1. Help. Keep thy heart with all diligence—thy affections, I mean. The very reason why we sally out so seldom toward God in these occasional prayers is because the weight of our affections poise us another way. The bowl runs as its bias inclines, the stream flows as the fountain empties itself. If our affections be carnal, to earth we go, and God hath little of our company. Adam, it is said, ‘begat a son in his own likeness,’ Gen. 5:3, and so doth the heart of every man. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; as is the heavenly, such they also that be heavenly. La¬bour, therefore, to get and keep thy heart heavenly; especially look to these three affections—thy love, fear, and joy.
(1.) Thy Love. If this fire burn clear, the more of these sparks will from it mount up to God. Love is a great friend to memory. The adulterer is said to have his ‘eyes full of the harlot,’ and holy love will be as mindful of God. Such a soul will be often setting God in its view: ‘I have set the Lord always before me,’ Ps. 16:8. And by often thinking of God the heart will be enticed into desires after him. ‘The desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee,’ Isa. 26:8. And see what follows, ‘With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early,’ ver. 9. Love sets the soul on musing, and musing on praying. Meditation is prayer in bullion, prayer in the ore—soon melted and run into holy desires. The laden cloud soon drops into rain, the piece charged soon goes off when fire is put to it. A meditating soul is in proximâ po¬tentiâ to prayer. ‘While I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, Lord, make me to know mine end,’ Ps. 39:3, 4. This was an ejaculatory prayer shot from his soul when in the company of the wicked.
(2.) Thy Fear. Even wicked men, thought they be great strangers to prayer, yet we shall hear them knocking at God’s door in a fright; much more will a holy fear direct the Christian, upon all occasions, to lift up his heart to God. Art thou in thy calling? Fear a snare therein, and this will excite thee oft in a day to bespeak counsel of God how to behave thyself therein. Art thou in company? Fear lest thou should st do or receive hurt, and thou wilt be lifting up thy heart to him that can only keep thee from both. We cannot have a more faithful monitor to mind us of this duty than a holy fear. ‘They that feared the Lord thought upon his name,’ Mal. 3:16. ‘At what time I am afraid,’ saith David, ‘I will trust in thee.’ Fear makes us think where our safety lies, and leads us to our ref-uge. Had not Noah feared a storm the ark had not been built. Men fear no sin nor danger, and therefore God hears not of them all the day long: the ungodly world, who walk with their back upon heaven and look not up to God from morning to night. We may tell the reason—‘The fear of God is not before their eyes.’
(3.) Thy joy and delight in God. O cherish this. As fear disposeth to pray, so joy to praise. Now, and not till now, the instrument of thy heart is in tune. One hint now from the providence of God, and touch from his Spirit, will set such a soul on work to bless God. Carnal men, when they are frolic and upon the merry pin, then they have their catches and songs as they sit in their house or ride on the way: how much more will the gracious soul, that walks in the sense of God’s love, be often striking up his harp in holy praises to God? ‘Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee,’ Ps. 63:3. ‘I will bless thee while I live,’ ver. 4. And again, ‘My mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips,’ ver. 5. See how he goes over and over again the same note. Joy can no more be hid than ointment. As that betrayeth itself by its hot and sweet perfumes, so doth holy joy make its own report in the praises it sounds forth to God. It behooves thee therefore, Christian, to be as chary and choice of thy joy as thou wouldst be of the blood in thy veins; for in this runs the spirits of praise and thanksgiving. Now, would you nourish your joy? Do it by sucking the promises—those breasts of consola-tion. these are a food of pure juice and strong nourishment; they soon turn into blood—joy and peace, I mean—and with this a spirit of praise must needs also grow.
2. Help. Possess thy heart with strong apprehensions of God’s overruling providence in all thy enterprises, great or small; that he doth what pleaseth him in heaven and earth, so that all thy labour and toil in any business is in vain while [until] this main wheel begins to stir—his providence gives countenance to the action. O, how would this raise thy heart up to God, and send thee with many an errand into his presence! Suppose a man was going about some im¬portant business, and had him in his company that alone {which} could help or hinder the despatch of it; were it not strange that he should travel all day with him and not apply himself to this person to make him his friend? This is thy very case, Christian. Thou and all thy affairs are at the absolute disposure of the great God, to bless or blast thee in every enter¬prise. If thou hast not his vote, thy business is stop¬ped in the head. Now, this God is always in thy com¬pany, whether at home or abroad, in thy bed or at thy board. Surely thou didst believe this firmly, thou wouldst oft in a day turn thyself to him, and beg his good will to favour thy undertaking and facilitate thy business for thee.
3. Help. Look thou compliest with the motions of the Holy Spirit. The Christian shall find him, as his remembrancer to mind him of the more solemn performance of this duty of prayer, so his monitor, to suggest many occasional meditations to his thoughts —even amidst worldly employments—as a hint that now it is a fit time to give God a visit in holy some ejaculation, by thus setting the door, as it were, open for him into God’s presence. Sometimes he will be recalling a truth thou hast read or heard, a mercy thou hast received, or a sin thou hast committed. And what means he by all these but to do thee a friendly office, that by these—thy affections being stirred—thou mayest be invited to dart thy soul up to God in some ejaculation suitable to his motion? Now, take the hint he gives, and thou shalt have more of his company and help in this kind. For, as the evil spirit, where he finds welcome to his wicked suggestions, grows bold to knock oftener at that door because it is so soon opened to him; so the Holy Spir¬it is invited, where his motions are kindly entertained, to be more frequent in these his approaches; where was thy neglect of them may cause him to with¬draw and leave thee to thy own slothful spirit. When Christ had thrice made an attempt to take away his drowsy disciples by calling them up to watch and pray, and they fell to nodding again, truly then he bids them ‘sleep on.’
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