is he willing, to " give you exceeding abundantly above all
that ye can ask, or even think q"
If it be said, that such confidence is not warranted at this day, I ask, Are our privileges diminished under the Christian dispensation? or, Are we less entitled to expect these bless- ings, than the Jews were, under their less perfect economy ? I grant, that we are not authorized to expect such visible interpositions as they enjoyed : but ours shall not be a whit less real, or less certain. We have not the Urim and Thum- mim, whereby to consult God, and obtain an answer that shall be legible by acknowledged marks upon the breast-plate ; but God will nevertheless hear us when we call upon him ; and cause us also, in doubtful circumstances, to hear a voice behind us, saying, " This is the way; walk ye in it." Though therefore I acknowledge, that, as being under a theocracy, the Jews enjoyed privileges peculiar to themselves, I affirm that, so far as those privileges will conduce to our spiritual welfare, we possess them in as high a degree as ever they did ; and it is our own fault if we avail not ourselves of them, for the advancement of our souls in peace, in holiness, and in glory. Did the Prophet Elijah shut and open the windows of heaven ? it is recorded to shew the efficacy of prayer, for whatever it be made, and by whomsoever it be offered1".]
I would not however conclude without suggest- ing a caution, in reference to your exercise of this confidence —
[Take care to exercise it with modesty and holy fear. It is possible enough to mistake our own feelings for an answer to prayer; and to persuade ourselves that God is directing us, when we are following only the imaginations of our own hearts. Let us, on all occasions, take the written word for our guide ; and, in all doubtful circumstancess, wait the issue, before we presume to refer them to God as expressions of his will in answer to our prayers. The truth in our text is to be improved rather for our encouragement to commit our ways to God, than for the purpose of determining positively what God has done, or will do. Let us take it with this limitation, that God will fulfil our requests, if they will really conduce to our welfare and to his glory ; and then we cannot err, nor can our confidence ever be misplaced.]
i Eph. iii. 20. r Jam. v. 16—18.