And, which is yet more astonishable, men abide in the duty of prayer, and that with constancy, in their families and otherwise, and yet live in known sins. Whatever spiritual thoughts such men have in and by their prayers, they are not spiritually minded. Shall we now say that all such persons are gross hypocrites, such as know they do but mock God and man,—know that they have not desires nor aims after the things which they mention in their own prayers, but do these things either for some corrupt end or at best to satisfy their convictions? Could we thus resolve, the whole difficulty of the case were taken off; for such “ double-minded men” have no reason to “think that they shall receive any thing of the Lord,” as James speaks, chap. i. 7. Indeed they do not;—they never act faith with reference unto their own prayers. But it is not so with all of this sort. Some judge themselves sincere and in good earnest in their
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prayers,—not without some hopes and expectations of success. I will not say of all such persons that they are among the number of them concerning whom the Wisdom of God says, “ Because I called, and they refused; they shall cal] upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me,” Prov. i, 24, 28. And although we may say unto such a person in general, “Hither leave - your sinning or leave your praying,” from Ps. 1. 16, 17, and that with respect unto present scandal and certain miscarriage in the end if both be continued in, yet in particular I would not advise any such person to leave off his praying until he had left his sm. This were to advise a sick man to use no remedies until he were well cured. Who knows but that the Holy Spirit, who works when and how he pleaseth, may take a time to animate these lifeless prayers, and make them a means of deliverance from the power of this sin? In the meantime, the fault and guilt is wholly their own, who have effected a consistency between a way in sinning and a course in praying; and it ariseth from hence, that they have never laboured to fill up their requests with grace. What there hath been of earnestness or dili- gence in them hath been from a force put upon them by their con- victions and fears; for no man was ever absolutely prevailed on by sin who prayed for deliverance according to the mind of God. Every praying man that perisheth was a hypocrite. The faithfulness of God in his promises will not allow us to judge otherwise. Where- fore, the thoughts that such persons have of spiritual things, even in _ their duties, do not arise from within nor are a natural emanation of the frames of their hearts and affections.
(3.) Earnestness and appearing fervency in prayer, as unto the outward delivery of the words of it, yea, though the mind be so affected as to contribute much thereunto, will not of themselves prove that the thoughts of men therein do arise from an internal spring of grace. There is a fervency of spirit in prayer that is one of the best properties of it, being an earnest acting of love, faith, and desire; but there is a fervency wherewith the mind itself may be affected that may arise from other causes :—
[1.] It may do so from the engagement of natural affections unto the objects of their prayer, or the things prayed for. Men may be mighty earnest and intent in their minds in praying for a dear re- lation or for deliverance from eminent troubles or imminent dangers, and yet all this fervour may arise from the vehement actings of natural affections about the things prayed for, excited in an especial manner by the present duty. Hence God calls the earnest cries of some for temporal things, not a “crying unto him,” but a “howling,”
Hos. vii. 14; that is, the cry of hungry, ravenous beasts, that would be satisfied.
CHAP. IIL] INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUALITY. 291
[2.] Sometimes it ariseth from the sharpness of convictions, which will make men even roar in their prayers for disquictment of heart, And this may be where there is no true grace as yet received, nor, it may be, ever will be so; for the perplexing work of conviction goes before real conversion. And as it produceth many other effects and changes in the mind, so it may do this of great fervency in vocal prayers, especially if it be accompanied with outward afflic- tions, pains, or troubles, Ps. Ixxviii. 34, 35.
[3.] Ofttimes the mind and affections are very little concerned in
that fervour and earnestness which appear in the outward perform- ance of the duty; but in the exercise of gifts, and through their own utterance, men put their natural affections into such an agita- tion as shall carry them out into a great vehemency in their expres- sions. It hath been so with sundry persons, who have been dis- _ covered to be rotten hypocrites, and have afterward turned cursed apostates. Wherefore, all these things may be where there is no gracious spring or vital principle acting itself from within in spiri- tual thoughts.