Exhortation to those who want the Spirit of prayer 2/2

   (3.) Plant thyself under the word preached.  This is vehiculum Spiritus—the Spirit’s chariot in which he rides, called therefore ‘the ministration of the Spirit.’  The serpent, that evil spirit, wriggled into Eve's heart by her ear; and the Holy Spirit ordinarily enters in at the same door, for he is received ‘by the hearing of faith,’ Gal. 3:2.  They that cast off hear­ing the word to meet with the Spirit do as if a man should turn his back off the sun that it may shine on his face. The poor do not stay at home for the rich to bring their alms to their house, but go to their door and there wait for relief.  It becomes thee, poor creature, to wait at the posts of wisdom, and not expect the Spirit should lacquey after thee.  If the master come to the truant scholar’s house it is to whip him to school.

           (4.) Take heed of resisting the Spirit when he makes his approaches to thee in the word.   Some­times he knocks, and, meeting a repulse, goes from the sinner’s door.  This is dangerous.  He that hath promised to come in if we open, hath not promised to come again though we unkindly send him away. He doth indeed oft return after repulses; but sometimes, to show his liberty, he doth not, nay, leaves a padlock, as I may so say, on the door, a judiciary hardness and unbelief, which no minister’s key can open.  Thus Christ dealt with them that so mannerly excused themselves to his messengers that invited them. ‘None of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper,’ Luke 14:24.  Doth the Spirit move on thy heart in an ordinance?  Haply it is by some secret re­bukes directing the minister’s finger unawares to touch thy sore plat.  O beware how thou now behavest thyself towards the Spirit.  Quarrel not with the preacher, as if he had a spite against thee and came for a spy to find out the nakedness of thy soul.  Strug­gle not with thy convictions, smother not the motions of the Holy Spirit in thy next pillow at night, but rather cherish and improve them.  It is no little mercy that, as the Spirit went by in his chariot, he would call at thy door and give thee so merciful a warning, which, if kindly received, may bring on a treaty of peace betwixt God and thee that may end in thy con­version here and salvation hereafter.  It heightened the favour which God bestowed on the widow of Sar­epta that there were many other widows in Israel at the same time, but the prophet was sent to her and not to them.  So it enhanceth this mercy vouchsafed to thee, that there should be many other sinners in the congregation, and yet the Spirit not sent to them, but to thee; that his arrows should fly over their heads, and be shot at thy window with a secret mes­sage from heaven, to rouse thy sleepy conscience and woo thy affections from sin to Christ.  Verily the king­dom of heaven is come nigh unto thee.  Be but friendly to these his motions and thou shalt have more of his company.

           (5.) Converse with the saints that have the Spirit of God in them.  They that would learn a foreign lan­guage associate with men of that country whose na­tural tongue it is.  Wouldst thou have the Spirit, and so learn to speak to God in heaven’s language?  Con­sort with those who by reason of their heavenly nature will be speaking of God and the things of God unto thee.  It is true, they cannot derive and propagate this their spiritual nature; but it is as true, that the Spirit of God may make the gracious discourses which they breathe forth vital and quickening to thee.  While thou art with such, thou walkest in the Spirit’s com­pany.  Joseph and Mary sought Christ among his kin­dred, supposing it most likely to find him among them.  And it is more probable to find the Spirit of Christ among the saints, his spiritual kindred, than among strangers.  The Spirit of God came upon Saul when among the prophets; at the hearing of them prophesy and praise God, his spirit was moved also to do the same.  Who knows but thy heart may be warmed at their fire, and from the savour of their graces be drawn thyself to the love of holiness?  But, above all, take heed of profane company; this is a great quencher to the Spirit’s work.  When David re­solves for God and a holy life, he packs the wicked from him: ‘Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God,’ Ps. 119:115.  The husbandman busheth his young plants about to keep the cattle off.  If there be any buddings and puttings forth of the Spirit of grace in thee, as thou wouldst not have all cropped and bit off, choose not men of a profane spirit for thy associates.  They are like the north wind that blows away the rain.  When the Spirit of God hath been moving on a soul, the clouds begin to gather in his bosom, and some hopes of a shower of repentance to follow; then comes wicked company and drives all these clouds away, till there be no show left upon his heart of what before there was great hopes.

Exhortation to those who want the Spirit of prayer 1/2

3).O labour to get this heavenly guest to come and dwell in your hearts.  Better it were thou hadst not the spirit of a man than to want the Spirit of God. If the Holy Spirit be not in thee, assure thyself the evil spirit is; and no way is there for thee to turn this troublesome guest out of doors but by getting the Spirit of God in.  Thou mayest know where thy eter­nal  mansion will be, in heaven or hell, hereafter, by the spirit that fills and acts thy soul here.  If God takes not up thy soul as a mansion for his Spirit on earth, it shows that he prepares no mansion for thy soul in heaven, but leaves thee to be entertained by him in the other world that is thy guest in this.  Thus thou seest how thy soul hangs over the infernal pit. What course canst thou take to prevent this thy end­less misery that is coming upon thee?  Wilt thou stand up as Haman to make request for the life of thy soul?  Alas! thou canst not pray though thy life lies on it; thou wantest the Spirit of God that should help thee to groans and sighs; thou must live before thou canst breathe.  Prayer, you see, is not a work of na­ture, but a gift of grace; not a matter of will and parts, got by human skill and art, but taught and inspired by the Holy Ghost.  At the bar of man the orator’s tongue may so smooth over a cause as to carry it. Rhetoric hath a kind of spell in it that charms the ears of men, he is called the ‘the eloquent ora­tor,’ {Hebrew Characters Omitted}—nekÇn l~chash—he that is skilful in a charm, Isa. 3:3.  Thus Abigail charmed David’s passion with a well-set speech, and returned his sword into his scabbard that was drawn to cut off her husband and his family.  But words, alas! how handsomely soever they chime, make no music in God’s ear; they avail no more with him when his Holy Spirit is not with them, than Esau’s prayers and tears did with old Isaac for the blessing.  The same rod which wrought miracles in Moses’ hand would have done no such thing in the hand of another, because not acted with the Spirit that Moses had.  The same words put up in prayer by a man’s own private spirit are weak and ineffectual, yea, distasteful and abomin­able; which, delivered by the Spirit of God in another, are mighty with God and exceedingly acceptable to him.  Kings have their cooks, and eat not but what is dressed by their hands.  The great God, I am sure, will not like that sacrifice which his Spirit doth not prepare and offer.  Those prayers which are highly es­teemed and applauded by men are sometimes a great abomination to the Lord, who sees the heart to be naught and wholly void of his Spirit and grace.  And on the contrary, those prayers which are despised and harshly censured by man may be highly pleasing to God.  Eli was offended with Hannah and took her for a drunken woman; but God knew her better, that she was not drunk with wine, but filled with the Spirit in prayer, and therefore answered graciously her request. It was wisely done of that Grecian, who, being sent ambassador to a foreign prince, studied the language of the country that he might the more effectually per­suade the king by delivering his embassy in his own tongue.  O, get thou the Spirit of God, that thou may­est pray to God in the language of heaven, and no fear but thou shalt speed.  Now, if thou wouldst obtain the Spirit,

           (1.) Labour to be deeply sensible of thy deplor­able state while without the Spirit.  An unsavoury sap­less creature thou art, God knows, unable for any duty, incapable of any comfort.  The Spirit is oft in Scripture compared to water, rain, and dew.  Now, as the earth is barren and can bring forth no fruit with­out these, so is the heart of man without the Spirit of God.  O get thy soul affected with this!  When the fields are burned up for want of rain, man and beast make a moan; yea, the very earth itself, cleft with drought, by opening its thirsty mouth expresseth its extreme need of some kind showers from the heavens to refresh it.  And hast thou no sense of thy woeful condition?  Which is worse, thinkest thou—to have the earth iron or thy  heart stone? that the fruits and beasts of the field should perish for want of water, or thy soul for want of the Spirit?  O couldst thou but be brought to lament thy want, there were hope for hav­ing it supplied.  ‘For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.  I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed,’ Isa. 44:3.

           (2.) When thou art inwardly scorched with the sense of thy spiritless graceless condition, go and ear­nestly beg this gift of God.  Now thou goest in a good time and mayest hope to speed.  Possibly thou hast heretofore prayed for the Spirit, but so slightily and indifferently that thou hast grieved his Spirit while thou hast been praying for him.  But now thou seest thy need of him, and thyself undone except thou may­est get him; and therefore, I hope, thou wilt not now shut the door upon thy own prayers by being a cold suitor; which if thou dost not, thou art sure to bring him away with thee.  Christ himself assures thee as much.  Take it from his own mouth, ‘If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?’ Luke 11:13.  A fa­ther may deny his wanton child bread to play with and throw under his feet, but not his starving child that cries for bread to preserve his life.  God can, and will, deny him that asks the Spirit to pride himself with his gifts, but not the hungry soul, that pinched with his want of grace, humbly yet vehemently cries, ‘Lord, give me thy Spirit, or else I starve, I die.’  Nay, let me tell thee, thy strong cries and earnest prayers for the Spirit would be a sweet evidence to thee that thou hast him already within thee.