his burden on his shoulders, and unloads himself on the Lord Christ. He finds (not by a perplexing conviction, but a holy sense and weariness of sin) where he is dead, where dull and cold, wherein unbelieving, wherein tempted above all his strength, where the light of God's countenance is wanting. And all these the soul hath a sense of by the Spirit, — an inexpressible sense and experience. Without this, prayer is not prayer; ''men's voices may be heard, but they speak not in their hearts. Sense of Avant is the spring of desire ; — natural, of natural; spiritual, of spiritual. Without this sense given by the Holy Ghost, there is neither desire nor prayer.
2dly. The expressions, or the words of such persons, come exceed- ing short of the labouring of their hearts; and therefore, in and after their supplications, " the Spirit makes intercession with sighs and groans that cannot be ^uttered." Some men's words go exceed- ingly beyond their hearts. Did their spirits come up to their ex- pressions, it were well. He that hath this assistance can provide no clothing that is large and broad enough to set forth the desires of his heart; and therefore, in the close of his best and most fervent supplications, such a person finds a double dissatisfaction in them : — ■
1. That they are not a righteousness to be rested on; that if God should* mark what is in them amiss, they could not abide the trial.
2. That his heart in them is not poured out, nor delivered in any proportion to the holy desires and labourings that were conceived therein ; though he may in Christ have great refreshment by them. The more they [saints] speak, the more they find they have left unspoken.
odli/. The intercession of the saints thus assisted is according to the mind of God; that is, they are g-uided by the Spirit to make requests for those things unto God which it is his will they should desire, — which he knows to be good for them, useful and suitable to them, in the condition wherein they are. There are many ways whereby we may know when we make our supplications according to the will of God. I shall instance only in one; that is, when we do it according to the promise: when our prayers are regulated by the promise, we make them according to the will of God. So David, Ps. cxix. 49, " Eemember the word upon which thou hast caused me to hope." He prays, and regulates his desire by the word of promise